Category: News

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News Toyota

Toyota Australia sounds ominous warning

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota has issued an official response to news Holden will stop making cars in Australia by the end of 2017. And it’s not going to fill the local manufacturing industry with much confidence.

Toyota Australia responds to GM Holden announcement

We are saddened to learn of GM Holden’s decision.

This will place unprecedented pressure on the local supplier network and our ability to build cars in Australia.

We will now work with our suppliers, key stakeholders and the government to determine our next steps and whether we can continue operating as the sole vehicle manufacturer in Australia.

We will continue with our transformation journey as planned.

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GM Holden News

Holden to cease local production in 2017

Holden VF Calais

News has come through from General Motors in Detroit confirming the inevitable: Holden will stop making cars in Australia in 2017.

GM’s full statement can be read after the break, but here’s a few snippets:

“We are completely dedicated to strengthening our global operations while meeting the needs of our customers,” said GM Chairman and CEO Dan Akerson. “The decision to end manufacturing in Australia reflects the perfect storm of negative influences the automotive industry faces in the country, including the sustained strength of the Australian dollar, high cost of production, small domestic market and arguably the most competitive and fragmented auto market in the world.”

…

Holden will continue to have a significant presence in Australia beyond 2017, comprising a national sales company, a national parts distribution centre and a global design studio.

…

Since 2001, the Australian dollar has risen from US$0.50 to as high as US$1.10 and from as low as 47 to as high as 79 on the Trade Weighted Index. The Australian automotive industry is heavily trade exposed. The appreciation of the currency alone means that at the Australian dollar’s peak, making things in Australia was 65 percent more expensive compared to just a decade earlier.

This may have been a day we knew would come, but it doesn’t make it any easier to accept. We hope those many thousands of workers who will lose their jobs are able to minimise the impact they will face.

Ford 2016; Holden 2017; how long until Toyota pulls the plug?

[Pic: GM Corp]

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Holden News

Holden boss: “No decision has been made”

Mike Devereux, Holden Managing Director

While fronting the Productivity Commission earlier today Mike Devereux, GM Holden Managing Director, was asked if the company had already decided to close down its local manufacturing as soon as 2016. His reply: “No decision has been made.”

He went on to compare government subsidies with other sectors, suggesting the cost of losing the automotive sector in Australia would have ramifications well beyond the outlay of any subsidies received: “The $3 billion a year that goes into mining companies … I’m not criticising that … or $5 billion in subsidies for negative gearing. But the budgetary cost of losing this industry would dwarf the cost of losing it.”

Devereux claims it costs Holden around $3750 more per car to manufacture in Australia, which equates to around $300 million each year. The magic number reported to keep Holden happy to keep making cars in Australia is an extra $150 million per year in government support.

There are many very sound arguments for fighting to keep the automotive manufacturers in this country, and keeping some form of subsidies, by any rational measure, seems to be a no-brainer. And yet, the question still remains, are there enough people in Australia who want to buy locally made cars in sufficient numbers to keep the industry viable?

Component manufacturers need local contracts to stay afloat. Economies of scale will increase if, or should that be when, Holden ends local production. As well as the Commodore and the Cruze, it’s easy to predict Toyota would cease local manufacturing of its Aurion and Camry models should Holden follow Ford off-shore.

One thing is clear, we’re a long way from Devereux’s tweet from March 2012 responding to a Federal Government funding boost which said: “Today’s announcement secures Holden manufacturing in Australia for at least the next 10 years…out till 2022.”

For their part the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce unsurprisingly supports continuing government subsidies to help keep Holden making cars in Australia. The VACC issued a statement early this morning, which has been made available below.

[Source: SMH & ABC | Pic: GM Corp]

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GM Holden News

Hope our luck doesn’t end now

Holden VF Calais

Holden will close its local manufacturing operations in 2016 according to the ABC. The national broadcaster says senior government ministers have confirmed their belief that General Motors, Holden’s parent company, has already made the decision to stop making cars in Australia.

For their part Holden is not making any comment and says its unlikely to do so until at least next week after it has faced the Government’s Productivity Commission. One of the issues concerning the future of Holden is the uncertainty over Federal Government subsidies, which it claims it needs to keep local manufacturing viable.

The elephant in the room seems to be that local carmakers—Holden, Ford and Toyota—aren’t making cars that people want to buy. A criticism aimed more at Holden and Ford, rather than Toyota, which is comfortably the country’s best selling manufacturer.

Local car making peaked in 1970 when around 475,000 vehicles were made. By 1980 that number had dropped to 360,000. In recent years the industry last peaked in 2005 when almost 390,000 cars rolled off the line. By 2011 that number had plummeted by over 40% to just 224,000.

Outwardly at least, it would seem Holden and Ford have been too slow to react to consumer demand and no amount of government handouts can make the decision to build cars that people actually want to buy. Cracks in sales numbers might be papered over by models like the VF Commodore, but the overwhelming trend doesn’t lie. Buyers no longer want Commodores and Falcons. Couple that with the fact that no sustainable export markets can be found then it’s a fairly bleak outlook for Australia’s once iconic family sedans.

Ford has already announced it will stop making cars in Australia by 2016. We expect Holden will follow suit. And then it becomes a matter of time until Toyota does likewise.

Unless something unforeseen happens it will be a sad day when local car manufacturing ends in Australia. It’s a business sector that has, at times, been one of great pride for Australians. But not any more. Sales figures don’t lie.

[Source: ABC]

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News

Paul Walker 1973–2013

Paul Walker

You’ve no doubt heard the news that Paul Walker, lead actor from The fast and the furious movie franchise, was killed in a car accident on the weekend. We’ve never really liked the F&F movies and don’t really know too much about Walker. But this quote from Andy Harriss, who worked with Walker on F&F6, gives us an insight into the type of guy he was:

Over the years I’ve often recollected the phrase ‘never meet your heroes’ as they’re never as cool as you expect them to be. Well, in this case I met one of my heroes and he was pretty cool – a film star who loved fast cars, and in the short time I worked alongside him it seemed as though he’d never let the fame go to his head. I genuinely feel like we’ve all lost someone in a tragic way, and that many of us appreciate what he’s done for the car culture we all love globally.

Read more by following the source link below.

[Source: Speedhunters]

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Ford News Video

VIDEO: Ken Block ‘Gymkhana Six’

Ken Block, Gymkhana Six

Here’s the latest Ken Block Gymkhana video. Now in its sixth iteration Block returns with all the tyre smoking frivolities you expect from the master of spin. The stunts aren’t necessarily new, although there’s few new techniques, but this is just good, honest, rubber burning fun.

Enjoy!

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Formula 1 News

Bernie Ecclestone’s life revolves around controversy

Bernie Ecclestone

Bernie Ecclestone has found himself in more hot water, forced to defend himself in the British High Court against claims he deliberately undervalued Formula 1 when its commercial rights were sold to CVC Capital Partners in 2005. The hearing is scheduled to take three days and began with a slightly bizarre entrance to the court building from the 83-year-old F1 supremo (see video below).

German media company Constantin Medien is seeking £100 million in damages from Eccelstone, claiming he sold to CVC Capital Partners in 2005 on the cheap after they had agreed to allow him to keep his “supremo” title and keep running the sport.

Constantin Medien, a former F1 shareholder, stood to benefit from massive commissions if the sport’s rights were sold for more than £1 billion. The sale price in 2005 was £830 million.

The case is related to the bribery claims Ecclestone is facing from a German court alleging he paid former BayernLB banker Gerhard Gribkowsky $44m to prevent Gribkowsky from exposing Ecclestone to British tax authorities. For his part in the transaction Gribkowsky was convicted and sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in jail.

[Source: The Telegraph & Yahoo Sport]

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Ford News

Ken Block’s Gymkhana Six to debut on 11 November

Ken Block Gymkhana Six

Ken Block is back with the sixth installment of his Gymkhana series. Well he will be next week, right now he’s just going around in circles with excitement in anticipation of his latest viral internet sensation advertising feature. But, like the suckers we are we’ll lap it up for the cheap entertainment thrills it provides. You go, Ken!

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Ford Holden News Toyota

The elephant in the assembly hall

Holden VF Calais

The future of Australia’s automotive manufacturing sector has been in the news quite a bit lately. The decision by Ford to cease local manufacturing in 2016 has certainly helped. But increased scrutiny has also brought government assistance to the automotive sector into the spotlight.

In the face of declining sales the public is asking why the government is spending so much to support local manufacturing if the multinational companies making merry with our taxpayer’s loot are just going to leave anyway.

So the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is here to put things right. They’ve commissioned a report to investigate what would happen to the local economy if Holden and Toyota were to follow Ford’s lead and close down their factories by 2018.

The magic number produced by the FCAI report is $21.5 billion. Apparently that’s the size of the hole our economy would find itself dealing with if cars were no longer made in Australia.

As it currently stands Australians contribute $18 each on a per capita basis to come up with the $500 million passed on to the automotive sector. According to the FCAI report that investment gives a return of $934 per person, bringing us back to the impressive $21.5 billion figure.

That’s a pretty good return on investment, don’t you think.

You can download the FCAI report here (1.8mb PDF), all 86 pages of it. Yet in the whole report just two thirds of a page is set aside to discuss the demand for the motor vehicles made in Australia.

It’s true a potential $21.5 billion hit to our economy is no laughing matter, but unless the FCAI can come up with some buyers, you know, actual people who want to buy our locally made cars in sufficient numbers, then isn’t the end inevitable?

[Pic: GM Corp]

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Formula 1 News Red Bull Racing

Make your mark and meet our Mark

2013 Korean Grand Prix

With only three races left on Mark Webber’s farewell to F1 tour you can win a chance to meet him and say goodbye in person. As an added bonus you’ll get to do this at the Brazilian Grand Prix in Sao Paulo Red Bull HQ in Milton Keynes. Pretty cool, huh.

All you have to do is post a photo or Instagram/Vine video through Facebook, Twitter, Google+ or the Red Bull Racing website using the #MakeYourF1Mark hashtag.

Get your entry in by 10 November, then cross your fingers and hope for the best. Follow the source link for full details.

[Source: Red Bull Racing | Pic: Red Bull/Getty Images]

Categories
Holden News

The future of the Aussie ute appears rooted

Holden VF SSV ute

Australia moves one step closer to the loss of its automotive manufacturing sector with News Ltd reporting the Holden ute will face the axe by 2016. We already know that’s the year Ford Australia will stop making the Falcon and the long-term future of the Commodore is on shaky ground, too.

A decline in sales is the main reason for the cut, with traditional ute buyers now favouring models such as the Toyota HiLux made in Thailand where wages are a fraction of those paid in Australia.

But the real meat of the News Ltd article is this paragraph:

News Corp Australia has been told that if Holden continues manufacturing beyond 2016 it will adopt two new “global” cars, one of which is a large front-wheel-drive sedan that will not be made into a ute.

The demise of Australian icons the Commodore and Falcon is inevitable. We know that for a fact with the Falcon and it only appears a matter of timing for the Commodore, despite a boost in sales since the launch of the VF.

And we’re all responsible for their fate, by choosing to spend our motoring dollars elsewhere. In truth, neither car will probably be missed for any great length of time. It’s still a bit sad, all the same.

[Source: News Ltd | Pic: GM Corp | Thanks to Adam for the tip]

Categories
Formula 1 News

Review of F1 documentary ‘1’

1 the film, coming soon

The frustratingly titled ‘1’, a new Formula 1 documentary, has been available on iTunes since the start of the month. Alas, it won’t be available from the Australian iTunes store until some time in November. To whet your appetite of what promises to be compulsory viewing here’s a snippet from a review published by Michael Fassbender online:

The interviews and new footage is what makes “1” the most gripping and emotional documentary of its ilk, talks with James Hunt’s son Freddie, shows the friendship between Hunt and Lauda, rather than the rivalry that they shared, with Freddie repeating part of the conversation he had with Lauda when they met, “I wished I could have shared the championship with your father, he was a great man, he was my friend.”

“1” is a must see film, and not just for fans of Formula One. This films brings the humanity into the sport, focusing on the people and events in the biggest championships each year through the decades. Footage of crashes, collisions, qualifying laps, race starts and celebrations, all shown from different angles that have been obtained specifically for this documentary, including clips filmed as part of the Racer’s wives and girlfriends club “The Dog House Club”, make this film a chilling and heart-breaking viewing experience.

[Source: Michael Fassbender online]