This nifty little image of the Toyota TF109 gives a great example of how drivers, somehow, squeeze into a modern day Formula One car. Clearly, man plays second fiddle to the form and function of the machine here. Click on the image for a larger view.
[Source: motorcentral]
The end of financial year saw some big numbers in terms of new vehicle sales in Australia. In fact, the final sales tally of 108,722 vehicles is the highest selling month on record. It betters the previous monthly high by over 2000 sales, set back in June 2008.
“The record June result is a clear demonstration of renewed confidence in the marketplace,” FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar said.
“It is encouraging to see that private buyers have returned to the market in greater numbers and have taken over the momentum previously attributed to business sales.”Year-to-date sales now sit at 531,168 and the FCAI has upped is 2010 prediction by 40,000 vehicles. It now expects 980,000 sales to be registered in 2010.
Toyota, Holden and Ford continue as the three highest selling marques. But that hasn’t stopped many other brands from bragging about their sales results.
A new sales record for the month of May was set this year. New vehicle sales totalled 89,218, and improvement of 578 sales from the previous May record set in 2008.
“This is a record May result and shows the new vehicle market is maintaining a strong sales momentum,” said FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar, “All vehicle segments increased during the month, demonstrating a genuine recovery in the marketplace.”
Once again the SUV segment was the leading category, followed by passenger cars and light commercials. There has also been an increase in private buyers taking delivery of new cars in the last month.
As usual Toyota sits atop the sales charts, followed by Holden and Ford. So far in 2010 a total of 422,446 new vehicles have been sold. A boost of almost 20% on 2009 figures.
New vehicle sales in Australia have continued strongly following the record result from last month. In total 81,401 vehicles were sold during April, the second highest recorded result for that month.
FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar says official interest rate movements may hurt future sales in the short term, “It has to be expected that recent interest rate increases will have some dampening effect on demand over coming months. However, the industry is hopeful that interest rates must now be at a level where further increases will be more difficult to justify.”
Sales growth in the SUV sector continues, increasing by 38%. Indeed, the Toyota HiLux topped the sales charts for the month. Overall, the market is up 20.3% year-to-date compared with 2009. In all 333,228 new vehicles have been sold in 2010. Toyota, Holden and Ford filled the three highest selling posts for April.
March was another strong month for Australian vehicle sales. So much so that the 94,744 sales recorded represented a new monthly record for March, an increase of 352 sales over the previous high set in 2007. Compared to last month sales increased by 12,525 units.
While all vehicle segments fared well, the SUV sector continued its upward trend, increasing by 44%. Passenger car sales were up by more than 23%, while both the light and heavy commercial segments also posted healthy increases.
Toyota and Holden continue their reign as the country’s top two selling marques, with 21.4% and 12.4% market share respectively. Meanwhile, Ford fought back from last month’s drop recovering from fifth on the sales charts to finish ahead of Hyundai and Mazda in third place with 8.5% market share.
However, there was still good news for Hyundai as the i30 was the country’s best selling small car during March. The first time the i30 has achieved such a result.
If you know a little bit about the competitive drifting scene then you’ll know the name Tanner Foust. If you’ve never heard of him, watch and learn as he drifts his 600hp V8 powered Scion tC around a two-mile closed section of LA’s renowned Mulholland Drive.
If you didn’t know, the Scion tC is actually a Toyota, would you believe. Why don’t we get these in Australia?
Anyway, you might remember Jay Leno included Mulholland Drive in his home-grown Nürburgring clip. It’s a great looking piece of road, as the aerial shots from the Tanner Foust video show.
Tanner’s video is burning up after the jump. Just remember kids, this film was completed on a closed road with Police supervision, so don’t go trying this at home, okay.
Monthly sales figures have continued to trend upwards on 2009 data with an increase of 17% (almost 12,000 vehicles) compared to February last year. According to official VFACTS numbers 82,219 new vehicles rolled off showroom floors last month.
Breaking the monthly comparison numbers down further, business sales remain strong, up by almost 23% on 2009 sales. But it was the rental segment that has given a major boost to results for February 2010 with an increase in sales to rental companies of 175%.
There was also a modest 9.3% increase in the number of private buyers taking delivery of new vehicles. FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar says, “Looking ahead, sustaining the confidence of private buyers is the key challenge for the economy.”
“For that reason we continue to be cautious about the impact of interest rate increases,” Mr McKellar said.
Toyota and Holden held their recent traditional placings as the top two selling marques in Australia. However, Hyundai has displaced Ford from third position by boosting their sales to the tune of 8.8%. This is the first time Hyundai has reached a top three position on local sales charts. The news is worse for Ford, too, as Mazda, in fourth place, have relegated the blue oval further down the charts.
Interestingly, the number of manufacturers sending out press releases trumpeting their results is significantly down on January’s efforts.
Until now the current predicaments facing Toyota and its damaging recalls, especially in the United States, have been left untouched by AUSmotive. However, a recent tidbit caught my eye and I felt it was worthwhile sharing. And, besides, it’s a chance to poke a bit of fun at Amercians, and as delightful as our good friends Stateside are, it’s always fun to revel in a cheap shot.
US Senator Mike Johanns has suggested a ban on all vehicle imports from Japan be introduced until the Japanese government guarantees their vehicles are free of defects. He went on to say, “I can tell you the American consumer is getting tired of this thing if we are getting substandard products.”
Erm, sorry Mike, but would it be too unfair of me to point out that America is the market leader when it comes to vehicle manufacture of substandard products. Let’s face it, as a general rule, Amercians make crap cars. Substandard is their forte.
January 2010 showed good signs for the automotive industry in Australia. While sales for the month did fall dramatically from December 2009 it is worth noting there were strong financial incentives, in the form of Federal Government tax breaks, that saw many businesses rushing to buy cars before the program ended on 31 December.
More importantly, the 74,864 new vehicle sales for January 2010 represents a healthy increase of 11.6% compared to the same month last year. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Chief Executive Andrew McKellar believes the new cut in import tariffs has helped kick the year off, “New car affordability is better than ever and has been further enhanced by the tariff cut on many imported vehicles,” he said.
“New car buyers have effectively been handed a ‘tax cut’ and many brands have moved quickly to reduce prices or increase vehicle specifications. As a result, it is expected that this will encourage private buyers to return to the marketplace in greater numbers throughout the year,” Mr McKellar said.
Toyota, Holden and Ford maintained recent tradition as the top three selling marques.
It’s now approaching three years since the Top Gear Polar Special first went to air and the company behind the cars from the episode are giving you the opportunity to fill Jeremy Clarkson’s shoes. Reykjavik-based Arctic Trucks Experience are now offering a variety of self-drive tours around Iceland. You can choose from daily trips, 2-5 day tours and longer tailored expeditions, all experience the amazing terrain and scenery that Iceland has to offer.
If you reckon the GFC is a minor inconvenience then you really should go to Iceland and do one of these tours. The poor buggers there got absolutely smashed by the financial doom and they need all the help they can get! Check out arctictrucks-experience.com for more.
According to official VFACTS figures released earlier today new vehicle sales in Australia for 2009 reached 937,328, an overall drop of 7.4% compared to 2008.
November’s cracking results showed the motor industry was well on the way to financial recovery and December followed suit registering 88,708 sales. Which sets a new record for the month.
FCAI Chief Executive Andrew McKellar acknowledged the role of the Federal Government’s tax incentives for businesses in returning better than expected yearly figures, “The final outcome for the year has surpassed the industry’s original expectations by some 57,000 vehicles and a significant proportion of this additional volume can be attributed to the tax break.”
Toyota (200,191), Holden (119,658) and Ford (96,501) were the top three selling marques. Toyota’s stranglehold on top spot looks very secure, despite the highest selling car in Australia for 2009 being the Holden Commodore (44,387). The Corolla (39,013) and HiLux (38,457) rounded out the top three selling models nationwide.
Other notable performers were Audi, Mitsubishi and Volkswagen. But it seems most manufacturers have a positive spin to sell and a raft of press releases to that affect follow this article.
Audi, intent on chasing BMW for the top selling prestige marque, concluded 2009 with their fifth year of growth. Impressively, the German brand bettered last year’s record by over 20% while recording 11,310 sales. A perfect end to the local career of Audi Australia’s managing director, Joerg Hofmann. The hard task master will be returning home to Germany at the end of this month—see carsales interview from December 2009.
Mitsubishi have put the corpse of the Magna well behind it, achieving best ever annual sales for the Lancer (21,362) and Triton (18,182).
Volkswagen improved on its 2008 record year by selling over 30,000 vehicles for the first time under the Volkswagen Group Australia banner.
Sex, selling and Toyota are not necessarily three words you would expect to see in the same sentence. But, thanks to the current Toyota “Clever Film” competition that’s exactly what the above ad uses to, erm, flog the Toyota Yaris, of all things.
The basic concept may not be especially original, and it does border on being a bit twee with some of its puns, but overall the script is well written and has been delivered well by a believable cast. Just don’t expect to see this on your TV screens anytime soon. It’s a little bit saucy.
[via CarAdvice]