Honda’s frugal and slightly oddball CR-Z has won the 2011 Wheels Car of the Year award. It’s the world’s first hybrid to be offered with a 6-speed manual transmission. Even though it’s powered by a modest 91kW/174Nm 1.5 litre i-VTEC engine with Integrated Motor Assist the Wheels judges applaud the CR-Z’s ability to put a [...]
Australia registered over one million new vehicle sales in 2011 the latest FCAI press release reveals. The final tally of 1,008,437 represents the fourth time the country has passed one million sales in a calendar year. Despite dropping more than 27,000 sales (-2.6%) on 2010 numbers, FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers reminds us this is [...]
We bring you some sad news this afternoon with confirmation V8 Supercar driver Jason Richards has passed away. The 35-year-old died last night with his wife, Charlotte, by his side. He leaves behind two daughters, Sienna and Olivia. In November last year Jason was diagnosed with the aggressive cancer Adrenocortical Carcinoma. He fought his battle [...]
Hold on tight everyone Australia should crack 1,000,000 car sales in 2011 after VFACTS figures show 88,654 new vehicles were sold in November. That brings the year to date total to 925,978, which should allow the 1 million mark to be broken for only the fourth time in Australia’s history. “For the past four months [...]
Australia remains on track to achieve one million new vehicle sales according to FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers. VFACTS figures state 85,196 new vehicles were sold in October, a rise of 5.3 per cent on the same month last year. “Manufacturers are reporting a steady increase in demand, placing the industry in a strong position [...]
Darrell Waltrip is a three time NASCAR champion. He was at Bathurst last weekend to cover the Super Cheap Auto 1000 for US television channel Speed. Jason Bright was kind enough to strap Waltrip into his Holden V8 Supercar and take his guest for a quick spin around the mountain. You can see the clip [...]
Despite the demise of the Rick Damelian empire, one of Sydney’s largest dealership networks, new vehicle sales were buoyant last month. A total of 86,819 sales were registered, an increase of 1765 (2.1%) on the same month last year. Year-to-date a total of 752,128 new vehicles have been sold and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries [...]
Things are looking up as far as new vehicle sales in Australia are concerned. At total of 88,082 sales were recorded in August. That’s up 7091 compared to the previous month and 5960 more than August 2010. Steve Payne, FCAI acting Chief Executive, explains the market is trending upwards after a slow start to 2011, [...]
A total of 80,991 new vehicles were sold last month according to official VFACTS numbers. That represents a small drop of 1.7% compared to July 2010. Steve Payne, FCAI Acting Chief Executive, explains the year-long trend is lower again, “While the drop in sales in July is small compared to the same month last year, [...]
Apologies for missing last month’s update and for those keeping score Holden actually pipped Toyota to the highest selling marque for May. A result largely due to supply issues in Japan following the tsunami earlier this year. Indeed the total sales for May were 77,406 a fall of 13.2% on 2010 figures. And so it [...]
Grant Denyer’s latest television adventure will see him join forces with Kelly Racing in the hunt for a new V8 Supercar driver. The program, titled Shannons Supercar Showdown, will run on 7mate and premieres on Saturday 23 July. There will be 10 drivers—including three females, one Kiwi and one Briton—fighting for the chance to drive [...]
April’s Easter and Anzac day holiday break is being cited as the cause for an 8.8% drop in sales compared to 2010 figures. In all 74,214 new vehicles were sold. Japanese marques are expected to have temporary ongoing supply issues following the unfortunate earthquake and tsunami. Toyota and Holden continue their reign as the country’s [...]
March was another month without much fanfare as far as vehicle sales go. The official press release from FCAI is very matter of fact. In real terms, though, the numbers don’t seem too bad. A total of 93,984 sales were registered, a drop of just under 1% compared to March 2010. FCAI Chief Executive Andrew [...]
Here’s a short film from TeamVodafone about yesterday’s F1/V8 driver swap at Bathurst. It’s a high quality production, too, so make sure you check it out. [Source: Speedcafe]
Today represented a once in a lifetime experience—the chance to witness a Formula One car lapping the legendary Mount Panorama circuit in Bathurst. It was a chance the AUSmotive Editor was unwilling to let slip. Shortly after arriving at the track the 2008-spec McLaren MP4-23 showcar fired into life in its pit garage. It was [...]