List of Australian Car Clubs and Specialists, New Car Releases and Owners' Car Reviews for Aussie motoring enthusiasts
The top markets for the top of the range luxury car Rolls-Royce exported cars to over 50 different countries in 2006 and interestingly those 50 countries included some of the world’s poorest. Angola is one name that stands out. The three largest markets for Rolls-Royce are the USA, the UK and China while the five […]
Renault Megane Coupe Cabriolet Yesterday we started this series with one of the cheapest way for someone to get into an open topped car in Australia – a 2000 Holden Barina Cabriolet. There’s no way today’s convertible could be called ‘cheap’ but it certainly is the most unusual of all the convertibles in the ones […]
Convertibles are making a comeback in Australia Despite the fact that we’re supposed to be taking more care of our skin and our summers are becoming hotter the Australian motoring public is showing a heck of a lot more interest in convertibles and this summer there are some hot ones hitting the streets. Over the […]
New vehicle sales are down but not everywhere In Western Australia new vehicle sales rose in 2006 by 10.2% – the only state to record an increase in new vehicle sales. In Queensland – another state where the boom in mineral resources is keeping the economy afloat – new vehicle sales were down 1.7% South […]
The Australian automotive industry has posted its second highest annual sales total on record. Despite being the second highest annual figures the number of vehicles sold in 2006 are down 2.06% compared with 2005. Toyota was the best-selling brand in 2006 for the fourth year in a row with a 22.2 per cent share of […]
A petrol head’s nightmare A problem at the Shell refinery in Sydney has seen Canberra – and many other places – run out of Vpower, the premium fuel that powers many of the entrants in the Summer Nats. With that even scheduled to start in Canberra later this week the lack of the premium fuel […]
I was recently talking to a tourist from England who complained that the highways here in Queensland had no lighting and that made driving at night quite hazardous. I was too polite to suggest that maybe she should try turning the car’s headlights on but I did wonder what she would have thought of roads […]
One country copper’s answer As I write this the holiday road toll stands at 42 and, while everyone is wringing their hands and wailing about how terrible the situation is, none of the experts seem to be able to come up with a solution. Our kids are killing themselves at an ever increasing rate on […]
The Phantom Drophead Coupe – only the second new model from Rolls Royce since 1998 will be launched at the Detroit Motor Show on January 7 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars will unveil its new Phantom Drophead Coupe at the Detroit Motor Show on Sunday 7 January. Production of the new car will start at Goodwood in […]
A sneak peek at what Suzuki has for the US market in 2007 Suzuki has released details of the vehicles it will be releasing in the United States in the new year. 2007 Suzuki XL7 Three trim levels are offered: XL7, Luxury and Limited. The XL7, offered in five- and seven-passenger configurations and either front-wheel […]
Today’s Brisbane Courier Mail is reporting that the chief executive of Ford in the United States had talks last week with the chairman of Toyota with a view to forming some sort of ‘partnership’ It seems that Ford wants some help in reducing production costs. Now why would Toyota want to align itself with a […]
… that my 2000 Hyundai Grandeur has developed a fault that no one has heard of before? by Stuart Livesey For the latest on this story see Hyundai Meltdown. Our 2000 Hyundai Grandeur has been running a little sluggish lately and She-who-must-be-obeyed and who only knows two speeds (flat out and stop) decreed that it […]
Mixing attitude with functionality There were a number of concept cars at the recent Los Angeles Motor Show and American Honda had their own styling concept car on display. According to Honda “the REMIX explores the shape and design of a two-seat sports car focused on agile and fun-to-drive performance that can also provide exceptional […]
by Stuart Livesey Who is going to be the world’s number one car maker? Toyota is! On Friday Toyota is set to announce it’s production numbers for the coming year. That number is thought to be a whopping 9.45 million units (it also includes the production numbers for Toyota’s subsidiaries Hino and Daihatsu) And that […]
Get a sweet suspension deal The new BF Falcon XR6 Cab Chassis MkII is one mean combo of workhorse and sports machine and it comes at a sweet price that, for a limited time, is one hell of a lot sweeter. Now you get to choose between half-tonne suspension and 17″ alloys or a one-tonne […]
See our latest road test of the 2009 Toyota Prado 3-door SX here, here and the full road test here New turbo-diesel and upgraded specifications Toyota’s popular SUV – the Prado – has just received an upgrade that includes a new DOHC four cyclinder turbo-diesel engine, an extra cog in the transmission and some trim […]
by Stuart Livesey Autocar magazine’s Car of the Year 2007 This year the magazine’s award went to the BMW 335i which was also winner of the Best Performance Car category. Other category winners included: Holden VE Calais V8 – Best Executive Car Nissan Maxima Spec-R – Best Large Car Mazda3 SP23 – Best Compact Car […]
by Stuart Livesey Now the Australian car makers want the Government to help If there is one thing that history teaches us it’s that we never learn a damn thing from history whether it’s ancient or much more recent. In the United States Ford, General Motors and Chrysler are all in varying degrees of trouble […]
A Driver’s Car with SUV Tendencies – or so they say Kia Motors Corporation has released a preview sketch of the all-new Kue concept car, which will make its world premiere at the upcoming North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit in early January. The Kia Kue concept employs a different approach to the […]
Of course, it’s a BMW The world’s first hydrogen-drive luxury performance car has been unveiled at the Los Angeles International Auto Show. Known as the Hydrogen 7 the car is based on BMW’s familiar 7 Series model and is equipped with an internal combustion engine capable of running either on hydrogen or on petrol. With […]