2010 Ford Fiesta ECOnetic Announced, On Sale Early December
2009 Holden Cruze CDX Petrol And Cruze CD Diesel Road Test Review
2009 Holden Barina 3-Door Hatch Road Test Review
2010 FPV F6 E Road Test Review
2010 Mazda2 Update Revealed In Thailand Factory Announcement
2009 Suzuki SX4 Sedan And SX4 4X4 Road Test
Toyota FT-86 Concept Previews Upcoming Entry-Level RWD Sportscar: Tokyo Motor Show
2010 HSV E Series 2 First Drive Review: Clubsport R8
2010 MN Triton GLX-R And GL-R First Drive Review
2011 Nissan Micra Revealed In Official Renderings
2010 Kia Cerato Koup Road Test Review
Skoda Yeti Confirmed For 2010, FWD And AWD Variants Planned
AUSTRALIAN MOTORISTS are being charged too much for premium petrol, according to insurer NRMA.
NRMA analysed the price of high-octane petrol between June 28, 2006 and September 13, 2009, finding that the price differential between premium and regular unleaded had risen to between three and four cents more than it should be.
“Clearly something is not right,” [...]
FORD PRESIDENT AND CEO Alan Mulally said that he expects to see the American automaker return to profitability in 2011.
With a slowly improving global and US economy, Ford expects to see its US sales rise from 10.5-11 million units this year to 14.5 million units in 2011. This will see Ford’s [...]
A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT by international consultancy Deloitte predicts that the future automotive landscape will feature more streamlined production, more rapid adoption of new technologies, and a shift to electric vehicles.
Manufacturing operations will also become concentrated in lower production-cost countries such as China, India and Eastern Europe.
Development costs, environmental concerns and [...]
VFACTS SALES FIGURES for the month of August show some interesting sales trends. Not the least the performance of the German premium brands, and the feature-laden barnstormer from Korea, Hyundai.
For Audi, forget any notions of a flat market. The fourth ‘big German’ has seen sales grow by 14.6 percent year-to-date (YTD), and, recording 1009 sales [...]
WHILE THE MARKET could not yet be described as buoyant, Australian new car sales for August 2009 have again held up against the odds, although down slightly against the same period last year.
VFACTS new car sales figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 73,287 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial [...]
THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES has passed the Rudd Government’s proposed Automotive Transformation Scheme Bill, which aims to inject an estimated $3.4 billion into the local car industry.
The Bill aims to stimulate innovation and investment in Australian new car design, with a particular emphasis on environmentally-friendly technology.
The money is intended to be spent between 2011 and [...]
FOLLOWING LAST MONTH’S decision to form an integrated automotive group that combines Volkswagen and Porsche, VW has agreed to take up a 42 percent stake in Porsche.
The shares will cost Volkswagen up to 3.3 billion euros (AU$5.5b). Martin Winterkorn - CEO of Volkswagen - is tipped to run the new corporation.
Winterkorn described the [...]
A 5-CENT INCREASE in the cost of petrol may be on the way as Singapore Mogas - the benchmark for unleaded petrol in Australia - rose to sit just under the US$100-per-barrel mark.
After a brief reprieve late last month when retail prices dipped below 120 cents per litre, the cost of petrol is starting to [...]
THERE ARE EMERGING REPORTS that the Farina family is looking to sell off a majority stake in its iconic design house, Pininfarina, most recently involved in the design of the all-new Ferrari 458 Italia.
The Farina family is believed to be looking at offering a 50.7 percent stake to potential suitors, while still maintaining a presence [...]
A VIOLENT 77-DAY STRIKE brought by SsangYong factory workers has drawn to a close today, after the manufacturer agreed to halve the number of layoffs in an upcoming company restructuring.
The factory, which had been turned into a virtual warzone as workers barricaded themselves inside and clashed with South Korean police, is expected to return to [...]
BMW AND PSA PEUGEOT-CITROEN are reportedly considering moving beyond powertrain sharing and partnering up on entire platforms.
BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer has let slip that the German automaker is in discussions with PSA regarding a platform sharing arrangement, however a concrete deal has not been locked in.
BMW currently uses a pair of PSA-sourced diesel and petrol [...]
CHRYSLER HAS CONFIRMED that the venerable PT Cruiser will be soldiering on into the 2010s, with production to continue at the company’s Toluca Mexico plant until at least the middle of next year.
With production of the retro-themed hatchback originally slated to cease in the middle of this year, that’s a substantial extension of the ageing [...]
STEVE BRACKS, the former premier of Victoria, is set to represent the Australian motor industry’s interests in the United States by working to build opportunities and relationships in the world’s biggest car market.
After completing the motor industry review that was instrumental in the development of the New Car Plan for a Greener Future launched [...]
ACCORDING TO FIGURES released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), the motorcycle market has experienced a marked fall in sales over the first half of 2009, with scooters in particular declining in showroom popularity.
Around 55,500 motorcycles, ATVs and scooters were sold in the first six months of this year, representing a 14 percent [...]
AN ONGOING INDUSTRIAL DISPUTE at Ssangyong’s Pyeongtaek production facility in South Korea may affect local supply of the brand’s cars in Australia.
The workers’ strike, which has been going for over 35 days now, was sparked by the sacking of 2646 Ssangyong workers ordered by the company’s majority stakeholder, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation.
Workers have occupied [...]
AUSTRALIA’S CONSUMER WATCHDOG, the ACCC, has ruled that the heavy discounts on petrol recently offered by Coles and Woolworths weren’t anti-competitive, and that neither company breached the Trade Practices Act.
Last week both supermarket retailers offered up to 40 cents per litre off fuel purchased at affiliated petrol stations to customers who spent up to - [...]
SALES FIGURES RELEASED by automotive data group JATO Dynamics for June 2009 show that the European market is continuing its slow recovery in vehicle sales.
While the market is down 10.3 percent at the mid-point of 2009, there has been a 15.7 percent improvement in monthly sales (June 2009 compared to January 2009), a trend that [...]
BARELY A WEEK ago, GM’s new product chief Bob Lutz was telling the world that the Pontiac G8 would be born again as a Chevrolet Caprice. Now, it appears that’s not the case.
Lutz has announced on his Fastlane Blog that the “G8 will not be a Caprice after all”, and that the idea of bringing [...]
ACCC CHAIRMAN Graeme Samuel has missed the point in the matter of the recent price war between Coles and Woolworths, according to the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce (VACC).
Coles and Woolworths/Safeway this week announced huge petrol discounts of up to 40 cents a litre for customers spending between $100 and $300 in stores - a [...]
SHOPPERS at Coles and Woolworths/Safeway supermarkets are set to benefit from huge savings at the petrol pump, with both companies today announcing discounts for customers spending between $100 and $300 in their stores.
Coles was the first to begin advertising its offer, with offers of discounts of between 10c to 40c a litre at the [...]
HOLDEN WILL BE bumping up V6 production at its Melbourne engine plant by a whopping 14,000 units over the next four years, largely thanks to a newly-brokered (and highly lucrative) supply contract between Holden and GM’s Chinese arm, Shanghai General Motors.
The deal will see output of the Holden-made high-feature V6 engines more than triple, and [...]
NEWS SURFACED YESTERDAY that Bob Lutz, now with a new product role in the ‘New GM’, had reportedly confirmed continuation of Holden’s G8 export program to the US - but with the Commodore badged as a Chevrolet.
However, while Lutz was reportedly keen to spill the beans, Holden’s official response is a little more guarded.
“There’s [...]
THE VE COMMODORE will continue to be exported to the US despite reports of its impending demise, according to former General Motors Vice President of Global Product Development, Bob Lutz.
(After announcing his retirement in February this year, Lutz is to return to the ‘New GM’ as a product Czar - a role described in [...]
FORTY DAYS AFTER entering bankruptcy protection, General Motors has emerged as a new company, built from the best and strongest assets of the previous General Motors Corporation.
President and CEO, Fritz Henderson has committed the ‘New GM’ to focus on delivering “great cars and trucks” and “serving the needs of [its] customers”.
Certainly, its major stock holders [...]
BOUTIQUE SPORTS CAR manufacturer Caterham has announced that soaring demand for the company’s lightweight, stripped-down specials has prompted it to increase output by around 10 percent.
While most mainstream manufacturers are still fighting hard to bounce back from the economic downturn, it appears the highly-specialised market for track-day specials has experienced an early marked recovery.
But to [...]
AS GENERAL MOTORS moves ahead with its revitalisation plan and works to get itself out of bankruptcy, the automaking conglomerate is reportedly considering a change of its corporate colours.
Company insiders report that the background colour of GM’s logo may end up turning from blue to green - a gesture that GM hopes will tell consumers [...]
FIAT HAS this week signed an agreement with Guangzhou Automobile Industry Group to have some of its vehicles and powertrains manufactured in China, a deal that will hopefully reduce production costs for the Italian conglomerate and boost Guangzhou’s status in the Asian automaking industry.
The joint venture between the twocompanies will see each contribute €400 million [...]
CRASH TEST groups from around the world, including members of the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP), met in Germany this week to explore opportunities for sharing crash test data and results.
The meeting between ANCAP and other NCAP groups follows discussions earlier this year on crash test regulations, which the Australian Automobile Association hopes [...]
THERE ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT undercurrents evident in the VFACTS figures, published by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries earlier this week, that might easily be overlooked.
The Australian economy has slowed, right? Not as much as developed economies elsewhere (which are mostly galloping backwards), but skating along on the edge of recession.
Well, tell that to the [...]
GM’S ROAD OUT of bankruptcy has been cleared today by US Federal Judge Robert Gerber, who ruled yesterday that the beleagured manufacturer can begin selling its assets to a “New GM” entity.
The ruling is a major boost to GM’s plan to get out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and paves the way for the new [...]
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