A million reasons to celebrate, but quietly

By DAVID HASSALL

Team effort: Toyota dominated the Australian market last year, with winners in 9 of the 12 market segments in which it competes.

The winners and losers of the 2008 Australian sales race

AUSTRALIA’S new car market topped one million units again in 2008, recording its second-highest tally in history in the face of the global economic downturn.

The total of 1,012,164 vehicle sales was a decrease of 37,818 (3.6 per cent) over the record-breaking 2007 tally.

It compares well with figures released in recent days for the United States, which was down by 18.0 per cent to its worst level since 1992, and Japan, which declined for the fifth year in succession (down 6.5 per cent on 2007) to its worst level since 1974.

According to the official figures released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, sales were down in every passenger car segment as well as the SUV market, but an increase in the LCV (light commercial vehicle) market helped to restore the total.

The result for December showed a drop of 11.7 per cent against the same month in 2007, compared with drops of 35.6 per cent in the US, 22.3 per cent in Japan, 21 per cent in Canada, 15.8 per cent in France, 13.3 per cent in Italy and a massive 49.9 per cent in Spain. Results for the UK and Germany are due soon.

Toyota’s growing dominance of the Australian market was confirmed, finishing as the top brand for the 12th time in 18 years with a record 238,983 sales for a 23.6 per cent market share (up from 22.5 per cent last year).

It sold more cars than its nearest rivals combined, Holden finishing the year with 130,338 sales (down 16,342) and Ford with 104,715 (down 3356 despite the arrival of a new Falcon).

Toyota sales and marketing chief David Buttner (left) said that the company’s success across so many market segments was “more than a little humbling”.

Holden could at least celebrate having the top-selling car for the 13th year in succession, the VE finishing the year strongly on the back of some enticing retail action to continue Commodore’s run as Australia’s top nameplate since 1996.

However, despite a boost with the arrival of the Sportwagon in July (contributing 8200 sales in five months), Commodore sales were still the lowest on record at 51,093 and were down about 6000 units on the previous two years.

But Ford would have loved such numbers as the new FG Falcon simply failed to attract the buyers that the highly-regarded car deserved. Falcon sales for the year totaled just 31,936, making it only the fifth most popular car in the country behind the Commodore, Toyota Corolla (47,901), Toyota HiLux (42,956) and Mazda3 (33,755).

Rounding out the top ten were the Toyota Yaris (26,097), Toyota Camry (23,067), Mitsubishi Lancer (19,688), Toyota Aurion (19,562) and Hyundai Getz (17,256).

Mazda was the only brand in the national top eight other than Toyota to sell more cars in 2008 than in 2007, the leading full-line importer picking up 2092 extra sales to increase its market share from 7.4 to 7.9 per cent and entrenching the brand in fourth place behind the three local producers.

Mitsubishi almost compensated for the loss of the locally-produced 380 with increased sales of its imports and retained fifth place in the market, but with a narrow lead over a solid Nissan.

Honda slipped back a place to seventh, dropping almost 8000 sales (13.1 per cent), while Hyundai dropped 9.2 per cent but retained its place in the top ten.

The top ten was rounded out by Subaru and Volkswagen, both of which had record years. Subaru only just made it with 47 extra sales for its 11th successive record year, but VW posted a strong gain of 2475 sales (9.0 per cent).

But the big winner for the year was again Audi, which finished the year 30.2 per cent ahead of 2007 with 9410 sales, a gain of 2185 units.

However, there were more losers than winners in 2008, including a number of high-profile nameplates.

Of the brands selling more than 1000 units a year, losses of more than 15 per cent were recorded by Saab (-37.8pc), Alfa Romeo (-35.5pc), Ssangyong (-35.4pc), Citroen (-28.9pc), Proton (-20.5pc), Chrysler (-19.3pc), Lexus (-18.6pc), Peugeot (-17.6pc) and Porsche (-16.2pc).

FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said that recording the second-best sales figure was a good result considering the economic and government hurdles put in front of the industry.

“Make no mistake – selling more than one million vehicles was no mean feat,” said Mr McKellar, who described 2008 as a challenging year.

“Only 12 months ago, we were bracing for interest rate rises, fuel prices were rising to record levels and in May the federal government announced an eight per cent increase to the luxury car tax.

“All these issues made selling new vehicles more challenging. Add to this fluctuating exchange rates, and then the global financial crisis began to impact on the Australian economy. Naturally, people became more cautious about spending.”

Interestingly, while private buyers cut back equally on passenger cars and SUVs, businesses and (more notably) governments actually bought more SUVs in 2008 than in 2007 – so it seems clear who is spending their own money on cars and fuel.

Another interesting trend in the VFACTS figures relates to the sales of diesel-engined vehicles, which continued to grow in 2008 despite the higher disparity in the price of diesel fuel compared to petrol.

Private buyers purchased 15.0 per cent more diesel-engined passenger cars and 8.4 per cent more SUVs while non-private (ie businesses and government) buyers were even more keen on diesel, buying 67.6 per cent more diesel cars and 26.6 per cent more SUVs.

Although the three companies that build cars in Australia grabbed 46.8 of the total market in 2008, sales of locally-manufactured cars were down by 14.5 per cent (29,053 cars) to 171,432.

Looking at the main market segments, upper large cars were down by 41.5 per cent, large cars by 14.4 per cent, medium cars by 5.7 per cent, small cars by 1.7 per cent, light cars by 1.0 per cent, people movers by 21.9 per cent and sports cars by 11.5 per cent.

In the SUV market, large was up 11.2 per cent, medium up 1.4 per cent, compact down 5.2 per cent (so much for fuel price concerns) and luxury down 7.7 per cent.

LCV sales were 4.2 per cent ahead overall, with vans leading the way with a 19.7 per cent increase, 4x2 pick-ups ahead by 3.1 per cent, 4x4 pick-ups ahead by 0.7 per cent and light buses ahead 38.6 per cent on a low base.

Light car honours for the year went to the Yaris by a country mile over the Hyundai Getz, the rapidly-gaining all-new Mazda2, the Suzuki Swift and the fading Holden Barina.

Toyota also won the small car battle comfortably with the consistent Corolla, but the Mazda3 held ground for second place despite the impending arrival of a new model to head off the Honda Civic, which lost some ground, along with the Ford Focus and Holden Astra.

The medium car segment was something of a surprise because, with buyers supposedly downscaling from large cars and with the arrival of the new Mazda6 and Honda Accord Euro, we expected an increase, not a 9.8 per cent drop.

Although the locally-built Camry was a comfortable winner, with twice as many sales as the imported Mazda6, it dropped 12.4 per cent or more than 3000 units. The Mazda finished comfortably ahead of the Accord Euro and Subaru Liberty while the Ford Mondeo was surprisingly well back, though still easily ahead of the VW Passat and Holden’s Korean-built Epica.

In the luxury medium class, the impressive new Mercedes-Benz C-class deservedly romped home with 6652 sales – just 105 units shy of the Mazda6 – while the BMW 3 Series dropped 17.9 per cent to finish almost 2000 units behind and only about 1000 ahead of the rampant new Audi A4, which overtook the staggering Lexus IS.

As mentioned earlier, the large car segment was all about Holden’s ability to continue selling the VE Commodore in much greater numbers than the new FG Falcon, while the luxury division was decimated by the luxury car tax increase – especially the Mercedes E-class, which had a massive 41.7 per cent fall and was overtaken by the BMW 5 Series.

The upper large car segment was another LCT bloodbath, with the Holden Statesman clinging on best and passing its more expensive Caprice sibling for top spot. The Mercedes S-class took luxo honours, but with 35.4 fewer sales than in 2007.

Kia’s Carnival was again the top-selling people mover, but with a greatly reduced margin over the Toyota Tarago, but all the major players lost a lot of ground.

BMW again had the top-selling ‘sports car’ with the 3 Series coupe and convertible models, despite the arrival of the new 1 Series models, which accounted for 1546 sales against the 3 Series’ barely affected 2683. Volkswagen’s EOS also did well, gaining 29 per cent to 1852 sales.

There were too many ugly results to list, but the Alfa Romeo Brera almost disappeared, the Lotus Europa barely appeared in the first place, and Mazda MX-5, BMW Z4 and Peugeot 307 convertible sales halved.

Mercedes suffered more big losses with the CLK, SLK and CL ranges while Porsche lost about one-third of its Boxster and 911 sales, though the Cayman held up slightly better.

Subaru had a brilliant victory in the compact SUV segment over Toyota’s previously rampant RAV4, the final margin being just 301 units – 14,423 to 14,122.

Nissan’s X-Trail ran out of puff and was pipped for third place by long-time rival the Honda CR-V, by a mere 18 sales.

The top-selling SUV overall, and winner of the medium segment, was the Toyota Prado with 14,725 – just a few hundred more than the leading compacts – but the big winner was its Kluger sibling, which gained 70.2 per cent over 2007 to record 13,424 sales.

Ford’s once-dominant and still impressive Territory seemed to suffer from Blue Oval fever, dropping 25.5 per cent to 12,882 and losing market leadership.

In the large SUV segment, Toyota is now utterly dominant with the Landcruiser gaining 24.2 per cent to 10,231 while the Nissan Patrol, which once vied for the off-road title, dropped 7.2 per cent to 4352.

Luxury SUV honours went to the BMW X5, which moved well clear of the rival Lexus RX, which is in run-out mode. A tight battle followed with the Mercedes M-class hanging on from the Land Rover Discovery, Volvo XC90, Audi Q7, Range Rover Sport, BMW X3 and the gaining VW Touareg.

Toyota’s HiAce easily accounted for the light bus and van markets and the T company’s LCV dominance was also evident in the ute segments.

The HiLux claimed top spot in both 4x2 and 4x4 pick-up divisions – with a reduced margin in the former over the Commodore ute (the new VE overtaking Ford’s old Falcon ute) and a larger one over the Nissan Navara in the latter.

The Right Way to Buy Fuel Saving Cars :save fuel 2009

The Right Way to Buy Fuel Saving Cars
by Jim Warren
You should be extremely careful in buying your new car what with sky high gasoline prices in the market. Not exercising care in this aspect would mean you ending up getting a car that will gulp down a lot of fuel, yet not get you driving anywhere.Jack Nerrad, managing editor of Kelley Blue Book, believes that there is an element of being wise by the pennies and foolish by the pounds.Getting StartedFueleconomy.gov is one of the best places you could get started. This site is operated jointly by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency. This site gives you the city and highway fuel economy for all the cars, market passenger cars and trucks, sold in the USA.A new testing system was introduced last year. This testing method has produced realistic numbers as opposed to previous years, which did give some really inflated numbers for the cars.Along with these information, you would get all the additional information that will help you in choosing a car. All you have to do is to click on a particular car, and you would be able to find all the information you wanted to find.In the page where all the details of the car are given, you would find the annual fuel costs. This is one good comparison between vehicles. In an instant, you would be able to compare a fuel-efficient vehicle with let's say a Suzuki sedan.The Chevrolet Tahoe and the Ford Expedition differ just by the 2-mpg. But did you know that in terms of fuel costs, the difference is about $435 every year. On the other hand, you also have the Toyota Corolla compact car and the Toyota Camry midsized car, both different by about 4-mpg, but differing by $270 in terms of fuel costs.You would certainly need to keep an eye on the fuel efficiency as this is one of the main determinants before you get buying a car.Fueleconomy.gov's annual fuel cost estimates are based on 15,000 miles per year of driving. This number is evenly split between the city and highway. Before looking at these numbers and trying to apply them to your case, you would do well to look into your case.Factor in All Other CostsBefore buying a car, you would need to factor in the depreciation costs. This is the difference in the cost at which you bought the car, and the price at which you can sell the car, at the time of selling.Let us take the example of The Honda Fit and Ford Focus. These cars do not differ a lot in their prices. The Ford Focus car is lesser efficient in fuel. This almost causes it to lose $3,600 more in depreciation over a period of time as compared to the Honda Fit Model. Depreciation costs thus play a deciding role in making you choose the right car.Just so you know, this depreciation cost would not be too big in difference in the case of cars that are priced similarly.Don't Get Caught Up in HypePeople often make the mistake in thinking that buying hybrid cars would get them to be more fuel-efficient. This is a myth that requires some explanation.Hybrid vehicles are not available a lot in the market. Add to this the fact that some of the non-hybrid vehicles come cheaper than the hybrid vehicles. One of the main reasons for this is the use of hybrid technology in the hybrid vehicles, which makes them a touch expensive.Compare Toyota Highlander Hybrid and the Toyota RAV4 for example. You would find that the Highlander has a fuel economy of 26 mpg. This makes for a spacious and a three-row SUV. On the other hand, you would find the Toyota RAV4 is a touch smaller than the Highlander. With that being said, you would also find that the price of the RAV4 is a touch less.You could look at the Toyota Prius if you are really preoccupied with the thought of buying a hybrid vehicle. This car surely gives good performance and other features that makes it a car to buy for the price you would pay for it.One of the best known cars for effective use of hybrid technology is the General Motors' Saturn Vue Green Line. This car uses a mild hybrid system. Use of the mini hybrid system ensures that the car just does not run on electric power alone.This enables the car to give good fuel economy. Overall, it must be said that the supplies of components for hybrid vehicles are tight.From this summer onwards, you would find a lot diesel trucks hitting showrooms as opposed to the gas trucks. Now, these trucks do have a good fuel economy but are also priced a bit higher than their gas counterparts.Gains on the fuel economy front and a higher resale price of these diesel cars surely should make them good buys over the next couple of years. Considering that these benefits will stay with you for some time to come, you would find that diesel cars are indeed popular.Don't Forget Your Real NeedsOne of the important things you would need to think of is your need. Why do you really want to buy a car? Do you really require a SUV for your driving needs? Get out of the mindset that small cars do not offer space for people to sit in.Small cars like the Nissan Versa offer good legroom and seating space for people to sit in. This could easily be compared to some of the midsized cars like Toyota Camry. One big advantage of using a Versa is its fuel economy. This car runs four miles further than some of the midsized cars thus saving you about $269 every year.One thing you need to look at carefully are the trade-offs. This could hurt you in the longer run, especially if you wish to resale this at some point of time.With most cars, you would need to take into count the advantages of an all-wheel drive. See if it impacts your fuel economy. If it does, you would be advised to stay away from it, because somewhere down the line you would realize that the resale value for such cars is low.Gas prices are an important point to think of before you get buying a new car. With that being said, this surely should not be the only thing that consumes your mind. If you look only at the gas prices and not think of other benefits the car may offer you, you could end up on a losing deal.
Posted by Land Of Smile & Car Club at 5:51 AM 0 comments
Labels: : Mazda new car review article 2009
Friday, August 1, 2008

How To Build A Hydrogen Generator To Turn Your Car Into A Water Burning Hybrid : New mazda hydrogen Hybrid car 2008
How To Build A Hydrogen Generator To Turn Your Car Into A Water Burning Hybrid by Myla MadsonAlmost a century ago the technology was uncovered that allowed someone to take ordinary water, and by applying a small voltage to it, separate the water molecule into a burnable gas called HHO, or Brown's gas.For decades, folks just like you and I have been building their own hydrogen generators to turn their cars into water burning hybrids. The technology works, it is easy to duplicate, and best of all, you can build your own hydrogen generator for under $65.Sound impossible? Well it isn't. And I should know, my daughter and built our own hydrogen generator over the course of a single weekend, with parts we were able to find locally and with just a couple of common household tools we found out in the garage.If a single mom with limited time on her hands and even less mechanical ability can do it, anyone can!So, how does one go about building their own hydrogen generator to power their car on water and drastically increase their gas mileage? Glad you asked.First and foremost you need to get you a good, easy to follow guide. There are many available on the Internet but they all follow the same theory that if you apply electricity to water you can, through electrolysis, pull the water molecules apart to create a burnable gas that you then inject into the engine intake along with the gas you already use to create a much more efficient fuel source.There are many different configurations and ways to control the voltage that goes to the generator. I choose a fairly basic model and I'm glad that I did. It increased my gas mileage by 25% and was very easy to build and install and did not require any type of engine modification.I've since ordered and looked through some other guides and they range from easy to very difficult and complicated to understand. If you cannot read an electronic schematic or have a butterfly cutter lying about, whatever the heck that is, I'd steer away from the more complicated versions although I'm sure you would probably see better results.No matter, any improvement in gas mileage is pretty awesome and building your own hydrogen generator to battle the big oil companies and tax hungry government is an amazing bonus. Off the subject a bit, but did you know the IRS has a manual on how to collect taxes after a nuclear war? Crazy huh?Anyway, you should give this a chance and do some research. This isn't some gimmick or scam that just popped up to take advantage of the current gas crisis. It has been around forever only it was kept quiet by the powers that be but at some point you can only draw so much blood out of a stone and hard working people the world over have had enough. The word is out and spreading like wild fire!

Front suspension continues

Today I squeezed the polybushed front track control arms into the crossmember and fixed the Koni front legs into the new 3 door hubs. I put new extended wheel studs into the front hubs. Next job for the suspension is to get new springs for front and back to raise the car by half an inch, and make the suspension stiffer. I also need to refit the crossmember and ARB and then refit the front brakes. All this after I have refitted the sump with new gasket and new baffle.

Here's the crossmember with the polybushed track control arms fitted, and the Koni legs now attached to the 3 door hubs with long wheel studs fitted.

New sump baffle and sump removal

While the front suspension is off I decided to replace the original Ford sump baffle with an improved gated baffle from Burton. The new baffle has four gates that should ensure that oil is always available to the oil pickup. I have had the oil pressure warning light come on a few times, at Snetterton and Brands and I think the new baffle is a necessity to prevent damage from oil starvation.

Getting the sump off in situ is a pain. Lots of time under the front of the car. Here's some pics of the engine supported by the garage roof, the bottom of the engine exposed having removed the sump, and the sump and new baffle that will go in next time I work on the car.

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID CAR : New Honda civic hybrid 2008

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID CAR
by krish1_infotech

HONDA CIVIC HYBRID CAR
If you are planning for a new car, then think of the new Honda Civic Hybrid. It is the most affordable car and very user friendly. Hybrid is well know for its anti-status symbol and for its good milleage.Its noteworthy technologies make it exceptionally eco-friendly and also makes the Digital Drive winner for best affordable car.
The 20-hp electric booster motor is a power booster, the electic motor in Honda's Integrated Motor Assist(IMA) systems is to provide oomph under acceleration. Honda civic Hybrid does not have the ability to crawl away from a stop and around town solely under electric propulsion as its shuts the gasoline engine down at stoplights. To achieve the best fuel economy it is required to learn how the uncluttered gauges in the Honda Civic Hybrid makes the learning curve short.
Honda Civic Hybrid has a great design with lots of comfort. There is a touch of whimsy in the fabrics for the cockpit. You can also add the excellent Alpine navigation system, the audio system plays Mp3 and WMA and has a line-in jack and a PC card socket for your music. The dashboard display is wrapped around the driver using a two level scheme that curves the gauges around the steering wheel. The digital system is also a excellent system which describles you how much electricity you are sending to the battery and how much you are using. Fuel is also saved in the car when the gas engine shuts off when you come to a full stop. The latest car has also solved the airconditon problem solved by adding an electric-motor driven portion to the A/C compressor.
HONDA CIVIC HYBRID SPECIFICATIONS IN BRIEF:-
NAME - CIVIC
MODEL - HYBRID
TOP SPEED - 165
FUEL CONSUMPTION(HIGHWAY) - 18
FUEL CONSUMPTION(CITY) - 14
AT-PZEV CARB Emissions Rating
IDLE-STOP FEATURE
SEATING CAPACITY - 5
TYRE SIZE AND SUSPENSION - 195/65 R 15. McPHERSON COIL SPRING,DOUBLE WISHBONE.
STEERING - POWER
BRAKES - FRONT VENTILATED, REAR DISK.
GEARS - AUTOMATIC 5
160- WATTAM/FM/CD AUDIO SYSTEM WITH 6 SPEAKERS.
AVERAGE FUEL CONSUMPTION INDICATOR
110-hp, 8-Valve, SOHC, i-VTEC 4-Cylinder Engine CONTINUOUSLY VARIABLE TRANSMISSION (CVT)

Ford needs Kuga to be complete

By BYRON MATHIOUDAKIS

Ford is awaiting petrol and auto availability before committing to the Kuga SUV
FORD says it is being very cautious with the decision to bring the Kuga into Australia.

The Focus-based compact SUV is being eyed as a potential replacement for the ageing Escape, which has been on sale in Australia since early 2001.

However, the Kuga has been held back until now due to the lack of a suitable powertrain combination for Australia.

Until this month, the German-built Ford has only been available with a 100kW 2.0-litre TDCi turbo-diesel variant mated to a six-speed manual gearbox.

And although rave reviews have been heaped upon the Kuga in this configuration, it is clear to Ford that Australians must have a petrol-powered and/or automatic gearbox in the model mix.

In fact, from December 1, Ford of Europe announced the addition of a Volvo-sourced 2.5-litre in-line five-cylinder petrol engine for Continental Kugas in six-speed manual and five-speed automatic guises, as well as a front-wheel drive TDCi model to complement the existing all-wheel drive versions.

It seems certain that Ford is awaiting the introduction of a four-cylinder model with automatic gearbox availability - be it the TDCi with the new Powershift dual-clutch sequential manual gearbox, or an engine such as the 2.3-litre petrol unit with a six-speed automatic, as fitted to the MA Mondeo.

The Kuga is closely related to the Focus underneath the skin, since they both leverage a variation of Ford’s C1 global small-car platform. Ford Australia has even admitted it will be technically possible for it to produce the Kuga here post 2011, when the next-generation Focus will be manufactured locally.

According to Ford’s recently installed vice-president of sales and marketing, Beth Donovan, getting the right model mix for Kuga in Australia is essential before giving the green light.

“That small utility segment – to me – doesn’t have an entry with anything like it - so it’s a huge opportunity.

“On the other hand, I need the customer to tell me that as well. Today it only comes as a diesel manual, and that’s a concern.

“When they get an automatic, then that’s when it is going to be more of a consideration for us, as well as a petrol.

“And then it comes down to where it is going to fit in that segment of the market.

“I don’t think anybody is interested in bringing something in, and then only to sell a few hundred of.”

As with other potential European Fords that are as yet unavailable in the Australian market such as the widely-acclaimed S-Max people-mover and Mondeo wagon, Mrs Donovan says that there is still plenty more research that needs to be done to make sure that demand actually exists out there.

“I’d like to get the customer to tell (Ford) what they like,” she reiterated.

Now you can run your car on Water Mixed Gas : New water hybrid cars 2009

Now you can run your car on Water Mixed Gas
by Paul Aitchison

We all know that gas prices are through the roof and without a doubt will continue to rise. But what if there was a way to save money on gas, big money? There is and it's done with a little help from water. Did you know that there is technology you can use to almost completely run your car on water now? There is and it can save you a ton of money on gas every month. This technology can teach you how to make your own low-cost hybrid car that runs on water and gas. It is necessary for us to look for other alternatives as the price of crude oil and gas is soaring high. Now the question arises whether a car can really run on water mixed gas. The researchers are doing a research on this and they claim that it is possible to run a car on water mixed gas. They say that with the addition of certain quantity of water with gas it is possible to make a fuel that can meet a common man's expectations. However it needs a slight modification in the engine by adding on small equipment that will serve the demand of the new fuel.
According to the research if a small quantity of water is added to petrol, diesel or gasoline with the addition of necessary additives, the water gets mixed with the conventional fuel and can act as an effective fuel for the vehicles. This new fuel will not only reduce the cost but also reduce the pollution and will protect the environment. As we cannot ignore the fact that water causes rust to the steel and other parts of the engine that are made up of iron and steel, so chemicals that prevent water from causing rust to the steel, must be added to the fuel.
If the car runs on the water gas fuel, it will not only enhance the performance of the car but also minimize carbon deposits in piston and skirts will reduce sludge and varnish formation. Not only this, it will also reduce the engine temperature, due to the presence of water in the fuel. Also, the car will act itself as a catalytic converter if it gets water gas as a fuel. It is advantageous to run a car on water gas but the water and gas ratio should be optimized and proper chemicals called additives should be added so that water does not remain in free form, as it may cause rust to the steel parts of the engine. This effective process requires the help of experts, as we alone cannot get this process done.
By using this technology you can literally save over $1,000 a year as a sole driver. The more drivers you have, the more you will save. If you own a company with a fleet of trucks, say 50, your looking at a savings of over $50,000 a year!