4WD News April - June 2000

The [front page] carries current 4WD articles. The 4wdnews index and archive is [here (click)].

30 June 2000: The GST comes into effect on 1 July. It is quite likely that petrol prices will rise, a bit, as the companies and the government face-off and try to make political mileage out of the issue. The Government claims prices should not rise, but that assumes a 1.5c/litre+/- saving from "other factors" which the petrol companies dispute. It is also the case that petrol prices often go up at weekends anyway. However, new-car prices should fall by a few percent, unless the company has introduced GST-prices early, e.g. Volvo.

29 June 2000: With a non-binding offer of $6.9 billion, Ford was selected as sole preferred bidder for Daewoo Motors beating GM and Daimler-Chrysler. After checks, the deal could be closed in late August.

26 June 2000: Mercedes Benz will release the S400 CDI sedan in Europe in July with a V8 diesel engine (right, 184kW at 4000rpm, 560Nm at 1700rpm). The diesel, has 4-valves per cylinder, twin turbo-chargers, water-cooled intercooler, water-cooled exhaust gas recirculation (EGR, reduces NO_x formation), common rail injection (per bank), aluminium heads and crankcase. Statistics: 3996cc, 86.0mm x 86.0mm, 184kW at 4000rpm, 560Nm at 1700rpm - 2600rpm. Fuel consumption of 9.6 litres per 100km is claimed. "There are currently no plans for right-hand drive production." It would be nice in a 4WD.
BMW is said to have a V8 diesel ready to match.

26 June 2000, by email:

[Readers] may be interested to know that next month we shall be publishing more MT videos from the film archives of the Imperial War Musuem in London. These incude; MT6 Armoured Cars (Daimler and Humber), MT7 AFV Techniques (Centurion), MT8 Tanks by train (Longmoor), Videos are available in PAL (arrope)[?] and NTSC (N.America) formats. These and other videos from us have proved very useful for modellers with their detailed descriptions of the vehicles shown
- Barry Coward, Editions Audioviseul BEULAH, www.

26 June 2000: Daimler Chrysler is to take a 10% stake in Hyundai Motor Company for $A720 million. 50/50 commercial vehicle joint venture. DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai Motor Co. & Mitsubishi Motor Co. will develop & produce a range of world-class, high quality small cars in key global markets.
Daimler Chrysler and Hyundai are also in a joint bid for a large part of Daewoo. (GM and Fiat and also Ford are also in the running for Daewoo.)

22 June 2000: Western Star [trucks, British Columbia, Canada] has been laying-off guys for a few weeks now. My neighbour was one. [The firm] got $2 million from BC (state) Goverment. Intended to build new plant up the road. The rumour then was that they were moving to the States (a new factory). Two days ago, shares soared, then trading was suspended on the 19th. Now it has leaked out that they have been trying to find a partner, rumoured, Freight-Liner. 9am news . . . Kelowna BC. The taxpayer just found out that they invested 60M, in Western Star. Western will come under Freightliner [-Mike R'].

June 2000: There's trouble at t' mill in the UK where unions are deciding whether or not to strike in protest at Ford closing down its car assembly operations at Dagenham c2002. Ford wants to shift Fiesta production to Germany although Dagenham will specialise in diesel engines. There will be (further) significant job losses.

June 2000: Ford, University of Louisville, the American Iron and Steel Institute, and the U.S. Army have signed an agreement to develop improved material and power trains for trucks. A part of the project is to develop lighter and more durable version of Ford's F-series trcuks for military applications.

June 2000: Blue Oval, an unofficial site for Ford news and rumours has information on the 2002 Ford Explorer 4x4,

The Cologne 4.0L SOHC V6, producing 205HP, will be standard in all models. Ford will discontinue the 5.0L V8 option and replace it with a 230 horsepower 4.6L modular V8. The 2002 will be the first Explorer to use an all new independent rear suspension.

[Thanks to Neil Linger]

June 2000: The unofficial Scammell web site (it's in the links database) reports that the British Army has dropped Unipower and Foden from the short list to provide its new tank transporter, leaving Man and Oshkosh in the race [-M.R.].

June 2000: The Hyundai Santa Fe 4x4 went on sale in Korea. The Santa Fe has a V6 engine. Hyundai 4wd.sofcom.com --> hopes to sell 150,000 p.a. world-wide. [Thanks to Neil Linger]

19 June 2000: We take a look at the G-Force anti body 4wd.sofcom.com --> roll control suspension system by the Auto Edge, Melbourne [more . . . ]

June 2000, All Land Rover `Series' and `Defenders' leak but this is ridiculous:

My D110 was parked outside last night during a downpour, the Defender has always leaked on the driver's side which I have learned to live with as part of the Land Rover mystique. During the rain the headlights came on (high beam); as the switch was turned off there was nothing I could do to turn them off. Eventually turned off the batteries. Pulled a few fuses this morning to isolate the headlights, water started dripping out of the fuse plugs, switched the batteries ond the wires arcked within the fuse box. Time to take the bike to work. [...] - ed

- from the Land Rover mailing list.

17 - 18 June 2000: Only 4x2's but  . . .  the Le Mans 24 hour race for sports cars takes place:
Audis finished 1-2-3, although the competition was light, with Mercedes Benz, Nissan and Toyota absent, and Porsche not fielding a `prototype'.]

June 2000: Caltex (au) has a new ready-mixed, anti-corrosion radiator coolant said to give good protection against "highly mineralised water common in regional Australia"; South 4wd.sofcom.com --> Australia and Western Australia are singled out. The coolant is said to pass Australian and New Zealand standard AS/NZ 2108.1 1997 type B (wow!) for engine coolants.

June 2000: The RACV has produced its annual survey of running costs of various types of family transport to help you fill in your tax return - from next month onwards, joy! As usual, the RACV assumes a privately owned vehicle driven for 15,000km per year over five years. Costs include depreciation (the biggest item), interest, insurance, registration, RACV membership (!), fuel, tyres, service and repair. As you would expect, light cars are cheapest to run - from $93.09/week for the Hyundai Excel Sprint ($au). Large cars range from $153.92 per week for the Ford Falcon Forte to $164.06/week for the Toyota Camry Csi V6.a Large four wheel drives are represented by the Holden Jackaroo S $217.62/week, and the Mitsubishi Pajero GLX $209.83/week. The small 4WDs, Honda CRV, Subaru Forester, Suzuki Grand Vitara and Toyota RAV4, fall between medium and large cars in running costs. The big surprise is the people mover category, these vehicles costing approximately as much as the large 4WDs to run. It is always interesting how little part fuel plays in total running costs - usually about 20%.

June 2000: The US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has a web page for input on their Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) management plan. Good page for off-roaders to check out. Might want to pass it along. - Alex Groza

June 2000: The new Porsche SUV (4x4), to be launched in 2002, will be called the Porsche Cayenne, i.e. it will be hot stuff? Porsche is hoping for annual world wide sales of over 25,000 units. The Cayenne "platform" is a joint development with VW.

June 2000: Honda Insight [small car with a hybrid engine] cracks UK fuel economy record. Honda's fuel-sipping Insight has broken a seven-year fuel economy record in the United Kingdom, achieving 2.75 litres per 100 kilometres or 102.65 miles per gallon [-Honda].

June 2000: The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) ranks vehicles in various categories by safety ratings: [www]. In the `mid-size utility vehicle' class, the 1999 - 2000 Mercedes Benz M-class is `a best pick' with `good' frontal offset crash test ratings for overall, structure, chest, leg/foot and restraint headings and `acceptable' for head/neck safety. The 1999 - 2000 (Toyota) Lexus RX300 (not available in .au) is also a best pick, with one `acceptable' heading, for structure, and the other frontal offset crash test headings `good'. The 1995 - 2000 Chevrolet Blazer / GMC Jimmy / Oldsmobile Bravada comes off badly with two `good', one `acceptable' and four `poor' headings. The 1967 - 1997 Toyota 4Runner and 1994 - 1998 Land Rover Discovery I come out best of the earlier designs.

10 June 2000: The Australian ski season officially opens, with snow! Drive carefully on the roads - the thought of the white stuff sometimes banishes common sense.

6 June 2000, Statement in response to Jeep Cherokee recall:

DaimlerChrysler has announced a recall of 474,000 Jeep Cherokees built between 1997 and 1999. The recall is to replace and relocate the air bag control module.
In five cases in the U.S., salt used to de-ice roads has caused the control module to corrode and, as a result, the air bag inadvertently deployed. None of these incidents resulted in collisions or injuries. No instances of this have occurred 4wd.sofcom.com --> outside the U.S.
As a precautionary measure, Chrysler Jeep Australia is recalling all identified Jeep Cherokees manufactured in the 1997-1999 model years to replace and relocate the module.
Chrysler Jeep Australia is currently compiling a list of the affected vehicles and will contact owners by mail. Parts for the recall have been shipped from the U.S. and will arrive in Australia in two to three weeks.
Owners will be notified that their vehicle should be presented to their Chrysler Jeep Dealer for the free rectification which should take around one hour.
Owners with questions regarding this recall can phone Chrysler Jeep Australia's toll-free hotline on 1-800-680-077.

3 June 2000: Ski resorts in Victoria and New South Wales opened a week early - 4wd.sofcom.com --> with snow.

3 June - 2 July 2000: The third London to Sydney Marathon Rally begins:

The London to Sydney Marathon 2000 includes 1,000km of timed special stages and passes through disparate terrain such as plantations in Malaysia and the central Australian desert. Only fully-prepared pre-1971 rally cars can enter the rally which runs through France, Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Greece to Turkey.... [www]

June 2000 Ford Courier XLT 4x4:

Ford (au) has added an impressive list of creature comforts to the highly successful four-wheel-drive, turbo-diesel powered, crew cab Courier to create the new XLT Courier. The new XLT Courier has been fitted with a driver airbag, power door locks, windows and rear vision mirrors, all of which are designed to improve driver safety and © L. A11ison (c) --> convenience. Auto locking hubs, activated by a dash-mounted switch, have been added, removing the need to leave the cabin to engage four-wheel-drive mode. Externally the XLT Courier can be recognised by 235/15 alloy wheels, XLT decals and a rear step bumper. Ford has added an impressive list of creature comforts to the highly successful four-wheel-drive, turbo-diesel powered, crew cab Courier to create the new XLT Courier. The recommended retail price for the XLT 4WD Courier is au$39,750.

. . . and New Generation Falcon Gets Go Ahead:

The Ford Falcon will remain the only car range completely designed, engineered and manufactured in Australia following the announcement of program approval for the next generation Falcon by Ford Australia. The next generation Falcon will continue to be manufactured and assembled in Ford's Geelong and Broadmeadows plants. With the new car due for introduction late in 2002 Ford Australia President, Geoff Polites, says everyone throughout the company is delighted with the news [-Ford].

June 2000: Opposite Lock are opening a branch in Adelaide [more...].

June 2000 email:

Just a short note to advise travellers on the Great Northern Highway out of Perth W.A., that diesel prices at Dalwallinu (BP Roadhouse) were 91.9cents per litre, whereas just 20km further north at Wubin (Shell Roadhouse) diesel was an exorbitant 102.9cents per litre! (prices correct at 29/05/2000). Perth prices for diesel were about 84.9cents per litre at the same time. The next fuel stop to the north of Wubin is Paynes Find approx. 150km away. I am not certain but I believe the prices here are cheaper than Wubin - Peter

June 2000: New on truck trials: Results / Ergebnisse MOHELNICE / CZ TV-Dates on Eurosport 07/2000 - Dirk

30 May 2000: Most seasonal 4x4 track closures, in Victoria (au) that should have come into force on the Thursday after the Queen's birthday weekend, i.e. 15 June 2000, were brought forward as the bad weather blocked roads with snow and fallen (c) © L. A11ison --> trees. A VAFWDC member was killed by a falling tree during the storms of last weekend. Another group was luckier when a large(!) tree fell on two of their 4WDs on a steep track; no one was injured in that incident.

28 May 2000: Snow fell across the high, and not so high, country in Victoria and New South Wales, causing some traffic problems but bringing hopes of a good ski season.
29 May - more falls.

28 May 2000: South Korea's Hyundai is still on shaky financial ground with the government issuing reassuring noises that H' won't fall in a heap (as Daewoo did) to try to calm investors.

May 2000: Ford will take control of Land Rover on 1 July. Bob Dover, currently chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, will become chairman and chief executive. Land Rover will become part of Ford's `Premier Automotive Group' with Aston Martin, Jaguar, Lincoln and Volvo.

May 2000: The 3rd London to Sydney Marathon rally starts on 3 June 2000. Australian George Reynolds and Britain Andrew Garrod will be driving a venerable 1968 Volvo 144S sedan in the 16,000km event. The rally cars will be airlifted from Turkey to Thailand (too dangerous) and from Malaysia to Darwin (too wet). Reynolds competed in the original 1968 event and in the 25th anniversary rally (1993). Reynolds, in the same car, finished the 1995 London-Mexico and 1997 Panama-Alaska rallies. Five Volvos were entered in the 1968 London to Sydney rally - by Bob Holden, Max Winkless, John Keran, Jack Forrest and Gerry Lister. One crew of four women, led by Elsie Gadd won the ladies' trophy in a Volvo 145S wagon. Other Volvos entered in 2000 are Andrew Gorrod (GB)/George Reynolds (Aus.), Volvo 144S, Indey Singh-Milkhu (GB)/Jeet Singh-Milkhu (GB), Volvo 142S, Jane James (GB)/Robert Stokoe (GB), Volvo 142S, Ian North (GB)/Derek Parling (GB), Volvo 123GT, Dennis Greenslade (GB)/Roger Bricknell (GB), Volvo 144S, Christopher Yates (GB)/Tom Grace (GB), Volvo 122S [-Volvo]

26 May 2000: Truckies are blockading the Hume Highway, near Albury-Wadonga in their attempts to get improved minimum rates. police have been diverting traffic through back streets.

May 2000: Paynes Engineering of Witney, Oxfordshire, UK performs engine modification and reconditioning and has now developed an overdrive unit for Land Rover Discovery, and Defender 90 & 110 LT230T 5-speed transmissions; it bolts onto the back of the 'box. Fairey (~Superwinch) used to make similar gadgets for 4-speed "series" Rovers, and Toro(?) did also. The new overdrive "is powered by its own internal hydraulic system which is switched electrically". When engaged, it lowers road speed by 26%. An `enable' light comes on at a preset speed and the unit can be activated. It disengages automatically below this speed. A 16% to 18% improvement in fuel economy is claimed. Incidentally, Payne also makes overdrives for classic Rolls Royces and Bentleys.

24 May 2000: Western Star is carrying out a promotional tour, Odyssey 2000, around Australia. "The Odyssey 2000 cavalcade comprises two Western Star prime movers, one powered by a Cummins Signature 600hp engine, the other featuring a Detroit Diesel at 500 hp. Both vehicles will be available for driver evaluation by appointment."
The exhibition demonstrates engine, transmission, suspension and electronics technology. It commences at Wagga Wagga on May 24th. "During its five-month journey the Odyssey 2000 team will visit all major transport centres based primarily at Western Star dealerships but also including well-known truck stops and transport centres." contact: Dave Jonassen, Western Star Trucks

20 May 2000: The US Tour de Sol road rally for electric and other environmentally friendly forms of propulsion is over. Several Honda Insights competed in the production class, one carrying off first place, A General Motors' EV1 was second and Daimler Chrysler EPIC minivans came in 8th and 9th. The EPIC was the winner of the "Consumer Acceptability Award."
The Solar Bolt high school team from Bolton, Connecticut set a NESEA Tour range record for lead-acid, battery-powered electric vehicles by travelling 164.5 miles without recharging. An Ovonic nickel-metal hydride battery-powered scooter achieved the equivalent of 302 miles per gallon energy efficiency.

19 May 2000: The Land Rover Owner (LRO) (e)mailing list marks its 10th anniversary [more...]

17 May 2000, writing, as we were, of alternative means of propulsion:

Auburn Hills, Mich. - Chrysler's EPIC (Electric Powered Interurban Commuter) electric people mover is a competitor in this week's American Tour de Sol 14-19 May, and the progress of the vehicle in the annual road rally for electric and advanced technology vehicles can be tracked via the [www]. The EPIC is the electric version of Chrysler's popular Voyager people mover. More than 200 EPICs are in use in California and New York State, including U.S. Postal Service offices and Xpress Shuttle at Los Angeles World Airport.

Also see 20 May above.

16 May 2000 by email:

In an attempt to support Nissan Patrol / Safari owners I have setup the Patrol 4x4 mailing list. This is by enthusiasts for enthusiasts, and I am using Topica's list infrastructure which has proven to be private and spam free. The list averages two emails per day on discussions surrounding Patrols / Safaris as it relates to 4wding. No commerical objectives exist for the Patrol 4X4 enthusiast list. The list is at: [www] - Adam Howarth, List Owner Patrol 4X4

May 2000: Global Gypsies the Western Australian based 4wd travel company sends in news of its current 4wd safari program. The company runs tag-along and hire-4wd trips, both self catering and fully catered throughout Australia. Examples include 7 day dolphin adventure (WA), 9 day Perth - Alice Springs, 7 day S.W. Forests, 20 day Perth to Sydney. The company also runs African 4wd trips: 12 day Victoria Falls (au$1665 p/p twin-share + $2955 vehicle), 20 day Jahannesburg to Cape Town (au$ 3234 p/p twin-share, +$5275 vehicle): [email] [www]

12 May 2000 Die Welt, Germany, reports:

German dealers of Rover cars are relieved after Rover was sold by German car manufacturer BMW this week. German dealers feared they would lose millions if Rover was sold to Alchemy, a British venture capital company, as Alchemy had little interest in the marque [...]. However, that deal fell through, and Rover was sold to [the] Phoenix consortium, an alliance of British businessmen, on 10 May 2000.

May 2000: Subaru (au) have a limited edition of the RX Impreza (right) at au$28K (and it's black not yellow).

11th - 15th May 2000: Blinman 2000 Land Rover Jamboree on this weekend. Series One Convoy from Adelaide to Blinman (in the Flinders Ranges). This event draws Land Rover owners and their vehicles from every state and territory in Australia.

10 May 2000: Jeep (au) reports that Robert Emmins drove his Jeep Grand Cherokee (right) into first plce in the A1.2 standard production class of the Condo 750 (Condobolin) offroad race. Bronwyn Hymphrey was co-driver.

May 2000: The order [has been] confirmed for build No.FSV 201 the first production 6x6 Firebex, this vehicle will be a diesel. FSV 202 is expected to be confirmed mid June thereafter it is intended to schedule confirmation orders at intervals of one per month until January then increasing to two body shell orders per month. (Unless projected demand is more than initially expected). It is also anticipated that Build No.101 will only stay on demonstration and development for at the most 6 months before being replaced by a different variant - Mike Eastman

May 2000 by email:

We have one copy each (slightly damaged) of the following books if any of your [readers] wish to purchase them: Land Rover IIA & IIB Instruction Manual, RRP $34.95 - you pay $24. Range Rover Parts Catalogue 1986-92, RRP $89.95 - you pay $46
- [Brian Butler].

May 2000: Yamaha is rumoured to be on the verge of putting the world's second(?) production two wheel drive motor-cycle on sale (also see the US built Rokon 2x2 cross-country motor-cycle). The new 2x2 system could appear in a road bike or a trail bike.

1 May 2000: President Clinton announced that the US would stop the intentional degredation of Global Positioning System (GPS) signals available to the general public at midnight. GPS was originally a military system, the signals being slightly degraded, called selective availability (SA), so that civilians and "others" could not derive quite such accurate position fixes as the military. This had been rather overtaken by events - using multiple signals and a base station some civilian units could in fact undo the SA distortions. Also, the tremendous growth in numbers of civilian GPS units simply changed priorities. But note, "we have demonstrated the capability to selectively deny GPS signals on a regional basis when our [US] national security is threatened."

May 2000: Mitsubishi recently announced 600 "voluntary" job losses at its South Australian factory. It is maintaining a stiff upper lip, saying that it will continue to build the Magna sedan in Australia. The real question mark hangs over the next model that will be required in a (very) few years and will take a big investment. Australia hardly justifies four car manufacturers - GM Holden, Ford, Toyota and Mitsubishi - and the GST, tarrif changes, growing "grey" imports etc. add uncertainty. Even Ford grumbles from time to time, usually at budget or election time, about the economics of special Australian models. Australians love big rear wheel drive cars (Commodore and Falcon) although the front wheel drive Magna would be the more likely market leader in almost any other country. The Magna is about to get squeezed by the Toyota Avalon (front wheel drive, bigger than the Camry) to go on sale soon. Hints of a manufacturer about to pull-out can also hurt sales because no one wants to own an orphan. Add to this possible changes brought about by Daimler Chrysler buying a controlling share of Mitsubishi. (Ironically Mitsubishi's S.A. plant used to be Chrysler's.) So Mitsubishi au is in limbo at the moment; it could turn out very well if the new Pajero is a hit and Daimler Chrysler & Mitsubishi do something imaginative with the S.A. plant, or it could all fade away.

May 2000: General Motors (GM), Ford and possibly other car makers are expected to enter bids for the Korean manufacturer, Daewoo, later this month.

28 April 2000: FT.com reports that the magic has stopped working for Alchemy which has dropped out of the running to buy Rover from BMW.   Rover [history . . . ].

27 April 2000: There is heavy flooding in north Queensland but the cyclone threat has eased and rivers are expected to start to fall tomorrow.

25 April 2000: AB Volvo will exchange 15% of its shares for 100% of Renault's truck business `Renault V.I. / Mack', forming the largest truck builder in Europe. Volvo sold its car division to Ford last year and had been in a buying mood attempting to buy Scania - blocked by the E.C..

April 2000: Suzuki Australia has taken control of marketing in New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). Strange to say, Suzuki distribution was not nationally based and coordinated (still not sure about Qld?) with models often coming in at slightly different prices and slightly different spec's in different states.

2000: Ford may stop mass production of cars at Dagenham, UK. This would be a big blow to the country and to the Blair government, especially given the Rover mess. Is it a ploy?

25 April 2000: Anzac Day brought out record numbers for marches around Australia. The prime minister, John Howard, took part in a service at a new memorial at the site of the landings in Turkey.

April 2000: Renault SA of France has agreed to buy the Korean car maker Samsung.

April 2000: The Nissan GU Patrol gains a new 3-litre 4-cylinder turbo-charged & intercooled diesel engine and looses the 2.8 turbo' and 4.2 unboosted diesel options.

19 April 2000: Tropical Cyclone Rosita crossed the coast of W.A. near Broome bringing heavy rain to the N.W..

April 2000: Sommer Michael ELIN/AG-MA wrote:

The [Pinzgauer] is discontinued, Steyr sold the production facilities to a company in England which has been importer for Pinzgauers for a long time. They will continue the manufacturing at a rate of one car per day or so. (Probably only for Army purposes).
The company is Automotive Technic Ltd. in Aldershot, Hampshire (the former importer for Pinzgauer in England, they have a contract from an Army (British?, they already have some 650 vehicles) for new Pinzgauers and they hope that they will also be able to sell to communities and individuals.
[Steyr] sold everything, manufacturing + testing facilities, design, etc. Moving (starting July or so) and re-certification of production facilities is done by the engineers from Steyr Fahrzeug Technik (SFT). Parts for the production will come from the same (Austrian) suppliers. They plan on building about the same number of vehicles per year as Steyr did (arround 1 per day)
The Pinzgauer will keep it's name.
Regards Michael Sommer Michael.Sommer vatech elin at -->

Also see [Treffen].

16 April 2000: The west-bound `Domain' tunnel of CityLink joining the Southern-Link toll-way cum Monash free-way with the Westgate free-way opened on Sunday (Melbourne, au). The tunnel will be free for a couple of weeks. The east-bound tunnel will not open for some months.

April 2000, by email:

Drivers Take to the Trails. Liz & Neil at Emu Creek Bush Getaway are giving you the chance to benefit from their "Free Tag-Alongs". This new service has been introduced to the park for the many drivers who are unsure and lack a little confidence to tackle the trails alone or may want to be part of a friendly group. The Ladies have a particular liking for this service as it gives them the chance to drive the easier tracks with Liz as their leader without the hassles or pressure of the hubbies. These Tag-Alongs are not training sessions, but a way of building your confidence and having a great time and enjoying your driving. The whole family will enjoy this experience and is available on all weekends free of charge. Duration of this drive approx 2 hrs.
For the more adventurous: Neil will take you out on the higher grade tracks and guide you through any obstacle you may need help with. The benefits of doing this type of Tag-Along is again confidence building and experience, but also you get the chance to meet new friends and future driving companions. Duration of this drive approx 3 hrs.
Emu Creek Bush Getaway, Paddy's Flat Rd., Tabulam, NSW 2469 tel/fax:02-6666-1456, [email], [www].

(Also see their 4x4 events in the 4wd calendar.)

15 April 2000: Although Opec has increased production and crude prices have fallen from about US$34/barrel to below $28, Venezuela warns that Opec will cut production of the price drops to the low $20+something level. (At the start of last year, prices were as low as they had been for a long time at ~$12.)

14 April 2000: John Towers, a former Rover chief exec' has put in a bid for Rover (cars) to BMW, but Alchemy still has the front running. Towers also wants the new Mini, but BMW plans to keep that.

April 2000: New Address:-

Sofcom (4wdonline), The Como Centre, Level 3, 650 Chapel St, Sth Yarra, Victoria 3141, Australia.

tel: +61 3 9826 8300, fax: +61 3 9826 8336

April 2000: Microcars Around the World has been cancelled :-(

We were looking good until the current coup in Pakistan caused all our yanks to leave en-masse. The US State Department advice scared them enough for the majority to pull out. As there is no way around Pakistan other than by travelling through all the former Russian states to get around Afghanistan we were left with insufficient numbers to proceed. It has not been completely dismissed, but not this year.
- Lang Kidby

April 2000 Car news: Ford Falcon AU II. New Mercedes Benz C-class for .au in late 2000, and CL500 on sale now.

April 2000: The RACV reports on the results of crash tests where (a) a SAAB 9000 and (b) a Land Rover Freelander, (chosen because it is a modern light-duty 4WD) without a bull-bar were crashed into another SAAB 9000's side (chosen because the SAAB 9000 is considered to be a very safe car), as conducted by Monash University Accident Research Centre (MUARC) center -->. Side intrusion by the Freelander was much greater because of its higher and more rigid front structure. This demonstrates, it is said, the 4WD's more "aggressive" nature in a crash. These tests support US test results.

3 April 2000: Tropical cyclone Tessi crossed the Queensland coast near Townsville ... heavy rain, flooding.

1 April 2000: Report on the Estonian Offroad Winter Trial and news of the Spring Trial, 5-7 May 2000.

1 April 2000: Although Opec has decided to raise oil production, some analysts believe that the increase is not enough to meet demand and that Australian petrol prices may yet reach $1.00/litre.

>>>1-3/2000 News>>>

Go to the 1-3/2000, 7-12/1999, and 4wdnews archive pages