A hail of sales is underway in Melbourne following the recent storm damage.
Hundreds of hail damaged cars, both from the private and retail market, are expected to hit forecourts and auctions in the next month as insurers clear the imperfect vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz Melbourne dealer principal Craig Howard told the Age he would likely hold a hail-damaged [...]

Hybrids have fallen out of favour with buyers.
While buyers put fuel economy at the top of their priorities in the latest Roy Morgan automotive research, consideration of a hybrid has dropped to rank outside the top 10 of customer attitudes.
“Hybrid consideration has actually dropped,” according to Roy Morgan account service director, Ben Pilkington. Of the [...]

Following news that it has been developing a replacement for the iconic Crown Victoria police cruiser, Ford in the US has today revealed the new 2012 Ford Police Interceptor.
Early reports had suggested that Ford, like GM with the Holden Statesman, had earmarked the proven Australian Ford Falcon as a strong contender for the job. However, [...]

Following news last month that Tesla Motors would discontinue the current generation Roadster next year, an announcement this week has confirmed that the sporty electric convertible will live on into 2012.
Of more importance to local enviro-conscious buyers however is news that Tesla is set to follow its recent UK launch with an attack on the [...]

The Queensland Government has released a discussion paper outlining plans to reduce the state’s blood alcohol limit for drivers from 0.05 to 0.02 per cent.
The new limit would bring Queensland in line with Sweden and Norway, which record the lowest road toll figures in the world.
Queensland Premier Anna Bligh says she believes the reduced limit [...]

Multinational car dealer Inchcape has again noted Australia as a positive factor when it posted a smaller-than-expected fall in 2009 profit, helped by cost cutting and market share gains, but said it did not see a recovery in its markets until late this year.
The British firm, which sells and distributes cars for manufacturers including BMW, [...]

New child-restraint laws are being enacted across Australia right now, placing a hefty burden of additional responsibility on parents. Babies up to six months must ride in rear-facing baby capsules, while children from six months to four years must be secured in an approved child restraint, and from four years to seven kids must ride [...]

Although Mazda hasn’t yet experienced any of the unintended acceleration complaints recently experienced at Toyota, the manufacturer has today announced that it will install a brake override system on all future models as a precautionary step.
Toyota recently announced it will install the system on all its models from 2011 onward following two recent safety recalls [...]

Sales to private buyers have helped boost vehicle sales as the market continues to quickly shrug off a forgettable 2009.
Official VFACTS data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows that 82,219 passenger cars, SUVs and commercial vehicles were sold in February, up 17.1% (or 11,978 vehicles) on the same month in 2009.
“This [...]

Filling the gap between the A3 and the upcoming A1, speculation that the German carmaker is developing a next generation A2 hatch has begun to grow.
Speaking with the UK’s Autocar magazine recently, Audi boss Rupert Stadler acknowledged the possibility of a new model to sit between the two small Audis.
“As we gave the A1 that [...]