Sedan News

As June 30 approaches, things get frantic in the new-car sales business. Brands and dealers feel the pressure and deals come thick and fast — some are better than others.Some car "brokers" make ridiculous claims about saving up to 25 per cent on a new-car price. Best be sceptical as there just has to be a catch — old build plates, unpopular model or colour, old stock etc. Best to deal with the makers direct, as the deals are sharp enough.Market leader Toyota has drive-away pricing on some popular models. The Corolla Ascent manual starts at $20,990, saving about $2500 on full freight. The auto is $2000 more.The Yaris Ascent auto starts at $17,990 drive-away, while the Camry is at a lossmaking $26,990 including prestige paint that usually adds about $500.Toyota is adding extras for no cost on some HiLux variants, for example the tow and stow pack worth $1300.Mazda is taking the drive-away pricing route on some models, starting with the Mazda2 at $16,990 drive-away for the manual. But it also promotes unspecified end of financial year "bonuses" on others. The Mazda6 gains a safety pack at no extra cost.Nissan finance is doing 1 per cent interest on its more popular models and there is drive-away pricing on less favoured badges. The Micra, soon to depart Australia, is the best buying at $12,990 drive-away for the manual, about $2700 off.Mitsubishi is doing free auto upgrades on several models.Hyundai has a mix of incentives. These include drive-away pricing on Accent Active manual hatch at $14,990 — about $3500 off (and just $1000 for an auto). It still has the i30 Active auto at $19,990, roughly $7000 off.There is five years' free servicing on some Hyundais and, on others, free third-party, registration and stamp duty (but not dealer delivery). ABN holders get a $1500 factory bonus on iLoad.Kia's run-out Cerato is $19,990 drive-away, plus free auto plus a $1000 gift card — making it the cheapest small car with auto in Australia. It's about $6000 off full price.In addition, all Kias have an unbeatable seven year/unlimited kilometre warranty.Holden's Step Up Sale has range of incentives, among them drive-away pricing, free auto and three years' free servicing.Holden is doing three years' free servicing on its SUVs, free auto and three years free servicing on the Colorado and Ute and free auto on Commodore. The Spark LS manual at $14,990 drive-away is just $1000 above its RRP.Ford's range is variously boosted by drive-away pricing, cash bonuses of $500, $1000 or $2000 dependent on the model, tech packs on some of the commercial vehicles (Ranger) and auto on some cars.Drive-away pricing is a given or should be at this time of year. If you can't get it, shop other brands.

Peter Brock fans are in for a rare treat at Shannons Autumn auction on Monday, May 30. Almost 10 years after the King of the Mountain’s shock death, collectors are lining up to bid on a 1984 VK Commodore SS Group 3 Sedan that was Brocky’s personal transport during his stint at HDT Special Vehicles.The VK SS was originally a GM-H company car provided to Peter Brock as a his personal vehicle, which he then converted into the first Group Three in August 1984.It was used for the official press release and studio photography and appeared on the cover of Wheels magazine in October 1984.As confirmed in a letter from Peter Brock the car was subsequently sold to HDT and Brock himself continued to use the car as his personal transport, with the wheels changed and the bonnet scoop deleted.Because of its significance Shannons expect the Commodore to sell for upwards of $100,000.But, in a double header, there’s probably even more interest in a 1984 Opel Monza Coupe that Brock was developing as the prototype of a future HDT Special Vehicle.This unique piece of Australian motoring history is the only survivor of the stillborn Monza project, a glimpse of what might have been and a wonderfully collectible muscle car.The story goes that Brock was inspired by his loan of an Opel Monza coupe while he was racing at Le Mans in 1981.He found the fastback Opel an altogether more sophisticated machine than its Commodore cousin.With disc brakes all round and fully independent rear suspension, Brock was quick to recognise the potential for enhancing the Monza’s performance with some real Aussie grunt and a car was secured from Germany in October 1983 for the full HDT treatment.This included a 5.0-litre V8 to Group Three specification positioned further back in the chassis for better weight distribution (the bent eight actually proved lighter than the in-line six it replaced), a Borg-Warner T5G five-speed transmission, rack and pinion steering and a limited-slip diff.Bigger brakes and stiffer suspension completed the list of mechanical upgrades.The press heaped praise on the prototype, with Modern Motor describing the Monza as “the most exciting car to emerge from an Australian workshop in recent years”.With a projected price of around $45,000, the HDT Monza was aimed at an exclusive market, with production vehicles slated to have a long list of standard luxury equipment.Despite the pleading of journalists and public alike, the HDT Monza remained a one-off due to time constraints and other projects, eventually passing into private hands.It’s expected to fetch up to $120,000 while its Brock 1 number plates will be sold separately.

As we head into the biggest month of the year for new-car sales it's not always easy to pick the real deals.

The secret is out: supercar power is coming to the homegrown Commodore to create fastest Holden of all time.

Hyundai’s upcoming Elantra SR has been spotted on Australian roads, months ahead of its showroom debut.An eagle-eyed CarsGuide reader snapped these shots of the hotted-up Elantra in Sydney this week, most likely undergoing final fine-tuning and testing of its locally-developing suspension and steering setup.While the Elantra caught in these pictures appears to have been de-badged to help it fly under the radar, it’s clearly a version of the turbocharged the SR revealed in South Korea in April. Telltale signs are the large bumper apertures flanking the black framed grille and the red-pinstripe headlight design. Other giveaways that this is the more hard-core Elantra are the larger front brake rotors, dual exhaust tips and diffuser in the rear bumper.More than just a small sedan in a tough body kit, the Elantra SR is set to be powered by the same 150kW 1.6-litre turbo four-cylinder petrol engine found in the Veloster SR. The sedan's handling is also set for a boost with the SR riding almost 20mm lower than normal, and also stepping up to multilink rear suspension over the regular torsion beam setup. A choice of either a six-speed manual or seven-speed dual clutch auto transmission is also expected to carry across from the Veloster.new-generation ElantraThe gold Elantra was travelling in convoy with what looks to be an upcoming new version of the sports flavoured i30 SR. The existing SR and SR Premium use the same 17-inch wheel design as the luxury-spec i30 Premium, but the model spotted is wearing the same 17-inch double spoke design as the Elantra SR.  

Take $10,000 off the price of limited edition sedans as the LS3 V8 gets one last blast

New 40 series concepts hint at upcoming XC40 small SUV and third-generation S40.

Here are some of the best buys if you want to get in early before June 30.

A prize winning Falcon GTHO was passed in at auction this week after it failed to reach the $500,000-plus asking price.

How the super rich get a massive tax break under new car import laws, as ordinary buyers miss out.