The popular Toyota 86 is celebrating its first birthday, and so far, over 6000 examples have been sold in Australia. The local market is the third biggest market in the world for the 86, behind Japan and the US. When the 86 was launched last year, it was perhaps the […]
Industry
Jatco to improve CVT efficiency and driving feel
Jatco, a Japanese transmission company which is partly owned by Nissan, has plans to increase efficiency with CVT transmissions, and make them more appealing to drivers. Continuously variable transmissions (CVT) are currently very popular in Japan. Locally, they aren’t so popular due to their inherently boring ‘rubber band’ character. Jatco […]
Australian vehicle sales for July 2013 – VF Commodore going strong
The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for July 2013 have been released, with the new Holden VF Commodore
Henry Ford’s 150th anniversary celebrated around the world
Yesterday marked the 150th anniversary of Henry Ford, perhaps the most influential figure in automotive history. In Ford Motor Company’s Dearborn headquarters, the state Michigan proclaimed the day as ‘Henry Ford Day’. Henry Ford, for those who don’t know, is the man behind Ford. He was also the man behind […]
ZF invests US$215 million to increase 9-speed production
German transmission specialist ZF will expand its manufacturing capacities to help facilitate the production more eight- and nine-speed automatic transmissions. The expansions include a $232 million investment. With growing demands to reduce vehicle emissions, manufacturers are looking into every single area of the vehicle to extract more efficiency. Engineers are […]
Mercedes-AMG & Aston Martin announce official partnership
Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz performance arm AMG have officially announced a partnership deal which will see the two share some powertrain technology and components. The news confirms many previous reports that suggested such a deal could be on the way. In exchange for 5 per cent equity in Aston Martin, […]
BMW retains global sales lead over Audi & Mercedes-Benz
BMW posted impressive increases in global sales in June, helping it to retain its lead over the two other German giants; Audi and Mercedes-Benz. BMW sales were up nine per cent in June, overshadowing the effort from Mercedes-Benz (eight per cent) and Audi (five per cent). Although both Audi and […]
Australian vehicle sales for June 2013 – Toyota and BMW shine
The official VFACTS figures for Australian new vehicle registrations for June 2013 have been released, and once again it’s Toyota that’s clearly the country’s most popular vehicle brand.