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NEWS
LOOKING FORWARD TO 2013: One car or event guaranteed not to happen!
Here's our (sometimes tongue-in-cheek) look at automotive world does not have in store for 2013....One car or event guaranteed not to happen!
The Automotive New Year is shaping up as one of the busiest on record. Even so, there will be a swag of events and/or cars that just won't happen.
Marton Pettendy – Managing Editor
Given the sub-standard crash safety ratings achieved so far by models from Great Wall and Chery, it would be easy to discount a five-star ranking for any of the Chinese vehicles slated for Australia next year. But that would overlook the rapid advances made by the world’s largest single automotive market in recent years.So I’d be more willing to bet there won’t be a return to the halcyon days of large-car sales in Australia, despite the introduction of heavily upgraded Commodore and, perhaps, Falcon models in 2013.
Ken Gratton – News Editor
See my aspirations to drive the Jaguar F-Type. Alternatively, I can wish for world peace and pre-moderation of our commenting forums.Matt Brogan – Road Test Editor
I reckon I could lock in more than a few here. And that’s not cars in particular, but brands in general. You see there’s a few of them out there that still see online media as the enemy, or worse still, are so arrogant that they feel, and I quote, that “we don’t need the motoring press to sell cars”.Well, good luck to you, then. But a few extra sales, or the changing or someone’s mind surely wouldn’t hurt, would it? Or maybe they just don’t want to attract new buyers to their brand...
Feann Torr – Staff Journalist
A supercharged TMG Toyota 86 outputting 200kW and 360Nm and capable of keeping up with a Porsche Cayman around the Nurburgring... I wish.Bruce Newton – Contributor
Porsche announces formal enquiry into Australian 911 pricing.Michael Taylor – Contributor
Neville Crichton’s import operation holding the Ferrari Australia Christmas party in December 2013. More poignantly, we won’t be seeing Aston Martin retain its ownership structure through to the end of the year. If it’s not been sold before this appears, it won’t be far away (Ed: It has been sold before this appeared). The structure has been unsustainable for some time, with antiquated engines, chassis architecture well behind its rivals and interior design and trim that lacks the finesse of Italian and German foes. And English ones.It’s sad, and Aston has desperately sought a Benz tie up to swing in AMG’s V12s and V8s, plus its SLS architecture, but the Germans closed the door almost a year ago and sources say it’s welded shut. Expect James Bond's favourite brand to join Jaguar-Land Rover in Indian hands.
Gautam Sharma – Contributor
A non-Red Bull car winning the F1 title. The Adrian Newey-Sebastian Vettel show is starting to get a little monotonous, but I fear we’re in for more of the same in 2013. Newey is still there, Vettel is still there and the F1 rules aren’t changing significantly. What’s more, a McLaren squad devoid of Lewis Hamilton looks toothless, while Ferrari has struggled to get on the pace (notwithstanding the heroic efforts of Fernando Alonso). Meanwhile, Mercedes has managed to acquire the services of Hamilton, but unless it manages to find a second per lap, even he won’t be able to do much.Jeremy Bass – Contributor
Nice try, EV Engineering, but your sorted and promising electric Commodore is not setting GM’s boardroom on fire. And that’s partly thanks to the concessions you made to participant Better Place’s nascent battery-swapping technology. That’s an idea the General has dispatched with uncharacteristic firmness in these uncertain times to the upright cylindrical filing system.Mike McCarthy – Contributor Emeritus
The next all-new MX-5 (ND series). But I certainly won't complain if it surfaces before the scheduled 2014 launch.Tags
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