First they took the New Zealand operation's boss … almost immediately afterward, they recalled his predecessor … now they have the local marketing

VW NZ has sold 149 Polos year-to-date, while the newly established Seat distributorship has sold 12 Ibizas. The Arona has just arrived in showrooms ...

Holden New Zealand anticipates a $4 million bill will accompany the voluntary recall of 24,000 vehicles with defective Takata airbags, which is separate to the government's compulsory order over the faulty safety devices last month

An all-electric version of the Kia Niro SUV has been unveiled at a special event in Korea, with expectations that it will be able to drive at least 380 kilometres on a single charge.

As car companies see people willing to ditch their vehicles, they’re responding by offering more flexible options. Instead of owning one car, what if you got whatever car you want, just when you needed it?

There are a few things that BMW is very good at, and one of those is providing plenty of get-go in a beautiful package. The new-generation 5 Series is a great sedan to start with, but add in the goodness of a twin-turbo V8 and there's even more to love about this beautiful sedan.

Jan 26, 2018 - British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta is eyeing a move to Holden’s former automotive manufacturing site in Adelaide, as part of plans to build electric vehicles in Australia.  According to reports, South Australian treasurer Tom Kousantonis said in a letter that Gupta’s company, GFG Alliance, had recently approached the state government with plans to buy some of the factory’s assets.

Jan 4, 2018  -  HSV’s final Holden Commodore-based model is a 2017 GTSR W1.  Australia’s semi-official tuner to Holden, HSV, has made a name for itself over the past three decades by churning out meaty muscle cars based on successive generations of rear-wheel-drive, V-8-powered Holden Commodores. All of that has come to an end, however, as HSV on Wednesday announced the construction of its final Commodore-based model.

Dec 8, 2017  -  Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) has announced its product plan for 2018, following the end of General Motors manufacturing in Australia, and it doesn’t include any hot imported Commodores.  However, the good news for rear-wheel drive V8 muscle-car fans is the 2018 HSV range will be headlined by the Chevrolet Camaro SS coupe, although it will be $20,000 pricier than Ford’s equivalent Mustang GT at up to $80K.

Before HSV begins right-hand drive Camaro conversions in July, it will start RHD production of the Chevrolet Silverado 2500HD pick-up in April, followed by the even heavier-duty Silverado 3500HD by mid-year.

In a move that GM denies marks the first step in Holden being rebranded as Chevrolet, the Chevy brand will be established in selected HSV dealers in Australia and New Zealand to sell both the Camaro and Silverado.

The first cab off HSV’s 2018 rank will be the Colorado SportsCat ute, which enters production in late January and will become the only HSV-branded model available once stocks of the Commodore-based MY17 models are sold.

Copntinue here to read the full article with images on Motoring  ||  December 8, 2017   |||

15 Nov 2017  - What brings an extremely wealthy Australian tech guru to the backblocks of the South Island? Granted, there is a small stream on the western boundary of his 550 hectare North Canterbury farm that might harbour brown trout but there’s certainly no lake, no private golf course, no hint of equestrian activity, no magnificent country estate, rather just a random collection of innocuous sheds of varying sizes and shapes.

On closer inspection there are, however, extensive tar-sealed roads, one in particular running for nearly a kilometre alongside a narrow public access road that forms the inland route between Waiau and Kaikoura. It’s along this road that gobsmacked tourists sometimes get to experience the cacophony of sound as a speeding ‘Formula 1-like’ race car blasts past their vehicles at what must seem like insane speeds on the other side of the farm fence.

It’s all that separates the 2.8 kilometre long race track from a normally quiet public road, just 50 metres away. David Dicker, head of Dicker Data Australia, which recently turned over A$1billion in sales revenue, is certainly not the only rich man to build himself a private race track here, and probably won’t be the last. Such a man could therefore be expected to have a collection of fast toys, and he has them in spades; Ferraris (his favourites), Lamborghinis, and Porsches but few such enthusiasts own a Lotus 125 “F1 customer experience” race car, complete with a screaming 650bhp Cosworth V8 engine.

Even fewer have their own 2.8km race track on which to unleash the beast whenever they . . . .

Continue here to read the full story written by Mark petch in AutoCarNew Zealand ||  November 15,  2017