Category: News

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TALENTED MAZDA6 IN SOFT-SHOE SHUFFLE ONTO MARKET

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The Mazda6 origins go back almost 30 years to the Mazda 626 medium-size sedan. A nomenclature change to its present form accompanied its repositioning as the company’s flagship in 2002. Lately midsize SUVs have been assailing the sales charts like mountain goats at the expense of conventional sedans and wagons. The exception is the Mazda6, which has maintained a firm foothold in the market, making it the most popular midsize car import under $60,000. With the latest update, Mazda expects to sell 380 units a month through continued evolution of… Read more

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2017 SUBARU IMPREZA PREVIEW

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By EWAN KENNEDY in Tokyo Subaru flew selected Australian motoring journalists to Japan for an advanced look at the all-new fifth generation Impreza; due in Australia in December. Subaru Australia’s chief, Nick Senior Senior says he is proud of the fact that Impreza is about 95 per cent new. Shaking his head and saying the words ‘all-new’ tend to be seriously misused in car marketing, often relating to cars that contain less than 50 per cent new parts. New Impreza is built on an all-new modular platform that Subaru will… Read more

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HOLDEN’S BIGGEST SUV GETS AN UPGRADE AND A NEW NAME

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Holden has given its largest SUV an upgrade and changed its name from Colorado 7 to Trailblazer. We never quite understood Holden’s logic when it launched the big SUV in 2013 with the same name as its Colorado utility, albeit it with a ‘7’ on the end to indicate its seating capacity, especially when the Trailblazer name was being used in other markets, including the United States. Sales of the Colorado 7 have been poor and it sits in the bottom third of the Large SUV market segment, well behind… Read more

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PORSCHE MACAN PERFORMANCE PACKAGE

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Porsche has introduced a Performance Package to its compact SUV, the stylish Macan Turbo. It has a newly developed brake system, lowered body, controlled sports chassis, Sport Chrono Package and sports exhaust system. The Package includes 21-inch wheels in the 911 Turbo design with lateral spokes painted in high-gloss black, LED headlights with PDLS Plus and stealth black elements. Black continues into the leather interior with Alcantara elements. Porsche’s twin-turbo 3.6-litre V6 engine has been upgraded to deliver 440 hp (324 kW) of power, a handy 10 per cent up… Read more

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HYUNDAI’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY

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Hyundai Tucson '30'

In 1983, Alan Bond’s yacht Australia II won the America’s Cup and made the Western Australian businessman a national hero. Three years later Bond began importing Hyundai cars to Australia. Only in a small way, and initially only in Western Australia where he partnered with his brother-in-law, local automotive legend John Hughes. Sadly, the America’s Cup has long since departed our shores and there’s no sign of it returning anytime soon. But Hyundai is now very much part of the Australian automotive scene, routinely selling over 100,000 vehicles each year,… Read more

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RENAULT’S ALL-NEW KOLEOS

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Midsize SUVs are all the rage globally at the moment as fuel prices drop and buyers want to get into larger, more spacious vehicles. Nowhere is this more obvious than in Australia and ours is the first market in the world to get the new Renault Koleos. Obviously Renault’s head office is pleased with the way our local office is operating. The previous Koleos enjoyed more than 9000 sales downunder since its 2008 launch. The new model seems likely to improve the sales rate as it’s up about half a… Read more

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ISUZU N SERIES TRANSMISSIONS UPGRADED

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The truck market is an interesting one in that the manufacturers are often several years ahead of car makers in technology. Yet many truck drivers aren’t always keen on moving with the times. However, the times they are a-changin’ and self-shifting transmissions are starting to take over in a big way. This change to transmission preferences is most obvious in the small truck market a segment dominated by the Isuzu N Series in this country. In Australia, sales of two-pedal trucks have finally surpassed three-pedal models in the light and… Read more

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NEW MODELS, NEW IMAGE FOR HOLDEN

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Holden’s plans for life after local production are proceeding at pace with the unveiling of a new brand image; a marketing campaign featuring leading Australian record producer and musician Flume; a preview of five new or upgraded models to be released over the next five months and a new extended test drive program. Covering every facet of Holden’s marketing communications, the new Holden ‘master brand’ campaign ranges from an updated logo and a new website, to fresh television and social media activations for all models including the new Astra and… Read more

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JEEP 75TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIALS

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Jeep is celebrating its 75th anniversary by bringing out a series of special editions. However, not all models are coming Australia, only the ‘real’ Jeep models are coming downunder (more about that ‘real’ in a moment). Though the first Willys Jeeps were introduced 75 years ago in 1941 these were purely military vehicles. The first models available to civilians, appropriately tagged as CJ for Civilian Jeep, didn’t hit the road until 1945. These were built by Willys, later by Kaiser, followed by American Motors Corporation (AMC). It wasn’t until 1987… Read more

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INFINITI ACTIVE COMPACT DESIGNED TO EDGE OUT RIVALS

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Since its return to Australia four years ago Infiniti has gone about quietly making inroads into the Australian market. Now, that is to be ramped up with plans for seven models to land by year’s end. First cab off the rank is the Infiniti Q30, which the Japanese company calls an ‘active compact vehicle’, which the company expects to become the volume model. The Q30 comes in three model grades with three engine choices. Infiniti Q30 is available in three model grades; GT, Sport or Sport Premium. The Q30 Sport… Read more