Aussie Motoring

The woes of at least one of America’s car giants is not limited just to the American mainland. Back in 1990 General Motors bought a 50% share in the Swedish car manufacturer Saab for $1 billion with a toptal cost tothe company coming in at $4 billion.

Obviously General Motors lacks the Midas Touch so it should come as no surprise that in the last 15 years Saab has failed to turn a profit on 14 occasions.

So what is wrong with Saab? Well since 1990 here in Australia Saab seems to have moved upmarket and these days Saabs are not as common on our streets as they once were. On the other hand if you drive in any of the major capital cities and regional centres you will often find yourself behind a bus that was built by Scania - Saab’s trucking arm.

There has been some suggestions that General Motors should give Saab the chop but then, from Holden’s point of view, that would not be such a good idea. Many Saab’s around the world are powered by a Holden motor but that doesn’t mean that Saab’s are cheaper here than anywhere else.

In fact even the entry level Saab - the 9-3 Linear Sports sedan kicks off at $A39,900 and for that price you only get a basic car.

Included in the basic car are:

Electronic Stability Program (traction control by another name)

Roof rail airbag - side curtain airbags for front and rear passengers

ReAxs - passive rear steer

Cruise Control

Automatic Climate Control

Heated front seats

Rain sensor - that turns your wipers on if you don’t notice that it’s actually raining outside

To that you can add:

Leather trim and 16 inch alloy wheels for an extra $3000

Bi-Xenon headlamps with automatic levelling $1500

Body coloured bumper and side skirts $1000

Color-matched door handles $490

Intergrated front fog lamps $500

Saab Sentronic automatic 5 speed transmission $2100

Sport Chassis - that supports a more active driving style $500

Dark walnut or red walnut veneer trim $750

Saab Infotainment system (Premium 150) $500 or

Saab Infotainment (Prestige 300) $1000

6 disc in-dash CD Player $750

Intergrated telephone $1000 (hands-free preparation for mobile phone is standard)

Auto-dimming inner mirror $320

Electrically adjustable driver’s seat $1250

Electrically operated glass sun roof $2000

Saab Park Assist $750

Saab Anti-theft Protection Alarm $750

And now you are beginning to see why there aren’t too many Saab’s on Australian streets.

Plus would you like to drive a car with a dashboard that looks like this?

Every one of those buttons is a distraction and an accident waiting to happen.

You will find a road test of the Saab 9-3 Linear Convertible here - but note that the starting price for the convertible is way above that of the entry level sedan. If you want the convertible then you are going to be paying $64,900 just to get started.

You will find the Saab Australia website here

Around six months after the release of the car that was to be the saviour of Mitsubishi Australia the writing that was on the wall is becoming even easier to read.

When a manufacturer knocks $6,500 of the price a vehicle you know that they are in dire trouble and that is just what Mitsubishi Australia have done for their 380 model. Mitsubishi Australia announced yesterday that they were revising the 380 model range amd were introducing a new entry model as well as a sports sedan.

Production numbers will also be cut at the Adelaide plant. Currently 90 380s roll off the production line each day and that will be reduced to 75.

Meet the shape of private urban transport in the years ahead.

It’s called Clever and that’s an acronym for Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport and the objective of the Clever Project is to develop a small vehicle for clean urban transport that requireds minimal space in traffic and parking, consumes minimal energy and produces low exhaust and noise emissions.

The technical targets for this vehicle are:

Room for two seats and luggage with full lining for the occupant area as well as protection against rain and provision of heating and airconditioning.

A high level of pedestrian and occupant protection.

Stable driveability at high speeds along with car like handling at low speed.

You can see more of the Clever Project by following the link.

Now if you have visions of rallying as you might expect to find in a World Rally Championship round then ditch them at once because this is nothing like that.

The foundation of this type of rallying is the rule that covers the car itself.

The vehicle must cost no more than £100. Not £135, not £200. £100. If you did not purchase the car you must provide a signed witness statement from someone stating that they feel £100 is on the expensive side as a valuation for your car. It must also state that they wouldn’t buy it for £101.

The £100 Rule is the foundation of the event and the first and biggest challenge is to find such a vehicle and get through the Rally with it. If you don’t appreciate the concept, then maybe you’re better off taking a guided bus tour across Europe. But you wouldn’t have nearly as much fun.

It’s called Banger Rallying and only the Poms could think of it. They even have an official website and you can find that by following the link.

CzechWrecks, from the organisers of Banger Rallying’s leading events Staples2Naples and Home2Rome, is the next adventure in the hugely popular banger rally calendar. The event takes a new route through Switzerland and northern Italy and includes scaling the infamous Stelvio Pass, crossing into Austria and then the Czech Republic for the final descent upon Prague.

Teams must enter cars that cost less than £100 and still be road legal. As teams will cross the highest pass in Europe they will also need to prepare their brakes and clutches before the event to make sure that they don’t get stranded on an Alpine Pass.

As with all Street Safari events, there is more to it than merely driving the car to the finish. As if this weren’t challenge enough, teams are encouraged, though not required, to compete in quirky activities over the four day event.

Points mean prizes and there is a £1000 cash prize for the team that makes it to Prague with the most points. There are also additional distinctions for the “Biggest Pile of Rubbish” as well as for the team who “Hitchhike the Farthest” in recognition of the team who break down terminally the earliest in the event and still make it to the end.

Justin Clements, lead organiser said “We love doing these events and when the opportunity came up to put a third event on this year we decided to go for it. We are being asked all the time by people to join Staples2Naples and Home2Rome despite them selling out months ago. So there has been a huge pressure on us to do a third European event this year, as well as the first of its kind in the United States, which is scheduled for May.

“As our two other leading European events go to Italy, we decided that this event should go somewhere else, and Prague sounded like fun. We have many ideas for new events for 2007 and are constantly amused by the amount of imitators out there since we began this concept three years ago.

“Obviously, there’s something about dragging a decrepit vehicle off the beaten path that strikes a chord with people. Staples2Naples sold out in just over four minutes this year and has a waiting list two years long.”

CzechWrecks takes in Annecy, a beautiful town in the foothills of the French Alps before crossing Simplon Pass in Switzerland, renowned as one of the more beautiful passes in the Alps.

“The event even takes in Stelvio Pass which has to be one of the best passes ever and is a real treat,” Clements said. “One of the things about our events that we pride is that we search out and include some of the best driving roads in Europe and some of the most scenic parts that Europe can offer. It’s just an incredible experience all the way around.”

CzechWrecks takes to the road September 1, 2006. Registration is now open. For more information, visit http://www.czechwrecks.com

Somehow it seems like more fun than having a goanna run up your leg.

One of the biggest nuisances when you’re driving at night is the idiot behind you who has forgotten to dim his headlights. Of course most cars these days are fitted with a manual adjustment that allows you to change the alignment of the mirror but what if you could have a mirror that automatically adjusted when the light from behind became too much?

Well there is such a mirror and it’s made by the American company Gentex Corporation. It’s operation sounds simple enough.

A forward facing sensor monitors the ambient light and alerts the mirror to begin looking for glare.

A rear facing sensor below the mirror detects the glare from lights on vehicles travelling behind you and sends a voltage to an electrochromic gel that is sandwiched between the two pieces of glass that make up the mirror.

The gel dims the reflection in proportion to the glare and then clears when the glare has gone.

The mirror already comes fitted as either standard equipment or parto of an option package to more than 150 vehicles and can be retro-fitted to many more.

You can read more about the mirror here but unfortunately the mirror does not appear to be available in Australia:(

For Australia have announced that the Ford Focus XR5 Turbo has arrived in Australia and is now being shipped to dealers around the country.

You can pre-book a test drive here

Ford Australia has released a special edition Falcon XR6 cab chassis that comes fitted with:

Traction Control

Anti-lock brakes with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution

XR sports seats

XR sports instrumetn cluster

Alloy pedals

17″ 5 spoke alloy wheels

And if you do use your Falcon XR6 cab chassis for some serios work the new special edition also comes with optional one tonne suspension complete with 16″ one tonne rated alloy wheels.

Queensland’s burgeoning ethanol industry continued to go from strength to strength today with the announcement of more than $700,000 in State Government grants to three independent fuel groups.

Deputy Premier, Treasurer and Minister for State Development, Trade and Innovation Anna Bligh said the grants would assist the three fuel groups convert and market a number of stations throughout Queensland to ethanol blend fuels.

Ms Bligh said the announcement of the grants today was particularly pertinent as Queenslanders faced unprecedented prices at the bowser as the world crude oil price continued to skyrocket.

“The fuel watchdog Fueltrac predicted this week that motorists might be paying up to $1.50 a litre for petrol very soon and Queenslanders are today still paying an average of $1.30 a litre,” Ms Bligh said.

“So there has never been a more appropriate time to look at ways of reducing our reliance on traditional fossil fuels and developing the alternative fuels industry to the best of our abilities.

“Queensland is leading the nation in the uptake and use of ethanol blend fuels by motorists but there is still much, much more that can be done.

“The grants I’m announcing today will ultimately add 30 new outlets to the 128 service stations already offering ethanol blend fuels throughout the state.

“That’s an incredible achievement by the government and the fuel industry when you consider that just 18 months ago there were only 40 service stations stocking E10 in Queensland.

“The government is determined that this alternative, cleaner, greener fuel will establish and maintain a firm foothold in Queensland and ultimately, I’d like to get to the point where it is available at all fuel outlets.”

Today’s grants under the Beattie Government’s Queensland Ethanol Conversion Initiative were awarded to:

* Freedom Fuels Retail which receives $365,000 to convert 13 service stations

* Neumann Petroleum which receives $300,000 to convert 17 stations

* United Petroleum which receives $70,000 to market E10 at 24 outlets

Ms Bligh said the funding was awarded as part of the State Government’s $7.3 million Queensland Ethanol Initiative 2005-07, which included a $2.3 million marketing campaign to be unveiled next month at the Ethanol 2006 Australia Conference, to be staged in Brisbane.

If you bought a vehicle from Holden during October and November 2005 you may be entitled to a refund.

During October and November of 2005 Holden ran a special promotion where it offered new vehicles at the same rate that employees would pay. “You Pay What We Pay” was the name of the promotion but unfortunately some buyers paid more - up to $5,000 more.

After an investigation by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission Holden has agreed to offer refunds to any customer who was overcharged during that promotion.

The all-new 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander is on the leading edge of versatility, technology, and value in the crossover SUV segment. The 2007 Outlander debuts the all-new 3.0L V6 MIVEC engine and features a standard six-speed Sportronic(R) automatic transmission with one-touch manual shifting and adaptive electronics.

The Outlander XLS adds rally inspired Sportronic steering wheel paddle shifters for shifting control at the driver’s fingertips. All Wheel Control (AWC), an advanced version of all-wheel drive is available. An innovative two-piece flap-fold rear tailgate makes cargo loading easy, and an in-floor stowable third-row seat adds to the XLS model’s versatility.

Technology is one of the hallmarks of the new Outlander, including a standard Bluetooth(R) hands-free cellular phone interface, advanced FAST-Key access system, and optional 650-watt Rockford Fosgate(R) audio system and DVD entertainment. A new hard-drive navigation system option will be state of the art.

And the all new 2007 Mitsubishi Outlander was on display at the New York International Auto Show last week.