The 1.6-litre Honda Civic is back on the New Zealand market. Honda is importing Japanese-built four-door sedans with dual airbags and air-conditioning as standard. Cost is $23,000 for the five-speed manual and $24,000 for the four-speed automatic. The Civic hatchback especially was a huge success in New Zealand over many years but it was replaced a couple of years ago by the town-and-around HR-V. The HR-V has been a slow seller, shall we say.
Gear leverage
Drivers have a lot more to play with in their cars these days, things like mobile phones, compact disc changers, cup holders. That is why they prefer automatics - they would rather change CDs than gears. At least that's what the industry is saying as it gets to grips with the declining demand for manual cars. In the United States, demand has fallen from just on 20 per cent in 1995 to 12.2 per cent in 1999. Demand in Asia has dropped 5 per cent and in Europe 4 per cent. Expect the slide to continue as the increasing popularity of automatics reduces unit production costs. General Motors wants five-speed autos to be standard by 2002 and Ford says it will be building six-speed autos by 2006. Fiat already has a seven-speed Punto. (See main story).
Ford Up over
Australian-built Ford Falcons and Fairlanes will soon go on sale in Britain, imported by a private company. Also on shopping lists will be the high-performance XR6 and XR8 models and the Tickford-tuned T50. The price of the Falcons - and here's the crunch - starts at about sterling 28,000, or $90,000 in our money. Some Holden Commodore models will also be available.
Tiny 'toon-up
Mitsubishi in Japan is using a cartoon character to attract young women buyers to its small Pajero. It calls the four-wheel-drive model the "Snoopy Edition," after the larrikin beagle in the late Charles Schultz's Peanuts series.
Distributor sparks
Inchcape, the world's biggest independent car distributor, responsible for Subaru and Peugeot in New Zealand, says there is no truth in the rumour that it is going to get out of cars. Its London office fired off a fax to the Good Oil after last Saturday's item that said the company was looking to shed its franchises by 2003.
"To suggest that is, frankly, a nonsense. On the contrary, we are committed to further developing our automotive business and are seeking to introduce a broader range of automotive services in many of our international markets. New Zealand and Australia are important markets for Inchcape and offer good opportunities for growth. We have recently invested sterling 10 million ($NZ32 million) in expanding retail operations in Australia and the region remains very much part of our future investment plans."
It is common knowledge that Inchcape has been restructuring, getting rid of its non-automotive interests - like a soft-drink bottling plant in Europe - to focus on cars. But sources here and overseas continue to say that in the restructuring, some of its existing vehicle franchises will indeed be sold off. Inchcape, listed on the London Stock Exchange, recently bought into the American Internet company Auto Buy Tell to aid its British and European operations.
We are the world
* A bumper sticker in the United States invites motorists to dob in teenagers who misbehave on the road. It reads "How's my driving? Call my MOM! 1-877-MOM-CALL." The freecall number is a hit with parents. Teenagers reckon it sucks.
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