Archive for 2013
A Jealous Englishman: What the World Needs to Learn from Australia
Good day fair readers!
I do very much believe some introductions are in order. My name is Lewis and I am coming to you from the distant shores of the United Kingdom. If I am to be totally honest, my aims are very simple. All I would like to do is to bring a little happiness into your lives through my automotive ramblings. My love for the motoring world runs deep into my family history; motor sport has been the unifying factor that has pumped passionately through the genetics of my family. As long as I know I am spreading some of the happiness that cars have brought me, I am a happy man.
Every generation has a legend. Every journey has a first step. Every saga has a beginning
…Just a little something for you Star Wars fans out there.
As you are reading this, you will come to realise just how special you are. Your eyes now have the privilege of seeing my first blog post, here on the online majesty that is Private Fleet. Finding THE article to start with is always going to be tricky. After much searching, it came to me. And as I write this, there could never have been any other option. As a Brit with a love for motor sport, I have been possessed by the green eyed monster. Australia has everything that I am looking for. Many of my favourite things come from Australia; Jack Brabham, nice weather and Tim Minchin to name but a few.
Tim Minchin – Dark Side (2009)
But most of all, you raging beauties hold the answer. You hold the answer to one of the largest problems that has befallen the modern world. When you mention ‘motor sport’ to any average person on the street, chances are their reply will have something to do with Formula One. Formula One was a once great sport that has now fallen into crisis. Hard, adrenaline fuelled racing has now been replaced by tyre choices and pit strategy. And APPARENTLY, one or two overtakes in a race marks them out as proof of amazing driving talent. But that is another story.
Similarly, British motor sport was once spearheaded by the British Touring Car Championship. But with the onset of the 00s and the decline of the ‘Super Tourers’ the sport became unpopular, and the great racing descended into thuggish behaviour and unfair driving. the BTCC during the 90s included some of the greatest racing I think I have ever seen, and to say that i grew up with it makes me so very happy.
The Greatest Few Laps of Any Race Ever – BTCC 1992 Season Finale!
Although I must say that the BTCC is back on the rise again in the UK, it is still to reach the meteoric levels of the 90s. And well, the less said about Formula One the better really. I have spent many an hour pondering over how motor sport can be improved. And then I realised that I have known the answer all along. The V8 Supercar championship is the beacon of hope in an ever darkening world.
Everything about the sport is exactly how I wish motor sport could be. The cars look phenomenal, they sound like the bellow of some holy deity and the racing is pure and unfiltered. If I could ask for anything, it would be for the drivers of the V8s to head on over to the paddocks of the Formula One and BTCC grids and give them a lesson in how racing should be. This sport alone proves just how amazing Australia is and, even though it may be geographically many thousands of miles from where I am, I feel a better connection with the sport than I do with many on my own shores.
And not just the sports themselves, but the arenas for these automotive showdowns are rivalled by very few others across the world. I mean, is there a more exciting, heart pounding experience possible than a full throttle lap at Bathurst? I would like to see a Formula One car deal with a track like that. The Bathurst 1000 is an incredible event that makes me realise just how great some of these racing drivers truly are. There have even been occasions when my heros from the BTCC such as John Cleland and Matt Neal have attempted the Bathurst 1000 and proved that it really is no piece of cake.
So, as I bring my love fuelled rant to a close, I would like to leave you with one final message:
Dear Australia,
Whatever happens, please do not go changing. You are the beacon by which the rest of the world should follow. Whether we are talking comedy or motor sport, there is no place like Australia. I can only wish I had the chance of heading on over and sampling this majesty for myself.
Thank you for the motor sport!
All the best,
Me!
Until next time my lovely readers.
Keep Driving!
Peace and Love!
Top 5 Australian Cars of the 20th Cenury
Although Australian cars are the world over known for certain characteristics, it goes without saying that often people don’t sit down to think about the specific cars that have helped shaped the nation for generations. In this blog post, we look at the top 5 Australian cars of the 20th Century, and give our reasons as to why, despite flashier or smarter options available, these workhorses have kept the country turning.
The Ford Falcon
One half of the Ford/Holden rivalry that continues to this day, the Ford Falcon was in many ways seen as being bested by the General Motors variant. The Ford itself however was, and still is, a perfectly capable family sized powerhorse. It’s inclusion on this list is indisputable – Ford is planning on stopping Falcon production in 2016 as the sales of larger, gas guzzling cars begins to dwindle.
Holden Commodore VT
The Commodores as a line of cars themselves are of course perfectly able – but the VT model of 1997 is especially important, as it marked the beginning of Holden’s recognition in global spheres. It still is the best selling Commodore to date – and with a more European inspired design (such as the rear suspension from the Vauxhall Omega) parts were fairly easy to come by.
Toyota Avalon
The Toyota Avalon didn’t sell well, but it is important in the car market in Australia, if only because it inspired the enormously popular Toyota Aurion. Introduced as a 1995 year car, it may look boring, but was one of only a few in its field offering front wheel drive in a largely rear wheel drive market. As you can expect, attaching a 3.0 V6 and an automatic gearbox to a front wheel drive car didn’t provide the world’s best handling.
Toyota Camry
Originating in approximately 1980, and following the same lines as the Toyoto Celica Coupe, the Camry continues to this day to be North America’s best selling car and incredibly popular in Australia and Asia. At the time, it was considered well equipped and well designed – it also followed the trend at the time for Australia’s cars to be more economic, cheaper and lighter.
Holden VL Commodore SS Group A
You might think that all the cars we’ve featured so far have been pretty bland – and to some extent you’d be true – but you wait for this one…
The Holden VL Commodore SS was the first car produced by the Holden Dealer Team – an official partner organisation to Holden who boosts the performance of stock cars to eye watering levels of speed and power. The Holden VL Commodore SS Group A spawned a generation of Holden Special Vehicles and helped promote the V8 Racing Scene to the hugely popular levels it enjoys today.
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Men and Women Drivers: Does The Gender Gap Actually Exist?
From time to time – but less often than we did in the past – you hear people making snarky comments about “women drivers”. This has always puzzled me. Do women really drive differently from men? Is there are gender difference in the way that people treat their cars?
This is far from being scientific research, but I reckon that the answer is no, not really. Sometimes, it seems as if everything I’ve read about gender differences in driving conflicts with what I’ve actually experienced or seen.
What I’ve read: Men are more aggressive and competitive when they drive.
What I’ve experienced: The majority of guys driving aren’t all that competitive or aggressive. The majority of drivers aren’t aggressive and competitive. Yes, you get the odd berk who overtakes everything in sight just to get to the traffic lights two seconds in front of you, but as far as I can see, these people can be either gender. I’ve even given in to the odd competitive urge myself… like that time that I was waiting at the lights and noticed that the car beside me was an orange HSV. I have a soft spot for Fords, and orange is my least favourite colour, so if the road hadn’t been so busy, I probably would have turned the green light into a chance for the great rivalry to continue between the blue oval and the lion.
What I’ve read: Women have more of an emotional attachment to their cars and treat them more like pets, while for a man, a car is a glorified power tool.
What I’ve also read: Men have more of an emotional attachment to their cars – “boys and their toys” – while women just want something that goes from A to B.
These two statements are mutually exclusive, so it’s probably best to say that some people have an emotional attachment to their cars while others do not. It also depends on the car itself and memories associated with the car.
What I’ve read: Women get distracted more easily because they are more likely to text while driving and because they use the mirror to check their appearance and/or apply makeup.
What I’ve experienced: If you can see your face in the rear view mirror while you’re driving, it’s in the wrong position. I don’t think I’ve ever seen any of my woman friends applying any sort of cosmetic while driving and I certainly haven’t done it myself. Not even at the traffic lights when I know from experience that I’ve got at least a minute to wait. Idiots who text and drive are just as likely to be male as female, judging by the ones I’ve had to dodge recently. And as for women being more distracted in general, well, those billboards featuring bikini babes we see all over the show aren’t going to be much of a distraction for a straight woman, are they?
What I’ve read (quite recently, in fact): Men are more likely to honk the horn at other drivers when ticked off, while women are more likely to swear or give the one-fingered salute.
What I’ve experienced: If you’re dodging some idiot who has decided that the give way laws don’t apply to them at the moment, then your main focus is going to be on avoiding a collision rather than using your hands to give someone the big finger or to find the horn (I always end up hitting one of the cruise control buttons by mistake). Applies to either gender. You might give some exclamation along the lines of “Oh, crap!” to give a printable example. Again, applies to both genders. By the time you’re out of the situation, it’s too late for either the horn or the hand, as the twit who forced you to jam on the brakes has vanished, so muttering comments about him/her is the only option left.
What I’ve read: Men are more mechanically adept than women and are more likely to take care of their cars.
What I’ve experienced: This is probably more a matter of training than actual ability. Most of us considering buying a new car today grew up when the “girls can do anything” movement was just getting underway and girls just weren’t taught mechanical bits and pieces, same as guys weren’t taught how to sew on a button. The reasons for this are obscure, as people from the World War 2 generation knew perfectly well that women could fix and make machinery. It’s changing again, with more and more girls and women being taught the basics of car maintenance and DIY.
What I’ve read (and this would have to be the stupidest claim of all): Men invented cars in the first place, so they’re necessarily more interested in them, are better drivers, etc.
What I’ve also read: While Herr Benz invented the horseless carriage and the internal combustion engine, it was his wife (no, she wasn’t called Mercedes Benz – her name was Bertha) that actually took the invention out on the road to show the world how easy this invention was to drive. And she did her own repairs on the road, inventing brake linings on the way.
In my opinion, there aren’t gender differences when it comes to driving. Personality differences, yes.
Ship Out Or Else: Holden Told To Increase Exports
New Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane has given Holden a blunt piece of advice: export more if you want more support. With the red lion brand finding public support dwindling thanks to its near sighted attitude, it’s advice Holden itself are probably well aware of.
Macfarlane has said he’d like to see Holden with an export rate of around 30%; currently the numbers are 17% against Toyota’s 72% which begs the question: are Toyota making a better product or have a better export market situation? The local arm of General Motors has tried exports before and currently has the Caprice being sold into the US as a 
police vehicle. It was also sold into the Middle East successfully yet doesn’t appear to have been continued as a market, with the exchange rate a telling indicator. In 2005 Holden shipped out over 60, 000 vehicles to the US and Middle East, about 38% of its production. Aiding that was having the dollar buying just 71c US. Now it’s more in the region of 95c…. Counting against Holden currently is the economic value of the dollar, plus the expectation that, from 2016 onwards, the two vehicles it will build here in Australia will also be built for and by overseas markets, further cruelling a long term export market.Toyota loses around $2500 on each Camry exported but, crucially, with such a high number of imported Toyotas sold, makes that back on those imported sales. MacFarlane says: “I know (Toyota is) doing it at a loss, I’d like to stop that happening,” said Mr Macfarlane.“But that shows real dedication to me to Australia. That’s what Toyota are about.” Toyota has also just completed its one millionth export Camry.
Holden is also copping flak for importing wheels from the US for its high end Redline models whilst ROH Wheels, once a major supplier and 
located just 25 kilometres from Holden in Adelaide sits waiting. Toyota sources all of its rolling stock from ROH; Holden insists it’s to do with the higher than expected demand for their new VF Commodore and, in particular, the Redline, as there’s now a three month waiting list. It’s also better news for the struggling company, with demand for the Commodore firmly placing the range into the top five sellers in Australia.
Another issue with Holden is the increasing non local componentry in the Commodore; the Falcon is 70 percent locally supplied whilst Toyota is 65%…the Commodore is around fifty percent whilst the success story that is Cruze is even lower, at just 30%. In just the last week, a number of staff from Holden’s purchasing and admin sections were let go and this is on top of a number of design and engineering staff at about the same time. Coming into play is the new government’s forthright attitude and its confirmation of restructuring car industry funding. Says Mr Macfarlane: it will make good on its pre-election promise to cut $500 million from the $5.4 billion set aside for car manufacturing industry assistance.“We’re not giving back the $500 million, so I’ve got to come up with a solution there,” said Mr Macfarlane. “And then we’ve got to have a long term plan which will be ‘The End’, in capital letters, in black, six feet high, ‘This is all we’re ever going to give you’. That’ll be the end. I won’t be seeing car companies after that.”
It’s not shaping up to be a smooth road for the red lion.
Level 2, 9 Help Street