New Toyota may not leave southern garage

A pre-production version of the new large car to replace the Avalon was unveiled yesterday at the Melbourne Motor Show.

However, a Toyota spokesman said Queensland dealers did not want the Aurion at the Brisbane Motor Show because they were concerned it would divert attention from selling current models.

Toyota Australia boss John Conomos confirmed there were no plans to bring the Aurion to Queensland.

Brisbane Motor Show spokesman Chris Nixon said Toyota, Mitsubishi, Ford, Hyundai and some others treated the event as a "selling show" rather than a display occasion. "That sounds plausible that dealers would not want attention distracted by the new car," he said.

Aurion, which means "tomorrow" in Greek, will have a 3.5-litre V6 engine with 190 kilowatts of power, but other specifications and price will not be known until close to its release date towards the end of the year.

The world debut of the front-wheel-drive Aurion followed substantial involvement in the design process by Toyota Style Australia members Nick Hogios, Paul Beranger and Max Gillard.

The Melbourne Motor Show yesterday unveiled several new models on the Australian market, including the return after 18 years of the Fiat brand with the Punto hatchback. In an acknowledgment of record fuel prices, Holden, BMW, Jaguar, Fiat, VW, SsangYong and Alfa Romeo announced new diesel-powered passenger cars.