The noisiest part of this Mercedes-Benz off-road wagon was the squeal from the 37-inch tyres on winding sealed roads in Spain, say photographers from spy agency Automedia. Rubber meeting the road as the lightly camouflaged prototype G63 AMG Gelandewagen went from one off-road test track to another drowned out the exhaust burble from its twin-turbocharged 5.5-litre V8 … [Read more...] about Benz paints its latest wagon as a plaything for the mega-rich
Skoda aims to more than double NZ sales – Scout’s honour!
Skoda NZ general manager Greg Leet says the aim of his “robust growth strategy” is to secure by 2020 around 2% of this country’s new passenger car market, or sales of upwards of 2000 units. To do so he has to more than double current sales over the next five years. Big ask? Not out of the question, god willing and the creeks don’t rise. After all, Skoda has done that and … [Read more...] about Skoda aims to more than double NZ sales – Scout’s honour!
SUV sales soar – and there are more new models to come
The SUV market in New Zealand will become even more crowded and competitive over the next couple of years as both luxury and mid-market carmakers introduce first-time models. The so-called lifestyle vehicles are the hottest items on the sales charts and accounted for just over four out of every 10 passenger cars sold to the end of October this year. That ratio is expected … [Read more...] about SUV sales soar – and there are more new models to come
Laid-back travel in the Honda Odyssey’s ‘business class’ seats
The second row of seats in the ‘L’ version of the new Honda Odyssey might just be the point of difference the carmaker needs to broaden the appeal of its people-mover. The PM segment isn’t big, averaging around 750 private and business sales a year since 2010. But it has its loyal followers. Typical PMs for the private market are the Odyssey, Kia Carnival, Citroen C4 Grand … [Read more...] about Laid-back travel in the Honda Odyssey’s ‘business class’ seats
The years 2004-2014: sales of large and medium cars plummeted
Back in 2004, a litre of 91 octane petrol cost a little over $1 … and New Zealanders bought 32,384 large and medium cars, models like the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon, and Honda Accord and Mazda 626 Fast forward to 2014 where a litre of 91 unleaded can cost around $2 … and New Zealanders at the end of October had bought 9610 large and medium cars, according to Motor … [Read more...] about The years 2004-2014: sales of large and medium cars plummeted