Word on the street has it that Alfa Romeo distributor Fiat Chrysler New Zealand (FCNZ) has switched its Auckland dealer, from Andrew Simms to Winger Maserati. Officially, no one is talking. Simms himself, whose inner-city Newmarket and suburban Botany dealerships picked up the 2016 Fiat Alfa Romeo dealer of the year award from FCNZ, is reported to be "disappointed" at the … [Read more...] about Winger Maserati takes over Alfa Romeo from Andrew Simms
Highlights
New Subaru XV about to raid the sub-$40k SUV segment
Subaru reckons it will top 3200 sales in New Zealand in 2017, up from 2660 last year. That’s a 20 per cent hike, six percentage points better than the overall market is doing. “We’d be silly not to predict more sales this year, because the market is growing,” said managing director Wallis Dumper. The Motor Industry Association (MIA) numbers tell the story: 63,244 new … [Read more...] about New Subaru XV about to raid the sub-$40k SUV segment
Pontiac Firebird, Smokey and the Bandit, 40 years on …
Actor Burt Reynolds reckons 12 Pontiac Firebirds were destroyed during the making of Smokey and the Bandit, the car-chase/truck-chase movie of 40 years ago. But the story goes that the head of Pontiac at the time didn’t mind because the brand’s stock price rose around 70 per cent after the film’s release. A stock standard Pontiac Firebird Trans Am back then cost around … [Read more...] about Pontiac Firebird, Smokey and the Bandit, 40 years on …
American website’s view of Ford Ranger in NZ – see video
American motoring website Autoblog sent reporter David Gluckman to New Zealand to drive the Ford Ranger ute, in part because a revised version of the Ranger goes on sale in the US in 2019 and Autoblog wanted to find out what Americans had been missing. Gluckman writes for his US audience: “Why New Zealand, you might ask? Because it's beautiful, because we wanted to go there, … [Read more...] about American website’s view of Ford Ranger in NZ – see video
Ferrari V8 wins world engine award for second year in a row
Ferrari’s 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8 engine, a 495kW/750Nm powerplant used in the 488 models, has won the International Engine of the Year award for the second year in a row. The 2017 panel of judges clearly favoured it over Porsche’s 3.0-litre flat-six from the 911 range, as well as BMW’s petrol-electric drivetrain in the i8, and the 2.5-litre turbocharged five-cylinder in the … [Read more...] about Ferrari V8 wins world engine award for second year in a row