The top 10 Australian cars....

vbvbvb088 · 04-02-2012, 08:49 PM

Here is article:

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/the...-1226261661236

Let the debate begin.....

**TUF_302** · 05-02-2012, 08:58 PM

I must say those lists are pretty good really, yes they are just those two guys opinions but, it was good to see a mixture of all good aussie classics, i do like how the aussie ute was made number 1 as a whole and not just one brand of ute

uranium_death · 05-02-2012, 11:43 PM

Surprised to not see the Torana there...

The Cruze is locally built, but is it Australian? I don't think so...

I still reckon Lego is great. If I get my imported Lego and assemble it at home, is my Lego Australian? (probably a poor analogy...meh)

**Polyal** · 05-02-2012, 11:48 PM

Paul Gover is giving bloody Joshua Dowling a run for his money I tell ya.

The cruze is not Australian. IMO "Australian Car" would mean that the majority of its development was done here, not just bolting it together.

pottery beige · 06-02-2012, 01:02 AM

how cool is that old grandpa and his Val..

Geez Louise · 06-02-2012, 01:09 AM

I prefer Matthew Lombard's Top 10 but seriously...no Torana and the Commodore only on one list?

As someone already said, it is only two guys opinions on the Top 10. Have they got it right? I don't think so...close...but not quite right.

SM1DY · 06-02-2012, 01:12 AM

Holden Cruze in the top 10??????

I just can't fathom what is going through this guys head

DoreSlamR · 06-02-2012, 03:16 AM

What's so special about the 85 Magna?

Gutless motor, CV's going every 5 minutes...lol

Was comfortable though...

wrongwaynorris · 06-02-2012, 06:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SM1DY

Holden Cruze in the top 10??????

I just can't fathom what is going through this guys head

Its whats going through their wallets courtesy of GMH .

wrongwaynorris · 06-02-2012, 06:26 AM

Funny how theres 3 Holdens pictured in the article but not a single Ford . Kinda speaks volumes doesn't it .

AC · 06-02-2012, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TUF_302

I must say those lists are pretty good really, yes they are just those two guys opinions but, it was good to see a mixture of all good aussie classics, i do like how the aussie ute was made number 1 as a whole and not just one brand of ute

If I had to pick one ute, it would be the HQ.
Those things are a real survivor and still a widely used worker today.

Quote:

Originally Posted by DoreSlamR

What's so special about the 85 Magna?

Gutless motor, CV's going every 5 minutes...lol

Was comfortable though...

Yeaaaahhhhhh........

Incontro · 06-02-2012, 07:00 AM

A Magna?

A Cruze?

Not even a Torana?

Wow... Words can't express how crap those first two cars are, neither can they express how crap the author's list is.

burnz · 06-02-2012, 07:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Polyal

Paul Gover is giving bloody Joshua Dowling a run for his money I tell ya.

The cruze is not Australian. IMO "Australian Car" would mean that the majority of its development was done here, not just bolting it together.

Quote:

Originally Posted by uranium_death

Surprised to not see the Torana there...

The Cruze is locally built, but is it Australian? I don't think so...

I still reckon Lego is great. If I get my imported Lego and assemble it at home, is my Lego Australian? (probably a poor analogy...meh)

i have to wonder about any car in that list. lego type,,arnt they all.

if the cruze fails as australian made then all cars in that list fail as well.

Nic85 · 06-02-2012, 08:32 AM

The 85 Magna was revolutionary for Australian sedans at the time. The equivalant Ford at the time was an XF? And the Commodore was a VK? It was no comparison. The Magna had loads of standard gear, electric everything, a nice, well built interior and a powerful yet frugal 4 cylinder engine. Of course by todays standards it's rubbish, but I still see a lot of those first generation Magnas on the road.

SumoDog68 · 06-02-2012, 09:08 AM

Finally Magna nameplate gets some recognition - one of the most underrated aussie cars of all time ...

Rodge · 06-02-2012, 09:15 AM

No F6 and no SC FPV on the list, are cars of the last few years excluded or are these two idiots paid off by GM or perhaps on drugs ?

duaned · 06-02-2012, 09:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SumoDog68

Finally Magna nameplate gets some recognition - one of the most underrated aussie cars of all time ...

Fully Agree! Back in 85, when compared to the commodore and falcon of that era, the Magna was quieter, more comfortable with better NVH than it's competitors. It performed similar to the commodore (6cyl) but used less fuel (in manual guise) and to top it off the Elite was jammed packed full of kit. I had a 88 model and it went for 7 years without a single fault. Underrated car for sure, up until it had approx. 130,000 on the clock. Went downhill from there.

aussie muscle · 06-02-2012, 09:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SM1DY

Holden Cruze in the top 10??????

I just can't fathom what is going through this guys head

He calls the Cruze a 'game changer'. whatever that means...

duaned
i saw a magna elite with a fully digital dash. very knight-rider-ish.

blk6t · 06-02-2012, 10:10 AM

The Cruze is a horrible drive. I test drove one with the wife a while ago when we were looking for the wifes new car.

It was slow, slow, gutless, slow, boring inside and had no appeal. Oh, did I mention it's quite slow. Plus the dealer wouldn't let us go on our own unlike everyone else. No way does the Cruze deserve to be there!!!!

However, if the Cruze started out as RWD and equiped with a smaller capacity V8 (much like the Torana Concept Car), then it would have been game changing and selling alot more than the Commodore months ago.

302 XC · 06-02-2012, 12:04 PM

Wasnt the XA fully designed and built here ???,youd think that would rate there somewhere considering it didnt do too bad against holdens biggest selling model of all time,the HQ
The torana surely would have a rating as well,winning bathurst by 9 laps,youll never see that again
Itll be interesting how the list,tho personal choice was conducted ???

M-Dog · 06-02-2012, 12:45 PM

On holidays recently we hired a Cruze . . . Talk about Snooze, the only thing stopping us from going to sleep was the fact that EVERY time you put your foot down, even slightly to go from 60 to 70 or amazingly enough from 90 - 100k's it would kick back a gear.

Forever going back and forth between gears = p%*s poor economy.

The challenge actually became trying to STOP in from kicking down!

A real shame ‘cause I don’t mind the look for a small car.

I don't believe it should be on the list.

Grippy · 06-02-2012, 12:53 PM

These opinion pieces are always going to cause a stir, but geez they left out some obvious inclusions. I'm also stunned to see the Cruze get a gig too.

Bossxr8 · 06-02-2012, 09:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nic85

The 85 Magna was revolutionary for Australian sedans at the time. The equivalant Ford at the time was an XF? And the Commodore was a VK? It was no comparison. The Magna had loads of standard gear, electric everything, a nice, well built interior and a powerful yet frugal 4 cylinder engine. Of course by todays standards it's rubbish, but I still see a lot of those first generation Magnas on the road.

Yep, you still see a few of the first magna's on the road, usually with a huge cloud of oil smoke behind them, those astron 4's were notorious for it. In Sigma's too.

MAGPIE · 07-02-2012, 07:07 AM

Everyone is bagging the Cruze but not the Capri

Incontro · 07-02-2012, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blk6t

The Cruze is a horrible drive. I test drove one with the wife a while ago when we were looking for the wifes new car.

It was slow, slow, gutless, slow, boring inside and had no appeal. Oh, did I mention it's quite slow. Plus the dealer wouldn't let us go on our own unlike everyone else. No way does the Cruze deserve to be there!!!!

However, if the Cruze started out as RWD and equiped with a smaller capacity V8 (much like the Torana Concept Car), then it would have been game changing and selling alot more than the Commodore months ago.

Isn't a V8 engine for such a (small) car overkill?

Nobody in the market for a small car would buy one then (small car = efficiency), which instantly eliminates 98% of its user base.

**DJR-351** · 07-02-2012, 07:32 AM

If i put up my own list plenty would disagree with it, although i can guarantee the Cruze would not be on it....

wrongwaynorris · 07-02-2012, 09:04 AM

Coincidence the Cruze is the only 2012 model car on the list currently being marketed ? Absolutely NOT there is money changing hands for its inclusion . No ifs No buts No maybes . Payola is stock in trade for Holden and has been for decades .

SumoDog68 · 07-02-2012, 09:10 AM

At the same time it,would be good to define what constitutes an australian car : built in Oz ,designed in Oz or it has to have certain local content?
Is a new Ranger australian car being designed here and built in Thailand ? Or a Camaro ?
Car industy being so global it is hard to place cars into their respective countries.
Falcon is probably the most australian car any way you look at it .
My list of 10 best car nameplates SOLD in Australia would be:

Hilux , Corolla , Landcruiser , Hiace ,Patrol , Falcon, Commodore , All Subarus ,Pajero , BMW 3 Series .
My criteria was long standing quality product with strong following and instant recognition , i just wrote them down quickly and was surprised to see 4 Toyotas ...

blk6t · 07-02-2012, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Incontro

Isn't a V8 engine for such a (small) car overkill?

Nobody in the market for a small car would buy one then (small car = efficiency), which instantly eliminates 98% of its user base.

Not really when you consider the Cruze is similar in size to the BMW 3 series, the latter of which you could purchase with a V8. According to the Carsales comparison the Cruze is slightly longer than a BMW 3 series (Cruze=4629 vs BMW 3=4531 and only 265mm shorter than a Commodore). I don't really consider the Holden Cruze to be a "small car".