Aussie Motoring

Every month several of the car companies here in Australia send out a newsletter and they are always full of interesting information.

Nissan is one of those that send out a newsletter but this month it was different. In the past the newsletter has appeared to be produced and distributed in-house but this month the email was distributed through onemail-com.au.

No big deal you might think and it isn’t a big deal because none of the links in the newsletter will open in in the browser I and over 10% of web surfers use. It’s also changed in appearance from something that looked bright and interesting to something that is presented in drab colours that would do little to excite anyone.

On top of all that even the text is in a colour that is not easy to read.

I guess there’s more than one way for a car company to shoot itself in the foot and Nissan have just found a new way.

Nissan please delete me from your email list - I would do so myself but ‘remove’ link has disappeared from your emails.

It takes drive and determination to do but there seems to be plenty of that in the American auto industry and maybe even some in the Australian car industry

It’s well known right round the world that General Motors and Ford in the US are in dire trouble and are struggling to survive. That’s quite a turn-around from the position they were in just a decade or two ago so how did they get to this point?

Seth Godin is a legend in the world of marketing in the US and he had this to say about the causes of Ford’s problems:

“Making cars is not an unprofitable undertaking, unless you insist on make it one. At just about every turn the company ignored the market, alienated their workforce, distanced themselves from their distribution network, vilified their customers and chose short-term expediency ahead of long-term change.

They lobbied to keep gas mileage standards high (doing the opposite would have increased the market for cars). They lobbied to keep SUVs unregulated (and got addicted to a short-term high-profit alternative to cars)and they bought remarkable brands and made them average.

There were hard things they could have chosen to do, things that would have meant change. There were short-term hardships they could have endured to fix their dealer network or reinvent the way they designed and built cars. Instead they stayed inside the Detroit beltway, played the car game, managed the stock price and paid themselves a fortune.”

Now while not all of those points can be applied to the Australian motor industry I can think of several that certainly do resonate with what’s happening here. It will be interesting to watch over the coming months and perhaps as long as a year how Holden and Ford survive seeing they are still pinning their futures on a 6 cylinder model.

It’s easy to think that everything Toyota does turns into a roaring success. Toyota is currently the top-selling brand in Australia, it leads the pack in the United States, it does very well in Europe and Toyota 4×4’s are known and loved right across the world. Even Toyota’s luxury brand – Lexus – does well across the globe.

But not everything Toyota touches turns to gold and to make things even more embarrassing the lack of gold is best seen right in Toyota’s own country.

When Toyota launched the Lexus brand some years ago they decided not to market the brand in Japan. In most western countries the Lexus brand has been a success with sales meeting or even exceeding Toyota’s targets.

So Toyota may have been thinking that they were an absolute shoe-in when they launched the Lexus brand into Japan last year. The reality must have come like a cold shower to Toyota executives.

That reality was that Toyota missed it’s Lexus sales target by almost half in a market place that is besotted with thoughts of BMW and Mercedes.

However, the reality of the Japanese car market has not stopped Toyota from taking the game up to the European competition. A few days ago Toyota/Lexus launched the LS460 into the very top of the luxury car market.

At a price range of $US66,000 to $US82,000 this is definitely not your average white-collar worker’s car but then you wouldn’t expect it to be. With such juicy equipment as a pre-crash safety system, radar cruise control and a 4.6 litre V8 it was never going to be cheap.

Future tweaks will include two new gas-electric models that will be powered by a 5.0 litre V8.

Will this put Toyota/Lexus back on top on its home turf? Only time will tell but BMW certainly isn’t resting on its laurels and they too have an interesting new power plant to add to their range.

Team MINI fielded just one of its three car team for the Alphera Dutton Rally Victoria last weekend and secured a giant-killing outright victory on handicap.

Beating off a field of close to 100 hard-charging competitors including exotic sports thoroughbreds costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, and all-wheel drive rally-bred turbo-charged Japanese challengers by the dozen, the Team MINI, MINI Cooper S with John Cooper Works Tuning Kit emerged victorious in Victoria.

With multi-Australia Driver’s champion Paul Stokell sharing driving duties with Publishing Director Mike Sinclair, the CarPoint backed Team MINI entry claimed three prizes: First outright on handicap, and first in class for drivers, with Mike Sinclair picking up a trophy for third in class for co-drivers.

A clutch of privately entered MINI Cooper S John Cooper Works models also finished well up the leader board, with Scott Manson third overall on Handicap in his John Cooper Works equipped 2004 MINI Cooper S, and Craig Williams sixth in his 2003 MINI Cooper S.

MINI Cooper S cars were the only European hot hatch entries in the top 29 cars, further emphasising MINI’s sporting prowess and suitability for these events.

The Victorian win backs up a similarly stunning effort at the previous Alphera Dutton Rally round in Queensland, where the Team recorded a brilliant class win and second place on handicap for co-drivers and third overall on handicap for drivers.

The Team MINI racers are based around showroom cars, with only safety equipment such as FIA compliant roll cages, race seats and harnesses fitted. The cars use Dunlop road-legal competition tyres and AP-derived race brakes, both of which are available to customers keen to build their own event winner.

Stokell was pumped after cleaning up on track at Shepparton and Winton, being the first new generation MINI to crack a one minute 40 second lap at the circuit. His race time at Sandown was as impressive, logging just a smidge over 1 minute 30.

“We ran very strongly over the whole event,” Paul said. “The car never missed a beat, and we continued to leave other competitors astonished at our cornering speeds.

“The result at Winton is spectacular.”

Mike Sinclair was equally excited by his third in class result, vastly improved over his last Dutton outing.

“I have got my head around the gymkhana events and now we’re really starting to give the seasoned campaigners as well as the much more expensive cars a run for their money in the co-driver class as well as the driver class,” he said.

The next stop for the rampaging Team MINI cars is an anniversary party at Bathurst over the weekend of 5-8 September as part of the MINI Conquers the Mountain event, including a parade lap comprising 50 classic MINIs and the three 2006 Works cars.

Legendary MINI racer Bob Holden will drive one of the Team MINI cars around Bathurst, 40 years after he won the race in a 1966 MINI Cooper S partnered by Finnish BMC driver Rauno Aaltonen.

Bob, 74, continues to participate successfully in motorsport. He was also in action this weekend, campaigning a classic MINI Cooper S at the Speed on Tweed event in New South Wales.

Immediately following the Bathurst anniversary Parade, Team MINI heads back to Victoria for the final event of the year, the Mount Buller Sprint.

Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A., Inc., today unveiled long bed versions of the all-new 2007 Tundra full-size pickup truck at a press conference at the Toyota Technical Center-Calty Design Studio in Ann Arbor Michigan yesterday.

For the first time ever, aftermarket equipment manufacturers will have the opportunity to obtain technical data and examine the Tundra Long Bed work truck in detail five months prior to the vehicle’s launch.

In private sessions closed to the public, and closed to other truck manufacturers, NTEA members will be afforded an early first-look at new, yet- to-be-launched pickup trucks. On Wednesday, September 20, Toyota will participate in an NTEA measuring session, where it will show, for the first time, two truck configurations developed specifically for work truck customers who consider their full-size pickup truck the most important tool in their bag.

The new Tundra Long Bed will be available in Regular and Double Cab versions. With a 165-inch wheelbase, the Tundra Double Cab Long Bed will be the longest pickup in the Toyota truck lineup. It will be suitable for carrying a crew of six plus maximum cargo. The Tundra Regular Cab Long Bed will provide extra storage capacity behind the driver’s seat and the largest interior volume in its class.

Both long bed configurations will come with a choice of three engines, including a 5.7 liter V8 that offers maximum towing of well over 10,000 pounds and a payload capacity to compete with the best in the half-ton class.

Tundras will be equipped with oversized door handles and controls, designed so that work crews can jump in and out of the truck to move around a job site without taking off their work gloves. The cab is designed to function as a mobile office with a center console capable of holding a laptop or hanging file folders.

On bench seat models the center seat section folds down to create a flat surface for use as a mobile desk. The glove box is big enough to hold a standard Thermos, and to aid safe hands-free communication, Bluetooth capability is available.

The SR5 grade Tundra Long Beds will be a popular configuration for foremen, supervisors or owner-operator tradespeople. The SR5 will offer a wide variety of functional options, appearance accessories, and upgraded fabrics and trim.

Now that is quite some truck but not one we’re likely to see out here in Australia.

Carsguide has published an interesting tribute to the great Peter Brock. Like all great men he certainly had his quirky little ways and the Peter Brock tribute will give you an interesting insight into how he became so perfect.

You will also find a Peter Brock screensaver if you follow the same link.

Latest Kia concept car to make its debut at Paris Motor Show

When Kia’s designers created the cee’d ‘sporty hatch,’ they set out to maximise the differentiation between the five-door and three-door cee’d models as much as possible, without losing the family likeness.

Exterior – the same, but strikingly different

Consequently, the pro_cee’d actually looks very similar to Kia’s new cee’d ‘sporty hatch’ model with its dynamic, muscular and masculine nature.

“Colour plays an important role in generating the bold image of the pro_cee’d concept. We call the exterior colour ‘Cashew’ and it is a daring colour for a showcar,” observed Gregory Guillaume, Chief Designer Kia, European Design Centre.

“It looks almost solid, but does have a small percentage of metal flakes that give a discreet sparkle. I think the colour works well in contrast with the bright metal and dense matt black elements of the exterior like the door mirrors and the special road wheels, and shows off the car’s solid forms to perfection.”

The wheels are a two-part design, featuring five double-spokes arranged with a recessed black power-coated centre and brightly polished convex perimeter spokes. These dramatic wheels sport 265/30 R19 low profile tyres.

Key attributes which the pro_cee’d and ‘sporty hatch’ models will have in common include the lowered roof line (down by 25 mm compared to the five-door cee’d) and shallower side windows ringed in chrome trim that create a robustly sporty window graphic.

Interior – creating a strong ‘performance’ feeling

The pro_cee’d interior is designed to accommodate four people and is trimmed to give a strong ‘performance’ feeling with deeply matt surfaces. Like the exterior, the cab uses bright metal and dense matt black elements, but in the interior these appear to ‘float’ amidst areas of contrasting leather trim.

In the earlier Geneva Kia cee’d showcar this ‘floating’ effect was one of elegant sophistication, in the pro-cee’d the feeling inside the cabin is very different, bolder, tougher and more racy. The four seats feature bucket-style backrests with aluminium alloy mountings for the head restraints.

Facing the driver, the three recessed dials of the instrument panel have separate metal cowlings set beneath a top cowling that also appears to ‘float’ above the dashboard. The short, leather-shrouded gear lever is set in a bright metal surround topping a black centre console that rises between the front seats to position a battery of minor switchgear within easy reach of the driver.

The dense matt black trim of the upper dashboard is continued around the upper sides of the cab. The lower panels are trimmed in special ‘distressed’ leather that has a black/brown patina, the quality of an old flying jacket – “leather with a history and a story to tell…” as Guillaume enthuses.

Despite all that hype I still can’t help thinking that the dials look as though they came out of an EK Holden

The elegant, sporty and high-technology 3 Series Coupés will arrive in dealerships around Australia in October in both 325i and 335i six-cylinder guise.

The 335i now leads the 3 Series family thanks to its innovative 3.0-litre Twin Turbo petrol engine that delivers a smooth 225 kW of power at 5,800 rpm and a massive 400 Nm of torque between 1,300 rpm and 5,000 rpm.

Acceleration from 0-100 km/h is a rapid fire 5.5 seconds, almost as fast as the E46 generation M3 Coupé.

Using high-precision direct petrol injection, an all aluminium engine and a pair of turbo-chargers, each assigned to force-feed three cylinders, the new Twin Turbo engine sets new standards for driving performance and pleasure.

The low inertia turbos spool up much faster than conventional units, eliminating turbo-lag completely.

A stringent BMW weight-reduction programme coupled with efficient engine management also ensures low fuel consumption. The Twin Turbo engine is 70 kg lighter than a comparably powerful 4.0-litre eight-cylinder engine.

The lightweight engine ensures the BMW 3 Series Coupé will retain BMW’s famed 50/50 weight distribution for perfectly balanced and entertaining handling.

From October, the alluring BMW 3 Series Coupé line-up starts with the 325i priced at $81,500 for the six-speed manual.

Standard equipment for the 325i Coupé includes Bi-Xenon headlamps, LED tail lights, 17-inch light alloy wheels, premium Dakota leather upholstery, BMW Business navigation system with colour monitor, six-stacker CD player, rear Park Distance Control, sport seats with electric adjustment and two memory settings for the driver, automatic climate control, and extended lights package for interior illumination, cruise control with brake function and Bluetooth mobile phone preparation.

From a safety perspective the 325i Coupé covers all the bases with DTC Dynamic Traction Control, DSC+ Dynamic Stability Control, CBC Cornering Brake Control, DBC Dynamic Brake Control and dual front airbags, dual side airbags and head airbags front and rear.

The 2.5-litre magnesium aluminium straight-six engine produces 160 kW of power at 6,500 rpm and 250 Nm of torque between 2,750 rpm and 4,000 rpm. The 325i Coupé accelerates to 100 km/h in just 6.9 seconds.

The 325i Coupé, optionally equipped with a six-speed Steptronic Automatic transmission, specially adapted for the Coupé models and upgraded to deliver shift times around 40 percent faster than before, is priced at $84,100.

Further 325i Coupé options include Active Steering, Sport Suspension, 18 or 19-inch light alloy wheels, Comfort Access, Adaptive Headlights, Active Cruise Control, High Beam Assist and LOGIC7 sound system.

The 335i Coupé will be available in both six-speed manual and six-speed automatic transmission guise. The most powerful regular production 3 Series ever (not including the specialist M3 models) will be priced from $108,500 as a manual and $111,100 as an automatic.

The 335i out-points its closest rival by having notably more power and torque, far faster acceleration, lower fuel consumption and a lighter kerb weight.

Uniquely available to automatic transmission models of the BMW 335i Coupé is the option for steering wheel mounted shift paddles. These alloy-finished shifters are priced at $200.

The 335i Coupé standard specification adds the following features over those of the 325i Coupé: larger front and rear brakes, Sport Suspension, 18-inch light alloy wheels, Park Distance Control PDC front and rear, front seat lumbar adjustment, BMW Professional Navigation with 8.8-inch colour monitor and TV and Voice Recognition functions, HiFi loudspeaker system, High Beam Assist and Adaptive Headlights.

Very late in 2006, a further version of the 3 Series Coupé range will become available in Australia. The 323i will be priced from $69,900 in manual and $72,500 in automatic transmission guise.

It will be equipped with the same free-revving magnesium aluminium 2.5-litre engine as fitted to the 323i Sedan and Touring models launched in Australia in June, albeit in a slightly sportier state of tune.

Compared with its closest rival, the 323i Coupé offers a manual option, more power for faster acceleration, lower fuel consumption and significantly less weight which enhances the driving experience considerably.

The new BMW 3 Series Coupé shares no exterior body panels with the very successful BMW 3 Series Sedan, voted World Car of the Year 2006.

This year BMW has sold more than 250,000 3 Series Sedans underlining its success as the world’s best compact sports luxury sedan.

BMW expects the new 3 Series Coupé will follow in the wheel tracks of its exceptionally successful E46 model, which sold more than 460,000 examples over its seven-year model life.

“The BMW 3 Series Coupé is one of the most sought-after cars in the luxury market and the new model is already creating a torrent of inquiry,” says Tom Noble, General Manager, Marketing at BMW Group Australia.

“Its combination of smooth and powerful BMW six-cylinder engines, a sleek, elegant body and a host of advanced technologies, perfectly meets the needs of our Coupé customers.

“The 3 Series Coupé is one of those stand-out cars the market understands as the ultimate expression of sporting style.

“The BMW Coupé is the ultimate expression of pure design, pure performance, pure driving, and pure heritage.

“The BMW Coupé, especially in Twin Turbo 335i guise, will rewrite the rules for compact, athletic sporting cars,” Tom says.

2006 BMW 3 Series Coupé.

Expect to see the various versions and transmissions inthe showrooms during the following months.

323i M $69,900 December

323i A $72,500 December

325i M $81,500 October

325i A $84,100 October

335i M $108,500 October

335i A $111,100 October

This year Ford America is looking down the barrel of a $US12 billion loss as Ford cars continuen to be shunned by the American motorists.

The only solution Ford sees to their financial woes is to offer redundancies to all of its 75,000 workers and hope that somewhere between 20,000 and 25,000 take up the offer. Along with the redundancies Ford hopes to close 14 plants.

The cost to the company? Possibly $US140,000 for every worker who accepts the company’s offer.

Mini – through the establishment of FMEF - has today begun to take action against a car identity fraud ring allegedly passing off counterfeit cars as Minis. FMEF – Fake Mini Eradication Force – will co-operate with Mini and international law enforcement agencies to bring the countefeiters to justice.

Counterfeiting schemes are nothing new, although up until now they have been confined to exclusive fashion and jewellery brands.

In recent weeks, however, a number of vehicles crudely disguised to look like Mini Cooper and Mini Cooper S models have been appearing in on-line and classified advertising publications. Even worse, several Mini faker-ers have been spotted pedalling their fake Mini wares to innocent victims in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Several of these have been brought to the attention of Mini.

In the defence of its brand identity, Mini will today begin taking civil action against the perpetrators.

As a first step, Mini is alerting the Australian car buying public to the existence of the counterfeiting ring, and urges buyers to exhibit extreme caution when offered a vehicle for sale purporting to be a genuine Mini.

Justin Hocevar, National Manager Mini said: “We have a duty both to our owners to protect their valuable investment and to prospective pre-loved Mini buyers to warn them of the pitfalls of buying non-genuine used Minis.

“We have had to act to protect the integrity of our MINI NEXT Approved pre-loved Miniprogramme.

“That’s why we’ve constituted FMEF to work with us in this endeavour.

“And today we have written to all our owners and supplied them with a FMEF pack in the hope that they can assist us in our quest to stamp out the Mini faker-ers before it’s too late.”

According to Mr Hocevar, the Mini faker-ers have attempted to emulate many of the iconic Mini styling cues in order to fool unsuspecting buyers, applying items such as customised roof flags, mirror caps and bonnet stripes

“Just because a vehicle has bonnet stripes or a Union Jack roof decal, does not make it a Mini” he said.

“Mini is known for its chic styling, exuberant performance, go-kart handling and seemingly endless customisation options.

“The first fakes we detected were quite convincing.

“However, as the faker-ers have grown more and more greedy, their attention to detail has slipped and the ones we are seeing now are a pretty poor pastiche of parts purporting to pass themselves off as MINIs,” he said.

“While they might be able to get away with a pair of cobbled up twin exhaust pipes or dodgy bonnet stripes, trying to re-create the exhilarating ‘wheel at each corner’ driving dynamic is another thing altogether.

“Mini simply will not allow customers to be conned in this way.”

Buyers of pre-loved cars discovering counterfeit Minis are asked not to approach or try to make contact with the faker-ers involved. These are desperate people who have demonstrated they’ll stop at nothing in their quest to infest the market with these ghastly fakes.

Instead, anyone with information concerning these vehicles is urgently asked to visit FMEF online at www.FMEF.com.au