The Good Oil

It was all about the Utes last Saturday at Turners classic auction in Christchurch. Not only are utes the modern vehicle of choice for New Zealanders we also have a love of the old ones, especially if they’re Australian. Read on...

Outwardly it looks like it was inspired by a drawing made by a teenage boy with a ruler and a compass during a Social Studies class. But underneath the fourth generation Honda Civic Type R’s skin is a mad masterpiece. This low mileage example awaits you at Turners. Read on...

It’s huge, will devour petrol like a rugby team in a brewery, and need a garage the size of a small house to park in. But this 1972 Pontiac Catalina Safari is extremely cool and if you had to find one sensible thing about it, the price expectation might just be it. Read on...

With the Ford Ranger being NZ’s biggest selling car for the last few years it’s hard to drive anywhere in standard car without having your view blocked by one. But long before the Ranger, when utes were driven by blokes called Bruce and women called Nancy, there was the Ford Mainline, and you didn’t use it to go shopping at Bed, Bath and Beyond. Read on...

The next Turners classic auction takes place in Christchurch on 9th March and the line up is already looking pretty tasty. But one car in particular has caught my eye and it’s a Vauxhall Viva. Yes, that’s right, the car your mum or Grandma drove when you were a kid, only this one has teeth and bonnet scoops. Read on...

Before you right it off as “just a Renault” there’s something you need to consider. In 2006 Fernando Alonso won the F1 world championship in a Renault, who also won the constructors title. It was also the year Renault’s sporting division released the Clio 197. Renault Sport was on fire and this car is a 194hp beast for chump change. Read on...

You may be wondering why Scott Mclaughlin’s new Mustang V8 Supercar looks so different from an actual Mustang. With its droopy snout, bigger windscreen and side glass, slightly squashed body and longer tail you’d be forgiven for thinking it’s not really a Mustang at all. And you’d be right.

New Zealand’s history of designing and mass manufacturing cars is brief to say the least. There was the Trekka and, well, that was it really. However, we did once have a rich history of assembling cars, and some pretty important ones at that. We built up VW Beetles, Fiat 500s (or Bambina in NZ only), Minis, Corollas, even Vespas, and many, many more.

This pint sized supercar has pin-up good looks, goes even better, and has a Toyota engine which means it won’t be as fragile as your typical highly strung supercar. Also, like a supercar, it’s lightweight, fast, noisy, uncomfortable and bags of ridiculous fun. Read on...