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New vehicle sales report – December 2011

FCAI banner

Australia registered over one million new vehicle sales in 2011 the latest FCAI press release reveals. The final tally of 1,008,437 represents the fourth time the country has passed one million sales in a calendar year.

Despite dropping more than 27,000 sales (-2.6%) on 2010 numbers, FCAI chief executive Ian Chalmers reminds us this is still something the motor industry should be proud of.

“2011 full year sales are an exceptional result given the effects of natural disasters both at home and abroad throughout the year,” Mr Chalmers said.

“The uptake of new vehicles was impacted early in the year by economic uncertainty, closely followed by natural disasters in the key markets of Western Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

“Sales were further subdued by Japan’s devastating earthquake and tsunami, with a resulting shortage of export vehicles from that country a secondary outcome of the extreme loss of life experienced by the Japanese people.”

The top three highest selling brands in 2011 were Toyota (181624 sales), Holden (126,095) and Ford (91,243).

Illustrating the continuing demand for smaller cars in the local market the Mazda3 was the highest selling model in Australia last year with 41,429 sales. Traditional volume seller Holden Commodore (40 617) was close behind and the Toyota Hilux (36,124) maintained its recent grip at the top of the sales charts.

More detail and 2012 forecasts from FCAI after the break.

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Video Volkswagen

Tough love

1975 Volkswagen Golf Mk1

Here’s a cracking video that gives us a great look at one of the best Mk1 Golfs in Australia. The car is an Australian built 1975 three door owned by Stuart French. It’s fair to say the mod factor is off the scale compared to AUSmotive’s own 1980 Mk1 Golf GTI, which is in good original condition.

The level of finish and detail in Stuart’s Golf makes it one of the finest examples of a custom project build you will find. Respect to Jonty3000 as well for putting together a fine short film to document this kick arse Mk1.

We rate the Mk1 Golf as the finest looking of the six generations so far; the original and the best!

[Thanks to John for the tip]

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Motorsports Volkswagen

VIDEO: Highlights from 2011 Race of Champions

Sebastien Ogier, 2011 ROC winner

The annual Race of Champions event took place in Düsseldorf in Germany on the weekend. There was local television coverage, we understand, but we still managed to miss it. Thanks to the magic of YouTube we’ve been able to catch up on the action and you can too.

As the photo above indicates new Volkswagen WRC driver Sebastien Ogier won the solo event, defeating eight-time Le Mans winner Tom Kristensen. While Team Germany (Sebastien Vettel and Michael Schumacher) had the better of Team Nordic (Tom Kristensen and Juho Hänninen) to win the Nations Cup.

Video highlights can be seen after the break, along with a brag sheet from Volkswagen Motorsport who are chuffed to have their star driver winning trophies already.

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2011 Tokyo Motor Show photo gallery

2011 Tokyo Motor Show

Like us you couldn’t make it to the 2011 Tokyo Motor Show either? Fear not as we’ve assembled a variety of images from the show featuring the usual suspects, such as the Toyota 86 and it’s close relative the Subaru BRZ. There’s also the weird and wonderful, too, in the form of the Daihatsu FC Case, the Nissan TOWNPOD, the Suzuki Q-Concept (pictured) and more.

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Green Machines Motor Shows Volkswagen

Tokyo 2011: Volkswagen Cross Coupé

Volkswagen Cross Coupe

Volkswagen brings a glimpse into its future with the Cross Coupé concept SUV. Powered by an innovative hybrid drivetrain Volkswagen say the styling you see here will influence future production models.

The all-wheel drive Cross Coupé is built on the MQB platform and features a 110kW/210Nm petrol engine complemented by a 40kW/180Nm electric engine at the front and an 85kW/270Nm electric motor at the rear; making a peak power figure of 195kW overall. Fuel consumption can be as low as 2.7l/100km, while a firm right foot can bring you to 100km/h in a respectable seven seconds.

Pay particular attention to the front of the Cross Coupé and you’ll be looking at the ‘Volkswagen visage’. This styling, created by Walter da Silver and Klaus Bischoff, represents a link between past and future styling. While the connection between LED DRL and chrome grille details is a neat fit, at the moment, we consider the look to be an acquired taste. Overall the Cross Coupé is a bit of a mix between an Audi Q5 and a Range Rover Evoque. Which is no bad thing.

Inside the cabin we get a preview of some interesting dash technology, where user programmable options are the order of the day. We’ve seen similar thinking from BMW in the past and no doubt we’ll soon be playing with such tech in production models.

More detail is available after the break, including video footage from the Volkswagen display at the Tokyo.

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Motor Shows Volkswagen

Tokyo 2011: Volkswagen Passat Alltrack

Volkswagen Passat Alltrack

You’re looking at the Passat Alltrack which has just made its public debut at the Tokyo Motor Show. Volkswagen say the Alltrack has been created for buyers who “want a versatile, sporty and very roomy passenger car that has rugged qualities.”

At 4771mm long and 1820mm wide the Alltrack matches the size of its regular Passat Estate counterpart. However, ground clearance moves up from 135mm to 165mm. For context a current model Subaru Outback has 213mm ground clearance and the Alltrack follows the familiar Outback template of adding a few cosmetic changes to an otherwise standard wagon.

The good news for Australian buyers is that the Alltrack has been pencilled in for a 2012 release. Volkswagen Australia has said pick a date anywhere between January and December. That’s to say, they haven’t confirmed a launch date, but we would expect it to be the latter half of next year.

A familiar mix of four Volkswagen engines and two drivetrains are specified in the Euro press release below, noting that the company’s 4motion all-wheel drive system is standard on the 125kW TDI (diesel) and 155kW TSI (petrol).

More detail follows after the break.

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Volkswagen

Does it look any good in pink?

Volkswagen Beetle convertible

Girls loving pink Beetle convertibles is as clichéd as girls loving Barbie Dolls. So much so you can buy a pink Volkswagen Beetle convertible for Barbie to play with. Now, Car magazine brings us an early look at the newest ragtop Beetle.

Volkswagen has been trying to make The Beetle more masculine. We can’t help but feeling this latest addition to the range will be a case of one step forward, two steps back.

It’s expected the Beetle Cabriolet will go on sale mid–late 2012. Follow the link below for more.

[Source: Car]

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen Golf VII continues evolution

VW Golf Mk7 spied

Volkswagen’s latest Golf, the seventh generation, has been seen out and about once again. It’s fairly predictable Golf styling, although the Mk7 is expected to sport a sleeker look. Earlier shots show the Golf’s iconic C-pillar design will continue its evolution.

Speculation over the release date for the new Golf is a bit hit and miss, with some reports suggesting it will hit the market next year, others say we’ll be waiting until 2013.

[Source: Autoblog | Pic: CarPix]

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Volkswagen WRC

Ogier signs with Volkswagen WRC team

Sebastien Ogier & Julien Ingrassia, Volkswagen Motorsport

French duo Sebastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia have quickly moved on from the disappointment of their dismissal from the Citroën WRC team by signing a three-year deal with Volkswagen Motorsport.

The pair will spend 2012 fine tuning the Polo R WRC in preparation for Volkswagen’s debut WRC season in 2013. With seven WRC victories under their belts Ogier and Ingrassia have that classic blend of youth and experience and their signing represents a strong show of faith for the start up VW team.

Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, Member of the Volkswagen Brand Board of Management for the Development Division spoke with enthusiasm at the news, “I am very happy about Sébastian Ogier and Julien Ingrassia joining us. Both of them are important pieces of the puzzle on our way towards building a successful team in the World Rally Championship. It is also a mark of confidence for our team if such a strong pairing opts for a new team in the WRC that is still in the process of being developed.”

There’s more from Volkswagen Motorsport after the break, including pics and video highlights from the announcement.

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Volkswagen

“The future is diesel and all-wheel drive”

Volkswagen Golf R

The top brass from Volkswagen performance arm, R GmbH, say “The future is diesel and all-wheel drive.” Sure, in current day context that makes perfect sense for a Touareg R, for example. But would punters really cough up for a diesel powered hot hatch, such as the Golf R?

Well, as Jeremy Clarkson recently showed, there’s no reason a diesel cannot be a barrel of fun. Certainly, the in-gear acceleration of diesels can be a real laugh.

More pleasingly, though, is the claim of Ulrich Riestenpatt gt. Richter, General Manager of Volkswagen R GmbH, that sending a car on a diet has many benefits, including fuel efficiency. “You can get the same efficiency [as a hybrid] by dropping 100 kilos,” he said. Expect more use of aluminium and, possibly, carbon fibre body panels in future, then.

[Source: Autoblog]

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Suzuki Volkswagen

Volkswagen–Suzuki honeymoon is over

Suzuki splits from Volkswagen deal

Suzuki wants to walk out on its relationship with Volkswagen, just two years after the civil union began. It’s been an uneasy partnership and Suzuki claims the German giant has denied access to its technology and also had concerns over Suzuki’s independence. Clearly Suzuki aren’t happy about this and further claim they have attempted to negotiate with Volkswagen only to be told to talk to the hand because the face isn’t listening.

Last month Suzuki also lodged a notice of breach against Volkswagen, who in return said try to see it my way, we can work it out. Now, it seems, the irreconcilable differences point has been reached and Suzuki wants its 19.89% stake back from VW. The shares were purchased at a value of $2.5 billion in 2009.

[Source: Autoblog]

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Volkswagen

Volkswagen eT! Concept delivers

Volkswagen eT! Concept

Volkswagen has brought the delivery van into the 21st century with this eT! Concept. Designed in collaboration with Deutsche Post and the University of Art at Braunschweig, the eT! is an all-electric powered vehicle created to make the job of urban courier more efficient.

It’s first party trick is the kerbside door which opens in two stages and allows the driver to exit the van without having to exit into the flow of traffic and walk around the vehicle.

But the real party trick of the eT! is its semi-automatic operation. With commands like ‘Follow me’ and ‘Come to me’ the eT! is able to follow its driver from house to house. Similarly the eT! can be controlled from the passenger’s side through the use of a ‘drive stick’, also making the task of courier more streamlined.

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