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SAFETY HINTS FROM RACV FOR THE HOLIDAY SEASON

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Victorian motoring organisation RACV is urging everyone to keep road rules and safety at the forefront of their minds this festive season. 287 lives have been lost on Victorian roads in 2023, up 23.2 per cent (as at midnight 18 December 2023). RACV is calling on Victorian motorists to be mindful of keeping to the left on a multi-lane road (rule 130) and not stopping on a freeway (rule 177), with Victoria Police figures showing almost 10,000 infringements totalling over $1.5 million in fines were handed out to motorists over… Read more

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MORGAN 4/4

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It may surprise some to know that Morgans remained in production largely unaltered for 50 years longer than any other car in the world. Yet hardly any two of the 15,000 or so four- wheeled Morgans built since 1936 were exactly alike as they had all been built by hand like traditional sports cars with a body, chassis and suspension dating from the early part of the century. The body panels, in particular, were worked by hand for the best fit, and were varied like the trim to meet the… Read more

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OOPS . . . TWO CARS FLUNK CRASH TESTS!

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Australia’s independent car safety authority ANCAP has warned car buyers to check ratings after two brand new cars failed to score any stars for safety in crash tests. The cars in question are the Chinese MG5 sedan and Indian Mahindra Scorpio SUV. Both models were unable to achieve even one star for safety in terms of physical or active collision protection. In many areas, ANCAP says this was due to the fundamental omission of safety features that have been commonplace in new cars for many years. “Both brands have misjudged… Read more

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ALFA ROMEO GIULIA VELOCE

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Demand for mid-sized sedans has been declining steadily in recent years as more and more buyers are switching to the more functional SUVs. But if you want some pizzaz in your life, love driving and don’t need to carry lots of stuff in the back then the Alfa Romeo Veloce is well worth considering. There are currently three models in the Giulia range: Ti, Veloce and Quadrifoglio as well as a limited-edition version of the Quadrifoglio called 100th Anniversary to commemorate the first use of that badge in the 1923… Read more

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TASKMASTER OF HUGE PROPORTIONS

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Question: does the Navara PRO-4X Warrior, a latecomer to the ranks, have enough to take on the army of talent in one of the most closely fought contests in the Aussie automobile market? With fully armed dual cab pick-ups the likes of the Ford Ranger, Mitsubishi Triton, Toyota HiLux Rugged, Mazda BT50 Thunder, Isuzu’s D-Max and the US Ram holding the line, the Navara Warrior has its work cut out. Not that Nissan isn’t out to giving things a shake, calling on input from local specialist engineer Premcar, to light… Read more

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NEW MINI COUNTRYMAN 

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  The Mini Countryman has been around since the 1960s when, as a small station wagon,   it sold alongside the classic Mini.    After being off the scene for a number of years, BMW brought it back in 2010, this time as  the first Mini.    While it could be argued that the Mini Moke that was built in Australia until the early 1980s  could be classed as an SUV, the Countryman came with a raft of features not seen in the  cute little Aussie Moke. To start with it… Read more

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TOYOTA TUNDRA COMING DOWNUNDER

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Toyota Australia has announced details of its full-size Tundra pick-up truck which, subject to a successful local evaluation program, is likely to go on sale here in 2025. If it does come here it will compete against vehicles such as Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado and RAM 1500. Built at Toyota’s factory in San Antonio, Texas the Tundra has been around since 1999 but only in left-hand drive. An initial batch of 300 vehicles will come here and be converted to right-hand drive by the Walkinshaw Automotive Group in Clayton South,… Read more

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TRIUMPH SPITFIRE

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The Triumph car originated as a sideline for the successful motorcycle business which unfortunately went bankrupt in 1939, and Triumph was finally bought up by Standard in 1944. In 1946 the first Standard-Triumph car appeared. It was the 1800 Roadster which was aimed at the export market and had three-abreast seating, a steering-column gear change and was the last car in the world to offer a `dickey’ seat behind the driver. Initially it was fitted with a 1776cc engine exactly as supplied by Standard for the Jaguar 1.5-litre models, but… Read more

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LUXURY LEXUS LM PEOPLE MOVER NOW ON SALE

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After the public got an early preview of the Lexus LM at last month’s Melbourne Cup the luxury people mover is now on sale The name-tag stands for Luxury Mover and it certainly lives up to that description. While it’s technically a people mover, its price range of $160,888 to $222,000, means that its far more likely to be used for chauffeur-driven executive transport rather than on the family school run. There are two variants, the seven-seat LM 350h Sports Luxury, available in either two- or all-wheel drive, priced from… Read more

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LEXUS ES 2013 – 2022

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Late in 2013 a new generation Lexus ES was built on its own unique platform, previous models shared some underpinnings with Toyota models. Frontal styling was distinctly Lexus with its aggressive arrow-head spindle grille. The smooth, near silent ride and high-quality finish that had really impressed people since the earliest days of the Lexus LS400 was continued in the ES line. Perhaps it wasn’t quite as supremely smooth as its big brother, but the ES cost considerably less so has appealed to many. Thus, there are now quite a few… Read more