Archive for 2013
Ford's High Tech Revamp While Holden Workers Back Change
It’s tough times in the Australian automotive manufacturing field; Ford is looking to go out with a bang locally and Holden workers confirm a pay freeze to try and help extend the Adelaide based operations lifespan.
Ford released details (13 August 2013) about its revamped range of vehicles as it looks to provide Australian buyers some sort of joy before wrapping local building operations in 2016. Chief amongst this is confirmation the iconic Mustang name will spearhead the Ford range however the midsized Mondeo is slated to become the main seller, due to the continuing dropoff in large car sales. The new Fiesta range is also due before years end as is a new form of driver safety. Ford calls it “MyKey” and is intended to give parents more control over the driving habits of their children plus, should the worst happen (a crash) contact emergency services automatically. “MyKey is an industry-first technology that allows parents to program a key that limits top speed, reduces maximum radio volume, disables the radio until the seatbelts are fastened and prevents deactivation of driver assistance and safety technologies.”
Staying with the tech theme, the 2014 arrival of Mondeo sees inflatable
seatbelts for rear passengers; on impact the belts inflate and cover five times more surface area on a body than conventional seatbelts, reducing physical trauma. Ford also continues with the Mondeo station wagon, a criminally underrated segment in Australia with the seemingly almost unstoppable surge towards SUVs, with a redesign offering better interior packaging plus a reintroduction of the hatchback, with a slim and aerodynamic look. Ford’s commercial 
buyers will also be looked after with an update to the venerable 
Transit range also on stream. With seven million sold since 1965 it remains one of Ford’s most successful commercially oriented vehicles and for 2014 the range cops a substantial reskinning with two distinct looks, the Cargo and Custom, being set to roll into businesses next year. The Cargo will come with a variety of body shapes and will also a 12 seater bus variant.
In regards to Ford Australia’s oldest nameplate, the Falcon, that will be retired when Ford Oz ceases local building and full details of what the big car will feature and look like are yet to be confirmed.
For the red lion brand, it’s confirmed now that workers at the Elizabeth, South Australia, plant have backed a wage freeze and will help contribute a saving of $15 million, adding to the struggling makers push to stay local past 2020. Holden has been in talks with both the current Federal government and the Opposition in order to source more funding, which in some circles has been decried as a blatant exercise in corporate hostage taking. What’s overlooked is the knock on effect, already felt in third and fourth party supply circles after Ford’s announcement, with other manufacturing streams largely reliant on the auto industry. Australian Manufacturing Workers Union state secretary John Camillo said Holden’s Adelaide workforce had voted to help save not only Holden but the wider car component sector.”It was a tough choice, but they made the right decision,” an emotional Mr Camillo told reporters. He said the onus was now on the federal government and the opposition to declare their support for the company to ensure Holden pushes ahead with a $1 billion investment to build two new cars in Australia from 2016. Holden will now delay its decision on local manufacturing until the September 7 Federal election is concluded and will restart talks with whomever becomes the government.
New Cars For Finishing 2013 Out
There are still a number of exciting new models to come in 2013, and for car fans, like me, this is always going to be great news worthy of investigation.
Keep your eyes out for Aston Martin’s new Vanquish Volante. If you are into James Bond style cars, the open top Volante will be a hit. This should arrive at the end of the year.
Audi’s new S3 will heat some rubber in both hatch and sedan form. The sedan will be able to take on the BMW 1-Series M Coupe. Also to arrive in Australia shortly will be the very quick Audi RS6 Avant. The 0-100 km/h sprint should be cut down to under four seconds.
BMW’s 3-Series GT is just around the corner, as is the newly designed X5. Maybe the highlight for most BMW fans will be the updated Z4 Roadster – a great handling package with plenty of power.
For those who can afford it, the Bentley Flying Spur with a twelve-cylinder engine will grace our roads shortly.
Fiat’s new Grande Punto and tiny Panda models are due in Australia later this year. For the performance nuts, the ankle biting Fiat Abarth Punto Evo Supersport packs a nippy 132kW.
Ford‘s entire Fiesta range gets a facelift, including the feisty new turbo-charged Fiesta ST. One other very interesting addition for the Blue Oval is the cleverly designed Ford Ecosport SUV, due at the end of the year. The small SUV shape is a very tidy-looking little machine that rides high and is very efficient.
Holden has their Trax due shortly – see Private Fleet review.
Watch out for the stylish Infiniti Q50 Sedan. Deceptively quick and luxurious, you’ll need to be quick to get your hands on one of these top models from the recently introduced Infiniti brand.
One of the most exciting cars that is arriving in the next few months is one from Jaguar: the new F-Type Roadster. Deemed to be a great handler and in the same league as a Porsche 911, this one’s got acceleration times of between 4-to-5 seconds from 0-100 km/h – depending on your choice of engine. The V8-S runs up to a maximum speed of 300 km/h.
Jeep is looking good with the launch of its revised Grand Cherokee range in Australia.
Lexus has their gorgeous new IS models. Check out our review on the range of Lexus IS variants. What a great car, with performance to match the looks and luxury, not to be outdone by its little brother, the large Lexus ES Sedan is due later this year.
Maserati has their new Quattroporte sedan for sale in Australia. Expect plenty of get-up-and-go from turbocharged V6 and V8 engines.
Mercedes Benz has just a few new entrants. The big S-Class luxury sedan will launch toward the end of the year in Australia. However, you’ll notice the classy small CLA four-door coupe on our roads now – take a look at our review.
Nissan’s quirky new Juke Crossover is sure to be a hit with the ladies (and the gents), while Nissan provide the off-road fraternity with a nice looking new Pathfinder.
Peugeot have their showy new 2008 SUV available at the end of the year. Expect a frugal diesel to get the job done.
Jag’s F-Type has obviously been watched by the class leading Porsche brand, as the Germans have got their act together and come up with the new 911 range, which includes the GT3 and 911 Turbo.
Back to the small hatchbacks… Renault provide their Nissan-collaborated Clio range at the end of the year. The quick RS is sure to be great entertainment value.
Not a new motorbike this time, but a brand new SX4 SUV will be promised to the buyer on the lookout for new Suzuki cars. It should be here before the end of 2013.
Lastly, Volvo will have all of their new range ( XC60, S60 and V60 vehicles) in Australia by the end of the year.
All-in-all, this is a range of cars (budget-priced to expensive) that keep the interest levels high enough for the new car enthusiast. It has been a quieter year, as last year there were a huge number of products rolled out by many of the big names in car brands. Next year looks busy.
On The Road: the New Volvo Driver Is…..
As a freelance vehicle reviewer, amongst other things, I spend a fair bit of time on the road. As a driver safety and education promoter, I look at the habits of other drivers because, as a good driver, you should always be watching what’s going on around you. There’s plenty of non indication; swapping of lanes all of a sudden, without planning the merge; the usual colour blind drivers that believe red is green and so on. What stands out, for me, is how often it seems to be the same “kind” of person that is involved in situations such as these.
I’d say, by now, we’ve all heard the term “soccer mums”; these are the mothers that transport their and other kids around in a people mover vehicle, invariably a 4WD vehicle and invariably it’s a Prado. On the long but dead end road on which I live is both a high school (at the end of the road and therefore truly bad council decision making)
and a child care, both bringing plenty of traffic morning and afternoon. The majority of vehicle are SUVs along the lines of Prados and Volvo XC90s (ironically) with a few station wagons for good measure. The ones that consistently exceed the 50kmh posted limit are consistently the soccer mum driven SUVs.
When it comes to freeway driving and the failure to indicate, more often than not it’s two distinct groups; the P plater driver (who clearly should know better) or drivers over (roughly) 55. The quick mergers tend to be across the board. Social media chatter is a great source; each state claims they have the worst drivers due to xyz factors, which, to me, indicates a systemic failure of driver instruction Australia wide, especially at the P plate level. Sure, there’s a measure of personal responsibility that needs to be taken, responsibility that could be said to have been reduced as a safety factor thanks to the almost singular focus on speeding as a breach of road safety, plus an understandable frustration with poor road design and surfaces, however there’s a correlation between styles of driving and those that make the errors.
When it comes to the new Volvo drivers, my personal opinion is it’s those that drive SUVs and, as a general rule, it’s the soccer mums. And that’s worrying because of the cargo they carry: children.
Extra Government Support For Australia's Car Industry…But…..
The FBT situation for Australia’s struggling local manufacturers hasn’t improved, even with the recent announcement of $200 million dollars going towards Ford, Holden and Toyota and a mere $7 million towards car suppliers, ignoring the areas that currently also needs assistance; the retail sector. The Victoria Automotive Chamber of Commerce has hit out against the Federal Government for ignoring the retail aspect, with brokers and suppliers feeling the backlash and laying off staff. VACC Executive Director David Purchase said “Our members are sick of so-called automotive industry discussions and decisions that fail to even consider the repair, service and retail sector. In this most recent example, the Federal Government has announced an automotive industry package, but failed to include the retail sector. The changes to the FBT system have hit car retailers hard and fast, with many experiencing cancelled orders and job losses. And yet, the Government’s response fails to even mention retailers, let alone compensate them.”
Mr Purchase also says that it’s pleasing the manufacturing and parts supply partners will be getting support and adds that nationally there’s 100, 000 small businesses employing 320, 000 and turning over $208 billion dollars, a significant contribution. There’s a measure of frustration as well, with Mr Purchase saying “Claims the FBT statutory formula produces a tax rort, that salary packaging companies have a business based only on a tax break, that only wealthy people take advantage of vehicle leasing or salary packaged cars, that the cars involved are luxury models and that the whole system needs cleaning up are all wrong. Clearly, the FBT changes are not about closing a tax loophole or tax rort. They are not about being even-handed. They are not about equity. The changes are all about raising revenue to fill serious budgetary holes and have been made without proper consultation and forethought.
Now that the election has been confirmed for September 7, it remains to be seen how much change will happen after that date and what damage to affected industries has been done.
Level 2, 9 Help Street