New Vs Old Boring Vs Interesting

One of the many things wrong with the motor industry here in Australia is the abundance of boring imported cars…... It is however all your fault, you continue to buy them.

For a country that produces two of the best affordable family sedans in the world you seem to be obsessed with buying boring white front wheel drive Honda's and Toyota's, those of you that don't buy SUV's that is..... I just don't get it.

I guess we can divide car buyers into two categories; enthusiasts and those that buy a car for transport. If you are of the second variety, what possible reason could you have for buying a Camry, Aurion, Accord or Legend over a Commodore or Falcon? Justify yourself, it's in our national interest. I am not saying all of you should,... it's just that more of you should.

Then there are the SUV buyers..... just try to justify yourselves.

If you like your cars and are in the market for a smaller family 4dr  it is even more unlikely you will buy Australian. The choice is between the Lancer or Impreza. The Australian brand alternatives just don't cut it. They haven't cut it since the Torana, Escort, Cortina and Capri. The Mondeo and Astra may be OK for Europe, but obviously we don't like them here. We'd rather buy a Camry..... and a white one at that.

We are a nation with a reputation for building affordable performance family sedans.  and utes. It is our niche. So Ford and Holden the solution is obvious, ...new mid-size RWD platforms for the both of you. Your Product Managers and Marketeers may be crap but your Product Engineers are superb. The current Commodore and Falcon are great cars. Transfer that expertise to a new Torana and Cortina. I just bet it would sell globally. Engineered for the hybrid era of course.

Back to those of you that are just after transport and won't buy a Commodore or Falcon. At least start looking at the second hand market. You can get a few years old, feature set comparative Merc or Audi for the same price as a new Aurion or Legend. Cars, like us are living longer, healthier lives and the second time round is always better and less costly. Do a comparison of service costs of a Merc through a specialist against a Honda dealership service for your logbook, I think you will be surprised.

Whatever..... don't buy another Aurion or Legend, it's un-Australian in oh so many ways.