Aussie Motoring

2005 saw an increase in the number of new vehicles sold in Australia but at the same time it also saw an increase in unsold vehicles held my GMH and Ford.

In an effort to clear stocks Holden ran a discount campaign that was to finish at the end of December but, as I write this, it’s still going on. On the other hand Ford’s discount programme does appear to have finised at the end of December.

Final figures for the year put Toyota ahead of GMH and Ford for Australian sales.

In the United States the domestic manufacturers’ market share fell to a new low of just 57% and Toyota claimed that its Camry sedan was the best selling car in the US for the fourth year in a row. Toyota’s Lexus vehicles were the best-selling luxury brand.

And Toyota wasn’t the only foreign car manufacturer to do well in the United States during 2005. Nissan and Hyunda joined Toyota in reporting at least a 9% increase in sales in the US in 2005.

The conventional wisdom that children are safer in big four wheel drive vehicles - or Sports Utility Vehicles (SUV) as the Americans call them - may not be based on any solid fact.

A recent study in the United States has found that bigger does not equal safer when it comes to being safe inside a vehicle. The study reached the conclusion that any safety imparted to the occupants by the size of the vehicle were cancelled out by the fact that SUVs have double the risk of rolling over in an accident.

While size does enhance the safety of people within a vehicle, children in vehicles that rolled over were three times more likely to be seriously injured than those in non-rollover accidents.

Nissan has developed the world’s first clear paint that repairs scratches on painted car surfaces, including scratches from carwashing machines, off-road driving and fingernails.

“Scratch Guard Coat” contains a newly developed high elastic resin that helps prevent scratches from affecting the inner layers of a car’s painted surface. With ““Scratch Guard Coat” a car’s scratched surface will return to its original state anywhere from one day to a week, depending on temperature and the depth of the scratch.

The water-repellant paint also has a higher resistance to scratches compared with conventional clear paints. A vehicle painted with “Scratch Guard Coat” will have only 20% of the abrasions caused by a car-washing machine compared with a car covered with conventional clear paint. Scratches from car-washing machines account for the majority of scratches to painted car surfaces.

“Scratch Guard Coat” is effective for about three years.

“Scratch Guard Coat” will be applied for the first time on an SUV model that is scheduled for a partial makeover in the near future. The paint will be applied to the car’s chassis, bumpers, door mirrors, among other parts.

Back in November Aussie Motoring posted some comments about the Hyundai Sonata. It seemed to attract mixed reviews from motoring journalists here in Australia that were somewhat at variance with what Sonota owners ,that we have spoken to, have to say about the car.

Those reviewes are also at variance with what motoring journalists in the US seem to say. Over there the Hyndai Sonata has been very well received and has even made it to least one top ten list for 2005.

You will find that list here.

This is the Honday Element - it’s a four wheel drive vehicle sold by Honda in the United States and its target market is young people. It even has a sun roof over the back seat - not for the comfort of back seat passengers but to allow young drivers to carry their surfboards inside the vehicle with just the nose protruding through the roof.

And this is a Toyota Scion - a small car Toyota markets in the US to young people. In fact Toyota claim that this car is aimed squarely at the Y generation.

But both these cars have something else in common besides their target market - they both appeal strongly to baby boomers - people like me who were born in the decade after World War II.

Are they popular because we oldies are returning to our second childhood? Actually the reason is something quite different and says a lot about motor vehicle design and marketing strategies.

Take Jim Tudor for instance - he’s a guy in his mid fifties and he drives around 64,000 kms a year on business. When he’s on the road he needs to carry a lot of stuff around with him and he absolutely loves his Honda Element even though it was never built with his needs in mind.

Jim also likes to snack while he drives and even drink the occasional coffee. If you have tried any of those tasks while you drive you will know that eventually something ends up on the upholstery or ground into the carpet. But the Element comes with easy-to-clean fittings so keeping the interior of the car clean is not problem at all.

Car designers seem to have forgotten that there is a marketplace out there for functional vehicles that meet the needs of more than just the Y generation. I wonder when they will start to wake up to that fact and I wonder when it will finally filter down into Australia?

Not a problem if you live in the US and are prepared to buy one of at least 13 vehicles that showed the most improvement in fuel efficiency during 2005.

Back in November we reported that the US Chamber of Commerce wanted the government to put a special tax on hybrid cars - those that operate on petrold and electricity such as the Toyota Prius.

Fortunately it seems that somebody with a few brain cells ignored that idea and now, if you buy a hybrid car, or one that has shown an big improvement in fuel efficiency you could could a nice addition to your tax return … but only if you get in quick.

A few months after a manufacturer has sold 60,000 hybrid vehicles the tax break begins to fade away.

Still, it’s worth aiming for especially if you’re buying a Toyota Prius because those people will be entitled to a credit on the income tax of $3,150 and the credits go down from there till you reach a credit of just $250 if you happen to be buying a Chevrolet Silverado pickup.

Now you have to realise that this is something that was thought up by the Government so it’s not all common sense. That Chevy that you get a $250.00 credit for is still very heavy on petrol. In fact it uses twice as much fule as a Volkswagen Jetta but you get no tax credit on the VW because it didn’t show enough of an improvement in fuel efficiency.

You can read the full story here and I wonder if Australia will ever see Peter Costello announce a tax credit for new car buyers.