CAR ADVICE

A large-scale cyberattack has crippled the financial arm of Toyota on two continents, with hackers attempting to blackmail the company for millions of dollars. Hackers have infiltrated the computer systems of Toyota Financial Services in Europe and Africa this week, demanding $US8 million ($AU12 million) from its victim within 10 days. The business, which provides equipment finance and fleet management services to Toyota customers, released a statement claiming to be bringing its systems back online following the cyberattack. According to cybersecurity website Security Week, an unknown ransomware group known as Medusa or MedusaLocker have taken credit for the attack – threatening to release stolen information unless the ransom is paid. “Toyota Financial Services Europe & Africa recently identified unauthorised activity on systems in a limited number of its locations. We took certain systems offline to investigate this activity and to reduce risk, and have also begun w...

BMW has previously said the next M3 will be electric – and now it seems we know what it will be called. The name of the first electric car from the high-performance BMW M division appears to have been unearthed. A trademark application discovered by CarBuzz suggests BMW is preparing to name its first electric M car the ‘iM3’ – amid reports the next-generation M3 will expand to pure battery power when it arrives in 2027. In September 2023, BMW development boss Frank Weber announced the electric M3 would have four electric motors producing up to 1000kW, telling UK publication Autocar “the next M3 will be battery-electric – full battery-electric”. In October, BMW M CEO Frank van Meel confirmed the four electric motors would be controlled by a central computer, nicknamed the “Hand of God” – also previously referred to as a “Heart of Joy”. MORE: Next BMW M3 to go electric – and the wagon is set to live on However, there will reportedly be some overlap between the l...

If you’re lucky enough to have a friend or family member give you a lift, we’ve outlined the unspoken passenger etiquette rules to observe at all times. Ah, the season of family holidays and road trips. A time of travel, togetherness, forging bonds, making memories and quietly fostering a deep, unbridled rage towards your spouse, children, friends or extended family members. Let’s face it – spending endless hours on the road with your relatives can turn from blessing to curse pretty quickly. RELATED: It’s time to overcome our unhealthy obsession with practicality RELATED: Can my passenger show me their phone while I’m driving? Boredom, carsickness and bickering aside, a lot of our road trip frustration can arise from poor passenger etiquette. To that end, there are no excuses for bad behaviour when you have the privilege of sitting in the passenger seat. While kids can get away with acting out in the back seat, there are certain things no adult passenger should ever do. ...

Audi could be standing in the way of plans by Chinese electric-car brand Nio to launch in Australia by 2025. Chinese electric-car start-up Nio hasn’t begun selling its cars in Australia yet, but already it’s facing its first obstacle. Audi has opposed trademark filings from Nio over the names of its forthcoming models, which the luxury German brand claims too closely resemble the badges of its own cars. According to information published on IP Australia – the Federal Government’s patent and trademark website – Audi has opposed Nio’s trademark applications for the nameplates ‘ES6’, ‘ES7’, and ‘ES8’. Audi currently offers the S6, S7, and S8 performance models in Australia, and claims the Nio badges are in violation of local trademark laws. In its submissions, representatives for Audi say the “use of [the trademarks] is contrary to law,” and are “likely to deceive or cause confusion” due to being “substantially identical or deceptively similar [to its own trademarks]” ...

Who would have thought that destroying a Ferrari F8 and Mercedes-AMG G63 would be so profitable? A YouTube personality in the US who destroyed a Ferrari F8 supercar and Mercedes-AMG G-Wagen is selling shredded parts from the car as trophies to his audience – and appears to be making a profit doing so. Cody Detwiler, who films and publishes videos destroying cars under the moniker WhistlinDiesel, has destroyed at least two very valuable vehicles this year for his 6.6-million-strong online audience. In late 2022 he purchased a Mercedes-AMG G63 , which is valued at around $US140,000 ($AU210,000), and earlier this year added a Ferrari F8 Tributo for a further $US350,000 ($AU530,000). Both vehicles have featured in a number of videos where they have been tested and punished beyond their limits. In August this year, the Ferrari caught fire while being filmed driving through a dry cornfield and burned to the ground. The Mercedes was subjected, over the course of about 12...

The first Ineos Grenadier Quartermasters have rolled off the production line in France, but the Land Rover Defender-inspired utes are not due in Australia until next year. Production of the 2024 Ineos Grenadier Quartermaster ute has commenced at the factory in France previously home to Smart city cars. The Quartermaster is the dual-cab pick-up version of the Land Rover Defender-inspired Grenadier four-wheel-drive wagon, built by a start-up founded and backed by a British billionaire and the chemical company he started. While deliveries in Europe are scheduled to commence in December 2023, Ineos says “shipments to Asia-Pacific” are due to follow “soon after” – including Australian arrivals scheduled for the first half of 2024. The Grenadier Quartermaster was previously expected in local showrooms by the end of this year. Orders have been open since July 2023, priced from $110,000 to $123,000 plus on-road costs – between $12,000 and $13,475 more than the Grenadier ...

A new crash test in the US has slapped the three full-size US pick-ups sold in Australia in right-hand drive – the Ram 1500, Ford F-150 and Chevrolet Silverado – with ‘poor’ ratings. The three best-selling full-size pick-ups in the US – now sold in Australia in right-hand drive – have received ‘poor’ ratings in new crash tests by a leading US safety body. It comes amid reports the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) in Australia and New Zealand is looking to test the safety of US pick-ups – either through traditional crash testing, or evaluation of their advanced crash-avoidance systems. The Ford F-150, Ram 1500 and Chevrolet Silverado – the only three models in the booming US pick-up category to date – have been put through strict new crash tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, one of the US’s primary independent safety bodies. The IIHS – which categories its results into four ratings: ‘Good’, ‘Acceptable’, ‘Marginal’ and ‘Poor’ – subjected the th...