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So you're taking the Holden Commodore SV6 out for a 93 MPH drive, you're firing your rifle out the window at passing kangaroos, and you've got five kilos of reefer in the trunk and a couple of pot plants in the back seat. Well, hell, at that point you might as well indulge yourself in a little bout of videotaped onanism, right? Sadly for Brendon Alan Erhardt, 39, the police disapproved of at least some of those activities, but at least they let Mr. Erhardt out on bail so he could marry his girlfriend. Thanks to 57Sweptside for the tip! [Northern Territory News]
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Not content to end up in a punky post-apocalyptic world because of an energy shortage, a la the great Australian film The Road Warrior , the Australian version of AAA is requesting the government implement some sort of average fuel limits similar to our CAFE standards. The NRMA thinks the move could save the country 1.4 billion gallons of fuel a year, as well as drop costs for the consumer. Lacking these standards, the Australians have produced vehicles such as the V8-powered FPV Super Pursuit Ute and HSV Tourer . As an alternative they could just stop driving with Koalas in their grilles . Said the NRMA president, "For too long, Australia's automotive industry has been allowed to play by its own rules, setting paltry voluntary targets and consistently building and importing cars that consume more fuel than their overseas counterparts." That's ridiculous; voluntary standards always work ... [ Drive.com.au ]
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Ely 'Lucky' Grills, a Brisbane-area koala, came face to face with the grille of a Lexus at 62 MPH, and, aside from getting his head stuck in the grille, was no worse for wear after being removed by rescue workers. A passing motorist noticed the koala dangling limp from the front of the car and flagged down the driver, who had been unaware of Lucky's misfortune. We've never been to the home of hoonage, so we don't really know what Australia's roadside fatality rate on koalas looks like. But we assume it's a lot like armadillos in Texas and raccoons in Michigan — rare in the city, but not uncommon out in the sticks. Gail Gipp, manager of the Sunshine Coast's Australian Wildlife Hospital, said of the little marsupial, "He just shook his head and started to come around. Being hit at that speed, it is amazing he survived. He just clung on. He has a lovely placid, relaxed nature and I think that definitely helped him." Ely was taken to the Wildlife...
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The Australians are fighting the menace of VIN number tampering with new VIN stickers which cannot be removed or altered without being destroyed, making vehicle reconstruction and title washing significantly more challenging. Although we're not sure what's bigger news here, the fact that a cheap $2 AUS decal can markedly deter car thieves, or that the Aussies call VIN tampering "rebirthing." Join us for a collective shudder, and the full afterbirth details after the jump. Although we expect automakers to scream about the new sticker destroying profitability and requiring at least 10 years of development work to implement, we expect the program makes some serious sense. In fact, the numbers we've seen peg the potential savings at $240 million US dollars. Not bad for a cost per-vehicle of just $1.90. Apparently, some automakers have already recognized the writing on the wall. Hyundai is installing the new tamper-resistant stickers on its entire Australian fleet, and...
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We've been receiving DOTS Bonus Edition photos at a rate faster than we can post them at the current pace, so today we're going to have a special Bonus DOTS-O-Rama Sunday, with a series of vehicles captured in the wild by our readers. Today's theme will be Down On The California Street, and the first machine is this Holden ute that Froggmann found in Anaheim. How many California cities can you name that started out as a German utopian colony , had an all-KKK city government , and then became the happiest place on earth ? Just one! Make the jump to see all the photos and read Froggmann's description. galleryPost('DOTSBEAnaheimUte', 9, 'Holdenamino Down On The Anaheim Street'); Last week while driving through my old neighborhood in Anaheim, CA, I saw this parked over in an industrial parking lot. Yes I know it's cheating but given the expiration date of the plate this car has not moved in a while (Expired in 94). It looks factory but I have been having...
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Despite claims that the car wouldn't be ready to race this year, Ford Australia's new FG Falcon "FG01" race car is scheduled to make its initial public appearance during the Sandown V8 Supercar Championship in Melbourne. The Falcon XR8-based race car will be making several appearance laps at Sandown, but won't be doing any actual racing. Ford claims the car may see its race debut at the Bathurst 1000 later this year which, if nothing else, is one of the best race names we hear all year. Watch out for the 'roos. Press release after the jump... FORD'S NEW V8 SUPERCAR WEAPON HAS ARRIVED Ford's new FG V8 Supercar 'FG01' is set to roll form its current home at Ford Performance Racing (FPR) to the tarmac at Sandown this weekend, making its public debut at the Midas 400 in Melbourne. Based on Ford's recently launched FG Falcon XR8 sedan road car, the new Blue Oval weapon will feature a striking 'Nitro' blue with white themed livery. The FG01...
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No matter how much technological mumbo-jumbo is put into modern traffic signals , nothing will top these analog beauties of yesteryear. Used from the 1940s to the 1970s in Australia, these signals are much more efficient because you can tell how much longer you have to wait before commencing hoonage. Despite being relatively small, hard to see and pretty much useless at night, they're still fantastic for impatient drivers (like damn near all of us). Either bring these back or change the illuminated traffic light into an illuminated countdown number. Now there's a hell of an idea. [ Infosthetics via Giz ]
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newVideoPlayer("86_Holden_Astra_476.flv", 506, 423,""); Back in 1980s Australia, those shopping for a suit of armor or heading to an 80s-flappers-on-coke costume party knew only one car would do: a GM-rebadged Nissan Pulsar ! Yes, the Holden Astra (no relation to the later Opel of the same name), which came with a "long hatch floor" and- amazingly enough- a fuel filler door release inside the car. Clever little Astra!
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Remember when we drove a European-spec Honda Civic 2.2 i-CTDi on a 100-mile road trip? We did pretty well, averaging 72 MPG . While we were throughly impressed, it was nothing compared to earning two spots in the Guinness Book Of World Records. Helen and John Taylor, a British couple, earned their two spots of fame in the record book of record books while Down Under in their little Peugeot 308 HDi. The first record was for "longest distance on a single tank," set by traveling 1192 miles on just 60 liters of diesel fuel — just 15.8 gallons. The other record, "highest mileage for a journey," was set by completing 9,062 miles at an average of 90.75 MPG. So how did they do it? What magical modifications were made? Actually, the car was stock. Stock as in standard, from the factory, without any modifications besides the sponsors' stickers. That is, unless you count the extra weight of the couple's luggage as a modification. It's figures like this that make...
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newVideoPlayer("80s_Holden_Wagons_476.flv", 506, 423,""); Only Australians would make an early-80s station wagon advertisement that showed family-haulin' wagons getting sideways and backwards in hoonage sessions culminating in crazy jumps. We see the six- and eight-cylinder-equipped Holden Commodore and the (Cavalier-based) Holden Camira being put through some highly entertaining paces. Our only problem with this ad is the lack of wagons doing jumps with trailers attached.
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When Ford of Australia first announced their lineup of F6 FPV lineup we didn't pay too much attention to the various minor differences in the F6 Falcon lineup. Little did we know how far the Ford Performance Vehicle group was going to go in order to meet the needs of anyone with the cash to throw around $60,000+ USD on V8-powered goodness. Each vehicle in this range comes with the new 5.4-Liter Boss V8 good for 422 horsepower and 407 lb-ft of torque mated to a ZF six-speed auto transmission or TR6060 six-speed manual gearbox. The GT is your basic high-performance sedan while the GT P takes it a couple of steps further. The GT E is at the upper extreme, offering similar performance without all the boy racer styling and colors for the hoon with a briefcase. Press release below the jump. galleryPost('falconfpvgte', 6, 'This One Is Cleaner'); galleryPost('falconfpvgt', 6, 'This One Is Greener'); galleryPost('falconfpvgtp', 6, 'This One Is Meaner'...
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newVideoPlayer("60s_Mini_Deluxe_476.flv", 463, 387,""); "No more sliding windows for Australians considering buying a MIni! Not only that, you can go into multiple spins on wet pavement and recover cleanly- it shows it right there in the ad! We're a little puzzled by the the conversation between the swimsuited man and woman at the beach; we get the "up and down" double entendre, but are we supposed to think that there's some longing for the old sliding Mini windows here?
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newVideoPlayer("FerrariAusCrash_Jalop.flv", 494, 400,""); It's happened time and time again, and it will continue to happen until the end of days. A jumpy teenager has a crazy idea, perhaps induced by peer-pressure, to sneak the old man's car out for a late night joyride. As Jalops, we've likely all put ourselves in such a situation. In retrospect, we're able to look back at it as a right of passage into man hoon hood, but for this Aussie boy, it may be a while before he will fully appreciate the accomplishment of crashing his dad's Ferrari 360 Challenge Stradale, though never being able to see daylight may accelerate that process. [via AOL ] Hat Tip to Andy and Matt!
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newVideoPlayer("70_Hillman_Hunter_Hustler_476.flv", 463, 387,""); The Hillman Hunter was the Chrysler Europe machine that eventually became the Iran Khodro Paykan (and was related to many other British cars of its time). In 1970, Australians could buy themselves a rally-ized version called the Hustler, equipped with a twin-carb 1725cc engine, four-speed box, and one of the most bongo-riffic Sideburn Era ads we've ever seen. Here comes Hustler!
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newVideoPlayer("Schmaltz_Aussie_Toyotas_476.flv", 463, 387,""); American automakers aren't the only ones who play the bechmaltzed patriotism card in their ads, nor even the only ones who break out the mawkish country music in those ads. Here Toyota is letting Australians see how loving their land is the same as loving their Toyotas . It's not quite Morning In America , but it's striving for the same lump-in-throat effect.
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