Great Wall V240 2010 News

She wants to know which of the car brands will improve over the next five years.  It sounds like a quick-and-easy question but there are booby traps on a couple of fronts.For a start, what does she mean by 'improve'? Is it just sales, the big measure for brands like Toyota, or is it secondhand vaues - so critical to Audi - or the technology coming to companies like Hyundai and Kia, or any number of other subjective and objective measurements?Looking back over the past five years, Audi has made huge sales gains by improving its showroom impact, Mazda has improved on all fronts and is now almost challenging Ford's sales in Australia, and Subaru has reinvented itself as one of the safest and most-dependable brands - almost the Volvo of the 21st century.They are clear improvers.  But things will change in the next decade for many of the 50-plus car brands now sold in Australia.For a start, expect big things from Great Wall, Geely and Chery of China. Probably not on the safety or quality front, but they will do some big numbers once they get cheap-and-cheerful passenger cars into local showrooms.The Korea brands - Hyundai and Kia - are also set for big improvements. Both want to be top-five sellers in Australia before 2020, each has plans for significant local tweaking of their cars, and believe they can out-Toyota the world's biggest car brand at its own game.  What's that? Building sensible transport devices that suit the majority of drivers and doing it at a sensible price.Audi will also continue to improve. It has monster plans for new models, as well as a burning desire to trump BMW on the sales charts.  BMW? It's looking hit-and-miss at the moment, based on cars as good as the new 5 Series in the same showroom as the underwhelming X1 and GT, but it knows its strengths and has a huge following.Benz should also continue to power, Volvo is making big gains on styling that finally matches its safety but has a question over Chinese owners, and Mazda will continue to go forward.  On the local front, Toyota desperately needs something special in its showrooms. And the Camry hybrid is doing nothing to boost the competitiveness of its locally-made cars.Ford? If it can convince Australians to buy a four-cylinder Falcon it will be a winner. But that is a big, big job and recent history shows little sign of the marketing muscle needed for the job.Which brings us to Holden, which gambles next year with a local manufacturing commitment to the compact Cruze. It's a game changing move and one with the potential to make the red lion brand one of the biggest improvers of the next five and 10 years.Follow Paul Gover on Twitter!

Where will it all end? Australian automotive manufacturers and importers are hoping the answer is: right here, right now.For the first time in months, there's a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that may not be another oncoming train.The Federal Government's cash handouts have helped the Australian economy dodge a recession on a technicality, consumers are spending again and car showrooms are beginning to fill with a whole lot of shiny new offerings.With a fresh financial year dawning, something in the order of 60 all-new or refreshed models are waiting in the wings before the end of 2009.Ranging from the first of the Chinese invaders to a couple of machines from the supercar stratosphere, these are the recession-busters the automotive industry is relying on.Here are a handful of the key players in this revival.Great Wall Motors AFTER what seems an age of yes-we-are, no-we-aren't games, the first of the Chinese-made brigade will be in showrooms next month.A pair of workhorse utes — the 4x4 V240 (known as the Wingle in China) and the 4x2 SA220 — will come as single-specification models with prices expected to be "around two-thirds of their logical competitors".That could mean a starting figure of $17,000 to $19,000.Alfa Romeo MiToTHE classic Italian marque's new baby, which arrives next month, has the task of taking on BMW's iconic Mini in the quest for buyers with more cash than responsibilities."It's a growing market as people downsize their cars to achieve better fuel economy but don't want to give up performance or style," Alfa Romeo Australia's Edward Rowe says."Our aim is to beat the Mini on both price and equipment."To that end, Rowe says the newcomer — which sits on a Fiat Punto platform — will launch as two models: the 88kW MiTo and a sparkier, 114kW MiTo Sport.Both have turbocharged, 1.4-litre petrol engines with six-speed manual gearboxes. Expect a starting price in the low $30,000 range.Hyundai i20AFTER the success of the i30 hatch and wagon, Hyundai has high hopes for its German-designed, Indian- made small car.Expected to hit showrooms towards the end of this year, the three-door and five-door i20s will sit at the higher end of the light-car segment, beginning at $16,000 to $17,000.This will leave the popular Getz as Hyundai's entry-level model, but will likely spell the end of the Accent.VW Golf GTITHE sixth-generation Golf GTI arrives in October with all the shiny new technology seen on its more mundane stablemates but lots more go.With 155kW driving through a new limited-slip differential, it promises all the attitude of its predecessors wrapped into a more refined package."It has all the safety and enhancements of the Golf VI and more power than the outgoing GTI, yet it's quieter and more efficient," VW Australia's Karl Gehling says.Pricing isn't yet set, but should be close to the outgoing model's $39,990.Holden VE CommodoreTHE first mid-life makeover for GM-Holden's "billion-dollar baby" is likelyto be remarkable for what ishappening under the skin rather than for any cosmetic body changes.A founding member of the Large Family Car segment — the hardest- hit sector of the industry over the past couple of years — the Commodore will celebrate GM's survival with a much more focused and fuel-efficient engine package.Although a four-cylinder option isn't on the cards, a smaller V6 is. That could be a three-litre or even a version of the 2.8-litre that has recently been shipped to Mexico for the Cadillac SRX.Expect to see it around October.