Aussie Motoring

At least that’s what an American humorist suggested on 60 Minutes.

Are they only finding that out now?

We could have told them that years ago!

Christmas is just two weeks away and that means the time for hitting the road for the beach and holidays is also here.

There is nothing that will spoil your holiday fun more than sitting on the side of the expressway waiting for the tow truck so prepare your car for the trip. And the time to do that is right now - not five minutes before you leave home.

Anybody can carry out the simple steps needed to give your car the best chance of getting there and back and you can find those steps right here

Follow them and you could have another carefree trip. Ignore them and it could be you waiting on the side of the road while everyone else zips by.

The headline at RM Auctions reads “1964 Aston Martin DB5 Coupe” but this isn’t just any Aston Martin DB5 Coupe, this is the James Bond Car and for car lovers this was the real star of Thunderball and Goldfinger.

And now it’s up for sale for the first time in 35 years and of course, it comes complete with all the features that made it famous in the movies. You can get all the details here

Less than two months into the production of its company-saving 380 sedan range Mitsubishi has announced that production will be scaled down.

Currently the large car market is overstocked and Holden and Ford are both offering discounts to try and move excess inventory. Discounting the price of the new range is something that Mitsubishi is reluctant to do.

Sales of the new sedan have been meeting expectations and Mitsubishi believes that sales will increase as the model becomes better known but offering incentives to buyers is not part of the company’s plans at this point in time.

It will be interesting to see just how long it takes for Mitsubishi to change their mind.

Perhaps, like me, you’re not happy with the colour of your car. After all silver was such an elite colour when we bought our limo but now … sadly… it has become as common as dirt. At the moment there is little you or I can do to change the colour of our cars apart from adding a little grime or going the all the way and paying for a respray but there is hope on the horizon.

Scientists in Germany are developing a paint that will change colour depending on the temperature. Imagine the fun of buying a white car that turned blue in cold weather and red in hot weather.

Of course having a car that changed colours could become rather confusing - is that car in front of me really my white car turned red by the heat of the day or is it someone else’s car that has always been red.

At a time in life when things should be settling down and be easy to cope with more and more challenges are being added.

But then perhaps I’ll just do what I’ve always done and drive the dirtiest car in town - there’s no mistaking which one is mine then.

Yes that’s right, meet the VRX Turbo the latest hot little four to emerge from the Holden Special Vehicles’ workshops and it’s set to hit the market at a price point somewhere below $A43,000.

With a 0-100kmh speed of just a little more than 6 seconds this vehicle may not be the fastest from a standing start but it is certainly going to attract a lot of interest. The engine is a 2 litre DOHC turbocharged unit coupled to a 6 speed manual box.

The genesis of this vehicle is a Vauxhall Astra orignally tweaked by the Opel Performance Centre in Germany.

This hottie isn’t on the market just yet but could be by early 2006

The Army is and they’re taking their latest toy …

“Sorry Sarn’t Major :(”

… I mean weapon!

Armygeddon - a supercharged 7 litre Landrover will be there to take on all comers.

I’m told that the wire guided anti-vehicle missiles will be disarmed but the gun mounts aren’t just for decoration

“Don’t be silly soldier! Of course there are no photos of the new weapon - it’s top secret!”

I hear the RAAF are looking at ways of fitting a set of road wheels to one of their FA18 Hornets.

According to Dupont, the world’s biggest manufacturer of automotive paints silver has been the most popular colour this year - as it has been for the previous five years.

Perhaps it’s time for me and the missus to flog off the silver limo and buy something a little less common

In a major announcement the chairman of Hyundai Automotive Group revealed that by 2015 is aims to be selling 100,000 Hyundai and 50,000 Kia cars in Australia.

The chairman, Chung Mong-koo suggested that by the end of 2007 the company would be selling 70,000 units in Australia and by 2010 it would have doubled it’s market share. Currently that market share stands at around 4.5 percent.

New Kia models will be launched during 2006 and a new Hyundai Grandeur will be here soon. The new Grandeur went on sale in the United Arab Emirates last Tuesday.

Perhaps I should be the last person to write this piece. I mean I cut my 4WD teeth on a very battered but dependable Mk1 Land Rover. And back in 1987 when I spent several weeks driving a base model Pajero I thought of it as a car for sissies. So maybe I’m not the perfect choice to write something about the Nissan Murano because … well … it’s not really an off road vehicle at all.

I mean what self-respecting 4WD only has one gear? Where’s the fun in driving a vehicle that has only one gear even if it is the right gear for that precise point in time?

Even using the word ‘gear’ is probably not quite right because the Murano comes equipped with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and that means that it is always in the right gear for the conditions.

The CVT is a stepless transmission controlled by an onboard computer and it gives an infinite number of gear ratios. But just in case the driver happens to have Luddite tendencies Nissan have also provided a gear selector that the driver can use to select from one of a number of pre-programmed gear ratios.

When the vehicle is being driven in full auto mode the drive operates as 2WD only with power going to the front wheels but as soon as any wheel spin is detected the vehicle automatically switches to 4WD. And if anyone is silly enough to believe that this vehicle should be taken off-road then the driver can lock in 4WD.

But even there the responsibility of driving the Murano is taken from the driver because even with the 4WD locked on the vehicle will automatically switch back to 2WD should the vehicle speed exceed 30kph.

The Murano is powered by a 3.5 litre V6 – the same V6 that powers the Maxima and 350Z – and the suspension is very similar to that used in those on-road vehicles too. In fact the Murano also shares its frame with the Maxima.

The result is a big vehicle that is really designed for sealed roads. It rides and handles well and seats 4 adults in comfort and carries their luggage as well. On a trip you can expect to get around 11 litres per 100km but around town that figure is going to worse.

The starting price for this Soccer Mom’s vehicle is $51,990 and you can option it up from there up to around $56,990 for the top of the range Ti model.

Based on figures from the US where the Murano has been selling for the last 2 years, and has now sold over 327,000 units, Nissan expect to sell as many as 300 a month here in Australia.

Hmmmm – I still can’t come to grips with a vehicle like this. Whoever heard of an off-road vehicle that had a foot operated parking brake?