Mercedes CLA-Class pricing, specs
Mercedes has announced pricing and specifications for the new CLA-Class, the world’s most aerodynamic production vehicle.
Confidence rebounds – ‘a good time to buy’
The weekly Roy Morgan consumer confidence rating has rebounded (after three consecutive falls) to 114.7 (up 1.9pts in the two weeks since June 22/23, 2013), following the return of prime minister Rudd.Confidence is now slightly lower (0.4pts) than a month ago (June 8/9, 2013 – 115.1) although 2.9pts higher than at the same time a year ago when it was 111.8 (July 7/8, 2012).The week’s rise has been driven mainly by increasing confidence about Australia’s economic conditions over the next year and the longer term, and is seen as a positive indicator for the car sales industry.
Sydney’s biggest car show brings classics to auction
Two famous Australian Group C Touring Cars are primed to take pole position at Shannons Sydney Custom & Collectable Auction at Meguiar’s MotorEx on Sunday, July 21.
Man avoids jail after dealership theft
A man has been handed a suspended prison sentence after admitting to being a part of an "unsophisticated" car-stealing ring that took five vehicles from a John Hughes dealership.Garth Donovan Dickson, 30, appeared via video link from Hakea Prison in the Perth Magistrates Court yesterday afternoon, where he pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing methamphetamine, stealing and five charges of stealing a motor vehicle.The court was told Dickson was one of five who stole the cars and a car trailer from a John Hughes dealership for their own personal use.
$240,000 payout for deceiving customers
Former Tasmanian Europcar franchisee, BAJV Pty Ltd (BAJV) has been ordered by the federal court to pay a $200,000 civil pecuniary penalty for deliberately overcharging customers for hire vehicle repair costs and failing to refund overcharged customers.The court also ordered BAJV director Brendon Ayers to pay a $40,000 civil pecuniary penalty for being knowingly concerned in the conduct.BAJV and Ayers engaged in unconscionable conduct and made false or misleading representations in relation to charging customers for hire vehicle damage based on inflated estimated repair costs and failing to refund customers the overcharged amount once repairs had been completed, despite being aware of the actual lower cost of the repairs.
More choices for car owners
The Victorian coalition government has welcomed commonwealth moves to give independent mechanics and car repairers greater access to vehicle repair information from manufacturers.Meeting with her national and interstate counterparts in Sydney today at the Consumer Affairs Forum, minister for consumer affairs Heidi Victoria says this would address concerns that independent repairers do not have the same level of access to vehicle information as dealer authorised repairers.“It is excellent to see new measures to increase competition in the car repair market, by creating a process which removes restrictions to independent repairers accessing information from manufacturers,” says Victoria.
Subaru BRZ sports pack on sale
Subaru has launched a distinctive sports pack for the BRZ, available for purchase online by new buyers and via the authorised dealer network for existing owners of the sports car.Valued at $7195 including fitment for the automatic transmission BRZ and $7995 including fitment for the manual BRZ, the factory-backed pack changes the car’s name to BRZ S.
Victoria ditches rego labels
Victoria will abolish registration labels for light vehicles, including passenger cars, from next January, removing a costly and inconvenient task for drivers and the business community.Premier Denis Napthine announced, along with minister for roads Terry Mulder, that scrapping the traditional stickers would save $19.5 million a year, as part of the Victorian coalition government’s commitment to reducing the red tape burden on Victorians.“Registration labels were first introduced in the 1920’s.
Vehicle thefts down
The start of 2013 saw a drop in both short term and profit motivated thefts.Numbers of short term thefts across all vehicle categories dropped during the March quarter.This is encouraging, given that this time last year the trend stalled after a decade of decreasing thefts.