Ford Australia has rolled out the last of the Falcon utes, the first step in closing its 90-year history of car production across the Tasman. Assemblers at the Broadmeadows plant in Melbourne screwed together the final model, a white XR6, at around 4.45pm on Friday. It will go into the company’s historical fleet along with the final Falcon sedan and Territory SUV. All … [Read more...] about Ford says farewell to the Falcon ute after 55 years
Volkswagen's Piech
Baby Jaguar F-Pace gets out and about before 2018 launch
The Jaguar F-Pace has just landed in New Zealand and already the British company is testing a smaller variant, such is the worldwide demand for SUVs. The new model is expected to go into production in 2018 and powered by Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) new family of Ingenium engines. But it is unlikely to get the family’s new 3.0-litre inline sixes, even though they have been … [Read more...] about Baby Jaguar F-Pace gets out and about before 2018 launch
US military to use Land Cruiser 70-series for special ops
The Toyota Land Cruiser and the Hilux and Ford Ranger utes are going into the United States – but only to be modified for use by the US military’s special forces. Once finished, the vehicles will look pretty much like the civilian examples seen daily on New Zealand roads – but under the sheet metal will be all sorts of military muscle. Long-term US defence contractor the … [Read more...] about US military to use Land Cruiser 70-series for special ops
‘Graham’, the super-human designed to survive a car crash – video below
This is ‘Graham’, an artist's rendering of what humans would look like if our evolution kept pace with the development of modern cars. Australian artist Patricia Piccinin teamed up with trauma surgeon Christian Kenfield and Monash University road safety engineer Dr. David Logan to craft a human body impervious to the forces involved in car accidents. What came out of the … [Read more...] about ‘Graham’, the super-human designed to survive a car crash – video below
Jaguar heads ‘demonstrator’ registrations on NZTA books
Six months into 2016 and new-vehicle registrations are running 5.3 per cent up on the same period last year. But remember, that’s registrations, not sales. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) doesn’t record actual sales, only registrations. Its monthly numbers are picked up by the Motor Industry Association (MIA), the distributors’ representative. The MIA said 69,057 … [Read more...] about Jaguar heads ‘demonstrator’ registrations on NZTA books