Hello , Welcome to the July edition of fleettorque, brought to you by Fleetcare!

This is the Wingle and despite its slightly humorous name, it might just become a familiar sight on our roads when its Chinese manufacturer, Great Wall Motors, launches its range of affordably priced cars and light commercial vehicles in Australia next year.

Of course, this won't be the only Chinese brand to travel the Aussie roads in 2009. Another Chinese manufacturer, Chery, is already confirmed for launch here and the two marques are likely to start something of a price war at the value end of the new car market, which was once dominated by the Koreans with Hyundai, Daewoo and Kia.

Great Wall Motors, or GWM as it may well become known, is already the largest manufacturer of SUVs and pick-ups in China and made a big impression at the Beijing Motor Show recently with its range of hatchbacks, four-wheel-drives and people movers. Most of its models are made in China, but GWM also assembles vehicles in at least six other countries, including Indonesia.

GWM has made no secret of the fact that it is keen to expand its exports - it has recently started to send vehicles to Africa and Russia and has set up distribution networks in 79 other countries. It plans to export 80,000 vehicles in 2008 and to ensure that overseas markets account for half of sales in 2009 - many of them are expected to be here in Australia. So keep an eye out for Wingles!

Look after your tyres and they'll look after you. Here's some useful advice to keep you rolling safely:

Don't forget to check tyre pressure every two weeks to make sure you're driving safely. Pressures should always be checked when the tyres are cold because warm tyre pressures can be 20-30kPa (3-4 lb) above the recommended cold pressure. But don't let air out of a warm tyre to set it at the right pressure as it will result in underinflation.

Petrol station tyre gauges are often inaccurate, so try to use your own good quality gauge. Never rely on appearance - modern belt construction prevents tyre distortion being easily seen, even when a tyre is under-inflated, so use a proper gauge.

Check your tread as tyres' ability to perform safely in wet conditions can be seriously compromised as the tread wears. In Australia the legal minimum tread depth of any roadworthy tyre is 1.6mm and this is shown on the tyre by a series Tread Wear Indicators located at a minimum of four points around the tyre in the major tread grooves. Their location in the tread face is indicated by a triangle on the upper tyre sidewall at the edge of the tread as shown below. If your tyres are worn - buy new ones!

If you marvel at new technology every time you hook up your iPod to your car's entertainment system, then imagine what drivers in 1950s America made of this Hi-way Hi-fi Phonograph, pictured here in a 1956 DeSoto. Yes, it's a record player for the car, which was offered as an option on brand new Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth automobiles as well as DeSotos, for just one year.

The slide-out turntable, which took 7-inch 45rpm and 16rpm records, was installed under the dashboard and hidden behind a drop-down door that could be opened at the push of a button. The phonograph system also included a radio tuner and the driver could switch between the record player and the radio with the flip of a switch. The same volume and equalizer controls were used for both sources.

Sadly though, the phonograph wasn't all easy listening. Unsuprisingly, records skipped as the car bumped over uneven surfaces and because of the manufacturer's exclusive content arrangement with Columbia, drivers could listen only to artists signed to Columbia Records. Because of this, the phonograph was not a big hit and was offered for just one model year - 1956 - and we drivers had to wait for the introduction of cassette tapes before we could listen to our own music while on the move.

We know that there's often a link between loud music and dangerous driving - as anyone who has been beaten at the traffic lights by heavy metal fans with partial hearing loss will know - but new research has shown that even listening to lively music can lead to dangerous driving.

A relatively small study by researchers at Ben-Gurion University in Israel found that drivers on a simulated road who were listening to up-tempo music were twice as likely to run a red light as those who were not listening to any music at all. Drivers listening to 60 beats per minute laid-back George Benson ballads had slower heart rates and were less likely to drive recklessly than those listening to club tracks at 120 beats per minute.

Safe driving experts around the world have called for more research into all kinds of 'driver distraction', from mobile phone conversations to changing the CD or fiddling with an iPod, as the UK's Department For Transport revealed statistics showing that driver unawareness now accounts for 12% of all accidents and 19% of fatal accidents. So choose your driving music carefully!

As petrol prices soar around the globe, a whole new breed of driver is beginning to emerge. In the non-metric US, they've been named 'hypermilers', and they'll do anything to save themselves money at the petrol pump. In fact, many claim to have halved their fuel consumption simply by changing their driving habits and, in this age of high prices, we could all do with following their example.

Certainly, if you race from every set of traffic lights, you will use up fuel unnecessarily, but equally, if you accelerate too slowly you can also use too much because the engine is under load for longer. The key is to pull away steadily and, if you drive a manual, change gears at the right time to improve your mileage. The optimum time to change up is at about 2500rpm for a petrol-engined car and 2000rpm for a diesel. In an automatic, ease back on the throttle once the car has gained enough initial speed.

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