The all-electric, carbon fibre-bodied Megacity Vehicle (MCV) will be built at an East German plant, BMW has announced
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Leipzig will be the home base for production of BMW's Megacity. The German manufacturer is set to spend €400 million (AUD$550 million) on new buildings and component manufacturing equipment at its production plant in the East German city between now and 2013.
Currently building 1 Series variants, the Leipzig plant will build the carbonfibre-bodied city car, which has been jointly developed with BMW's partner in the project, specialist carbonfibre company SGL. The picture here shows German Chancellor Angela Merkel with one of the workers at the plant during a ceremony to mark the announcement of the investment in Megacity production.
This spend takes the total cost to date for the pair to around €530 million (AUD$730 million) in the project. BMW expects the first cars to roll out of the factory in 2013.
Where most EVs to date have started life on platforms designed for internal combustion power, the MCV will be among the first clean-sheet designs to go to market. The most immediate evidence of that is in the bodywork: it will be the world's first mass production vehicle with a full carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) body.
The so-called LifeDrive concept is the company's answer to power-to-weight ratio disadvantages that go with large battery packs. It divides the bodywork into two discrete modules: a lower 'Drive' module integrating the power pack and drivetrain into an aluminium space frame providing base crash protection and an upper 'Life' module that puts a light but super-strong CFRP safety cell around the passengers.
Part of the joint investment with SGL will go into a carbonfibre manufacturing plant in the US state of Washington.
The details of the electric drive system have yet to be finalised, but it will draw power from a 96-cell Li-ion power pack divided into eight modules, each putting out 44.5V. Power will go to the rear wheels. To ensure no dilution of its Sheer Driving Pleasure brand values, BMW will produce the tiny four-seater's zero-emissions powertrain in-house.
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Thứ Ba, 27 tháng 3, 2012
Morgan's trike: a vehicle whose time has come... back
British sports marque Morgan is reprising its classic three-wheeler after a 60-year absence
Europe's legislatures are corralling auto makers towards ever lighter, more fuel-efficient product. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that British sporting specialist Morgan has exhumed the iconic three-wheeler on which it built its name.
Badged as the Super Sports, the two-seater is hard to pick as a new product, with its skinny wire wheels and original-look grille and bodywork. The interior is upholstered in leather, the steering wheel is big and flat, complementing simple retro-toggle switchgear. The starter button has even been modelled on the bomb-release button from a WWII aircraft.
Like the original, it's powered by a V-twin -- this time a 1.8 litre Harley Davidson 'Screaming Eagle' putting out 75 kW. That's enough to give the sub-500 kg machine a top speed of 185 km/h and a 0-100 sprint time of 4.5 to five seconds.
Between 1909 and 1953, Morgan built more than 30,000 of founder Harry Morgan's lightweight half-car-half-motorcycle, with thousands more being built under licence across the Channel in partnership with French company Darmont. After production ceased, the car's eccentricity continued to attract loads of celebrity attention. Stirling Moss once called it 'a great babe magnet'. Brigitte Bardot proved it by buying one; Peter Sellers used his to win over Claudine Longet in The Party. Mick Jagger turned up in one, Marianne Faithful in tow, looking like anyone but the defendant, for his drugs trial at the Old Bailey.
The Super Sports hails from a back-and-forth deal with Seattle engineer Pete Larsen, who bought the concept rights from Morgan and released them in 2009 as the Harley-powered Liberty Ace. Such was that car's success that Morgan has bought back its original concept rights along with Larsen's modernisation formula, which it has in turn extensively rejigged to turn into the Super Sports.
Part of the attraction of the early cars lay in tax avoidance, care of their classification as motorcycles rather than cars. The 21st century Super Sports bears something in common with its predecessor in leveraging the tax breaks and other concessions the UK government uses as incentive to consumers to buy light, fuel-efficient cars. Homologation under laws governing motorcycles rather than cars allows the company to dispense with airbags and secondary safety structures, the latter extending not far beyond the twin rollover hoops extending from its aluminium coachwork and tubular frame.
Protection from the elements is equally rudimentary -- twin flyscreens and no roof, although Morgan is already talking about extensive customisation options which will most likely eventually include some kind of lid.
The company has not yet confirmed prices, but has told UK media it's working to bring the Super Sports in at around £25,000 pre-tax.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Europe's legislatures are corralling auto makers towards ever lighter, more fuel-efficient product. So perhaps it should come as no surprise that British sporting specialist Morgan has exhumed the iconic three-wheeler on which it built its name.
Badged as the Super Sports, the two-seater is hard to pick as a new product, with its skinny wire wheels and original-look grille and bodywork. The interior is upholstered in leather, the steering wheel is big and flat, complementing simple retro-toggle switchgear. The starter button has even been modelled on the bomb-release button from a WWII aircraft.
Like the original, it's powered by a V-twin -- this time a 1.8 litre Harley Davidson 'Screaming Eagle' putting out 75 kW. That's enough to give the sub-500 kg machine a top speed of 185 km/h and a 0-100 sprint time of 4.5 to five seconds.
Between 1909 and 1953, Morgan built more than 30,000 of founder Harry Morgan's lightweight half-car-half-motorcycle, with thousands more being built under licence across the Channel in partnership with French company Darmont. After production ceased, the car's eccentricity continued to attract loads of celebrity attention. Stirling Moss once called it 'a great babe magnet'. Brigitte Bardot proved it by buying one; Peter Sellers used his to win over Claudine Longet in The Party. Mick Jagger turned up in one, Marianne Faithful in tow, looking like anyone but the defendant, for his drugs trial at the Old Bailey.
The Super Sports hails from a back-and-forth deal with Seattle engineer Pete Larsen, who bought the concept rights from Morgan and released them in 2009 as the Harley-powered Liberty Ace. Such was that car's success that Morgan has bought back its original concept rights along with Larsen's modernisation formula, which it has in turn extensively rejigged to turn into the Super Sports.
Part of the attraction of the early cars lay in tax avoidance, care of their classification as motorcycles rather than cars. The 21st century Super Sports bears something in common with its predecessor in leveraging the tax breaks and other concessions the UK government uses as incentive to consumers to buy light, fuel-efficient cars. Homologation under laws governing motorcycles rather than cars allows the company to dispense with airbags and secondary safety structures, the latter extending not far beyond the twin rollover hoops extending from its aluminium coachwork and tubular frame.
Protection from the elements is equally rudimentary -- twin flyscreens and no roof, although Morgan is already talking about extensive customisation options which will most likely eventually include some kind of lid.
The company has not yet confirmed prices, but has told UK media it's working to bring the Super Sports in at around £25,000 pre-tax.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Toyota flair on show at SEMA
Creative juices flow in Las Vegas with three modified models set to stretch the imagination
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A trio of radical concepts have taken to the Toyota stage at this year's SEMA custom car show in Las Vegas. The custom-built vehicles are designed to demonstrate Toyota's flair for creative design. All three cars are based on popular production models including the Prius, Yaris and Tundra.
First up, the Prius C&A Custom Concept demonstrates what Toyota says is the "unlimited potential for sports-car modification of the world's best-selling hybrid vehicle". The modified right-hand drive Prius was developed with the Conversions and Accessories (C&A) group at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.
Featuring carbon-fibre body panels (excluding the doors), the lightweight Prius is also adorned with aerodynamic side skirts, fender flares, front bumper and enlarged air intakes. Other exterior features include an outside mirror, camera system, smoked rear combination lamp with a translucent rear side spoiler, styled exhaust tip and illuminated Toyota badging. Lowered suspension sees Prius ride 10cm lower up front and 15cm at the rear. It rides on forged 18-inch alloy wheels.
Inside, the customised Prius gets black suede highlights throughout with embroidered Recaro sports seats and "G" metre on the dashboard. An aftermarket Denso navigation system features an eco function with electric motor and engine kilowatt output, steering angle, speed, accelerator open angle, and mileage.
Not content to just look the part, the second car at Toyota's stage brings a minimalist Club Racer attitude to the brand's light car, Yaris.
Dubbed Yaris GT-S Club Racer the car began life as a standard five-door hatch, but has since lost almost 180-kilograms to become a capable race car. Non-essential creature comforts such as air conditioning and the audio system have also been ditched in a bid to lose excess weight while many of the outside panels are formed of carbon-fibre.
Dressed in graphics that pay homage to Dan Gurney's All American Racers-built IMSA GTP Toyota Eagle Racers of the 1990s, Yaris GT-S Club Racer is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine modified to deliver 36 per cent more power than the factory tune. Bolt-on performance parts including cool-air intake, header, camshafts and cylinder head.
Internal additions include a race seat with six-point harness, alloy pedals and race steering wheel with a quick-release hub. The car rides on three-piece 13-inch racing wheels shod with slick tyres. Developed by SportsCar magazine, the modified Yaris won its very first race, topping the competition at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California.
Finally, the Tundra Sportsman concept takes a creative look at the utility vehicle combining what designers say is the ultimate sportsman fantasy transport and base camp.
The dual-cab 4x4 Tundra is powered by a 5.7-litre V8 engine married to a six-speed automatic transmission. It includes modifications such as a three-inch suspension lift kit, custom-made air intake and snorkel, custom-made exhaust with pipes exiting the roof-top deck for improved water-crossing capability, and ATX 18-inch Teflon-coated wheels fitted with mud tyres.
Inside, Tundra takes on the appearance of a mobile command centre with an array of field electronics including a weather station and GPS. The bucket seats are upholstered in waterproof material and the standard 10-speaker JBL sound system is supplemented by JBL all-weather outdoor speakers.
Externally, the tray is divided in to three unique zones, with equipment concealed and protected by a fabricated shell.
The driver side features a workbench that swings out to a 90-degree angle from the truck, essential for cleaning your outdoor gear. The passenger side incorporates cabinets and a closet, while the tailgate section includes a mobile kitchen with a small stove, sink and work surface, storage for cooking utensils and a built-in 26.5-litre water tank.
On top of the camper shell and cab, an eight square metre platform accommodates a two-person tent as well as a camouflage blind.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Toyota
A trio of radical concepts have taken to the Toyota stage at this year's SEMA custom car show in Las Vegas. The custom-built vehicles are designed to demonstrate Toyota's flair for creative design. All three cars are based on popular production models including the Prius, Yaris and Tundra.
First up, the Prius C&A Custom Concept demonstrates what Toyota says is the "unlimited potential for sports-car modification of the world's best-selling hybrid vehicle". The modified right-hand drive Prius was developed with the Conversions and Accessories (C&A) group at Toyota Motor Corporation in Japan.
Featuring carbon-fibre body panels (excluding the doors), the lightweight Prius is also adorned with aerodynamic side skirts, fender flares, front bumper and enlarged air intakes. Other exterior features include an outside mirror, camera system, smoked rear combination lamp with a translucent rear side spoiler, styled exhaust tip and illuminated Toyota badging. Lowered suspension sees Prius ride 10cm lower up front and 15cm at the rear. It rides on forged 18-inch alloy wheels.
Inside, the customised Prius gets black suede highlights throughout with embroidered Recaro sports seats and "G" metre on the dashboard. An aftermarket Denso navigation system features an eco function with electric motor and engine kilowatt output, steering angle, speed, accelerator open angle, and mileage.
Not content to just look the part, the second car at Toyota's stage brings a minimalist Club Racer attitude to the brand's light car, Yaris.
Dubbed Yaris GT-S Club Racer the car began life as a standard five-door hatch, but has since lost almost 180-kilograms to become a capable race car. Non-essential creature comforts such as air conditioning and the audio system have also been ditched in a bid to lose excess weight while many of the outside panels are formed of carbon-fibre.
Dressed in graphics that pay homage to Dan Gurney's All American Racers-built IMSA GTP Toyota Eagle Racers of the 1990s, Yaris GT-S Club Racer is powered by a 1.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine modified to deliver 36 per cent more power than the factory tune. Bolt-on performance parts including cool-air intake, header, camshafts and cylinder head.
Internal additions include a race seat with six-point harness, alloy pedals and race steering wheel with a quick-release hub. The car rides on three-piece 13-inch racing wheels shod with slick tyres. Developed by SportsCar magazine, the modified Yaris won its very first race, topping the competition at Willow Springs Raceway in Southern California.
Finally, the Tundra Sportsman concept takes a creative look at the utility vehicle combining what designers say is the ultimate sportsman fantasy transport and base camp.
The dual-cab 4x4 Tundra is powered by a 5.7-litre V8 engine married to a six-speed automatic transmission. It includes modifications such as a three-inch suspension lift kit, custom-made air intake and snorkel, custom-made exhaust with pipes exiting the roof-top deck for improved water-crossing capability, and ATX 18-inch Teflon-coated wheels fitted with mud tyres.
Inside, Tundra takes on the appearance of a mobile command centre with an array of field electronics including a weather station and GPS. The bucket seats are upholstered in waterproof material and the standard 10-speaker JBL sound system is supplemented by JBL all-weather outdoor speakers.
Externally, the tray is divided in to three unique zones, with equipment concealed and protected by a fabricated shell.
The driver side features a workbench that swings out to a 90-degree angle from the truck, essential for cleaning your outdoor gear. The passenger side incorporates cabinets and a closet, while the tailgate section includes a mobile kitchen with a small stove, sink and work surface, storage for cooking utensils and a built-in 26.5-litre water tank.
On top of the camper shell and cab, an eight square metre platform accommodates a two-person tent as well as a camouflage blind.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
Thứ Hai, 26 tháng 3, 2012
HiLux's uphill battle
At the halfway mark in its model life, the Toyota HiLux faces threats from existing rivals and a new one
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There are many words one might use to describe Toyota and its products. 'Besieged' isn't typically one of those words. The company's HiLux pick-up isn't exactly besieged by competitors, but its sales leadership in the segment is being challenged on several fronts.
Volkswagen's Amarok is an unknown quantity in the market, but bearing the badge of the company that has vowed to overtake Toyota for global sales, the South American-sourced pick-up cannot be underestimated. The Volkswagen brand is generally well regarded in the Australian market and is aggressively working to increase its local market share.
Ford and Mazda recently announced their respective Ranger and BT-50 models, which reportedly mark a major advance on the current models wearing those nameplates. The new models are closer in size to the HiLux and will offer formidable specifications and equipment.
Perhaps the rival to the HiLux that's best understood by the market is the Nissan Navara, which is stealing private-buyer and small-business sales from the Toyota in the lucrative dual-cab 4x4 niche. Nissan has already upgraded the Navara ST-X variant this year and the importer will upgrade the entire model range for retail sale early next year.
At that time (January 2011) it will introduce the V9X turbodiesel V6 in the ST-X 550 variant. The Navara has stolen a march on the HiLux, outgunning the Toyota with its 3000kg towing capacity. Plus Nissan has added safety equipment to the Navara's specification to overtake the HiLux, but Toyota has now regained ground with a facelifted model, featuring extra safety gear.
With the new or improved challengers hitting the market within the next 12 months, increased market share can come principally from just the one source -- existing HiLux sales. HiLux sells as many as 4000 units a month and it's the model that could yield the most conquests. Toyota's senior executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner acknowledges that the HiLux is currently beset by competitors that have the Toyota's measure.
"That segment in the market place -- which for years we dominated and we've still got very, very strong share -- our competitors now also offer very competitive product, very well specified. And in some cases frankly, their specifications are surpassing some of ours in terms of towing capacity and those types of things.
"You can't just sit back nonchalantly and accept that... and nor can you just sit back and wait until your next model change."
That's why the company introduces enhancements with each new model year, to keep the vehicle reasonably fresh right up to the point when it's replaced by an altogether new model. There's a major facelift for the HiLux due sometime next year, likely the second half given the timing of the latest upgrade.
"We've just gone through a minor technical change," Buttner continued. "Next year will be a big change... and that will help us -- in the areas of specification and styling aspects -- to get us through to the next generation, because the model life cycle of those commercial vehicles now is longer than it used to be. And that's just to do with amortising your cost over a period of time.
"While our competitors now... are at the peak of their next-generation model cycle, we're halfway through ours, so you have to keep doing things, like this technical change, special editions... still got to continue to offer value for money in the marketplace.
"HiLux, as to that total segment, benefited significantly from the government stimulus package and the investment allowance -- particularly for a lot of trades people or business people, who would have pulled forward their purchase to get that advantage of that investment allowance, so we have to keep the private customer stimulated and we have to ensure we're still competitive in that segment. Our pricing allows us to be competitive, we've got great residual values, but we're not sitting down and waiting for others to catch up."
Fittingly for a one-tonne commercial vehicle, the HiLux bears a name that carries a lot of weight, as does the Toyota reputation that goes with it. But some buyers may frown upon the HiLux as the segment's tall poppy and feel that it's stuck in a marketing rut -- its redoubtable offroad ability notwithstanding. Those buyers looking for something different from the default choice may settle for one of the challengers, rather than the sales leader. So who holds the advantage currently, we asked Buttner, the king or the challengers?
"That's not just limited to HiLux, for us," Buttner replied. "Because we compete in 16 segments in the market... and none of our competitors compete in that number of segments, so we're getting attacked from a whole host of competitors, whether it be in small, compact or medium SUV... we're being attacked the whole time. And it's a challenge to have that 360-degree vision the whole time and always having the response required, at the appropriate time to keep ahead of the pack. We respect every competitor, we understand every new product that comes to the marketplace; we drive it, we have review days. But sometimes, with a new model cycle, there's only so much you can do.
"There will be times... when you may not be aligned with the marketplace, in terms of your specification and your pricing, but that's the nature of the model cycles. While others are at their peak, we will be at our peak again -- starting with a new major model cycle across our whole range... last quarter of next year...
"Over the next 18 months to two years, we will be back at our peak again. History shows us... the last time we had a huge model peak was 2007; we had seven new-generation cars launched that year -- and that's worth anywhere between two to five per cent market points.
"So at the moment, while being in the middle, we've lost about 0.7 [per cent] share this year, versus last year, but we're starting to bounce back with some campaigns we've just launched [in] the smaller, compact segments. HiLux we've put additional specification in without adding to the price -- in fact lowering the price. Kluger, we've added spec and been able to reposition the price as well, for value for money.
"One strength we do still have is the loyalty of our customers... we have to make sure through our dealer network that we [are] customer-centric in everything we do.
"If you remain customer-centric, keep offering products while understanding you won't always be the leader in every instance at any particular point in time, but just keep striving for excellence -- and that's what we try diligently to do, working with Japan in terms of future-generation product.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars games » Get the best price on a new Toyota
There are many words one might use to describe Toyota and its products. 'Besieged' isn't typically one of those words. The company's HiLux pick-up isn't exactly besieged by competitors, but its sales leadership in the segment is being challenged on several fronts.
Volkswagen's Amarok is an unknown quantity in the market, but bearing the badge of the company that has vowed to overtake Toyota for global sales, the South American-sourced pick-up cannot be underestimated. The Volkswagen brand is generally well regarded in the Australian market and is aggressively working to increase its local market share.
Ford and Mazda recently announced their respective Ranger and BT-50 models, which reportedly mark a major advance on the current models wearing those nameplates. The new models are closer in size to the HiLux and will offer formidable specifications and equipment.
Perhaps the rival to the HiLux that's best understood by the market is the Nissan Navara, which is stealing private-buyer and small-business sales from the Toyota in the lucrative dual-cab 4x4 niche. Nissan has already upgraded the Navara ST-X variant this year and the importer will upgrade the entire model range for retail sale early next year.
At that time (January 2011) it will introduce the V9X turbodiesel V6 in the ST-X 550 variant. The Navara has stolen a march on the HiLux, outgunning the Toyota with its 3000kg towing capacity. Plus Nissan has added safety equipment to the Navara's specification to overtake the HiLux, but Toyota has now regained ground with a facelifted model, featuring extra safety gear.
With the new or improved challengers hitting the market within the next 12 months, increased market share can come principally from just the one source -- existing HiLux sales. HiLux sells as many as 4000 units a month and it's the model that could yield the most conquests. Toyota's senior executive director of sales and marketing, David Buttner acknowledges that the HiLux is currently beset by competitors that have the Toyota's measure.
"That segment in the market place -- which for years we dominated and we've still got very, very strong share -- our competitors now also offer very competitive product, very well specified. And in some cases frankly, their specifications are surpassing some of ours in terms of towing capacity and those types of things.
"You can't just sit back nonchalantly and accept that... and nor can you just sit back and wait until your next model change."
That's why the company introduces enhancements with each new model year, to keep the vehicle reasonably fresh right up to the point when it's replaced by an altogether new model. There's a major facelift for the HiLux due sometime next year, likely the second half given the timing of the latest upgrade.
"We've just gone through a minor technical change," Buttner continued. "Next year will be a big change... and that will help us -- in the areas of specification and styling aspects -- to get us through to the next generation, because the model life cycle of those commercial vehicles now is longer than it used to be. And that's just to do with amortising your cost over a period of time.
"While our competitors now... are at the peak of their next-generation model cycle, we're halfway through ours, so you have to keep doing things, like this technical change, special editions... still got to continue to offer value for money in the marketplace.
"HiLux, as to that total segment, benefited significantly from the government stimulus package and the investment allowance -- particularly for a lot of trades people or business people, who would have pulled forward their purchase to get that advantage of that investment allowance, so we have to keep the private customer stimulated and we have to ensure we're still competitive in that segment. Our pricing allows us to be competitive, we've got great residual values, but we're not sitting down and waiting for others to catch up."
Fittingly for a one-tonne commercial vehicle, the HiLux bears a name that carries a lot of weight, as does the Toyota reputation that goes with it. But some buyers may frown upon the HiLux as the segment's tall poppy and feel that it's stuck in a marketing rut -- its redoubtable offroad ability notwithstanding. Those buyers looking for something different from the default choice may settle for one of the challengers, rather than the sales leader. So who holds the advantage currently, we asked Buttner, the king or the challengers?
"That's not just limited to HiLux, for us," Buttner replied. "Because we compete in 16 segments in the market... and none of our competitors compete in that number of segments, so we're getting attacked from a whole host of competitors, whether it be in small, compact or medium SUV... we're being attacked the whole time. And it's a challenge to have that 360-degree vision the whole time and always having the response required, at the appropriate time to keep ahead of the pack. We respect every competitor, we understand every new product that comes to the marketplace; we drive it, we have review days. But sometimes, with a new model cycle, there's only so much you can do.
"There will be times... when you may not be aligned with the marketplace, in terms of your specification and your pricing, but that's the nature of the model cycles. While others are at their peak, we will be at our peak again -- starting with a new major model cycle across our whole range... last quarter of next year...
"Over the next 18 months to two years, we will be back at our peak again. History shows us... the last time we had a huge model peak was 2007; we had seven new-generation cars launched that year -- and that's worth anywhere between two to five per cent market points.
"So at the moment, while being in the middle, we've lost about 0.7 [per cent] share this year, versus last year, but we're starting to bounce back with some campaigns we've just launched [in] the smaller, compact segments. HiLux we've put additional specification in without adding to the price -- in fact lowering the price. Kluger, we've added spec and been able to reposition the price as well, for value for money.
"One strength we do still have is the loyalty of our customers... we have to make sure through our dealer network that we [are] customer-centric in everything we do.
"If you remain customer-centric, keep offering products while understanding you won't always be the leader in every instance at any particular point in time, but just keep striving for excellence -- and that's what we try diligently to do, working with Japan in terms of future-generation product.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Nissan Murano loses its lid
Japanese carmaker breaks the mould with Murano CrossCabriolet, which debuts at next week's Los Angeles motor show
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Nissan has released this image of the Murano CrossCabriolet, due to be revealed at next week's Los Angeles motor show.
It's not a pie-in-the-sky concept either, as Nissan has already announced the vehicle is production-bound, and it's slated to go on sale in the US in early 2011. However, there are as yet no plans to offer it in our market.
"The Japanese carmaker touts the open-topped Murano as the world's first all-wheel drive crossover convertible" and promises that it "delivers the open-air exhilaration of a convertible while extending the versatility of the Murano in exciting new ways."
The Murano CrossCabriolet allegedly offers room for four adults, space for golf bags or luggage (even with the top down), and a "premium level interior".
One might have thought the five-door wagon configuration of the Murano wouldn't exactly lend itself to being the basis for a two-door cabrio, but the end result doesn't look as awkward as expected.
In fact, the vehicle is further proof of Nissan's willingness to push design boundaries as it follows in the wake of the offbeat Juke, which launched overseas earlier this year, but is currently not on the agenda for Australia.
There's every chance the Murano CrossCabriolet will fare well in the US, as Americans have long had a love affair with open-topped cars. The best-selling drop-tops in the States include the convertible versions of the Chrysler Sebring, Mini Cooper/Cooper S, BMW 3 Series, Audi A5, Ford Mustang and Porsche 911/Boxster.
General Motors plans to strengthen its presence in the segment and will use next week's LA motor show to showcase the new convertible version of the Chevrolet Camaro.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Nissan
Nissan has released this image of the Murano CrossCabriolet, due to be revealed at next week's Los Angeles motor show.
It's not a pie-in-the-sky concept either, as Nissan has already announced the vehicle is production-bound, and it's slated to go on sale in the US in early 2011. However, there are as yet no plans to offer it in our market.
"The Japanese carmaker touts the open-topped Murano as the world's first all-wheel drive crossover convertible" and promises that it "delivers the open-air exhilaration of a convertible while extending the versatility of the Murano in exciting new ways."
The Murano CrossCabriolet allegedly offers room for four adults, space for golf bags or luggage (even with the top down), and a "premium level interior".
One might have thought the five-door wagon configuration of the Murano wouldn't exactly lend itself to being the basis for a two-door cabrio, but the end result doesn't look as awkward as expected.
In fact, the vehicle is further proof of Nissan's willingness to push design boundaries as it follows in the wake of the offbeat Juke, which launched overseas earlier this year, but is currently not on the agenda for Australia.
There's every chance the Murano CrossCabriolet will fare well in the US, as Americans have long had a love affair with open-topped cars. The best-selling drop-tops in the States include the convertible versions of the Chrysler Sebring, Mini Cooper/Cooper S, BMW 3 Series, Audi A5, Ford Mustang and Porsche 911/Boxster.
General Motors plans to strengthen its presence in the segment and will use next week's LA motor show to showcase the new convertible version of the Chevrolet Camaro.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Improved packaging for Hybrid Camry
And the next generation of petrol/electric Camry will tow, but Toyota will soldier on with NiMH batteries for the mid-sizer
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Toyota's decision to allow its Australian subsidiary to build the Hybrid Camry midway through the current car's life cycle remains an unexpected event in David Buttner's experience.
Speaking with the Carsales network last weekend, the senior executive director of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia said that landing the Hybrid Camry project for local production has been a real coup for the company.
"I've never seen it in my 24 years with Toyota; you get a model [to build locally] mid-model life," he said. "It was going to be built in Thailand, but we fought and pushed and cajoled -- and were successful at the end of the day."
There has been, of course, an upside for Toyota in Japan. Exposure to the local market with its differing consumer priorities will inevitably broaden the scope of the next-generation Hybrid Camry, which is due here in 2012.
For a start, Americans just don't order their Camrys with towbars, but Australians do. And if Americans want to go away camping they pack up the SUV, not a Camry. Where the current Hybrid Camry has been adequate for the needs of American consumers, it hasn't met all the requirements of Aussie buyers. These are issues that will be addressed in the next-generation model, according to Buttner.
"I've been up to Japan and sat in front of the chief engineer about three times this year, with the next generation product, talking about some of the things we need to enhance and improve. His ears have been very open and I'm confident we can overcome some of the issues that have been perceived by the public -- whether it be boot space or towing capacity… those types of issues -- we will overcome with the next generation."
By his subsequent remarks, Buttner tacitly acknowledged that the Hybrid Camry's lack of luggage-carrying capacity can be a deal breaker in the showroom.
"[For] the next generation car, the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery is being moved 300mm forward and that will lift the boot space considerably. It will overcome that particular concern. We're well down the track of getting some towing capacity for the vehicle, so it will tow a box trailer [or] put a bike rack on the back.
"So Toyota Japan is listening, through their engineering forums and we are up there being quite noisy. We're confident we'll have some success in those two areas."
Buttner's reference to the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery indicates that Toyota won't adopt the lithium-ion battery type of the Plug-in Prius for the larger car, although if the Li-ion batteries operate according to spec in the field, they might trickle through to the mid-life upgrade of the next-gen Hybrid Camry.
Australian consumers will welcome the news that the next-generation Hybrid Camry will be ADR- homologated to tow trailers. We asked Buttner why the current car was not permitted by law to tow.
"It's simply cooling, that's all it is," he replied. "On the Lexus RX 450 h and the GS [they] all had towing capacity, because it was in the design. But in this particular generation [of Hybrid Camry], that sort of cooling capacity hadn't been baked into the design -- so that's being looked at for the next generation."
The boot space and towing capacity have probably discouraged consumers from considering the Hybrid Camry in among their new-car prospects, but according to Buttner, it's the mythos surrounding hybrid-drive technology that has been elemental to the petrol/electric sedan's failure to meet the company's original sales projections.
At the car's local launch, Toyota predicted it would sell around 10,000 units per annum, and of those, private sales would account for as many as 40 per cent. As of the end of October, sales of the Hybrid Camry in Australia were not quite 5200 units and private buyers amounted to less than 1100 -- around 20 per cent of the total. The car hasn't been on sale for the full year and there's still a couple of selling months left in 2010, but short of an aggressive retail campaign between now and the end of the year the Hybrid Camry's sales seem unlikely to surpass 65 per cent of the original sales forecast.
"I don't really see it as a problem, because they're still our aspirations -- and you've gotta have stretch goals for where you want to go," said Buttner.
"The 10,000 units per annum was a goal that we really wanted to achieve -- and now it focuses on getting the monthly running rate up to about 800 per month...
"One of the biggest issues that we have in the marketplace... while we've had Prius here since [2001], there are still a lot of myths in the public's mind about hybrid. As we went into the launch of Camry Hybrid with the third-generation Prius in the lead-up to that, we really embarked on a significant campaign to try and dispel a lot of myths.
"And the myths were things like the battery's going to fail or you've still got to plug it in, it doesn't drive like a normal car... all those sorts of things. So we've done a lot of things to try and dispel the myths, but what we're finding is... it's taking a bit longer than expected... and we've had to change our marketing strategy. We've gone for a bit more upmarket-type advertising, where we focus not just on the features and benefits, but try and dispel some of the myths.
"And to do that, we try to be proactive in our approach, particularly in regards to the battery, wherein we said from day one of the Hybrid Camry launch we had [an] eight-year battery warranty -- that's just to try and take that out of the concern set for the customers.
"We thought we'd landed that quite well, in terms of the consumers' understanding, but the research was showing they're not really fully understanding that, so we've beefed up our point-of-sale materials, additional training for sales people, mirror dangles and things in cars... that show 'eight-year warranty'.
"The plug-in issue is disappearing a bit, but then maybe we confused the market when we started talking about bringing in five Plug-in Priuses to Australia, for trials and evaluation."
As a pioneer of hybrid-drive technology for mass-market vehicles, Toyota faces a tough slog by any standard. Buttner would welcome other companies entering the fray, which we'll likely see happen, starting with Honda's Insight due soon.
"The best thing, frankly, I think could happen for the Australian marketplace would be tomorrow, if 10 competitors [each] launched a hybrid vehicle. Because then you'd have the mass of a number of [companies] trying to dispel myths and really talk about the technology."
In the absence of mass-market inertia working for the acceptance of hybrid technology, Toyota is offering low-interest (2.9 per cent) loans to Hybrid Camry buyers. Buttner also has other tactics available to raise the monthly selling rate to 800 cars.
"We're looking at what more grass-roots things do we need to do. Through our dealer network we're going to start doing displays in shopping centres, drive days... because you've got to get people in the car. It's the only way you're going to dispel the myths; get people in the showroom, sit them in the car, let them drive it, let them experience it first-hand.
"There's still a lot more we can do. Frankly, getting this vehicle mid-model cycle has really given us two years before the next generation, which isn't [due] until the first quarter of 2012, to really understand the mood of the marketplace and to trial a whole lot of things...
"There's a whole host of positives [about Camry Hybrid], we just need to keep communicating [that]..."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Toyota
Toyota's decision to allow its Australian subsidiary to build the Hybrid Camry midway through the current car's life cycle remains an unexpected event in David Buttner's experience.
Speaking with the Carsales network last weekend, the senior executive director of sales and marketing at Toyota Australia said that landing the Hybrid Camry project for local production has been a real coup for the company.
"I've never seen it in my 24 years with Toyota; you get a model [to build locally] mid-model life," he said. "It was going to be built in Thailand, but we fought and pushed and cajoled -- and were successful at the end of the day."
There has been, of course, an upside for Toyota in Japan. Exposure to the local market with its differing consumer priorities will inevitably broaden the scope of the next-generation Hybrid Camry, which is due here in 2012.
For a start, Americans just don't order their Camrys with towbars, but Australians do. And if Americans want to go away camping they pack up the SUV, not a Camry. Where the current Hybrid Camry has been adequate for the needs of American consumers, it hasn't met all the requirements of Aussie buyers. These are issues that will be addressed in the next-generation model, according to Buttner.
"I've been up to Japan and sat in front of the chief engineer about three times this year, with the next generation product, talking about some of the things we need to enhance and improve. His ears have been very open and I'm confident we can overcome some of the issues that have been perceived by the public -- whether it be boot space or towing capacity… those types of issues -- we will overcome with the next generation."
By his subsequent remarks, Buttner tacitly acknowledged that the Hybrid Camry's lack of luggage-carrying capacity can be a deal breaker in the showroom.
"[For] the next generation car, the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery is being moved 300mm forward and that will lift the boot space considerably. It will overcome that particular concern. We're well down the track of getting some towing capacity for the vehicle, so it will tow a box trailer [or] put a bike rack on the back.
"So Toyota Japan is listening, through their engineering forums and we are up there being quite noisy. We're confident we'll have some success in those two areas."
Buttner's reference to the Nickel-Metal Hydride battery indicates that Toyota won't adopt the lithium-ion battery type of the Plug-in Prius for the larger car, although if the Li-ion batteries operate according to spec in the field, they might trickle through to the mid-life upgrade of the next-gen Hybrid Camry.
Australian consumers will welcome the news that the next-generation Hybrid Camry will be ADR- homologated to tow trailers. We asked Buttner why the current car was not permitted by law to tow.
"It's simply cooling, that's all it is," he replied. "On the Lexus RX 450 h and the GS [they] all had towing capacity, because it was in the design. But in this particular generation [of Hybrid Camry], that sort of cooling capacity hadn't been baked into the design -- so that's being looked at for the next generation."
The boot space and towing capacity have probably discouraged consumers from considering the Hybrid Camry in among their new-car prospects, but according to Buttner, it's the mythos surrounding hybrid-drive technology that has been elemental to the petrol/electric sedan's failure to meet the company's original sales projections.
At the car's local launch, Toyota predicted it would sell around 10,000 units per annum, and of those, private sales would account for as many as 40 per cent. As of the end of October, sales of the Hybrid Camry in Australia were not quite 5200 units and private buyers amounted to less than 1100 -- around 20 per cent of the total. The car hasn't been on sale for the full year and there's still a couple of selling months left in 2010, but short of an aggressive retail campaign between now and the end of the year the Hybrid Camry's sales seem unlikely to surpass 65 per cent of the original sales forecast.
"I don't really see it as a problem, because they're still our aspirations -- and you've gotta have stretch goals for where you want to go," said Buttner.
"The 10,000 units per annum was a goal that we really wanted to achieve -- and now it focuses on getting the monthly running rate up to about 800 per month...
"One of the biggest issues that we have in the marketplace... while we've had Prius here since [2001], there are still a lot of myths in the public's mind about hybrid. As we went into the launch of Camry Hybrid with the third-generation Prius in the lead-up to that, we really embarked on a significant campaign to try and dispel a lot of myths.
"And the myths were things like the battery's going to fail or you've still got to plug it in, it doesn't drive like a normal car... all those sorts of things. So we've done a lot of things to try and dispel the myths, but what we're finding is... it's taking a bit longer than expected... and we've had to change our marketing strategy. We've gone for a bit more upmarket-type advertising, where we focus not just on the features and benefits, but try and dispel some of the myths.
"And to do that, we try to be proactive in our approach, particularly in regards to the battery, wherein we said from day one of the Hybrid Camry launch we had [an] eight-year battery warranty -- that's just to try and take that out of the concern set for the customers.
"We thought we'd landed that quite well, in terms of the consumers' understanding, but the research was showing they're not really fully understanding that, so we've beefed up our point-of-sale materials, additional training for sales people, mirror dangles and things in cars... that show 'eight-year warranty'.
"The plug-in issue is disappearing a bit, but then maybe we confused the market when we started talking about bringing in five Plug-in Priuses to Australia, for trials and evaluation."
As a pioneer of hybrid-drive technology for mass-market vehicles, Toyota faces a tough slog by any standard. Buttner would welcome other companies entering the fray, which we'll likely see happen, starting with Honda's Insight due soon.
"The best thing, frankly, I think could happen for the Australian marketplace would be tomorrow, if 10 competitors [each] launched a hybrid vehicle. Because then you'd have the mass of a number of [companies] trying to dispel myths and really talk about the technology."
In the absence of mass-market inertia working for the acceptance of hybrid technology, Toyota is offering low-interest (2.9 per cent) loans to Hybrid Camry buyers. Buttner also has other tactics available to raise the monthly selling rate to 800 cars.
"We're looking at what more grass-roots things do we need to do. Through our dealer network we're going to start doing displays in shopping centres, drive days... because you've got to get people in the car. It's the only way you're going to dispel the myths; get people in the showroom, sit them in the car, let them drive it, let them experience it first-hand.
"There's still a lot more we can do. Frankly, getting this vehicle mid-model cycle has really given us two years before the next generation, which isn't [due] until the first quarter of 2012, to really understand the mood of the marketplace and to trial a whole lot of things...
"There's a whole host of positives [about Camry Hybrid], we just need to keep communicating [that]..."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Thứ Bảy, 24 tháng 3, 2012
Sun rises on Nissan's next small sedan
Famed Sunny nameplate revived for all-new Micra-based light car
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Nissan
Nissan has revealed an all-new small sedan at this year's China International Automobile Exhibition. The Micra-based light car games uses the well-known 'Sunny' nameplate in China and will go on sale there from January.
Eventually earmarked for sale in 170 countries across the globe, Sunny will also make its way to Australia; though will likely be sold under a different badge.
Earlier this year, Nissan Australia's Managing Director & CEO Dan Thomson told the Carsales Network of the company's plans to introduce a three-box Micra Down Under -- the light car's modular platform readily lending itself to such an arrangement. Basing its business case on the growing success of light sedan models both in Asia and locally, Micra sedan will compete against rivals such as Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Holden Barina, and Mazda2.
Nissan speculates that Sunny will be a class leader in fuel economy and is aimed at young families who require a compact package with clever space utilisation, quality features and reliable origins.
The small sedan will utilise Nissan's proven 1.5-litre HR15DE four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a new-generation version of the brand's Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT). Sunny is suspended by MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam rear.
The new Sunny will be built at Dongfeng Nissan's Huadu Plant in Guangzhou for the Chinese market.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Nissan
Nissan has revealed an all-new small sedan at this year's China International Automobile Exhibition. The Micra-based light car games uses the well-known 'Sunny' nameplate in China and will go on sale there from January.
Eventually earmarked for sale in 170 countries across the globe, Sunny will also make its way to Australia; though will likely be sold under a different badge.
Earlier this year, Nissan Australia's Managing Director & CEO Dan Thomson told the Carsales Network of the company's plans to introduce a three-box Micra Down Under -- the light car's modular platform readily lending itself to such an arrangement. Basing its business case on the growing success of light sedan models both in Asia and locally, Micra sedan will compete against rivals such as Toyota Yaris, Ford Fiesta, Holden Barina, and Mazda2.
Nissan speculates that Sunny will be a class leader in fuel economy and is aimed at young families who require a compact package with clever space utilisation, quality features and reliable origins.
The small sedan will utilise Nissan's proven 1.5-litre HR15DE four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a new-generation version of the brand's Xtronic continuously variable transmission (CVT). Sunny is suspended by MacPherson struts at the front and a torsion beam rear.
The new Sunny will be built at Dongfeng Nissan's Huadu Plant in Guangzhou for the Chinese market.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site.
Benz delivers 1000 AMGs
'Blackbird' SLS achieves a sales milestone for Mercedes-Benz performance brand in 2010, but it's the C 63 doing the heavy lifting
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It's a unique convergence of events. The one and only designo magno Night Black Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG anywhere in the world is also the 1000th AMG model to be sold in Australia during 2010.
Known as the 'Blackbird' SLS (pictured), the car was displayed on the Mercedes-Benz stand at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney two months ago. What makes it unique is that it features red badging and highlights as well -- and there will not be another car built in the same colour scheme.
"The "Blackbird" was created by the Performance Studio at AMG in Affalterbach specifically to our specifications and we have an ironclad commitment from AMG that it will NEVER be repeated in the colour scheme that it is finished in," said the Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz cars, Horst von Sanden
"Each Mercedes-Benz vehicle is special, but we wanted something truly unique and the "Blackbird" is not just the only one of its kind ever but it also gets the accolade of being the 1000th AMG sold by us in 2010. It is a truly unique vehicle and the lucky new owner even has a special plaque on the car to signify its one off status."
The sale of the Blackbird SLS caps off another strong year for AMG, with Benz still anticipating sales of the C 63 to exceed 600 units for the year.
"The performance of AMG in Australia Pacific is absolutely fantastic," said Mario Spitzner, Director Branding and Marketing for AMG. "We regard Australia as one of the most important and loyal AMG markets in the world and we congratulate the more than one thousand new AMG owners Down Under for helping us achieve this milestone. A special thanks goes to our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz Cars in Australia who are perhaps even bigger fans of AMG than all of us here at Affalterbach!"
Of the 1000 cars sold during the year, the C 63 AMG accounted for more than half. As at the end of November, C 63 had notched up 492 units sold, of which only about 30 were wagons. The figures reflect an apparent change of mood among buyers of high-performance mid-size prestige cars -- with the C 63 over 200 units ahead of its nearest rival, BMW's M3.
We asked David McCarthy, Senior Manager Corporate Communications for Mercedes-Benz in Australia, what conclusions could be drawn from the sales disparity? Is it in anyway related to the nature of the C 63? While he steered clear of commenting on the BMW, McCarthy had this to say about the C 63's success: "I'd characterise [the context] as rear-drive V8s have traditionally been an Australian and American thing, but what's been missing in there... is the level of chassis and engine sophistication.
"What the C 63 does is it delivers the chassis sophistication and the engine sophistication that buyers want in that price range. Yet it's not an upmarket HSV or FPV; it's a European interpretation of a formula that's time-honoured, but it's done with polish and it has a completeness to it that those other cars don't have."
McCarthy attributes the overall success of the AMG brand to a number of elements, including the company's history, Benz-organised drive days and AMG specialists at the dealers.
"With AMG, we are just as protective of that brand as BMW is of 'M' and Audi of 'RS'. But I think that the reason it has resonance with buyers is because [of] the package that we deliver -- and that includes the ownership club, it includes the drive days... things like the Grand Prix.
"Because of the reputation we have with AMG in Germany, we get access to things that a lot of other markets don't -- and that's not just in terms of product, but in terms of opportunities in Europe.
"So I think it's the total package."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Mercedes-Benz
It's a unique convergence of events. The one and only designo magno Night Black Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG anywhere in the world is also the 1000th AMG model to be sold in Australia during 2010.
Known as the 'Blackbird' SLS (pictured), the car was displayed on the Mercedes-Benz stand at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney two months ago. What makes it unique is that it features red badging and highlights as well -- and there will not be another car built in the same colour scheme.
"The "Blackbird" was created by the Performance Studio at AMG in Affalterbach specifically to our specifications and we have an ironclad commitment from AMG that it will NEVER be repeated in the colour scheme that it is finished in," said the Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz cars, Horst von Sanden
"Each Mercedes-Benz vehicle is special, but we wanted something truly unique and the "Blackbird" is not just the only one of its kind ever but it also gets the accolade of being the 1000th AMG sold by us in 2010. It is a truly unique vehicle and the lucky new owner even has a special plaque on the car to signify its one off status."
The sale of the Blackbird SLS caps off another strong year for AMG, with Benz still anticipating sales of the C 63 to exceed 600 units for the year.
"The performance of AMG in Australia Pacific is absolutely fantastic," said Mario Spitzner, Director Branding and Marketing for AMG. "We regard Australia as one of the most important and loyal AMG markets in the world and we congratulate the more than one thousand new AMG owners Down Under for helping us achieve this milestone. A special thanks goes to our colleagues at Mercedes-Benz Cars in Australia who are perhaps even bigger fans of AMG than all of us here at Affalterbach!"
Of the 1000 cars sold during the year, the C 63 AMG accounted for more than half. As at the end of November, C 63 had notched up 492 units sold, of which only about 30 were wagons. The figures reflect an apparent change of mood among buyers of high-performance mid-size prestige cars -- with the C 63 over 200 units ahead of its nearest rival, BMW's M3.
We asked David McCarthy, Senior Manager Corporate Communications for Mercedes-Benz in Australia, what conclusions could be drawn from the sales disparity? Is it in anyway related to the nature of the C 63? While he steered clear of commenting on the BMW, McCarthy had this to say about the C 63's success: "I'd characterise [the context] as rear-drive V8s have traditionally been an Australian and American thing, but what's been missing in there... is the level of chassis and engine sophistication.
"What the C 63 does is it delivers the chassis sophistication and the engine sophistication that buyers want in that price range. Yet it's not an upmarket HSV or FPV; it's a European interpretation of a formula that's time-honoured, but it's done with polish and it has a completeness to it that those other cars don't have."
McCarthy attributes the overall success of the AMG brand to a number of elements, including the company's history, Benz-organised drive days and AMG specialists at the dealers.
"With AMG, we are just as protective of that brand as BMW is of 'M' and Audi of 'RS'. But I think that the reason it has resonance with buyers is because [of] the package that we deliver -- and that includes the ownership club, it includes the drive days... things like the Grand Prix.
"Because of the reputation we have with AMG in Germany, we get access to things that a lot of other markets don't -- and that's not just in terms of product, but in terms of opportunities in Europe.
"So I think it's the total package."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
McLaren gets its race face on with MP4-12C
British sportscar specialist has designs on kicking Porsche's butt in the GT3 category
The road car isn't even launched yet, but McLaren has just announced plans to build and sell a GT3 version of its high-tech MP4-12C.
The Woking-based concern has for now issued the rendering shown alongside and a short video (watch it here), to drum up interest in the car, deliveries of which will commence in 2012 to European-based privateer teams.
It's got big shoes to fill as the last Mac to turn its wheels in anger was the F1 GTR, which famously won the Le Mans 24-hour enduro on its debut in 1995.
For its latest sporting venture, McLaren has enlisted the support of CRS Racing -- a UK-based racing team with a proven track record -- to begin development work aimed at turning the 12C road car into a race-winning GT3 sports car.
As part of the development program, McLaren and CRS Racing will compete at a limited number of European GT races in 2011.
In the words of the manufacturer: "With the 12C's revolutionary lightweight one-piece moulded carbon chassis (the 'MonoCell'), its high levels of downforce and aerodynamic performance, and its focus on form and function, the 12C should prove to be a great platform on which to develop a racing car, as well as visually setting pulses racing at European racetracks."
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh adds: "Racing is in our blood -- it was natural to develop a GT3 car alongside the 12C road car.
"We have a legendary history in global motorsport, including GT racing, and we aim to maintain that reputation with this GT3 program, and any future sports car projects that may evolve.
"The 12C's architecture and design was always aimed at high-performance and ease of maintenance -- two key criteria for potential customers."
The company says it will initially develop a limited run of 12Cs for the 2012 European FIA GT3 Series, but, as with McLaren Automotive's road car business, "conservative growth and expansion" will be considered.
Further details about the McLaren 12C GT3 programme will be announced in 2011, but prospective customers can already register their interest by visiting www.mclarengt.com.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
The road car isn't even launched yet, but McLaren has just announced plans to build and sell a GT3 version of its high-tech MP4-12C.
The Woking-based concern has for now issued the rendering shown alongside and a short video (watch it here), to drum up interest in the car, deliveries of which will commence in 2012 to European-based privateer teams.
It's got big shoes to fill as the last Mac to turn its wheels in anger was the F1 GTR, which famously won the Le Mans 24-hour enduro on its debut in 1995.
For its latest sporting venture, McLaren has enlisted the support of CRS Racing -- a UK-based racing team with a proven track record -- to begin development work aimed at turning the 12C road car into a race-winning GT3 sports car.
As part of the development program, McLaren and CRS Racing will compete at a limited number of European GT races in 2011.
In the words of the manufacturer: "With the 12C's revolutionary lightweight one-piece moulded carbon chassis (the 'MonoCell'), its high levels of downforce and aerodynamic performance, and its focus on form and function, the 12C should prove to be a great platform on which to develop a racing car, as well as visually setting pulses racing at European racetracks."
Vodafone McLaren Mercedes team principal Martin Whitmarsh adds: "Racing is in our blood -- it was natural to develop a GT3 car alongside the 12C road car.
"We have a legendary history in global motorsport, including GT racing, and we aim to maintain that reputation with this GT3 program, and any future sports car projects that may evolve.
"The 12C's architecture and design was always aimed at high-performance and ease of maintenance -- two key criteria for potential customers."
The company says it will initially develop a limited run of 12Cs for the 2012 European FIA GT3 Series, but, as with McLaren Automotive's road car business, "conservative growth and expansion" will be considered.
Further details about the McLaren 12C GT3 programme will be announced in 2011, but prospective customers can already register their interest by visiting www.mclarengt.com.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
CN's cars we most want to drive in 2011
Low capacity, high output fuel savers top the list of anticipated drives in 2011
Cars we most want to drive this year
As most of our expectations were met in the year that was, a few specks on the horizon beckon us onward in 2011. Of interest, the growing number of eco-friendly offerings spawns our curiosity with tempting turbos, delectable diesels and enticing electric vehicles topping the list... And of course the occasional supercar!
Mike Sinclair - Editor in Chief
In keeping with my nomination of a vintage year for Aussie builders (see Car games Companies to watch in 2011), my most desired drives are: Holden's turbo 1.4 Cruze and Ford's TDI Territory and turbo four Falcon...
In the fantasy realm McLaren's new car would scratch the supercar itch for 2011 methinks; but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to scare myself witless in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS... Closer to the real world, I have a penchant to get behind the wheel of the upcoming BMW 1 Series M Coupe. Is it, as 'sold', a true M car? And is it, as 'advertised' a worthy descendant of the original E30 M3? Can't wait to find out...
Ken Gratton - News Editor
Curiosity has got the better of me and I'm looking forward to the EcoBoost Falcon -- just to see whether Ford can actually deliver on promises that the four-cylinder large car will provide adequate power without straying from the path of fuel frugality that has led Ford to this product. Furthermore, can the EcoBoost engine improve on the Falcon's already decent cornering dynamics and ride quality, as an outcome of re-distributing the car's weight?
Melissa McCormick - Production Editor
Nissan GTR MY2011. More power, updated interior, less weight, better brakes... Everything needed to stand by Mizuno's demand for an improvement in the GTR's "thrill factor". After such a long wait for the 2007 release it seems like only yesterday we were treated to the previous model. But I'm not complaining...
Feann Torr - Staff Journalist
It's a coin toss between the Nissan LEAF electric car and the Renault Megane RS 250. And I'm inclined to go with the Renault Megane. The new Nissan LEAF promises electric transport with a lot more interior room than the i-MiEV, but on the other hand the Renault Megane RS 250 has a G-force meter. And it looks cooler.
Matt Brogan - Staff Journalist
Call me lame, I mean of all the cars we could drive this may not seem anything to get excited about, but I'm really looking forward to driving the Nissan LEAF. From colleagues reports it really does sound like a big step forward in how a more environmentally friendly car should be. By all accounts LEAF drives much like a petrol car and (finally) boasts the same levels of accommodation and practicality (not to mention a better range) as any same-sized hatch.
Having spent a little time at the wheel of our all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV, several Priuses (or is that Priores), Honda's two hybrid offerings (Civic Hybrid and Insight) and any number of low output diesels, the Nissan product is high on my list of green car must drives. Perhaps my eagerness to jump behind the wheel is premature, Nissan have previously said the LEAF won't arrive until 2012. But I have a feeling we could be in for a surprise come Q4 2011. Let's see how close I am.
Joshua Dowling - Contributing Writer
Easy: BMW 1 Series M!
As I write this, I'm in Tokyo with the boss. An hour ago, the editor-in-chief and I were standing near the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage to turn up. I drew a deep breath (I didn't want to breathe on him too much as we'd just stepped off the plane and I'm sure I could still taste whatever it was we ate shortly after takeoff from Sydney) and asked: "If there is one car launch I can attend next year, if for some reason you are ill, tired or busy, I would give my pelvis to drive the new BMW 1 Series M".
My request was quickly met with a dismissive grin and a shake of the head: "Good on ya... As if that's going happen."
So, if ever there was a sign that this car will be one of the hits of 2011, this is it. Basically, it's the poor man's BMW M3 -- or should that be the thinking man's M3? Editors around the world are already clearing out there diaries waiting for the BMW invite to lob. I know one editor who hasn't made a single appointment all year in case it clashes.
Meanwhile, I'm in Tokyo carrying bags for my fearless leader, from plane, to bus, to train. Up hills too... And wiping his brow whenever his master requires it... And complimenting him on his dashing good looks...
I'm not giving up. Wish me luck.
Michael Taylor- International Correspondent
Lamborghini's Murcielago replacement. And I've already driven it!
Or maybe McLaren's new car...
It will need to be very, very good...
Gautam Sharma - International Correspondent
I've seen McLaren's new MP4-12C in the metal and talked at length to some of the key Mac personnel (including chief crayon wielder Frank Stephenson), and all that now remains is to drive it in anger.
The new Mac is packed with clever technology, including a light, strong carbon-fibre tub, as well as myriad other innovative weight-saving and airflow management measures, and it's been engineered "from inside out" in the quest to make it a supreme driver's car.
One would expect nothing less, given the brains behind it, but I'm keen to see whether the MP4's promised dynamic capabilities come with a real feel-good factor. In short, I'd like to glean for myself whether there's enough charisma to complement the impressive numbers that I've no doubt the car is capable of posting.
Jeremy Bass - Green Motoring Writer
I'm driving one of them now, being in possession of a Focus RS over the Christmas break. Shortly to come is a comp-spec M3 and sometime hence a new Benz CL.
More importantly my green car brief, I'm looking forward to the i-MiEV and Nissan's LEAF.
With just an overnighter with an i-MiEV to my name, I look forward to an extended stay, because there's clearly a lot more to it than a protein-enhanced golf buggy. What was clear from my time with it is that while it's easy and pleasant to drive and requires virtually no adaptive effort for those migrating from conventional vehicles, comparing EVs with IC and even hybrid counterparts is like putting apples up against soap.
They need to be gauged on a whole new set of evaluative criteria, over more than a night. My lockup garage awaits...
Mike McCarthy - Contributing Writer
The supersmall T.25 city car tops my wish-list. To most eyes it is far from the best looking thing on wheels, let alone the most exciting, however, this intriguing project is the most intelligent concept/design/manufacturing package for yonks, or maybe ever.
Barely 2.5m long and just 1.3m wide, three T.25s can occupy a regular parallel parking space (nose or tail to the kerb). The exceptionally tight (6m) turning circle makes snug parking and deft manoeuvring a doddle. And like another of designer Gordon Murray's masterpieces, the McLaren F1 supercar, the T.25 has a central driver's seat. Behind are two roomier than usual and easily removable passenger seats, or up to 720 litres cargo capacity.
Thanks to the layout and the clever (if controversial) tilt-forward front canopy, access to the interior is easier than with conventional doors, particular when parked close to other things.
Using the rear-mounted one-litre engine from the Smart ForTwo, the diminutive T.25 weighs just 550kg or so. The performance is nippy and the fuel consumption outstanding. A battery powered version known as T.27 is also under development.
The T.25's debut public outing was an alternate-car event contested over 80km of public roads. The T.25 won class honours with just 2.9L/100km. Murray calculates 2.2L/100km for an equivalent diesel T.25.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Cars we most want to drive this year
As most of our expectations were met in the year that was, a few specks on the horizon beckon us onward in 2011. Of interest, the growing number of eco-friendly offerings spawns our curiosity with tempting turbos, delectable diesels and enticing electric vehicles topping the list... And of course the occasional supercar!
Mike Sinclair - Editor in Chief
In keeping with my nomination of a vintage year for Aussie builders (see Car games Companies to watch in 2011), my most desired drives are: Holden's turbo 1.4 Cruze and Ford's TDI Territory and turbo four Falcon...
In the fantasy realm McLaren's new car would scratch the supercar itch for 2011 methinks; but I wouldn't pass up the opportunity to scare myself witless in a Porsche 911 GT2 RS... Closer to the real world, I have a penchant to get behind the wheel of the upcoming BMW 1 Series M Coupe. Is it, as 'sold', a true M car? And is it, as 'advertised' a worthy descendant of the original E30 M3? Can't wait to find out...
Ken Gratton - News Editor
Curiosity has got the better of me and I'm looking forward to the EcoBoost Falcon -- just to see whether Ford can actually deliver on promises that the four-cylinder large car will provide adequate power without straying from the path of fuel frugality that has led Ford to this product. Furthermore, can the EcoBoost engine improve on the Falcon's already decent cornering dynamics and ride quality, as an outcome of re-distributing the car's weight?
Melissa McCormick - Production Editor
Nissan GTR MY2011. More power, updated interior, less weight, better brakes... Everything needed to stand by Mizuno's demand for an improvement in the GTR's "thrill factor". After such a long wait for the 2007 release it seems like only yesterday we were treated to the previous model. But I'm not complaining...
Feann Torr - Staff Journalist
It's a coin toss between the Nissan LEAF electric car and the Renault Megane RS 250. And I'm inclined to go with the Renault Megane. The new Nissan LEAF promises electric transport with a lot more interior room than the i-MiEV, but on the other hand the Renault Megane RS 250 has a G-force meter. And it looks cooler.
Matt Brogan - Staff Journalist
Call me lame, I mean of all the cars we could drive this may not seem anything to get excited about, but I'm really looking forward to driving the Nissan LEAF. From colleagues reports it really does sound like a big step forward in how a more environmentally friendly car should be. By all accounts LEAF drives much like a petrol car and (finally) boasts the same levels of accommodation and practicality (not to mention a better range) as any same-sized hatch.
Having spent a little time at the wheel of our all-electric Mitsubishi i-MiEV, several Priuses (or is that Priores), Honda's two hybrid offerings (Civic Hybrid and Insight) and any number of low output diesels, the Nissan product is high on my list of green car must drives. Perhaps my eagerness to jump behind the wheel is premature, Nissan have previously said the LEAF won't arrive until 2012. But I have a feeling we could be in for a surprise come Q4 2011. Let's see how close I am.
Joshua Dowling - Contributing Writer
Easy: BMW 1 Series M!
As I write this, I'm in Tokyo with the boss. An hour ago, the editor-in-chief and I were standing near the baggage carousel waiting for our luggage to turn up. I drew a deep breath (I didn't want to breathe on him too much as we'd just stepped off the plane and I'm sure I could still taste whatever it was we ate shortly after takeoff from Sydney) and asked: "If there is one car launch I can attend next year, if for some reason you are ill, tired or busy, I would give my pelvis to drive the new BMW 1 Series M".
My request was quickly met with a dismissive grin and a shake of the head: "Good on ya... As if that's going happen."
So, if ever there was a sign that this car will be one of the hits of 2011, this is it. Basically, it's the poor man's BMW M3 -- or should that be the thinking man's M3? Editors around the world are already clearing out there diaries waiting for the BMW invite to lob. I know one editor who hasn't made a single appointment all year in case it clashes.
Meanwhile, I'm in Tokyo carrying bags for my fearless leader, from plane, to bus, to train. Up hills too... And wiping his brow whenever his master requires it... And complimenting him on his dashing good looks...
I'm not giving up. Wish me luck.
Michael Taylor- International Correspondent
Lamborghini's Murcielago replacement. And I've already driven it!
Or maybe McLaren's new car...
It will need to be very, very good...
Gautam Sharma - International Correspondent
I've seen McLaren's new MP4-12C in the metal and talked at length to some of the key Mac personnel (including chief crayon wielder Frank Stephenson), and all that now remains is to drive it in anger.
The new Mac is packed with clever technology, including a light, strong carbon-fibre tub, as well as myriad other innovative weight-saving and airflow management measures, and it's been engineered "from inside out" in the quest to make it a supreme driver's car.
One would expect nothing less, given the brains behind it, but I'm keen to see whether the MP4's promised dynamic capabilities come with a real feel-good factor. In short, I'd like to glean for myself whether there's enough charisma to complement the impressive numbers that I've no doubt the car is capable of posting.
Jeremy Bass - Green Motoring Writer
I'm driving one of them now, being in possession of a Focus RS over the Christmas break. Shortly to come is a comp-spec M3 and sometime hence a new Benz CL.
More importantly my green car brief, I'm looking forward to the i-MiEV and Nissan's LEAF.
With just an overnighter with an i-MiEV to my name, I look forward to an extended stay, because there's clearly a lot more to it than a protein-enhanced golf buggy. What was clear from my time with it is that while it's easy and pleasant to drive and requires virtually no adaptive effort for those migrating from conventional vehicles, comparing EVs with IC and even hybrid counterparts is like putting apples up against soap.
They need to be gauged on a whole new set of evaluative criteria, over more than a night. My lockup garage awaits...
Mike McCarthy - Contributing Writer
The supersmall T.25 city car tops my wish-list. To most eyes it is far from the best looking thing on wheels, let alone the most exciting, however, this intriguing project is the most intelligent concept/design/manufacturing package for yonks, or maybe ever.
Barely 2.5m long and just 1.3m wide, three T.25s can occupy a regular parallel parking space (nose or tail to the kerb). The exceptionally tight (6m) turning circle makes snug parking and deft manoeuvring a doddle. And like another of designer Gordon Murray's masterpieces, the McLaren F1 supercar, the T.25 has a central driver's seat. Behind are two roomier than usual and easily removable passenger seats, or up to 720 litres cargo capacity.
Thanks to the layout and the clever (if controversial) tilt-forward front canopy, access to the interior is easier than with conventional doors, particular when parked close to other things.
Using the rear-mounted one-litre engine from the Smart ForTwo, the diminutive T.25 weighs just 550kg or so. The performance is nippy and the fuel consumption outstanding. A battery powered version known as T.27 is also under development.
The T.25's debut public outing was an alternate-car event contested over 80km of public roads. The T.25 won class honours with just 2.9L/100km. Murray calculates 2.2L/100km for an equivalent diesel T.25.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
One car or event guaranteed we won't see in 2011
We hedge our bets on what we won't be driving in 2011
One car or event guaranteed we won't see in 2011
For better or for worse there's a few contenders guaranteed not to grace the CN car park in 2011. And with the New Year just around the corner, we've placed our bets on cars and car related events that for one reason or another won't see the light of day once the ball has dropped.
Mike Sinclair - Editor in Chief
In perhaps the most vibrant new car marketplace in the world (around 50 brands at last count), the fact that the main racing series showcases just two brands is laughable.
You have to commend V8 Supercars for the hold it has on the local racing world. Indeed, it has created an industry around itself, in the process making a relatively small group of players very, very comfortable indeed. The main players are very sharp, very careful about what they say and quite aggressive in dealing with any dissent within the ranks. It's worked for F1 for decades so why mess with a formula.
But increasingly the local two-horse race is distancing itself from the mainstream car consumer and the companies that sell cars to them. In the process it has also ambushed government funds that could have improved motor racing infrastructure for the next generation of racers and spent them profligately on temporary street circuits. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Privately car company execs away from the big two talk about wanting to have some time in the motorsport sun. Yes, even in these green times, many still see the value of a vibrant, inclusive and relevant motorsport presence. But, and it's a biggy, there's no way, they say, they are prepared "to play second fiddle to dinosaurs"...
So don't expect to see a multiple-brand grid full of high-tech, relevant and fast four-doors racing Down Under in 2011, or anytime soon. While the discussions and pronouncements by disgruntled brands continue to take place behind closed doors, the status quo will remain.
Ken Gratton - News Editor
That would be production of a hybrid-drive vehicle with range-extending gas turbines, as imagined by Jaguar in the C-X75 concept car unveiled in Paris.
It's still five years away from production reality (not the C-X75 itself but a car carrying the technology), but Jaguar argues that gas turbines make more sense than hydrogen fuel cells. They still emit CO2, but in a 'well-to-wheel' context, so does a hydrogen-fuelled vehicle, with the added caveat that fuel cell vehicles are harder to develop and more expensive to build.
Is there such a term as 'techno-slut'? Because I feel like I'm one. I've nominated Honda's FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle as one of my five best new cars for this year, but if there was a production hybrid running (ethanol-fuelled) gas turbines it would have relegated the Honda in a blink of the eye.
Melissa McCormick - Production Editor
Nissan LEAF: Unlike Japanese, European and North American buyers we won't be offered the LEAF electric vehicle until, at best, 2012 because, in short, Australian governments aren't coming to the party like others around the world. If our pollies are serious about a greener road transport network they should add more support...
Feann Torr - Staff Journalist
Probably the Lexus LF-A. With a V10 dumping 412 venomous kilowatts onto the tarmac, it king hits the zero to 100km/h sprint in just 3.6 seconds. And it'll do about 325km/h, give or take a head wind.
Eight of the stunning supercars have been earmarked for Australian customers in 2011, priced at almost three-quarters of a million dollars each, yet they are likely to be garaged and left hidden for most of their lives, their ultra-rare status ensuring a rise in value. But... never to be seen again? Prove me wrong filthy-rich car collectors, prove me wrong... You know where to contact me!
Matt Brogan -Staff Journalist
With limited numbers promised worldwide I could wage a bet that the Porsche 918 Spyder won't make it to Oz. Based on the concept car first seen at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the 918 Spyder made it to the factory floor thanks to unprecedented public support, and some substantial deposits.
The plug-in Porsche is set to achieve a combined fuel economy figure of just 3.0L/100km and emit a mere 70g/km of CO2. At this point, performance figures are largely unknown, but with motivation coming from the combination of a 425kW V8 petrol engine and an electric drive system Porsche says sub-four second 0-100km/h times are likely.
Our first glimpse of the 918 Sypder in full swing will come at this year's Nurburgring 24-hour race with final production numbers to be detailed shortly thereafter. Then, we'll know if any are earmarked to local delivery, and although I'm hopeful, I won't hold my breath.
Joshua Dowling - Contributing Writer
A cheap electric car... Despite reports of the promise of a $10,000 Chinese-made electric car within a few years, it ain't gonna happen -- unless it's a golf cart.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge advocate for electric cars and sustainable mobility and all that. I've even said I'd live happily ever after with a Mitusbishi iMiEV. But EVs will not be flooding our streets in 2011 -- nor will they be flooding our streets in 2020. They will represent 1 or 2 per cent of the new-car market at best. The year 2012 will see a couple of extra electric cars on our roads (Nissan and Holden) but you won't be tripping over any power cords on footpaths in 2011.
Michael Taylor- International Correspondent
Ferrari's barbecue to apologise to 458 Italia owners...
Gautam Sharma - International Correspondent
There's something I'd very much like to see: Alfa Romeo returning to the rear-wheel-drive format upon which its most memorable cars were based back in the day (the gorgeous 8C doesn't count because it was too darn rare and expensive). However, we won't see a rear-drive Alfa until at least 2012 based on Fiat Group boss Sergio Marchionne's five-year plan for the company.
According the proposed model rollout listed in the plan, the first Alfas to deviate from the current norm will be the 2012 Giulia sedan/wagon and 2013 Spider, both of which will be based on a Chrysler rear-wheel-drive platform.
I don't care where the platforms come from, I'd just be happy to see another Alfa that drives from the right end. You see, I owned a 1981 Alfetta GTV Coupe in my youth, and memories of that car still linger...
Jeremy Bass - Green Motoring Writer
The e-Wolf E-2, and no doubt a cornucopia of other stillborns that come and go in times of rapid change and rapid-fire hype.
According to e-Wolf's website and marketing material, Germany's "new technology leader has created a new automobile category: extreme electric sports cars." The pics were quite something, showing a front end that was half-Enzo, half-Murcielago.
But boasting that your product resides "on the edge of technical feasibility" isn't the smartest line for a start-up outfit in an industry whose history maps like a boulevard of broken dreams. A few months later, it wasn't even possible to find the website, let alone an e-Wolf E-2 in Lindsay Fox's or Dean Wills' garage. Never mind. The renderings were nice.
Mike McCarthy - Contributing Writer
VW Bluesport mid-engine roadster; roll on 2013... The idea of transplanting hardware from a mass-market front-drive hatchback to power, suspend, brake and steer a mid-engine rear-drive sportster is far from new of course. Fiat (X1-9), Toyota (MR2), MG (TF) and others have been there, done that, already. Without, it must be said, changing the course of mass-market sports car design and success.
But the tantalizing lure of the ex-FWD mid-engine idea is that it's surely the bright-as-Neon signpost pointing to The Next Big Thing in affordable sportscars. Volkswagen is the latest to fall for the concept, accept the challenge and roll the dice in that direction.
The Bluesport program took some time to be taken onboard and has since been a bit muddied by suggestions and lobbying for Audi and/or Porsche derivatives. Although the business case for the Bluesport project put the bean counters on their mettle, VW may have taken heart, or not, from the recent knowledge that several other big makers have "affordable" middy-models in their not too distant pipelines.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
One car or event guaranteed we won't see in 2011
For better or for worse there's a few contenders guaranteed not to grace the CN car park in 2011. And with the New Year just around the corner, we've placed our bets on cars and car related events that for one reason or another won't see the light of day once the ball has dropped.
Mike Sinclair - Editor in Chief
In perhaps the most vibrant new car marketplace in the world (around 50 brands at last count), the fact that the main racing series showcases just two brands is laughable.
You have to commend V8 Supercars for the hold it has on the local racing world. Indeed, it has created an industry around itself, in the process making a relatively small group of players very, very comfortable indeed. The main players are very sharp, very careful about what they say and quite aggressive in dealing with any dissent within the ranks. It's worked for F1 for decades so why mess with a formula.
But increasingly the local two-horse race is distancing itself from the mainstream car consumer and the companies that sell cars to them. In the process it has also ambushed government funds that could have improved motor racing infrastructure for the next generation of racers and spent them profligately on temporary street circuits. Here today, gone tomorrow.
Privately car company execs away from the big two talk about wanting to have some time in the motorsport sun. Yes, even in these green times, many still see the value of a vibrant, inclusive and relevant motorsport presence. But, and it's a biggy, there's no way, they say, they are prepared "to play second fiddle to dinosaurs"...
So don't expect to see a multiple-brand grid full of high-tech, relevant and fast four-doors racing Down Under in 2011, or anytime soon. While the discussions and pronouncements by disgruntled brands continue to take place behind closed doors, the status quo will remain.
Ken Gratton - News Editor
That would be production of a hybrid-drive vehicle with range-extending gas turbines, as imagined by Jaguar in the C-X75 concept car unveiled in Paris.
It's still five years away from production reality (not the C-X75 itself but a car carrying the technology), but Jaguar argues that gas turbines make more sense than hydrogen fuel cells. They still emit CO2, but in a 'well-to-wheel' context, so does a hydrogen-fuelled vehicle, with the added caveat that fuel cell vehicles are harder to develop and more expensive to build.
Is there such a term as 'techno-slut'? Because I feel like I'm one. I've nominated Honda's FCX Clarity fuel cell vehicle as one of my five best new cars for this year, but if there was a production hybrid running (ethanol-fuelled) gas turbines it would have relegated the Honda in a blink of the eye.
Melissa McCormick - Production Editor
Nissan LEAF: Unlike Japanese, European and North American buyers we won't be offered the LEAF electric vehicle until, at best, 2012 because, in short, Australian governments aren't coming to the party like others around the world. If our pollies are serious about a greener road transport network they should add more support...
Feann Torr - Staff Journalist
Probably the Lexus LF-A. With a V10 dumping 412 venomous kilowatts onto the tarmac, it king hits the zero to 100km/h sprint in just 3.6 seconds. And it'll do about 325km/h, give or take a head wind.
Eight of the stunning supercars have been earmarked for Australian customers in 2011, priced at almost three-quarters of a million dollars each, yet they are likely to be garaged and left hidden for most of their lives, their ultra-rare status ensuring a rise in value. But... never to be seen again? Prove me wrong filthy-rich car collectors, prove me wrong... You know where to contact me!
Matt Brogan -Staff Journalist
With limited numbers promised worldwide I could wage a bet that the Porsche 918 Spyder won't make it to Oz. Based on the concept car first seen at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year, the 918 Spyder made it to the factory floor thanks to unprecedented public support, and some substantial deposits.
The plug-in Porsche is set to achieve a combined fuel economy figure of just 3.0L/100km and emit a mere 70g/km of CO2. At this point, performance figures are largely unknown, but with motivation coming from the combination of a 425kW V8 petrol engine and an electric drive system Porsche says sub-four second 0-100km/h times are likely.
Our first glimpse of the 918 Sypder in full swing will come at this year's Nurburgring 24-hour race with final production numbers to be detailed shortly thereafter. Then, we'll know if any are earmarked to local delivery, and although I'm hopeful, I won't hold my breath.
Joshua Dowling - Contributing Writer
A cheap electric car... Despite reports of the promise of a $10,000 Chinese-made electric car within a few years, it ain't gonna happen -- unless it's a golf cart.
Don't get me wrong. I'm a huge advocate for electric cars and sustainable mobility and all that. I've even said I'd live happily ever after with a Mitusbishi iMiEV. But EVs will not be flooding our streets in 2011 -- nor will they be flooding our streets in 2020. They will represent 1 or 2 per cent of the new-car market at best. The year 2012 will see a couple of extra electric cars on our roads (Nissan and Holden) but you won't be tripping over any power cords on footpaths in 2011.
Michael Taylor- International Correspondent
Ferrari's barbecue to apologise to 458 Italia owners...
Gautam Sharma - International Correspondent
There's something I'd very much like to see: Alfa Romeo returning to the rear-wheel-drive format upon which its most memorable cars were based back in the day (the gorgeous 8C doesn't count because it was too darn rare and expensive). However, we won't see a rear-drive Alfa until at least 2012 based on Fiat Group boss Sergio Marchionne's five-year plan for the company.
According the proposed model rollout listed in the plan, the first Alfas to deviate from the current norm will be the 2012 Giulia sedan/wagon and 2013 Spider, both of which will be based on a Chrysler rear-wheel-drive platform.
I don't care where the platforms come from, I'd just be happy to see another Alfa that drives from the right end. You see, I owned a 1981 Alfetta GTV Coupe in my youth, and memories of that car still linger...
Jeremy Bass - Green Motoring Writer
The e-Wolf E-2, and no doubt a cornucopia of other stillborns that come and go in times of rapid change and rapid-fire hype.
According to e-Wolf's website and marketing material, Germany's "new technology leader has created a new automobile category: extreme electric sports cars." The pics were quite something, showing a front end that was half-Enzo, half-Murcielago.
But boasting that your product resides "on the edge of technical feasibility" isn't the smartest line for a start-up outfit in an industry whose history maps like a boulevard of broken dreams. A few months later, it wasn't even possible to find the website, let alone an e-Wolf E-2 in Lindsay Fox's or Dean Wills' garage. Never mind. The renderings were nice.
Mike McCarthy - Contributing Writer
VW Bluesport mid-engine roadster; roll on 2013... The idea of transplanting hardware from a mass-market front-drive hatchback to power, suspend, brake and steer a mid-engine rear-drive sportster is far from new of course. Fiat (X1-9), Toyota (MR2), MG (TF) and others have been there, done that, already. Without, it must be said, changing the course of mass-market sports car design and success.
But the tantalizing lure of the ex-FWD mid-engine idea is that it's surely the bright-as-Neon signpost pointing to The Next Big Thing in affordable sportscars. Volkswagen is the latest to fall for the concept, accept the challenge and roll the dice in that direction.
The Bluesport program took some time to be taken onboard and has since been a bit muddied by suggestions and lobbying for Audi and/or Porsche derivatives. Although the business case for the Bluesport project put the bean counters on their mettle, VW may have taken heart, or not, from the recent knowledge that several other big makers have "affordable" middy-models in their not too distant pipelines.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Toyota tops 200,000 in 2010
Top-selling brand heads for eighth consecutive year as Australian market leader
As the Australian car market heads for its first return since 2007 to annual sales of more than one million vehicles, Toyota is claiming it passed its own 200,000 sales benchmark by mid-December.
Starting the month with 193,778 sales in hand, the Japanese company increased its tally by the required amount to top 200,000 within a couple of weeks. Toyota's year-to-date figure at the end of November was up by more than 13,000 sales over 2009.
Senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said Toyota Australia is "the only company ever to sell 200,000 vehicles in a year."
2010 will be the seventh consecutive year that Toyota has sold more than 200,000 vehicles in Australia.
In second place, Holden logged 122,479 sales going into December (an improvement of more than 14,000 year to date sales compared with 2009), followed by Ford with 88,065 sales (virtually static compared with 2009) and Mazda with 77,788 sales, which was nearly 8000 better than comparable 2009 figures.
Australia's highest-ever sales figure of 1,049,982 new vehicles sold was achieved in 2007, followed by 1,012,064 in 2008. In 2009, the figure was 937,328. 2010 is expected to be the second biggest sales year ever.
Watch out for our full VFACTS report in the next few days.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
As the Australian car market heads for its first return since 2007 to annual sales of more than one million vehicles, Toyota is claiming it passed its own 200,000 sales benchmark by mid-December.
Starting the month with 193,778 sales in hand, the Japanese company increased its tally by the required amount to top 200,000 within a couple of weeks. Toyota's year-to-date figure at the end of November was up by more than 13,000 sales over 2009.
Senior executive director sales and marketing David Buttner said Toyota Australia is "the only company ever to sell 200,000 vehicles in a year."
2010 will be the seventh consecutive year that Toyota has sold more than 200,000 vehicles in Australia.
In second place, Holden logged 122,479 sales going into December (an improvement of more than 14,000 year to date sales compared with 2009), followed by Ford with 88,065 sales (virtually static compared with 2009) and Mazda with 77,788 sales, which was nearly 8000 better than comparable 2009 figures.
Australia's highest-ever sales figure of 1,049,982 new vehicles sold was achieved in 2007, followed by 1,012,064 in 2008. In 2009, the figure was 937,328. 2010 is expected to be the second biggest sales year ever.
Watch out for our full VFACTS report in the next few days.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Thứ Sáu, 23 tháng 3, 2012
Deadline set for Commodore future
Holden boss admits front-drive was a possibility -- but it's likely to be rear-drive beyond 2020
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden
A decision on the Holden Commodore for the next decade must be made in the next six months. That's the deadline Holden has been given to lay out its road map for the future.
The boss of Holden Mike Devereux told Australian journalists in Detroit overnight that General Motors executives in North America want to know if Australians will still have an appetite for large, rear-drive sedans in 10 years' time -- and he's betting they will, despite the odds.
The Commodore has been Australia's favourite car for 15 years in a row, but sales of large six-cylinder sedans have been in decline for most of that time. They dipped again last year -- by four per cent -- in a market that grew by 10.5 per cent.
Although the Commodore posted a modest increase in 2010, sales are running at half the rate they were in the late 1990s. Last year, the Ford Falcon posted its lowest sales in the 50-year history of the nameplate, also falling below the 30,000 mark for the first time.
While the speculation over the future of the Ford Falcon continues -- whether it will be made locally, imported or replaced by the front-drive Ford Taurus -- Holden says it is poised to not mess with the Commodore formula.
"We will know in the next six months what the future of the Commodore -- the next generation -- will look like," said Devereux, who admitted for the first time that front-drive was on the consideration list, but quickly ruled out.
"We looked at everything, that's what all car makers do, that's the prudent thing to do," he said. "But we are under no obligation to go that way, Holden can choose its own path."
He said in his seven months in the top job in Australia, he quickly grasped that Australia is a unique market.
"The rear-drive sedan may not be flavour of the month in other countries, but it is still very much alive in Australia," he said. "If we can deliver the right [size] and the right economy, we can continue on the path we're on."
He said the deadline was set seven years out because that's how much lead time is needed to reconfigure the Holden factory in Adelaide and design new tooling if there were to be a radical change to the Commodore's layout.
"If we go with a complete new architecture (the core structure of a car) then we need to plan well ahead of time," he said. "If we decide to continue with what we have, that's fine, but we need to be sure that's the right decision because we can't go back in time and change it."
Devereux admitted that Holden had evaluated a new General Motors front-drive platform that currently underpins Toyota Camry competitors in Europe and North America -- as well as one that underpins the Chevrolet Impala -- but they have all-but been ruled out.
"It was an option, and still is an option if we really wanted it, but frankly that would not be a Commodore, it would not have Commodore DNA," he said.
A switch to front-drive would automatically wipe a quarter of the Commodore's sales tally -- that's roughly how many V8 rear drive luxury or sports sedans make up its overall volume.
Another argument against a switch to front-drive: the Toyota Aurion V6 front-drive sedan has failed to get near Commodore or Falcon sales despite Toyota's marketing power and the fact that the Aurion has a more refined and efficient engine, and accelerates more quickly.
One rear-drive option under consideration was to downsize the Commodore by using a platform that is going to underpin a new Cadillac small sedan -- but this would be more costly to build and the car would be less space efficient than many medium-sized four-cylinder sedans.
The Carsales Network understands the most likely scenario is that, beyond 2017 -- when the next generation Commodore is due -- Holden will continue with a modified version of its existing Commodore architecture, but will develop an all-new body and engines.
This happens to be the easiest and cheapest of all the options under consideration.
But that doesn't mean Holden will have an easy run. The company says its factory must produce at least 105,000 vehicles per year to remain viable. Last year the Adelaide plant built fewer than 60,000 vehicles. Toyota built in excess of 120,000 vehicles (most of which were exported) while Ford built fewer than 45,000 vehicles in 2010.
"You have to do more than 105,000 or 106,000 cars a year to make the thing go," Devereux said candidly of Holden's factory in Adelaide.
The number of cars Holden makes locally is likely to grow when the Cruze sedan small car comes online in February, joined by the Cruze hatch in November.
Holden also has export ambitions for the Caprice as a police car for North America. The company has begun taking orders but is yet to reveal how many have been sold.
"Exports should not be crucial to our business, but we'd be stupid not to look at every opportunity," he said. "Just because we don't have to export cars [to remain viable] doesn't mean we don't want to."
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A decision on the Holden Commodore for the next decade must be made in the next six months. That's the deadline Holden has been given to lay out its road map for the future.
The boss of Holden Mike Devereux told Australian journalists in Detroit overnight that General Motors executives in North America want to know if Australians will still have an appetite for large, rear-drive sedans in 10 years' time -- and he's betting they will, despite the odds.
The Commodore has been Australia's favourite car for 15 years in a row, but sales of large six-cylinder sedans have been in decline for most of that time. They dipped again last year -- by four per cent -- in a market that grew by 10.5 per cent.
Although the Commodore posted a modest increase in 2010, sales are running at half the rate they were in the late 1990s. Last year, the Ford Falcon posted its lowest sales in the 50-year history of the nameplate, also falling below the 30,000 mark for the first time.
While the speculation over the future of the Ford Falcon continues -- whether it will be made locally, imported or replaced by the front-drive Ford Taurus -- Holden says it is poised to not mess with the Commodore formula.
"We will know in the next six months what the future of the Commodore -- the next generation -- will look like," said Devereux, who admitted for the first time that front-drive was on the consideration list, but quickly ruled out.
"We looked at everything, that's what all car makers do, that's the prudent thing to do," he said. "But we are under no obligation to go that way, Holden can choose its own path."
He said in his seven months in the top job in Australia, he quickly grasped that Australia is a unique market.
"The rear-drive sedan may not be flavour of the month in other countries, but it is still very much alive in Australia," he said. "If we can deliver the right [size] and the right economy, we can continue on the path we're on."
He said the deadline was set seven years out because that's how much lead time is needed to reconfigure the Holden factory in Adelaide and design new tooling if there were to be a radical change to the Commodore's layout.
"If we go with a complete new architecture (the core structure of a car) then we need to plan well ahead of time," he said. "If we decide to continue with what we have, that's fine, but we need to be sure that's the right decision because we can't go back in time and change it."
Devereux admitted that Holden had evaluated a new General Motors front-drive platform that currently underpins Toyota Camry competitors in Europe and North America -- as well as one that underpins the Chevrolet Impala -- but they have all-but been ruled out.
"It was an option, and still is an option if we really wanted it, but frankly that would not be a Commodore, it would not have Commodore DNA," he said.
A switch to front-drive would automatically wipe a quarter of the Commodore's sales tally -- that's roughly how many V8 rear drive luxury or sports sedans make up its overall volume.
Another argument against a switch to front-drive: the Toyota Aurion V6 front-drive sedan has failed to get near Commodore or Falcon sales despite Toyota's marketing power and the fact that the Aurion has a more refined and efficient engine, and accelerates more quickly.
One rear-drive option under consideration was to downsize the Commodore by using a platform that is going to underpin a new Cadillac small sedan -- but this would be more costly to build and the car would be less space efficient than many medium-sized four-cylinder sedans.
The Carsales Network understands the most likely scenario is that, beyond 2017 -- when the next generation Commodore is due -- Holden will continue with a modified version of its existing Commodore architecture, but will develop an all-new body and engines.
This happens to be the easiest and cheapest of all the options under consideration.
But that doesn't mean Holden will have an easy run. The company says its factory must produce at least 105,000 vehicles per year to remain viable. Last year the Adelaide plant built fewer than 60,000 vehicles. Toyota built in excess of 120,000 vehicles (most of which were exported) while Ford built fewer than 45,000 vehicles in 2010.
"You have to do more than 105,000 or 106,000 cars a year to make the thing go," Devereux said candidly of Holden's factory in Adelaide.
The number of cars Holden makes locally is likely to grow when the Cruze sedan small car comes online in February, joined by the Cruze hatch in November.
Holden also has export ambitions for the Caprice as a police car for North America. The company has begun taking orders but is yet to reveal how many have been sold.
"Exports should not be crucial to our business, but we'd be stupid not to look at every opportunity," he said. "Just because we don't have to export cars [to remain viable] doesn't mean we don't want to."
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Holden to revive US Commodore exports
Commodore could make a comeback as a Chevrolet with 2013 facelift
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Australia's biggest selling car could return to one of the world's biggest car markets -- North America -- within the next few years.
The boss of General Motors in North America Mark Reuss, formerly the boss of Holden, has told Australian media in Detroit overnight that the Holden Commodore could make a comeback in the US -- as a Chevrolet.
Holden exported approximately 41,000 Commodores as Pontiac G8 sedans (pictured) between November 2007 and February 2009 -- almost equivalent to Holden's annual sales of Commodore -- but the deal ended when the Pontiac brand was axed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. A ute version of the Pontiac G8 was due to follow but it was sidelined before exports began.
In a roundtable discussion Reuss told the media: "Somewhere along the way you'll get a pretty big Commodore change and if we did (revive the Commodore export program) we would integrate it with those changes."
An updated Commodore is said to be due in 2013, but Reuss would not elaborate.
"It was a big loss when we lost the Pontiac G8," he said. "It's hard to get it back in the right place at the right time. There are no plans to do it right now ... but we all love the car, so let's just leave it at that."
He said Holden was no longer dependent on exports for its survival locally.
"Previously Holden was set up to be 50 per cent export based and 50 per cent domestic," he said. "Now it is set up as a buy and sell deal in Australia. It has to survive on its own merits and the local market. The number one priority is to be really successful where you sell. Exports are a bonus."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden
Australia's biggest selling car could return to one of the world's biggest car markets -- North America -- within the next few years.
The boss of General Motors in North America Mark Reuss, formerly the boss of Holden, has told Australian media in Detroit overnight that the Holden Commodore could make a comeback in the US -- as a Chevrolet.
Holden exported approximately 41,000 Commodores as Pontiac G8 sedans (pictured) between November 2007 and February 2009 -- almost equivalent to Holden's annual sales of Commodore -- but the deal ended when the Pontiac brand was axed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis. A ute version of the Pontiac G8 was due to follow but it was sidelined before exports began.
In a roundtable discussion Reuss told the media: "Somewhere along the way you'll get a pretty big Commodore change and if we did (revive the Commodore export program) we would integrate it with those changes."
An updated Commodore is said to be due in 2013, but Reuss would not elaborate.
"It was a big loss when we lost the Pontiac G8," he said. "It's hard to get it back in the right place at the right time. There are no plans to do it right now ... but we all love the car, so let's just leave it at that."
He said Holden was no longer dependent on exports for its survival locally.
"Previously Holden was set up to be 50 per cent export based and 50 per cent domestic," he said. "Now it is set up as a buy and sell deal in Australia. It has to survive on its own merits and the local market. The number one priority is to be really successful where you sell. Exports are a bonus."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
2012 Honda Civic breaks cover
Detroit provided a first glimpse of the next generation Civic, coming to Australia late 2011
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Honda took the wraps off two new concept cars at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this morning local time, the Civic Sedan and Coupe concepts.
Though classed as concepts, the show cars are almost production ready, providing an almost finished picture of how the ninth-generation 2012 Civic models will be styled.
Honda Australia told the Carsales Network that sedan versions of the new Civic will arrive locally in late 2011, with both petrol and hybrid models confirmed for Australia. However the coupe models (fourth image) will not be offered in Australia.
As the images show, the Civic's new design advances the current car's styling and nudges it in a somewhat sportier direction by increasing the angle of the windscreen and using slimline headlight clusters. Honda says the new design is an "interpretation of the current Civic's iconic 'one-motion' mono-form shape..."
The Japanese car maker also hints at a 'wider stance' which suggests the new model could have a wider track than the previous model. The tail end also features an angular brake light design and the show cars sit on large 19-inch alloy wheels.
Power will come from a range of different engines in the American market, but Australian specifications are still being sorted out. However the Honda Civic concept car launch in Detroit did reveal that all engines would "become even more fuel efficient for 2012". Also new for the 2012 models will be Eco Assist for petrol models, a system already in use on the Insight and CR-Z hybrids, altering powertrain settings to improve fuel economy.
The fuel efficiency push will be most evident in the Civic Sedan Hybrid variant, which builds on Honda's range of hybrid vehicles and makes use of the latest generation of its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) petrol-electric technology. The Civic will also gain "the application of a lithium-ion battery in a Honda hybrid for the first time."
There will also be a Civic GX model that runs on CNG natural gas, however this model will not be offered in Australia.
All 2012 Civics will be standard with vehicle stability assist (VSA) and Honda expects five-star safety ratings for its new small car.
John Mendel, Executive Vice President of Sales for Honda in the US said; "The Civic is known for providing a balance of 'just-right' packaging, fun-to-drive character and outstanding fuel economy, at a price that even first-time buyers can afford. The redesigned Civic builds on this legacy and promises to be the best Civic yet."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Honda
Honda took the wraps off two new concept cars at the 2010 North American International Auto Show in Detroit this morning local time, the Civic Sedan and Coupe concepts.
Though classed as concepts, the show cars are almost production ready, providing an almost finished picture of how the ninth-generation 2012 Civic models will be styled.
Honda Australia told the Carsales Network that sedan versions of the new Civic will arrive locally in late 2011, with both petrol and hybrid models confirmed for Australia. However the coupe models (fourth image) will not be offered in Australia.
As the images show, the Civic's new design advances the current car's styling and nudges it in a somewhat sportier direction by increasing the angle of the windscreen and using slimline headlight clusters. Honda says the new design is an "interpretation of the current Civic's iconic 'one-motion' mono-form shape..."
The Japanese car maker also hints at a 'wider stance' which suggests the new model could have a wider track than the previous model. The tail end also features an angular brake light design and the show cars sit on large 19-inch alloy wheels.
Power will come from a range of different engines in the American market, but Australian specifications are still being sorted out. However the Honda Civic concept car launch in Detroit did reveal that all engines would "become even more fuel efficient for 2012". Also new for the 2012 models will be Eco Assist for petrol models, a system already in use on the Insight and CR-Z hybrids, altering powertrain settings to improve fuel economy.
The fuel efficiency push will be most evident in the Civic Sedan Hybrid variant, which builds on Honda's range of hybrid vehicles and makes use of the latest generation of its Integrated Motor Assist (IMA) petrol-electric technology. The Civic will also gain "the application of a lithium-ion battery in a Honda hybrid for the first time."
There will also be a Civic GX model that runs on CNG natural gas, however this model will not be offered in Australia.
All 2012 Civics will be standard with vehicle stability assist (VSA) and Honda expects five-star safety ratings for its new small car.
John Mendel, Executive Vice President of Sales for Honda in the US said; "The Civic is known for providing a balance of 'just-right' packaging, fun-to-drive character and outstanding fuel economy, at a price that even first-time buyers can afford. The redesigned Civic builds on this legacy and promises to be the best Civic yet."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
Thứ Năm, 22 tháng 3, 2012
Carsales adds functionality for new-car buyers
Australia's premier car buying site has just made it easier to reach a decision on a new car -- without even setting foot in a showroom
Many buyers find the whole new-car buying process confronting. There's the worry that the salesperson will push you into a car of colour and spec you don't want -- just because that's what's on the lot.
And how would it be if you thought you had the budget set aside for the car of your dreams, only to be told by the salesperson that all the good gadgets will blow a hole in those dreams -- because they're extra-charge options?
Wouldn't it be so much better to 'build' a car from the worry-free comfort of your own home, connected to the internet?
In what's believed to be a world first, the Carsales Network has just introduced new functionality for the site's New Car Showroom, allowing users to find out the full cost of purchasing a new car, with the individual options required. If the price isn't right, the new system allows buyers to uncheck the options selected, in order to bring down the on-road price.
Here's how it works: First, select 'New Cars games ' from the blue column on the left of the Carsales home page.
Add the make, model or other search details in the different fields of 'Find New Cars'. The list will bring up new cars that meet your search criteria -- and superseded models too, if they're still in dealer stock. From the list of vehicles types, click on the one that suits you best.
Over to the top right of the page is a price guide figure. Select the appropriate state and the page will calculate a driveaway price for the vehicle you want. From there, scroll down to the Optional Features section (below 'Overview') and select the options desired. As you select each option, the driveaway price is updated on the fly. Note that the adjusted price will remain in sight as you check (or uncheck) optional extras. Prices quoted also include Luxury Car Tax payable when applicable.
By clicking on the tabs above the Overview section, you can check out cars in stock, news/reviews articles and a make/model competitor listing.
It doesn't get much easier. And the new search features are also available on the Carpoint website.
The system empowers new-car buyers like never before. In addition to finding out the on-road price for a new car, with the options you want (including colours), you can also find out about special pricing deals and discounts.
So when it's time to front up at the dealership, all that's left to do is take the car for a test drive and crunch the salesperson on price.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Many buyers find the whole new-car buying process confronting. There's the worry that the salesperson will push you into a car of colour and spec you don't want -- just because that's what's on the lot.
And how would it be if you thought you had the budget set aside for the car of your dreams, only to be told by the salesperson that all the good gadgets will blow a hole in those dreams -- because they're extra-charge options?
Wouldn't it be so much better to 'build' a car from the worry-free comfort of your own home, connected to the internet?
In what's believed to be a world first, the Carsales Network has just introduced new functionality for the site's New Car Showroom, allowing users to find out the full cost of purchasing a new car, with the individual options required. If the price isn't right, the new system allows buyers to uncheck the options selected, in order to bring down the on-road price.
Here's how it works: First, select 'New Cars games ' from the blue column on the left of the Carsales home page.
Add the make, model or other search details in the different fields of 'Find New Cars'. The list will bring up new cars that meet your search criteria -- and superseded models too, if they're still in dealer stock. From the list of vehicles types, click on the one that suits you best.
Over to the top right of the page is a price guide figure. Select the appropriate state and the page will calculate a driveaway price for the vehicle you want. From there, scroll down to the Optional Features section (below 'Overview') and select the options desired. As you select each option, the driveaway price is updated on the fly. Note that the adjusted price will remain in sight as you check (or uncheck) optional extras. Prices quoted also include Luxury Car Tax payable when applicable.
By clicking on the tabs above the Overview section, you can check out cars in stock, news/reviews articles and a make/model competitor listing.
It doesn't get much easier. And the new search features are also available on the Carpoint website.
The system empowers new-car buyers like never before. In addition to finding out the on-road price for a new car, with the options you want (including colours), you can also find out about special pricing deals and discounts.
So when it's time to front up at the dealership, all that's left to do is take the car for a test drive and crunch the salesperson on price.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
New Suzuki Swift could come from Thailand
It's made in Japan for now but a new factory could see a shift for Swift
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All new Suzuki Swifts sold in Australia will be made in Japan for at least the next two years, but beyond that they could be sourced from Thailand.
The Japanese small-car specialist has announced that it is joining the wave of car makers setting up a production facility in the developing country.
The Suzuki factory in Thailand is expected to come online in 2013. While the car maker is yet to announce which models will be made there, the Carsales Network understands that Swift is at the top of the list.
At the launch of the new Swift in Melbourne, the general manager of Suzuki Australia, Tony Devers, told the Carsales Network: "If that happens, that would not be a problem for us. Suzuki quality is very good no matter where the factory is in the world. We have factories in India, Hungary and the vehicles made there are all made to the same standards. Suzuki is obsessive about quality."
The next generation Splash small car could also come from the Thailand plant, although given that the model was a joint venture with General Motors, it is unclear what its future plans are.
Ford and Mazda recently began sourcing small cars from Thailand -- the Fiesta and Mazda2. But less than six months later, Mazda reversed its decision and now sources the Mazda2 from Japan again. The company says it was not due to quality concerns but to free-up capacity for other markets that sourced cars from the Thailand facility.
Meanwhile Honda has been sourcing cars from Thailand for more than a decade -- indeed, most Hondas sold in Australia come from Thailand (only the Accord Euro sedan, Odyssey people mover, Insight hybrid and Legend luxury car come from Japan).
However in Australia Thailand is most notable for being a source of utility vehicles. The Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 all come from Thailand (selected Navara models also come from Spain).
Thailand is the second biggest source of cars sold in Australia behind Japan and ahead of Korea. Last year Australians bought 164,866 Thai-made cars compared to 356,968 from Japan, 163,338 from Korea and 146,314 made in Australia.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Suzuki
All new Suzuki Swifts sold in Australia will be made in Japan for at least the next two years, but beyond that they could be sourced from Thailand.
The Japanese small-car specialist has announced that it is joining the wave of car makers setting up a production facility in the developing country.
The Suzuki factory in Thailand is expected to come online in 2013. While the car maker is yet to announce which models will be made there, the Carsales Network understands that Swift is at the top of the list.
At the launch of the new Swift in Melbourne, the general manager of Suzuki Australia, Tony Devers, told the Carsales Network: "If that happens, that would not be a problem for us. Suzuki quality is very good no matter where the factory is in the world. We have factories in India, Hungary and the vehicles made there are all made to the same standards. Suzuki is obsessive about quality."
The next generation Splash small car could also come from the Thailand plant, although given that the model was a joint venture with General Motors, it is unclear what its future plans are.
Ford and Mazda recently began sourcing small cars from Thailand -- the Fiesta and Mazda2. But less than six months later, Mazda reversed its decision and now sources the Mazda2 from Japan again. The company says it was not due to quality concerns but to free-up capacity for other markets that sourced cars from the Thailand facility.
Meanwhile Honda has been sourcing cars from Thailand for more than a decade -- indeed, most Hondas sold in Australia come from Thailand (only the Accord Euro sedan, Odyssey people mover, Insight hybrid and Legend luxury car come from Japan).
However in Australia Thailand is most notable for being a source of utility vehicles. The Toyota Hilux, Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, Holden Colorado, Isuzu D-Max, Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 all come from Thailand (selected Navara models also come from Spain).
Thailand is the second biggest source of cars sold in Australia behind Japan and ahead of Korea. Last year Australians bought 164,866 Thai-made cars compared to 356,968 from Japan, 163,338 from Korea and 146,314 made in Australia.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
BMW-PSA hybrid deal a tilt at industry dominance
There's no doubting that BMW Peugeot Citroën Electrification will end up a major force in the move to hybridisation
BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen have signed a deal setting up a joint venture company to develop and share hybrid powertrains, heightening speculation of an eventual full merger between the two.
The move follows a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2010 aimed at expanding their joint work on IC engines to move into hybrid systems. With both partners confident that the MOU will be ratified by European competition authorities, its fruit will appear in products wearing BMW/MINI, Peugeot and Citroen badges from 2014.
The pair has been sharing technology for five years, since BMW shifted to PSA-sourced petrol and diesel engines for its second-generation MINI lineup. Between 2006 and 2010, the partnership yielded more than 1.8 million units, shared between MINI, Peugeot and Citroen models.
Last year came the next phase in a relationship growing ever closer with an announcement that the two would start work on a new generation petrol four, jointly designed and developed from scratch to meet Euro 6 emissions demands.
The new 50:50 joint venture allows two of Europe's biggest automotive names to utilise massive economies of scale to develop and manufacture hybrid drivetrain hardware and software, from battery packs through motors, generators, chargers and management systems. No one's talking about the cost of the deal to date beyond stressing that it's a neat 50:50 split. But spokespeople have said more will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The deal gives BMW a fast track into hybrid technologies using both petrol and diesel engines. To date, the Bavarian company has been cautious in its moves towards electrification, concentrating instead on extracting everything it can from internal combustion systems via its EfficientDynamics program. PSA, meanwhile, is leading the way to electrification and hybridisation among European manufacturers. First, a deal with Mitsubishi saw the Japanese company's i-MiEV turn up in 2010 wearing a Peugeot iOn badge. Later this year the company will deliver the first mass market diesel hybrid package with the launch of a diesel hybrid Peugeot 3008.
It's an ambitious program with a goal, as described in the joint press release "…to create an open European platform on those technologies that will help the European industry to structure itself in the field of hybridization. To that extent, the joint venture will both integrate suppliers by outsourcing development work and could sell hybrid components to other companies beside its two shareholders."
The Times reports the deal has fuelled a rise in long-standing speculation about an eventual merger. However it stresses that any such arrangement is some way off yet, with both being subject to hard controlling family interests -- the Quandt family in Bavaria and the Peugeots in Paris. But it also suggests that Thierry Peugeot has shown signs of softening up on questions of individual family control of any such future conglomerate.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
BMW and PSA Peugeot Citroen have signed a deal setting up a joint venture company to develop and share hybrid powertrains, heightening speculation of an eventual full merger between the two.
The move follows a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2010 aimed at expanding their joint work on IC engines to move into hybrid systems. With both partners confident that the MOU will be ratified by European competition authorities, its fruit will appear in products wearing BMW/MINI, Peugeot and Citroen badges from 2014.
The pair has been sharing technology for five years, since BMW shifted to PSA-sourced petrol and diesel engines for its second-generation MINI lineup. Between 2006 and 2010, the partnership yielded more than 1.8 million units, shared between MINI, Peugeot and Citroen models.
Last year came the next phase in a relationship growing ever closer with an announcement that the two would start work on a new generation petrol four, jointly designed and developed from scratch to meet Euro 6 emissions demands.
The new 50:50 joint venture allows two of Europe's biggest automotive names to utilise massive economies of scale to develop and manufacture hybrid drivetrain hardware and software, from battery packs through motors, generators, chargers and management systems. No one's talking about the cost of the deal to date beyond stressing that it's a neat 50:50 split. But spokespeople have said more will be revealed at the Geneva Motor Show in March.
The deal gives BMW a fast track into hybrid technologies using both petrol and diesel engines. To date, the Bavarian company has been cautious in its moves towards electrification, concentrating instead on extracting everything it can from internal combustion systems via its EfficientDynamics program. PSA, meanwhile, is leading the way to electrification and hybridisation among European manufacturers. First, a deal with Mitsubishi saw the Japanese company's i-MiEV turn up in 2010 wearing a Peugeot iOn badge. Later this year the company will deliver the first mass market diesel hybrid package with the launch of a diesel hybrid Peugeot 3008.
It's an ambitious program with a goal, as described in the joint press release "…to create an open European platform on those technologies that will help the European industry to structure itself in the field of hybridization. To that extent, the joint venture will both integrate suppliers by outsourcing development work and could sell hybrid components to other companies beside its two shareholders."
The Times reports the deal has fuelled a rise in long-standing speculation about an eventual merger. However it stresses that any such arrangement is some way off yet, with both being subject to hard controlling family interests -- the Quandt family in Bavaria and the Peugeots in Paris. But it also suggests that Thierry Peugeot has shown signs of softening up on questions of individual family control of any such future conglomerate.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Thứ Bảy, 17 tháng 3, 2012
No bull(bar) for Volkswagen Amarok
Pedestrian safety technology dictates a lack of factory bullbar option, but aftermarket bullbars will be offered for those who want them
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen The Volkswagen Amarok might be built tough as guts and have a five-star crash safety rating, but it will have to venture into the Australian outback without a factory-endorsed bullbar.
Pedestrian safety regulations in Europe -- which will be adopted by other countries including Australia in due course -- meant that Volkswagen did not develop a bullbar for the Amarok.
The company is unlikely to endorse an aftermarket brand, either, according to Volkswagen Australia technical manager Phil Murray.
"We'd love to have a bullbar, we know our customers would love the option of a bullbar, and we know aftermarket suppliers will develop them, but they won't be coming from us," Murray said.
The Car games ales Network understands that aftermarket parts supplier EGR, which has developed the VW-approved hard tonneau covers for the Amarok, will make an aluminium bullbar that meets VW's requirements for engine and transmission cooling -- but it will not be endorsed by VW.
"There are some very important areas on the front of the vehicle that should not be covered and we are happy to make them known to bullbar suppliers -- if they come to us and ask for guidance," explained Murray.
The omission of a factory-endorsed bullbar means that Volkswagen will miss out on a large slice of the lucrative aftersales accessory parts business.
Most ute rivals have factory-endorsed bullbars. More than half of all Toyota Hiluxes are delivered with factory or aftermarket accessories.
VW has, however, developed a range of other accessories for the Amarok.
"We've developed more accessories for the Amarok than we have for any other vehicle," said Murray.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen The Volkswagen Amarok might be built tough as guts and have a five-star crash safety rating, but it will have to venture into the Australian outback without a factory-endorsed bullbar.
Pedestrian safety regulations in Europe -- which will be adopted by other countries including Australia in due course -- meant that Volkswagen did not develop a bullbar for the Amarok.
The company is unlikely to endorse an aftermarket brand, either, according to Volkswagen Australia technical manager Phil Murray.
"We'd love to have a bullbar, we know our customers would love the option of a bullbar, and we know aftermarket suppliers will develop them, but they won't be coming from us," Murray said.
The Car games ales Network understands that aftermarket parts supplier EGR, which has developed the VW-approved hard tonneau covers for the Amarok, will make an aluminium bullbar that meets VW's requirements for engine and transmission cooling -- but it will not be endorsed by VW.
"There are some very important areas on the front of the vehicle that should not be covered and we are happy to make them known to bullbar suppliers -- if they come to us and ask for guidance," explained Murray.
The omission of a factory-endorsed bullbar means that Volkswagen will miss out on a large slice of the lucrative aftersales accessory parts business.
Most ute rivals have factory-endorsed bullbars. More than half of all Toyota Hiluxes are delivered with factory or aftermarket accessories.
VW has, however, developed a range of other accessories for the Amarok.
"We've developed more accessories for the Amarok than we have for any other vehicle," said Murray.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
MOTORSPORT: Bahrain GP off – Australia now F1 opener
Melbourne will host the first F1 grand prix of the year after Bahrain's troubles caused the cancellation of its GP, while the likely new NSW coalition government's dislike for the Sydney 500 has become clear
Doubts cast on Sydney 500's future too
It's official now that the Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for March 13 is off due the country's civil unrest and that the Australian GP in Melbourne two weeks later will be the opener to this year's Formula One world championship.
At the same time the prospect of the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar race being scrapped under the likely new conservative coalition government has come into sharp focus – although it's unlikely to happen immediately.
Bahrain, an island state in the Persian Gulf, cancelled its GP after a week of protests against its government in which seven people have died and hundreds of others been injured.
"The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," a statement by Bahrain circuit authorities said.
BIC chairman Zayed Alzayani said. "I hope that F1 and our friends around the world will understand our decision at this difficult time."
Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, also the deputy supreme commander of Bahrain's armed forces, said: "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain.
"Although (F1 supremo) Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date."
Ecclestone said: "It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race.
"We wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country.
"We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon."
Reuters reported that situation in the capital, Manama, was still tense last night, with thousands of protesters camped out in its Pearl Square.
This year's F1 championship was to have been the first with 20 races, but it may now be left with 19 – although Ecclestone has repeatedly said Bahrain may be rescheduled.
There is some speculation that, depending on the situation in the Middle East country, it could be slotted back in late in the season.
The final GP is due to be at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 27 – two weeks after the penultimate round at Abu Dhabi.
The F1 community has welcomed the decision not to try to stage the Bahrain race at the Sakhir circuit in little more than three weeks.
"I think the right decision was made, in light of what is going on, so we look forward to Melbourne instead," Australia's F1 driver Mark Webber said at the end of a four-day pre-season test in Barcelona, Spain.
"It would have been nice to go to Bahrain, but hopefully it can stage the race again.
"As for starting in Melbourne, it's my home race and, as always, I'm looking forward to it. It is a sensational event, we're in good shape as a team, so I hope to go there and get a very good result."
The fourth and final F1 pre-season test was due to be held in Bahrain in the first week of March but that too has been cancelled.
Teams instead will return to Barcelona on March 8-11 before the cars are loaded for transport to Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the Liberal candidate for the Sydney electorate of Auburn, which includes the Homebush Olympic precinct that has hosted the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar event the past two years, has indicated that street race won't continue beyond the existing contract under the likely new conservative government in NSW.
"Unfortunately, NSW Labor has signed NSW taxpayers up to this rotten deal until the end of 2013," Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper quotes candidate Ned Attie saying.
"Re-location before 2013 is at the discretion of V8 Supercars Australia.
"If we're successful in coming to office, a NSW Liberals and Nationals government would better manage any future negotiations with V8SA (and major events in general)."
The paper said Attie indicated a conservative government would axe funding for the Sydney race.
"We continue to support motor racing in NSW and will advocate for any major events that will help boost the NSW economy, but not at the expense of NSW taxpayers and local residents," he said.
"We're in favour of the relocation of the (Homebush) event and will work with V8SA and Eastern Creek Raceway to achieve the final outcome."
A councillor at Auburn, Attie reportedly praised "the great work done by the Save Olympic Park No V8s Committee in drawing attention to the problems with the Labor government's contract with V8SA".
The Daily Telegraph quoted what it called a V8 Supercar "insider" saying of Attie's stance: "The only reason we came back to NSW was to do the event at Homebush, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
"It's almost ludicrous. It's not even remotely on. That would be a massive backward step for Sydney and for NSW and for us."
The paper referred to "a record 150,000" at the second Sydney 500, even though that figure was below the attendance claimed for the first event in 2009.
And the Labor government's Tourism Minister, Jodi McKay, was quoted saying the event "is beamed live to more than 110 countries" – of which there is absolutely no evidence.
And, as was pointed out here last month, the Australian TV ratings for the Sydney 500 have not been as good as for the last V8 Supercar round staged at Eastern Creek in 2008.
The Daily Telegraph highlighted that Barry O'Farrell, the Liberal leader set to become NSW's new premier, said before the first Sydney 500 "it makes no sense to have this race at Homebush" and that he refused to commit to funding to it from any government he headed and has not mentioned it in his party's major events policy.
In an editorial today the Daily Telegraph said: "By taking a set against the annual V8 Supercar event at Homebush, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell is pitting out of sequence.
"The majority of the state and the city of Sydney have embraced this grand race and all the celebrations it brings.
"In the Liberals case, this is a gamble they need not take.
"V8 Supercar racing is an investment in this state - an investment, based on the financial performance of the Australia-wide racing series, that is almost certain to pay off.
"Get a move on, Barry. The first thing you need to do is announce complete support for the V8 Supercar race at Homebush."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Doubts cast on Sydney 500's future too
It's official now that the Bahrain Grand Prix scheduled for March 13 is off due the country's civil unrest and that the Australian GP in Melbourne two weeks later will be the opener to this year's Formula One world championship.
At the same time the prospect of the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar race being scrapped under the likely new conservative coalition government has come into sharp focus – although it's unlikely to happen immediately.
Bahrain, an island state in the Persian Gulf, cancelled its GP after a week of protests against its government in which seven people have died and hundreds of others been injured.
"The Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) today announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain would withdraw from hosting this year's F1 Grand Prix race so that the country can focus on its process of national dialogue," a statement by Bahrain circuit authorities said.
BIC chairman Zayed Alzayani said. "I hope that F1 and our friends around the world will understand our decision at this difficult time."
Bahrain's Crown Prince Salman bin Hamad al-Khalifa, also the deputy supreme commander of Bahrain's armed forces, said: "At the present time the country's entire attention is focused on building a new national dialogue for Bahrain.
"Although (F1 supremo) Bernie Ecclestone had graciously made clear that a decision on the race was entirely Bahrain's to make and was not yet required, we felt it was important for the country to focus on immediate issues of national interest and leave the hosting of Bahrain's Formula One race to a later date."
Ecclestone said: "It is sad that Bahrain has had to withdraw from the race.
"We wish the whole nation well as they begin to heal their country.
"We look forward to being back in Bahrain soon."
Reuters reported that situation in the capital, Manama, was still tense last night, with thousands of protesters camped out in its Pearl Square.
This year's F1 championship was to have been the first with 20 races, but it may now be left with 19 – although Ecclestone has repeatedly said Bahrain may be rescheduled.
There is some speculation that, depending on the situation in the Middle East country, it could be slotted back in late in the season.
The final GP is due to be at Interlagos in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on November 27 – two weeks after the penultimate round at Abu Dhabi.
The F1 community has welcomed the decision not to try to stage the Bahrain race at the Sakhir circuit in little more than three weeks.
"I think the right decision was made, in light of what is going on, so we look forward to Melbourne instead," Australia's F1 driver Mark Webber said at the end of a four-day pre-season test in Barcelona, Spain.
"It would have been nice to go to Bahrain, but hopefully it can stage the race again.
"As for starting in Melbourne, it's my home race and, as always, I'm looking forward to it. It is a sensational event, we're in good shape as a team, so I hope to go there and get a very good result."
The fourth and final F1 pre-season test was due to be held in Bahrain in the first week of March but that too has been cancelled.
Teams instead will return to Barcelona on March 8-11 before the cars are loaded for transport to Melbourne.
Meanwhile, the Liberal candidate for the Sydney electorate of Auburn, which includes the Homebush Olympic precinct that has hosted the Sydney 500 V8 Supercar event the past two years, has indicated that street race won't continue beyond the existing contract under the likely new conservative government in NSW.
"Unfortunately, NSW Labor has signed NSW taxpayers up to this rotten deal until the end of 2013," Sydney's Daily Telegraph newspaper quotes candidate Ned Attie saying.
"Re-location before 2013 is at the discretion of V8 Supercars Australia.
"If we're successful in coming to office, a NSW Liberals and Nationals government would better manage any future negotiations with V8SA (and major events in general)."
The paper said Attie indicated a conservative government would axe funding for the Sydney race.
"We continue to support motor racing in NSW and will advocate for any major events that will help boost the NSW economy, but not at the expense of NSW taxpayers and local residents," he said.
"We're in favour of the relocation of the (Homebush) event and will work with V8SA and Eastern Creek Raceway to achieve the final outcome."
A councillor at Auburn, Attie reportedly praised "the great work done by the Save Olympic Park No V8s Committee in drawing attention to the problems with the Labor government's contract with V8SA".
The Daily Telegraph quoted what it called a V8 Supercar "insider" saying of Attie's stance: "The only reason we came back to NSW was to do the event at Homebush, otherwise we wouldn't be here.
"It's almost ludicrous. It's not even remotely on. That would be a massive backward step for Sydney and for NSW and for us."
The paper referred to "a record 150,000" at the second Sydney 500, even though that figure was below the attendance claimed for the first event in 2009.
And the Labor government's Tourism Minister, Jodi McKay, was quoted saying the event "is beamed live to more than 110 countries" – of which there is absolutely no evidence.
And, as was pointed out here last month, the Australian TV ratings for the Sydney 500 have not been as good as for the last V8 Supercar round staged at Eastern Creek in 2008.
The Daily Telegraph highlighted that Barry O'Farrell, the Liberal leader set to become NSW's new premier, said before the first Sydney 500 "it makes no sense to have this race at Homebush" and that he refused to commit to funding to it from any government he headed and has not mentioned it in his party's major events policy.
In an editorial today the Daily Telegraph said: "By taking a set against the annual V8 Supercar event at Homebush, Opposition Leader Barry O'Farrell is pitting out of sequence.
"The majority of the state and the city of Sydney have embraced this grand race and all the celebrations it brings.
"In the Liberals case, this is a gamble they need not take.
"V8 Supercar racing is an investment in this state - an investment, based on the financial performance of the Australia-wide racing series, that is almost certain to pay off.
"Get a move on, Barry. The first thing you need to do is announce complete support for the V8 Supercar race at Homebush."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Volkswagen Amarok scores five stars for safety
It's a world first for the ute class – depending on how it's measured. Europe gives it four stars, while Australia gives it a five star safety rating...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen The Volkswagen Amarok is the first body-on-frame utility in the world to be awarded a five-star safety rating – but two big safety bodies on the opposite sides of the world have opposing views on the matter.
The Amarok last year was awarded a four-star rating in European NCAP tests but this week was awarded five stars by Australian NCAP representatives – even though the results are from the exact same test.
That's because Euro NCAP has a more stringent criteria which requires extra points for child protection and the number of seatbelt reminders. Australian NCAP is yet to adopt these criteria.
An ANCAP spokesman told the Carsales Network overnight: "We are confident this is a five-star ANCAP score. If you look at the individual occupant protection scores it is worthy of five stars."
The Euro NCAP summary of the Amarok says: "The passenger compartment remained stable during the frontal impact. Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs for the front seat occupants.
"Volkswagen was able to demonstrate that the car would offer similar protection to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions. Maximum points were scored in the side barrier test.
"In the more severe side pole impact, high compression of the test dummy's ribs indicated weak protection of the driver's chest. The car was also penalised for transferring forces into the dummy in a way which could not be done with a human body, resulting in no points being awarded for chest protection. Protection of the neck in a rear impact was rated as marginal."
The Amarok scores five ANCAP stars with only four airbags: two front airbags and a head protecting side airbag in each front seats. But these features are standard on every Amarok model sold in Australia.
The next safest vehicles in the ute class -- the Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara -- are only rated at four stars even though they are available with six airbags (including full length 'curtain' airbags along each side of the cabin that protect back seat passengers as well). However, only the most expensive models get six airbags as standard.
Back seat passengers in the VW Amarok do not get side airbag protection but all five seats come with three-point seatbelts and height-adjustable headrests.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Volkswagen The Volkswagen Amarok is the first body-on-frame utility in the world to be awarded a five-star safety rating – but two big safety bodies on the opposite sides of the world have opposing views on the matter.
The Amarok last year was awarded a four-star rating in European NCAP tests but this week was awarded five stars by Australian NCAP representatives – even though the results are from the exact same test.
That's because Euro NCAP has a more stringent criteria which requires extra points for child protection and the number of seatbelt reminders. Australian NCAP is yet to adopt these criteria.
An ANCAP spokesman told the Carsales Network overnight: "We are confident this is a five-star ANCAP score. If you look at the individual occupant protection scores it is worthy of five stars."
The Euro NCAP summary of the Amarok says: "The passenger compartment remained stable during the frontal impact. Dummy readings indicated good protection of the knees and femurs for the front seat occupants.
"Volkswagen was able to demonstrate that the car would offer similar protection to occupants of different sizes and to those sat in different positions. Maximum points were scored in the side barrier test.
"In the more severe side pole impact, high compression of the test dummy's ribs indicated weak protection of the driver's chest. The car was also penalised for transferring forces into the dummy in a way which could not be done with a human body, resulting in no points being awarded for chest protection. Protection of the neck in a rear impact was rated as marginal."
The Amarok scores five ANCAP stars with only four airbags: two front airbags and a head protecting side airbag in each front seats. But these features are standard on every Amarok model sold in Australia.
The next safest vehicles in the ute class -- the Toyota Hilux, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara -- are only rated at four stars even though they are available with six airbags (including full length 'curtain' airbags along each side of the cabin that protect back seat passengers as well). However, only the most expensive models get six airbags as standard.
Back seat passengers in the VW Amarok do not get side airbag protection but all five seats come with three-point seatbelts and height-adjustable headrests.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site.
Thứ Năm, 15 tháng 3, 2012
Road toll decline continues
A new federal government report indicates the nation's roads are safer than ever before -- but doesn't explain why
Western Australia is the one state that has shown an increase in fatalities on the road over the past five years.
Every other state or territory has recorded fewer deaths, on average, between the years 2006 to 2011, according to a report -- 'Road Deaths Australia' -- issued by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport last month.
Even with the 0.9 per cent upswing in fatalities over in the west, the national average has dropped by 4.0 per cent, based on total road deaths. That's percentage change to the total number of deaths, not a proportional figure based on deaths per 100,000 people or deaths per 100 million km travelled.
So not only are your chances of dying on the nation's roads reduced by 4.0 per cent, they're even better still when expressed as a proportion of the total population, which actually grew by over two million people (around 10 per cent) during the period from December 2005 to March 2011 -- roughly the same timeframe as the Department of Infrastructure's five-year analysis.
The largest improvement occurred in Tasmania (7.9 per cent), but every state or territory other than WA registered at least a 4.0 per cent reduction in fatalities. Unfortunately, the stats alone tell us little. Why, for example, has Western Australia's countertrend occurred? Is it somehow a side effect of that state's massive mining boom?
And what of the other states? While the trend has been downwards, averaged across the five-year period, practically every state other than WA (and the two territories) experienced higher levels of fatality on the roads for the last two years, according to the report. Why was that? The report cites higher fatality statistics for most states during the reporting period March 2010 to Feb 2011, versus the previous year, March 2009 to Feb 2010. Could it be that the sudden end to the El Niño event last year, resulting in heavy rainfall through eastern Australia, played a part in that change to the five-year trend during the last 12 months?
The new report can be read here, but of even greater interest is a more comprehensive report prepared by the department back in May 2009 .
In the older report, the authors produced a table outlining the number of deaths per 100,000 of population and another for deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled. The former table is a collation of fatalities, state by state, since 1975. Between that year and the final year of the report, 2008, deaths per 100,000 fell from 26.59 across the nation, to 6.85 -- a 74 per cent reduction during a period of easily measurable population growth.
The most immediate and dramatic improvement occurred in Victoria, between 1975 and 1980 -- presumably a consequence of introducing mandatory seatbelts -- when the rate dropped from 24.03 to 16.78. After that, the reduction barely changed over the five years to 1985 (16.58). The decline in deaths in Victoria since then has been steadier and slower, but has fallen to 5.72 for 2008 nonetheless -- slightly worse than New South Wales' figure of 5.70.
At least part of the decline during the 1990s could be attributed to vehicle safety gains, with one example being the near universal implementation of airbags for driver and front passenger. That technology and other secondary safety features have gradually filtered through to the vehicle parc as older cars games are scrapped and replaced by newer cars. No doubt that trickle-down effect of new safety technology has been key to the gradual shrinking number of road fatalities.
In the table of deaths per 100 million kilometres travelled, the national figure of 3.55 in 1976 has been whittled down to 0.74 in 2007 -- a 79 per cent reduction. The slightly higher percentage than the rate of fatalities per 100,000 people suggests that either we're travelling shorter distances, which seems unlikely, or road design and vehicle safety systems have improved out of sight.
That trend will continue, with state governments around the nation constantly improving roads and signage, and vehicle safety systems becoming ever more sophisticated at all levels -- whether by the manufacturer's own efforts or through legislation.
With the Victorian government already insisting that all new passenger cars sold in the state are fitted with stability control from the start of this year -- and the federal government following suit -- we can expect to see another significant drop in road deaths five years from now.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Western Australia is the one state that has shown an increase in fatalities on the road over the past five years.
Every other state or territory has recorded fewer deaths, on average, between the years 2006 to 2011, according to a report -- 'Road Deaths Australia' -- issued by the Department of Infrastructure and Transport last month.
Even with the 0.9 per cent upswing in fatalities over in the west, the national average has dropped by 4.0 per cent, based on total road deaths. That's percentage change to the total number of deaths, not a proportional figure based on deaths per 100,000 people or deaths per 100 million km travelled.
So not only are your chances of dying on the nation's roads reduced by 4.0 per cent, they're even better still when expressed as a proportion of the total population, which actually grew by over two million people (around 10 per cent) during the period from December 2005 to March 2011 -- roughly the same timeframe as the Department of Infrastructure's five-year analysis.
The largest improvement occurred in Tasmania (7.9 per cent), but every state or territory other than WA registered at least a 4.0 per cent reduction in fatalities. Unfortunately, the stats alone tell us little. Why, for example, has Western Australia's countertrend occurred? Is it somehow a side effect of that state's massive mining boom?
And what of the other states? While the trend has been downwards, averaged across the five-year period, practically every state other than WA (and the two territories) experienced higher levels of fatality on the roads for the last two years, according to the report. Why was that? The report cites higher fatality statistics for most states during the reporting period March 2010 to Feb 2011, versus the previous year, March 2009 to Feb 2010. Could it be that the sudden end to the El Niño event last year, resulting in heavy rainfall through eastern Australia, played a part in that change to the five-year trend during the last 12 months?
The new report can be read here, but of even greater interest is a more comprehensive report prepared by the department back in May 2009 .
In the older report, the authors produced a table outlining the number of deaths per 100,000 of population and another for deaths per 100 million vehicle kilometres travelled. The former table is a collation of fatalities, state by state, since 1975. Between that year and the final year of the report, 2008, deaths per 100,000 fell from 26.59 across the nation, to 6.85 -- a 74 per cent reduction during a period of easily measurable population growth.
The most immediate and dramatic improvement occurred in Victoria, between 1975 and 1980 -- presumably a consequence of introducing mandatory seatbelts -- when the rate dropped from 24.03 to 16.78. After that, the reduction barely changed over the five years to 1985 (16.58). The decline in deaths in Victoria since then has been steadier and slower, but has fallen to 5.72 for 2008 nonetheless -- slightly worse than New South Wales' figure of 5.70.
At least part of the decline during the 1990s could be attributed to vehicle safety gains, with one example being the near universal implementation of airbags for driver and front passenger. That technology and other secondary safety features have gradually filtered through to the vehicle parc as older cars games are scrapped and replaced by newer cars. No doubt that trickle-down effect of new safety technology has been key to the gradual shrinking number of road fatalities.
In the table of deaths per 100 million kilometres travelled, the national figure of 3.55 in 1976 has been whittled down to 0.74 in 2007 -- a 79 per cent reduction. The slightly higher percentage than the rate of fatalities per 100,000 people suggests that either we're travelling shorter distances, which seems unlikely, or road design and vehicle safety systems have improved out of sight.
That trend will continue, with state governments around the nation constantly improving roads and signage, and vehicle safety systems becoming ever more sophisticated at all levels -- whether by the manufacturer's own efforts or through legislation.
With the Victorian government already insisting that all new passenger cars sold in the state are fitted with stability control from the start of this year -- and the federal government following suit -- we can expect to see another significant drop in road deaths five years from now.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
Staying in second for Top Gear Live
High profile motoring writers and Renault's Clio Sport add spice to Top Gear Live event in Melbourne
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Renault
When you're invited to drive someone else's car quickly on a race track, extra-ordinary measures are taken to ensure you don't break it -- or you.
Safety cones are put in place to show you the smoothest way around a corner, and chicanes interrupt the long straights to trim your top speed.
Sometimes there's a professional race driver leading the convoy to control your speed -- or someone in the passenger's seat who can beat you about the head if you don't listen to their instructions muffled through a helmet.
These are just some of the frustrating necessities brought about by politicians -- or, more to the point, health and safety regulations.
So when I was unwisely handed the keys to a brand new Renault Clio Sport and asked to weave it as fast as humanly possible through a maze of scaffolding in the back lot of the Top Gear Live show in Melbourne at the weekend, there was extreme trepidation -- from me, and Renault who, oddly enough, wanted their car back in one piece.
Renault had brought a couple of Clios to the Top Gear Live outdoor event to put some celebrities through their paces. So I don't know why an invitation was extended to me and journo rival Paul Gover. Perhaps they wanted to give the crowd something to laugh at.
The good thing was that we were first up, when the "crowd" wasn't at the show. The only people we could be embarrassed in front of were the flag marshalls. But they're mad gossipers. Our reputations -- however shredded they already are -- would certainly be in tatters if we tried to marry a Renault with a piece of steel fence.
Adding to the pressure, the car was brand spanking new. It still had the nobbles on the edge of the tyres. I know this because I got there early to inspect the cars, and then interrogate the Renault staff about the level of preparation done to the vehicles.
I decided on the white one because the blue one had been thrashed by a couple of celebrities during a test run that morning. I, of course, kept that information to myself and promptly requested the white car.
Imagine my delight when Gover insisted on the blue car. The only person happier than me at that precise moment was the PR lady who then didn't have to intervene in a scrap between two journos who thought they were racing for sheep stations when really they were there to fill in some time while no-one was watching.
More pressure: the car was not just any Renault Clio Sport, but the Gordini edition, of which only a handful have been imported.
More pressure still: while making chit-chat a guy who owned a Lamborghini race car heard what I was driving and then joked "don't crash it".
I mean, who says that? Who says: "I hope you don't get hit by a truck on the way to the shops and die". Doesn't he know I'm superstitious? I immediately had to go and find some wood. My head wasn't thick enough, so I hugged a nearby tree.
Then I did a sighting lap. Damn. Should have hugged two trees. This is the trickiest track I've ever been on.
Never before have I wanted health and safety regulations to impose on my fun. But I was looking for a politician after my slow sighting lap. Surely we can legislate against this in the next half hour -- before we're due to start our timed run.
Incredibly, this is the same track that 120 beautiful and classic cars weaved around? Yikes. I bet they weren't brave.
The only person more stupid than me at this point -- and believe me, that's a struggle -- is Nathan Pretty. Race driver and Bathurst 24 Hour winner.
He's a top bloke but he'd been given the job of keeping everyone in check and showing them the course. He put on a brave face but I think he was sh#@ting himself more than me. His knee flinched every time we got close to a barrier -- which was every turn. I thought he had epilepsy -- and that I would be the one calling for a paramedic.
The course was easy in the sense that you left the car in second gear everywhere and let the power band of the Clio's 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine -- and the chassis -- do their jobs.
Good thing the Clio has go-kart handling, because we were on a go-kart track. Indeed, moments earlier V8 Supercar drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup did the circuit in a go-kart. And a Mini Moke. And a Peel electric car.
The upshot of it is that both Gover and I managed to not crash. But he did beat me, the bugger. For the record he did it in 1min32.2 seconds, and I did it in 1min32.4 seconds. Bugger. Should've chosen the blue car.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Renault
When you're invited to drive someone else's car quickly on a race track, extra-ordinary measures are taken to ensure you don't break it -- or you.
Safety cones are put in place to show you the smoothest way around a corner, and chicanes interrupt the long straights to trim your top speed.
Sometimes there's a professional race driver leading the convoy to control your speed -- or someone in the passenger's seat who can beat you about the head if you don't listen to their instructions muffled through a helmet.
These are just some of the frustrating necessities brought about by politicians -- or, more to the point, health and safety regulations.
So when I was unwisely handed the keys to a brand new Renault Clio Sport and asked to weave it as fast as humanly possible through a maze of scaffolding in the back lot of the Top Gear Live show in Melbourne at the weekend, there was extreme trepidation -- from me, and Renault who, oddly enough, wanted their car back in one piece.
Renault had brought a couple of Clios to the Top Gear Live outdoor event to put some celebrities through their paces. So I don't know why an invitation was extended to me and journo rival Paul Gover. Perhaps they wanted to give the crowd something to laugh at.
The good thing was that we were first up, when the "crowd" wasn't at the show. The only people we could be embarrassed in front of were the flag marshalls. But they're mad gossipers. Our reputations -- however shredded they already are -- would certainly be in tatters if we tried to marry a Renault with a piece of steel fence.
Adding to the pressure, the car was brand spanking new. It still had the nobbles on the edge of the tyres. I know this because I got there early to inspect the cars, and then interrogate the Renault staff about the level of preparation done to the vehicles.
I decided on the white one because the blue one had been thrashed by a couple of celebrities during a test run that morning. I, of course, kept that information to myself and promptly requested the white car.
Imagine my delight when Gover insisted on the blue car. The only person happier than me at that precise moment was the PR lady who then didn't have to intervene in a scrap between two journos who thought they were racing for sheep stations when really they were there to fill in some time while no-one was watching.
More pressure: the car was not just any Renault Clio Sport, but the Gordini edition, of which only a handful have been imported.
More pressure still: while making chit-chat a guy who owned a Lamborghini race car heard what I was driving and then joked "don't crash it".
I mean, who says that? Who says: "I hope you don't get hit by a truck on the way to the shops and die". Doesn't he know I'm superstitious? I immediately had to go and find some wood. My head wasn't thick enough, so I hugged a nearby tree.
Then I did a sighting lap. Damn. Should have hugged two trees. This is the trickiest track I've ever been on.
Never before have I wanted health and safety regulations to impose on my fun. But I was looking for a politician after my slow sighting lap. Surely we can legislate against this in the next half hour -- before we're due to start our timed run.
Incredibly, this is the same track that 120 beautiful and classic cars weaved around? Yikes. I bet they weren't brave.
The only person more stupid than me at this point -- and believe me, that's a struggle -- is Nathan Pretty. Race driver and Bathurst 24 Hour winner.
He's a top bloke but he'd been given the job of keeping everyone in check and showing them the course. He put on a brave face but I think he was sh#@ting himself more than me. His knee flinched every time we got close to a barrier -- which was every turn. I thought he had epilepsy -- and that I would be the one calling for a paramedic.
The course was easy in the sense that you left the car in second gear everywhere and let the power band of the Clio's 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine -- and the chassis -- do their jobs.
Good thing the Clio has go-kart handling, because we were on a go-kart track. Indeed, moments earlier V8 Supercar drivers Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup did the circuit in a go-kart. And a Mini Moke. And a Peel electric car.
The upshot of it is that both Gover and I managed to not crash. But he did beat me, the bugger. For the record he did it in 1min32.2 seconds, and I did it in 1min32.4 seconds. Bugger. Should've chosen the blue car.
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Happy birthday Dutton Sporting Cars
Dutton family celebrates 100 years in the car business
Melbourne luxury and specialist car dealer Dutton Sporting Cars turns 100 this week.
Starting modestly in 1911 from a small service station and workshop in the back streets of the Melbourne inner suburb of Richmond and expanding into a building constructed by founder Albert Dutton, the business today operates out of spectacular premises in Claremont Street South Yarra that were designed by Melbourne firm Plus Architecture, a joint venture by Fender Katsilidis and SJB Architects.
Long recognised for its penchant for classic cars, Dutton Sporting Cars will celebrate its first 100 years at a special lunch to be held at the South Yarra showrooms where the in-house Tapas-style restaurant Cafe Veloce specialises in Mediterranean fare. The company opened the first Cafe Veloce restaurant in 1990 at the previous showrooms in Church Street Richmond, where it became a defining aspect of the family business.
The purpose-built showrooms replaced the Church Street building (a renovation of an old chocolate factory) occupied by the Dutton business since 1989, but long since outgrown.
The new premises avoid the traffic build-ups experienced at the previous location where, according to James Dutton, the company was a victim of its own success. "The congestion was so bad we could no longer easily conduct test drives," he says.
The business moved into the Claremont Street Dutton building four years ago and is now able to breathe easier - although James Dutton says work is going on to bring back more of what the family company has always been best-known for – rare and exotic, modern or historic cars.
The showroom is home to "one of the best selections of rare and exotic luxury cars in the Southern Hemisphere", as well as automobile memorabilia and artwork.
The family aspect of the Dutton business is possibly nowhere better expressed than in the long lunches held for clients and associates at the Veloce restaurant. The special 100th birthday "old school Italian Feast" for 100 clients is being held on Friday March 25 and will be followed by similar events to be held on the last Friday of every month.
The group today also operates Dutton Insurance, offering premium motor, home, marine and aviation insurance and has recently been confirmed as event partner of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia at the 2011 F1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Melbourne luxury and specialist car dealer Dutton Sporting Cars turns 100 this week.
Starting modestly in 1911 from a small service station and workshop in the back streets of the Melbourne inner suburb of Richmond and expanding into a building constructed by founder Albert Dutton, the business today operates out of spectacular premises in Claremont Street South Yarra that were designed by Melbourne firm Plus Architecture, a joint venture by Fender Katsilidis and SJB Architects.
Long recognised for its penchant for classic cars, Dutton Sporting Cars will celebrate its first 100 years at a special lunch to be held at the South Yarra showrooms where the in-house Tapas-style restaurant Cafe Veloce specialises in Mediterranean fare. The company opened the first Cafe Veloce restaurant in 1990 at the previous showrooms in Church Street Richmond, where it became a defining aspect of the family business.
The purpose-built showrooms replaced the Church Street building (a renovation of an old chocolate factory) occupied by the Dutton business since 1989, but long since outgrown.
The new premises avoid the traffic build-ups experienced at the previous location where, according to James Dutton, the company was a victim of its own success. "The congestion was so bad we could no longer easily conduct test drives," he says.
The business moved into the Claremont Street Dutton building four years ago and is now able to breathe easier - although James Dutton says work is going on to bring back more of what the family company has always been best-known for – rare and exotic, modern or historic cars.
The showroom is home to "one of the best selections of rare and exotic luxury cars in the Southern Hemisphere", as well as automobile memorabilia and artwork.
The family aspect of the Dutton business is possibly nowhere better expressed than in the long lunches held for clients and associates at the Veloce restaurant. The special 100th birthday "old school Italian Feast" for 100 clients is being held on Friday March 25 and will be followed by similar events to be held on the last Friday of every month.
The group today also operates Dutton Insurance, offering premium motor, home, marine and aviation insurance and has recently been confirmed as event partner of Porsche Carrera Cup Australia at the 2011 F1 Qantas Australian Grand Prix.
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at the carsales mobile site
Thứ Ba, 13 tháng 3, 2012
SHANGHAI AUTO SHOW: Chevy's global Malibu debuts in China
Holden pins its hopes on the new Malibu in the VFACTS medium segment
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden
General Motors is aiming its new Chevy Malibu at the tall poppy to top all poppies, the Toyota Camry.
GM's Chevrolet brand presented the Malibu to a global audience at the Shanghai motor show earlier today -- ahead of the car's roll-out to around 100 markets around the world. That in itself paints a picture of GM confronting the Camry in global markets everywhere.
In both length and width the Malibu is a larger car games than the Camry, which has been a consistently strong seller in the US and dominates sales in the same market segment here. The Camry sits on a longer wheelbase, but that hints the Malibu will boast larger luggage volume than the Toyota's. Certainly the Malibu's rear-seat dimensions -- claimed by GM to be 936mm of rear-seat legroom and 955mm of headroom -- won't necessarily lead the class.
Malibu -- which is also a larger car than Holden's former medium-segment VFACTS contender, the Epica -- will reach Australia next year. According to Holden the Malibu for Australia will offer "a range of efficient 4-cylinder engines", but the Chev for the American market has already been announced with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder, producing peak power and torque figures of 141kW and 245Nm.
GM is claiming that the Malibu will raise the bar for interior fit and finish -- something at least as important in the US as in Australia. According to the press material released by Holden, the Malibu's "spacious, dual-cockpit interior", will comprise "premium materials, including soft-touch and textured surfaces and ice-blue ambient lighting along the centre stack dials, instrument panel and storage pockets".
"Malibu will represent another major step forward in the Holden product offensive when it arrives late next year, filling a gap in our model line-up between our leading Cruze and Commodore models," the press release quoted John Elsworth, Holden's Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.
"We think it will really hit the mark. From the Camaro-inspired exterior design and sleek interior to the dynamic performance capabilities, it is another great example of the sophistication we're building into our new-generation global vehicles.
"We'll offer high-performing fuel-efficient engines, a high level of safety and a range of features and technologies to appeal to customers in the competitive mid-size segment."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
discount new cars » Get the best price on a new Holden
General Motors is aiming its new Chevy Malibu at the tall poppy to top all poppies, the Toyota Camry.
GM's Chevrolet brand presented the Malibu to a global audience at the Shanghai motor show earlier today -- ahead of the car's roll-out to around 100 markets around the world. That in itself paints a picture of GM confronting the Camry in global markets everywhere.
In both length and width the Malibu is a larger car games than the Camry, which has been a consistently strong seller in the US and dominates sales in the same market segment here. The Camry sits on a longer wheelbase, but that hints the Malibu will boast larger luggage volume than the Toyota's. Certainly the Malibu's rear-seat dimensions -- claimed by GM to be 936mm of rear-seat legroom and 955mm of headroom -- won't necessarily lead the class.
Malibu -- which is also a larger car than Holden's former medium-segment VFACTS contender, the Epica -- will reach Australia next year. According to Holden the Malibu for Australia will offer "a range of efficient 4-cylinder engines", but the Chev for the American market has already been announced with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder, producing peak power and torque figures of 141kW and 245Nm.
GM is claiming that the Malibu will raise the bar for interior fit and finish -- something at least as important in the US as in Australia. According to the press material released by Holden, the Malibu's "spacious, dual-cockpit interior", will comprise "premium materials, including soft-touch and textured surfaces and ice-blue ambient lighting along the centre stack dials, instrument panel and storage pockets".
"Malibu will represent another major step forward in the Holden product offensive when it arrives late next year, filling a gap in our model line-up between our leading Cruze and Commodore models," the press release quoted John Elsworth, Holden's Executive Director of Sales, Marketing and Aftersales.
"We think it will really hit the mark. From the Camaro-inspired exterior design and sleek interior to the dynamic performance capabilities, it is another great example of the sophistication we're building into our new-generation global vehicles.
"We'll offer high-performing fuel-efficient engines, a high level of safety and a range of features and technologies to appeal to customers in the competitive mid-size segment."
Read the latest Carsales Network news and reviews on your mobile, iPhone or PDA at carsales' mobile site...
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