The Good Oil

With spring upon us the time for finishing, or indeed starting, that “winter project” may have passed. But with a summer of car shows such as Beach Hop to look forward to maybe life’s too short for completing that project anyway. Maybe, rather than spending $60k on that restoration project you should maybe just spend $50k on one that’s already done. Like this one. Read on...

It may not seem like it but summer is coming and it won’t be long before the roof of your convertible will be folded back on a daily basis. Of course that’s only if you own one. There are few better affordable soft top sports cars than the Mazda MX-5 and this 2006 model is potentially the bargain to kick you into a top down summer. Read on...

The headline with Fiat’s TwinAir Panda is ‘frugality’ but there’s so much more to this stylish Italian city car. With Petrol prices on the rise and the addition of regional fuel taxes the opportunity to buy a two cylinder, 875cc Fiat is pretty timely. And this clever Panda is not expensive either, in fact it’s positively cheap. Read on...

It may look like an angry German bumble bee but the Porsche Cayman actually gets its name from a small alligator that will chew your face off given half a chance. And that probably suits the Cayman. It looks like a scaled down version of the 911, but it’s still got sharp teeth and it will bite. This one is champing at the bit to find a new owner. Read on...

With Tesla’s Model 3 making its first appearance in NZ this month and Hyundai’s new fully electric Kona on sale now it appears EVs are likely to be the latest automotive game changer. So we thought we’d look back on some of the other automotive game changers that significantly altered the motoring landscape.

The Brown Marmorated Stink Bug is a small critter about the size of a 10 cent coin and will yield easily to the downward pressure of a size 9 boot. However, a bunch of them managed to push several container ships carrying imported cars to NZ all the way back to Japan.

Some may be surprised to find that there’s a market for classic vans but there certainly is and the first generation Ford Transit is one to watch. With old VW Kombis commanding stratospheric prices these old Transits look like a bit of a bargain. And usually being a hard living commercial vehicle this may be one of the best left out there. Read on...

Alfa Romeo once gave us cars like the stunning 33 Stradale and were part of the motoring elite but over the years and regular management changes they lost their way. Sure there have been some decent cars but there has been some average and terrible ones, too. So the 4C Coupe is a welcome sight, and what a sight it is. Alfa brought back some of their swagger with the 4C and you can own this one. Read on...

Winter may seem like an odd time to buy a convertible but actually the best time to buy a sunny day car is after a long stretch of cold, wet, windy, short days - the sort of days you’d never have the top down on your convertible. That’s why this 2009, NZ New Audi A5 Quattro is a good idea right now. Why? Read on...