Wheels Inbox: Monster trucks, unloved Honda, and the kids are alright

Wheels magazine has always had a passionate audience, with a thriving letters section. Here's the latest from our readers.

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Monsters Inc

🖊️ Paul Huard, Gungahlin, ACT

On finishing the article on the possible return of General Motors to Australia I had to check the date of the magazine. It was with horror that I realised this was not your April first edition.

This is just what every pedestrian, cyclist and sedan owner has been waiting for; more monster (stop using full-size to describe these) trucks occupying our streets. Existing examples can’t be entered without the obligatory side step addition just so normal sized individuals can get behind the wheel.

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“Oh the humanity!”

You can’t put tools, equipment or even household rubbish in the back without opening the flaps on either side of the ute tray to lower the height you have to lift said item to clear the high gloss paintwork.

Let’s assume that all owners of these vehicles take advantage of their supposed towing capacity. Can you imagine the chaos of a combined mass of over 6000kg meandering along our local roads. As the commentator said of the ‘Hindenburg’ air disaster, “Oh the humanity!”

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McLambo

🖊️ Andrew Coleman, Taupo, NZ

You asked the question ‘Has Lamborghini nailed its crucial new halo car?

Personally I think it looks great, however, within a split second of seeing the article I immediately thought of my favourite supercar brand, McLaren.

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Firstly, the air intakes above the lights are so McLaren as is the other end of the car with the sunken in exhaust pipes set against a black background. Then thirdly, maybe a marketing oversight by Lamborghini, why would you roll out a near Papaya Orange version when that colour rightfully screams McLaren? It would have looked better in white perhaps.

The modern version of the Countach LPI 800-4 still takes some beating. I would have liked to have seen the new halo car take more styling cues it look more like that. So, to answer your question, not for me.

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Impeccable taste

🖊️ Ashton Gale, Naracoorte, SA

As a 13-year old, one of my favourite articles in Wheels is the Porsche Cayman GT4 RS with the Honda Civic Type R comparison (Wheels July 01).

The Porsche is one of my favourite cars with the Aston Martin DB5, Lancia Integrale rally car and my all time favourite car the Porsche 911 GT3 RS: its power, looks and it being one of the favourite cars of Top Gear and The Grand Tour presenter Richard Hammond’s, what’s more to like!

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The problem is though, I don’t think I will be able to own any of these cars.

The Aston will be an antique, same with the Lancia and the Porsche will probably be dead. But there is still hope!

So thanks to a great article I have found out that I can technically own one of my favourite cars! So thank you Wheels, it’s been a pleasure to write to you guys and I love what you do.

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Every day's a school day

🖊️ Mark Anderson via email

In your latest article on luxury SUVs you state:

“...while others will be perturbed by the inexplicable lack of touchscreen Apple CarPlay (forcing you to use the hand controller, even though the infotainment screen is within easy reach).”

I have commented many times that the CX-60 and CX-90 do act as a touchscreen for both CarPlay and AA.

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Unsafe at any speed

🖊️ Martin Geoghegan,Thirroul, NSW

Just picked up the December issue of Wheels and was intrigued to read Andy Enright’s editor’s letter at the start.

This obsession with building useless and often distracting ‘safety’ features into cars has been making modern cars less and less pleasant to drive. I’m glad somebody’s had the balls to take a stand against it.

I noticed that only this week, Euro NCAP has come out against manufacturers who seem to be deliberately rolling the arm by including lane-keep assist features that just don’t work in the real world. I’m glad that the protocols are now being updated to include real-world testing because some of these features are making vehicles borderline undriveable.

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Forza Honda

🖊️ Mark Stevens, Port Noarlunga

Thanks for all the Honda stories (FN2 Type R, Honda at 60, new CR-V) slotted into the December issue. I often feel that Honda, as a company, doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.

For me it’s right up with Ferrari, Mercedes-Benz and Porsche in terms of quality of engineering. Sure, we have to put up with some ideas that don’t really hit the mark, (I’m looking at you, second-gen NSX) but it’s worth tolerating the near-misses to be treated to the best that the company can produce.

I’m beyond excited to hear that after much dithering, Honda will continue its engagement with F1. Here’s to bigger and better things.

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The Wheels question to you

What's the single worst feature you've seen on a new car and why?

Want to have your say? Keep it tight (no more than 200 words) and include your suburb if via email: wheels@wheelsmag.com.au. You can also chime in on Facebook & Instagram.