SILVER FOR SAFETY: Silver coloured vehicles are less likely than vehicles of other colours to be involved in a crash causing serious injuries, New Zealand scientists claim.
About 3,000 people die in road traffic accidents around the world each day, but researchers at the University of Auckland said the risk of being injured in a silver car was less than in cars of other colours.
The researchers said there was an increased risk of a serious injury in brown, black and green cars. They did not explain why car colour has an influence, but said previous research suggested that white or light-coloured cars are less likely to be involved in a crash than cars of other colours.
NEW VECTRA ESTATE: Opel has launched a Vectra Estate here with prices beginning at €27,210 up to the top of the range at €36,150, in a five engine choice of 1.8, 2.0 and 2.2 litre petrol as well as 2.0 and 2.2 diesel. The load volume can vary from 530 litres up to 1,850 litres with the rear seats folded forward.
DODGING THE BOWL: In a blow to the furtherance of bad taste, US marque Dodge has withdrawn its sponsorship of the Lingerie Bowl, which was set to run during the Super Bowl half-time show.
The DaimlerChrysler division's sponsorship, which was to pit two teams of underwear-clad models against each other in tackle football, was withdrawn after the bowl was bashed for being sexist, ill-conceived, etc. When the show was first announced, a Dodge spokesman said: "Any time you try to do some breakthrough advertising you risk offending some viewers." In this case, Dodge seems to have taken its "Grab life by the horns" slogan a bit too literally.