Aussie Motoring

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.

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.