Jaguar’s Concept Car
Boy do I ever have egg on my face – as one reader pointed out the images that made up most of this article were of the wrong vehicle. My humble apologies for making such a fundamental mistake.
Lexus 2008 Concept Cars
by Stuart Livesey They might be concept cars this year but they will be the basis of models to be released in 2008. Lexus unveiled their 2008 concept cars at the Detroit Motor Show this week and they certainly are stunning examples of a high-performance luxury sedan and a luxury sports car. The IS-F luxury […]
Toyota Tundra CrewMax 2007
by Stuart Livesey Another great vehicle we won’t see in Australia The pickup truck is big business in the American automotive industry and it’s been dominated by Ford and General Motors for a very long time. However Toyota is now taking them on at their own game and the Toyota Tundra is taking over the […]
Hyundai Veracruz – Luxury SUV
Only available in the United States … but maybe one day Hyundai have now announced the release of their latest crossover vehicle in the United States. The 2007 Veracruz combines luxury and performance. Inside, passengers are coddled in a rich, sophisticated environment that was inspired by boutique hotels. The result is an interior that could […]
Kia Kue – the new concept car
by Stuart Livesey Imagine a Kia Rio with a 4.6 litre V8 under the bonnet If you can stretch your imagination that far then you’re getting close to the Kia Kue. Sadly you’re not likely to ever see this in production but it is fun to let your imagination run wild with the latest Kia […]
P-plate Drivers – One Strike and You’re Out!
That’s what the NRMA and the New South Wales Opposition would like to see happen by Stuart Livesey If a proposal put to the New South Wales’ Young Driver Advisory Panel by the NRMA and supported by the NSW Opposition is adopted P-plate drivers in New South Wales would lose their licence if they lost […]
Australian Summer Cars 3
The BMW 3 Series convertible Yesterday we looked at the Renault Megane Coupe Cabriolet – the only convertible on Australian road that comes with a glass roof. You will find a link to that article below. Today we’re going to look at a convertible that won’t be released until the Brisbane Motor Show next month […]
Rolls-Royce – Where They’re Selling
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 […]
Australian Summer Cars 2
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 […]
Where the New Car Sales are Happening
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 […]
Motor Vehicle Sales Down Slightly in 2006
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 […]
Fuel Problems for the Summer Nats
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 […]
And You Thought Our Roads Were Bad?
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 Solution to the Mounting Road Toll
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 […]
A New Rolls Royce
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 […]
Are Ford and Toyota About to Join Forces?
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 […]
Honda’s Remix – A Styling Concept Car
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 […]
Toyota is on the Brink
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 […]
The Car of the Year in New Zealand
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 […]
Building Cars No One Wants
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 […]