Month: August 2008

Categories
Drive Thru MINI Reviews

Drive Thru: MINI John Cooper Works

MINI John Cooper Works

When something meets your expectations so well, have you ever been left feeling almost let down? Equally, when something does meet your expectations so well, can you be anything other than impressed? These were questions I was asking myself a quick squirt in the new MINI John Cooper Works (JCW) today.

Firstly, a big thanks to Rolfe MINI Garage in Canberra for giving me early access to their demo JCW. To be thrown the keys and told ‘go and enjoy it’ was an opportunity I was not going to waste. Off to my preferred mountain test route I headed.

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Categories
News Top Gear Australia

Top Gear Australia to premiere on 29 September

TopGear logoLadies and gentlemen start your televisions! SBS has announced a premiere date for the Australian production of Top Gear—7:30pm Monday 29 September. Series 1 will run for 8 episodes.

Many fans of the original UK version of Top Gear remain skeptical about the merits of the Australian production. However, on paper at least, I think the Aussie cast looks very promising. Snippets I’ve read in the press also give me confidence with Executive Producer Andy Wilman acknowledging they have a hard road ahead of them to keep the spirit of the original show with the new efforts here and in the US. All signs to date indicate this production will be done, and done well.

From the SBS Top Gear website: Calling themselves “the ugliest men on television” the comical Australian larrikins have tested a diverse range of cars, talked, joked and sung their way through countless hours behind the wheel, have donned wool vests, top hats and goggles for stories—although not all in one outing, and have competed against each other in amusing, and sometimes bordering on the side of ridiculous, challenges. But most importantly, they have had a “darn good time”.

Categories
Audi Motorsports

Audi R8 GT3 – purpose built customer racecar

Audi R8 GT3

Remember when you were a kid and you had your dream car, a car, that in your mind, you would take from the factory and make it the fastest damn thing the world had ever seen. Well Audi has gone part way to helping you fulfill your dream with the release of the R8 GT3 race version. Clearly the guys down at Audi Sport, quattro GmbH and Audi Hungaria Motor Kft had plenty of Meccano when they were kids and it looks as though they shared similar dreams to the rest of us. Fortunately, unlike the chavtastic ricers you see doof-doofing at your local mall, these guys have actually put their Meccano skills to good use.

The R8 GT3 is a race ready customer car that meets all GT3 racing regulations out of the box. That means the 500hp+ (375kW) normally aspirated V8 is driven via the rear wheels only. A race strength 6 speed sequential transmission has been developed. Amazingly many of the suspension components are standard OEM parts. Three purpose built factories will be opened to service the vehicles in Ingolstadt, Necksarlum and Györ. Rich buggers living our dreams will be able to take delivery of their new dream racecar in the latter half of 2009.

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Categories
Fifth Gear

Fifth Gear – Series 14, Episode 3

Fifth Gear - Series 14, Episode 3

A much better showing from the lads at Fifth Gear this week. The shootout saw Jason Plato pit der neue Passat R36 Estate against der neue Audi A4 3.0TDI Estate. TheR36 is Volkswagen’s most powerful and quickest production car to date, but it didn’t have it all its own way against the A4 oil burner. More VAG content when VBH compared a Golf GT TDI against a Kia PRO-cee’d diesel. She reckons the Kia is getting better. While I hate to admit it doesn’t actually look too bad, I’ll take her word for it otherwise. Jonny went to the Ultimate Street Car show, or Summer Nats for chavs. He claimed there was some art and talent there, and to be fair, he’s probably right. But there’s also a crap load of wasted money, including a Civic Type R that has had £90K (AU$193K) thrown at it. Tiff drove around with Jarno Trulli in a Prius. It’s okay, they fell asleep too. Tim Shaw simply has to lose the stupid jumpers and poxy jeans, although, that would leave him with precisely no personality. A point he proved again while trying to match manufacturer’s performance claims in a MINI Cooper S, Mazda MX-5 and an Ariel Atom. Tom drove around in a new Honda Accord Jap, oops, I mean Euro. Tiff closed out the show being a prat against Australia’s own Jason Crump on a speedway track. Predictable results and a whining Tiff followed. Passable.

Categories
Volkswagen

Computer generated renderings of the 2010 Golf GTI

Golf VI GTILeftLaneNews has just published some computer generated renderings of the 2010 GTI. While not official—we’ll have to wait for the upcoming Paris Motor Show for that—their images certainly do look convincing. Assuming these graphics are on the money, it is pleasing to see GTI specific treatments still exist. The Golf IV GTI was virtually identical to its lesser Golf siblings—a fault that Volkswagen fixed superbly with the Golf V GTI. Not long to go now until an official reveal for the Golf VI GTI, which is reported to have a revised 160kW/300Nm 2-litre turbo, which can be coupled to an optional 7 speed DSG transmission.

See more images now at LeftLaneNews. For more on the Golf VI, check out the AUSmotive Volkwagen category listing.

Categories
Holden News

Mechanics mangle Monaro

Mechanice mangle MonaroIn a story that is sure to send shivers down the spine of AUSmotive readers The Daily Telegraph reports of a shocking tale of Heartland Holden employees joyriding and crashing a customer’s car. Residents close to the Parramatta dealership were alarmed when Colin Chaffen’s Holden Monaro lost control and went crashing through a residential fence.

NSW Police are investigating the incident, however the Telegraph have quoted Mr Chaffen saying top brass at Heartland Holden attempted to deceive him by giving numerous explanations as to the cause of the accident. Raising his anxiety further were insurance payout complications from the Western Sydney Holden dealership.

But perhaps the most alarming revelations were claims from a former employee at Heartland Holden. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph the anonymous former employee claimed this was not an isolated incident, “They’re hoons. Whenever a nice car came in they were all itching to take it for a drive. I saw them do burn-outs, speed and drive erratically on test drives, and their attitude was ‘it’s not my car’.”

While it is difficult to verify the accuracy of the former employee’s claims, they do tend to support the worst fears for many innocent customers who have a right to expect their cars can be trusted when left with a supposedly reputable workshop. I’m sure I am not the only one that has heard anecdotal evidence of similar stories, although I personally haven’t heard of joyriding mechanics crashing a customer’s car before.

Source: The Daily Telegraph
(Thanks to Dave for the tip)

Categories
News Top Gear Australia

Top Gear Australia audience call

Top Gear AustraliaThe debut of Top Gear Australia is getting closer by the day. So much so that SBS has started an audience call for Series 1. If you are over 18, can easily get yourself to Top Gear Australia’s Sydney studio in September/October and don’t mind if your mug gets on the telly then this could be the gig for you! Follow THIS LINK to register your interest and you’ll be in with a chance to join Charlie, Warren and Steve for the studio filming.

Good luck!

Oh, a quick reminder that starting at 7:30 tonight SBS delves into the vault to bring us Series 2 of Top Gear UK. This is James May’s debut series and well worth a sticky beak if you’ve not already seen it.

(Thanks to Wes for the tip.)

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Categories
Volkswagen

Next generation Golf GTI spied

Golf VI GTI

The next generation Golf VI GTI has been spied in testing. With the recent release of information on the broader Golf VI range only the front grille and rear light/bumper treatment needs disguising in this test mule. It is expected the GTI will feature Audi-like LED daytime running lights up front. You can also see from the image above that the new GTI will adopt the latest trend for dual exhaust pipes on either side. Earlier reports suggest the entry level GTI will have a revised 211bhp (160kW) 2-litre turbo and the car will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show (4-19 October). It is believed the GTI will be a precursor to a new hero GTI featuring Volkswagen’s ‘R’ badge, with an all wheel drive turbo four cylinder replacing the R32 at the top of the Golf range.

Source: GolfMk6.com & World Car Fans

Categories
BMW Motorsports

BMW M3 race version

Regular trawlers of motoring websites will know information on this BMW M3 race version is not new. This does not mean its late arrival on AUSmotive is any less worthy however. A replacement for the awesome BMW M3 GTR the new M3 race version is all set for the 2009 American Le Mans Series. Like the previous GTR one would expect this M3 to have a crack at the Nürburgring 24 hour race in 2009 as well. Enjoy this clip above from bmw-web.tv before going all ga-ga over the glory of the images below (click each pic for a 2000px super image). Just look at it! There’s also enough technical data in BMW’s press information to keep anyone happy.

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Categories
Porsche Top Gear

Top Gear tea break – Porsche Carrera GT

Top Gear Porsche Carrera GT review

Here at AUSmotive we love Top Gear and we love nice cars. Very nice cars. To celebrate the recent arrival of the official Top Gear YouTube channel here is a Top Gear tea break. Set aside a few minutes—7 minutes 58 seconds in this case—and enjoy Jeremy Clarkson’s review of the Porsche Carrera GT. Sure, this clip may be a few years old now, taken from way back in Series 4, but the car in question is absolutely timeless. One of my all time favourites. At the time The Stig’s best lap of 1:19.8 was the fastest time recorded around the Top Gear test track. Sadly, the Top Gear boffins have prevented embedding of their YouTube clips, but click on the image above to be taken to the clip and, as Jeremy says, “LISTEN TO THAT ENGINE!” … it is one of the best automotive sounds ever created.

Categories
Ford News

Ford Australia boss resigns

Ford Australia boss Bill Osborne resignsFord Australia has been shocked by President Bill Osborne’s sudden resignation. He will leave the company in September. See GoAuto for more detail.

Ford Australia Statement

John Parker, Ford Motor Company Executive Vice President of Asia Pacific and Africa, today announced that Ford Australia President Bill Osborne has elected to leave the company, effective September.

Osborne will relocate back to North America to take up a position outside the automotive industry. His replacement will be announced in due course.

“Bill has made significant contributions during his career with Ford Motor Company, and we wish him and his family all the best with his future endeavour,” said Parker.

“Ford Australia will continue to play a vital role in the future success of Ford Motor Company and within the Asia Pacific and Africa region, with greater input and alignment across all areas of the business, particularly product development, information technology, purchasing and marketing and sales,” added Parker.

Categories
News Safety Issues

Pay attention – It could save your life!

AAMI Crash Index 2008If you believe the shock tactics of many state governments around Australia all it takes to be a safe driver is to make sure you stay under the speed limit. That’s it! An over simplified view, perhaps, but filed in the tell-us-something-we-don’t-know drawer is a new report from AAMI that declares “almost half of all crashes on Australian roads could be averted by drivers simply paying more attention”. Nothing could be more simple than that.

Commenting on the release of the 2008 AAMI Crash Index, Public Affairs Manager Geoff Hughes said, “Absent-mindedness is a factor in 44 per cent of all car collisions, with drivers much more likely to crash due to their own inattention than from speeding, fatigue and alcohol combined.

“While speed, fatigue and alcohol are factors in 37 per cent of car crashes, AAMI’s research shows inattention is the number one reason drivers crash into another vehicle or stationary object.”

Given the fact there is so much shock advertising in our daily media it is astounding to see that 34% of those surveyed knowingly exceeded .05 yet still chose to drive. A bit hard to pay attention if you’re pissed. Again, in keeping with the theme of inattention AAMI’s research showed that 20% of crashes happened due to a failure of a motorist to give way.

AAMI’s media release is shown below and the AAMI Crash Index can be downloaded from their website, or here on AUSmotive (700kb PDF).

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