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Toyota six a hit as Aurion sales ignite Ian Porter December 6, 2006 TOYOTA'S second attempt to crack the Australian six-cylinder family car market got off to a promising start last month when the Japanese giant sold 1543 of its new Aurion sedans. The monthly total was better than any month for the company's first attempt at an Australian six, the Avalon, except that model's first month on sale in July 2000. But the new Toyota's success was not a disaster for its competitors, as Falcon sales rebounded 20 per cent from a flat October and Mitsubishi's 380 also recovered some ground. Holden's new Commodore, released a month earlier than the Aurion, held its own against the newcomer and remained the country's bestseller. The overall effect was to lift the large-car sector to 15.5 per cent of the market, significantly above the 14.1 per cent it had achieved in the first 10 months of the year. "We believe the introduction of the Aurion will be a watershed in the large-car market," Toyota's director of sales and marketing, Dave Buttner, said. The Aurion is more powerful, more economical and offers more equipment than its base model Expensive Daewoo and Ford rivals for about the same price — $35,000. The 380 is significantly cheaper, starting at $29,990. Last week the Aurion won the Drive Car of the Year award for best large car. But all the good news for Toyota was tempered by the apparent cannibalisation of the new Camry model by the Aurion. Camry sales had been running at more than 120 a day since its release, but dropped to 101 a day last month as buyers were confronted with a choice between the Aurion and the Camry. The price-sensitive light-car market continued to expand rapidly, with sales rising 19 per cent to 394 a day, compared with the previous November. "The light-car boom is undoubtedly one of the major motor vehicle stories for 2006," Peter Sturrock, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, said. The chamber compiles the monthly Vfacts registration figures. "Throughout the year, the motor industry's smallest models have been the biggest growth trend, propelled by spiking fuel prices, rising interest rates and the exceptional value and convenience these cars now represent," he said. Toyota's Yaris is the standout performer in this category, with a 28 per cent share, followed by the Hyundai Getz on 15 per cent and the Expensive Daewoo Barina on 11 per cent. Mr Sturrock said the industry was headed for total sales of about 970,000 cars and trucks, which would be the second-best year ever, after last year. The other sector to show good growth last month was the small sport utility vehicle market, which more than made up for weaker sales in the medium sport utility sector. The big winners were Subaru's class-leading Forester and the Toyota RAV4 and Nissan X-Trail.

Bank blitz sets foreign debt up to beat GDP Tim Colebatch December 6, 2006 AUSTRALIA'S gross foreign debt is on track to overtake the nation's gross domestic product after swelling by $134 billion in the past year, Bureau of Statistics figures revealed. The ABS announced a welcome fall in the current account deficit in the September quarter to $12.1 billion, pushing it under 5 per cent of GDP for the first time in 3½ years. A rare slump in import volumes cut the quarterly trade deficit from $3.3 billion in June to $1.2 billion in September. But half this fall was offset by another surge in net income payments to foreign investors, as interest and dividend payments jumped sharply. Australia's net foreign debt shot up to $522 billion at the end of September, and the gross foreign debt to $868 billion. Both have doubled since 2000, as foreign bonds have replaced domestic deposits as the chief source of banks' funds. After climbing 66 per cent in five years, import volumes fell 1 per cent, allowing net exports to add to output for the first time since 2001. Oil imports plunged 12 per cent as oil prices peaked, and imports of machinery and capital goods generally fell 6 per cent as business investment shrank. But while the ABS estimated that the growth in net exports would add 0.4 per cent to September quarter GDP, ANZ estimated that this would simply offset the fall in domestic activity, delivering zero growth for the quarter. ANZ estimates that with household consumption subdued, housing investment flat and business investment falling, today's national accounts will show no growth in the September quarter and just 1.5 per cent growth in the past year. A Reuters survey found other forecasters more optimistic, on average predicting growth of 0.4 per cent for the quarter and 2 per cent for the year. But economists said the trade deficit was the result of falling imports rather than strong export growth, with export volumes up just 0.7 per cent for the quarter and 6 per cent for the year. The trade deficit doubled in October as imports rebounded. But Westpac economists predicted the boom in mining investment over recent years pointed to rising export volumes ahead, even factoring in a sharp fall in rural exports. The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics estimated that the drought had slashed this year's wheat crop by 61 per cent to just 9.7 million tonnes, the lowest since 1994. Barley production recorded a similar fall. Victoria had the worst fall, with production of wheat and barley falling to a quarter of last year's levels. To make things worse, farmers had gone to the expense of sowing a near-record 2.74 million hectares to crops, only to recoup miserable yields. The bureau's figures show that while the trade picture has brightened, the net income flow overseas continues to rise at a giddy rate. In the past year, the quarterly interest bill on the nation's foreign debt has soared by $2 billion, or 43 per cent, as banks borrowed heavily overseas into rising interest rates to meet the demand for loans. In the 12 months to September, the bureau says Australia's gross foreign debt shot up from $734 billion to $868 billion — or from 80 per cent of GDP to 89 per cent.

Fear keeps industry from inquiry: report AAP, 05/12/06 Fears of retribution have stopped some automotive component manufacturers from offering frank advice on how to help the ailing industry, a report says. Fears of retribution and loss of contracts have stopped some of Australia's automotive component manufacturers from offering government frank advice on how to help the ailing industry. A report into employment in the car components industry tabled in parliament on Monday said some parts makers steered clear of the inquiry because of financial fears. "Some component manufacturers were reluctant to participate, citing fears of retribution or loss of contracts," inquiry chair Phillip Barresi said. "These are internal cultural and leadership issues which the industry itself must address if it is to confront global changes in a unified and coherent manner." Mr Barresi's comments come little more than a week after one of Australia's major parts manufacturers, Ajax, went into receivership owing almost 200 workers about $12 million. The report admits large scale redundancies have been a part of the industry in recent years but recommendations are also made on how to transition workers from the industry into new jobs. "A focus on training, recruitment and labour adjustment programs address the immediate needs of the industry," Mr Barresi said. "There is also a need to focus on how to best position the Australian automotive components manufacturing industry to ensure its ongoing competitive viability and success in the global marketplace."

I think it's there to force as much air through the cooling system as possible. If the air gets an easy way to get out, ( via the missing cover) a lot will not go through to cooling system. IC, Aircon cooler, Radiator. I did read somewhere that that is the reason why the system is all covered in.

This is what I use to check all the sensors. I get all the sensor information from the cars OBD port into my Laptop Computer. The information is in real time. The software I use: Proscan v 4.0 Digimoto v 4.03 Pcmscan v 1.4.3 AutoTap v 3

What about this ?

My wish list for xmas 06. Dear santa. Just 2 things, please. 1 Porsche 911 Turbo and 1 BMW v 10 M5. Thank you

Just got this from a Newspaper.

I got one last year, and yes it covers the whole car. From the 6 , 6T and the 2 8's. All of it. Very Happy. Paid 13.00 dollars all up.

I hope this will help you with your choice. Air horns were also very effective but required more engineering and space ... that horns are overused by men and underused by women. ABC Southern Queensland Thursday, 6 October 2005 Presenter: Ian Hill It’s probably no surprise that we react quicker to a loud sound than a visual cue. So when it comes to warnings from moving vehicles, they popped up as early as the mid 17th Century. But the forerunner, a bell, was also a catalyst for change because it was not unique (bicycles, trolley buses and bakers vans used the same sound.) It was ineffective and guess what – overused! The more distinctive bulb horn, popular in France, was adopted in England, but the sound didn’t travel far enough, once the new 240 metre rule came to pass. So the Klaxon horn, a vibrating metal diaphragm, which positively shrieked, (hence its name), eventually took line honours. Air horns were also very effective but required more engineering and space so the klaxon style continued to dominate – raising the pitch to cut through the road noise, reducing size weight and cost and upping the volume. Sound will always be a good warning device – the type and way we produce it will change but for now, no major plans are afoot to alter the status quo. Oh by the way - Studies have shown that horns are overused by men and underused by women – and in Australia you can be fined for using it as a greeting instead of alarm. You have been warned! http://www.abc.net.au/southqld/stories/s1477093.htm

The first few hundred miles of a new engine's life have a major impact on how ... This lack of "blow-by" keeps your engine running cleaner and cooler by ... http://www.ntnoa.org/enginebreakin.htm Break In Secrets--How To Break In New Motorcycle and Car Engines ... http://www.mototuneusa.com/break_in_secrets.htm

How to keep an F1 car cool Essentially, the need for cooling is a product of the inherent inefficiencies of the internal combustion engine. Even an advanced modern F1 engine is relatively inefficient when it comes to converting the power available from the fuel/air mixture into power at the rear wheels. This is measured in terms of 'thermal efficiency', and is typically in the region of 30%: that's to say, if a typical F1 engine produces slightly under 650 KW (approx. 850 bhp) on the dyno, something like 1500KW (or potentially 2000 bhp) of the energy is lost. So where does it go? A small percentage is turned into the distinctive sound of an F1 car. The vast majority, though, must be dissipated as heat from a number of areas: for example, the oil dissipates around 120KW and the water system 160KW. The inefficiencies of the gearbox will mean it has to dissipate around 15KW, while the hydraulics represent a further 3 KW. However, as much as 34% of the remainder is lost through the exhausts as heat, while up to 15% of the available energy can be accounted for in unburnt fuel. Moreover, this energy wasteage provides significant challenges when it comes to controlling temperatures. While the heat exchangers on a racing car are extremely efficient, their ability to cool the engine is a function of the 'air-side capacity' - essentially, how big a mass of air you can make flow through the radiator for a given area. This depends, of course, on generating high air velocities in the radiator intake ducts: however, typically, air velocity in the radiator ducts will only be 10-15% of the car's velocity, so even if the car is travelling at 300 kph, the air in the ducts is probably only at 30-35 kph. Furthermore, temperatures in the oil and water systems vary according to different criteria: water temperature is a function of the average power used around the circuit, while oil temperature is approximately a function of power and also average engine speed around the lap. Given how complicated cooling management is, you need a good reason to tackle so many contradictory problems, and that reason is aerodynamics. Essentially, we must find the correct balance between cooling and aero performance because the more air we channel through the radiators, the less efficient the overall aerodynamics become. In fact, changing between minimum and maximum cooling can reduce downforce by as much as 5%, which translates to a lap-time deficit of around 0.4s on an average circuit. Airflow is controlled by different configurations of radiator outlet, and the R24 has 13 different possible configurations to cope with all manner of conditions. The configuration used at a particular circuit is defined according to the ambient temperatures, 'circuit factors' such as how much full throttle is used, and the temperature limits we can run the engine at. Typically, we will run oil temperatures of over 100°C, while pressurising the water system at up to 3.75 bar allows the boiling point to be delayed until around 120°C: running these higher temperatures means we require less airflow through the radiators, thus improving aerodynamic performance. As ever, though, these choices carry a penalty: each extra 5°C of water temperature we run, allowing the radiator outlets to be smaller, robs the engine of over 1 bhp. However, the importance of aerodynamics in modern F1 means we continue devoting significant resources and wind tunnel time to cooling. This is nowhere better illustrated than by the fact that the penalty in terms of aero efficiency we must accept for a 10°C drop in car temperatures, is 80% smaller than it was just four years ago.

isnt putting washers on the bonnet same as removing the back rubber seal? you are playing with that high pressure void under the hood? ← And this from Volvo.

This is a bit off topic. The specs for an F1 Engine V8 , 2.4 litres, about 750hp, Piston speed 40 metres per second. Uses about 65 litres per 100km. Cooling water temp 115 C Oil temp 100C

Here is some more, http://www.microcarmuseum.com/search/searc...s=Messerschmitt

It's a little Messerschmitt. I was made after WW2. http://www.microcarmuseum.com/tour/messers...servicecar.html

Did you read it fully? It was only relevant to the U.S. And point taken on the spam thing. ← Re, It was only relevant to the U.S Yes, and all decisions about the future of Ford Australia are made in the US of A.

This is from the NRMA

What an Engine Oil Cooler Does Almost one third of the heat generated by the engine must be removed by the vehicle's two cooling systems. That's correct, your engine has two cooling systems. (1) The top of the engine: the area around each cylinder in the engine block, the combustion chamber areas in the cylinder heads and the intake manifold, dispel heat through the engine's radiator coolant system. (2) The rest of the engine: the crankshaft, bearings, camshaft, lifters, connecting rods and pistons are only cooled by engine oil. The ideal operating range for engine oil is 180°F / 82 C through 200°F / 92 C. While operating within this range, the oil works as a lubricant, coolant, and cleansing agent in the engine. Modern engines generally run with radiator coolant temperatures between 200°F / 92 and 220°F / 105 C with oil temperature ranges between 20°F / 6 C and 75°F / 24 C HOTTER. In other words, when the engine is performing flawlessly, the engine oil is already overheating ! Oil that exceeds 220°F / 105 C rapidly loses its ability to lubricate and cool causing accerlerated fatigue and premature component failure. You need one of these.

Thing

It just looks , unfinished., like most of the cast steel parts, full of rust. Ah well, it's a Ford.

Can anyone tell my what this " Thing " is for. Every time I look at it it makes me Every time I show someone the engine, I get the big ? The Thing ?

My T takes about 3 km for the water temp to show normal working temp, the oil temp gauge takes 13 km to 20 km's to show the right working temp. On start up my rpm's show 1,250 at idle, and once normal temp is reached about 900rpm's. When I use my T I start and drive away.

The latest monthly new vehicle sales figures have provided little relief for Aussie large car makers. Where to for the large Aussie? It was a tough monthly media brief for Ford Australia President, Tom Gorman, last week. For the fifth month in a row, the Australian large car segment has settled at just over 13 per cent of the total market after plunging to a dismal 12.4 per cent in May. Only last year it came in at over 16 per cent yet in 1997, Gorman's predecessor would have been hoping that it was going to stabilise at 28.3 per cent. Now Gorman is speculating that it might rally to 14 per cent in 2007 but he didn't sound convinced. When you have the oldest model in the large car segment as Ford does, the full brunt of the decline is reflected in market share. Ford's total passenger car share slipped to just 9.8 per cent for October compared to last year's annual average of 11.7 per cent. Even Expensive Daewoo with its one-billion-dollar Late model camira leading the charge came in below last year's result with an October share of 19.5 per cent even with its new armoury of Asia-sourced small cars and LCVs and a new Captiva SUV. Even if the VE Late model camira posted 5455 October sales compared to the VZ's 4906 last year, the loss in Monaro and Late model camira ute sales more than negates that gain. Ford's loss in market share in 2006 is only exceeded by Holden's 2006 results to date. Ford would normally dismiss these results as inconsequential when its Territory SUV was kicking goals in the medium SUV market but Gorman had no upside this month. Like large cars, the medium SUV segment has declined -- from seven per cent to the mid-five range in just 12 months. The Territory outsells the Toyota Kluger and Prado combined, thus it also carries the full brunt of this decline as its October sales slipped from 1418 last year to 1349.Yet Ford buyers are still dialling in the top-of-the-range Turbo Territory at over 180 per month and the top of the range Territory Ghia outsells the base model by two to one! Combined Ford Fairlane/LTD sales declined to just 52 sales in October compared to 96 for the same month last year. Significantly, Holden's new Statesman posted 268 sales compared to 178 in October last year while the Caprice's October tally of 165 was a huge boost over last year's 51. Unless Ford can win an export market for the Fairlane to allow it to match the big export driven development program behind the latest Statesman and Caprice, there is no point continuing at this level. Gorman assured reporters that the current long-wheelbase models can continue at these tiny levels but not beyond this model series. At a big picture level, combined local production now accounts for only 20.7 per cent of the total market in 2006. This has dropped another five per cent since last year already. In 1997, local producers accounted for 37.8 per cent of the market. Ford now sells the most Australian-built cars. While this is good chest-beating material, it means the Blue Oval doesn't have an export buffer like Toyota and Holden. This dramatic decline explains why Ford has been forced to follow Mitsubishi and Expensive Daewoo in downsizing its local manufacturing capacity. Holden's local production now accounts for only 7.9 per cent of the market while Mitsubishi's locally built contribution to the local market has shrunk from 5.7 per cent in 1997 to just 1.4 per cent in 2006. When the Australian market is still heading towards its second best year on record, where are the sales that once went to locally produced cars going? The light car segment has been the big winner with the Toyota Yaris heading the charge while the Korean Barina, Hyundai Getz, Suzuki Swift and Ford Fiesta picked up extra sales. The modest growth in small car sales have helped the Honda Civic, Ford Focus and Peugeot 307 experience new growth while the lift in medium sales have kicked up the VW Jetta and Passat, Hyundai Sonata and Subaru Liberty while the Mazda6, Camry 4, Vectra and Accord Euro have slipped. The big winner in the Upper Large car segment for the year has been the Chrysler 300C. There has also been strong growth in the 4x4 commercials, traditionally the stronghold of Japanese twin cab one-tonners. Big sales boosts for the new Nissan Navara, Toyota HiLux and Mitsubishi Triton have impacted on the whole market. The switch from medium to compact SUVs has made winners of the Toyota RAV4, Suzuki Grand Vitara and Honda CRV despite the CRV's last year in this configuration. The Nissan Pathfinder is the only medium SUV to show sales growth but only because it is the first new Pathfinder in 10 years. Hidden in these figures is a steady growth in prestige models spread across a range of manufacturers. While each increment barely registers on the radar, they also collectively explain some of the shift away from Australian large cars. Although the Late model camira has regained the most popular Australian nameplate, Corolla has headed it some months this year. The little and large pairing is followed by Falcon then Mazda3. The Toyota Yaris, Camry and Hyundai Getz follow before the Toyota Hilux 4X4 appears at number eight. The Expensive Daewoo Astra and Ford Territory complete the Top 10 with Ford Focus knocking on the door. In October, the Focus actually crept into the Top 10 while knocking out the Territory. There are several factors at work. First is a constantly changing new range of vehicles that have never been so affordable. In this new market, there is no loyalty to favourites from even two or three years ago. Where buyers would once front up for a later version of the same, Australians are now using changeover time to experience something new and different. Importers who can draw on an armoury of new models have learned to play the substitution game. As Honda’s Accord Euro declines, a new Civic booms. As Toyota Corolla sales steady, a new Yaris booms. As Mazda3 and 6 sales slip, a new CX-7 and Mazda2 will join the fray. As Kluger fades, a new RAV4 booms and so on. According to Gorman, a hike in interest rates serves up a double disadvantage to Australian manufacturers. It adds more interest to a lease or loan for a local car compared to cheaper light and small imports. It then pushes up the exchange rate making exports harder to win and delivers a free kick to importers who can cut their prices and increase their share even further. This is a worry when neither the locally-built Mitsubishi 380 nor Toyota Camry V6/Aurion appear in the Top 15 nameplates. It also forces local manufacturers to source more imported content to stay competitive. Australian large cars have traditionally generated such entrenched loyalties that the average model generation has spanned over 10 years. As Ford enters its fifth year with its 2002 BA body shape and only the most superficial tweaks, a loyal buyer is under unprecedented pressure to go elsewhere. Consider also that Ford’s ground-breaking Territory is now entering its third year and there is still no hint of an appearance change or significant improvements. There was another October trend that Gorman noted. It was the growth in private buyers compared to last year (36.9 vs 34.6 per cent of the total) while business buyers barely grew. These private buyers are driving the growth in low outlay, low running-cost, light cars. Government purchases have slipped by a significant 8.6 per cent this year as the GST regime has generated longer ownership periods. Sensitivity to environmental and cost issues has also forced government buyers to turn their back on large Australian cars in favour of light and small car imports. The outlook? Gorman's hopes that the large car segment may stabilise as high as 14 per cent are probably optimistic. Although the Aurion and new Late model camira have generated new interest in the segment as hoped, so have new models in other segments such as the Expensive Daewoo Captiva, Toyota RAV4, a host of new diesels and cheap Europeans. Jitters about fuel prices have also introduced a caution that counters at least some of the excitement. The growth in the Australian market can no longer be explained by population growth or a post-recession in catch-up sales. It is reflecting a boost in affluence that is generating US-style multi-vehicle ownership patterns and a turnover of vehicles that are still relatively new. Feedback from sales staff suggest that buyers are no longer purchasing a single Australian large car to cover family needs but splitting up their needs into several purchases. As Australian large cars lose their place as the default purchase for the average Aussie family as well as the fleet and government buyer and executive or the self-employed buyer, then who is left? As Mitsubishi is finding, not that many… Unless you can come up with a unique selling proposition. There is now emerging evidence that the Australian large car is becoming more of an emotional or discretionary choice. Put simply, the buyer has to want one and be prepared to make adjustments to cover the extra costs. Once the decision is made to buy a large Australian car, these new buyers then concentrate on finding the level that best reflects who they are as they stay well away from the fleet specials. An informal 'survey' of Victorian rural Expensive Daewoo dealers revealed that Holden's new Captiva is generating as much (if not more) curiosity as the VE Commodore. And this is in a context/environment where the Late model camira is most suited. The same trend was apparent at the recent Sydney motor show where visitors were forming lines to sample the Captiva as the new Commodores were ignored. Expensive Daewoo rural sales staff report that although the hype around the base Omega is generating interest, the ambience inside the cabin is sending buyers elsewhere or upmarket. Holden's and HSV's boom in upper level sales substantiates this feedback and may not be just the usual new model trend. Ford's latest moves suggest that Gorman has been on top of this trend despite the company's gloomy October result. When CarPoint questioned him about the intent of the new BF Mark II Falcon's Euro Sports Package which offers almost $4000 worth of extra features for just $250, Gorman answered somewhat surprisingly that it was aimed at the 85 per cent of Falcon buyers who were business or fleet buyers. This is in contrast to the Expensive Daewoo strategy of the VE Late model camira V Series extra value special that Expensive Daewoo claims is aimed at private buyers. Gorman explained that when so many within this 85 per cent are now able to choose what they drive on the company's money, Ford had to inject some extra appeal in the Falcon range. It is also significant that Ford focused most of its facelift marketing dollar on the BF Mark II Fairmont Ghia, a low-volume, top-shelf model that usually languishes at facelift time like the Fairlane. Where the VE Expensive Daewoo Calais is quite clinical inside, Ford has boosted the emotional component of the Ghia cabin and exterior dramatically compared to the overall Mark II facelift. Ford’s latest moves could be the litmus test for the future direction of the Australian large car market. Significantly, Mitsubishi has gone down the same track with its Platinum edition of the 380 and coming performance models. CarPoint believes that Ford's timing for this shift in direction is no coincidence when the final direction of the Falcon's 2008 replacement must be causing concern. Holden's unexpected success at the premium levels and Ford's ongoing sales for its most expensive Territory models both defy the Australian large car and medium SUV trend. Thus both may be showing the way of the future. If all local manufacturers can inject enough emotive appeal to win Australian buyers back and encourage them to spend more in this most competitive of markets, then they will be absolute winners in the export stakes as Expensive Daewoo and Toyota are proving already. There is one proviso. Unless there are exports to fund more regular changes and 'bling' updates as Expensive Daewoo chief Denny Mooney says must now happen, then each Australian large car or SUV that cannot fund the same level of change risks following the Fairlane into almost certain oblivion. If the Australian large car market locks in much below 14 per cent share level, both Ford and Mitsubishi are in a race against time to create an export structure. Significantly, Gorman's briefing ended with news that this was a hot topic during Bill Ford's recent visit to Australia.

99 model with high K's. ← ← Now now you two.