Category: News

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WILL OUR COMMODORE BE JUDGED “WORLD CAR OF THE YEAR”?

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Opel Insignia

Australian engineers working on the next-generation Commodore may have played a major part in having the Opel Insignia listed as a finalist for the 2018 World Car of the Year awards. Opel Insignia has had many positive reviews in Europe since its introduction a few months ago – and that’s with just the four-cylinder turbocharged engine. We feel sure they will love the performance of the V6 engine if they get to sample it. That powerplant wouldn’t have been engineered into the car but for pressure from Holden. The World… Read more

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ALL-NEW BMW X3

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Fourteen years ago BMW was ahead of its time when it launched the X3 SUV into the prestige car market. Seven years later it introduced the second generation. Now a further seven years on the gen-three X3 from BMW has arrived in Australia. Four years ago Australian Calvin Luk, already one of BMW’s best regarded stylists took his seat at computer screen to do come up his thoughts on the all-new X3. Yesterday he sat at his screen again and fascinated we Australian motoring journos with quickly drawn strokes to… Read more

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PORSCHE 911 CARRERA T

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  The 911 Carrera T is based on the standard 911 Carrera, but with major changes. While the T stands for Touring in Porsche speak this is not a GT (grand touring) vehicle in the conventional manner rather the T is aimed at harder performance through lower weight. The legendary Colin Chapman famously said when he designed his racing and sportscars, “First add lightness.” To trim mass the Porsche Carrera T rear window and rear-side windows are made from lighter glass and the door trims feature opening pull loops instead… Read more

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EVEN HOTTER PORSCHES COMING

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Porsche Australia has announced that two new models, from the opposite ends of the scale, are coming Downunder next year: PORSCHE 718 BOXSTER AND CAYMAN GTS The Porsche 718 Boxster roadster and Cayman coupe are now offered in high-performance GTS variants. The updated turbocharged 2.5-litre, GTS four-cylinder boxer engine produces 269 kW, up 26 kW over the previous GTS models with their naturally aspirated engine. Maximum torque is there between 1900 and 5000 rpm. They are sold in six-speed manual gearbox format, or optional Porsche DoppelKupplung (PDK) for a crazy… Read more

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LEXUS’S RELENTLESS PURSUIT FOR PERFECTION

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Talk about attention to detail. Lexus has spent 15 years developing a dazzling new paint colour mimicking that of an American Morpho butterfly that is renowned for the deep, shimmering blue of its wings Lexus calls it Structural Blue, it uses special technology to produce a finish that is deeper, more lustrous and essentially more “blue” than anything seen before. The development was a collaboration between the company’s U.S. and Japanese technical centres and California-based VIAVI Solutions, a leading provider of thin-film optical coatings and pigments. The desired quality could… Read more

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SUBARU LEVORG BLENDS STYLE WITH PERFORMANCE

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The crew from Monty Python may well have had the Subaru Levorg in mind when they coined the phrase “And now for something completely different …” because there’s nothing else on the Australian market that can quite match this Japanese station wagon’s combination of stylish looks, high-performance, practicality and value. For starters it’s a station wagon which makes it something of a rarity in this SUV-centric era. Add the fact that it shares much of its underbody componentry with Australia’s favourite performance car, the Subaru WRX. About the only ugly… Read more

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2018 MERCEDES S-CLASS FIRST DETAILS

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New Mercedes-Benz S-Class and Mercedes-Maybach models are on ships headed for Australia as we write. As befits the prestigious German marque the topline models both are crammed with the latest high-tech features. When Maybachs were launched in 2002 sales very slow, chiefly due to extremely high prices, but also because very few people knew the name. Hence the decision to call the new topline models in the Mercedes S-Class range the Mercedes-Maybach. They have features not available in even the most expensive Mercedes S-Class models. Equipment offered on S-Class models… Read more

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NISSAN ADDS UPMARKET X-TRAIL TO RANGE

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The Nissan X-Trail range has been expanded to include the topline TL model with a 2.0-litre turbo-diesel engine. This four-cylinder engine produces up to130 kW of power with maximum torque of 380 Nm at a relatively high 2000 rpm. There should be good torque below the peak figure, something we will comment on when we can get ourselves behind the wheel of one. The powerplant is also offered in the entry X-Trail TS. It drives to all four wheels through a CVT automatic transmission. Nissan Australia managing director Stephen Lester,… Read more

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PORSCHES ARE COMING YOUR WAY

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Porsche Cars Australia (PCA) has launched “Porsche in Motion”, a roadshow to destinations along Australia’s East Coast. The travelling show will run from now until mid December. It will move onwards into 2018, though next year’s dates and destinations are yet to be set. Porsche in Motion consists of two locally designed and built mobile trailers or “pods”; a brand experience pod and a pop-up showroom pod. The pods provide prospective Porsche customers and fans of the German marque with a similar premium experience found in a Porsche Centre. Proving… Read more

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HYUNDAI TICH TAKING A LEAD FROM BIG BROTHER SUVS

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When micro cars first came out the joke went: you need two – one for each foot. The roller-skate analogy could equally be applied to the new Hyundai Kona but for one thing. In the latest technology, comfort and convenience, the small SUV is kitted out almost as well as big brothers Tucson and Santa Fe. Like its bigger siblings the Kona comes in four levels of specification – Active, Active with Safety Pack, Elite and Highlander. With the choice of two petrol drivetrains, a 2.0-litre, naturally-aspirated unit mated with… Read more