Category: News

No comments

ONE-IN-A-MILLION LEXUS DELIVERS WITH INTEREST

  By ,

Lexus leaders were left scratching their heads on how to celebrate selling a million IS sports sedans around the world. It did not take long for them to come up with an answer: Let’s make a better one. The result is the new Lexus IS line, which has borrowed from the recently released RC sports coupe, thus creating a four-door version of the well-credentialed two-door. Closer to home, the resulting major IS upgrades are expected to help Lexus achieve a sales record in Australia of more than 9000 vehicles. Available… Read more

No comments

MAZDA MX-5 RF ALMOST HERE

  By ,

The fascinating Mazda MX-5 RF (RF for Retractable Fastback), will arrive in Australia on 1 February 2017, and people are already visiting dealers to place orders on the fascinatingly shaped sportscar. Mazda MX-5 program manager Nobuhiro Yamamoto, who recently visited us in Australia, explained the reasoning behind the retractable roof, ” By the end of the third-generation MX-5’s model life, the retractable hardtop model accounted for more than half of all MX-5s sold and was popular with those who wanted all-season comfort and utility. The fourth-generation retractable hardtop model embodies… Read more

No comments

ELECTRIFYING NEW JAGUAR

  By ,

Jaguar has unveiled its first ever electric car at the Los Angeles Motor Show. California is exactly the right place to display the Jaguar I-Pace Concept given that the State is arguably the home of the most technologically advanced companies on Earth. Tesla is based there and is likely to be the company the Brits are aiming for. The Jaguar I-Pace Concept is a high-performance SUV with a stunning shape that’s more sportscar than family friendly wagon. Electric motors at the front and rear axles generate a combined power output… Read more

No comments

CLASSY AUDI COMPACT DRIVES INTO SHARP FOCUS

  By ,
Audi A3 sedan

The car that kicked off the German premium ‘A’ segment 20 years ago has just been given a major makeover with a refreshed design, revised engine range, new technology and safety assistance systems, standard MMI satellite navigation and higher levels of equipment across the board. Available as a Sportback, sedan or cabriolet, in four new paint colours, powertrains on offer are a new 1.0-litre TFSI three-cylinder S-tronic and 2.0-litre four-cylinder S-tronic automatic, 2.0-litre TFSI manual and quattro, and the 1.4-litre four-cylinder-on-demand S-tronic. The breadth of models is impressive, with the… Read more

No comments

NEW HOLDEN ASTRA HATCH ARRIVES

  By ,

Holden’s next step towards total importation is an all-new Astra hatchback which goes on sale in December. European designed, with a lot of input from Australian engineers, Astra is built in a GM factory in Gliwice, Poland. It features new-design engines and the latest in infotainment and safety technology. Styling of the Astra is neat and tidy, but doesn’t really break any new ground – until you get to the rear three-quarter panels where a clever rise of the waistline meets a swooping-down roof. The black colour further emphasises that… Read more

No comments

HISTORY LESSONS FROM MAZDA MX-5

  By ,
Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the program manager of the ND series Mazda MX-5 third from the left, with me standing to his right

I got chatting to Nobuhiro Yamamoto, the program manager of the ND series Mazda MX-5, this morning, and discovered we share a lot of timeline history. We both began in the automotive industry within months of one another in 1973, he as an engineer with the Mazda rotary engine research department, me in the technical section of the NRMA. Keen on motor racing, Nobuhiro-san moved on to the Mazda RX-7 racing team in 1976 working as an engineer on cars that competed in major events, including Daytona, Spa and Le… Read more

No comments

OPEN-TOP RANGE ROVER EVOQUE IS DELIGHTFUL

  By ,

Range Rover Evoque convertible is an astonishing eye-catcher. Never before have we experienced more interest and comments on a new vehicle under test. With one exception all the comments were favourable, with people loving the style and cheekiness of the concept, and the fact it came as a complete surprise. Only one comment was from someone who didn’t like the Evoque, or perhaps it was the two of driving the open-top Rangie. He said something along the lines of “you silly rich so-and-so’s”. You can fill in different words as… Read more

No comments

TOYOTA WORKHORSE NOT READY FOR KNACKER’S YARD

  By ,

The farmers’ friend; the miners’ mate nearly didn’t make it. In some quarters it was thought Toyota’s LandCruiser 70 Series workhorse, after more than three decades, had run its course. However, they had not reckoned on a cohort of Aussie owners who had used the ‘go almost anywhere’ 70 Series in the most challenging terrain to do the toughest jobs. So five years ago Toyota set chief engineer Sadayoshi Koyari and a team of Australian engineers and their Japanese counterparts the task of coming up with a new model worthy… Read more

No comments

IMPORTED HOLDEN COMMODORES: FIRST DETAILS

  By ,

Holden has released initial details 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. In an interesting move, journalists have been provided with an extensive array of details on many areas of the NG (code for Next Generation) Commodore. Much of this is under strict embargo, with dates to be provided later for releases of various items; infotainment, safety, technology, driver assistance, and more. Being… Read more

No comments

MERCEDES-AMG CABRIOLET: FIRST DRIVE

  By ,

Last week Mercedes Australia launched C-Class Cabriolets, with both standard and AMG variants being announced. The C 200 and C 300 convertibles are on the road now, as is the C 43 AMG version. The C 63 won’t be here till early 2017. However, Mercedes did bring in a couple of early examples of the AMGs and we were able to drive a C 43 following the drive program for the standard models. Our ride in a C 63 S will have to wait till later. Cleverly, the Mercedes-Benz PR… Read more