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NEXT CAR'S NEWSLETTER
9th JANUARY, 2006


WELCOME
to our newsletter #61




FROM THE EDITOR'S DESK

Friends,

Presently, the news is pouring out of Detroit. The motor show is about to begin and the car companies are going to make sure we know it! There are some good things and some bad. We'll publish much of the news over the next few days. Despite the fact that we prefer our pages to show attractive cars, we'll show an image of the Chrysler Imperial concept car just to prove we do not discriminate! Seemingly, car companies (or at least one car company) insists on the right to manufacture attractive and unattractive cars, too.

We're only a week into the new year and I can re-confirm my earlier prediction ..... this year is going to be a 'bumper' year for new cars. Stay tuned, don't miss a single day!

Warm regards,
Stephen Walker

The Editor road testing a 
Renault Megane Renaultsport 225

The Editor road testing a
Renault Megane Renaultsport 225

Location:
Stockton NSW

Click the image for a clearer view





In this issue:

  • The Editor's Desk
  • Contents
  • Looking Back - 1982 Porsche 944
  • Announcement - Rhema On The Road
  • Road Test - Holden Rodeo diesel 4x4 crew cab
  • News summary
  • Editor's Pick Of The News
  • Coming Events - Australia and Overseas
  • Announcement - Our "Top Drive of '05"
  • Road Test - Renault Megane Renaultsport 225
  • Advertising
  • Silly Suburban Signs
  • Advertise with Next Car
  • Car Club Corner
  • Housekeeping





LOOKING BACK

1982 Porsche 944

1982 Porsche 944

1982 Porsche 944

Engine:
water-cooled, in-line four-cylinder engine

Displacement:
2,479 cmł

Output:
120 kW (163 HP) at 5,800 rpm

Top Speed:
220 km/h





PASS IT ON!

Please pass on this newsletter to family, friends and colleagues who have an interest in cars.
They are welcome to subscribe, if they wish.





'Rhema on the Road'

HEAR MOTORING NEWS ON RADIO

presented by Chris Goodsell, each Saturday on

94.3 Rhema FM Dubbo at 10 AM
99.9 Rhema FM Port Macquarie at 12 noon,
89.7 Rhema FM Tamworth at 2 PM and
106.5 Rhema FM Taree at 10AM

and in Queensland
each Friday at 4PM on Rhema FM 105.7 Mount Isa

Rhema On The Road





Holden Rodeo diesel 4x4 crew cab

Click the image for the road test

Holden Rodeo diesel 4x4 crew cab
road test

Let's be clear straight away, I like driving the Rodeo. It has car like ride and road handling qualities equal to or better than its competitors. In standard guise straight from your Holden dealer, the Rodeo will go where ever you want to go ..... be it to the bush, the desert or just around the town.

Read our Holden Rodeo diesel 4x4 crew cab road test here.


Other road tests are here.





NEWS SUMMARY


    Audi S8 is Show-Stopper for Melbourne 2006
    23rd December, 2005
    Audi will pull out all stops for the 2006 Melbourne Motor Show, displaying its superb S8 sports limousine for the first time in Australia ..... more

    Mustang Lets Kids Put The Pedal To The Metal
    25th December, 2005
    Just as the 1965 Mustang was a runaway hit, so was its counterpart pedal car. Four decades later, the pedal car with the Mustang logo is back ..... more

    Volkswagen back in first place in Europe
    26th December, 2005
    Volkswagen is back in first place in Europe. Measured by the number of new vehicle registrations, the brand has regained first place in 2005 ..... more

    Kia's New Grand Carnival
    26th December, 2005
    With the launch of the Grand Carnival on 1st January 2006, Kia will start the new year with another assault on the people mover market with an all-new vehicle that is larger in every way ..... more

    New Chrysler 300C "Heritage Edition"
    26th December, 2005
    Paying homage to the great Chrysler 300s of the late 1950s, the Chrysler Group announced the new 2006 Chrysler 300C "Heritage Edition," will debut on 4th January, 2006, at the Los Angeles Motor Show ..... more

    Japan's Mazda MX-5 Commemorative Edition
    27th December, 2005
    To mark the Roadster, known as MX-5 in overseas markets, winning the 2005-2006 Japan Car of the Year (JCOTY) Award, Mazda will launch a special edition Roadster, called the 'Japan Car of the Year Award Commemorative Edition' in Japan ..... more

    New Audi RS 4 Supercar
    27th December, 2005
    Audi’s high-performance range will feature as the hero models at the 2006 Melbourne International Motor Show, with the company displaying its new RS4 supercar alongside the superlative new Audi S8 ..... more

    World’s Most Powerful Series Production Car
    28th December, 2005
    The top-of-the-line model of the brand new S-Class delivers 450 kW and reaches peak torque of 1000 Nm – more than any other vehicle in this segment ..... more

    Kia Sorento Completes Expedition
    28th December, 2005
    Christer Gerlach, the record-breaking Swedish driver and adventurer, successfully completed the Sorento Around the World Expeditionˇ - a 27,000-kilometre global adventure ..... more

    Record Year For Skoda
    28th December, 2005
    As early as a month before the end of the year, Škoda Auto managed to break its own annual sales record achieved last year ..... more

    Game, Set And Match – To Peugeot
    28th December, 2005
    The Cliff Richard Tennis Classic used five vehicles loaned by Peugeot at the recently staged event ..... more

    GM Reaches New Milestone in Asia Pacific
    29th December, 2005
    With the purchase of a midnight black Chevrolet Optra 1.8 LT, H.E. Manaspas Xuto recently became the 1 millionth buyer of a General Motors vehicle in Asia Pacific in 2005 ..... more

    The Top Drive of '05
    30th December, 2005
    Next Car Pty Ltd, a leading Australian automotive news journal, has announced the Volkswagen Golf GTI is their choice as the "Top Drive of 2005" ..... more

    Holden's 2006 Model Changes
    31st December, 2005
    Holden also announced model changes to its 2006 line-up of locally produced vehicles in preparation for an all-new Commodore which is expected to be launched in the second half of the year ..... more

    Hummer: Here In A Year
    1st January, 2006
    The H3 is about a year away from its Australian release. The 5-cylinder SUV will provide Holden with another 4WD model ..... more

    Honda Takes 'Detroit News' Awards
    1st January, 2006
    The U.S. newspaper 'Detroit News' has named the new Honda Civic sedan as its 2006 Car of the Year and the Honda Ridgeline as its 2006 Truck of the Year ..... more

    Melbourne Debut For Maserati GranSport Spyder
    2nd January, 2006
    The Maserati GranSport Spyder will make its Australian debut at the Melbourne International Motor Show (10th-19th February 2006) providing show visitors with a preview of Maserati's new sports car ..... more

    Liberty Sports New Entry-Level Engine
    3rd January, 2006
    Subaru is adding a 2.0 litre variant to its 2006 Liberty range, with a recommended retail price starting from $31,990 ..... more

    Volvo Poised for 2006
    3rd January, 2006
    For 2006, Volvo Car will introduce several new models – namely the S40 S and V50 S – to sharpen the value position for its sedan and wagon range ..... more

    Mini's Best Year
    4th January, 2006
    Mini in Australia has enjoyed its best year ever with a total of 2,097 cars delivered in 2005 ..... more

    Russian Joint Venture For Fiat
    4th January, 2006
    An agreement between Fiat Auto and Severstal Auto to produce two Fiat products in Russia has joined a growing list of Fiat Joint ventures ..... more

    New Car Sales Record For 2005
    5th January, 2006
    Australians bought more cars and trucks in 2005 than ever before to set an all-time annual motor vehicle sales record of 988,269 ..... more

    Best Sales in 8 Years for Chrysler/Jeep
    5th January, 2006
    Riding on a record December retail performance Chrysler Jeep has achieved its best annual sales in eight years, according to official VFACTS figures released today ..... more

    Third Straight Record Year For Honda
    6th January, 2006
    Honda Australia is rewriting its record book for a third time in three years thanks to another all-time sales record ..... more

    Twin-turbo Diesel For Jaguar S-TYPE
    6th January, 2006
    Jaguar Australia confirms the Jaguar S-TYPE Diesel for an April 2006 arrival ..... more

    Lamborghini Miura Concept For Detroit
    6th January, 2006
    The House of the Raging Bull has brought back a legendary historical name with the introduction of its Lamborghini Miura Concept car, which will be shown at the Detroit Motor Show this month ..... more

    Citroën To Reveal Diesel Hybrid C4
    6th January, 2006
    Citroën will reveal its C4 Diesel Electric hybrid on the 31st January 2006, previewing a production car that the French car maker has committed to have on sale by 2010 ..... more

    Volkswagen 'Minivan' For America
    8th January, 2006
    DaimlerChrysler's Chrysler Group and Volkswagen will develop and produce a new van for the North American market ..... more

    20 Years Of Saab Convertibles
    8th January, 2006
    Saab is raising the roof, celebrating two decades of convertible sales success by introducing an eye-catching 20th anniversary model, the Saab 9-3 Convertible Cerulean edition ..... more

    Volkswagen GX3 Concept - Car Or Bike?
    8th January, 2006
    In a world premiere at the Los Angeles Motor Show, Volkswagen presented the GX3 – a completely new type of motorcycle. The GX3 was conceived by the Moonraker team and VW’s Design Centre in California, exclusively with the U.S. in mind ..... more

    Porsche Announces Cayenne Turbo S
    9th January, 2006
    The second most powerful Porsche ever homologated for road use has been announced ..... more

    A Decade Of Holden Commodore Leadership
    9th January, 2006
    Holden has finished 2005 with Australia’s best selling car for the 10th consecutive year, the most popular passenger car range and most popular light truck range ..... more

    Maserati at Detroit Motor Show
    9th January, 2006
    Maserati has arrived at the North American International Auto Show this week in a record breaking mood after nearly doubling Northern American sales in 2005 ..... more



All these stories and the previous news stories can be accessed
from our NEWS PAGE.
Simply click on the link above.




The Editor's Pick Of The News

After reading the news, which story did you enjoy the most?

After driving approximately 70 cars in just one year, it was always going to be an exciting episode to pick just one car as the "Top Drive of 2005". The fact that we took the opportunity to have another go and took two examples to the NSW south coast for a photographic session was the 'icing on the cake'. The Volkswagen Golf GTI is an absolutely wonderful car to drive. I remain as impressed today, as I was when I first drove one back in May 2005. Therefore, our own story on the "Top Drive of 2005" is my pick of the news!

Read the story ..... here.

Stephen Walker


The Top Drive of 2005!

The Top Drive of 2005!

Click the image for the story

More images of the Volkswagen Golf GTI

1     2     3     4     5     6     7     8     9    





COMING EVENTS

AUSTRALIA

  • Motorfest 2006
    Sydney NSW
    Thursday 26th January, 2006
    In the streets around the Parliament House and Hyde Park area of Sydney

  • Melbourne International Motor Show
    Melbourne Victoria
    Friday 10th February to
    Sunday 19th February, 2006
    Melbourne Exhibition Centre

  • Brisbane International Motor Show
    Brisbane Queensland
    Friday 3rd March to
    Sunday 12th March, 2006
    Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre

  • 5th HD/HR Nationals
    Melbourne, Victoria
    Saturday 10th June to
    Sunday 11th June, 2006
    Various Mentone, Melbourne and Point Cook locations

OVERSEAS

  • Los Angeles Motor Show
    Los Angeles, California, USA
    Friday 6th January to
    Sunday 15th January, 2006
    Los Angeles Convention Centre
  • Detroit Motor Show
    Detroit, Michigan, USA
    Saturday 14th January to
    Sunday 22nd January, 2006
  • Vancouver International Motor Show
    Vancouver, Canada
    Friday 31st March to
    Sunday 9th April, 2006
    BC Place Stadium
  • British International Motor Show
    London, England
    Thursday 20th July to
    Sunday 30th July, 2006
    ExCeL in London's Docklands

All events and dates are subject to change without notice.







ON 30/12/05 WE NAMED THE CAR
WE RATED AS THE TOP DRIVE OF 2005


You'll see it HERE.





Renault Megane Renaultsport 225 road test

Click the image for the road test

Renault Megane Renaultsport 225
road test

When you put your foot down in this car, you get a very quick sensation of accelerated excitement. This car is definitely not for the faint hearted!

Read our Renault Megane Renaultsport 225 road test here.


Other road tests are here.





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Silly Suburban Signs


Lambton, NSW

Location: Lambton, NSW


Click the image for a clearer view

This is not silly!

But how and why were Howe and Wye Streets planned to intersect?





Advertise with Next Car

To advertise with Next Car, contact us by e-mail from here.





Car Club Corner

Here's a listing of some of the nation's car clubs.


Motorfest 2005 - Sydney

Click the image for a larger view



And some photographic pages


07/08/05 All Holden Day - NSW ... here

29/05/05 Great Lakes Historic Automobile Club Church Parade ... here

26/01/05 Motorfest 2005 (Sydney)
Gallery 1   2   3   4   5

26/09/04 Central Coast British Car Club Run ... here

06/06/04 Great Lakes Historic Car Club Run ... here

07/03/04 Bay City Chrysler Car Club Expo ... here

26/01/04 Motorfest 2004 (Sydney) ... here





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