Two years ago this week, the Ford Ranger and Toyota Hilux were neck-and-neck in the first three months of the 2015 sales race: Ranger had registered 1310 utes, Hilux 1298. The Nissan Navara was in third place, a distant 500 units away on 800. Two years on, the Ranger continues to gather its forces to become the Jedi master of the one-tonners. At the end of last month 2214 … [Read more...] about Toyota recruits Edge to help battle Jedi master, Ford Ranger
Ssangyong to open order book for new Rexton SUV at Fieldays
The order book for the new Ssangyong Rexton SUV is expected to open at Fieldays in June, where the New Zealand distributors are likely to have a left-hand-drive example as a drawcard. Staff from Taupo-based Ssangyong distributors Great Lake Motors will tell punters at Fieldays that the NZ-spec model will arrive here around October. Like the left-hooker on show, it will be … [Read more...] about Ssangyong to open order book for new Rexton SUV at Fieldays
Toyota’s Tonka Hilux concept is no toy, but it’s still just for show
Don’t expect the Toyota Hilux Tonka concept to appear in New Zealand showrooms anytime soon, so we won’t dwell on it other than to run plenty of pictures on this page. Briefly, Toyota Australia built the one-off concept to honour the ute’s sales success across the Tasman last year. That and to celebrate a couple of birthdays – Toyota’s 80th and US toymaker Tonka’s … [Read more...] about Toyota’s Tonka Hilux concept is no toy, but it’s still just for show
Rooftop tent designer raises US$2m in crowdfunding cash
The maker of a clever rooftop tent for adventure motorists has raised in a matter of days US$2.1 million from global crowdfunding site Kickstarter. US-based iKamper company wanted to expand on its invention and went to Kickstarter seeking US$100,000. Two weeks into its funding appeal it broke through US$2m. Skycamp is the latest rooftop tent from iKamper, the company … [Read more...] about Rooftop tent designer raises US$2m in crowdfunding cash
More ‘fake news’ from Driven and the other motoring sites
Oh dear, the NZ Herald, the newspaper that insisted for so many years that it was the journal of record, is among those publications so desperate for advertising dollars that it’s becoming a lap dog to those flogging manufactured ‘news’. Its Driven motoring site today had a story that began: “Kiwi motorists could soon be paying for petrol from their car’s touchscreen with … [Read more...] about More ‘fake news’ from Driven and the other motoring sites