Yo Kenny, yup, I think I made a reference to "pigs flying about all over the place". I think one just flew in through my loungeroom window and is sitting on the couch demanding a Jack Daniels.

I am very pleased to be wrong - I've never undervalued the quality and capability of our local industry and of the superior cars we produce in this country, dollar for dollar.

While it will of necessity be very low volume (which is a point I raised in my earlier assessment as to the optimum production capacity of the Adelaide plant), it is terrific news for Holden, and very well-deserved, and also terrific news for the Australian manufacturing sector.

I have to say though that I don't quite get the Nascar tie-up on such a low volume model unless there are plans to make it higher volume in the future. In which case a switch to other production arrangements - somewhere down the track.

It may be the beginning of another exciting era for the Lion badge; you always live in hope that good products will get the recognition they deserve. There is a blue oval struggling with that here at the moment.

Tim

Posted 5 days ago

Yo MM, yes, we joined motoring.com.au for this ten-car comparo which we mentioned in the intro (they share reviews across carpoint, carsales et al).

The issue for us is that our team is too small, given the logistics of the exercise, to conduct such a multiple-car test. We were invited as an independent site to provide an independent perspective.

While our top three agrees, our middle and lower order rankings differ (not markedly I'll concede). The issue here is that this sector, besides being spoiled for choice, is also spoiled for quality.

By and large, they're all good buying and mostly good drives, and, for some, it's just degrees and subjective preferences that may put one ahead of the other.

That's why we whack 'em through a slalom and conduct dynamic testing to get some empirical data on their performance. But we know, as you do, that for some buyers it's the comfort of the ride or the feel of the interior that is more important. Others will have another preference.

This of course is subjective - "one man's meat is another man's poison."

Our ranking is one thing - it will be important for some, not for others - but we hope that by highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of each car tested, we can help buyers narrow the field to the three or four cars that most matches their needs and preferences.

As for the price thing, it was just a call. Do you line up ten cars at the same price, or do you line up ten base models where the price advantage of one over another - especially if its large - can be an important showroom advantage for a buyer?

Always good to banter about these things.

Tim

Posted 8 days ago

Yo mate, oversight error in publication. Corrected. (Composite score was right.)
Tim

Posted 20 days ago