Hervey Bay Gossip

Sales of new cars are up 2.6% in January according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Falling car prices and increases in wages have helped to boost sales despite an increase in petrol prices.

However, the type of vehicle Australians are now buying has changed. Sales of 4×4s have declined while sales of small cars have boomed. The trend towards smaller cars does not look good for Mitsubishi as sales on their new 380 sedan remain flat.

It may have been significant that here in Hervey Bay last weekend the local Mitsubishi dealer was offering a 380 sedan at a discount price along with many other vehicles in the Mitsubishi range.

For more on the drop in 4×4 sales read ‘Is Subaru Killing the Romance’ over at Aussie Motoring

Ford Australia has released three new treats at the Melbourne Motor Show.

Topping the list is the Ford Territory Turbo and Territory Ghia Turbo

The other releases include a pocket rocket - the Ford Focus XR5 Turbo - and the new Ford Escape.

You can read more about them at Aussie Motoring

In case you’re not aware the team that bring you this low quality cyber publication also produce Aussiemotoring.com so we do tend to look a little more closely at the local motoring industry than you might expect.

So you might understand why we’re finding some parts of the local motoring industry just a little puzzling at the moment.

Several weeks ago Nissan released their latest completely new vehicle, the Nissan Tiida, and we wanted our very own photo of the new car to run on Aussie Motoring. Of course, we had run photos from Nissan on Aussie Motoring but wanted something different. So early one morning we wandered down to the local Nissan dealer expecting to see some hoopla about the new car.

There was nothing, not a sign in the window, not a balloon, not a streamer and we couldn’t even find one of the new models on the lot.

This week Hyundai released their new Grandeur, they have even been advertising it extensively on television. As rather contented owners of the original Grandeur we decided that we might light to test-drive the new model so we rang the local dealer.

‘Oh no’ we were told, ‘That’s not out yet.’

‘But it’s been released this week’ we protested.

‘Oh no we probably won’t have one for about 6 weeks’

It tends to make you wonder if some car dealers really are interested in selling cars.

Redback spiders are not uncommon here in Hervey Bay but this is one Redback Spyder you won’t see here just yet.

Meet a 320 km/h example of Australian design and workmanship.

Follow the link to read more about Australia’s very own Redback Spyder

Small cars are always popular with young people who are just entering the market for a new car and also with older people who are perhaps more budget concious. That means that there are plenty of people here in Hervey Bay who are interested in what’s available in the small car market.

For both groups anything carrying the Holden brand is going to worth considering and Holden’s ever popular Barina has just undergone some substantial changes but does Holden still have a good product?

February 1 is the official release date for the Nissan Tiida the car set to replace the Nissan Pulsar. For a sneak peak at the new car and a link that will take you to the first online road test for the Tiida check out the first Tiida review

The Kia Cerato has received the “Most Delightful Vehicle of 2005″ award in the small car division from Strategic Vision, a US company that has been running the awards since 1996.

Strategic Vision measures the experience of approximately 90,000 new vehicle owners annually. According to Strategic Vision, the results give the industry actionable information about multiple issues, including building better vehicles, communicating more effectively, increasing sales opportunity, creating strong brand image, creating loyalty, and assessing success and failure of strategy.

Nissan are poised to release their latest new car on February 1. The Tiida will replace the Pulsar and promises to bring a new level of comfort and technology to the class.

Buying a small car is often thought of as something reserved for young people.

But these days, as the price of fuel continues to climb, more and more older people are looking at small cars as an alternative to a gas guzzling V6.

If you’re thinking of replacing your current vehicle with something smaller then these figures from Aussie Motoring might interest you. But as Buying a Small Car on Price Alone points out, you get what you pay for and the cheapest car on that list may not necessarily be the best car in the small car class.

Ford Fiesta $13,990

Holden Barina (a rebadged Daewoo Kalos) $12,990

Hyunda Getz $13,990

Kia Rio $14990

Toyota Yaris $14,990

The Hervey Bay Regional Gallery wants to hear from Fraser Coast motoring buffs who have photographs they would like to display and stories they would like to tell.

The Gallery is inviting local people to submit photographs and stories about the best or most unusual vehicle they have owned in their driving lives.

The photographs will be displayed from Australia Day through to February 18.

For further details you can contact the Gallery on 4197 4210

It won’t be released until the third quarter of this year so it’s probably too early to rush down to Jack Casey Motors to book a test drive but you can take a sneak preview of the Toyota Camry for 2006 at Aussie Motoring.

It’s a very nice looking motor vehicle.