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The Bay’s largest circulating, most read newspaper.63,430 copies

Friday 13 July 2012 Friday 13 July 2012Friday 13 July 2012

Lancer love affairLancer love affairLancer Lancer Lancer love affairlove affairlove affairLancer love affair

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The Weekend Sun Bay Driver Friday 13 July 2012 Friday 13 July 2012Friday 13 July 2012

No.1 The Strand, PO Box 240, Tauranga 3140 www.sunlive.co.nz phone 07 578 0030 fax 07 571 1116 email [email protected]

Bookings and enquiries contact Caro Leuschke 027 578 0035 email: [email protected] editorial and news tips email: [email protected]

New car sales upMotor Trade Association (MTA) says June turned out to be another strong

month for new vehicle sales. Hamish Spall from Bay of Plenty Honda

says sales growth is being driven by a range of new models appealing to new car buyers.

“The increase in sales is consistent across the country. We’re getting a lot of enquiries about the new Civic sedan and hatch as well as new models generating a lot of interest,” says Hamish.

Over at Bay City Mitsubishi the story is the same.

Sales manager Aaron Chatfi eld says June was a busy month, but it traditionally is.

“Mainly it is the farming market who are waiting for the Fieldays deals. And that’s eve-ryone associated with farming including horticultur-alists.”

Ford is doing particularly well with the Mondeo at number one in its segment for the third month in a row during June. The new Focus is among the overall top fi ve best selling vehicles in June and the top in its segment with the Ford Ranger hitting new monthly sales records in New Zealand.

New Zealand’s Car of the Year, the Ford Focus, has taken out the top sales spot in the highly competitive c-car segment for June, beating the Toyota Corolla.

Meanwhile, the Mondeo has taken the top place in its segment for the third month in row, outselling the Camry by almost 42 per cent and the Aurion by more than 100 per cent in June.

“It’s an excellent result and underscores the growing appeal of these vehicles,” says Ford New Zealand managing director Neale Hill.

“The Focus and Mondeo are vehicles that customers want to drive. They tick all the

boxes with fi ve-star safety, fuel-effi cient engines and smart technology,

yet they go one step further and offer the performance that makes driving fun again.”

Last month, 10,101 new

Top selling passenger car brands:• Toyota 1461 units

20 percent market share• Ford 766 units

11 percent market share• Holden 712 units

10 percent market share

Top selling passenger car models:• Toyota Highlander 358 units• Suzuki Swift 279 units• Ford Focus 278 units

Top selling commercial vehicle brands:• Toyota 933 units

32 percent market share• Ford 485 units 16 percent market share• Nissan 377 units



Well on way to recoveryvehicles were sold overall, compared to 7652 in June 2011, an increase of 2449 units (32 per cent). Year to date, overall sales are up by 7837 units (19 per cent).

MTA spokesperson Ian Stronach says the Fieldays specials offered by distributors have worked well to draw in buyers.

“There’s good availability and solid sup-port from distributors, which means that dealers have been able to provide some very good offers to entice buyers. While some traditional commercial models fared really well in June, many models that are not usu-ally associated with farming activities also enjoyed a good month.”

New car sales were well ahead with sales of 7142 units up 1777 units (33 per cent),

compared to the same month last year. This was the strongest June sales month since 2005. For the year to date, new car sales are ahead of 2011 by 6854 units (22 per cent).

New commercial vehicle sales of 2959 units were up 672 units (29 per cent) compared to June 2011. Year to date, overall new commercial sales are ahead of 2011 by 983 units (9 per cent).

“The Fieldays season is now well and truly entrenched in buyers’ minds, and although there are some who obviously wait for it, this doesn’t appear to be having much affect as sales have lifted for virtually the whole year so far. These recent fi gures show that the new vehicle market is well on the way to recovery,” says Stronach.

Top selling commercial vehicle models:

• Toyota Hilux 676 units

• Ford Ranger 440 units

• Toyota Hiace 240 units

Used import cars could not match the increases shown by their new car counter-parts but with sales of 6184 units the result was still respectable. Sales were down by 386 units (6 per cent) compared to June 2011 and are still down for the year to date by 2659 units (7 per cent). With sales of 294 units, on-road motor-cycle sales were well down compared to June 2012, being behind by 383 units (57 per cent). For the year to date, on-road motorcycle sales are down by 764 units (21 per cent).

Top selling on road motorcycle brands:

• Triumph 42 units


• Honda 33 units


• Suzuki 32 units

11 percent market share www.mtf.co.nz

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The Weekend Sun Bay Driver Friday 13 July 2012 Friday 13 July 2012Friday 13 July 2012 Bay DriverPage 4 Friday 13 July 2012

Love at first sight The new Mitsubishi Lancer SEi

By Paul Kendon

SPECSMitsubishi Lancer SEi• 115kW 2.0L MIVEC Engine• Leather seats with front heaters• 7.3L/100km fuel economy• Rain sensing windscreen wipers• Fog lamps and automatic headlights

When I fi rst saw her across the forecourt of Bay City Mitsubishi I was hooked.

Aaron Chatfi eld had invited me to take his new baby out for a spin. As he handed me the keys to the brand spanking new Lancer SEi I felt like someone was entrusting me to look after their young naïve cousin from the country for the evening.

Show her around, says Aaron. Take her for a spin along the coast. Get a feel for her and tell us what you think, or words remarkably similar as I recall anyway.

The boys had spruced her up real nice and fi lled the tank. She sat coiled like a serpent prepared to strike.

I've never been much of a fan of Mitsi's. They got fat and lazy in the 90's and the best thing you could say was nice personality.

But the Mitsubishi of today presents a whole new defi nition of driving.

She sat waiting for me like a runaway prin-cess roughing it with the likes of me.

She knew I was there for her. A proximity sensor recognised the key in my pocket and unlocked the car. You can start her up with-out the awkward key dance often performed late at night while carrying odds and sods from the offi ce to the car.

Aaron said if you threw the keys out the window while driving, the engine would keep going. But once you turned the car off you'd have a hell of a time trying to fi nd your key.

I'll take Aaron at his word. Young execs and trade-graduates are prob-

ably going to love these wheels as much as I do. Blokes looking for a sensible sports car with a proud pedigree must check out the Lancer.

She's a bloke’s car. That is if you're a sporty bloke with an Amazonian netball player from South Africa as a favourite femme friend and in the market for a quality motor.

Unfortunately, however, she'll probably also be driven around by drop-kicks and wannabes because she's quite affordable.

She is nearly $10k less expen-sive than some of her nearest rivals and defi nitely $10k more car. Does that make her $20k better value for money? You tell me.

She is svelte like a ballerina but under the hood is muscle built for street fi ghting.

Under the hood lurks a compact 115kW 2.0L MIVEC engine. Basi-cally, as I understand it, a MIVEC engine electronically controls your valves during high revs and adjusts accordingly to give you optimum power and performance. But at low speed around town, driving the car will offer more economical performance options. For me MIVEC is just another word for awesome.

Although offi cially a medium sized car it quite comfortably fi ts my 6” frame and possibly three of my clones – maybe fi ve. Her doors open like large gills and being a four-door there'll never be anyone struggling to contort themselves around seats to get in the back.

Heated leather clad bucket seats ensconce your rear and the pilot position is adjusted using electronic levers to the sides of the seats.

Davie Bowie was pumping on the stereo and we were heading towards the Kaimai Ranges. I like car stereos to have dials and buttons big enough for Stevie Wonder to fi nd.

The Lancer stereo satisfi es all your nerdy needs. She is fully equipped with a Bluetooth enabled stereo and a variety of outlets for personal technological devices.

Two large analogue displays blink at you like Bette Davis eyes and an LCD fuel gauge sits below the brow-line. To your left is the

rev counter and to the right is the speedo. A large solitary Info button changes the fuel gauge and odometer display settings, giving you a choice of fuel consumption per km, predicted kms VS fuel or an eco-option pro-viding fuel effi cient driving information.

Twenty years ago we thought a bell that let you know you were going over 100kph, or that a door was open, was innovative and inspired. This baby has a reversing camera displayed in your rear view mirror and a trip-tonic four-stage automatic gearbox. At one point climbing through the Kaimai curves the car warned me to beware of slip-pery roads. Colour me impressed, although there's still no built in sat-nav. What could it possibly cost to include? Maybe most people have their own. I do. The Bluetooth enabled stereo was really easy to pair with my phone, so hands-free calling and voice dialling is a synch. The voice commands understand your requests and it's all very intuitive. Top marks.

With 24 hours off the hook, I defi nitely took her through some turns and weaves.

The need to overtake a lorry chugging uphill presented an opportunity to punch her in the guts.

She threw me back in my seat, took a deep breath and hurled herself to task. You can see this girl’s pedigree comes from the track.

We meandered through the hills, kicked back across seductive straights and cruised past the coast. If there were a girl in the pas-senger seat it could’ve been a perfect date. But at least the Lancer won't get jealous of next week's test drive.

I felt naughty. We'd been roaming for-gotten roads well past curfew. It was like the night of the senior ball, out long after bedtime. There were things I was fantasis-ing about doing to her on the long straights near Taupo. Her leather seats held me tight and I didn't want to let her go. But I was a gentleman. And I'd promised Aaron her safe return by end or next morn. It was time to say goodbye. Was a kiss on the hood too much to ask? Yes, according to Aaron. He said that's just weird.


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Move over Dennis Hopper.Mount Maunganui Harley Davidson fans Mike Gallagher and Kay

Ganley are preparing to star in their own version of Easy Rider as they head off across the US next week.

Best known for their reputations as leading real estate agents, the Mount Maunganui couple are swapping tailored suits and open home signs for leathers and GPS maps in a trip across the heart of the US.

The pair is fulfi lling a long-term dream inspired by a fi ve-week overland trip around Australia seven years ago, where they tallied up 14,000kms in a trip that included a rally in Uluru.

Mike – who also raced motorcycles when he was younger – says he still remembers the exhilaration of riding his fi rst bike, a 650 BSA,

when he was 15.“I remember my fi rst time. It was a warm sunny day in Christchurch and I thought wow, this is amazing.”

Kay too loves the freedom of riding, and while happy to be pillion passenger says it will be great to be able to

choose their route as they go.“We’ve got a route but it’s not set in stone, it’s going to be great to have that freedom.”

Using the latest technology the pair will be able to talk on the bike through Bluetooth headsets, which can also play a musical soundtrack and give GPS directions for a route.

On Friday (July 27) they fl y out to LA where they will collect their new Harley Road King (1530cc), then head off overland through Yosemite and Yellowstone national parks before spending a week at the Sturgis Harley Davidson rally. The annual South Dakota rally attracts 500,000 riders.After the rally, they will complete the seven week,

20,000km trip – an average 188km/day – with the focus on following the secondary roads and seeing

Middle America’s small towns. They will follow the Mississippi river down through the Midwest to Mem-

phis (Tennessee) where they take in the Elvis nostalgia, heading back through New Orleans and the South to LA

where they will ship the bike home. Follow Mike and Kay on their road trip at www.sunlive.co.nz

Riding high for freedom and adventure

By Hamish Carter

Mount realtors Kay Ganley and Mike Gallagher are heading off on the road-trip of

a lifetime across the US. Photo by Tracy Hardy.

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Fords that park themselvesThe Ford Motor Company

is researching and developing intelligent, next-generation driving

technologies designed to help address traffi c jams and other future mobility

challenges that come with rapid urbanisation and

population growth.Ford Traffi c Jam Assist technology is an

intelligent driving feature that employs technology from the already-available active park assist, adaptive cruise control, Lane-Keeping Aid and the PowerShift transmission to enable a vehicle to auto-matically keep pace with other vehicles. Ford vehicles will evolve the current active park assist system – a Ford technology that enables parallel parking without touching the steering wheel – to offer hands-free perpen-dicular parking as well. Early

prototypes of these

technologies are designed to

help reduce driver stress and traffi c

gridlock.Ford’s early prototypes of

two such technologies – Traf-fi c Jam Assist and an advanced

version of active park assist, evolved to offer hands-free perpendicular

parking – are designed to interact with a vehicle’s surroundings, reduce driver stress and help reduce traffi c gridlock.

Chief technical offi cer Paul Mascarenas says

developing these technologies is part of the fi rst step in a journey toward a more con-nected future.

“It’s an undertaking we believe will save time, conserve resources, lower emissions, improve safety and help reduce driver stress.”

Traffi c Jam Assist is an intelligent driv-ing technology that Ford is developing. It uses radar and camera technology to help a vehicle keep pace with other vehicles in traf-fi c and provide automated steering control to stay in the current lane, reducing driver stress and potentially improving vehicle fl ow.

“Drivers spend more than 30 per cent of their time in heavy traffi c,” said Joseph Urhahne, engineer with Ford Research and Innovation. “Traffi c Jam Assist could help make travelling through congestion a more relaxing experience and, by keeping pace with the fl ow of traffi c, potentially help relieve road congestion.”

Individual simulation studies have found that when 25 per cent of vehicles on a stretch of road are equipped to automatically follow the traffi c ahead, journey times can be reduced by 37.5 per cent and delays reduced by 20 per cent – saving millions of gallons of fuel each year.

Traffi c Jam Assist has the potential to follow the traffi c ahead while maintaining lane position in environments where there are no pedestrians, cyclists or animals, and where lanes are clearly marked.

Many of the sensing technologies required to deliver Traffi c Jam Assist already are available on current Ford models including Focus, Escape and Fusion.

The developing technology would be able to respond to changing traffi c situations ahead and communicate any developments

to the driver. Traffi c Jam Assist would also incorporate features to help ensure the driver remains alert and in contact with the vehicle controls, even when the system is active. It could also be overridden at any time.

But it’s not just on the motorway that Ford’s new range of technology will help the driver.

Forget about problems parking. In the near future, Ford plans to develop its active park assist technology, a popular feature that allows drivers to parallel park without touch-ing the wheel. Ford is adding perpendicular parking to the parallel parking manoeuvres already possible.

The enhanced system will harness the tech-nologies introduced with active park assist. It uses ultrasonic sensors to identify suitable parking spaces, for width rather than length, and then steers the vehicle into them using electric power-assisted steering (EPAS).

Active park assist is activated by pressing a centre console button. When a suitable space is detected, the system will advise the driver to stop with an audible and visual warn-ing. The driver will then be told to put the vehicle into reverse gear and operate brakes and clutch, if needed, while the car controls the steering wheel.

Perpendicular parking functionality would use the vehicle’s rear parking distance control sensors to monitor for obstructions not seen by the driver when backing into the space.

Where there is insuffi cient space to complete the manoeuvre in one attempt, the system might ask the driver to shift the vehicle into forward and reverse as neces-sary. Once the vehicle is perfectly parked, the driver gets a fi nish signal.


Less is more for passenger service

legislation

By Paul Kendon

Associate Transport Minister Simon Bridges says rule changes

for passenger service vehicles remove unnecessary regulation

and ensure New Zealand requirements are in line

with those overseas.

The Land Transport Rule: Passenger Service Vehicles Amendment 2012 updates requirements for doorways, aisles, seating and other features of pas-senger vehicles so they refl ect the needs of users, operators and manufacturers.

“Better regulation and less regulation

is an important goal for this Govern-ment. The Passenger Service Vehicle Rule achieves this by removing overly prescriptive requirements while still maintaining safety,” says Mr Bridges.

“Offi cials have worked with industry and consulted more widely to ensure that this rule is up to date and practical.

“Furthermore, most of the require-ments in the Amendment Rule will result in cost reductions or greater fl ex-ibility for industry.

“The rule maintains safety require-ments where they are most needed. A key provision is the enhancement of the requirements for wheelchair areas to ensure they are safe for users.”

The Amendment Rule will come into force on 1 October 2012.

New car sales are improving and some in the motoring industry are attributing it

to the better value new cars offer. While the motor industry has long promoted the

idea that cars represent increasingly good value, proof that it is an actual fact is now available cour-tesy of Statistics New Zealand.

In a recent report on the price movement of new cars between 2001 and 2011, Statistics New Zealand data shows that in real terms, the price of new cars actually decreased by around 1.5 per cent on average during that period.

Commenting, MTA spokes-person Ian Stronach says this data doesn’t really come as a surprise to anyone familiar with the motor industry, but it’s good to get some statisti-cal evidence.

“Over recent years cars have steadily offered more features, room, power and convenience to buyers, usually without increasing fuel or real purchasing costs. Smarter manufacturing meth-ods, currency shifts and tighter margins have meant a better deal for buyers.”

The Statistics New Zealand survey looks at the movements in car prices as measured by the consumers price index (CPI). According to Statis-tics New Zealand, any movements should refl ect changes in price, but not the effect of changes in the features of cars. To remove the effects of any changes in quality, Statistics New Zealand ‘quality adjusts’ the retail prices, based on the value of the changed features to consumers – that is they deduct the value of any additional features or improvements over the original car.

This is the same process that car manufacturers use when comparing the ‘actual price’ of one vehicle

to another. Even though the car industry tends to use the term ‘specifi cation adjustment’ the process is effectively the same. It allows for a more accurate picture of the changes in price without being dis-torted by the effects of increased features.

Not surprisingly, the difference between the qual-ity adjusted prices and retail prices tends to increase over time, because of new features being added when new models are introduced. Over recent years this has tended to include things like airbags,

anti-lock brakes, stability control, more powerful engines, climate control

air conditioning and on-board navigation and entertainment

equipment.In the case of new cars though, during the period surveyed, the retail prices of the cars tracked in the CPI increased 19.1 per cent, but the ‘quality adjusted’ prices actually went down by 1.5

per cent. The survey looked more

closely at two specifi c cars – a large sedan and a small hatchback.

Over the survey period the retail price of the large sedan increased from

$49,700 to $54,100 (8.8 per cent), but the quality adjusted price decreased from $49,700 to $49,200 - an overall decrease of 1.0 per cent.

The price of the small hatchback increased from $29,500 to $36,000 (22.0 per cent), with the quality adjusted price decreasing from $29,500 to $28,900, an overall decrease of 2.0 per cent.

The growth in new car sales so far this year indi-cates buyers have been able to recognise this value for themselves. Cars today are more convenient, comfortable, practical and better built than ever. They rarely fail and provide great performance, plus they are more environmentally compatible than they’ve ever been.

New cars better value than ever

“Retail prices of the cars tracked

in the CPI increased 19.1

per cent”

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‘08 730Ld Sedan Titanium Silver $65,990

X Range

‘11 X1 sDrive 20d Alpine White $59,990 ‘11 X1 sDrive20d Black Sapphire $67,990‘11 X3 xDrive 30d M Sport Alpine White $104,990‘10 X5 30d Sport Package Platinum Grey $104,990

Coombes Johnston BMW 113 Hewletts Road, Tauranga, (07) 575 5280. 575 Te Rapa Road, Hamilton, (07) 846 8888. www.coombesjohnstonbmw.co.nz


PANEL & PAINT REPAIRS

Automotive Trade Directory

Bookings and enquiries contact Jodie Burton on 07 578 0030 or

email [email protected]

INTRODUCTORY OFFERBOOK 4 ISSUES IN OUR NEW TRADE

DIRECTORY AND GET THE 5TH ADVERT FREE!

Installation details:Date of Installation: Installer NZSA # :Installer: Product Installed:Additional accessories: Siren key #:PIN code #: Alarm serial #:

www.avscarsecurity.com


Pacific Toyota

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