Photo:
Ricardo Filipe Carneiro Rocha was found guilty of causing death by dangerous driving

Prosecutors have asked the District Court to imprison a man convicted of causing the death of his friend in a drag race on Magill Road in Adelaide’s east.

Ricardo Rocha, 24, was found guilty of causing the death of 23-year-old Minh Bui and of causing serious harm to his two passengers in March 2009.

Rocha was driving his high-powered Nissan Skyline at up to 135 kilometres per hour alongside Mr Bui’s Subaru WRX when the cars collided.

Rocha lost his left leg during the crash and has had constant treatment on his injured right foot which the District Court heard may also have to be amputated.

During sentencing submissions, prosecutor Anne Barnett said Rocha had demonstrated an inability to accept responsibility for the accident.

She said the court’s main concern should be the protection of the public and deterring others from similar behaviour and urged an immediate term of imprisonment.

Rocha’s lawyer Stephen Apps told the court his client had already been dramatically punished by the loss of his friend.

Mr Apps said Rocha viewed the loss of his leg as unimportant by comparison.

“The emotional pain due to his friend’s death, the court case and the loss of contact with other friends is far worse,” he said.

“For a lot of the time he feels life isn’t worth living.”

Mr Apps said Rocha was haunted by nightmares of the crash and asked the court to impose a suspended prison sentence.

“No matter where he lives he will be the prisoner of his own conscience for the rest of his life,” he said.

“I would submit he has suffered and will continue to suffer a punishment far worse than any court can impose.”

Rocha will be sentenced next month.

First posted

August 16, 2011 16:22:40

Whilst coilovers have formed part of Eibach’s product line up for many years now, the new Mulitpro range raises the bar for the industry in terms of price, performance and componentry. The R2 version of the kit uses state-of-the-art remote reservoir damping and adjustable height platforms to endow the Subaru with phenomenal levels of handling, whilst still maintaining a compliant and comfortable ride quality. Adjusters are conveniently situated to allow the driver to quickly adapt the car to road or track use, allowing quick tailoring of set-up to suit driving conditions. This is race-car adjustability with road-car usability. The R1 kit enjoys the same build quality and control but uses a more traditional one way adjuster with combined bump and rebound control.

The R2 kit uses lightweight aluminium construction, with 10-way adjustable compression and 7 way rebound damping to provide ultimate tunability. The springs used are direct from Eibach’s ERS race spring range and are coupled with precision spherical upper mounts to allow perfect alignment and set up. Track-day enthusiasts now even have the opportunity to accurately corner-weight the car for sublime handling, whereas fast-road aficionados can select comfort, ultimate grip – or anything in-between.

Priced at just £1,486.00 +VAT for the R1 kit, and £1,860.00 +VAT for the R2 set-up, make your WRX track-ready, without running its road manners! For more information, please visit eibach.com

By SHAUN KEENAN, QMI AGENCY

Posted 1 day ago

SOOKE, B.C. — The compact car segment is the most important in Canada. Sales account for roughly 23% of the market with little variation in volumes year over year. Since launching the first generation Impreza here in 1992, Subaru Canada has managed to increase its share of the market to just 1.6%.

The second generation Impreza is still popular amongst enthusiasts -who laud the robust Subaru boxer engine, full-time symmetrical all-wheel drive and excellent year-round performance.

In 2006, the third generation Impreza launched with an emphasis on pleasing the North American mass market, watered down with a smaller engine and CVT. Were it not for the great-looking five-door model and the WRX and STI models, many Sube loyalists would’ve been lost on the regular Impreza’s vanilla-ized exterior and decreased performance.

Several “top safety pick” and “residual value” awards later and the plan seems to be working though.

The all-new 2012 Subaru Impreza has been designed with a greater emphasis on the needs and wants of North Americans, but it’s much better than the last version and should help Subaru Canada reach its goals of attaining two percent of the compact market and increasing sales volumes to 33,000 by 2013.

The WRX model is not present, however. Having been refreshed just last year, it and the top-performance WRX STI, carries over for Model Year 2012.

The 2012 Subaru Impreza is powered by an all-new two-litre boxer that makes 148 hp and 145 lb.-ft. of torque. It mates with Subaru’s secondgen Lineartronic continuously-variable transmission, which is smaller lighter and quieter thanks to a short pitch chain, and 10% more efficient than its predecessor.

In fact, improving fuel economy was a major consideration for the generation, so the engine features a metal timing chain, dual overhead cams (previously SOHC) and cooled exhaust gas recirculation system to net another eight percent.

The new sedan’s outward appearance is more refined and interesting vis a vis updates to the grille and new hawk-eye headlamps. Aerodynamics are improved (nearly eight percent on the sedan, but only 4.5 on the five-door) thanks to a less steep windshield and low rolling resistance Yokahama tires that help out fuel economy another eight points. A new electric power steering system (debuting on the new Impreza) brings the gross improvement in fuel economy to 30%.

A five-speed manual tranny is available; however, it has a lower rated fuel economy than CVT models, which claims 7.5/5.5 (city/hwy). After some 100 klicks around the twisty, undulating roads of Vancouver Island in each car, the available 4.3-inch colour multifunction displays atop the centre stack read 8.8 L/100km.

The gas tank has shrunk from 64 to 55 litres and the whole car is 50 kg (110 lbs) lighter, meaning Subaru’s 9.8-second zero-to-60 mph time is three-tenths quicker than the previous model.

The new Impreza is vastly improved in almost every area. The interior is no exception; it features more soft-touch surfaces, a tilt-telescoping steering wheel with redundant controls, tilting head rests to accommodate pony tails and plenty more. The anti-whiplash seats (cloth in the Sport five-door, leather for Limited sedan) are comfortable and there’s more rear legroom in the hatchback (a MY11 hatch was on hand for comparison) as the body is longer and wider by 25 mm.

Thinner A-pillars, raised seating position, bigger windows and side mirrors translate to better visibility for the driver; while all occupants enjoy more interior space thanks to the longer wheelbase and larger greenhouse. Both the front and rear door openings are larger, making it easy to get in and out, whilst cargo capacity grows 30 litres (to 340L) in the sedan. Fivedoors grow from 569L to 1,407 with the 60/40 rear seats folded down flat.

The devastating Japanese disasters caused major delays in production of the new Impreza, which is set to commence in September with base, Touring, Sport and Limited trims all arriving in dealerships by fall 2011.

shaun@keenink.com

- – -

Fact file

2012 Subaru Impreza

Trim levels available: Base; Touring, Sport; Limited MSRP: not yet set

Notable options: Bluetooth; multifunction display; HID headlights; LED turn signal mirrors

Configuration: front engine/ all-wheel drive

Available engines: 2.0L H4 (148 hp/145 lb.-ft.)

Available transmissions: 5-spd manual; CVT with sequential shift Fuel economy ratings (L/100km): 7.5 city/5.5 hwy (CVT); 8.3/5.8 (man.)

Warranties: Exp. 3 years/ 60,000 km (basic); 5 years/ 100,000 km (powertrain)

Competitors: Chevrolet Cruze; Ford Focus; Honda Civic; Hyundai Elantra; Kia Forte; Mazda3; Mitsubishi Lancer; Nissan Sentra; Suzuki SX4; Toyota Corolla

Strengths: More passenger and cargo space; AWD traction; comfortable, more refined interior

Weaknesses: Reduced fuel capacity; no navigation; Bluetooth not standard

Report Card (out of 5):

Value for $: 3.5 -Don’t know yet, but promising

Styling: 4.0 -Looks much better Comfort: 4.0 -More space for people, pets and things

Performance: 4.0 -Can hold its head up high

Overall: 4.0 -A solid candidate for most improved Canadian car.