I've said all along what the following video (link below) brings to light to us and that it's actually the manufacturers fault as they just didn't want to change and always thought that here in Australia fads would come and go but if they stuck it out then all would be good.................wrong !
When did we ever make a successful 4 cylinder in large masses that people would embrace ?, when did we ever make a successful SUV that the people would embrace ?
This is rather well displayed back in the early 1970's when the Japanese were starting to bring in 4 cylinder cars with bucket seats, 4 speed floorshift, Carpet, radio, 3 speed fan assisted heater, floor mounted handbrake that wasn't shoulder breaking, disc brakes on the front, high beam stalk on the steering column, better instrumentation, etc etc etc. and all as standard equipment mind you.
What was the Australian industry offering as standard equipment ? Bench Seat, 3 Speed Column shift gearbox, radio was optional, heater was optional until the HQ when it became standard, High beam still on the floor, idiot lights (Temp, Gen and Oil) and no gauges apart from Fuel level and Speedo, vinyl flooring. Everything else was just optional.
Many features in the current Commodores and Falcons which are considered ground breaking here have been in European cars for a number of years. Some European cars already had ABS in 1971 and it didn't come to Australia until the early 1990's
So......... who really is to blame for the industries demise, especially when overseas companies have offered better value for money to the average punter. Lets not put the V8's into this category as they only appeal to a small minority which doesn't keep the industry going.
Watch the following video and you be the judge.
[video][/video] Source:
Cheers, BB.
I live a 24 Hour lifestyle, but every now and again I seem to fall asleep, well at least that's what my wife tells me.
