Your Questions Answered: Are modern car door locks becoming less safe?

Answer: A good point, David, thank you for raising it. In principle, this by no means is a new problem, although it is heightened by newer technology.

Deadlocking doors as an anti-theft measure (so a thief cannot open a locked car by releasing an inside door handle after smashing a vehicle’s window) has been around since the 1980s.

In those early locking systems (with a key blade) deadlocking doors was a deliberate, optional locking measure (for example, turning the key twice in the door to deadlock versus once to just lock all doors).

The problem now is that optional, deliberate part appears to have been bypassed altogether in some auto-locking systems – they just deadlock automatically when you walk away with the key fob in your pocket.

Another problem some vehicles have is where the key fob is left inside the car, and the car locks. Again, this problem is as old as the hills, but now complicated by the era of auto-locking deadlocks.

This is also not helped by the fact that you can’t generalise on auto-locking behaviour; every model is (or can be) different.

For example, accidentally leave the key fob in the centre front cupholder of some modern cars, and the car will (probably) still be on and unlocked when you get back to it, as it has a key fob sensor in that location.

Put the key fob in the interior door pull recess or in boot instead, and with doors/boot then shut, it’s likely that the car will lock itself.

At least most such systems allow you to disable auto-locking, so you just use the key fob buttons to lock or unlock the car, while some also offer a digital key, so you can use your smartphone to unlock the car.

I have a mad plan to save money on fuel the old school way. I’d like to buy an LPG converted Holden or Falcon, but it looks like LPG isn’t available nearly as much as it used to be. Is LPG going to be removed from petrol stations? What happened to LPG? - Gus

Answer: Hi Gus, yes you’ll still save money on fuel versus petrol, but finding autogas might be the problem. Autogas has dropped in popularity and hence availability.

While there are no hard stats, of nearly 8000 petrol stations nationally, only about 10 per cent of them continue to offer autogas.

You’ll also have a pretty small pool of used LPG cars to choose from; a quick look at 200,000-plus vehicles for sale on carsales today shows just 88 LPG-only vehicles and 56 dual-fuel vehicles.

While there is still reasonable coverage in key metro areas, getting a tank of autogas might be much harder in regions.

According to the Gas Energy Australia, autogas was the most popular type of LPG fuel sold in 2010, but has decreased in uptake by more than 80 per cent between 2010 and 2022.

Also, from 2011, a phased introduction of fuel excise on LPG increased its effective price per litre. The main reasons autogas has declined in popularity, as cited by Gas Energy Australia, is twofold: gone are the local manufacturers who actively supported LPG (Ford and Holden) and second, the OEM resistance to warrant their vehicles if converted to LPG in the aftermarket.

Not mentioned but clearly a nail in the autogas coffin is that hybrid and battery electric vehicles are now readily available and as cheap or cheaper to run than autogas.

LPG, or autogas, became big in the taxi industry from the 1970s oil crises as Australia has big gas reserves and historically the fuel cost about half of petrol.

Locally-built Fords and Holdens had dedicated factory LPG vehicles for a time in the mid-2000s. For private buyers, LPG conversions used to get a big uptick in every petrol crisis, and there was also a government subsidy in the mid 2000s.

Advantages over petrol include the fact it’s consistently a cheaper fuel to buy, emits fewer emissions and is said to be better for engine longevity with its leaner burning properties.

However, LPG also has less calorific energy than petrol, so you use more of it, and the tank(s) have to be inspected regularly. Now hybrid and electric technology has bypassed LPG vehicles, further making this type of vehicle redundant.

I want to know whether I can import a V8 Holden sold overseas in LHD back to Australia. I’m talking about the ones sold in the Middle East brand new, back in the day. How hard would it be? - David

Answer: Hey David, a pre-2002 (so 25-plus years old) Chevrolet Lumina SS Sedan (Middle Eastern states versions of VT/VX Commodore SS) or a Chevrolet Caprice SS (WH Caprice) would be a cool car to have back in Aus!

Or the first of the Lumina SS Coupe (Monaro) from 2002, if you can wait until next year to import one.

On paper this is doable, but the biggest problem at the moment might not be sourcing the car, importing or registering it here. The problem could be delays getting the car shipped out of the Gulf States due to the Iran conflict.

Assuming you can jump that hurdle, the car has to be more than 25 years old to import it here and keep it as left-hand drive. Then it depends on what state or territory you plan to register the car in; some are easier than others for LHD registration.

ACT and Victoria are the strictest: the car has to be 30 years old in both jurisdictions for LHD rego, except Victoria will allow 25 years on a concessional club permit scheme.

If you’re trying to get a better Holden for cheaper than here by sourcing it from the Middle East, you might find it’s not that simple. For example, a good example sold in the UAE is about $10-$20K, plus shipping costs and so on, so add another $15K or so.

If you’re a keen Holden enthusiast and just want something unique to show off at cars and coffee meets – and are not too worried about costs or resale value – then the issue is not only current shipping problems but finding a clean, original example in what is a very harsh desert environment.

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