Buy A New Car
Hints, Surprises and Wows From Detroit.
Detroit. Motor City. The once thriving city once again hosts its annual Motor Show, the North American International Auto Show and, as expected, the unexpected has been unveiled, as have some truly good looking cars.
Hyundai showed off its Santa Cruz concept; it’s a design that Hyundai doesn’t have available and would certainly attract interest around the world, being a Crossover Utility Vehicle or CUV. 
Pitched between a ute and a tray-back SUV, the stunning design is aimed at “Millennials”. “The Santa Cruz Pickup concept meets the unspoken needs of a growing Millennial lifestyle we call ‘Urban Adventurers’,” said Mark Dipko, director, corporate planning, Hyundai Motor America. “This new crossover allows them all the expandable utility they need throughout their active week, from work-life professionalism, to social interests, to a whole variety of outdoor pursuits, without the typical compromises they have come to expect from the industry’s current product offerings.”
Motive power would be, at this stage, a 2.0L diesel, with over 400 Newton metres of torque, matched up with Hyundai’s well proven 4WD system and showcases Hyundai’s innovation by having an expandable load bed and tailgate extension. Hyundai research also shows a swing away from traditional utility style SUVs in the US; women who buy more than half of all CUVs sold in the U.S., now account for only 10 percent of pickup sales. Hyundai also unveiled its 
Sonata Plug-In Hybrid; with a 9.8kWh lithium ion battery, the Sonate should have a 35km all electric range. A 2.0-litre Nu four-cylinder GDI engine coupled with the electric motor allows the Sonata Plug-in Hybrid to operate just like the Sonata Hybrid once the onboard battery charge is depleted. Sonata PHEV’s Nu engine produces 115kW and 190Nm of torque and the total system output is 150kW at 6,000 rpm.
Ford showcased its anniversary GT40; to be sold under a new, umbrella organisation called Ford 
Performance, the sleek, low slung two seater may be powered by a twin turbocharged 3.5L engine, producing over 600 horsepower. A team of designers, headed by Todd Willing, the head designer for Ford Asia Pacific, penned the edgy yet curvy beast. Built from weight saving carbon fibre, the GT40 features an active rear spoiler and upwards swinging doors. There’s two other vehicles released as well; a Shelby Mustang GT350R and a ten speed automatic Raptor. The Mustang will be powered by a 5.2L flat plane V8, pushing over 500 horsepower to the ground via a six speed manual and limited 
slip diff. Aimed at primarily track users, there’s been a weight shedding program, including carbon fibre wheels, removing the rear seats, radio and aircon. The Raptor will have a 3,5L V6 EcoBoost twin turbo engine, multiple drive modes, an aluminuim body and that ten speed auto was codeveloped with General Motors.
Honda (Acura in the US) went back to the future with a long rumoured car, the NSX. Taking styling cues from Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Ferrari, the mid mounted, twin turbo hybrid 
engine is expected to pump out 550 horsepower via a nine speed automatic. There’s, apparently, a range of driving modes, including “Quiet” (presumably a more electric mode) and prices are said to be at around $150, 000.
Although Holden will close as a manufacturer, its much vaunted design studio showed why GM will keep it running, with two utterly different concepts being show. An almost Barina sized, glass roofed, electric car, the Bolt bookended the Buick Avenir, a large car with plenty of tech, such as a twelve inch touchscreen, wireless mobile device charging and wifi hotspotting. It will roll on 21 inch diameter wheels and will seat four in sumptuous comfort. 
The projects were started and finished in the Port Melbourne based design studios. Again, no confirmation as to whether either will go into production.
Staying with General Motors, there’s a school of thought that says a two door, four seater car rumoured to be coming to Australia will be the Corvette, not, as some think, the Camaro. The latter hasn’t been engineered for right hand drive although it would be a logical and ideal match for Ford’s Mustang. Stefan Jacoby, head of GM’s International Division, wouldn’t be drawn on exactly what it would be, saying only “We will bring a true sports car to Australia for the brand Holden,” “It will be something which fulfils the requirement of a true Holden sports car.” Expect it to arrive in 2018.
Movers and Shakers: The Numbers from 2014.
Cardigan wearers around the country have erupted into cheers of joy after news of their favourite car, the Toyota Corolla, was the highest selling car in Australia for 2014. Meanwhile, there were tears of red and blue as figures for the once mighty Holden and Ford brands showed that, in 2014 at least, the love affair was over. The red lion delivered just 106000 cars whilst the blue oval found just 79703 new homes, its worst result in 23 years and the tenth year in a row the numbers have fallen. Industry analysts were heard to mutter that it was all Tony Abbott’s fault whilst others complained that it was the Kardashian family’s fault because they’d sucked all of the usable oxygen from the atmosphere, making people hallucinate and believe that an SUV was actually pink, flew and had a curly tail. What’s notable about the Ford sales disaster (even with a $200 offer put forward by an attractive brunette) is that it’s across the board, not just the once indomitable Falcon and trusty Territory.
The last time the bird car led the list was in 1995, with a sniff over 81000 being parked in new driveways, whilst 1985 saw the blue oval peak at just under 171000.
Toyota’s Japanese nemesis, the name challenged Mazda (relying on simple numbers rather than alphabetical wordy type stuff for names), is well placed for a tilt at the crown, with 100700 numbered cars leaving dealerships, but they themselves are under threat from Korea’s Goliath, Hyundai. A mere 700 veehickles separated the two at year’s end and with new models an updates due for 2015, there’s little doubt that the car version of Samsung is on a charge. Back to the T and M brands: Corolla and 3 swapped the lead three times in five months after July, when the T car finally slipped past with a mammoth lead of……21 sales.
Although Toyota looked the goods in 2014, like endless views of Miley Cyrus’s wrecked balls, even they got a bit on the nose. It was the third year in a row we saw the numbers tumble for the big T; they’ve been on the down pointed slope since ’08, when over 238K Toyotas were sold, in 2014 that tumbled to 203500. Adding to the fire is the sheer and simple fact that we Aussies can’t be stuffed buying Aussie cars (not that’s to be an issue soon) with less than one in ten cars bought being kangaroo flavoured. A mere decade ago, in 2005, it was one in four. How times change…
Ford, however, is due to see a complete revamp of their range over the next two years, including the release of the Mustang, finally engineered at the factory for right hand drive; for blue oval fans, this can’t come quick enough. For followers of the red lion, it’s still unconfirmed if the GM brand will send their tudor down under. The same goes for Chrysler/Dodge with some beautifully shaped vehicles available in the states, along with some hi-po mumbo. Personally, I’ve crossed everything that’s crossable to hope they move some metal down here.
Subaru Price Realignment and New Models for 2015.
Subaru Australia has announced a significant price realignment of two new generation model ranges, offering savings of up to 25 per cent – or $14,000 – despite specification increases.
The All-Wheel Drive Liberty and Outback models offer a wide array of new equipment, including the internationally-acclaimed EyeSight® driver assist system in every Liberty.
The multi award-winning vehicles all share an independent five-star rating for occupant safety from the respected Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) and have achieved the highest points tally yet by Subaru models: 35.99 out of a maximum possible 37.
Subaru Australia Managing Director, Nick Senior, said several factors had prompted the shift: “Most notably the exchange rate, the Japanese Free Trade Agreement and more efficient manufacturing, driving reduced costs.
“Currency is always going to have the biggest impact on imported goods. It is clear that the Yen Australian dollar equation has moved into a more favourable range for us. We have factored in the Free Trade Agreement, because we know it will be legislated in the near future. Therefore, it is prudent to act now. Also, the Europeans have moved into more mainstream segments and we too have changed strategy with Liberty in particular – making the price versus specification ratio more attractive than ever before.
Finally, there are obvious benefits from all of FHI’s efforts to constantly improve manufacturing efficiency, leading to reduced costs. So, there is a combination of factors that ultimately led to this important pricing statement by us. And this will lead to growth in prospect and customer interest in our brand and our products, thanks to our strategic All 4 the Driver initiatives from customer service, engineering and durability to value.”
LIBERTY AND OUTBACK MY15 MANUFACTURER’S LIST PRICING*
Liberty 2.5i CVT $29,990 (-$3000, or 9.1 per cent)
Liberty 2.5i Premium CVT $35,490 (-$4000, or 10.1 per cent)
Liberty 3.6R $41,990 (-$14,000, or 25.0 per cent)
Outback 2.5i CVT $35,990 (-$3000, or 7.7 per cent)
Outback 2.5i Premium CVT $41,490 (-$2000, or 4.6 per cent)
Outback 2.0D manual $35,490 (-$5000, or 12.3 per cent)
Outback 2.0D CVT $37,490 (-$5500, or 12.8 per cent
Outback 2.0D Premium manual $41,490 (-$2000, or 4.6 per cent)
Outback 2.0D Premium CVT $43,490 (-$2500, or 5.4 per cent)
Outback 3.6R $47,990 (-$10,000, or 17.2 per cent)
*Prices are Subaru (Aust) Pty Limited’s Manufacturer’s List Prices only and include GST on the list price but exclude dealer delivery charges and all other government and statutory charges. For the drive away price of Subaru vehicles consumers should be advised to contact their local authorized Subaru dealer.
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Sales and Fails in the Australian Auto Market.
We should all know by now that the Australian car industry, in a manufacturing sense, is in a bit of a mess, with Ford, Holden and Toyota wrapping up as local makers by 2017. There’s no doubt that it will impact on employees; for example, Toyota’s Caringbah, Sydney, office will be largely condensed staff wise as will the two Melbourne based plants. All of the company’s corporate functions will be consolidated at Toyota Australia’s head office in Port Melbourne, resulting in “a significant reduction in corporate support roles”. Ford will keep a design team working on international projects, as will Holden.
There’s conjecture as to which vehicles 
will be coming to Australia, especially for the American owned companies but, at the moment, sales in certain categories and for certain brands are bubbling along nicely. Fiat/Chrysler/Alfa Australia (FCA Australia) leads the SUV segment, with the Grand Cherokee the biggest seller up to 30 November, with over 15,500 units, an increase of over thirty five percent from 2013. The Cherokee itself, released as a new model in June of 2014, has shifted over 3400 units, an incredible effort. Fiat’s perky 500 and model shared Freemont have also increased in sales from 2013; the 500 by 54% and the Freemont (aka Dodge Journey) by 44%.
Japanese maker, Mitsubishi, is also riding on the crest of the SUV wave, with its small SUV, the ASX, moving 1763 units in November, helped by 
an aggressive marketing campaign. However, the Triton based Challenger failed to excite, with just 156 units finding new homes. The Mirage sedan, still relatively new to the Australian market, also failed to fire, with a miniscule 70 being sold, compared to the hatch at 352.
Compare that to Mazda, a perennial favourite, it seems; leading the way was the All-New Mazda3 with 3,499 November sales. While annual numbers approach 40,000, its tally is up almost four per cent Year-On-Year in a segment that is down six per cent in 2014. The BT-50 had a great November, selling 1209 units, whilst the Mazda2 moved 1096 however nearly 800 were of the newly released version.
A brand on the move is the Korean giant, Hyundai. In November there was a record 8600 vehicles sold, making it the 30th month in a row that the company has seen increased sales. It also puts Hyundai second overall 
in the Australian market (year to date) as well as passenger cars. In the light car segment, the i20 (soon to be superseded) leads the pack, with 1448 signatures on a contract for November. A further five Hyundai models achieved podium results in November, with Veloster, ix35, iMax and iLoad all finishing in second place in their respective segments while the combined sales of i30 and Elantra had them finishing second in the Small segment, with i30 taking outright third place in that segment. It’s too early to tell just what impact the newly released Genesis will make.
Ford’s Falcon, which has just been released, was on a hiding to nothing with its 2.0L EcoBoost engine. As good as the reviews are, Ford has sold just 1800 since the car was released, all the way back in April of 2012. That figure includes just seven bought by the Australian Federal Government. However, with the new Mondeo due in 2015 (and largely mooted to be the Falcon replacement) with EcoBoost standard across the range, there may be a nudge in the right direction for the ailing big car. But Falcon isn’t the only large car suffering, with the segment contracting by 7.3% since last year, down to nearly 43500 from just under 47000 at this time last year.
2015 and beyond looks to be very interesting times for the Australian automotive industry.
Level 2, 9 Help Street