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FORD P6 LTD

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Bearing absolutely no family resemblance to the then current XC Falcon, the P6 LTD caused something of a sensation. It was first introduced in September 1976 and all up 5896 vehicles were built. It was eventually replaced by the FC LTD in June 1979. The P6 was big and looked big. Styling was clean and crisp in the American manner. The wheelbase was 3074mm, the longest of any modern passenger car in Australia. The engine continued to be the well proven 5.8-litre V8, designed to meet newly introduced emission controls…. Read more

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2017 PORSCHE MACAN GTS REVIEW

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Porsche is introducing new members to its Macan midsize SUV at a rate that’s hard to keep up with. Late in 2016 it came up with a low-cost 185 kW four-cylinder model retailing for just $80,410. Earlier in the year Porsche had added a Performance Package to the already hot Macan Turbo. With a tag of $133,800 it wasn’t exactly cheap, but having 324 kW under your right foot made it a proposal for those who are cash rich. So, it seemed like a good time to get behind the… Read more

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MAZDA’S LONG AUSTRALIAN HISTORY

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Who would have thought of a six-cylinder small car? Mazda did (1991)

Mazda Australia is proud of the fact that its Mazda3 is chosen by more Australians than any other car. Pointing out that while Toyota Corolla sometimes outsells the Mazda3 overall, many Corollas are bought by company fleets. But when buyers make their own choices more go for the Mazda3. Splitting hairs? Perhaps, but it is certainly a valid point that given a choice, the ‘3 is number 1. Mazda3 began its life as Mazda 323 just on 40 years ago and to celebrate its 40th anniversary Mazda invited a select… Read more

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TOYOTA STYLE PARIS FASHION

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Safety and style: it appears Toyota is covering all bases with its revised light passenger vehicle, the Yaris hatchback. It has class-leading safety systems available across the range and is clothed in an interesting shape from the Toyota ED2 design studio in the south of France. The result is premium safety that’s standard on the top-of-the-range Yaris ZR we drove, and a $650 option on the Ascent and mid-range SX variants. Yaris hatches are well equipped, featuring cruise control, a display audio system with controls on the steering wheel spokes,… Read more

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LEXUS LC: A LOVELY COUPE

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You may remember the Lexus LFA supercar of a few years back? It was an ultra-expense, limited-edition model and production ceased in 2012. However, many of the skilled engineers and designers who crafted the LFA were then transferred to the Lexus LC project. That lovely coupe is about to go on sale in Australia and at a considerably lower price than the $750,000 Lexus LFA… Sensibly, Lexus doesn’t charge extra for the hybrid as it has done in the past. Both LC models share a recommended price of $190,000, to… Read more

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NEW AUDI S4 HAS CLASS AND FLAIR

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The new Audi A4 has made a lasting impression in the past 12 months, its understated manner unable to cloak the brilliance beneath the surface. Now, the S4, the first sport variant in the line-up and the first S4 to dip beneath $100,000 is also starting to make its presence felt. STYLING As with the A4, critics more comfortable with sporty cars that scream their worth loud enough to raise a dead man from his slumber, have turned their attention to the S4’s considered demure appearance. Slippery ground that. I,… Read more

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2017 BMW 530e ARRIVES

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Being a relaxed and comfortable driver plays a big part in road safety if you live in our more ever more frantic cities. This thought crossed my mind as I sat in a new BMW 530e in a Sydney traffic jam with rain pelting down and watching drivers getting irritated with one another. And feeling rather relaxed despite these surroundings. The new BMW was silent because we were in full-electric mode so the petrol engine wasn’t running. I smiled when a readout on the dash told me the 530e could… Read more

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NG COMMODORE SUPERCAR RACER REVEALED

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Holden Holden has revealed the first official concept images of the next generation (NG) Commodore race car that will be introduced into the Supercars Championship in 2018. At this stage it’s only a computer-generated image by GM Design Australia Exterior Design Manager Peter Hughes. The Supercars version of the NG Commodore is currently undergoing a design and development process in partnership between Holden and its official factory racing team, Triple Eight Race Engineering. The design work includes simulation and aerodynamic evaluation using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modelling. In an interesting… Read more

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PATHFINDER TRACKS ONWARD AND UPWARD

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From memory, late last century the Nissan Pathfinder became the first four-wheel-drive wagon to be offered with a two-wheel drive option, in this case for the American market. Thus, the mid-size 4×4 perhaps became the vanguard of the present sports utility vehicle tsunami around the world, which sees an SUV on almost every street corner. The Pathfinder still plays a leading role, with the MY17 version, at more than five metres long, hopping into bed with the big SUV boys, in 2WD and 4WD versions, with petrol or petrol /… Read more

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AUSTIN HEALEY

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Donald Healey was born in Perranporth, in Cornwall, England in 1898. He became a successful competition driver, engineer and finally a car manufacturer with his own business. In 1931, driving a 4.5-litre Invicta he won the Monte Carlo Rally outright, and joined Triumph in Coventry in 1933 and shortly after became their Technical Director. At the end of World War II he started his own car manufacturing business in Warwick producing Healey cars using engines sourced from Riley. In 1952 BMC’s chief executive, Leonard Lord, sponsored an informal `design competition’… Read more