• Chrysler Crossfire roadster
  23rd August, 2004
  Priced at $75,990 the new Crossfire roadster will be here by month-end ...... more

• BMW 5 series Sport
  23rd August, 2004
  BMW Group Australia has released its M Sport Package for the 5 Series range. We have the news and the prices ...... more

• Jaguar R6-D concept car
  24th August, 2004
  Jaguar will show a concept car at the Sydney Motor Show which features a twin-turbocharged 2.7 V6 litre diesel engine. It's a four door coupe with reverse-opening rear doors (like a Mazda RX-8) and a side-hinged tailgate (like an E-Type coupe) ...... more

• Peugeot 307 XSR
  24th August, 2004
  The 307 hatchback selection has been expanded by the introduction of a mid-range model. It's priced from $29,990 ...... more

• Mazda 5 Space Wagon
  24th August, 2004
  Mazda continues its new model introduction programme. The new 5 will be at next months Paris Motor Show ...... more

• Honda Develops Night Vision
  24th August, 2004
  Honda has announced the development of its world-first Intelligent Night Vision System, which uses “far infrared” cameras to detect pedestrians ...... more

• Ferrari F430
  24th August, 2004
  It looks as though Next Car is the first Australian media to show a picture of the new Ferrari F430 which is scheduled to debut next month ...... more

• Holden Ute, Crewman & One Tonner
  24th August, 2004
  Here are the details on the new VZ series light commercial vehicles from Holden ...... more

• Ford Shelby GR-1 concept
  25th August, 2004
  Ford and Shelby are back together again and have produced a concept car which was unveiled in California earlier this month ...... more

• Honda develops a 'pop-up' bonnet
  25th August, 2004
  With a desire to reduce injuries to pedestrians, Honda has developed a 'pop-up' bonnet ...... more

• Audi TT 3.2 quattro with DSG to be Unveiled at Australian International Motor Show
  25th August, 2004
  For the first time in Australia, Audi is presenting its latest TT Coupe variant, now with a six-cylinder engine and innovative Direct Shift Gearbox transmission technology ...... more

• Audi Pikes Peak quattro concept coming to Sydney
  25th August, 2004
  Combining on- and off-road dynamism, clever design, the latest technology and sheer spaciousness, Audi’s stellar Pikes Peak quattro concept will be seen for the first time outside Europe or the USA ...... more

• Mini Produce Their 500,000th car!
  26th August, 2004
  The 500,000th MINI came off the production line at BMW Group Plant Oxford yesterday, three years after the car first went on sale in July 2001 ...... more

• Audi A6
  26th August, 2004
  Audi is poised to unveil the all new A6 - the car that will catapault the brand into the executive saloon class spotlight - at the 2004 Australian International Motor Show ...... more

• Volkswagen Phaeton
  26th August, 2004
  Sydney is the Australian debut location for VW's long wheelbase sedan, the Phaeton, when it is previewed in October ...... more

• Audi A3 sportback
  26th August, 2004
  The all-new Audi A3 Sportback will make its Australian premiere at the 2004 Australian International Motor Show ...... more

• Rolls Royce 100EX
  26th August, 2004
  The concept car from Rolls Royce, built to celebrate the company’s one hundredth anniversary is comng to Sydney ...... more

• TIPS TO KEEP CHILDREN SAFER IN CARS
  26th August, 2004
  Holden are offering very good advice about the use of child restraints ...... more

• Lexus LF-C concept car
  26th August, 2004
  Paris Motor Show will be the location for the European debut of the Lexus LF-C concept which originally appeared in April 2004 at the New York Motor Show ...... more

• Mini for 2005
  27th August, 2004
  As indicated some months ago, you can expect to see the Mini convertible at the motor show in Sydney in October. Detail changes will occur to other models as well ...... more

• Mercedes-Benz SL Wins Design Award
  29th August, 2004
  The German Design Council has honoured the Mercedes-Benz SL with this year’s German Design-Prize at a ceremony held in Frankfurt on Friday ...... more

After reading the news of the week, which story did you enjoy the most?

Postage stamps featuring images of five classic cars from the 1950s were unveiled by the U.S. Postal Service at the world's premier event for classic car enthusiasts in Pebble Beach, California, earlier this month. The Sporty Cars of the 50s commemorative postage stamps will be issued in 2005.

"We understand the power our stamps have in helping to celebrate our American history and culture - in this case, the innovative brilliance of our automotive technology and design," said Anita Bizzotto, Chief Marketing Officer, U.S. Postal Service. "They will be a reminder of the unique style and culture of the 1950s."

Featured on the stamps are a 1952 Nash Healey, a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette, a 1953 Studebaker Starliner, a 1954 Kaiser Darrin, and a 1955 Ford Thunderbird. The new stamps highlight the sporty look of American cars designed in the 1950s with sleek, aerodynamic lines and the innovative looks of the types of European sports cars American GIs favored upon their return from World War II.

"America's love affair with the automobile stems, in a large part, from its use as a form of personal expression," said Sandra Kasky, co-chairman of the 54th Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. "We are what we drive. These stamps represent our love of style and performance, the same attributes we celebrate every year at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance."

The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an international gathering of automotive enthusiasts for "a celebration of the automobile" at The Lodge at Pebble Beach^TM on the Monterey Peninsula. The Concours combines a scenic location - the famed 18th hole at Pebble Beach Golf Links® along the Pacific Ocean - with the opportunity to view rarely seen examples of automotive style, performance and history.

In 1952, Nash Healey was an elegant little sports car and the product of the creative genius of three countries in its development: The Nash 6-cylinder engine created in the United States; the Donald Healey-engineered chassis developed in England; and Pinin Farina's sports-car-body design from Italy. Only 150 Nash Healeys were made in 1952, and it came in first in its class and third overall in the 1952 LeMans sports car race in France.

Widely considered "the first American sports car," the 1953 Studebaker Starliner was developed to appeal to younger drivers. It was low-slung, long and wide, and light on the chrome, with such a sophisticated look that the Museum of Modern Art in New York proclaimed it "a work of art," and featured it as the lone American representative in an auto exhibition that year.

At the GM Motorama in New York City in January 1953, the new fiberglass-bodied, two-seater Chevrolet Corvette was unveiled to the public, and quickly captured its imagination while setting the bar for competition. Only 300 models were produced that year, all hand-built and white, with a red interior and black convertible top, a marked departure from other GM designs. Its sporty appearance promised speed and high performance for its fun-seeking drivers.

Sand and gravel entrepreneur Henry J. Kaiser teamed up with master designer Howard "Dutch" Darrin (formerly of Packard fame) in 1954 to develop the fiberglass beauty the Kaiser Darrin. A two-seater featuring retractable doors that slid forward into the front fenders; a unique pointed, compact grille; long sloping lines; and a three-position Landau top, a total of 435 were made that year before poor sales led Kaiser to return to the sand and gravel business.

The 1955 Ford Thunderbird, "a sports car with luxury," was designed to compete with the Corvette, as it featured a steel body, interchangeable hard and soft tops, an overhead valve V8 engine and roll-up windows, and its road performances were virtually identical to the Corvette's. Over 16,000 models were produced that year, and the styling remained the same until 1958, when Ford revamped Thunderbird's sports car status and added a back seat, which quadrupled sales!

The 50s Sporty Cars stamps were illustrated by Art Fitzpatrick and the designer/art director is Carl Herrman. Both men are from Carlsbad, California.