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What the Heck is THAT?
By Stuart Livesey on Dec 07, 2009 in General
SsangYong Korando – the ugliest 4WD you will ever see … but owners love them.
Category: General
Would Car2Go Work in Australia?
Would a system of small hire cars you could just pick up in the street and leave in the street when you were finished with it work here in Australia?
Australian Car Sales Rise for the First Time in Over a Year
By Stuart Livesey on Nov 06, 2009 in General
Aussie car sales rise in October
How Car Makers Choose Their Colours
By Stuart Livesey on Nov 01, 2009 in General
The choice of body and trim colour is quite an involved process as one of GM’s designers will explain.
Carpark Damage
By Stuart Livesey on Nov 01, 2009 in General
What you don’t want to see happen to your car in the carpark.
How Far Will You Travel to Buy a New Car?
By Stuart Livesey on Oct 26, 2009 in General
A recent survey in the United States found that 38% of car buyers were prepared to travel up to an hour for the best deal and 63% of car buyers contacted more than one dealer during the decision making process.
It would be interesting to know how far Australian car buyers are prepared to travel for [...]
Custom Built Motorhome
By Stuart Livesey on Sep 14, 2009 in General
If you’re looking for a motorhome that’s definitely a cut above the rest then try this custom-built motorhome for size. It’s built on a 2002 long-wheelbase high roof Mercedes Sprinter van and it is definitely worth a look if you want a one-of-a-kind motorhome that you won’t have to do anything to.
It’s been built by [...]
The High Cost of Servicing Your Car
By Stuart Livesey on Aug 19, 2009 in General
Back in the late 1990s my partner and I bought a new Hyundai Excel … it was cheap and a fun car to drive and that’s what made it right for us at the time. The salesman was genuinely friendly and so, out of curiosity I asked him what the dealer markup was for an Excel. [...]
Australian New Car Sales for July
By Stuart Livesey on Aug 07, 2009 in General
The latest new vehicle sales data shows business sales remain strong and there have been improvements in the small car, sports car and SUV segments.
Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 75,333 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in July 2009.
This result is down 10.3 per [...]
New Car Sales In Australia Increase in June
By Stuart Livesey on Jul 03, 2009 in General
The job market might have contracted in the United States and maybe even a little here in Australia but the Australian Government’s incentives to keep the economy moving seem to have worked in June. In fact it’s been the third highest selling month on record!
The latest new vehicle sales data shows encouraging results with clear [...]
Another Australian Parts Supplier in Trouble
By Stuart Livesey on Jun 10, 2009 in General
The ABC is reporting that Trident Tooling and Trident Plastics, both located in South Australia, have gone into voluntary administration after a major customer failed to make a payment.
Which customer that might be has not been disclosed but Trident’s major customes are Holden, Ford and Mitsubishi.
Trident Plastics remains in operation and the administrator is optimistic that the [...]
New Car Dealers Closing
The big news in America at the moment is the dropping by General Motors and Chrysler of around 3,000 new car dealers.
General Motors has around 6,000 new car dealers spread across the country and plans to terminate up to 2,000 of them and the official announcement is expected soon.
Chrysler is said to be planning to shed [...]
New Car Sales in Australia Down Again in April
By Stuart Livesey on May 11, 2009 in General
Each month the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries releases sales figures for the previous month and each month since the sale of new cars began to decline the statement that accompanies those figures has grown shorter and shorter.
This month it took just seven paragraphs to state the obvious and try and put a brave face [...]
Another Month, Another Drop in New Car Sales
By Stuart Livesey on Apr 03, 2009 in General
New car sales continue to fall according to figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. The March 2009 figures show a decrease in sales of 17.1 percent compared to March 2008. 75,650 passenger cars, SIVs and commercial vehicles were sold last month.
“This result is certainly down on a year ago but the extent [...]
Motor Vehicle Recalls
By Stuart Livesey on Apr 03, 2009 in General
Last week Ford Australia bit the bullet and recalled over 83,000 Ford Territory vehicles in the culmination of what was a fairly busy seven day period for motor vehicle recalls in Australia.
Alfa Romeo recalled 174 Brera, 159 and Spider automatics fitted with the 3.2 litre V6 engine because of “Insufficient braking ability on cold engine starts” on [...]
News From America
By Stuart Livesey on Apr 03, 2009 in General
This week the automotive news from America hasn’t been all that good … unless you were the head of General Motors. Sure he got let go but then who would care about not having a job when you’re slipped a cheque for $US29 million as you walk out the door?
Ford … the one company in [...]
The Passing of Peter Wherrett
By Stuart Livesey on Mar 24, 2009 in General
If you were interested in cars in Australia during the 1960s and 1970s then you knew of Peter Wherrett – a motoring journalist who took motoring to television in the form of Torque … a very popular programme that ran on ABC television for years.
Peter passed away today aged 72 and the world of motoring will be [...]
Australian Car Sales Down in February
By Stuart Livesey on Mar 06, 2009 in General
In America General Motor’s auditor doubts that the company can survive and its shares drop below $2.00.
In Japan more car makers are asking the government for a hand out and in Australia Toyota still tops the sales figures but demand for new cars begins to fall.
Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive [...]
Car Sales Continue to Dive
By Stuart Livesey on Mar 04, 2009 in General
In the United States Ford reports that their sales are down by over 40% in February and GM’s sales are down by 53% … in Sweden car sales in February are down by over 31% with only 14.603 cars sold and no storage space remaining for new cars. Toyota is begging for a bailout from the [...]
Car Sales in Australia Down 18.5% in January
By Stuart Livesey on Feb 04, 2009 in General
The continuing impact of the global financial crisis forced a downturn in new vehicle sales during January but the industry hopes new fiscal measures will help stabilise the market.
Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 67,079 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in January – down [...]
Porsche to Buy a Truck Company it Doesn’t Want?
By Stuart Livesey on Jan 12, 2009 in General
Now those of us who have driven a Scania truck or bus at some time in our lives know that they’re a fairly decent piece of machinery … and even the non-turbo versions can really motor … but just how much better might they go if Porsche was involved?
Well it’s probably never going to happen [...]
Just How Bad Are Things for GM and Chrysler?
Without the US government bailout of GM and Chryslerboth are insolvent according to the Sean McAlinden, Chief Economist for the Centre of Automotive Research in Ann Arbor Michigan … just down the road from Detroit.
McAlinden also suggests that GM is not in a position to meet the initial loan conditions set down by the government but [...]
Australian Car Sales Continue to Slide
By Stuart Livesey on Jan 07, 2009 in General
Sales of new cars in Australia in December were down by 11.3 per cent … a far cry from the 36 per cent drop in sales recorded for the same period in the United States … and we should expect a further decline during January.
But then again maybe not for retail sales figures are showing [...]
Travelling this Christmas?
By Stuart Livesey on Dec 22, 2008 in General
If you’re heading up the east coast of Australia these holidays then be prepared to add an hour or two onto your travel time due to roadworks and increased speed restrictions.
A couple of weeks ago we drove from Hervey Bay in Queensland down to Newcastle in NSW and here is what we found.
Expect to see [...]
Motor Vehicle Registration …
By Stuart Livesey on Dec 16, 2008 in General
… it’s bigger in Queensland.
You don’t have to live here in Queensland for long before you realise that the hype about everything being bigger up here is true. The steaks are bigger, the fish are bigger and the car registration fees … well they’re bloody HUGE … and they’re getting bigger.
From July 1 the cost [...]
US Car Industry Bail-out Fails
So the bail-out plans for the American car industry didn’t get through Congress? Well in the long-term that’s probably a good thing because it means that we could see a real change in the car industry world-wide.
In the short-term it’s probably a good thing too because it really did look as though Congress wanted to [...]
Car Sales Dive in November
By Stuart Livesey on Dec 04, 2008 in General
New car sales in Australia in November dropped by over 22% compared with the same time last year.
New vehicle sales fell in November, reflecting a further softening of economic conditions as a result of the global financial crisis.
Official VFACTS data released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 71,647 cars, trucks [...]
The Brisbane Motor Show Has Been Cancelled for 2009
By Stuart Livesey on Nov 24, 2008 in General
In a move that’s hardly surprising the organising committee of the Brisbane Motor Show has announced that the 2009 show has been cancelled.
The organising committee says that the show will be back in 2010 but it seems that some exhibitors think that there are too many car shows and the cost of exhibiting at all [...]
Australian New Car Sales Fall by Over 10%
By Stuart Livesey on Nov 06, 2008 in General
With the slow slide into recession that we’ve been experiencing here in Australia it was only a matter of time before the impact was felt by car makers here in Australia and October was the month that it all began.
A drop in new vehicles sales during October reflects the broader slowdown in the Australian and [...]
The Silver Lining for Australian New Car Buyers
By Stuart Livesey on Oct 12, 2008 in General
Every cloud has a silver lining … at least for someone … and the current economic storm clouds certainly have some silver linings for any Australian new car buyer who has the cash or the credit to make a purchase right now. And things could get even better in the near future.
Right now Holden has [...]
Another Victorian Auto Parts Maker Folds
By Stuart Livesey on Sep 29, 2008 in General
Teson Trims in Euroa is set to close after Administrators failed to find a buyer for the company. Union representatives suggest that the closure is due to heavy cost cutting by the major Australian manufacturers who have squeezed Teson Trims to the point where they cannot meet the price demanded by those big companies.
A Measure of Performance
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 [...]
New Car Sales Slow in Australia
By Stuart Livesey on Sep 03, 2008 in General
Official VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 77,324 cars, trucks and buses were sold in August – down 10,882 vehicles (12.3%) compared to the same month last year.
Year to date new vehicle sales are up 0.7 per cent on the same time last year, with 703,995 vehicles [...]
Luxury Car Tax Set to Fail
By Stuart Livesey on Aug 25, 2008 in General
It now looks as though the Federal Government’s luxury car tax won’t make it through the Senate unless there are some amendments made to it.
The Greens have announced that they won’t be supporting the bill because it unfairly targets vehicles that are among the world’s most fuel efficient. The Greens will support the tax if [...]
New Vehicle Sales Drop in July but …
By Stuart Livesey on Aug 08, 2008 in General
… the sale of SUVs goes up.
Australian new vehicle sales softened in July, reflecting broader economic conditions and the impact of the proposed luxury car tax increase.
Official VFACTS figures released today by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) show that 83,976 cars, trucks and buses were sold in July – down 2,315 vehicles (2.7%) [...]
Petrol Prices
By Stuart Livesey on Jul 26, 2008 in General
If you though that petrol prices were bad where you live just wait till you see the price of gas in Honolulu
Bucking the Economic Trends
By Stuart Livesey on Jul 10, 2008 in General
There’s supposed to be a recession either here or just around the corner … interest rates are going up and up … petrol prices are soaring … and all those indicators would suggest that we should be seeing a slowing in car sales in Australia. However new car buyers weren’t reading the signs in June [...]
Pssst … Wanna Buy Volvo?
Yes, you did read that correctly … we are talking about selling Volvo the company and not just a Volvo.
For some time now Ford has owned Volvo as part of the Premier Automotive Group that also included Aston Martin, Jaguar and Land Rover but all it has left now is Volvo and Ford needs the [...]
1963 Tbird
There are some interesting examples of fine old cars hiding in the backstreets of Hervey Bay and the surrounding villages and here is one of them. I’ve seen this beautiful old 1963 Tbird around Torbanlea – a village just off the Bruce Highway between Maryborough and Childers - on several occasions but I’ve never had my camera with me until [...]
