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NISSAN WORKHORSE BOWS OUT

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Want to buy a brand-new classic old truck for a bargain price? If that question sounds like a weird contradiction let’s look at the truck in question, the Nissan Patrol Y61. The Nissan’s Y61 Patrol (wagon) and UY61 (cab-chassis) have been on Australian roads, backroads and completely off-road for the last 20 years. A throwback to simpler times, the Patrol Y61 was superseded by the Y62 series in other countries four years ago. However that huge American-oriented wagon was sold only with an equally huge petrol V8 engine – and… Read more

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STUNNING NEW ALFA ROMEO GIULIA

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Alfa Romeo has announced its Giulia sports sedan will arrive in Australia in February 2017. It’s a true sports model, with rear-wheel-drive giving it 50/50 weight distribution. It will be sold in four trim levels: Giulia, Giulia Super, Giulia Veloce and Giulia Quadrifoglio. The hot Quadrifoglio is the star of the range, jumping from zero to 100 km/h in just 3.9 seconds. It also holds the current Nurburgring production sedan lap record at just 7 minutes and 32 seconds. Quadrifoglio is Italian for four-leaf clover and has been the symbol… Read more

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2016 INFINITI QX30 REVIEW

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The new Infiniti QX30 sits on the same platform as the Infiniti Q30 we recently reported on, but is 35 mm higher and has a more aggressive appearance. It’s part hatchback, part SUV, with a solid touch of coupe in its shape. It shares some of its underpinnings with the Merc – the automotive world is a strange place at times. Interestingly, the Australian-market Infiniti QX30 is assembled in the Nissan / Infiniti plant in England, which makes sense because they drive on the ‘proper’ side of the road in… Read more

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EH HOLDEN

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Released in August 1963 the Holden EH was many owners favourite Holden. Whilst it carried on the overall look of the previous model EJ the redesign of the rear section including mudguards, tail-lights, roofline and windscreen to produce a car with classicly simple lines. Many people consider it to be the best looking of all Holdens. Things were much the same at the front except the grille now had a vertical centre bar incorporating a Holden badge. In GMH advertising its appearance was described as `Power-Swept styling’. Although it was… Read more

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FORD FALCON 2002-2016

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2006 Ford Fairmont Ghia

In October 2016 the last Ford Falcon left the assemble line, not long after its 56th birthday in Australia. What does this mean on the used-car scene for the period being examined here, 2002 – 2016? At this stage the answer is we simply don’t know’ though speculation suggests the sporting models may become desirable as years go by, perhaps even increase in value. That is the Falcon XR6, XR6T, XR8, Sprint, GT, and any with supercharged or turbocharged engines (except for the four-cylinder turbos). Trouble is, there are so… Read more

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TUCSON JOINS THE HYUNDAI CELEBRATION PARADE

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Is it, I wonder, an attempt at quirky Korean humour that the new Hyundai Tucson, celebrating 30 years in Australia, requires turning the ignition key to start the engine (no push-button fire-up) and eschews satellite navigation. It certainly takes me back more than a quarter of a century to the times when Hyundai was a funny little cheap-an-cheerful car. How things change. Hyundai is now consistently in the top three sellers in Australia with 10 or more per cent of total sales and has a huge range of quality vehicles…. Read more

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NO-CHARGE CHARGING AT WESTFIELD SHOPPING CENTRES

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In a strong sign of the future of the automobile, BMW and Westfield have teamed up to install 40 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations in 10 Westfield shopping centres across NSW, Queensland and Victoria. The charging stations can be used by any electric vehicle not just BMWs and there’s no charge for the charging. By March 2017, electric vehicle owners will be able to access four charging stations per centre at Westfield Bondi Junction, Chatswood, Miranda, Sydney, Warringah Mall, Carindale, Chermside, Doncaster and Southland. Speaking for Westfield, Tim Roberts,… Read more

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NEW HOLDEN COMMODORE: FIRST PHOTOS

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Holden has released the first official pictures of the fully imported Commodore ahead of its Australian launch in early 2018. This of course, follows the cessation of local manufacturing by Holden at a date yet to be revealed late in 2017. It’s a big, bold design and is visually way ahead of the previous generation Opel Insignia which was on sale briefly in Australia a couple of years back. The new model is virtually identical in size inside and out to the outgoing Aussie designed Commodore. The NG is slightly… Read more

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TAKING IT TO THE STREET THE HYUNDAI WAY

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There’s always been nothing like the Hyundai Veloster. From the word go the ‘two-and-a-half’ door coupe has stood out from the crowd and has been the go-to car for the budget conscious automotive individualist. Now Hyundai has gone even further with the introduction of the Veloster Street Special Edition, which brings $3000 of exclusive additional spec and other goodies above the Veloster Series II SR Turbo + on which it is based. Having already claimed a prime spot in the quirky corner of the coupe market, with only 200 to… Read more

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CADILLAC SEVILLE

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1977 Cadillac Seville

By the early seventies large American cars with their powerful V8 engines were dominant. Every manufacturer had models similar to the Cadillac Eldorado which gobbled up 25 litres of fuel for every 100km travelled. War in the Middle East in 1973 saw Arab nations raise oil prices by 387 per cent, which, for a country like America that consumed so much, it was a nightmare. Petrol station queues became the norm and two car owners ensured they had both an odd and even ending number licence plate so they could… Read more