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BUICK RIVIERA

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1975 Buick Riviera Coupe

The Buick Riviera could be considered as America’s answer to the Bentley Continental. At the time of its introduction Ford’s Thunderbird was one of the best selling cars and General Motors needed a response. General Motors design chief at the time told his staff that GM needed a car which was a cross between a Ferrari and a Rolls Royce. When it went into production the Riviera had all the chrome and accessories of its contemporaries but was blessed with some of the finest Detroit styling of the 1960s. In… Read more

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HYUNDAI TWINS TAKE LEAD IN NEW SERIES

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The popular Hyundai mid-size twins, the i40 Sedan and Tourer, have had a mid-life spruce-up and it’s much more than a once-over with a damp face cloth. Not only have the pair smartened up, they have a few new technological tricks up their sleeve. Hyundai Series II i40 comes in sedan or Tourer (station wagon) form, with the choice of either petrol or diesel power and in a couple of specification levels – Active and Premium. We tried out the Hyundai i40 1.7-litre CRDi turbo-diesel automatic Active Tourer, which comes… Read more

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TOYOTA COROLLA 2000 – 2015

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By EWAN KENNEDY CAPTION: A. B.2007 Toyota Corolla hatch C. BODY COPY Toyota Corolla is now in its 50th year in Australia and has consistently been a major player for that entire period, even more so in the last few years when it has been in number one spot outright. Corolla was built in Melbourne until 1999 and fully imported from Japan since then. Significant improvements were made by Australian engineers to suit them to our conditions. Though the cars are no longer made here Australia continues to provide engineering… Read more

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NEW PAJERO SPORT IS GENUINE ALL-ROUNDER

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Rather than being a new variant of the popular Mitsubishi Pajero as the name suggests the Pajero Sport is actually the replacement for the outgoing Challenger. The Pajero Sport name has been used in Europe for the Challenger since it was first produced in 1996. Launched in 1982 Pajero was hailed as the first affordable affordable 4WD vehicle that appealed to female drivers as much as their male counterparts. It comes as no surprise therefore that Australia is just the second country to receive the Pajero Sport after Thailand where… Read more

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FORD MUSTANG: FIRST DRIVE

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“First drive, Ford Mustang.” I’ve been waiting to write those words since attending the major transglobal television reveal of the Mustang in Sydney exactly two years ago. The good news is that I finally took the first drive today, the bad news is that the total distance covered was 10 kilometres and a minder from Ford Australia was keeping a close eye on me from the passenger seat. Ah well, Ford has promised me a proper drive as part of the media launch of the Mustang midway through January next… Read more

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REAL WORLD FUEL CONSUMPTION TESTING

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The Volkswagen Group emissions cheating scandal has again brought up the argument that emissions and fuel consumption testing should be done in the real world, not in laboratories. Which sounds good in principle and I can understand why the general public is calling out for it. However, there are far too many variables in the real world so comparisons between vehicles require identical testing, which can only be done inside a building where temperature and weather are under control and cars are driven in an extremely accurate manner to follow… Read more

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NEW BMW 1 SERIES IS BETTER IN AND OUT

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A BMW for under forty grand? Not so long ago, that was a ridiculous idea, and even if the sticker had the magic 3 in the tens-of-thousands column, the market assumed you had to spend another ten grand to get an AM radio. Now, we’re used to the idea, and BMW’s upgraded F20 1 Series comes with a sharpening of the standard features list. The 118i replaces the 116i as the cheapest of the BMW line-up (not counting Mini, obviously) and in Urban Line still squeaks under $40,000 before on-roads,… Read more

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CASCADA IS HOLDEN’S NEW CRUISING CONVERTIBLE

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Another new name on the Australian motoring scene, Holden Cascada is the convertible version of the Holden Astra. The cars are sourced from Holden’s General Motors affiliate, Opel. Opinions are divided on the material used for convertible roofs. In the last decade or so there was a move away from the traditional fabric top towards a solid retractable roof, the logic being that buyers wanted the perceived advantages of the looks and security of a coupe when the roof is closed. Opel / Holden followed this trend with the previous… Read more

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FORD FIESTA 2004 – 2015

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Ford Fiesta is the smallest car in the extensive range of Fords made in, or imported to, Australia. Ford Australia aims its cars at drivers who are looking for more than mere transport, so brings in many cars from designed for and built in Europe. This makes them slightly more expensive, but many keen buyers seem happy to find the extra cash. To this day some confuse the Fiesta with the model it superseded, the Ford Festiva, but they are completely different cars. Festiva was built in South Korean by… Read more

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FORD RESEARCH CENTRE IS BIGGER AND BETTER THAN EVER

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Ford Australia may be pulling out of local manufacturing in 2016, but continues to expand in the design, engineering and testing fields. In fact there are more engineers employed than every before and the company is searching for more as I write this. Indeed, after the other two car makers, Holden and Toyota, close their factories in 2017 Ford Australia says it will be largest automotive employer on Australia. Some two billion dollars has been invested by Ford Australia in research and development (R&D) in the past six years, with… Read more