Last month, the F1 held its annual Melbourne GP. 20 cars competed. Two Mercedes-Benz drivers finished in the top 10, including four-time F1 winner, Lewis Hamilton. This year, Lewis Hamilton finished second in the Australian GP. He finished seven points behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.
Recently, we wrote about Mercedes-Benz and BMW’s foray into the utility vehicle market. In that article, we mentioned the Volkswagen Amarok. We thought Australia’s first prestige ute deserved a little more coverage, so this week, the Volks Affair team look at this reliable, Aussie favourite.
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Regular readers of the blog know how much we like names. We’ve written previously on how our other prestige German car brands, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Volkswagen and Audi, have named their fleets. We’ve also written about the history of Skoda. We are yet, however, to write about how the Czech brand, now a part of the Volkswagen Automotive Group, name their vehicles. This week, that changes, as we present to you: (more…)
Australia’s ute sales continue to break records. Last year was the second year in a row in which a ute was the most sold car in Australia. Last year, our light commercial vehicle sales grew by over 20%. Utes made up three of the top five vehicles sold, and four of the top ten. Where once utes were rough-and-tumble, workers’ vehicles, the market now exists for prestige, dual-cab utes at once suitable for a 4×4 offroad family holiday, a trip to the office or a hard day’s work on site. Volkswagen’s Amarok is a fine example of this, with sleek design, and comfortable interior, but with a robustness and readiness for rough work and offroad hauls. Since 2010, it has become a favourite of those looking for a little luxury between large loads. Mercedes-Benz is also set to break into Australia’s ute market, with the soon-to-be-released X Class. BMW are also hinting at releasing a prestige ute. This week, we take a look at the X Class, the Amarok, and BMW’s plans for a prestige ute. (more…)
Skoda’s latest model, the Karoq is to be released in June this year.
The Karoq will be a midsize SUV, slightly larger than the Yeti, which it is set to replace. Starting at $30,000, the latest addition the Skoda’s fleet is buzzing with exciting features. (more…)
This week, Audi announced its latest addition to its vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) technology. E-Tag transponders for paying tolls will be built into models from the end of this year. (more…)
This week, the team at Volks Affair talk about the BMW 2002, the car that helped BMW break America. The 2002 was taken out of production in 1975, but its legacy and lineage live on today. 3- and 4-Series models have connections to the BMW 2002, the sporty 2-door coupe with the 2L engine. Although the BMW 2002 is rarely seen on Australian roads, every day our BMW mechanics are servicing or repairing a vehicle connected to this game changing coupe.
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Frequent readers of the blog and Mercedes-Benz fans alike will know that the A-Klasse are Mercedes-Benz’ hatchback series. Launched in 1997, the A-Klasse were to be a compact, four-cylinder series. Due to their size, the A-Klass have become known as “baby Benzes”. Less expensive than their larger cousins, though with no less prestige, the A-Klasse were set to introduce drivers to the Mercedes-Benz fleet.
Compact Mercedes-Benz vehicles have proven to be popular. With over 2 million models sold around the world since 2012, there’s no wonder Mercedes-Benz are adding to their compact fleet. (more…)
The V in V-Klasse stands, essentially, for Van. The V-Class is Mercedes-Benz’ people movers and courier vans, or MPVs (multi-purpose vehicles). The smaller, panel vans are called Vito, and the larger models, V-Class or Viano.
Mercedes-Benz first started producing V-Klasse (MPV) vehicles in the mid to late 1990s. Second-generation models have been used as London black cabs, people movers and courier vans. The third-generation V-Klasse went into production in 2014. (more…)
The number of Skoda drivers on Australia’s roads has been increasing every year since 2012. With more people driving Skoda models in Melbourne, more are also looking to connect with other Skoda drivers. This week, the Volks Affair blogging team take a look at some of the Skoda clubs in Melbourne.