Category: News

No comments

MAZDA CX-3 UPGRADES

  By ,

Mazda continues its fast paced assault on the Australian car market, this time with its smallest SUV, the CX-3 receiving a facelift, major interior changes, added comfort and improved engines. The frontal styling of all current Mazdas is arguably the biggest reason for its success and the shape has been refined with a bolder grille built around strong horizontal lines. There are also changes to the shaping of the front foglight surrounds as well as to the rear lights. It’s not just the shape that’s selling Mazdas, the Soul Red… Read more

No comments

BMW Z4 M40i FIRST EDITION

  By ,

BMW chose the famous Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance for the world premiere of the new BMW Z4 M40i First Edition. Powered by a powerful 250 kW/340 hp, straight-six engine driving the rear wheels via an electronically controlled M Sport differential. Its zero to 100 km/h time has been measured at 4.6 seconds. The large BMW kidney grille has a striking mesh design and sits in front of a beautifully long bonnet. The two occupants sit well back and the high-performance Bimmer has 50:50 weight distribution. The new BMW Z4 M40i… Read more

No comments

PORSCHE CLASSIC BUILDS A CLASSIC 911 USING GENUINE PARTS

  By ,

Nostalgia is the flavour of the moment with carmakers. We recently did a piece on Aston Martin’s replica James Bond DB5. Now comes news from Porsche Classic has built a highly desirable collector’s item, the last 911 Turbo with an air-cooled engine – 20 years after the end of series production. The 993-generation 911 Turbo is based on an original bodyshell, and the vehicle’s appearance is just as special as its history, being painted in Golden Yellow Metallic as featured on the 2018 911 Turbo S Exclusive Series. The black… Read more

No comments

MG LAUNCHES LATEST MG3 HATCHBACK

  By ,

The Chinese-owned MG company has taken another step forward in its bid to make an impact on the Australian market by launching the latest version of its MG3 five-door city hatch. The previous MG3 was on sale from October 2016 but with negligible sales due to a lack of marketing, uncertain build quality and the absence of an automotive transmission. Things have changed quickly and MG, a subsidiary of the giant Chinese automaker SAIC, now has a factory-based headquarters in Australia that is promoting the brand with print and television… Read more

No comments

JAMES BOND ASTON MARTIN DB5

  By ,

The most famous Aston Martin of all time, the DB5 driven by Sean Connery as James Bond, is back. This new DB5 is a close collaboration between Aston Martin and EON Productions, EON is the company that produces the James Bond films. Just 25 Goldfinger DB5 ‘continuation editions’ will be built. These will be based on James Bond’s legendary car from 1964 and built by Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, the original home of the DB5. These days AMW concentrates on restoring old Astons so is the ideal place… Read more

No comments

MOTORCLASSICA 2018

  By

Motorclassica, now in its ninth year, will again be staged at Melbourne’s Royal Exhibition Building from 12 to 14 October. As well as the usual magnificent display of classic cars, there are special features that include Schools Program and the Future Lab. Both of which inform young people about the opportunities for careers and involvement in the automotive and restoration industries. Motorclassica’s Live Restoration Theatre will feature five separate workshops, each demonstrating live various stages of the vehicle restoration process under the watchful eye of Greg Maskell of Shepparton’s Maskell’s… Read more

No comments

BUDGET PRICED HYUNDAI KONA

  By ,

Hyundai is in the midst of launching a series of ‘Go’ models, these being vehicles with less standard gear at appreciably lower prices. The latest Hyundai Go is the Kona. It’s no stripper, having 7.0-inch infotainment screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, USB charging, reversing camera, automatic headlights and roof racks. However it runs on 16-inch steel wheels. Kona Go is powered by the same 110 kW 2.0-litre engine driving through a six-speed automatic transmission to the front wheels. It is priced at $23,500 to which on-road charges… Read more

No comments

SAY ‘HI’ TO THE LAST WORD IN CAR CONNECTIVITY

  By ,

Hi, Mercedes, what’s the go? The ’go’ is that the German maker of prestige cars wants buyers of its latest A-Class to treat the compact as their new best friend. A new level of human / machine interaction through MBUX (Mercedes-Benz User Experience), can be activated by saying ‘Hi Mercedes’ to gain access to important functions, destination details, phone calls, music choices, as well as the ability to write and hear messages. I asked MBUX a question in one of the two phrases I remember from O-level German. Disappointingly, no… Read more

No comments

ALL-NEW TOYOTA COROLLA FOR 2019

  By ,

After fifty two years and 45 million cars the Toyota Corolla powers along as the biggest selling car of all time. Almost 1.5 million of those global sales have been Downunder and the just superseded model has been the top selling passenger car here for years. Toyota Australia has every intention of keeping Corolla at the head of the pack in this country and the 12th generation car has just been launched here. The Japanese giant is pushing harder than ever on hybrids, hardly a surprise when you consider it… Read more

No comments

BMW M5 COMPETITION

  By ,

The new BMW M5 Competition high-performance sedan is coming to Australia in October. Featuring a more powerful engine, upgraded suspension, wheels and tyres and even engine mounts and is aimed at giving a driving experience for those very serious about their high-performance motoring. The 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine has a 25 horsepower increase in engine output over the standard BMW M5 – lifting it from 600 to 625 hp at 6000 rpm. (In Australian numbers that’s a 441 kilowatts.) Peak torque is 750 Newton metres and is on tap over… Read more