Automotive News NZ

Monty Python approach to new normal about no-handshake zones

March 19 | Comments Off
Off-road 911 Porsche expected to be unveiled later this year

March 14 | Comments Off
Passenger car numbers tumble – large sedans on endangered list

March 12 | Comments Off
Holden NZ will soon begin to let go its head office staff

March 2 | Comments Off
Holden dealers ask Aussie PM to help fight GM for compensation

February 26 | Comments Off
Cobalt crisis could put brakes on the sale of electric cars

February 25 | Comments Off
Brand Holden to close down: this is official GM press release

February 17 | Comments Off
Ford-owned Troller TX4 is another boys’ toy from Brazil

February 11 | Comments Off
Economist: go beyond blaming fossil fuels for climate change

February 9 | Comments Off
Kia Seltos leads new SUV sales assault on traditional passenger cars

February 4 | Comments Off

Giving new Land Rover Defender the once-over
Why the Chevvy Corvette is such a fast sprinter...
GM chief talks to Bloomberg about Corvette …
Mazda rotary runs at its most efficient on hydrogen...
How Koenigsegg does its ‘crash’ tests …
Renault Megane RS Trophy-R sets lap record
New Jeep Wrangler on its way to NZ …
Going bush towing a self-levelling, carry-all trailer

Giving new Land Rover Defender the once-over

September 11, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The 2020 Land Rover Defender has been unveiled and British motoring writer Paul Hudson takes us through a first look at the new 4&#...

Why the Chevvy Corvette is such a fast sprinter …

July 25, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The eighth-generation Chevrolet Corvette, the first factory-backed right-hooker and the first mid-engine model, will join Holden’s line-up in Australia and New Zealand. This video deals with how the layout of the 6.2-litre V8 engine helps the C8 Corvette achieve its claimed 0-100km/h time of under 3 seconds...

GM chief talks to Bloomberg about Corvette …

July 20, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

GM president Mark Reuss talks about the new mid-engine C8 Corvette, driver assistance systems, and workforce relations with Bloomberg’s David Westin on “Bloomberg Markets.&#...

Mazda rotary runs at its most efficient on hydrogen …

July 18, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

American engineer Jason Fenske, of Engineering Explained, describes exactly what happens inside a Mazda rotary engine running on hydrogen. It turns out the design of the engine is pretty much ideal for burning hydrogen. ...

How Koenigsegg does its ‘crash’ tests …

May 28, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Mainstream carmakers might crash-test hundreds of vehicles in order to meet safety standards. But it’s a different story for Swedish supercar company Koenigsegg, which might only turn out 12 to 15 cars a year. Each one can cost many millions of dollars, so crashing and trashing even one would be absurdly expensive. This video, from...

Renault Megane RS Trophy-R sets lap record

May 23, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The Megane RS Trophy-R, driven by Renault Formula One team pilot Nico Hulkenberg, completed an official full lap of the Nurburgring in 7 minutes 40.1 seconds, three seconds quicker than the Honda Civic Type R’s 7 minutes 43.8 seconds...

New Jeep Wrangler on its way to NZ …

March 21, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Jeep’s new JL Wrangler is expected to be launched in New Zealand around May/June. This video deals with the Rubicon version, the two- and four-door model engineered specially for hardcore off-road conditions. Rubicon comes standard with heavy duty stuff, including axles, front and rear locking differentials, electronic front stabiliser...

Going bush towing a self-levelling, carry-all trailer

February 7, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The Bruder EXP-4 is a more compact version of the Australian company’s recent EXP-6, a 6.7m-long, self-contained trailer described as being ‘built for the Apocalypse.’ It can that can sleep six and is being trialled by military units across the ditch. The smaller EXP-4 sports a high-tensile steel suspension system and 300mm of...

Monty Python approach to new normal about no-handshake zones
Off-road 911 Porsche expected to be unveiled later this...
Passenger car numbers tumble – large sedans on endangered...
Holden NZ will soon begin to let go its...
Holden dealers ask Aussie PM to help fight GM...
Cobalt crisis could put brakes on the sale of...
Brand Holden to close down: this is official GM...
Ford-owned Troller TX4 is another boys’ toy from Brazil

Monty Python approach to new normal about no-handshake zones

March 19, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Seems car distributors and dealers in New Zealand have borrowed from the Monty Python song, ‘Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.’ The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the foundations of prosperity, but the automotive industry people say they have quickly adapted to the new normal and will continue to throw open showroom doors. But...

Gemballa-Avalanche-4.2-RS-Porsche-991-0-Hero

Off-road 911 Porsche expected to be unveiled later this year

March 14, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

German company Gemballa has been customising and tuning performance cars for almost 40 years. Its latest project is an off-road flyer based on the model 992 Porsche 911. It’s been dubbed the ‘Avalanche 4×4’, after the Avalanche 4.2RS the company unveiled at the Geneva motor show in 2017. Details are sketchy – like the images...

Passenger car numbers tumble – large sedans on endangered list

March 12, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Registrations of new passenger cars for the first two months of 2020 plunged 25.3 per cent on the same period last year, according to Motor Industry Association (MIA) figures. The NZ Transport Agency (NZTA) had registered 4630 cars – sedans, hatchbacks, sports – at the end of February. But this time last year it had 6199 [&hellip...

Generated by pixel @ 2020-02-15T00:39:22.724156

Holden NZ will soon begin to let go its head office staff

March 2, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Holden New Zealand will begin laying off its head office staff in Auckland at the end of March, say industry sources. First to go will be marketing staff. Others will go in staggered redundancies every few months until the carmaker closes its doors at the end of this year, say the insiders. A request for [&hellip...

Holden dealers ask Aussie PM to help fight GM for compensation

February 26, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Senior Holden dealers in Australia have asked its Prime Minister Scott Morrison for his government’s help in securing compensation from General Motors for the loss to the dealer network of the 72-year-old badge, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. “We asked the Prime Minister to help us hold General Motors to account,” a Holden...

Cobalt crisis could put brakes on the sale of electric cars

February 25, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

This is an edited version of a story that appeared in magazine Wired. The rush to electric vehicles (EVs) is creating bottlenecks in the manufacturing of raw materials for the batteries that help power them. Global production of EVs is predicted to top 4 million cars this year, rising to 12 million in 2025. In Europe alone, [&hellip...

2015-Holden-Commodore-SS-V-Redline-Craig-Lowndes-edition-1280x828

Brand Holden to close down: this is official GM press release

February 17, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

UPDATE: General Motors is to stop building right-hand-drive vehicles for the global market, except for selected models like the Chevrolet Camaro and Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck. They will be converted for New Zealand and Australia by Holden Special Vehicles in Melbourne. GM has been slowly pulling out of RHD markets like the UK,...

Ford-owned Troller TX4 is another boys’ toy from Brazil

February 11, 2020 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The last time Ford imported Brazilian-made models to New Zealand was in 2002, in the form of the F250 and F350 pick-up trucks from the company’s South American right-hand drive assembly line. Ford’s marketing people reckoned they’d be the bee’s knees for New Zealand’s ‘Southern man’, the mythical tough guy around which...

Car of the year? Has to be the Toyota...
Numbers game: the real story behind record 2017 sales...
HSV lines up flash Colorado ute, Chev Camaro, Silverado...
Land Rover responds to clean air critic that ‘diesel...
Kia and Isuzu the go-getters in 2013-2017 sales figures
At the wheel: an open and shut case in...
Holden Astra – European flavour blended with a ‘taste...
Kia, Suzuki big improvers in January sales sleight-of-hand

Car of the year? Has to be the Toyota ZR Hybrid Corolla

January 2, 2019 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The new Toyota Corolla didn’t make the cut in mainstream 2018 car of the year awards in New Zealand, mainly because it arrived late in the year and didn’t meet judging deadlines. But I spent enough time behind the wheel of both the 2.0-litre petrol and 1.8-litre petrol-electric Corollas to choose the ZR Hybrid Corolla [&hellip...

Numbers game: the real story behind record 2017 sales year

January 18, 2018 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

If you believe the public relations guff, every distributor in New Zealand last year sold record numbers of new vehicles. But that wasn’t the case. Okay, it was an overall record year, with 159,871 new vehicle registrations. But quite a few brands didn’t do as well as the PR people claim. Press releases saying this [&hellip...

HSV lines up flash Colorado ute, Chev Camaro, Silverado truck

December 8, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

The Chevrolet badge returns to New Zealand next year on the bonnet of the all-American Camaro sports car and Silverado pick-up truck. Both vehicles will be converted to right-hand drive by Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) at its new 28,000 square-metre plant in Melbourne. It’s where HSV will also prepare two versions of the Holden...

Land Rover responds to clean air critic that ‘diesel is the devil’

September 13, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Jaguar Land Rover has defended its diesel engine technology after criticism of the fuel from the founder and director of Clean Air London, Simon Birkett. “Diesel is the devil, and we do need to ban it,” Birkett told a panel of automotive experts at the inaugural Jaguar Land Rover Tech Fest, a three-day event in [&hellip...

Kia and Isuzu the go-getters in 2013-2017 sales figures

September 6, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Registrations of traditional passenger sedans and hatchbacks have tumbled over the past five years, as New Zealanders move towards SUVs and utes. In August 2013, for instance, the Holden Commodore sat at No. 5 on the top 15 list. Last month it was No. 10. A month earlier it was No. 11. Five years ago [&hellip...

At the wheel: an open and shut case in top-down Merc

May 29, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Hard-charging Kiwi motorcycle great Graeme Crosby tells the story of racing in the Isle of Man TT for the first time in 1979. He sort of ‘smelled’ his way round the 48km circuit. “It’s such a long way that it’s hard sometimes to remember exactly where your are,” he once told me. “There is one [&hellip...

Holden New Zealand - Astra RSV 2017, 15 February 2017

Holden Astra – European flavour blended with a ‘taste of Kiwi’

March 3, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Holden has tasked its award-winning advertising agency, Special Group, to change how Holden is perceived in New Zealand. It wants the agency to help transform the brand, give it a taste of Kiwi, point it more towards premium space. It’s not that Holden has gone away; just that, over time, the brand has lost its [&hellip...

Kia, Suzuki big improvers in January sales sleight-of-hand

February 5, 2017 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

Record January registrations in New Zealand point to the usual end-of-year sleight of hand, where many vehicles sold in the last month of the year aren’t registered until the first month of the next year. That way an unregistered 2016-year vehicle bought in December, for example, appears on the NZ Transport Agency books as first...

September 26, 2015 | Alastair Sloane | Comments Off

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