Articles by CarsGuide team

Hyundai will unveil the results of its collaboration Karim Rashid -- one of the world's greatest designers -- at the 2013 Seoul Motor Show. Karim Rashid is known for his creative and unprecedented vision, from product design to interior design, from furniture design to art. He has won the Red Dot award and over 300 other design achievements, catapulting him to international fame. "Karim Rashid's creative design philosophy and the unique individuality of Hyundai PYL (Premium Younique Lifestyle) brand represent a perfect match. Hyundai will showcase the i40 Art Car and a special design collection to offer visitors of the Hyundai booth at the Seoul Motor Show a variety of entertainment," said Won Hong Cho, Hyundai Motor's Chief Marketing Officer. Hyundai has included the i30, i40 and Veloster under the PYL brand umbrella in the domestic market. The concept behind the European mid-sized i40 Art Car styled by Rashid is best defined as ‘the joint between design and technology,’ and the exterior characterized by triangular and rainbow shapes intends to capture the speed and movements of the automobile. The i40 Art Car will work to effectively promote the strategic styling of the PYL segment, highlighting the highly unique qualities of the i40. Hyundai Motor also plans to showcase ‘Karim Rashid's Special Collection of PYL' consisting of four pieces - a wristwatch, a backpack, a carrier bag and a tumbler which will display Rashid's signature simple, unique design while maintaining the traditional function of these everyday items.  

Burwood Det-Acting Insp Jim Deeley said fraudsters were buying luxury European cars with dodgy cheques and selling the vehicles at discounted prices. “The fraudsters transfer ownership of the vehicle to a new name immediately after they hand over a phony cheque to the seller,” Deeley said. Police say fraudsters have been using bogus personal cheques to buy mainly European and luxury cars and offloading them for 'quick sale' at heavily-discounted prices. "If a deal appears too good to be true, it usually is too good to be true," Deeley said. He said police believe the syndicate is targeting private buyers and sellers, as well as commercial dealers. “The fraudsters transfer ownership of the vehicle to a new name immediately after they hand over a phony cheque to the seller. That cheque eventually bounces," he said. They then offload the car for cash, usually telling prospective buyers they need a quick sale to cover gambling debts or are heading overseas.  

Hornsby’s fledgling Mercedes dealership has won the car maker's metropolitan dealership of the year award for the past two years.Greg Stewart, the dealership's principal, who has worked on Hornsby's north shore Auto Alley on the Pacific Highway for more than 20 years, credited local customers with his business's success.“We're a good community here Hornsby's a really nice place to sell cars,” he said. “There's a great bunch of people on the upper north shore.”The national award is based on a sales target and customer service feedback. “We have worked very hard on looking after our customers,” Mr Stewart said.The dealership has been in its present location for two-and-a-half years and the C-Class is the locals' favourite Merc. 

The fake and withdrawn bids on eBay have not deterred the owner of the most valuable Holden in Australia from selling the car. Paul Rammers of Narangba north of Brisbane has taken the 2002 Monaro HRT 427 off eBay until next week. The owner of Cam Plastics said he would re-advertise the car for the same asking price of $1 million for five days from Monday. “I'm not backing down. I'm going to try again. I really don't need to sell it. If I don't, I don't, but I'd like to move on,” Mr Rammers said. He said he had been pestered by “tyre kickers” but “I've got big shoulders.” One Victorian who said he would fly to Brisbane to inspect the car did not arrive. One of just two built by Holden, the two door car hit the headlines in April 2008 when Cairns businessman Shawn “Chooka” Ryan paid $920,000 for the car and a HSV VS GTS-R, build number 001 with 70km delivery kilometres. Two years later Mr Rammers bought the car after it was passed in at auction for $350,000 plus $12,000 in fees and commissions. If he sells the car he plans to buy a limited edition HSV W427, an all-wheel drive Coupe 4 Monaro and a Ferrari 430 convertible. The HRT 427 Monaro has a hand-built 7.0-litre V8 engine with 427kW of power, although there are no rear seats, a radio or airconditioning. The car for sale was the star of the 2002 Sydney motor show and is the only one sold privately with the other car in Holden's museum in Melbourne. Three race cars were built to similar specifications and won the 2003 Bathurst 24-hour with the late Peter Brock at the wheel. Holden Special Vehicles had planned to sell the production cars in a limited run for as much as $215,000, but the project could not be financially justified.  

Clear images of the next Range Rover Sport have leaked onto the internet, following on from the blurry official image and fleeting video earlier this week.The new Range Rover Sport is being touted as the fastest and most agile model to date, thanks largely to its smaller size and considerable use of aluminium to shed weight.The range-topping Range Rover Sport is likely to get a supercharged 5.0-litre V8, with outputs tipped to be around 375kW of power and 624Nm of torque.Sitting below the supercharged Sport variant, we also expect to see a normally-aspirated version of this engine, producing roughly 275kW of power and 508Nm of torque.There’s even speculation that the Range Rover Sport line-up could be expanded to include a higher-performance model, as well as an entry-level model powered by a supercharged V6. 

Prices start from $56,262 for the 118d Convertible High-line. Limited to 25 units in each body style, the High-line Editions add up to $4000 of additional value and combine a number of exterior and interior premium aesthetic enhancements.Available in three exterior colours, Space Grey, Black Sapphire and the exclusive Mineral White, the 1 Series High-line Edition features unique 18 Double Spoke alloy wheels, Chrome line exterior, front kidney grille incorporating a chrome face and white sides on the vertical bars, dark chrome exhaust trims and, in the case of the Convertible, the Softtop roof comes in brown silver effect.The interior boasts Boston leather upholstery in Tabacco with Platinum contrast stitching for the seats and steering wheel, fineline stream interior trim, door sill trims with Edition designation and anthracite roof liner for the 1 Series Coupe.The value of this Limited Edition is further enhanced by the inclusion of the high demand Innovations package which features Business Navigation, Bi-Xenon Headlights and High-Beam Assist. 

  

  

Set to debut at the New York International Auto Show in March, the "no-compromise" 2014 Jeep Cherokee will build on its off-road capability and functionality and will feature fuel economy improvements of more than 45 per cent over the outgoing model. "We are pleased to confirm that the all-new Jeep Cherokee will be available to Australian buyers in the fourth quarter of 2013," Fiat Chrysler Group Australia CEO and chairman Clyde Campbell said. "The current model Jeep Cherokee has been a strong sales performer since its launch in 2008 and we are eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new model," he said. The all-new 2014 Jeep Cherokee will be built in the United States at Chrysler Group's Toledo Assembly Plant in Toledo, Ohio.