The Austin / MG Montego

The Austin / MG Montego started life in 1984. It should have been released sooner, but for issues within the company at the time. It replaced the Ital model, which was an unfortunate facelift of the Morris Marina. I remember seeing some around NZ, although not in large numbers. The car itself was underrated by the typically cynical British media and public. I guess years of poor management at BL

Snow And The Car

We never get snow where I live, but recently we had a flurry of snow over night. By the time I went out with the camera, most had gone and only traces remained in sheltered spots. I sent off photos to friends about our rare 'snow fall'. My relative in Canada must have chuckled. Anyway, here is some real snow in Russia. I cannot imagine how it must feel digging your car out. Would anyone like to

JD Power Reliabilty Survey USA: 2012

I'm not a huge fan of reliability surveys. Some failures are minor, others major. Some not really an issue, others really frustrating or annoying. These surveys don't seem to differentiate. Also, really poor reliability does go against a brand, but generally people don't get put off. Customer satisfaction is much broader than this sort of survey. Are they useless? No, otherwise I wouldn't bother

Car Production Austria: 2011

Yes, they make cars in this alpine country, thanks to a Canadian owned company named Magna Steyr. All cars made here are from this company, made for other companies. In fact, it is the largest contract manufacturer for vehicles in the world. So how did things pan out on 2011:

MINI Countryman 89,000 +260%
BMW X3 17,900 -44%
Peugeot RCZ 13,700 _29%
M Benz SLS AMG/G-Class 7,200 +31%
Aston Martin

Honda Civic Ninth Generation

The ninth generation Civic has arrived down under. I remember the first one, a strong selling small car introduced forty years ago. The car has grown and been refined a great deal since the first model. However, this incarnation has hardly changed from the preceding model, despite every body panel being new apparently. Evolutionary you would have to say.

I took a saloon (sedan) model for a run

Car Production Germany: 2011

Car production in Germany was strong in 2011. Porsche led the way, partly at the expense of manufacturing at Finland's Valmet plant. The only positional change was BMW passing Mercedes. Opel would have dropped more but I didn't count Belgian production in the German figure of 2010, despite many sources doing so.


1 VW 1,459,900 +12.0%
2 Audi 1,109,000 +11.6%
3 BMW 1,025,400 +8.9%
4 M B

BMW MINI Engine Milestone: 2012

The three-millionth engine has been produced at BMW Group's UK engine plant circa Birmingham. Four-cylinder petrol engines have been built at Plant Hams Hall for over a decade. The engines go to plants in Germany, Austria and Oxford, UK, currently powering the BMW X1, 1 Series and new BMW 3 Series, as well as all MINI petrol models. Facilities are to be upgraded at the Hams Hall plant to enable

Car Sales Korea (Total): 2011

When you look at the Korean market, you soon see something is amiss. When people are offered choice, unhindered by government intervention, then many brands will do well. Import duties among other things create imbalanced sales. That is what has happened in Korea. It wants to export, but not import, an attitude seen across Asia. To see what I mean, below shows passenger car sales for 2011, market

Customer Satisfaction Survey UK: 2012

I prefer customer satisfaction surveys as they cover a broader field than just a reliability one. If customers feel satisfied with the car they bought, they will more likely return to the brand next time.

The J.D. Power & Associates/What Car? 2012 UK Vehicle Ownership Satisfaction Study according to the jdpower.com website "is based on owner evaluations of their vehicle and dealer across 67