Aussie Motoring

and it eats things away - including parts of your car

While everyone and their dog are in a mad rush to recommend that we convert to alternative fuels sometimes, some very important facts are being overlooked.

One of those important facts is that when you add ethanol to normal fuel it becomes corrosive. Here in Australia that level of corrosion is kept down because of the relatively small percentage of ethanol that is added to our fuel. But it is still enough to cause problems to fuel lines, injection systems and other parts of the motor.

In America where the push to use ethanol is even greater they have two types of ethanol fuel - E10 and E85. The numbers refer to the percentage of ethanol in the fuel that people buy. E10 has 10% ethanol while E85 has 85% ethanol and the higher the number the more corrosive the fuel mix is.

The Americans understood that and so if you have a vehicle that will handle E85 you will also have a heavily modified vehicle that won’t suffer from those corrosive properties. However, someone forgot that E85 just doesn’t magically appear in your fuel tank.

It needs to be stored in big storage tanks at the gas stations and it has to pass through piping and pumps to actually get into a vehicle’s fuel tank and it seems that no one bothered to think about the corrosion that E85 would cause to those gas station storage tanks, pipes and pumps.

But now they are and for some installations it’s way too late.

What will the impact be on Ford in Australia?

When the parent company of Ford Australia posts such a huge loss in just one quarter you have to wonder when the local company will begin to feel the impact. There is no doub that a big negative number was expected in the third quarter because Ford is in the middle of massive job cuts and asset write-downs but no one was expecting a number quite this big.

When all those expected negatives are removed from the equation Ford still took a $US1.2 billion hit to its bottom line thanks to slower than expected truck sales. Over the last year or so Ford has been relying on truck sales to keep the money flowing as American consumers turned their back on Ford cars but this quarter the American market began to drift away from Ford trucks too.

Just to give you some idea of what a major hit Ford has taken all you have to do is compare the loss this time last year - $US191 million - to that $US1.2 billion figure this year.

The new CEO of Ford was stating the obvious when he said: “These business results are clearly unacceptable”.

So the question remains, when will Ford Australia begin to feel the impact?

AAAAGGGGHHHHH MY EYES!

It’s said to have cost $US150,000 and it’s not something you want to look at if you’re nursing a hangover - in fact it’s not something you would want to look at for too long at all.

It’s described as the Best Overall Car Job Ever so follow the link and see if you agree

Launching a luxury rocket

Australians will get their first peek at the fastest accelerating and most expensive example of open-top motoring in the BMW family, the M6 Convertible, next week when the Australian International Motor Show opens in Sydney. The 373 kW V10 M6 Convertible accelerates from 0–100 km/h in just 4.8 seconds and will cost you $295,000 for the base model.

BMW feels that the M6 Convertible stands alone in the market without any direct competitor and that’s hard to argue with when you look at its pedigree and the high level of creature comforts.

The new M6 measures 4,871 millimetres or 191.8“ in length and that makes it well over 5 centimetres longer than the BMW 6 Series Convertible. Much of the extra length is taken up with an optimised rear air dam.

The cockpit
The view from the driver’s seat is definitely worth the price tag. All controls are arranged on or around the steering wheel and the new M6 comes with a head-up display that presents driving information essential to the driver directly in their field of vision, with the driver being able to determine at the touch of a button what information they wish to see – either the standard display or M specific details.

The automatic drive function, in turn, makes fast cruising an outstanding experience of both comfort and performance, SMG enabling the driver to shift gears either on the selector lever or via paddles on the steering wheel. And the interruption of power when shifting gears is reduced to an absolute minimum in both the manual and automatic mode.

Transmission
Drivelogic in BMW’s SMG transmission offers the driver no less than 11 driving programs for an individual SMG gearshift tailored to his style of motoring. Six of these 11 programs my be pre-selected within the manual gearshift function (S mode), with the driver choosing gears by hand.

The only exception is Launch Control for maximum acceleration from a standstill. The shift manoeuvres required in each case are completed independently by the transmission at the ideal gearshift point and with optimum slip control.

Adding to this freedom in choosing gears manually, the D-mode offers another five driving programs with automatic transmission.

High-performance brakes for a high-performance car
Reflecting the enormous power of the engine, the BMW M6 Convertible comes with a high-performance brake system featuring cross-drilled, weight-optimised compound brake discs. As a result, the Convertible comes to a halt from 100 km/h within just 36 metres, while its stopping distance from 200 km/h is less than 140 metres.

Two-stage brake lights at the rear help to prevent bumper-to-bumper collisions: Whenever the driver presses down the brake pedal hard, the area lit up in the lights is larger than usual, urging motorists following from behind to brake harder, too. And another safety feature is the use of very bright, fast-responding light-emitting diodes free of wear and not requiring any maintenance.

.. and the WM series as well.

It seems that Holden has discovered a problem with the fuel line and one hose in particular may be faulty and so all Commodores manufactured in July and August this year will be recalled.

Holden says that the problem has the potential to cause a fuel leak although there have yet been none reported.

Update - It seems that the recall for the fuel line problem only applies to around 1521 V8 Commodores - and you can see the full details here

Car sales are rising but parts makers are crumbling

While the sales of locally made cars are remaining strong despite the rise in interest rates and fuel prices and the outlook for the industry looks promising the same cannot be said for the parts industry.

As the major car manufacturers seek even more ways to make a profit some part of the industry has to suffer and here in Australia it’s the parts manufacturers that are beginning to buckle. This year we have already seen two parts makers reach the point where the big four of Holden, Toyota, Ford and Chrysler have had to prop them up and now a third company is on its knees

Irons Engineering in Adelaide make seats, schock absorbers and transmission parts for Holden and Ford and now they’re in administration with worse to come. The Australian Workers Union believes the company has just about reached the end and will soon cease trading completely.

If it does cease trading then Holden will be the first to feel the impact.

The Toyota logo meets the blog world

While most people on the planet have no idea of what a blog is (the last time a survey was conducted they found that only 2% of Internet users knew what a blog was) the blog world is alive and kicking and has quite an impact on may of the things that it touches.

At the top of the blog chain are the big blog networks who number their readers in the tens of thousands. Further down the blog chain there are sites like Aussie Motoring where I can number the readers in figures that … well that’s just too depressing to contemplate first thing on a Monday morning.

The obvious point in all that is that if you’re going to tread on some blog’s toes it’s far better to tread on mine than on the toes of a major blog network - and that’s a lesson that one Toyota dealer in the United States is learning right now.

The dealer’s ad agency took the 9rules blog networks logo and used it for themselves. So in the spirit of co-operation and free use of logos and trademarks 9rules invited it’s readers to submit some creative variations on the Toyota logo.

All I can say is that there are some very clever people out there and you can find their artwork in the comments below the original post here

Petrol prices are up, interest rates are up and sales of bigger cars are also up - there’s nothing like going against the trend.

The long-running boom in small and car sales is showing the first signs of slowing according official motor industry figures released today.

The Federal Chamber of Automotive Industrie’s VFACTS report shows that sales in the Small passenger car segment fell by 1.8 per cent last month compared to a year-to-date increase of 2.4 per cent.

The Light car segment grew by 1.8 per cent in September – much lower than the rise of 20.1 per cent for the year to date.

At the same time, Large passenger cars showed some signs of a sales improvement. The segment was down 7.1 per cent compared to the same month last year but this was nevertheless a significant improvement on the year-to-date fall 21.3 percent.

Sales of Holden Commodore were up 8.5 per cent on September 2005 following the first full month on sale of the new generation model. Honda Accord sales were also up - by 7.6 percent – following the release of an updated model.

“The release of new models is beginning to improve the fortunes of the Large car segment and we expect that trend to strengthen when Toyota launches its new Aurion family sedan later this month,” said FCAI Chief Executive Peter Sturrock.

“It’s also notable that Medium car segment sales rose a significant 11.5 per cent last month, driven by sales of a number of new models including Subaru Liberty, Volkswagen Jetta and Toyota Camry.”

“While fuel prices clearly remain a market driver, Australians have not fallen out of love with larger cars and the launch of several new models is giving them a reason to look again at large and medium segments.”

“Consumer concern may also have been eased somewhat by the recent falls in crude oil prices which are now being reflected at the pump.”

So far this year the Australian market is down 29,660 vehicles or 3.6 per cent on 2005 when a record total of 988,269 motor vehicles were sold.

Mr Sturrock said the FCAI has revised its sales forecast for the year downwards from 980,000 to 970,000.

“While we expect fourth quarter sales to be strong, it’ s clear that four years of record sales have, for the moment, come to an end,” said Mr Sturrock.

“It’s important to remember, however, that only five years ago motor vehicle sales were averaging about 780,000 per annum, so you could say that the Australian market has permanently shifted into a higher gear.”

But why a new MINI when BMW couldn’t keep up with the demand for the old MINI?

BMW launched its first MINI in 2001 and since then has sold over 875,000 vehicles and it admits that it has never been able to keep up with the demand. However in the words Dr Michael Ganal, a member of the BMW board speaking at the Paris Motorshow:

“The MINI brand has a rich heritage and there is a strong sense of tradition. It might have been an option to build on the erstwhile model. But MINI is different. MINI today is an entirely modern brand. Customers can expect this premium brand to come up with something new time and again – concerning product substance, technological innovations and safety features.”

And so in line with the stated aim of keeping the MINI new and fresh Dr Ganal went on to list some of the features of the new MINI:

“In the future, it will be even more fun to drive a MINI: The new MINI is equipped with even more state-of-the-art high-tech features. Completely new four-cylinder engines for all models guarantee a considerable increase in performance at a reduction in fuel consumption of up to 20 per cent.

The new, electro-mechanically assisted power steering now responds even more precisely. An optimized chassis and a new six-speed transmission further enhance the characteristic MINI go-kart feeling.

We have enhanced the vehicle’s substance – in terms of safety technology, standard equipment and interior materials. With six airbags, the new MINI is the safest car in its class. And we have improved another one of the MINI’s unique premium features: The new generation offers even more possibilities for customization, an even wider range of surfaces, materials and color combinations as well as many new special equipment options.”

Along with the new MINI comes an expanded production facility at Oxford that will enable BMW to produce 240,000 units a year.

Why do two people need four cupholders?

As somebody who works full time on the Internet I often lament at how many designers of web pages and the scripts that produce web pages simply seem to have no clue as to useability. They seem to ignore the KISS principle entirely and produce sites that look terrible and are definitely not user-friendly.

And now I see that some concept is creeping into car design too. Take the current US Ford Explorer for example. The interior designers of that vehicle have incorporated 4 cup holders into the front of the vehicle. There are the normal two in the centre console and then there seems to be one in each front door.

You might think that’s something you could live with but that extra cupholder makes life very difficult for the driver because it presses against their left leg and finding a comfortable way to sit is almost impossible.

Can something as relatively minor as a cupholder affect sales? It seems that it can with some anecdotal evidence from Ford dealers in the US that indicates people have been turned off buying the car by the discomfort caused by the cupholder in the door.

But an over-abundance of cupholders is not the only problem in the Ford Explorer. Just look at the picture and notice where the hand hold most people use to close the door is located. That’s it, tucked under the panel that controls the power windows. Reaching it and using it is said to be quite a challenge.

You can read more about the design faults here