Articles by CarsGuide team

CarsGuide team

The CarsGuide team of car experts is made up of a diverse array of journalists, with combined experience that well and truly exceeds a century. 

We live with the cars we test, weaving them into our family lives to highlight any strenghts and weaknesses to help you make the right choice when buying a new or used car. 

We also specialise in adventure to help you get off the beaten track and into the great outdoors, along with utes and commercial vehicles, performance cars and motorsport to cover all ends of the automotive spectrum. 

Tune in for our weekly podcast to get to know the personalities behind the team, or click on a byline to learn more about any of our authors. 

CarScience - Jet ute and minivan
By CarsGuide team · 02 Jun 2011
Let's see if they could survive the thrust for a drag race.
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CarScience builds a Bond car
By CarsGuide team · 01 Jun 2011
Can the tricks that James Bond had on his Aston Martin spy car work in reality?
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Elephant road rage
By CarsGuide team · 31 May 2011
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Porsche Cayman Black short run
By CarsGuide team · 31 May 2011
Featuring additional performance and especially lavish equipment specification, the Black Edition is powered by a 3.4-litre, six-cylinder, boxer engine with power output increased by 7kW to 243kW at 7400 revs (an additional 200 rpm). Maximum torque remains unchanged at 370Nm at 4750 revs. The extra power feeds directly through into the performance of the all black two-seater, the hard top coupe equivalent of the Boxster convertible. The Black Edition is a tenth of a second quicker from 0-100km/h at 5.1 seconds for the six-gear manual and 5.0 seconds flat with the optional Porsche Doppelkupplungsgetriebe (PDK) double clutch manumatic. That figure is reduced to 4.8 seconds with the optional Sport Chrono package and launch control activated. The Black Edition's top speed is two kilometres per hour faster than that of the Cayman S. Larger 19-inch Boxster Spyder wheels in black are fitted that are also half an inch wider, fitted are 235/35 ZR 19s front 265/35 ZR 19s rear. Inside a Sport Design steering wheel is fitted and the dash is trimmed in black along with the gear lever/selector and the instrument dials in the instrument cluster. The door entry guards emblazoned with the lettering "Black Edition" are made of stainless steel and the glove compartment lid bears the badge proclaiming the limited edition status. Driver and front seat passenger sit on black partial leather seats with Porsche crest on the headrests. The Cayman S Black Edition is priced from $147,500.
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Sign up to The Guide to win $1000 cash
By CarsGuide team · 31 May 2011
Sign up to The Guide weekly newsletter to receive great tips on buying and selling your car, keep up to date with the latest models and how they rate along with the most up to date motoring news.Sign up nowCompetition opens 0:01 (AEST) 01/07/11, and closes 11:59 (AEST) 31/07/11. Competition is drawn at 10:00 (AEST) on 03/08/11 at Salmat Interactive Level 2, 116 Miller Street, North Sydney NSW 2060. For full terms and conditions click here. Authorised under permit numbers; NSW LTPS/11/05163; ACT TP 11/02284
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McQueen bike hits record price
By CarsGuide team · 31 May 2011
But the Husqvarna 400 Cross which belonged to the Hollywood star has similar iconic value. It was was sold at auction in Carmel, California on May 14 this year for an incredible US$144,500. Bonhams sold the 1971 machine , identical to the one McQueen famously rode shirtless on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine. This iconic Husky was ridden hard by one of Hollywood's most loved leading men. It is a special piece of McQueen memorabilia and was ridden properly by a movie actor who happened to be a fantastic and talented racer, and had a considerable collection of racing trophies to prove it. The rare Husqvarna 400 Cross motorcycle was a big-bore motocross model that combined fearsome power and superb handling. Up to that point, many off-road riders endured heavier, twin-cylinder street models stripped and lightened as much as possible; even so, they were heavy and cumbersome. Along came the two-stroke Husky 400 Cross, featuring a powerful single-cylinder engine suspended in a lightweight steel frame. It was the movie On Any Sunday that introduced many Americans to the world of off-road riding. Husqvarnas were featured in the movie, which really put the company on the map for US riders. Seeing motorcycle legend Malcolm Smith and McQueen kick up long rooster-tails of sand on the beach outside of Camp Pendleton inspired many new dirt-bike enthusiasts. In fact, Smith said of McQueen that he had "discovered a rider who probably could have competed at a professional level, had he chosen that line of work." The Husky 400 Cross was a brutal, unforgiving motorcycle, difficult to ride well, which McQueen absolutely did. It embodied McQueen's desire to be taken seriously as a rider and racer, and his mastery of the Husky only helps fuel his legend. Like many off-road enthusiasts, McQueen collected many examples of bikes he loved, using some as "parts bikes" and others to lend to friends as an inducement to come riding. He was not above using his fame to encourage a sale, according to long-time friend and The Great Escape stunt double Bud Ekins, who said: "Steve would apply the pressure if he found something he really wanted." "He'd tell the seller,`Don't you want to be able to say you sold your bike to Steve McQueen?' and it worked." As off-road motorcycle racing evolved through the 1960s and early 1970s, a movement began away from lightly-modified street bikes toward machines designed from the outset for competition. In this period before the Japanese manufacturers came to be involved, the Europeans set the trends, building ever lighter and more powerful machines. Husqvarna came to epitomize the success of motorcycles developed for and extensively raced in competition. Its models won 14 motocross and 24 enduro titles through the late 1970s. The Bonhams sale of Collectors' Motorcycles and Related Memorabilia took place on Saturday 14 May at the Quail Lodge in Carmel Valley, California. As well as the McQueen Husqvarna and many items of memorabilia, there was also exquisite machinery from BMW for sale, including a 1925 R 32. This early and very rare motorcycle from the Bavarian Motor Works would become the blueprint for all subsequent BMWs. It sold for US$139,000, what is believed to be a new world record for the model.
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Don't complain about driving to the shop
By CarsGuide team · 26 May 2011
But you have to admit, the store people here are pretty calm about how close they come.Sent in by Mike Duffy
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