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Wheels Car Of The Year
''Wheels'' Car of the Year (commonly abbreviated to COTY) is an annual automotive ''Car of the Year'' award presented by ''Wheels'' magazine. The publisher claims that it is the world's oldest continuous motoring award of its kind. The award is given to the best newly released vehicle each year. History Since 1963, ''Wheels'' has awarded the title of Car of the Year. In its inaugural year, the French Renault 8 became the inaugural COTY winner, which was built in many countries including Australia. The original intention of COTY was to promote excellence in the Australian car manufacturing industry, dominated at the time by Ford, Holden, Chrysler, Datsun and Toyota. With the fuel crisis in the 1970s, European makers also based in Australia, such as Renault and Volkswagen, began closing their local assembly plants. With a shrinking local manufacturing base and reliability and quality issues that affected Australian-made cars, Wheels changed the basis of the award to include imported ...
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Car Of The Year
Car of the Year (COTY) is a common abbreviation for numerous automotive awards. The "Car of the Year" phrase is considered to have been introduced by ''Motor Trend'' magazine in 1949 when the new publication named Cadillac as Motor Trend Car of the Year. Other publications and various organizations also have developed COTY recognitions. The Australian automobile magazine ''Wheels'' began an award in 1963. In 1964, a jury of European automotive journalists began selecting the European Car of the Year award. Many COTY awards focus on regional markets, vehicle types, or market segments. An example is the "tow car of the year" in the UK (for pulling travel trailers). or the COTY AJAC award in Canada. Criteria The COTY is meant to award excellence in automotive design. Criteria vary, but the World Car of the Year are typical: *eligible cars are all those that have been launched and gone on sale in the past year *must be available on at least two continents *juror can borrow the c ...
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Ford Territory (Australia)
The Ford Territory is a mid-size crossover SUV built by Ford Australia that was introduced in April 2004 and produced until October 2016. It was not only the only SUV that was built in Australia, but also Ford's first large three-row crossover SUV. It was based on the EA169 platform introduced by the EA Falcon, and its internal project codename was E265. Winner of various automotive awards since its introduction, the Territory was the first SUV to win the coveted Australian title of ''Wheels'' Car of the Year in 2004, courtesy of acceptable handling and child carrying capacity. Ford Australia reportedly spent A$500 million on developing this vehicle over a four-year period. Many Australian toolmakers were lauded for their cost competitiveness in keeping this cost so low, not as cheap as the Japanese, but much lower than Detroit-based cars. Apart from being the first and only Australian-made SUV, it was also the first local vehicle to feature electronic stability control. Pr ...
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Volkswagen Passat (B1)
The Volkswagen Passat (B1) is a large family car produced by Volkswagen in West Germany from 1973 to 1981. B1 in Europe The original Volkswagen Passat was launched in 1973. The body types offered originally were two- and four-door fastback sedans (that were discontinued in 1981). These were joined in January 1975 by identically profiled three- and five-door hatchback versions. Externally all four shared a modern design, styled by the Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. In essence, the first Passat was a fastback version of the mechanically identical Audi 80 sedan, introduced a year earlier. While the Audi 80 was nominated Car of the Year by the European motor press in 1973, they considered the Passat a facelifted version of the Audi and thus ineligible for the 1974 competition. The Passat became ''Wheels'' magazine's Car of the Year for 1974, however. A five-door station wagon/estate was introduced in 1974; the same car was available with Audi badging in many markets. The Pass ...
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Leyland P76
The Leyland P76 is a large car that was produced by Leyland Australia, the Australian subsidiary of British Leyland. Featuring what was described at the time as the "standard Australian wheelbase of 111 inches", it was intended to provide the company with a genuine rival to large local models like the Ford Falcon, the Holden Kingswood, and the Chrysler Valiant. But, due to the first real fuel crisis and demand far exceeding the supply, Leyland rushed the assembly process with the first of the P76s to come off the assembly line, resulting in poor build quality and some reliability problems. The combination of the rushed assembly, fuel crisis and strikes at the component manufacturers' factories, resulted in the Leyland P76 being labelled a lemon, despite receiving the Wheels magazine Car of the Year in 1973. By 1974, sales of the P76 had slumped and BMC decided to end the production of the P76. Although the P76 has been labelled a lemon in Australian motoring history, it is viewed ...
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Chrysler Valiant Charger
The Chrysler Valiant Charger was a two-door hardtop coupe introduced by Chrysler Australia in 1971. It was a short wheelbase version of the concurrent Australian Chrysler Valiant sedan. Introduced within the VH Valiant series, it continued as a variant through the subsequent VJ, VK and CL series, until production ceased in 1978. It was marketed and badged as the Valiant Charger in the VH and VJ series and as the Chrysler Charger in the later VK and CL series. While still based on the US Chrysler A-body platform, with virtually identical front suspension, the fenders were widened, and a wider rear axle fitted, so that the track, front and rear, was considerably wider than any US A-body, this also allowed wheels much wider than a US A-body. The Australian Chargers also used a 5-on-4.5" wheel bolt circle (still 7/16" studs), while the US cars did not go to "big bolt pattern" until 1973. The Charger was extraordinarily popular in Australia during the VH series. At one point Charger p ...
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Renault 12
}), the other is the submodel designation TS. Sold as a sedan or a station wagon (TSW), it has a 1.4 litre carburetted C1J (Cléon) engine with and came with either a four- or a five-speed transmission. Australia The Renault 12 won Australia's Wheels magazine's Car of the Year award in 1970. It was built at Renault Australia's assembly plant in the Melbourne suburb of Heidelberg from CKD kits. Various components such as seats were sourced locally. The Australian range generally followed the UK models, including the facelift (which arrived in 1976) but, from about 1971, when new Australian Design Rules were introduced, had to have a special local wiper mechanism with a conventional right hand drive pattern (parking on the passenger side). This also affected locally assembled Peugeot 504 and Triumph 2.5 models. By the mid-1970s, local parts content had increased to represent about fifty percent. In October 1976 the 1,289 cc engine was replaced by a larger capacity 1,397  ...
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Holden Torana
The Holden Torana is a mid-sized car that was manufactured by Holden from 1967 to 1980. The name apparently comes from an word meaning "to fly" in an unconfirmed Aboriginal Australian language. The original HB series Torana was released in 1967 and was a four-cylinder compact vehicle closely based on the British Vauxhall Viva HB series of 1966 - 1970. Whilst the 1969-73 (LC and LJ series) cars included more popular, longer-wheelbase six-cylinder versions, and with the 1974-77 (LH and LX series) cars adding eight-cylinder versions to the mix, a range of four-cylinder versions continued for the entire production life of the Torana (with later four-cylinder versions being marketed as the Holden Sunbird from November 1976). In South Korea, the LJ Torana was produced locally as the Chevrolet 1700 (시보레 1700, 1972–1978) and Saehan Camina (새한 카미나, 1976–1978). Changing tack in Australian motor sport, Holden released the LC Torana GTR XU-1 in 1970, with performance ...
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Coupé
A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past participle of ''couper'', "cut". __TOC__ Etymology and pronunciation () is based on the past participle of the French verb ("to cut") and thus indicates a car which has been "cut" or made shorter than standard. It was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. These or ("clipped carriages") were eventually clipped to .. There are two common pronunciations in English: * () – the anglicized version of the French pronunciation of ''coupé''. * () – as a spelling pronunciation when the word is written without an accent. This is the usual pronunciation and spelling in the United States, with the pronunciation entering American vernacular no later than 1936 and featuring in the Beach Boys' hi ...
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Holden Monaro
The Holden Monaro ( ) is a rear-wheel drive coupé manufactured by General Motors Holden in Australia from 1968 to 1975 and later reintroduced from 2001 to 2005. It was also manufactured as a 4-door sedan from 1973 to 1977. Three generations of the Monaro coupe have been produced, the first covering the HK, HT, and HG series from 1968 to 1971, the second covering the HQ and HJ series from 1971 to 1975, and the third covering the V2 and VZ series from 2001 to 2005. The first generation Monaro coupe was also manufactured by General Motors South Africa in 1970 and 1971 in both Holden Monaro GTS and Chevrolet SS variants, utilising CKD kits imported from Australia. The third generation Monaro coupe was manufactured not only for domestic Australian consumption but also for export as variously a Chevrolet Lumina (Middle East), Vauxhall Monaro (UK), or Pontiac GTO (USA) badged vehicle. The third generation was also 'remanufactured' in Australia by HSV (Holden Special Vehicles) from 20 ...
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Chrysler VE Valiant
The Chrysler VE Valiant is an automobile that was produced in Australia by Chrysler Australia from 1967 to 1969. It was released in October 1967, replacing the Chrysler VC Valiant. The premium model in the range was renamed Valiant VIP due to the V8 engine becoming an option across the entire range. Model range The VE series Valiant was offered in 4-door sedan, 5-door station wagon and 2-door coupe utility models. * Valiant sedanChrysler Australia sales brochure 5/6001015R for VE series Valiant & Valiant Regal sedans and wagons (VE-M41) * Valiant Safari wagon (VE-M45) * Valiant Regal sedan (VE-H41) * Valiant Regal Safari wagon (VE-H45) * Valiant VIP sedanChrysler Australia sales brochure for VE series Valiant VIP sedans and wagons (VE-P41) * Valiant VIP Safari wagon (VE-P45) * Valiant utility (VE-L20) * Valiant Wayfarer utility (VE-M20) VE series Valiant and Valiant Wayfarer utility models were introduced in May 1968.Glass's Dealers Guide, Passenger Vehicle Vales, South Au ...
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Ford XR Falcon
The Ford Falcon (XR) is a full-sized car produced by Ford Australia from 1966 to 1968. It was the first of the second generation of the Falcon and also included the Ford Fairmont (XR), the luxury-oriented version. Overview The XR series was introduced in September 1966. Styling was based on the third-generation 1966 US Ford Falcon, and it was promoted as the "Mustang-bred Falcon". It was the first Australian Falcon to be offered with a V8 engine, the , 289 cubic inch (4.7 L) Windsor unit.Falcon XR technical_specifications
Retrieved from www.uniquecarsandparts.com.au on 5 January 2009
The XR marked the first time a V8 engine could be optioned in all trim levels of an Australian car, V8s having previously been reserved for the more upmarket variants. The 144 cubic inch (2.4 L) six-cyl ...
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Ford XP Falcon
The Ford Falcon (XP) is a mid-sized car produced by Ford Australia from 1965 to 1966. It was the fourth and last iteration of the first generation of the Falcon, and also included the Ford Fairmont (XP), the luxury-oriented version. Introduction The XP Falcon was introduced in March 1965,AC Bushby, The Australian Falcon Collection, 1989, page 62 replacing the XM Falcon which had been in production since 1964. It was the final series of the first-generation Falcon which had been introduced as the XK Falcon in 1960. The main change from the XM was the 'torque box' steel subframe which added structural rigidity to the car. This was a key in improving the public perception of the car, as the early models were considered flimsy and were unpopular with Australian fleet buyers. The running gear and most other components stayed the same from the XM through to the XP. All of the utility, sedan delivery, and taxi/police kit vehicles had five-lug 13-inch wheels and larger 10-inch drum b ...
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