Monster's visit to the Australian International Motor Show 2008 (reviews+photos)

[Monster]

More local performance car. The HSV 427. This is based on the Holden Commodore, but the car is tuned by HSV, which is like what AMG is to Mercedes. The car has the 7.0 L V8 from the Corvette Z06. Currently it is the fastest Australian made car, and it is limited to 427 units. The front end didn't look good from all the photos I have seen, but as per usual, it looks far better resolved when seen in real life.




Special 40th anniversary edition HSV GTS. Those stripes on the bonnet is actually painted on, so no cheap vinyl stickers.

[Monster]

Last one for the day. Morgan Aero 8. This low, sleek and compact roadster perfectly combine retro elegance with modern aggression. Morgan should put more effort into their paint workshop. You guys can't tell from the photo but on the actual car, I can see some sections of paint with excessive orange peel effect.

[Tarek]

The Zonda is gorgeous as always but i expected them to show the F with the fancy carbon paint

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Tarek

The Zonda is gorgeous as always but i expected them to show the F with the fancy carbon paint

I was hoping for that as well but Sydney doesn't seem to be a big market for Pagini because so far there is only one Zonda in Australia. So I guess Mr.Pagini won't bother showing us the F in Australia.

[SDNR]

(Gasp!) Oh, maaaaaate -- this is going straight to the pool room

[Monster]

Originally Posted by SDNR

(Gasp!) Oh, maaaaaate -- this is going straight to the pool room

Wait til you see Ford's version of the hot Aussie sedan, not sure if you will like it, I actually prefer that over the HSV.

[Monster]

Just came back from Top Gear Australia, so only a small upload tonight.

The biggest disappointment of the show along with the Ferrari California, has to be the GM Volt. Without the showcar LEDs flashing in orange, red and blue, people will think this is some boring Japanese small car. Half the people don't even know it is the hybrid. Most of the people were checking out the Holden coupe rather this much hyped hybrid car from GM.

The car looks like a fatter, blocker version of the Honda Civic. The car is extremely blocky, especially at the back. From the rear, it looks like a rectangular block on wheels. The boot is way too high, it starts at what appears to be the half way point of car. The actual windows are smaller but GM decides to put a gloss black panel underneath the side windows to make them appear bigger than it is.

The car is slab sided, with no distinctive features. The front end is very blunt and thick. It was decorated with a horrible and cheap looking fake front grill. The only thing I find mildly interesting were the front headlights and fog lights.

It isn't as boring to look at as the Prius but it doesn't look much better as well. There are some strange proportional issues that GM has to resolve, but looks like it is too late for any changes now.

[Germaniac]

Originally Posted by SDNR

(Gasp!) Oh, maaaaaate -- this is going straight to the pool room

Hehehe..... one of the few unfortunate sods outside Australia to have seen The Castle?

[Monster]

Originally Posted by Germaniac

Hehehe..... one of the few unfortunate sods outside Australia to have seen The Castle?

Thought that souded familar, couldn't remember it was from The Castle.

[Monster]

Ferrari California. I was hoping this car will look better in real life, but unfortunitely it looks just as awakard as it appears to be in all those photos, at least with the roof down anyway. The narrow and angled head lights gave the car a cross eyed look when you view the car from front on. You can see the rear section of the car riseing quite significantly in the 1st photo. It just doesn't look dynamic at all. The rear end looked like it was compressed and the metal was forced upwards.





This is probably the best angle to view the car. The headlights follows the curves of the front wing, and the curve continues towards the end of the car. The rear cover for the roof doesn't look as high from this angle.




The rear end design is weak as well. I couldn't exactly put my thoughts in words. It is just not what a Ferrari would look like.