Is 'useless' a deliberate action that allows [other] people to get away with corporate crimes?
Are the people in the ACCC paid to turn the other way?
The ACCC allows dodgy business operators to stay in business rather than closing them down and putting them before the courts. People like Henry Kaye (or Kukuy) with his sister Julia 'Feldman' (nee Kukuy).
The ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) is supposed to 'protect' the consumer?
Could it be said that the ACCC is supportive of corporate criminals running the country, or could that be relegated to a 'conspiracy theory'?
If you don't protect yourself no one else will, least of the corporation conglomerate (nee government).
The serious message is hidden in an automotive article from 31 Dec 2015 by news.com.au of the headline:
The biggest surprises in motoring in 2015
Insane price ... the Volkswagen Kombi that went for $202,000.
Here the 10 highlights and lowlights from the motoring world in 2015. Here’s to a better 2016!
Motoring highlights of 2015:
1) We can’t get enough V8s
High petrol prices? Pah! Australians gorged themselves on V8s in 2015. More than one third of all Holden Commodores sold was a V8 — in the year that Holden released a thirstier V8 than the one it replaced!
Never before has a car company been so rewarded for an increased thirst for fuel. The trade-off: more power! Grr, grr, grr.
When Holden grabbed the Corvette V8 for the Commodore SS, it forced Holden Special Vehicles to fit the supercharged V8 from the GTS to the Clubsport sedan and wagon and Maloo ute. Buyers are lapping it up while they can; the imported 2018 Commodore won’t be available with V8 power (see “lowlights”).
Over at Ford, the blue oval brand had to DOUBLE production of its supercharged XR8 Falcon sports sedan because it underestimated demand even though someone paid $236,100 for the last Ford Falcon GT in 2014.
Then Ford undercalled how many Mustangs it thought it could sell. It expected to sell 1000 in the first year, but is now holding 4000 orders and there is a year-long wait. The downside: Ford put the price up. It blamed US currency but even the boss said demand was major factor in the price hike.
In demand ... the 2015 Holden Commodore SS-V Redline. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
When Jeep owner Teg Sethi wasn’t happy with the response he got from the US car giant over repeated quality and reliability issues with his Grand Cherokee, he spent $8000 of his own money to create a You Tube video clip that went viral and global. It clocked up more than 2.2 million views in no time. Now various state government departments are reviewing why Australia has among the weakest lemon laws in the developed world. In the US, cars with problems like this would have been replaced or refunded.
Making
a statement ... Teg Sethi with his brother Geetraj Singh Sethi (dressed
as a lemon) with Teg's Jeep which was the inspiration for a YouTube
video. Picture: Hamish BlairSource:News Corp Australia
Following a special investigation, Toyota Australia uncovered a range of dangerous counterfeit parts, including airbag spiral cables that could fail to deploy in a crash, and brake pads fitted with asbestos. The parts — sold in what appears to be genuine Toyota packaging — were imported by unscrupulous independent repairers at a fraction of the cost of the genuine parts. Toyota took legal action to stop the sale of the potentially deadly goods after various agencies including the ACCC did not or would not act. Later, thousands of counterfeit wheels for popular cars were also exposed after testing and independent repairers showed how easily they can be buckled after hitting a pothole.
Toyota dealer bulletin ... warns of counterfeit brake pads containing asbestos. Picture:
SuppliedSource:Supplied
Utes are becoming the new family car, as they become more luxurious and get more safety equipment. Utes are now the third biggest market segment behind small cars and SUVs. Used for work and play, they are often used on worksites during the week and then to take the family camping/tow a boat or caravan/carry bikes/carry surf gear on weekends. In 2015, we had five all-new or overhauled models arrive within months of each other, including the Toyota HiLux, Ford Ranger, Nissan Navara, Mitsubishi Triton, and Mazda BT-50. Next year expect big changes to the Holden Colorado and Isuzu D-Max utes. And there is some homework for certain brands after Toyota put a rear camera as standard on all HiLux ute models. Ford, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, Isuzu and Holden, please make 2016 the year you too put cameras as standard across all ute models.
Popular option ... the latest 2015 Ford Ranger ute. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
A rare 1960 Volkswagen Kombi Samba Microbus set what is believed to be a world record when it went under the hammer in February for $202,000.
Proving that it wasn’t a once-off, someone else paid an eye-watering $158,000 for a similar Kombi in another classic car auction in November.
“Most of the old Kombis in the UK and Europe have deteriorated beyond repair due to all the salt they put on the roads in winter, they just rust out,” says Ray Black, the president of the Volkswagen Classic and Vintage Club of Australia.
“So a lot of foreign buyers have been coming over here and buying our Kombis in almost any condition.”
The latest big dollar result was for a 1967 “11-window” Kombi assembled in Australia that had just two owners throughout its 48-year history.
Motoring lowlights of 2015
1) VW diesel scandal
It’s the biggest scandal to rock the car industry in decades and will take years for the company to recover.
German car giant Volkswagen was busted for creating software that cheated emissions tests on its diesel cars in the US. The cheat was discovered after a university study sought to prove how good VWs were, but grew suspicious when they couldn’t replicate the lab figures in the real world. The university notified the US Environmental Protection Authority who, in turn, asked Volkswagen to “please explain”. VW said there must have been a fault with those vehicles but said they would order a recall as a precaution. Months later, when the EPA retested the recalled vehicles, they still blew the emissions meters by up to 40 times the legal limit. Finally, VW came clean about the cover up in the US and overseas, and now 11 million cars globally are being recalled, including about 100,000 in Australia.
Caught out ... the Volkswagen emissions scandal affected cars worldwide. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
Japanese airbag supplier Takata was forced to recall more than 34 million cars worldwide after it was found some of its airbags could detonate shrapnel if deployed in certain conditions. So far, eight deaths globally have been attributed to the faulty airbags, which were fitted to certain Toyota, Honda, Mazda, Nissan, Subaru, Chrysler and Mercedes vehicles. More than 800,000 cars were eventually recalled in Australia alone, but many won’t be fixed until 2016 because of the backlog.
Massive recall ... a deployed airbag is seen in a 2001 Honda Accord. Picture: AFPSource:AFP
It was a test drive veteran News Corp motoring journalist Peter Barnwell will never forget. He was testing the new Ford Everest SUV when, after a series of odd electrical faults, the instrument display went blank, the engine suddenly died and then fire started appearing from under the bonnet. He pulled over immediately, called 000 and hid behind a nearby tree to avoid the shrapnel from the burning wreck. The Everest was a write-off but Ford found the cause within days even though there was barely a shell left. Apparently a worker forgot to connect one of six battery cables after the battery went flat near the Everest factory’s holding yard in Thailand. Ford Australia says there is no need to recall the Everest or the Ranger ute, which shares the same engine and electrical systems.
Frightening
... the moment a Ford Everest caught fire while being road tested by
CarsGuide journalist Peter Barnwell. Picture: SuppliedSource:Supplied
Aussie V8 fans will have to get used to four-cylinder and V6 power for their future performance sedans. The Asia-Pacific boss of General Motors, Stefan Jacoby, confirmed at the Frankfurt motor show in September what has long been feared. The Holden Commodore V8 will die once manufacturing comes to an end at Holden’s factory in Elizabeth in South Australia at the end of 2017. In an interview with Australian media, Mr Jacoby said: “The world obviously is changing and the V8 period is coming to an end.” The V8 is the single biggest-selling version of the current Holden Commodore and one of the few models not to go down in sales. RIP: V8 Commodore.
Changing times ... Holden will no longer produce V8s. Picture: Thomas WieleckiSource:Supplied
Ethanol-blended fuel (known as E10, because 10 per cent is Ethanol and 90 per cent is regular unleaded) is once again about to be forced on NSW motorists — even though you have to burn more of it to travel the same distance as you would on regular fuel. Because E10 burns faster, independent testing has found the environmental benefit is negligible and motorists have the added inconvenience of having to refill more often — or use more expensive fuel. Other states such as Queensland and Victoria have largely shunned E10 because of the questionable benefit. Consumer groups fear motorists are lulled into using the fuel under false pretences. It’s cheaper at the pump, but you have to buy more of it to travel the same distance as regular fuel. So why has it been forced on NSW motorists and fuel retailers? Displaying E10 pricing also restricts price pressure on 98 premium unleaded, the dearest fuel. E10 takes up space on pricing boards that would otherwise be used to display the price of 98 premium unleaded. Thanks for nothing.
This reporter is on Twitter: @JoshuaDowling
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