October Wheels

ea90gl · 24-09-2008, 01:30 PM

Just picked up the October wheels, some articles include

the doom and gloom of Ford Aus (surprise surprise)
Holdens big plan to go green, with a small article on the 99cpl offer right beside

Reviews include;

HSV R8 Tourer based on the Sportswagon
Lambo LP560-4
Comparo between G6E-T, Jag XF 4.2 and Merc E500
Handling comparo including the Civic Type R, XR6-T, RX-8 GT, F6, Elise SC, WRX STi, BMW 135-i, Clio 197, HSV GTS, Merc SLK55 AMG, Lancer EVO, M3, and 911 GT2
Look into the Toyota Camry Hybrid (how exciting)
And other things not really worth mentioning

Any one with the mag feel free to discuss

irlewy86 · 24-09-2008, 01:59 PM

Wheels magazine, my throne room reading material.

uranium_death · 24-09-2008, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irlewy86

Wheels magazine, my throne room reading material.

Wheels magazine...sometimes, my throne room wiping material too :P

irlewy86 · 24-09-2008, 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Wheels magazine...sometimes, my throne room wiping material too :P

Of course, I've always found it helpful that they produce a concise 4 page magazine with an additional 170 pages of toilet paper

Fab · 24-09-2008, 02:03 PM

$95,000 for a HSV R8 wagon is a joke.
How can it be worth $20,000 more than the sedan?

b2tf · 24-09-2008, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fab

$95,000 for a HSV R8 wagon is a joke.
How can it be worth $20,000 more than the sedan?

Where'd you get that figure from?

I got the mag in the mail on Monday and it's a good read, the Clubsport Tourer/Wagon/Extended Boot model looks great to me and if you were a family man or otherwise needed a wagon it would be worth considering. Yes you can call me a bogan etc but in my opinion it's a good model and good luck to HSV for developing it. Shame Ford dont really have a platform to compete on with the (impending) demise of the wagon.

I dont know if anybody else read it but in the Handling Olympics the FG XR6T was actually quicker than the F6, and the GTS rated higher than both in their tests.

damir05 · 24-09-2008, 02:13 PM

lol $95,000 looks like holden is moving closer to amg and bmw m

XR Martin · 24-09-2008, 03:59 PM

What the hell are you on about?
R8 Wagon is $66k

Stealth00 · 24-09-2008, 04:33 PM

Tourer will carry a $1000 premium over its sedan counterpart - priced from $65,990.

Carby · 24-09-2008, 04:39 PM

Handling Olympics was bit of an eyeopener - the GTS came 5th (behind GT2, M3, EVO X and AMG SLK Benz) and F6 was 10th.

Funny how the GTS and F6 seem to swap places on test results held on different days.

ea90gl · 24-09-2008, 05:26 PM

And now I can see the masses suddenly thinking handling is the determining factor of a true sports car since the F6 got owned once by a GTS. Gimme the F6 anyday, with the 11 odd grand you save slap on some better brakes and rubber you'll be set

4Vman · 25-09-2008, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ea90gl

And now I can see the masses suddenly thinking handling is the determining factor of a true sports car since the F6 got owned once by a GTS. Gimme the F6 anyday, with the 11 odd grand you save slap on some better brakes and rubber you'll be set

Maybe, just maybe some people buy sports cars for their handling as well and not just straight line performance.....

**Polyal** · 25-09-2008, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Maybe, just maybe some people buy sports cars for their handling as well and not just straight line performance.....

Traditionally not GM fans..hehe

Im more interested in the G6ET test, how did that go?

ea90gl · 25-09-2008, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Maybe, just maybe some people buy sports cars for their handling as well and not just straight line performance.....

you completely missed my point of sarcasm, and besides polyal knows what he's talking about- do you really think the majority of HSV owners sit there and talk about handling? If that was the case the huge market for motor mods and the sheer amount of people that spend big on thier donks wouldnt exist. Yes before you jump up I know handling is a big part of a sports car but in this case with these cars I dont thing thats what the owners brag about

4Vman · 25-09-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ea90gl

you completely missed my point of sarcasm, and besides polyal knows what he's talking about- do you really think the majority of HSV owners sit there and talk about handling? If that was the case the huge market for motor mods and the sheer amount of people that spend big on thier donks wouldnt exist. Yes before you jump up I know handling is a big part of a sports car but in this case with these cars I dont thing thats what the owners brag about

Id say there's more bragging going on in school yards and pubs (internet forums?) than amongst groups of HSV owners themselves... don't underestimate the interest someone who's spent about $70K on a car has on its performance as a package (handling and power) as opposed to just 1/4 times..

MONSOON · 24-09-2008, 05:47 PM

I myself thought the BIG story in the wheels is the fact the next gen Falcon may well be FWD! Falcon FWD, why bother! I certainly wouldn't buy a FWD falcon, It may be the only thing that would get me to buy a holden over a Ford, talk of exports is a good start, the letter in the letter to editor section was quite true too...

Mick K. · 24-09-2008, 06:13 PM

3rd wheels in a row with a Commodore on the cover.
Full page Ford ad about the 5 star ANCAP rating followed by a doom and gloom article about front wheel drive Falcons.

Where are Holden's PR people inserting money / gifts / etc that Ford's PR department seems to be continually missing?

MK

irlewy86 · 24-09-2008, 06:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mick K.

3rd wheels in a row with a Commodore on the cover.
Full page Ford ad about the 5 star ANCAP rating followed by a doom and gloom article about front wheel drive Falcons.

Where are Holden's PR people inserting money / gifts / etc that Ford's PR department seems to be continually missing?

MK

http://www.fordforums.com.au/vbporta...article&id=209

Bit of a look inside the game.

Never the less there are far more people who read wheels to find out Holden's stats then any other, so it does in a way seem logical that Wheels continually run Holdens on the cover

Falc'man · 26-09-2008, 02:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by irlewy86

http://www.fordforums.com.au/vbporta...article&id=209

Bit of a look inside the game.

Never the less there are far more people who read wheels to find out Holden's stats then any other, so it does in a way seem logical that Wheels continually run Holdens on the cover

That's a link everyone should be bothered reading.

irlewy86 · 26-09-2008, 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Falc'man

That's a link everyone should be bothered reading.

I noticed Paul Glover is writing for Top Gear Aus Mag. So that will probably be another magazine to heap praise and man goo over the VE.

Still trying to work out a way of sneaking in on a Hyundai launch, depth charges and half price cars.

XR Martin · 24-09-2008, 07:01 PM

HSVs have always been better on the track than the equivalent Fords.
On the road is a different matter.

FordFella · 24-09-2008, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by XR6 Martin

HSVs have always been better on the track than the equivalent Fords.
On the road is a different matter.

To me it seems strange that the HSV improved on last years results in every way despite the fact that the only change has been the engine. And all of these improvements are greater than the ones made by the FG over the BF. I can't help but wonder why they don't option the Premium Brakes - in a NZ test the F6 stopped in 34 metres from 100 as opposed to 39 on the Wheels test. Having premium brakes would have vastly improved the F6's position, and a R-Spec option wouldn't hurt either. I love how whenever a Holden wins they make a specific comment about how ****ed off Ford fans are going to be by the result...

XR Martin · 24-09-2008, 09:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FordFella

To me it seems strange that the HSV improved on last years results in every way despite the fact that the only change has been the engine. And all of these improvements are greater than the ones made by the FG over the BF. I can't help but wonder why they don't option the Premium Brakes - in a NZ test the F6 stopped in 34 metres from 100 as opposed to 39 on the Wheels test. Having premium brakes would have vastly improved the F6's position, and a R-Spec option wouldn't hurt either. I love how whenever a Holden wins they make a specific comment about how ****ed off Ford fans are going to be by the result...

I think HSV has been continuously fiddling with the MRC in the GTS, which may explain the better result.

Pedro · 24-09-2008, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FordFella

To me it seems strange that the HSV improved on last years results in every way despite the fact that the only change has been the engine. And all of these improvements are greater than the ones made by the FG over the BF. I can't help but wonder why they don't option the Premium Brakes - in a NZ test the F6 stopped in 34 metres from 100 as opposed to 39 on the Wheels test. Having premium brakes would have vastly improved the F6's position, and a R-Spec option wouldn't hurt either. I love how whenever a Holden wins they make a specific comment about how ****ed off Ford fans are going to be by the result...

I never buy that dopey magazine or it's stable mate Motor. Anyone with the slightest intelligence can deduce that "Wheels" read "Holden advertising/promotions department" is firmly in the pocket of Holden.

There is never any objective reporting on anything else but a Holden product.

I remember, after glancing through one of them a long time ago at a newsagent, in some "comparo" that the XR6 turbo tested was, quote: "dated in it's suspension" compared to the new VE super duper Commodore. Yet hidden away in the track test times, the Falcon was quicker in their test. Doesn't track times = handling = good suspension geometry compared to whatever else they're testing??

I've never picked up either of these blatant Holden infomercial magazines since.

300C-CRD · 25-09-2008, 09:55 AM

Those opinionated corrupted jurnos can be very irritating sometimes. I always read those car magazines with an open mind. In the comparo, Renault Clio looks a cracker, as a poor working man myself, it is the real thing. Better do more overtime and start saving.

Carby · 25-09-2008, 10:37 AM

The G6ET did real well. They actually said that you would be stupid not to consider such a car. It was quicker than the 4.2 litre XF Jag and the E500 Benz. It was not rated the best car, they gave that to the Jag, but in essence other than not being as refined (motor mainly) or as having as much kit as the other two, it wasn't disgraced in any way and it received 4 stars just as the other two did.

The Jag had the best Handling and ride of the three and that swayed the tight decision it's way.

If the Falcon ever went FWD, would the Journo's ever conduct such a test again? Hard to see a large FWD car being compared to two of the finest names in motor vehicles and actually getting within cooee of them like the current Falcon has.

AusM · 25-09-2008, 10:42 AM

Holdens are still selling around 50% more than Fords, so I guess it makes sense when looking at those two. However, Toyota would be an even better bet if you were just looking at numbers on the road...

icejagans · 25-09-2008, 09:58 PM

wheels is a holden brochure
no more to say

OZQUAD44 · 02-10-2008, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by icejagans

wheels is a holden brochure
no more to say

Wot he said

Falc'man · 26-09-2008, 02:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ea90gl

And now I can see the masses suddenly thinking handling is the determining factor of a true sports car since the F6 got owned once by a GTS. Gimme the F6 anyday, with the 11 odd grand you save slap on some better brakes and rubber you'll be set

Yes they will perceive this. What this test doesn't show, and what the masses will rarely consider, is how well the the FG's chassis is tuned for the road where all sorts of irregularities exist. On the racetrack, it's a different story altogether, but then again, Motor prides itself as being a "Performance Car" magazine. So the problem isn't that all tests are conducted on a circuit, the problem is the cars which perform well on the circuit aren't as composed on the road.
In the BFYB issue, the winner (XR6T Ute) was said to be an heavy understeerer. They didn't like this, it wasn't fun. But guess what, it still pulled off a pretty quick lap time. But more to the point, Ford engineers deliberately gave it this trait as it's alot safer on our roads especially in the hands of people not accustomed to this much power. In a nutshell, Ford designs even it's performance cars for the road, not the track.