Fast and throaty equals sexy so if you are in a Golf hello celibacy
Read article79 more Industry articles
Spanning 2026, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013
Top Gear best performers can not keep up with a Morris J
Top Gear magazine rates the Kia Stinger GT S over the Mustang GT, Ford Fiesta ST3 best hot hatch, and Porsche 911 GT3 best sports car.
Read moreAn industry this bad (and big) merits a royal commission
We Australians own 19.5 million cars, which is not bad given there are only 25 million of us.
Read moreSacred sites on road to metal heaven
It's just a little while until Christmas, so you're already thinking about where you can go to avoid the responsibilities of the house, dog, cat, bird, fish and perhaps even the car. First stop has to be Germany — Merkelstadt is metal lovers' heaven.
Read moreToyota 86 and Rav 4 give some long-suffering owners a bad feeling
Hundreds of Toyota 86 owners went to Sydney's White Bay Cruise Terminal to look at each other's cars. One former owner won't be feeling much joy — her new 86 was in and out of the dealer with its engine going into "limp home mode" to prevent stalling.
Read moreHow Toyota and General Motors keep drivers of faulty cars waiting
Renee was driving her 2013 Toyota Rav 4 home from work when two alerts came up on the dash before the engine completely shut down in the middle of a roundabout. Since February, GM has recalled more than 26 million cars for faulty ignition switches.
Read moreThat's quite a marque-up
In London I can buy a new 458 Italia from Harry Owens for under $400,000. In the US the base price is around $250,000. In Perth, put $580,000 on the dealer's desk. Why can't Australians buy cars online from the northern hemisphere?
Read moreBiting questions of style and chicanery
Which society dentist is selling his car collection? What is the greatest coach built Bentley model in existence? Which German luxury car maker is backdating when their new cars are sold to keep up bonuses and cut customers' warranties short?
Read moreDriven by liquid Middle East gold
My fellow Australians — it's time to stand together against the tyranny being wrought by the cyclist Abbott and the farmer Truss. These two have declared war on average road going Australians with their petrol excise hike.
Read moreHolden Caprice: breakdown prompts unanswered questions for GMH
Like many Australians, Chris Ward makes a living from his car. He is a hire car driver and his office is a 2013 Holden Caprice he bought new from a leading dealership in December 2013.
Read moreCarmakers cannot play with lives
In February 1986, six-year-old Joshua was killed when his mother's Audi 5000 suddenly accelerated. More than 1000 owners had complained of sudden acceleration for eight years. Audi and the NHTSA both said the cars were fine. It was the driver's fault.
Read moreFair dinkum foreign affairs
Your post Australia Day dose of the greatest motoring hits of Gondwanaland — from the Post Vintage Car Club of Tasmania display on the lawns of Parliament House in Hobart to Dave Walsh's MONA parking spot marked 'God'.
Read moreForget the specs, sex appeal still used to sell cars
As car lovers, what are our unconscious motivations and fantasies? Peter Marsh tells us "the car is not only a status symbol but often functions as a surrogate womb or as a means of self-expression, escape, romance and thrill." Ford ripped me off on most of these.
Read moreYou irascible rascal, you
The Grumps Guide to 2014: I don't want to drive the Lexus IS 350 F Sport ($81,000 here, $49,000 in the US). I don't want to read car manuals from countries where English is a second language. And I don't want to hear about the Skoda.
Read moreBig change in home away from home
Yes we have seen the future of the Australian car industry and it's a recreational vehicle or, as we used to say at the Easts Beach Holiday Park (Australia's oldest), a caravan. Football, meat pies, kangaroos and Jayco caravans.
Read moreWhy the Red Cross's Beat Richner finds Rolls-Royces offensive
In 1958 David Ogilvy wrote the most famous headline in advertising: "At 60 miles an hour the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." Fifty-six years later, Beat Richner wrote a headline that may become equally famous.
Read moreLotta muscle
Behind the sophisticated veneer of café latte sipping, Ralph Lauren-wearing, Peugeot-driving and Game of Thrones-watching, lies a love that cannot often express its name. Australians love muscle cars. And they love Australian muscle cars even more.
Read moreHold your head up, Camry-man!
Over 35 years former Ford and Chrysler boss Lee Iacocca had three Time Magazine covers — all referencing him as the father of the Mustang and the minivan. The problem is it's not true. The real credit belongs to Hal Sperlich.
Read moreMercedes a better way to spend your airport carparking bucks
Would you prefer to park your car for a week at Sydney or Melbourne airport, or a brand new Mercedes CLA 45 AMG? When you turn up at the airport to leave your car for a week, Virgin, Qantas and the airport owners extract $476 from your pocket.
Read moreSpeed kills, just ask the fun police
Does speed kill? Wheels magazine editor Stephen Corby doesn't think so — he's been running a campaign to raise the speed limit to 130 kmh. The official line from the real police and the fun police has been to accuse him of encouraging genocide.
Read moreLet's call a spade a spade
Don't you wish big companies would stop pretending they really care about customers? Ford is recalling 140,000 Escapes, Jeep 91,000 Grand Cherokees, Honda Odysseys have unexpected braking issues, and Bentley Continental brake rotors may fail in salty conditions.
Read moreDon't get run over by the warranty
Sydney hire-car driver EB took delivery of what he thought was a new Audi Q7. Three years later Audi told him the warranty had run out — because the car had been registered a month before he bought it as a 'demonstrator' he was never told about.
Read moreFord blinks but GM is blinded by self-interest
Here's what I think happened at GM. It's May 23 and GM's top man is sitting in his office in Detroit's Renaissance Centre worrying about the nasty questions he might get asked at next month's AGM when he gets a call from his Asia Pacific heavy.
Read moreHerd mentality
Two depressing thoughts: the green police are winning on emissions standards, and the nerds are winning on internet-controlled cars. Soon we'll all be sitting in silent Toyota Priuses doing nothing but trying to find something to do with our hands.
Read moreWarranty claims? It's all your fault
The Adelaide owner of a BMW 135i Convertible had her fuel pump replaced under warranty. 4000km later it failed again. The dealer told her there is no warranty on parts supplied under warranty. No, you are not hallucinating.
Read moreGet on the road to show big is best
If you are a real road warrior you know the fundamental difference between Australia and other places is our unique collection of big things. Who teaches Australian youth about Paul Kelly — the Rodin of Oz — and his greatest achievement, The Big Lobster?
Read moreCall that a price cut?
Porsche dropped prices in Australia by up to $36,000 but ruled out offering cash rebates to current owners caught out by the price drop. As the UK Labour Party say: "what do you do when the electorate feel betrayed? Betray them again."
Read moreHitting the skids: a few bright spots shine light on the dying days of auto shows
What you're watching at the Washington DC Auto Show are the dying days of the motor show. Frankfurt has gone, Geneva is on the way out, and New York has been cancelled for two years in a row. It's like being in a dealer showroom with even less atmosphere.
Read moreCaffeine capers a real hit with the Johnny-come-lattes
I now have definite, scientific evidence that the world has gone completely mad.
Read moreClicks, tricks and how to drive a bumper holiday season
"So," said the boss, "if you want to be here next year you've got to get more clicks." That's when I made my first mistake. "What are clicks?"
Read moreBurning issue of car fire problem BMWs not telling Aussies
This BMW X5 four-wheel-drive engaged in a spot of spontaneous combustion at Parramatta.
Read moreMotor industry crisis solved: governments should buy kids cars
NOW that the federal government has decided to invest $100 million in the Australian car manufacturing industry it chased out of town about a minute ago, I think it's time it went a bit more radical.
Read moreThose with money to burn can be flash
At long last carmakers are giving us more. A friend's new Chrysler 300 caught fire on the Tullamarine freeway. A Swiss petrol head's Porsche GT3 burst into flames on the A1 at 315km/h. Carmakers are literally giving us more heat.
Read moreCareful with that Aston, bro
A road trip from Taumarunui to Wanganui in New Zealand — 160km of the best corners on any road anywhere, great scenery and not many police. The objective was to stay as close to the speed limit as possible. We failed.
Read moreAnd you thought the golden age of Australian utes were over
Pick ups are saving the US auto industry. In Australia we invented the pick up but we called it the ute. Ford was the first company to produce a ute in 1932 after an Aussie farmer's wife wrote asking for a vehicle to go to church in on Sunday and carry pigs to market on Monday.
Read moreMazda clearly didn't get the Team Oz email about protecting our ICU heroes
Lauren is a senior ICU nurse who has to drive 70km to hospital. Mazda won't reimburse her for a car that's failed six times since a new engine was fitted.
Read moreShocking self-locking cars put our kids at risk on hot days
A baby locked in a self-locking Holden Captiva on a 30-degree day — and GM's response was corporate mumbo jumbo.
Read moreSupercheap: Ghosn sues over Nissan nastiness
Is there Toolapalooza time at our favourite shop, named after the expression other rally drivers use to describe the old bloke and me, Total Tools? I don't know. TT didn't send me the email. Will TT knock $400 off the p
Read moreAustralian refineries reap record profits while taxpayers fund fuel relief.
Billions in taxpayer relief, record refinery margins – and not a cent coming back. I bet you feel good that 95 octane has sunk from somewhere north of $2.
Read moreHow Mary Barra and General Motors treated drivers with contempt
Mary Barra earns $33m a year — 634 times what an average Holden worker takes home. Here's the full story of GM's ignition switch scandal.
Read moreChanging times for drivers as Supra gets WART's big tick
<p>Shocking news readers. And it's two days before Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Return of the Wandering Goddess or, if you're an atheist, nothing at all.</p>
Read moreBust-up didn't stop Bob Bondurant, the toughest 84-year-old
<p>But meeting rattlesnakes, coyotes and javelinas at 200km/h down the back straight of a racetrack does make you question your commitment to species diversity.</p>
Read moreThe Singing Dingo is no longer with us, but Rubber Ducky lives on
<p>With the finish of the 3800km Shitbox Rally in Cairns yesterday there are many big questions to be answered.</p>
Read moreBattle for world's ugliest car: Fiat Multipla, take a bow
<p>There have been a lot of big events in Adelaide's history since Bluff Jack Hindmarsh turned up in 1836 and kicked the Kaurna people off their land.</p>
Read more$450k for loose screws? Companies suffer total recall
Bah humbug, I've been ordered to write about Christmas presents. I don't even know if we are allowed to say Christmas any more so if you only see Happy here I've been censored.
Read moreCar buyers, let's sort the good from the duds and turkeys
Thinking of buying a new car? Every year here at The Weekend Australian we try to give you a few hints to avoid being completely done over.
Read moreBuying and selling cars is easy, even for wood ducks
Last week I stupidly offered to send out a copy of our 2005 column on buying a new car. Surprisingly, this week I found I have more than two readers. Today, here is an updated column guaranteed to save you at least $5000 off the price of your next new or used car.
Read moreSurgeons wide of the mark on NT unrestricted speed zones
Look, all of us know surgeons do a great job. But what you probably don't know is they are rabid publicity hounds. Their PR machine pumps out more releases a week than Sportsbet.
Read moreHow Volkswagen took buyers for a $20bn ride
A few days ago Volkswagen agreed to pay US owners of some of its cars $20 billion. With $20bn, you could buy most of the island nations of the Pacific and the Caribbean.
Read moreNothing really changes on Pacific Highway after 86 years
You really didn't think anything would change after last Saturday, did you? We all voted for no one and that's who got in despite the major parties once again promising to spend trillions of dollars on new roads.
Read moreCar imports: ACCC's Rod Sims creates pursed lips over 'lemons'
Good old Simsy, the motorist's new friend. As you know Roddy Sims is boss of the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission. He took to this great paper last week to sing the praises of his car import scheme that kicks off in 2018.
Read more7 Series: BMW pulling our (timing) chains
Now I know you are expecting the on-the-spot reports from the Grand Prix de Monaco Historique and the Boite de Merde Ralley Mackay. Unfortunately, we have had to carry those over to next week because there are some car companies we need to put in the naughty corner.
Read moreHertz, Europcar in ACCC sights; VW and Takata show dodgy way
Try this quick quiz: you run your own car rental business and decide you can increase profits by lying to customers, telling them they have damaged the vehicles they have rented and then charging them to fix them.
Read moreWhish-Wilson committee: taxing times ahead for drivers
Hold on to your wallets and purses. Get your savings out of the bank and hide the cash under the bed. They're after us again. Australian motorists pay $1 billion in traffic and parking fines a year.
Read moreRed-light cameras: US officials caught in Redflex legal spotlight
About 14 years ago the good folks running Chicago had a great idea. "Let's get on to the red-light camera caper," they said. "We can pretend we're doing good while raising a shedload of money."
Read morePetrol pirates hide the small print for hurried drivers
The petrol pirates' propaganda people have been at it again. Despite all the evidence they and their allies in the motoring organisations are still trying to argue those of us in driving land are wrong and fuel prices are all kosher.
Read moreVictoria crowned Australia’s car theft capital as gangs target LandCruisers with new tech
Australia’s car theft boom has turned professional and your driveway is now the showroom. You’d think forking out six figures on a new car might buy you some peace of mind.
Read moreBring home the Bacon and ham it up with some bargain Porkers
As you know the prices of prawns go up the closer it gets to Xmas. Classic cars are the same. Plus the safest cars in Australia.
Read moreWith great power comes great responsibility
As you well know, heroes emerge from the most unlikely places, at the most expected times.
Read moreWhat not to drive in 2020
We use unreliability and its sister, reliability, to judge the best and worst. All cars are an emotional purchase — or we'd all be driving manual Kia Picantos.
Read moreHolden was a brand that even had a say in our sex lives
The end of 164 years of Australian history came in an announcement from Detroit. But Holden was always more than a car.
Read moreAbout John Connolly Cars
The overflow section of the Weekend Australian motoring column with the latest car news, photos and travel reviews.
Read moreLotus quick to jump to defence but slow to resolve issues
Adelaide's Graham Fraenkel decided to make a major change in his life last year.
Read morePorsche celebrates 90 years on top Down Under
Cue the music to Patty and Mildred Hill's best-selling hit and let's all sing along: Happy birthday dear Porker. Yes, it's 90 years since Ferdy Porker, Anton Piech and Adolf Rosenberger set up business and it's 70 years since Norm Hamilton brought the first two Porkers to Australia.
Read moreLexus a dream on the boredom highway to the Dog on the Tuckerbox
Isn't life full of surprises? Instead of road tests along the Big Sur highway, we drive a Lexus NX the 922km from Sydney to Wagga Wagga and back. The Hume Highway is the most boring piece of road in the known world — but the Lexus is a dream to drive.
Read moreAyrton Senna the go for a gift, or maybe a custom weather vane
Christmas gift guide: Ayrton Senna biography, Jaguar E-Type weather vane, and James Bond drinking habits studied by University of Otago.
Read moreSsangYong ding dong rumbles on even if the ute doesn't
The Dong-A Motor Company was formed from two companies, the Ha Dong-hwan Motor Workshop (established in 1954) and Dongbang Motor Co (established in 1962). Thankfully in 1986 they changed their name to SsangYong – or in Australian, Double Dragon.
Read moreChariots of fire: take Rocket Rod's advice and don't go out in a blaze of glory
Rocket Rod Sims, the petrol head's friend from the ACCC, tells me if you have a 2015 to 2021 Hyundai Tucson there is a risk of an engine compartment fire, even when the vehicle is turned off. A guide to cars that might catch fire.
Read moreWithout a quick refund, the carmakers have you on toast
The Kambrook 2 Slice Wide Slot Toaster is the Kia Picanto GT-Line Manual of toasters.
Read moreThe wheels are falling off for this week's lucky losers
You've woken up this morning thinking, "There's not enough bad news around, where can I go to read more?"
Read moreMazda sticks to the script as cranky owners queue up for some compensation
Gordon from Queensland has a problem with his 2019 Mazda CX-5 Diesel. The ACCC says they only deal with "broad national issues." Sound familiar?
Read moreThinking of buying an EV? Why a hybrid is the smarter choice for most Australians.
Last week we told you about the collapse of TrueEV, the Australian distributor for Chinese EV brand XPeng. That was a warning shot for Australian motorists being marched towards the electric future by people who never seem to mention the dull but important bits, like servicing, parts, warranty support and whether the local outfit behind the shiny badge might still exist by the time your touchscreen starts having a breakdown.
Read moreThose on the public purse are failing to look after the public's interests
Unlike most pollies who stuff around with the car industry, Minister for Industry, Science and Technology Karen Andrews actually knows a fair bit about mechanical engineering.
Read moreTotal recall control: car suppliers decide whether your fire bomb needs fixing
No one in the whole Australian government or among the 264,389 federal public servants are responsible for getting dud cars off the road and getting their owners compensated. In 2016 recalling was outsourced to the private sector — to the motor vehicle suppliers themselves.
Read moreMazda keeps stalling over defective vehicles
ACCC boss Rocket Rod Sims has zoomed back as the champion of the 1.5 million Australians who buy a new car every year.
Read moreBridgestone the crows: blowout of 'new' tyre proves far from 'superior quality'
Bridgestone is the world's largest tyre and rubber group. It sells $40bn worth of round rubber every year in 150 countries. Mimili Anangu School is one of the world's smallest and most remote schools. One of those staff is 22-year-old Caitlin Young, who bought a new tyre that blew out.
Read moreHere's to a turbocharged Mother's Day and a nod to Kim
Where has Kim Jong-un been for the past 20 days? And what's the perfect Mother's Day gift for the petrolhead in your life?
Read moreOh what a feeling: Toyota and its Japanese rivals fiddled data
Five lads so badly dressed they had to be either plain clothes coppers or public servants, raided the Toyota Global HQ. Toyota, Mazda, Honda, Suzuki and Yamaha fiddled with their cars to pass Japanese certification standards.
Read moreCar makers land in the naughty corner
Let's call out this week's car makers who are going straight to the naughty corner. Out you come Audi. First up, Audi New Zealand has just apologised to 140 customers who it sold Q3 SUVs with the wrong engine. Then form
Read moreAfter all the politics and pestilence, a vision of perfection
Australia is in a mess — but out of great turmoil leaders emerge. The Sultan of Stepney has the answer.
Read more80 articles in Industry
Browse full archive