The Power of M
2009 Detroit Motor Show
This year’s North American International Auto Show promised more surprises and melodrama than a midday US soap opera.
Cruze control
The small-car segment is now Australia’s largest, and Mazda and Toyota are hogging the sales fast lane. Can Holden’s new globally developed Cruze redirect the traffic flow?
Heir to a shaky throne
Toyota CEO takes massive 30 percent paycut, predicts another two-years of financial loss.
LAUNCHED: Skoda Superb
Despite the self-indulgent name, Skoda’s new luxo limo flagship has finally arrived offering a tonne of metal of the money.
Strip show – 370Z v HSV R8
Game Zed brings V6 knife to heavyweight V8 gunfight.
Nissan 370Z v HSV R8, Evo X, Cayman S
Not content to have stung Porsche with its upstart GT-R, Nissan widens the front with a Zed-led assault.
Porsche’s provocative Panamera
Ed Ged Bulmer travels to Bimmer country for the launch of the four-seat technical wunderkind.
When Hitler ran the Silver Arrows
Adolf didn’t know much about understeer and oversteer but he knew how success by German companies in motor sport could be used to promote the idea of Nazi superiority.
The Ultimate Motorsport Coffee Table Book
Awesome quality is a claim that’s easy to justify.
BOOK REVIEW: In Control by Bob Watson
Wato has done it all. Now he’s writing about it.
Speedway’s deadly decade
Speedway racing in Australia exacted a tragic toll on drivers and riders in the 1960s. A just-launched book captures some of the high-flying drama.
LAUNCHED: Honda Odyssey
Almost-sexy seven-seater with substance.
Slide tracked – 370Z v Evo X
Zed plays the power card against Evo’s traction.
LAUNCHED: Nissan Maxima
New model worthy of more than just a blip on buyers’ radar.
Gone with the flow – Laurens van den Acker
The world’s hottest car designer has jumped ship from Mazda to Renault, taking his flowing, nature-inspired vision with him. Robbo asks Laurens van den Acker why.
Lexus banks on hybrids
Japanese premium car maker says to forget diesels and biofuels; the longer term future is hybrid technology.
Prius vs Insight (again)
Maybe it’s not quite the automotive equivalent of Ali vs Frazier, but the showdown between the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids nevertheless is the talk of Japan right now.
Tiers of joy – Mazda 3 SP25 v Golf 118TSI
Moving down one level from GTI and MPS still brings miles of driving smiles.
The joy of VI – Golf GTI
More mid-range punch, better fuel economy, trick diff and impeccable DNA all cement the sixth-gen GTI’s status as the complete hot hatch.
X6 proves the doubters (and motoring journos) wrong
The melding of a sports coupe and SUV has been a niche hit for BMW. Next – the X6 M rocket.
LAUNCHED: Ferrari 599 HGTE
‘H’ for handling pack; ‘G’ for greatness.
‘Defective’ Renault models banned from China
Que? Here’s a turn up as China, that bastion of quality and high-tech design, claims Renault has shipped them problem cars.
The resurrection of Chrysler
Forty two days. That’s how long it took to bring bankrupt Chrysler back from the brink …
A black and green tyre
Hankook reckons motorists that low rolling resistance tyres and grip are NOT mutually exclusive.
