THE AUTOMOTIVE TRADE, or more to the point, the automotive retail sales industry, is a dark business. Some people seem to put it on par with practicing necromancy.

How often do you hear a story that paints the process of buying a new car in a positive light? Not many people talk about the good experiences, [...]

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I get asked questions daily about cars and their components, and one question that seems to follow me around is the question of brakes: “What do I do to improve braking performance?” The only way to deal with it is by putting pen to paper, so here goes.

An acquaintance of mine loves cars, much like [...]

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Okay, you’ve no doubt heard of ‘heel and toeing’, and perhaps (as I know some of you practice this technique) have already mastered the art. But what’s the big deal? What is it good for? Why do it? And most importantly, how do you do it?
Many people get confused with what ‘heel and toeing’ [...]

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RON? Not your next-door neighbour.

What does the RON number mean in regard to petrol?
Unleaded fuels carry a RON (Research Octane Number) rating. Put simply, RON determines petrol’s ‘anti-knock’ quality or resistance to pre-ignition; or if you want to put in another way, the Octane Number denotes its resistance to detonation.
If you run your [...]

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In order to properly ascertain what Power and Torque actually are, it is essential to have an understanding of what the two terms really mean as opposed to the gut-level understanding you may feel you have.

Trust me, the explanation the ‘old man’ may have given you while you were perched over the open bonnet [...]

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We all know that the internet is an almost unlimited resource of information on just about any subject. But look what happens when some folks take online advice on cars, and then try to DIY it…

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By Daniel McCoey

With the price of regular unleaded topping $1.60 in Australia this week, protests breaking out across Europe at the price of fuel and an emergency oil summit being organized by a bunch of disgruntled nations, it seemed appropriate to look at ways you can stretch your fuel dollar further. Of course you could [...]

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The Leyland P76 has been considered a joke by the motoring fraternity and public for over three decades now and I am wondering if it is a reputation that the Leyland giant really deserves?

During the 70’s big collars and even bigger flares were in and I never understood why the equally oversized P76 failed. Maybe [...]

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By Daniel McCoey
Fuel prices. Yes, it’s an ugly conversation that all of us seem to be having at present, and with petrol breaking the $1.60c mark—with talk of it hitting $2.00 per litre as early as next year—the stage is now being set to turn it into a scary reality.

There is light at the end [...]

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Tough times are here, just ask any farmer about the drought. But for motorists, there’s another drought that has been going on for longer. Much longer. In my previous article, I touched on one of two vehicles missing from the Australian car market: a large 4 door family sedan that is powered by a frugal [...]

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The Australian Car market is as strong as it’s ever been. Just last Year, Australians bought 1,049,982 new vehicles—which broke the previous record by a not insignificant 61,713 units. The Small Car segment is still the largest with over 230,000 units sold last year, and that trend should continue with petrol prices continuing their climb [...]

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There’s been a great deal of conjecture about the next generation Lancer Evolution, dubbed the Evo X—although MMC don’t want to use the next obvious moniker of ‘X’ this time around; it want its hero car to be called simply “Evolution”, which the average Joe on the street simply won’t understand.

Regardless of its name, the [...]

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