Toyota Aurion 2008 News

Jimmy Iskandar, from Casula, has been ordered to pay $31,762 by Parramatta Local Court for odometer tampering and other offences. The cars were bought from licensed car dealers, private sellers and auction houses, and were tampered with as follows:• On 12 February 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2004 Mercedes-Benz E320 sedan for $30,000. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 210,000 kilometres. He subsequently sold the car with the odometer reading showing at 91,000 kilometres.• On 15 February 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Aurion AT-X sedan for $16,990. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 191,244 kilometres. On 29 March 2010, he sold the motor vehicle to Rana Motors Pty Ltd with the odometer reading 149,520 kilometres.• On 19 August 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan for $6,000. The odometer read 152,153 kilometres but on 27 January 2011, he sold car privately with an odometer reading of 88,580 kilometres.• On 29 August 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan, with an odometer reading of 170,000 kilometres, for $8,000. The same day he sold the motor vehicle to Rana Motors Pty Ltd with an odometer reading of 55,723 kilometres.• On 9 November 2010, Iskandar purchased a 2008 Toyota Camry Altise sedan from Hertz Australia Pty Ltd for $14,000 with an odometer reading of 68,826 kilometres. At the time of the sale in January 2011, the odometer reading was at 35,059 kilometres.• On 5 January 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry Altise sedan for $9,000. The odometer at the time of purchase was 149,750 kilometres but when sold, the odometer had been wound back by more than 100,000 kilometres.• On 15 February 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2006 Toyota Camry Altise sedan from Rana Motors Pty Ltd for $8,000 with an odometer reading of 121,429 kilometres. Two months later he sold the car for double the price with an odometer reading of 46,118 kilometres.• On 14 April 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Aurion Sportivo sedan with an odometer reading of 155,709 kilometres. On 9 August 2011, he sold the car with a reading of 55,944 kilometres.• On 13 May 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Aurion Prodigy sedan from Highway Car Sales for $14,000. The odometer reading at the time of purchase was 140,105 kilometres. Four months later he sold the car for $15,000, using his business card with an expired wholesalers’ licence number. The odometer had been wound back by over 90,000 kilometres.• On 9 August 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2005 Toyota Tarago GLi van for $11,000 with an odometer reading of 177,623 kilometres. Two months later he sold the van for $20,000 with an odometer reading of more than half the figure.• On 18 September 2011, Iskandar purchased a 1997 Toyota Tarago GLi van for $4,000 and sold it two months later for $4,500. The odometer discrepancy was more than 48,000 kilometres.• On 17 December 2011, Iskandar purchased a 2005 Toyota Tarago GLi van. The following month he sold the van for $1,500 more to a church group, with the odometer reading reduced by almost 60 per cent.• On 15 February 2012, Iskandar purchased a 2007 Toyota Camry Ateva sedan for $10,000 with an odometer reading of 153,148 kilometres. He subsequently advertised the sedan for $15,500 with an odometer reading of 59,000 kilometres.Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe said it was fortunate for Mr Iskandar that such offences do not attract a prison sentence.“While Mr Iskandar pleaded guilty in court, unfortunately he did not make the same admissions to his hapless clients and he stood to make a significant amount of money from his duplicity in the process,” he said. “Odometer tampering is a serious offence and poses a significant detriment to the consumer.’’ 

Appealing to our national identity to support local product is the Toyota’s latest lure to entice buyers into showrooms. Toyota is pushing the “buy Australian” line with a 0 per cent finance deal on its locally assembled Camry, Camry Hybrid and Aurion sedans. Camry sales are still more than solid, with the sedan accounting for almost one in three cars sold in the mid-sized market. The Aurion, though, is being hammered by the move away from large sedans and sales are down 23 per cent so far this year. Toyota's executive director sales and marketing Matthew Callachor says the finance offer is an extension of the company's Local Pride advertising campaign, which features staff from the Altona production line in Melbourne’s west extolling the virtues of the vehicles. "Zero per cent (finance) is a way to encourage Australians to rediscover the value and other attributes of cars we build here," Callachor says. "Over many years, we have exported several times more Australian-built Toyota cars than we sell locally. Our long-term aim is to shift this balance closer to 50:50. We are supporting that objective by reminding local motorists that Camry and Aurion are built by Australians for Australians." Toyota built 96,618 cars at the plant last year, most of which were exported and will open a new $330 million engine facility in Victoria later this year to build the 2.5-litre four-cylinder engines that power the Camry range. The financial promotion is a means of offsetting the continued strength of the Aussie dollar, which effectively gives importers a default discount on their vehicles. Toyota isn’t the only carmaker with a 0 per cent finance deal. Renault and Nissan are pushing the interest-free loan on a three-year term for selected models. Kia and Mitsubishi are both touting 0.9 per cent finance and Honda has a 1.5 per cent rate on the Civic hatch. LOCAL VEHICLE PRODUCTION  

Toyota’s new large, front-drive sedan is not for Australians, and that's a good thing.Toyota USA took the wraps off the 2013 Toyota Avalon at this week’s New York Auto Show. Toyota USA spokesman Bob Carter said the new Avalon is more refined, more spacious, more technically advanced and more dynamically competent than the seven-year old model it replaces.But, before Toyota-philes get too excited, we should tell you up front that the fourth-generation Avalon will not come to Australia. Even though Toyota did build the (second-gen) Avalon in Port Melbourne from 2000 to 2006, Toyota Australia abandoned the Avalon program to develop the Aurion large sedan off the Camry platform.But still, we thought you’d like a look at the Avalon we ‘could’ have had, although any suggestion we’d be better off with this one is a long bow to draw, especially in light of the Avalon’s struggles in the USA. Sales of the third generation model which this one replaces have dropped from a first year high of 95,318 in 2005 to just 28,925 in 2011.By comparison Toyota Australia sold 9,815 Aurions locally in 2011. That’s just one-third the volume in a market one-fifteenth the size of America. It’s some consolation to Toyota USA that they have the best selling passenger car in the country in Camry, which sits in second overall behind the Ford F-Series utility truck. Where Avalon does 28,000 a year, Camry does around 42,000 a month.The American Avalon and Australian Aurion siblings may be similar insofar as they both are large front-drive sedans with the same 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine up front, but the American car is significantly larger overall — some 14cm longer and 2cm wider, thought it roofline sits 1cm lower — and therefore heavier.Last time I sat in an Aurion, I’m pretty sure it had loads of legroom. So, anyone who wants 14cm more is just being greedy. So, now you know. Ours is better than theirs.

A survey of car running costs for more than 600 popular models, to be released today by the NRMA, shows that motorists are saving $2 a week on the overall costs of running a car compared to last year. It now costs motorists an average of $183 a week to buy, fuel, repair, insure, and allow for car maintenance costs,

Australia's first hybrid, a petrol-electric Camry, is set for production in 2010 and work is nearly finished on the extra assembly stations at Altona. But, before the Camry hybrid, Toyota also has a minor tweak for the Camry and Aurion in the third quarter of this year. It's mostly about improved efficiency and value, but there will be changes to the front and rear bodywork. Toyota Thailand gave a hint on the new direction when it unveiled its version of the Camry hybrid last week, although the headlight and tail lamp treatments are sharper and more edgy than the Australian car. The local Camry will get new-style headlamps, most likely projector beams, and will have a new type of tail lamp cluster produced on an all-new production line at Hella Australia in Mentone. The facelift design work has been done at Toyota Style Australia under the direction of Paul Beranger and should be more acceptable to Australian tastes. But Toyota Australia refuses to make any comment on the upcoming updates, or the exact timing of the hybrid Camry. "Yes, there will be an update to the Camry and Aurion this year. But you will have to wait to see what we have," says Toyota spokesman, Mike Breen.

Ripping around Albert Park last weekend in a couple of racing cars was rare old fun.There is something special about cutting loose in the 21st century with no restrictions and no speed cameras.It's the automotive equivalent of clearing your sinuses after a terrible head cold. You can breath again, your eyesight is better, your head is clear and things just seem to be crisper and sharper.I was lucky to be asked to sprint a BMW 135i in a three-way run-off against a V8 Supercar and a Formula One racer in the Ultimate Speed Challenge and even luckier to be given a miniature Toyota Aurion to run in the Aussie Racing Car contests at the AGP.Track time in the 135 convinced me I was right to rate it as a real-world alternative to an M3. The baby BMW is quick, balanced and real fun - particularly with the traction control switched off and all the space at Albert Park to throw it around.The track car was very mildly tweaked with a free-flow exhaust, but was lapping quicker than a Z4M I drove a year earlier. This time I managed a win over the real racing cars, although Greg Murphy scored the overall win with two victories in his Sprint Gas Commodore.The Aussie car was something else again.I was not sure what to expect from the scaled-down V8 Supercar, because lots of people joke that they should be carrying clowns from the circuit.But there is nothing silly when you strap inside and uncork the 1.2-litre motorcycle engine fitted to a race-bred chassis. Except, perhaps, your smile.The Aussie Aurion was of the most demanding and rewarding cars I have driven, with supercar punch and cornering grip that trumps a real V8 Supercar. The braking distances at Albert Park, after topping 220km/h down the straight, were stupidly short.I never got close to the front-runners in the Aussie class but my race on Saturday was the best I have had in more than 25 years of motorsport, with more passing between two cars than you often see in a whole V8 Supercar contest.

He is the man you definitely want on your side. Senator Carr is the most impressive politician I have met, at least on the car business, since the late Senator John Button in the early 1980s. Button set the original review agenda for the car business and now Carr is driving the motor industry into the 21st century with a clear picture, incredible energy, and a genuine understanding of what it's all about. His enthusiasm was obvious this week as he helped open a new production line at Hella in Mentone which will supply lamps for the update of the Toyota Camry and Aurion later this year. "I'm only here as eye candy today, and I'll let our hosts tell you about the plant and what it means for Hella, Toyota and Australia," Carr says, weaving humour into a serious message. "But I can't pass up this opportunity to re-affirm the government's central messages about manufacturing. "First, that we want Australia to be a country that makes things. And, second, that we want it to be a country that makes cars." That is great news for all the people in the motor industry, but also the Australians who share a common history that is wrapped around the ability of the automobile to conquer the vast distances in our country. Carr has found money and support for the industry but stresses that companies must also work together as part of his new Car Plan. "The success of any industry depends on what companies do together - how much they can rely on each other and how closely they collaborate. If anyone wants to know what a vigorous, creative and competitive Australian component sector would look like - well, it would look like this: "Hella delivers the inputs Toyota needs, at the right price, to the right standard and - as Toyota has taught every manufacturer in the world to say - "just in time". It took the German-owned lighting specialist just nine months to get its new Kaizen line operational and global boss Dr Juergen Behrend says the benefits will flow well beyond the two founding partners. "What we have learned with Toyota will also benefit our other customers, like Ford and Holden," Behrend says. So it's becoming more and more of a family affair, with the Godfather stressing the need for a shared commitment. "The industry is only as strong as its weakest link, so we have to ensure that every link is rock solid," says Carr.

After just 888 sales and a range of setbacks, including a safety recall for an engine failure, Toyota Australia has killed its TRD division.The decision to close the go-faster shop has cost an estimated $20 million in research-and-development, dealer facilities and a production tie-up with Prodrive in Melbourne although the 17 staff at TRD will be moved to other jobs within Toyota Australia.The final TRD Aurion and HiLux models will be produced before the end of March and stocks are likely to be cleared early in 2009.Toyota denies any embarrassment over the TRD failure, its first since ending Daihatsu sales in Australia, but admits it was not making money and had little chance of a black-ink bottom line."It was costing us more than it was returning. Our forecast was that we would have had to continue to invest for a period of time, a number of years not a number of months," admits Peter McGregor, who was responsible for TRD."We're talking about an operational change to the total Toyota business. We've had to make some tough decisions."McGregor says the current economic situation has also put pressure on TRD, which is not making its projected sales results."It was working reasonably well. HiLux was selling 50 to 60 units a month, and we were doing about 34 Aurions, although that is slightly below what we originally thought we would do."The numbers are far below the results achieved by Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performance Vehicles, and TRD critics are already claiming a success in the brand's failure.They say go-faster Toyotas were never going to succeed in Australia, despite the company's investment in supercharged V6 engines for the Aurion and HiLux.The TRD operation was planned as a way of winning new buyers to Toyota showrooms, as well as converting younger customers, by adding some spice to cars which are known for their vanilla flavour."Vanilla can be quite nice if you get the right brand. And we have the luxury brand in Lexus," says Mike Breen of Toyota Australia.The TRD operation will be closed after less than two years and the decision means there is no need to continue development of a third TRD model."There definitely won't be a third model. Although there were a number under consideration," says McGregor.All TRD vehicles will continue to be covered by Toyota's warranty.The failure of TRD has been offset this week by an upcoming record for Toyota Australia.It has hit an export milestone, shipping more than 100,000 vehicles overseas in a single year.The record car was part of a shipment of 2100 vehicles which left Melbourne on Christmas Eve.Toyota Australia is now forecasting total exports of 101,563 for 2008, an industry record, up from 96,688 in 2007.Its production at Altona is now overwhelmingly focussed on exports, with local sales of the Camry and Aurion only totalling around 40,000 cars."This is Australia's biggest automotive export program, generating$1.8 billion a year in export revenue," says Dave Buttner, Toyota Australia's senior executive director of sales and marketing.

You get used to seeing strange things on the Gold Coast during Indy week.Australia's newest race car, Toyota's TRD Aurion Aussie Racing Car has been getting out and about on the Gold Coast ahead of its debut race this weekend at the Nikon Indy 300. 

It's one thing to get wiggy with the options list; it's quite another to chuck bucks at a top-line model when the lesser version has the same drive train and essential safety equipment.In the case of several of the most popular models we've chosen, the cheaper version also has the impertinence to be the better drive.So it can come down to deeply personal questions such as: can you live without the caress of leather? Light and easyFirst thing to know about this class of car is that you should learn to drive a manual. Small cars go better this way. They're also cheaper.But some 90 per cent of you would sooner slaughter your own meat than change gear for yourself, which means you'll need to pay $2K more for Hyundai's three-door Getz 1.4 S.Add the absolutely non-negotiable safety pack — with electronic stability program, ABS brakes and traction control — and suddenly you're at $17,280, still better value than the SXi at $18,490.Which brings us into price range of the critical and popular small car du jour. The Mazda2 comes in three-or five-door shape and three model lines, the top auto Genki a touch over $23K.Get the five-door, four-speed automatic Neo with $1100 safety pack — including stability control and extra air bags — for $19,740. Medium fareThat the generality has deserted big 'Strayan family cars for smaller but high-quality imports is no cause for wonder. But, in the lemming-like rush to downsize, they've also skipped over a car that's also more fuel-efficient, faster and safer than the one chalking up the sales.Moreover, with the recent price cut, the class-leading Mazda6 medium car now starts under the upper-echelon versions of the Mazda3. A bigger and better car for less? Oh, yes.Best of all, the base model $28,490 Mazda6 Limited manual sedan has the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and active/passive safety measures as the $42K-plus Sport Luxury.For our money it also has the better ride/handling compromise.If you want a trip computer and the more popular hatch/liftback shape with its truly commodious passenger and luggage space, get the Classic with five-speed auto at $35,990. That's still $8K off the toptop dog.When Volkswagen negotiated a sub-$40K starting price for the brilliant Mark V Golf GTI it didn't anticipate it becoming the second-biggest seller in its perennial hatch's line-up. Now every thrusty tosser in a white baseball cap gets into them.Subtler, cheaper, greener and — in its way — cooler, is the Golf GT Sport TSI with its exceptional twin-charged engine.Never mind the seemingly weedy 1.4-litre capacity, the TSI teams a supercharger with a turbo charger to achieve a 125kW/250Nm output and performance not very distant from its better recognised sibling.At $37,490 you do without a hole in the roof or cowhide, but you do get the six-speed twin-clutch transmission, which is both faster and more efficient than the conventional manual. When size mattersHow Holden and Ford must curse the rise of the soft-roader.To appreciate its dominance of the family car market you need only observe any school drop-off zone.With off-road ability propping up the list of daily requirements, Toyota's Kluger KX-R seven-seat 2WD at $41,490 has the whole package for less than a top-line RAV4. It has the same 3.5 V6 and five-speed auto as the $66K top Kluger, plus all its size, utility and the whole outfit of active and passive measure. Save for all-wheel-drive, that is. But when you're at Woolies, who exactly cares?If you're of the ever-diminishing mob who must have a big sedan, Toyota's Aurion Touring SE Special is another that lacks some of the fruit of the top-line model but has all its wherewithal — not least the 3.5 V6 and excellent six-speed auto.At $34,990, not only is it $15K cheaper than the Presara, it gets by without a stupid name. Aspirational autosMuch, far too much, has been made of the varied faces of the excellent Mercedes-Benz C-Class. You can have the more traditional face of the Classic or Elegance lines or the SLK-emulating Avantgarde.You also get to pay $5K or more for the latter.The up-puffed supercharged 1.8 petrol engine of the C200K is better than before but, once you've sampled the thrust of the 125kW/400Nm diesel C220 CDI Classic ($60,500), there's no going back.It's good enough to make you wonder where the extra $35K is in the top-line C320 CDI. The 220's options list is encyclopedic, but standard kit is a good deal more than adequate.For some, though, the lure of six petrol pots is too much. In that case, the Lexus IS250 Prestige with six-speed flappy paddle auto at $58,990 is our choice.It lacks the sat-nav and phat rims of the exxier versions, but drives better almost all the time.Better yet, the Prestige comes in under the luxury car tax, so you keep Treasurer Wayne Swan's sticky fingers out of your wallet.