Ford Ranger 2013 News

What have been the most significant Australian cars since January 1, 2000 so far? With the first 25 years of the 21st century now out of the way, we rate the 10 most important models that left their mark, or came into their own afterwards.

Buying a used car is difficult enough in normal times.

Hot on the heels of the Australian government's mandatory Takata airbag recall, Ford, Audi and Tesla have joined the list of carmakers to detail which of it's models are affected.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has announced its latest round of safety recall notices, with models from Nissan, Jeep, Ford, Mazda, Infiniti and Citroen affected.

Aussie car fans and nostalgia buffs will tell you that local motoring reached its peak in the 1970s.

The Corolla was finally crowned Australia's favourite car in 2013 after 46 years in the market -- but you won't hear about it from Toyota. The car giant, which has been the overall market leader for 11 years in a row and 17 years since 1991 but never had the top-selling vehicle, is going to follow Mazda's lead by not advertising the Corolla's sales success."There are no plans at this stage," said Toyota Australia executive director of sales and marketing, Tony Cramb, when asked if the company would advertise the Corolla's historic win.Mazda also gave us the silent treatment when its Mazda3 small car took top sales honours in 2011 and 2012. It is suspected Mazda didn't want to boast that it ended the iconic Holden Commodore's record 15-year winning streak.But it turns out both Toyota and Mazda are wary of their success. Insiders from both companies admit popularity can work against them if they cars are seen as being everywhere. "People want to be seen to be driving something different, not be part of the pack," said one insider.Mazda was also keen to distance itself from the Corolla, which has a reputation for blandness because older models were better known for their reliability than their current styling pizazz.However, it may come as a shock to many Mazda buyers but more Mazda3 small cars were sold in Australia in the past three years than the Corolla. Figures from the car makers show that only 40 per cent of Corollas are bought by private buyers, compared to more than 80 per cent of Mazda3s.Toyota is only the fourth brand in 60 years to win the Australian new-car sales race; the others being Mazda, Holden and Ford. It was the third year in a row Japanese cars have led the Australian car market; locally-made models have been the top sellers since WWI, say automotive historians.The Corolla is the world's biggest selling car, with more than 40 million on the road worldwide, including more than 1.25 million delivered in Australia since 1967.The Corolla was built in Australia from 1968 to 1999, becoming the first Toyota ever assembled outside Japan, but production ended because it became too costly to build small cars locally. The model is now made in 15 factories in 14 countries including Japan, Canada, South America, Turkey, Pakistan, Venezuela, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, Taiwan, India, and two factories in China.The Corolla won the 2013 new-car sales race after swapping the monthly sales lead three times with reigning champion the Mazda3 – the Mazda led the first three months of the year before the Corolla landed its first win for 2013 in April, and then led the year-to-date tally for the first time in June. In the end, the Corolla was the top selling car for eight months of the year, including the last four in a row.Incredibly, it was only the Corolla's fifth-best result (record was 47,792 set in 2007), another sign of the fragmenting market that is killing local car manufacturing. The Corolla earned top-seller status despite selling less than half the Holden Commodore's annual peak.Korean car maker Hyundai ranked fourth overall but was the second-biggest seller of passenger cars in Australia in 2013. Mercedes-Benz won the luxury car sales category, outselling BMW and Audi. The Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan was the third best-selling medium-size sedan behind the Toyota Camry and Mazda6.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowlingTop 10 cars 2013Toyota Corolla 43,498 up 12.1 per centMazda3 42,082 down 4.6 per centToyota HiLux 39,931 down 1.7 per centHyundai i30 30,582 up 7.9 per centHolden Commodore 27,766 down 9.1 per centToyota Camry 24,860 down 8.7 per centMitsubishi Triton 24,512 up 32.4 per centHolden Cruze 24,421 down 16.3 per centNissan Navara 24,108 down 7.4 per centFord Ranger 21,752 down 7.2 per centTop 10 brands 2013Toyota 214,630 down 1.6 per centHolden 112,059 down 2.3 per centMazda 103,144 down 0.7 per centHyundai 97,006 up 6.0 per centFord 87,236 down 3.5 per centNissan 76,733 down 3.8 per centMitsubishi 71,528 up 21.5 per centVolkswagen 54,892 stable 0.0 per centSubaru 40,200 stable 0.0 per centHonda 39,258 up 9.6 per centFalcon and Commodore hit new all-time lows in 2013Ford Falcon: 10,610 (compared to a peak of 81,000 in 1995)Holden Commodore: 27,766 (compared to a peak of 94,500 in 1998)A decade of record sales2004: 955,2292005: 988,2692006: 962,6662007: 1,049,9822008: 1,012,1642009: 937,3282010: 1,035,5742011: 1,008,4372012: 1,112,0322013: 1,136,227Locally made cars: then and now1999: 223,083 (including 184,000 Commodores and Falcons)2013: 118,510 (down 15 per cent on 2012, and the lowest since 1958) 

A member of the 2013 Australia's Best Cars judging panel says motorists are spoilt for choice right now. Royal Automobile Club of Tasmania general manager of roadside and technical Darren Moody -- who sits on the panel with judges from motorist clubs around Australia -- says new car buyers have access to record low interest rates and are still getting great value for money, despite a recent dip in the value of the Australian dollar.He and the 11 other judges from around the country had been trying to make life even easier for buyers, testing 50 vehicles in 15 categories for the 2013 best car awards.The awards, run by the Australian Automobile Association, involved all the state auto clubs. In October Mr Moody and the other judges spent six days at the Australian Automobile Research Centre at Anglesea in Victoria testing all the vehicles.The judges' choice this year was the Mazda6 Touring, winner of the category for best medium car under $50,000. "It brings premium features to the category," Mr Moody said. There was no winner in the people mover category this year. AAA chief executive Andrew McKellar said it was the first time in the 13 years of the program that an award has been withheld."It's unfortunate that not one vehicle in that class meets the expectations of an Australia's Best Car," he said.Australia's Best Cars 2013Judges' choice: Mazda6 TouringBest light car: Renault Clio Expression TCe 120Best small car under $35,000: Hyundai i30 ActiveBest small car over $35,000: Audi A3 Sportback TFSI CoDBest medium car under $50,000: Mazda6 TouringBest medium car over $50,000: BMW 320iBest large car under $60,000: Holden Commodore VF SV6Best large car over $60,000: Lexus GS350 F SportBest people mover: Award withheldBest sports car under $50,000: Volkswagen Golf GTIBest sports car $50,000-$100,000: BMW M135iBest SUV under $45,000: Subaru Forester 2.5iBest SUV $45,000-$65,000: Hyundai Santa Fe Highlander CRDiBest Luxury SUV over $65,000: Volkswagen Touareg V6 TDIBest all-terrain 4WD under $100,000: Land Rover Discovery 4 TDV6Best 4x4 Dual Cab Ute: Ford Ranger XLRead the full story here. 

Australia often gets called in to lend the British military a bit of a hand -- and we'll be marking some of those occasions with a minute's silence at 11am on November 11's Remembrance Day.But it seems that storied tradition carries over into our vehicle expertise, with the Aussie-designed and engineered Ford Ranger ute being chosen by the UK Ministry of Defence for roles with the British Army, Navy, Air Force and the ministry itself.Ford in Britain will supply 104 of the entry-trim Ranger XL, with dual-range four-wheel drive and a variety of cab and body configurations, with an expected enlistment run of five to seven years. Though the number may seem low, the role will be a great showcases for the Ranger's abilities.The Australian design and engineering have already resulted in the Ranger winning the 2013 International Pick-Up Award, and the MoD says the vehicle's qualities make it ideal for a wide spectrum of uses."Some will be used by service security patrols guarding military establishments, and others will be converted for mountain rescue," MoD program manager Steve O’Leary says."The Ranger was selected as it is more than able to fulfil the required role in terms of off-road mobility and payload, and also for the value for money it offers."This reporter is on Twitter: @KarlaPincott  

New-car buyers hit the brakes in September and another 1.1 million-plus annual sales record is now under threat. Industry analysts are trying to determine what caused the September slowdown after six of the top 10 brands posted sales slides and the overall market dropped by 2.1 per cent to 92,662 deliveries compared with the same month last year.The last time the Australian new-car market slowed dramatically was in December 2011, when sales fell by 4.8 per cent after floods in Thailand and a catastrophic tsunami in Japan earlier that year severely restricted vehicle production.The weak September result means market growth has slowed to 3.3 per cent year-to-date, with 849,944 deliveries since January, putting another record annual result in doubt.After last year’s all-time high of 1,112,032 sales the new-car market was up by 5 per cent in the first half of this year.Car executives are trying to determine if the market is still experiencing the flow-on effect from the uncertainty caused by sudden changes to Fringe Benefits Tax rules before the Federal election -- or if the election itself did most of the damage.New-car sales dipped in the lead-up to four of the last five Federal elections, industry figures show. "The announcement by the Coalition to return to pre-July FBT arrangements has been welcomed by the industry," said Tony Weber, the chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries."We anticipate the market effect of this announcement will see positive growth throughout the rest of the year. Consumers can be confident that the recent FBT issue is now behind us."The September slowdown still came as a surprise given that interest rates fell to a new low and improved car affordability.Sales in the main mining states -- Queensland, West Australia and the Northern Territory -- were down by between 5.5 and 8.2 per cent, but sales of utes were still strong, with three workhorses finishing inside the top 10. The Toyota HiLux was the second-biggest seller in September while the Nissan Navara and Ford Ranger placed seventh and eighth respectively.Meanwhile the Toyota Corolla has developed a clear lead in the race to become Australia’s top-selling car for the first time. The Corolla has now built a gap of 1258 sales -- its largest to date -- ahead of two-times winner, the Mazda3, in the year-to-date tally (Corolla: 32,039, Mazda3: 30,781).The Mazda3 led the market at the start of the year and seemed certain to collect its third win in a row, but the Corolla overtook its fellow Japanese import as Australia’s favourite car in April, June, July and September.In another upset the Volkswagen Golf outsold the locally-made Holden Cruze by one delivery, with the Holden only just managing to stay inside the top 10 after a disappointing month.Holden posted 1851 Cruze deliveries (compared to the Golf’s tally of 1852) which was down 5 per cent on the same month in 2012, and down by 37 per cent compared to September 2011.The Golf’s result was buoyed by $22,990 drive-away promotional pricing but it also shows that Volkswagen appears to have bounced back from the recall controversy earlier this year. Last month’s result was strong for the Volkswagen Golf but still nowhere near its all-time high figure of 3337 sales set in October 2011.The homegrown Falcon and Commodore posted modest sales recoveries, but both were well short of their former glory. Holden again delivered more than 2800 Commodores (up 13 per cent) while Ford shifted 846 Falcons, which was down 28 per cent compared to the same month last year but an increase of 47.6 after the previous month’s all-time low.The reigning champion Mazda3 had a big sales slide in September after the company brought its annual sale forward a month. Toyota is on track to post its 11th year as the top-selling brand with 158,793 sales year to date, ahead of second-placed Holden (81,904). In third place Mazda (78,252) still has a comfortable margin over fourth-placed Hyundai (72,599) and fifth-placed Ford (64,964).Nissan sales continued to slide for the third month in a row but its results of 59,460 so far this year is up by 1.2 per cent after benefitting from strong gains earlier in the year. Nissan Australia is looking for its third boss in less than two years after Bill Peffer announced he was leaving the company.Top 10 brands in September 2013Toyota 17,492 -- up 1.1 per centHolden 9614 -- up 7.4 per centHyundai 8803 -- up 12.6 per centMazda 7615 -- down 24.6 per centFord 7505 -- down 3.3 per centMitsubishi 5993 -- up 3.3 per centNissan 5556 -- down 10.8 per centVolkswagen 4466 -- down 9.8 per centSubaru 2752 -- down 14.3 per centKia 2534 -- down 7.7 per centTop 10 cars in September 2013Toyota Corolla 3443 – up 9.9 per centToyota HiLux 3340 – down 3.9 per centMazda3 3052 – down 28.6 per centHolden Commodore 2865 – up 13.3 per centHyundai i30 2675 – down 14.9 per centToyota Camry 2223 – down 1.9 per centNissan Navara 2275 – up 25.3 per centFord Ranger 2037 – up 13.1 per centVolkswagen Golf 1852 – up 8.1  per centHolden Cruze 1851 – down 5.1 per centSource: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries, VFACTS.This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling 

It's not hard to track it back, since the Commodore VY II update in 2003 included the four-door Holden Crewman. The back-seat space was upright and cramped, and the ute tray was stunted, but it tapped a growing need for work-and-play utes.The Crewman was culled at the same time as Holden killed its Commodore wagon and, in reality, it never made commercial sense and was never properly costed against the potential return. But people who like the Crewman really love it, and now there are more and more people looking for the same sort of combination in their car.The new generation of four-door utes can really be all things to most people, since they can also be loaded with four-wheel drive on one side and sports packs on the other. Engine choices often run from basic fours to sweet sixes and torque-alicious turbodiesels.They are, in short, the ultimate crossover. And they don't just cross over, they blur the lines between cars and trucks. The popularity of double-cab utes has made them one of the country's boom categories, with showroom action only triumphed by SUVs and small cars.There are plenty of VFacts sales numbers to confirm the rise and climb of the ute, but the Roy Morgan research group recently did some sums that show there are 300,000 more one-tonne ute drivers today than there were just five years ago. Australians are now 30 per cent more likely to be driving a work-and-play ute in 2013 than they were in 2008.Roy Morgan also has interesting demographic data that shows ute drivers are wealthier than they were, with one-in-three now earning more than $70,000 a year compared with one-in-five in 2008.Tellingly, ute drivers are now more likely to describe themselves as big spenders, where they were far less likely to see themselves that way in 2008. That could help explain the tendency to splash on top-end utes.The Toyota HiLux is still the most popular pickup in the country, but Ford is doing extremely well with its Ranger - the Carsguide choice in the class - and now reports a waiting list up to four months for the XLT double cab despite prices starting at $34,990 for the XL.This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover