Are Territotions Aussies most patriotic??

[Outbackjack]

http://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northe...-1226791231919

Teritorians I mean of course...

THE Red Centre is among the last holdouts continuing to support Australia's struggling car industry.

Alice Springs has the highest number of locally made Holden, Toyota and Ford cars in the Territory, with 3052 registered on our roads.

Darwin's northern suburbs trails closely with 2935 but Darwin city and surrounding suburbs have the highest local car ratio in the NT - where 14 out of every 100 cars are locally made.

The most popular Australian-made cars on our roads are Holdens.

"It is common knowledge that Australian manufacturers target workers," said Professor Gollan, from the Faculty of Business and Economics at Macquarie University. "It has been a successful strategy for 50 or 60 years. The problem is that many areas have moved on while the manufacturers have not."

At the other end of the scale, in Palmerston only six in every 100 cars are locally made. They can also claim the highest number of registered Volvos in the Territory.

Mal Janes

Classic Holden Car Club of the NT member Mal Janes with his 1971 HQ Statesman. Picture: ELISE DERWIN Source: NT News

"Highly priced, expensive cars aren't made here," said Professor Danny Samson, from the Department of Management and Marketing at the University of Melbourne. "Australians with a higher income aspire to luxury cars."

The exclusive analysis by News Corp Australia of car registration data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics reveals that Holden's Commodore, Cruze and Caprice, Ford's Falcon and Territory and Toyota's Camry and Aurion now account for only 13 per cent of the 21 million registered cars nationally.Holden announced three weeks ago it would quit local production by the end of 2017. This came after Ford's decision to shut down by 2016.

It is anticipated Toyota will make a similar announcement next year, which would effectively put an end to Australia's 65-year history of manufacturing cars.

"France, Japan, Italy, Germany and even Malaysia are more likely to support local car industries," said Professor Samson. "People buy cars based on the best value and here there is not much evidence that Australian-made is valuable."

But even Aussies living close to the car manufacturing power bases are struggling to support their locals.

"A car is not just transport from A to B," said Dr David Waller, senior lecturer with the School of Marketing at the University of Technology, Sydney. "It is about image and having the right image."

Holden's base of Port Melbourne in Victoria ranks 123rd nationally for local car support while their South Australian base in Elizabeth ranks 144th.

Ford's bases in Broadmeadows and Geelong rank 232nd and 266th respectively.

And residents of Toyota's home in Altona rank 479th nationally for support of the local industry.

"There may be a backlash in these areas as locals react to threatened closures," Prof Gollan said. He said the target market have also started looking elsewhere for their next new car purchase.

[CyberWasp]

They also know more than anyone else how hard it is to get spares for foreign cars and how hard it is to get one fixed.

[XC50077]

Originally Posted by CyberWasp

They also know more than anyone else how hard it is to get spares for foreign cars and how hard it is to get one fixed.

Not to mention the exorbitant cost for parts and then labour we will be all exposed to in the next 5-10 years.

[Maka]

Same type of story in the (nsw) sunday tele yesterday, "Only battlers buy Aussie", Sydneys western suburbs among last holdouts supporting Australia's struggling car industry.

cheers, Maka

[Bushbasher]

The questions I'd be asking if I lived up there, is - What car is going to cope with the extreme heat and rough roads the best and the longest? The answer has to be an Australian designed and built vehicle that is made for the environment. Ain't no little Alfa or Renault going to cope with a dirt road or a hot day for too long and get both at the same time and look out, that poor little euro isn't going to take it for long.

[Waste Gate]

I've just got rid of my E90 BMW 320i in lieu of another falcon, this time an FG MK2 XR6T.

Over the space of 18 months, I've driven the little bimmer from Sydney to Isa, then Darwin, then Broome, then Darwin again. In the end, it just couldn't take it, having numerous issues with it, such as 3 buggered power windows, cracked seals, Bluetooth and stereo LCD R/S, and tranny issues towards the end. Just not built for such a brutal environment.

I'm no stranger to Falcons, I thought the grass was greener in Deutschland and decided I'd had it with Aussie cars... I now know what a d$ckhead I was! Too bad not more people who abbondoned big Aussie cars realise their value and suitability to the Aussie environment. I'm saddened I won't be able to stay in new XRT's for years to come. Such a great car!

[UberKnee]

Plenty of Beemers hold up to the Aussie environment and plenty of Falcons fall apart driving these roads. The whole built for Aussie conditions thing is a bit of a farce, Aussie cars still start squeaking and falling apart after a year.

[Waste Gate]

Yes, but I can tell you as someone who has received it from both ends - it's cheaper to fix the Aussie cars, by a country mile...

[Burnout]

I reckon the issue relates more to the costs of maintaining an imported car. Consider a dealer who flogs German cars for example. to maintain his business in a small market he must price part accordingly.
A mate of mine found this out having brought an X5 Bimmer. It tossed a blade off the plastic fan, just out of warranty, it was. $2400.oo to supply and fit a new plastic fan. This is the issue for the Euro car buyer or the buyer of any foreign made vehicle after the end of a warranty period. Most of the ones who cop this now days are the second and subsequent buyers.
For the NT buyer these costs hit home when your Euro drops it's gutz 50km from Hayes Creek. The costs then are almost unbearable.