Aussie Motoring

They say that a week in Australian politics is a long time and that’s something that could also be said about the Australian car manufacturing industry. Last week we had the bad news of the Bracks Report into Australia’s car industry and this week we’ve begun to see and feel the pain.

Ford have announced that they’ll be cutting 350 jobs due to the sluggish sales of its new Falcon and the weak outlook for the vehicle industry and the former chariman of Toyota says that the move by Ford to reduce the workforce is just the beginning.

So which company i going to be next to shed jobs? I expect we’ll soon see an announcement from Holden although it could be Toyota.

Oh wait … I’ve just named the two remaining players in the Australian car industry haven’t I?

Perhaps the real concern isn’t going to be which company will be the next to shed jobs but rather whether or not we’ll still have three players in the industry by mid 2010.

If there’s one thing I like about a Toyota Prius … apart from it’s great fuel consumption … is the fact that you can never mistake it for anything else. There’s something unique about the shape that makes a Toyota Prius instantly recognisable and marks it’s driver as someone special

But now there are rumours coming out of Japan that the Toyota Prius is about to undergo a facelift that could take this car to a whole new level. There are no other production models out there that come fitted with solar panels but once the new Prius hits the streets there could be.

It seems that the rumoured facelift could include roof-mounted solar panels to provide power to run the airconditioner. Hmmm I checked … it’s not April 1 so this could be an interesting development in a car that Toyota can’t produce enough of to keep up with the demand.

Well that’s the hype surrounding the latest fire-breathing Toyota Corolla and with specs that include a Dual VVT-i 1.8 litre engine that delivers 100Kw of power then it’s definitelly got the grunt to live up to the hype.

It comes with either a 6 speed manual transmission or a 4 speed auto and the list of features is impressive.

Prices start at $29,500 for the 5 door 6 speed manual and $31,500 for the five door 4 speed auto.

You can read more about the Toyota Corolla Levin ZR here and if you check out the photos you’ll see that this car comes with a push button to start the vehicle. That’s something you might think is quite new but the early Morris Minis came with a push button starter … although it didn’t look quite as flash as the one in the Corolla Levin

For the first time Ford has dropped behind Toyota in sales of motor vehicles in the United States.

Now let’s see how long it takes Toyota to overtake General Motors.

Meanwhile Toyota has now opened a production facility in Russia.

A suitable sports car for the 21st Century

When Toyota asked that question of their US design team the answer they produced was the Toyota FT-HS hybrid sports concept and it was revealed to the public earlier this year.

The FT-HS incorporates hybrid capability while maintaining sports car essentials, such as a sleek profile, lightweight aero-dynamic materials, and an advanced high-output powertrain for revolutionary acceleration and optimal performance. This 21st century sports car is fun-to-drive with eco-friendly benefits such as ultra-low emissions and fuel efficiency. The FT-HS appeals to an emerging buyer who grew up eco-conscious and perceives technology as a necessity, not a luxury.

This two-plus-two concept is a front-engine, rear-drive sports car with a projected zero-to-60 acceleration in the four-second range. A powerful V6, 3.5L-engine is coupled with a 21st century sports hybrid system with a target power output of approximately 400-horsepower. At a mid-priced market position, FT-HS would be a true “attainable exotic” with 21st Century performance.

By eliminating the “B” pillar and creating a suspended “C” pillar, the minimalist style works in conjunction with subtractive mass. An integrated instrument panel surrounds the driver, creating an enclosed pod effect. Armrests flow seamlessly into the door and surrounding interior.

Seating is optimized for a lightweight appearance and function: the seating accommodates four and then coverts to a two-seater when the roof retracts. The passenger-seat area is open with a simple exposed airbag on the cross-car beam.

A telescoping hub-less steering wheel incorporates semi-automatic paddle shifters and allows the meter to be shifted forward in order to shorten the driver’s focus-time between the road and meter, and ultimately enhance driver focus.

We’ve always been a nation of big car buyers. There was a time when you weren’t a real man unless you drove a six cylinder, a V8 or even a big 4WD and you could have been considered unpatriotic if you drove anything but a car built in Australia - unless of course you were driving that big 4WD that looked like a tank and could pull the side off a mountain.

But times change, pain in your hip pocket can cause you to make decisions that reflect on your manhood and your patriotism and now we’re beginning to see change in the buying habits of Australian motorists … and the local manufacturers have been caught flat-footed.

Sales of Imported Cars Surge
In the period January to June this year - at a time when new car sales were increasing substantially - less than 20% of cars sold were actually built in Australia. Ford and Mitsubishi were the hardest hit as Australian car buyers looked overseas for their next new car.

Sales of light and small cars continued to climb as did sales of smaller 4WDs. Sales of small 4WD models are up by over 18% while sales of big 4WDs have dropped by over 13%.

And this trend will only continue to become stronger. The strong Aussie dollar means that imports from overseas are cheaper, the rising cost of fuel - tipped to be $100 a barrel by year’s end - will reinforce the appeal of smaller cars and another rise in interest rates tipped for August will further impact on the sales of big cars.

Manufacturers’ Response
And where are the manufacturers in all of this. Toyota is doing very well with it’s Aurion and Camry models but Holden has the VE Commodore with a fuel consumption that hasn’t improved in years. Ford has a new Falcon coming out next year that is just another big car and Mitsubishi is revamping its 380 - a car that hasn’t sold well in the past and probably never will.

It seems that there’s just more pain on the horizon for the local manufacturers. Admittedly Ford has announced that it will begin production of the Ford Focus here in Australia but that won’t begin to happen till 2011 - the first smalal car to be built in Australia since 1999 - and you might be forgiven for wondering if, in today’s ever-changing world, Ford Australia can last that long.

Meanwhile more and more small cars are coming in from overseas as savvy manufacturers take advantage of the Australian car makers inability to respond to market trends and things are only set to get worse for the big car makers when Kia launches it’s new cee’d range later this year. Trendy economical small cars like the Kia cee’d hatch and cabrio will become even more appealing to Australian car buyers.

Newspapers in Japan are reporting that Toyota will have a new hybrid on the market by 2009. The new vehicle won’t be a replacement for the very successful Prius but will target the next level of engine capacity. It could even appear with a 3 litre motor.

Toyota has just released figures that indicate that in the first quarter of this year it sold 2.3 million vehicles worldwide. That figure put’s it about 900,000 vehicles ahead of General Motors.

Interestingly in Toyota’s home market - in Japan - it’s suffering just as much as Japanese manufacturers. In China - the world’s biggest expanding market - Toyota is also encountering some buyer resistance and is encountering stiff competition from Volkswagen.

Perhaps I’m showing my age but I can remember back to a time when we were told that Japanese cars were so cheap because the workers on the production line back in Japan were poorly paid.

A quick glance at a new story in the auto section of Business Week Online might seem to confirm that they’re still poorly paid. After all, the union that covers workers on the Toyota line wanted a wage increase of $12.77 a month but got beaten down to just $8.51 extra each month. What Australian worker would ever be happy with such a miserable increase in their monthly pay?

But then what Australian company - auto or other - would pay their workers a $21,964 production bonus?

That’s what each Toyota is paying their production line workers this year. Last year the bonus was only $20,177.

There’s nothing cheap about those workers.

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.