Aussie Motoring

When we look at a new car the real enthusiasts among us want to know about that car’s performance. How many seconds does it take to reach 100km/h is one popular measure of a car’s performance.

When we look at a car manufacturer’s performance we begin to look at how much money they’re making … or not making as the case may be. And in America the case is that the homegrown manufacturers are not making any money at all. GM, Ford, Chrysler are all making losses that are measured in dollar terms that few of us can really comprehend.

But here’s one measure of performance that’s easier to understand and it relates to Chrysler. Chrysler are selling just 3 cars per month per dealership. Is it any wonder that Daimler are now looking to sell of their remaining share of Chrysler?

It makes you wonder how Ford Australia and General Motors Holden measure up on the basis of new cars sold per dealership per month.

Earlier this month Chrysler in America announced that it would be stopping production of the Chrysler Crossfire and the PT Cruiser convertible. Of course by extension that means they’ll disappear from Australia too.

The Crossfire was supposed to represent the “synergies” between Daimler and Chrysler for many Crossfire components were shared with the Mercedes SLK but apparently something was missing and sales were not quite what Chrysler was hoping for.

One sports car enthusiast that I spoke to had looked at a Crossfire with a view to buying one but the $80,000 price tage for a car that offered a rather strange driving position (her opinion) was enough to make her change her mind.

I guess the fact that the only PT Cruiser convertibles I ever saw were in the rental car parks at various airports may have something to do with why Chrysler is dropping that vehicle from its lineup too.

Chrysler announced today that it would be recalling over 290,000 SUVs to reprogramme the computer that’s connected to the anti-lock braking system.

It seems that Jeep Grand Cherokees, Jeep Wranglers, Dodge Nitros and Commander SUVs have experienced braking problems that has lead to at least one accident and all vehicles within the affected groups well be recalled.

Undoubtedly this recall will extend to vehicles in Australia.

Chrysler is also recalling Dodge Avenger sedans and Chrysler Sebring convertibles to have a problem with the door latches and locks corrected. There are over 72,000 vehicles covered by this recall.

by Stuart Livesey

Consumer Reports is a US based expert, indepenent, non profit organisation not unlike our Australian Consumers Association so when they do their annual report on the best and worst cars it’s well worth a look … unless you happen to be Mercedes Benz.

If you happen to be Mercedes Benz then the 2007 report5 does not make for good reading or good public relations. Almost every current Mercedes Benz model appeared in the list of the ‘least reliable’ used cars. The SL, SLK, CLK, CLS along with the E, R and M class models all made an appearance in the list.

Other manufacturers didn’t do much better. Five vehicles made it to the ‘most disappointing’ list and four of them were from Chrysler. Of interest to us here in Australia both the Sebring and the Caliber were included in that list.

You can read more about the report here

What do all these have in common here in Australia?

by Stuart Livesey

Since the beginning of March they’ve all issued recalls on vehicles and the recalls have all had to do with the braking system.

Toyota has issued the biggest recall of vehicles and it’s safe to say that this recall would have to be one of the biggest in Australian automotive history. It potentially affects approximately 137,000 vehicles; 134,000 Landcruiser 70 and 100 series and 3,000 Lexus LX470 models.

All these vehicles were manufactured between September 1997 and December 2005 and the recall is so that Toyota can check and replace faulty retaining bolts on the front disc brake rotors.

Jeep, Chrysler and Dodge are all marketed in Australia under the Daimler-Chrysler name and the vehicles affected are those in the following models fitted with an ESP/ABS brake system:

Chrysler 300C and 300C Touring - built from 11 October through to 23 November 2006

Dodge Caliber - built from 7 September through 18 November 2006

Jeep Compass - built from 7 September through 18 November 2006

Jeep Grand Cherokee - built from 11 October through to 23 November 2006

Jeep Commander - built from 11 October through to 23 November 2006

Jeep Wrangler - built 9 November through to 8 December 2006

The software programmed into the ABS control module needs to be re-programmed for, in it’s present form, may cause the rear wheels to lock up in certain braking conditions. Around 490 vehicles are affected by the recall.

by Stuart Livesey

Unless something major happens between now and later in the year 2007 will see Chrysler make a big splash in the Australian motoring market place.

Last year we say Chrysler launch the Dodge Caliber - a rather unattractive vehicle that seems to be neither one thing nor the other.

And this year we’re scheduled to see the introduction of the Sebring - a convertible that is probably going to be priced a little beyond the reach of the average Australian motorist.

Apart from the fact that Chrysler makes both of these vehicle they share another common feature and that involves a Japanese car maker. You see, when Chrysler went into design mode with these two vehicles they decided not to start from scratch. Instead they started with a platform designed by Mitsubishi so the basis of both these vehicles is Japanese.

Proudly American … but made in Japan. I wonder if they mention that in their publicity.

Australian Summer Cars 4

We’ve looked at some of the European convertibles in this series so far so perhaps it’s time to look at some of the American convertibles that are either here or are coming.

Let’s start with the Chrysler Sebring; it won’t be available in Australia till sometime after September but there should be plenty of interest in this one.

The Australian specifications are yet to be released but in the US this front-wheel drive car comes with a 4 cylinder 2.4 litre motor and the base model retails for $26790.

The Australian version is expected to retail for something less than $A57,000 which suggests that we won’t be seeing the US base model out here.

Whichever version we end up seeing here in Australia it will be interesting to see what the critics think of it. The latest version of the Chrysler Sebring - as seen at the Detroit Motor Show - did not attract much favourable comment from American motor journalists.

Australian Summer Cars
2000 Holden Barina Cabriolet - the cheapest convertible

Renault Megane Coupe Cabriolet - it’s French so expect the ususual.

BMW Series 3 Convertible - making it’s debut at the Brisbane Motor Show

If you have only just hit Aussie Motoring I should tell you that it comes to you from Hervey Bay - a town of about 50,000 people on the Queensland coast about 3.5 hours drive north of Brisbane.

For a town of such relatively small size we have a surprisingly large number of very interesting motor vehicles here in town. I’ve photographed and written about a few here already and there will be more to come but right now let me show you a nicely restored Valiant Charger I happened to see late this afternoon.

For our overseas visitors I should explain that all Valiant models were produced here in Australia by Chrysler. The first model rolled off the production line in 1971 and the last was produced in 1978. Some were definitely more muscle than others.

I’m certainly no expert on the Valiant Charger but I think this one is one of the more civilised CL models. If anyone can positively identify which model it is then feel free to mention it in the comments section.

The 1972 model Valiant Charger E49 sub-group is recognised as Australia’s fastes muscle car.

If you can find out more about the Valiant Charger at Valiant.org

You would hardly expect to find a brand new Commodore or Falcon going for a song on Pirate Pete’s Aussie Freebies now would you?

But if you were in America and happening to be surfing through Overstock.com just before Christmas last year you certainly would have seen this car going for a heavily discounted price.

Meet the Chrysler Crossfire a rather neat looking car that comes from Karmann in Germany. The 2005 model sold so poorly in the US that Chrysler resorted to the unusual sales ploy of selling them online through Overstock.com (the name says it all).

In fact so bad were the sales of the 2005 Crossfire that Chrysler will not be selling a 2006 model in the United States even though the 2006 Crossfire is being built in Europe.

The Crossfire is powered by a 3.2 litre V6 that certainly delivers some credible performance figures - but with a price tag of around $30,000 for the base model 6 speed manual coupe I guess it’s no wonder the Crossfire has not found much favour with the buying public in the US.

The Chrysler Crossfire is available in Australia with the base model coupe selling for $69,990 with your choice of auto or manual transmission

With prices ranging from $53,990 for the 3.5 litre V6 up to $59,990 for the 5.7 litre V8 the Chrysler 300C is not going to be over-populating Australian roads anytime soon but Chrysler certainly hopes that it will bring “some passion back to the luxury sedan market.”

At least that’s what Gerry Jenkins, the head of Chrysler Jeep Australia, hopes.

And will it succeed? Well one reviewer suggested that it certainly was a head-turner but who buys a car just to turn heads?

Ok … so I’m in the minority here and lots of people would think of buying this car just on it’s looks. I guess they would not be disappointed then to find that it really does perform … in a straight line. Nor would they be disappointed in all the creature comforts that come standard on this car.

In fact, if you bought this car only for it’s looks you wouldn’t even be disappointed by it’s around town fuel consumption - 16.1 litres per 100 km of city driving. But then what could you expect from a car that weighs in at 1.8 tonnes?

You can find a full review here

Chrysler will also be releasing a long wheelbase version of the 300C at the New York Motor Show this weekend. Whether that version actually makes it to Australia or not is yet to be determined.