Australia's Easy Reading New Car News Home | News | Road Tests NEWS INDEX:   May 2011 Stanley Steamer owners Basil & Vicki Craske (front seats) with the Doble owners Barry & Sandra Herbert (rear). Home > News Bush Council Easter Rally 1st May, 2011 The Autumn weather was NSW mid-north coast perfect over the Easter weekend, mild temperatures and unlimited sunshine as around 200 cars and 1 motorcycle rolled into the Great Lakes and Manning area to participate in the NSW Bush Council's annual Easter Rally ..... more New Ford Focus here in August 2nd May, 2011 The all-new Ford Focus is on its way to Australia and will come to market in August as a five-door hatchback and four-door sedan ..... more Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale 3rd May, 2011 Although slower than the much better value Nissan GT-R, the Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale can dash 0 to 100 km/h in 4.6 seconds ..... more Citroen DS5 revealed 5th May, 2011 The Citroen DS5 is expected in Australia during 2013 ..... more Porsche Panamera Diesel 5th May, 2011 Luxury Car Tax (LCT) for the Panamera Diesel is calculated from $75,375 and not the standard $57,466 threshold, resulting in a $5,300 benefit for customers which is reflected in the Panamera Diesel’s price of $194,900* (MLP*) ..... more Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale 5th May, 2011 The “TZ3 programme” managed by Zagato to celebrate the 100th Anniversary of Alfa Romeo (1910-2010) ends with the delivery of the TZ3 Stradale ..... more SLS AMG Roadster: another trick for Mercedes-Benz 5th May, 2011 After the ‘gullwing’ version, the open-top variant is the second car to be independently developed by AMG. The Coupé and Roadster models were designed in parallel – which brought decisive advantages during the development process. During this 3-year period (approximately) for the SLS AMG Roadster, the engineers devoted particular attention to the aspects of body shell rigidity, driving dynamics, the soft top and NVH ..... more Holden Cruze hatch: local testing begins 6th May, 2011 The new Cruze hatch was designed by Holden’s Port Melbourne design studio and will be sold as the Holden Cruze in Australia and as a Chevrolet Cruze around the world ..... more Volkswagen Passat released locally 6th May, 2011 The overall range of technological innovations now implemented in the Passat 118TSI and Passat Highline variants has reached a scale previously found only in luxury class cars ..... more Mini Cooper Countryman diesel released 8th May, 2011 Priced from $52,100*, the new range-topping Mini Cooper SD ALL4 Countryman is powered by a 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine, generating 105 kW of power with peak torque at 305 Newton metres ..... more Fiat to increase stake in Chrysler Group LLC 8th May, 2011 Fiat has reached an agreement with Chrysler Group LLC and others regarding the exercise by Fiat of the Incremental Equity Call Option to which Fiat is entitled under Chrysler’s Operating Agreement ..... more Jaguar C-X75 given go ahead for production 9th May, 2011 Jaguar C-X75 will become the British marque's most advanced model to date. It will offer performance on a par with the fastest production cars on the market, while adopting cutting-edge technology that offers remarkably economical running ..... more Concepts based on Suzuki Kizashi 9th May, 2011 Suzuki America revealed two innovative and eye-catching new concept cars at last month's New York Motor Show – an environmentally-friendly Kizashi EcoCharge Concept and a high-performance Kizashi Apex Concept ..... more Hyundai i40 to debut this week 10th May, 2011 The i40 sedan boasts a purely European identity having been designed and engineered at Hyundai’s European R&D headquarters in Russelsheim, Germany ..... more Tata introduces new 'micro' models 10th May, 2011 In India today, Tata Motors launched the Magic Iris, a four-wheel, 3-4 seater small passenger vehicle (it is a alternative for commuters who usually depend on three-wheelers) and the Ace Zip (a micro truck with a payload of 600 kg for door-to-door goods movement) ..... more Trakka Fiat Torino Xtra Remote 11th May, 2011 Built on a Fiat Ducato base with a fuel efficient 3.0L multi-jet diesel engine matched to a six speed Manual Transmission Automated (MTA) gearbox, the Trakka Fiat Torino Xtra Remote offers a blend of power, acceleration, relaxing drive and smooth gear changes ..... more Hyundai expand i45 line-up 11th May, 2011 Following the success of its i45 mid-size sedan, Hyundai is introducing a new engine to the range. The i45 2.0-litre engine is available in ‘Active’ model and becomes the new i45 range entry point, offering impressive levels of style plus 5-star ANCAP rated safety ..... more Volkswagen Golf GTI Edition 35 12th May, 2011 The 35th anniversary of the Volkswagen Golf GTI was an impetus for the German brand to devise a special type of anniversary model. This new version model will be offered under the “Edition 35” label. And it is coming to Australia ..... more Renault Twizy: a new city car 13th May, 2011 Twizy gets around town faster than a traditional city car thanks to its unprecedented ultra-compact dimensions which also allows easy parking ..... more Chery a dud in crash test 13th May, 2011 Once again a Chinese made vehicle has earned itself a disgustingly poor crash test result. What makes it even worse is that the local importer is keeping quiet about it! ..... more Maserati upgrades GranTurismo S MC Shift 15th May, 2011 Maserati has moved to separate the two 4.7 litre versions its GranTurismo coupe to provide the MC-Shift gearbox variant of the 323 kW coupe with a more overt racing derived performance equipment package compared to the luxurious version fitted with the six speed automatic gearbox ..... more Aston Martin and Zagato to collaborate again 15th May, 2011 The first product of this renewed working partnership will be shown for the first time at the famous Villa D’Este Concours on 21st May 2011, on the shores of Lake Como Italy, with a racing debut at Nurburgring (Germany) later in the month ..... more Ferrari at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance 15th May, 2011 Only thirty-six 250 GTOs were originally produced, as well as two 330 GTOs with larger capacity engines. All of these exclusive cars have been invited to the Concours ..... more Porsche Cayman S Black Edition 16th May, 2011 Just 500 units of the mid-engined coupe are to be built, each boasting better performance and equipment yet priced exactly the same as today’s Cayman S at $147,500* ..... more Testing time for Ford Focus ST 17th May, 2011 The new Ford Focus ST will feature an eye-catching paint job, ground-hugging suspension, big wheels and tyres and a tell-tale central rear double exhaust. The all-new high-performance Focus ST will be released, worldwide, from next year ..... more Chevrolet Corvette for 2012 17th May, 2011 Chevrolet has announced that it will elevate Corvette’s performance capabilities with a series of improvements for the 2012 model year that improve on-track performance and on-road comfort ..... more Kia Soul for 2012 17th May, 2011 The globally successful Soul is fine-tuned for 2012 with a significant number of technology and powertrain enhancements to deliver more power and improved fuel efficiency ..... more Range Rover Evoque here in November 19th May, 2011 Land Rover Australia has announced that new Range Rover Evoque prices will start from $53,395* for a TD4 Evoque Pure (5-door) 6 Speed manual 4WD model. With a choice of three engines, two body styles, three design themes and a wide range of options and accessories, the new Range Rover Evoque offers customers significant choice across a range of price points ..... more Volkswagen Eos for 2011 released 19th May, 2011 The new Volkswagen Eos is now arriving at Australian dealers. The cabriolet coupé has been visually updated (front and rear) and refined with numerous new features ..... more Unique Ferrari Superamerica delivered 25th May, 2011 The design is bespoke, featuring a carbon-fibre rotating hard-top which incorporates a rear screen. The boot is entirely new to house the roof when open, and is now in carbon-fibre with a design optimised to reduce drag and increase rear downforce ..... more BMW 328 Hommage 25th May, 2011 "With the BMW 328 Hommage, we wish to pay homage to the passion and inventiveness of the 'fathers' of the BMW 328", explains Karl Bäumer ..... more Aston Martin V12 Zagato unveiled 25th May, 2011 In the 50th anniversary year of the iconic DB4GT Zagato, Aston Martin introduces a modern interpretation of the famous Aston Martin and Zagato collaboration ..... more Maserati Quattroporte revision 26th May, 2011 Maserati has refocused its Quattroporte range to make it more appealing to its traditional customer group by making the most aggressive, sporting equipment package standard on the range topping Quattroporte Sport GT S and opening up the Quattroporte to a wider group of customers by boosting the luxury credentials of the 4.2 litre V8 variant ..... more 2011 Jeep Patriot released 27th May, 2011 Jeep Patriot’s classic exterior styling and capability have been enhanced for 2011 with new front and rear fascias, lower bodyside accent cladding, a revised grille and an increased ride height. Ride-and-handling is refined courtesy of upgraded systems. Interior enhancements round out the new-for-2011 features, and include significantly refined touch points ..... more Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari arrives locally 27th May, 2011 More expensive than the highly prized Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, the Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari, the high-priced version of the Fiat 500, has arrived in Australia offing a combination of reasonable performance, equipment and features that brings another meaning to the phrase ‘pocket rocket’ ..... more Holden grabs government gift 29th May, 2011 Holden has grabbed another gift from the Federal Government. This time it's a grant of $39.8 million from the Green Car Innovation Fund ..... more Chrysler repays government loans 29th May, 2011 Chrysler Group LLC last week announced the repayment of US$7.6 billion in outstanding U.S. and Canadian government loans following the completion of new refinancing transactions ..... more Fiat increases its interest in Chrysler 29th May, 2011 Concurrently with the closing of the refinancing of Chrysler’s debt and the full repayment by Chrysler of its debt to the U.S. and Canadian governments last week, Fiat has consummated the exercise of its option to purchase an incremental 16% interest in Chrysler ..... more Audi A6 Avant 30th May, 2011 Audi will soon be launching the next generation of the A6 Avant in Europe. The new model will present the brand’s full array of technological expertise ..... more No, it's not a modern day DS Safari 31st May, 2011 And by the way, private buyers will need to be wealthier than a dodgy financial advisor to buy this would-be car ..... more GTI Meet at Worthersee 31st May, 2011 They are on the road again: at Worthersee (Austria), enthusiasts will be assembling for the biggest Golf GTI Meet in the world (1st to 4th June) ..... more Top of page Hear Chris Goodsell Talk Motoring On Radio & Internet ..... more June 2011 News ..... here April 2011 News ..... here March 2011 News ..... here About | Car Clubs | Home | News | Road Ramblings | Road Tests | Subscribe | Top Drive ©   2011   All rights reserved.   Next Car Pty. Ltd.