CAR ADVICE

A former dealership has lost a court case claiming $22 million in damages after Honda Australia changed to a new sales model in 2021. A court has ruled Honda Australia did not engage in unconscionable or misleading and deceptive conduct during its switch to a fixed-price ‘agency’ model, website Lawyerly reports. Former dealer Brighton Honda sued Honda in the Supreme Court of Victoria after the company broke a five-year contract with the dealership – alleging the act had denied it future profits, while also claiming damages to the amount of $22 million. In 2021, Honda became the first car maker to change to the fixed-price model in Australia, a sales model which involves the company owning all the vehicle stock on hand at dealerships, while dealers became ‘agents’ for the brand. New car prices were locked in by the head office, and agents were paid a set fee for every car sold. However, Honda Australia – which admitted to the breach of contract with Brighton – claimed the...

Nissan is promising big things with its next-generation Navara ute to better challenge rivals such as the Ford Ranger and Toyota HiLux. Nissan’s next-generation Navara will be much more market competitive, according to a senior executive. The car maker is looking to right the wrongs of the outgoing workhorse, while also eyeing up a bigger slice of the lucrative ute market. Key amongst the criticisms of the current Navara is its coil-spring rear suspension on dual-cab variants, which Nissan ‘s Senior Vice-President and Chief Planning Officer for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania) region, Francois Bailly, said will be addressed in the upcoming new model. “If you go back to the launch of the [current-generation] Navara [in 2014], there were a lot of sagging questions,” he said. “You know, you would load the car, [and there would be a noticeable difference between] the front and the rear. “Clearly, we will not repeat this mistake.” And while the...

Authorities alleged 34 cars were broken into, with two vehicles stolen on three separate occasions in one week. Four teenagers aged between 14 and 17 years old have allegedly been charged following a string of car break-ins at the Spirit of Tasmania terminal’s carpark. According to Tasmania Police, the alleged young offenders broke into 34 parked cars, with two cars stolen, at the site in Norton Way, East Devonport – approximately 279km north of Hobart – on three separate occasions from 20 May to 26 May 2024. Authorities said some of the cars were unlocked, while others showed signs of forced entry. “Some valuables were stolen from many of the cars, with most of these items now recovered,” Detective Acting Inspector, Alex Bonde, said in a statement. “Police have also recovered the two stolen cars, and, after conducting a search, four youths have been arrested”. Photo Credit: Photo by Jerry Grayson/Helifilms Australia PTY Ltd/Getty Images According to Tasmania Police...

This cute little convertible has been a staple for young and old car enthusiasts. But is the Mazda MX-5 a good first car? 2019 Mazda MX-5 RF ND The Mazda MX-5 has a long and illustrious international history, with the model spanning 35 years since the first one rolled off the production line. When you ask someone to think about a convertible, the Mazda MX-5 is usually the first car that pops into their head. RELATED: Mazda MX-5 Old v New Comparison: First-generation NA v fourth-gen ND RELATED: Is the Toyota 86 or Subaru BRZ a good first car? Offering a cheap and easy-to-maintain starting point for young car enthusiasts, they’ve been an extremely popular choice to modify and a sporty option that’s not too overwhelming for inexperienced drivers. The MX-5 spans four generations: the NA (1989–1997), NB (1998–2005), NC (2005–2015) and ND (2015–current). All four are powered by four-cylinder engines in a variety of engine sizes, and all are front-engine, rear-wheel drive. The...

Victoria Police had to bring in the helicopter and canine unit to assist in stopping the youth’s joyride. Three teenagers will face criminal charges after allegedly taking a stolen car on a high-speed chase through Melbourne’s north and west on Thursday morning. The white Mercedes sedan, according to Victoria Police , was spotted on Melbourne Road, Spotswood at 2.20am on Thursday after being taken from a property in Northcote last weekend. A police helicopter was used to assist in tracking down the teens, who are said to have taken the vehicle on a joyride through Werribee, Laverton, Point Cook, Tullamarine, Fawkner, Thomastown, Reservoir, Bundoora and Kingsbury – hitting speeds of up to 230km/h. The trio are accused of abandoning the Mercedes on The Fairway in Kingsbury before fleeing on foot. They were arrested by police, with the Dog Squad in tow, a short while later. A 14-year-old Heidelberg Heights boy sustained a minor injury from a dog bite, but declined medical trea...

In the viral video, the car can be seen surrounded by onlookers as it drove recklessly before hitting multiple bystanders. A Tesla Cybertruck driver has been recorded driving recklessly and hitting a pedestrian in the US. In the viral video – uploaded to the social media platform Instagram – the car can be seen surrounded by cheering onlookers, while two passengers are hanging out the side. The Cybertruck driver then reversed in a circle at excessive speed, before hitting multiple bystanders and driving forward while some pedestrians moved closer to the car, with smartphones in hand. View this post on Instagram A post shared by YouTube “DAVO” (@773davo) Authorities have not specified where this incident occurred, or if the responsible drivers were charged, but the Instagram user who posted the video claimed it occurred at an unspecified location in Chicago. Most online commenters found humour in the situation, with one stat...

Nissan says it is open to bringing more-efficient models to Australia, such as the Juke hybrid and more affordable Qashqai e-Power grades. The upcoming New Vehicle Efficiency Standard (NVES) is poised to open the door to more hybrid models from Nissan, as the brand looks to lower its fleet’s emissions average under the threat of penalties. Nissan Australia has already thrown its support behind the proposed rule changes , which would see manufacturers fined for breaching ever-tightening fleet emissions averages, with the policy set to be introduced from the start of 2025 and enforced from July the same year onwards. However, speaking to Australian media in the UK, including Drive , Nissan’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Planning Officer for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania) region, Francois Bailly, questioned the pace at which NVES would be introduced, and how quickly targets would tighten. “I think the answer [to more hybrids] is yes. The quest...

It’s a scary time for motorsport enthusiasts with electric vehicles becoming more popular. But EVs are not the end of racing, they’re actually a new beginning. More often than not, I’m guilty of scrolling through the comments of any EV (electric vehicle) performance-related content that comes up on my social media feed.  It’s a common thread for traditional enthusiasts to beat up on any sort of electric-related motorsports. Whether it be the lack of soul or the lack of sound, people who are into internal combustion engines (ICE) simply aren’t interested in electric car racing. RELATED: Are Formula 1 cars manual? It’s certainly not the fairest way to look at things, but it does come down to what interests you about cars.  As a lifelong motorsport fan, racer, and car enthusiast, I too was scared at the prospect of my ICE cars being taken away or becoming too expensive to run due to rising fuel costs and the death of any new petrol- or diesel-engine cars by 2035, as p...

The US car giant has filed a patent for a vehicle platform with changeable front and rear sections to suit all types of cars. Ford has filed a patent for a universal platform to fit a wide range of vehicle types, which may improve quality and lower costs to help fight off cheaper Chinese electric vehicles. The filing was discovered by US website CarBuzz and shows a patent application from Ford for a “vehicle chassis with interchangeable performance packages”. The chassis in the application would use the same centre section, but where the Ford engineers have seen an opportunity is for the front and rear sections. Here, the numerous front platform sections – powertrain suspension, wheels and their dimensions – could be fitted to suit the vehicle being built, whether a large SUV, pick-up or smaller urban city car. The rear section could also be ‘swapped’, as well as host components such as the powertrain, giving even greater versatility and increasing the number of vehi...

Nissan will continue building Nismo-enhanced performance flagships even as it expands its electric car plans. Nissan’s Nismo performance sub-brand will not only survive in the age of electrification, but thrive, according to a senior brand executive. Speaking to Australian media, including Drive , at the Sunderland factory in the UK, Nissan’s Senior Vice-President and Chief Planning Officer for the AMIEO (Africa, Middle East, India, Europe, and Oceania) region, Francois Bailly, said there are plans to grow the Nismo brand. “The Nismo brand, we want to make it bigger, yes,” he said. “For me, Nismo is the Z, is the GT-R, is the Patrol, is those performance cars. “Then you say EV [electric vehicle] and Nismo? I have no issue.” Nismo already fields a number of all-electric and electrified models, with the Ariya, Leaf, and Note e-Power all receiving sportier variants over the years in overseas markets. And the changes to the Nismo flagships aren’t just cosmetic either, wi...

The world’s first 4WD performance car was a blend of V8 brutishness and British opulence along with innovation and a very, very cool name. Original story by Tony Davis published in Drive on 29 May, 1998 By the time the Jensen Interceptor appeared in 1966, the practice of cramming large American engines into English sports cars was firmly established. When it came to large pieces of US iron, Jensen – a coach-building firm with a heritage going back to the 1920s – started with a 6.2-litre Chrysler V8 and soon moved up to a 7.2-litre. The Interceptor was handsome, quick (the fastest version touched 225 km/h) and luxuriously appointed. Promoting it from interesting to remarkable was the four-wheel-drive FF version. RELATED: TR7, not a Triumph of engineering Using an innovative centre differential system developed by tractor magnate Harry Ferguson, the Interceptor FF (pictured below) was the world’s first 4WD performance car. It also had Dunlop anti-skid brakes, originally dev...

The Italian car maker – best known for its dominance in rallying throughout the 1980s – is returning to the hot hatch market with the electric Ypsilon HF, with a rally car to follow. Weeks after unveiling the Lancia Ypsilon – the first all-new model from the Italian brand in 13 years – an all-electric high-performance version has been shown to the world. The Ypsilon HF is set to go on sale in Europe in May 2025, using a 54kWh battery to power a 177kW electric motor on the front axle – a powertrain shared with the Abarth 600e and the Alfa Romeo Junior Veloce. The Ypsilon HF – which stands for High Fidelity, and refers to Lancia’s high-performance models – also features lowered suspension and a widened wheel track to improve handling. The company has revealed it is developing two new models – the Lancia Delta and Gamma – both of which will be coming with sportier HF variants. The original Lancia Delta HF was one of the company’s most iconic models, dominating the ...