General Motors Holden Resumes US Car Sales With Chevrolet SS Export

Australian automaker General Motors Holden will resume sales of the Commodore to North America from late next year. The cars will be manufactured north of Adelaide at Holden’s Elizabeth plant and will be exported as Chevrolet SS performance sedans.

Holden’s parent company General Motors last sold the Commodore in North America under the Pontiac badge in 2009.

Federal Industry Minister Greg Combet says the move has been made possible by co-investment support from the Federal Government through its $5.4 billion new car plan.

Mark Reuss, GM President of North America said as a passionate race fan and performance enthusiast he was thrilled with today’s announcement :: Read the rest of this entry »

The Lithia: China’s Almost Original Electric Sportscar

It’s an ease to forget that China’s rapid rise to super-power status occured on the back of the ability to copy. This ability was practised on everything from tin toys to jet fighter planes.

A couple of years back  - Auto China 2010 Exposition – Chinese automaker CH Auto made a quite a splash showing of it’s Ferrari 599 copy named the Aculeus. Now the budding automaker has hit the expo floor with an electric sportscar, the Lithia :: Read the rest of this entry »

Ooops :: Rolls Royce Recall

Rolls Royce, the symbol of wealth, prestige and the preferred motor vehicle of the British Royal family, has taken a hit after issuing a major recall. Only a handful of cars are affected in Australia, the recall effects 36 Rolls-Royce Ghost sedans, sold in Australia between 2009 – 2011 as well as 74 Phantoms sold between 2003 and 2009 .

Though the number of vehicles being recalled is small, it’s the luxury brand’s image that will  see the most damage. In a recent promotional video for the next version of the Rolls Royce Phantom, company chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos describes his customers as extremely discerning :: Read the rest of this entry »

DUCATI: Volkswagen Bought A Bike!

Volkswagen – under the helmanship of Ferdinand Piech & apparently on behalf of his prior engagement, Audi – has snapped up Ducati Motocycles for €860 million/$US1.1 Billion, the deal was approved days ago by the Piech-chaired VW supervisory board, raising the number of VW nameplates to 12. Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Ducati, Lamborghini, SEAT, Porsche, Giugiaro, Škoda, Scania, MAN and of course VW.

Amusingly the marriage seems to have divided moto columnists. The fans of the sale seem to be bike enthusiasts, the naysayers seem to be business commentators. Piech is often portrayed as a big German kid in a toystoy, we think not, during his tenure Piech has reinvented, saved, turned-around and generally benefited more auto brands, indeed marquis, than almost any other single person, ok perhaps a little liberty there, you get the picture though :: Read the rest of this entry »

Mercedes Benz Style Coupé Concept :: CLS Junior

Apparently your either a fan or hater? The Mercedes Benz 4 door coupé…

I concede, I’m a huge fan!

Mercedes calls it an “almost production standard” concept that will make a bold statement when it goes on sale, though expect the Style Coupé’s dramatic exterior and interior to be toned down at least partially for the model that will reach Australian showrooms in early 2013:: Read the rest of this entry »

General Motors Australia Developing Cars With China

General Motors Austalian Subsidiary – Holden – has struck a deal with two Chinese companies to design and engineer two cars at its Port Melbourne site. The deal with Shanghai General Motors and Pan Asia Technical Automotive Centre - PATAC - doesn’t include the manufacturing of the vehicles. The agreement will involve a team of Melbourne-based engineers and designers tailoring vehicles for the Chinese market based on GM global platforms.

Holden says it cannot provide details of the cars for commercial reasons. In striking this latest deal, GM Holden chairman and managing director Mike Devereux said Holden was a valued source of expertise within GM’s international operations and was one of only seven fully integrated design, engineering and manufacturing operations in the GM group. Read the rest of this entry »

Ferdinand Porsche Dies Aged 76

Salzberg, Austria: The designer of the world’s most iconic sportscar – the Porsche 911 – has died aged 76. Ferdinand Alexander Porsche developed the car in 1963 for the company founded by his grandfather. With its sloping roof, long hood and noisy rear-mounted engine, the Porsche 911 still carries distinctly recognisable elements from the first model introduced in 1963. Describing his design philosophy, Mr Porsche once said a product that was coherent in form required no embellishments.

His design career had a slow start, he was dismissed from the Ulm School of Design because of doubts over his talent. Undeterred, Ferdinand Porsche started practical training in the body design department of the family-owned sports car factory in Stuttgart.

“As creator of the Porsche 911, he established a design culture in our company that still leaves its mark on our sports cars,” the head of Porsche’s supervisory board, Matthias Mueller, said in a statement. ”A design of the century for which Porsche is envied around the world,” the mass-market Bild newspaper said of the 911 in an obituary for Porsche on its website. True fans of the brand only permit slight changes to the design to this day.”

He also created the Formula One racecar 804 as well as the Porsche 904 Carrera GTS and in the 1970s branched out into Porsche merchandise including lines of wristwatches and sunglasses.

“Design must be functional and this functionality must be applied visually with an aesthetic that is without gags that have to be explained first,” the company quoted him as saying. “Good design should be honest.”

Ferdinand Porsche, who began at the company in 1958 and was still the honorary chairman of the company’s supervisory board when he died, is survived by his wife and three sons.

Terrafugia’s Flying Car

Terrafugia says it has moved a step closer to making a flying car a reality, after successfully test-flying a street-legal aeroplane.

Massachusetts-based firm Terrafugia said their production prototype ‘Transition’ car-plane had successfully carried out an eight-minute test flight, clearing the way for it to hit the market within a year.

“With this flight, the team demonstrated an ability to accomplish what had been called an impossible dream,” founder Carl Dietrich said.

Terrafugia argues that the ‘Transition’ offers unparalleled freedom of movement, with a range of 787 kilometres. Spanning 2.3 metres, it fits into a normal-sized garage before unfurling an 8m wingspan.

To take advantage of the TRANSITION, would-be owners will need to have both a driver’s and pilot’s licence, with a minimum of 20 hours of flying time. The craft needs 762 metres of runway for take-off, meaning pulling onto the shoulder and escaping the traffic is not really an option. While many companies have tried to market an aerocar, none have succeeded in producing more than a handful of models. Read the rest of this entry »

MUST HAVE! Papillionaire Classic Sports

The Papillionaire Classic is a delicious combination of clean lines and stylish curvature. No longer must the racers amongst us hem their pant legs in socks. The Papillionare Classic sports upside-down North Road handlebars for a natural gripping position, and a deep frame and optional toe clips for more aggressive riding. Read the rest of this entry »

AUSTRALIA: The Cost of Keeping General Motors ‘Holden’ Local

Back in January we posted ‘The Cost of  Keeping Automakers Local’ Reporting that sales of the Australian made large cars - Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon - had dropped alarmingly in recent years. The Commodore’s 15-year run as Australia’s best-selling vehicle was ended abruptly in 2011 by the Japanese manufactured Mazda3, while Ford Falcon sales plummeted to fewer than 19,000 units in 2011.

And asking the question: So Exactly How Much Does it Cost to Keep Auto Makers in Australia? This past week Australian Government has answered the question by handing General Motors Holden more than $AU275 Million. Read the rest of this entry »