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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 – [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
… 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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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.
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 … [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
… 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 [...]
If you though that petrol prices were bad where you live just wait till you see the price of gas in Honolulu
