Picking a pick-up

New Ford Ranger.

Dual-cab pick-ups account for nearly one in 10 new-car sales in Australia. A staggering 100,000 vehicles last year, of which the majority come from Thailand.

One of the motoring columnists down-under compared the one tonne pick-ups available in Australia, with the Toyota HiLux (Vigo), Ford Ranger, Mazda BT 50, Mitsubishi Triton and Nissan Navara looked at. Also in the mix was the VW Amarok, a vehicle we do not get in Thailand.

The Toyota has been one of the best selling vehicles in Australia many times. Last year, the HiLux Vigo was the third-highest selling vehicle and the highest-selling pick-up with a lead of 14,449 units.

However, the testers reported that some aspects of the vehicle were starting to show their age. “The 3.0 liter turbo diesel engine has not changed for years and is the least powerful here. Against this competition it feels outdated: it is loud inside the cabin and feels as though it is struggling most on steep sections. The simple four-speed auto, however, is honest and shifts well enough.”

The Mitsubishi Triton was marked down as getting long in the tooth as well. Their testers also felt, “The drive experience also feels behind the times; a bouncy ride was described by several testers as ‘agricultural’, shuddering over smaller lumps and bounding loosely over bigger bumps. It feels the least stable of the six, with heavy, inconsistent steering and some body roll through corners.”

So to the Aussie’s opinion on the Nissan Navara. “On the road, the Navara handles corners well, its steering direct and nicely weighted. The ride is generally good but the larger wheels and thinner tyres mean even minor bumps transmit into the cabin, particularly through the tray. It also has a mammoth 13.3 meter turning circle, which makes parking and tighter turns a challenge.”

The final two in the comparison test were the Ford Ranger and the Mazda BT50. Sisters under the skin and gaining in popularity in Thailand every day. The Australian opinion was, “As with the Ford, the BT-50’s engine and transmission are strong selling points. It shares the same five-cylinder diesel engine and six-speed automatic, which work well together. Again, the transmission is smooth whether laden or empty but, as with the Ranger, it can dither slightly at times. It matches the Ranger, too, for fuel use at 9.2 L/100 km.

“Driving the two back-to-back, it is hard to pick the difference, although the Mazda’s engine seems slightly noisier. The steering responds predictably, has good weight to it and corners with certainty. However, our test car’s ride was more unsettled - fidgeting over small bumps and bucking over bigger ones - presumably due to chunkier tyres.”

Will the Australian opinion be reflected in sales here? It will be difficult for the Ford/Mazda pair to unseat Toyota, but after the public look carefully at the pick-up offerings at the upcoming Bangkok International Motor Show, the gap could be smaller.

A special offer for kart racers

The Bira Kart people have just released their Bira Club Card which has enormous benefits for kart racers, from Cadet to Pro to VIP. The cost for the card is ridiculously cheap, and if you are a karter I do suggest you contact the Bira Kart office directly, or email [email protected].

Special Offer for Kart racers.

Who’s for a FF Ferrari?

Ferrari FF with AWD.

Just like the Ferguson FF or the Jenson FF, Ferrari have come up with their own all-wheel-drive supercar. Those with a lot of money may apply for one.

The way they get the AWD unique, patented 4RM all-wheel-drive setup that dispenses with a transfer case and center differential in favor of distributing drive from both ends of the engine’s crankshaft. In addition, the FF can carry up to 800 liters of luggage with the rear seats folded or 450 liters with the seats up and two adults in the back.

Ferrari claim the AWD really does work, and it is not a gimmick. It usable on dirt roads, although even with its adaptive suspension with magnetically-controlled dampers, being primarily a supercar, the FF unlikely to be the most comfortable way to travel on Thailand’s up-country roads.

The 4RM AWD setup is claimed to weigh 50 percent less than a conventional AWD system. The FF sends power to the rear wheels via a seven-speed dual-clutch transaxle transmission, which helps the car achieve a 53 percent rearwards weight distribution, despite being front-engined.

The engine is Ferrari’s first direct-injection V12 engine, of 6262 cc capacity and develops 485 kW of power at 8000 rpm and 683 Nm of torque at 6000 rpm - with 500 Nm available from 1000rpm.

The performance figures are zero to 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds on the way to a 335 km/h top speed. Fuel consumption is given as 15.4 liters per 100 kilometers helped by the introduction of idle-stop and energy-saving intelligent controls for the fan, fuel pump and air-conditioning compressor. However, if you can afford the millions this car will cost in this country, does the owner really care? I doubt it.

With the supercar niche market fairly full these days, and competitive, the Ferrari FF buyer in Australia gets an inclusive seven years of free scheduled servicing program, meaning the first FF customers will not have to pay for a service until 2019.

New BMW 5 Series with six engines

BMW 5 Series.

BMW are going all-out with their choice of engines in the new 5 Series. Four petrol and two diesel means the BMW driver has almost unlimited choices.

A couple of new engines are the TwinPower four-cylinder - also seen in the X1, Z4, 1 Series and new 3 Series - is now available in two states of tune in the 5 Series range, with a 135 kW version powering the 520i and a 180 kW version fitted to the 528i.

The new BMW 520i is also cheaper than the previous 5 Series petrol price leader, the six-cylinder 528i. The new re-engined 528i, which replaces the 3.0 liter normally aspirated inline petrol six is also much more frugal (14 percent improvement in consumption figures).

BMW also claims that the new model is 0.4 seconds faster to 100 km/h, at 6.3 seconds. Even the new 520i hits 100 km/h in a claimed eight seconds.

However, the best fuel consumption figures in the 5 Series is the upgraded diesel 520d returning 4.7 L/100 km - very close to eco-car figures in a full size sedan.

Turbocharging is the way to go, says BMW with both the 520i and 528i engines with a twin-scroll turbocharger with Valvetronic variable valve control and double VANOS camshaft control, with the 520i producing 135 kW of power between 5000 and 6250 rpm and 270 Nm of torque from just 1250 rpm to 4000 rpm. The new 520i comes with an idle-stop function, plus dynamic driving control, EcoPro economy driving mode, 17 inch alloy wheels, ‘Business’ satellite-navigation, front and rear parking sensors, cruise control with braking function, USB audio interface, Bluetooth, climate-control, rain-sensing wipers, automatic headlights, a through-loading system and anti-dazzle interior mirror. That is a very well equipped car.

Both new four-cylinder petrol engines come as part of a 2012 refresh for the 5 Series. While the 520d brings better fuel efficiency, the 535d’s six-cylinder 3.0-liter TwinPower variable-turbo diesel engine delivers an extra 10 kW of peak power at 230 kW while cutting fuel consumption by eight percent.

With the advent of Audi A6, the Lexus GS 250 as well as the Mercedes-Benz 250 CGI Avantgarde in this class, it will be very interesting to see which marque will get the buyer’s attention in Thailand, though BMW and Mercedes-Benz are the favorites out of that four.

Henry Ford really was a man with vision

Can you imagine a car factory that was 2.5 km wide and 1.6 km long? Henry Ford built one long before WWII. It had 93 buildings housing almost 200 km of conveyors. This was Ford’s Rouge River plant.

But that was not where the ‘vision’ came stopped with size. There were ore docks, steel furnaces, coke ovens, rolling mills, glass furnaces and plate-glass rollers. Buildings included a tire-making plant, stamping plant, engine casting plant, frame and assembly plant, transmission plant, radiator plant, tool and die plant, and, at one time, even a paper mill. A massive power plant produced enough electricity to light a city the size of nearby Detroit, and a soybean conversion plant turned soybeans into plastic auto parts.

This was a plant that produced its own steel, with iron ore going in one end, and complete cars out the other. One new car rolled off the line every 49 seconds. Each day, workers smelted more than 1,500 tons of iron and made 500 tons of glass. At its peak in the 1930s, it employed more than 100,000 people. The plant had its own fire department, a police force, a fully staffed hospital and a maintenance crew of 5,000 people.

The Rouge soon became the destination of massive Ford lake freighters filled with iron ore, coal, and limestone. The first coke oven battery went into operation in 1919, while blast furnaces were added in 1920 and 1922. Iron from the furnaces was transported directly to the foundry where it was poured into molds to make engine blocks, cylinder heads, intake and exhaust manifolds, and other automotive parts. The foundry covered 30 acres and was, at its inception, the largest on earth. In 1926 steelmaking furnaces and rolling mills were added. Eventually, the Rouge produced virtually every Model T component, but assembly of the Model T remained at Highland Park.

“Self-sufficiency” is a phrase used these days, and Henry Ford’s dream was to own, operate and control all the resources required in automobile production. True self-sufficiency. I don’t think anyone has got closer.

Autotrivia Quiz

Last week I mentioned that a Scottish vet changed the way we get about our travels. I asked who was he? These are too easy - it was John Boyd Dunlop, with the pneumatic tyre.

So to this week. We are used to the Boy Vunder setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap of the race, but that had been done many years before by Surtees in the Ferrari. What year and what track?

For the Automania free beer this week, be the first correct answer to email [email protected]