David Linklater

In pursuit of greatness - FPV Super Pursuit

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 14:37:03 -0800

In the murky world of bragging-rights history and automotive genre-crossing, Ford Australia claims to have invented the ute back in 1934. It arose from a customer request to combine the comfort of a coupe (for church on Sundays) with true utility (to cart the pigs on Monday).

A 22-year-old named Lewis Bandt - then, Ford's one and only designer - executed the request and the modern ute was born. ...

Peugeot 308 goes extreme-economy

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:13:30 -0800

Guess which car company has the lowest average CO2 output across its range. Honda, right? They're always banging on about being top of the automotive eco-tree. Wrong. Suzuki? After all, they seem to sell nothing but tiny little hatchbacks. But no, it's not them either.

It's Peugeot. With an average CO2 output of 170. ...

Sir, your $195k Commodore is ready

Tue, 19 Aug 2008 10:14:55 -0800

Guess what, New Zealand? You will have the chance to own Australia's first supercar, the HSV 427. This 7.0-litre V8 monster is an ultra-exclusive muscle car that makes 375kW/640Nm and will rocket to 100km/h in 4.7 seconds.

Just 427 are being made in total, so the W427 (the name comes from the engine size in cubic inches) is a guaranteed collector car. A mere seven are earmarked for New Zealand.

So you could definitely buy one. Or maybe you just buy a 6. ...

Ford Ka for Bond movie

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 14:26:38 -0800

Aston Martin gets all the glory, but humble Ford has also done pretty well product-placement-wise out of the James Bond movie franchise. In Casino Royale, for example, the latest Mondeo had a brief but prominent cameo and was the first vehicle of any kind to be driven by then-new Bond actor Daniel Craig.

It all went together nicely of course, since Aston Martin was owned by Ford; it's not any more, of couse, having been sold to British firm Prodrive. ...

Road test: Ford Falcon G6E

Fri, 15 Aug 2008 13:55:09 -0800

I'm not sure Ford has done itself too many favours by renaming half of the Falcon range. I can understand the need to differentiate the latest FG-series from the range before it - the Falcon is basically an update, whereas Holden's rival VE Commodore is all-new, so there's obviously a need to elevate the Falcon somewhat in a marketing/image sense.

The entry XT and ever-popular XR badges continue. ...

Road test: Ford Focus 1.6

Fri, 08 Aug 2008 13:00:46 -0800

Less isn't always more in the car world; but it can be quite appealing. As I write this I'm driving a Ford Focus 1.6-litre. It's the entry level, cheap-as-chips job: $26,190 to you, five-speed manual gearbox, steel wheels with plastic wheeltrims.

I'm having a ball in it. Devoid of luxury equipment and leery styling add-ons, you get to really focus on what a car is all about. ...

It's No Game: New Golf Revealed

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:21:53 -0800

It's like they've invented a whole new kind of bread and butter: Volkswagen has revealed the sixth-generation version of its mainstay model, the iconic Golf hatchback.

Golf is Europe's most successful-ever model name, with over 26 million sold. So a new one is a pretty big deal.

Sportier styling has been one priority, with Golf VI picking up some cues from the Scirocco coupe. ...

Aston's Carbon Credit Supercar

Tue, 05 Aug 2008 12:17:31 -0800

Sorry about the lateness of my Yahoo!Xtra Motoring entry today. But I have an excellent excuse - I've spent the morning driving the Aston Martin DBS, the latest super-coupe from the iconic British maker.

If, like me, you've been a bit confused about which Aston is what - understandable, since they all look very similar - here's the short version on where the DBS fits in. ...

Back To AMG-Black

Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:09:12 -0800

Excuse me for quoting myself, but when I wrote about the wet weekend I spent in Mercedes-Benz's super-CLK coupe, the 378kW, rear-drive race-ready 63 AMG Black Series, I ended by saying: "I need some more. And a nice day".

Through circumstances, good luck and sheer cheek (I won't elaborate), I actually got one of those things last week: another go in the CLK Black. What I didn't get what the good weather. ...

Road test: Audi RS6

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 06:39:56 -0800

When people ask me what the "best" car I've driven lately is, I'm fond of evading the question by saying that different cars are good for different things. So meet the Best Car For Escaping a Storm In: the Audi RS6 Avant.

While the rest of Auckland's motorists trembled in howling rain and 120km/h winds last weekend, I was safe in the knowledge that my car could rocket to the open-road speed limit in just 4.6 seconds regardless of the rain, thanks to a twin-turbo 5. ...