Toyota and Ford are counting down sales in the race to become market leader for 2000. Ford sold about 250 more vehicles than Toyota in October, provisionally the best month of the year with 7000-plus sales. Holden sold more than 900 Commodores to be the top-selling passenger model. Commodore sales so far this year are more than 30 per cent up on last year's. Best European was Volkswagen, with about 130 sales. The official Land Transport Safety Authority sales figures for October will be available next week.
In days gone by
A Herald staffer recalls the day in the 1960s when he was on L-plates and lost his driving licence for careless driving. His offence? Pulling out from the kerb without indicating. Happens every day now.
They were warned
More on the flood-damaged used cars from Japan. David Lynn, CEO of the Independent Motor Vehicle Dealers Association, says his 400 members were warned a month ago to be wary of soggy used imports. Licensed dealers have been flooded with offers of water-damaged vehicles from illegal traders posing as private sellers. An 0800 383 332 hotline established by the IMVDA last month has brought in hundreds of complaints from car buyers. Auckland is the worst for complaints, followed by Christchurch, Wellington, Gisborne, Hastings and Palmerston North.
What takeover?
Word on the street had it that the Ford-owned Premier Automotive Group was about to take over the Jaguar and Volvo franchises in New Zealand from industry bigwig Colin Giltrap. But Peter Lockie, chief of PAG, says the rumour is rubbish. Jaguar, Volvo, Aston Martin, Lincoln and Range Rover are owned by Ford. It set up PAG under the direction of former BMW board member Wolfgang Reizle to handle the luxury models.
It's a gas
Ferrari's 550m Maranello supercar is officially America's worst gas-guzzler, consuming 4.5 litres every 12.9km - or 35 litres for every 100km. That was eight miles to the gallon. The best fuel-scrooge in America is the Honda petrol/electric Insight, which swallows just over 4 litres for every 100km. Do the maths at today's petrol prices and every 100km would cost a Maranello owner $42. Every 100km would cost an Insight owner $5.45. But the Maranello is sexier.
Cracker coupe
The new Subaru WRX Impreza is a cracker. It isn't as explosive as the old model but it is a much better package to drive - more refined and stronger, with one of the best chassis in the business. The WRX's engineering makes Subaru's development of an all-wheel-drive successor to the SVX coupe all the more interesting. New Subaru partner General Motors pushed the venture. The coupe will be powered by a 3.3-litre version of the 3.0-litre flat-six engine used in the Outback H6, to be released in New Zealand at the end of this month.
Honda cruises it
The Toyota Land Cruiser is the four-wheel-drive Australians want the most - or they did until the price of fuel went through the roof. Now they all seem to want the Honda CR-V. The town-and-around Honda is on target to be the bestselling four-wheel-drive in Australia this year. At the end of September, 9486 CR-Vs had been sold, compared with 8139 Land Cruisers. In August, the CR-V set a monthly record for an off-roader, with 2108 sales. The news isn't all bad for Toyota - it still sells four out of every 10 four-wheel-drives sold across the Tasman.
We are the world
* An auction of classic Ferraris in Switzerland this month includes a rare sports-racer - a 1963 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta Competizione. It is expected to fetch a world record $24 million, says the auctioneer Bonhams and Brooks. The car won a number of races, including the GT category in the 1963 Le Mans 24-hour race, where it finished second overall. The record auction price, set in 1987, is $19.5 million for Bugatti Royale.
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