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Street Sighting ~ Jaguar XJS

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By Henry McEwen

How many cylinders does your grocery-getter have?

Henry McEwen

Adelaide based. No real consistency just yarns, plain and simple.

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The first BYD was a Holden??

By Henry McEwen

Let's start with a very simple concept. The image below is a VN Commodore wagon, made in my backyard ( Aussie land ). Simple enough. Now here's where it gets a little more interesting; We actually sold these to China ( it gets better ). However, that's been covered before; UNIQUE CARS So instead I wanted to bring this to your attention... Yep, the first BYD was in fact a VN Commo wags . Wikipedia : BYD began exploring hybrid and electric vehicles as early as 1997, before acquiring Xi'an Qinchuan Automobile. In that year, Wang Chuanfu, as part of his research into electric vehicles, purchased a BJ6490D, an electric car made by Beijing Second Auto Works that was built off an imported knock-down kit of the Holden Commodore VN station wagon. The BJ6490D was powered by golf cart batteries, with a range of about 100 km (62 mi) and a top speed of 92 km/h (57 mph). Later, BYD acquired a second BJ6490D, which was subsequently converted into a hybrid vehicle.

ALL JAPAN DAY 2025

By Henry McEwen

This will be long and lack any sort of direction, forgive me. This All Japan Day was far more relaxed for me, as I decided early on I wouldn't be making a video like last year: As a result I picked up fellow enthusiast/blog author Nick at about 10:30ish in the Vortex . Flying in from Canada at 4:00AM Nick somehow still had energy, and as we cruised down south we picked apart the in's & out's of the strange Subaru . I did feel a touch guilty that it only received a garden hose spray-down & leaf blower dry off. Good enough for Nick's first impressions. Now from about here-on-out you are going to read the writings of someone who allowed his mind to wander and instincts dictate when to take a photo. In other words if you want a comprehensive run down of AJD , this is NOT it. Out the gate I enjoyed seeing not one but two triple-S datto Stanza's. I know the Stanza is a boring boxy sedan to most, but I'm a sucker for sports allure, and the SSS paint schemes...

Yeah Bud!

By Henry McEwen

While the nats is just around the corner here's a Low Standards fix to close out 2025. Keen viewers may have seen Jay post about acquiring a pair of Simmons racing wheels earlier this year. And because the Low Standards HQ is cool relics, birthdays and Aussie brand-centric it's a good time to go a littler deeper. Jay remarked the pair had spent significant time in a swamp. So while that means they've developed a bita patina, I'd say they are about on brand for Low Standards . "Yeah, genuine Simmons mags." "Chuck em on a bonfire and get hours of white flames, haha." "You know people used to do that with VW cylinder heads." The barrels are steel, the centres are magnesium - which is where the mag wheels notion originates. And the tyres, Dunlop Racing - 265/535-13 'FOR RACING PURPOSE ONLY' Older headz than me will also remember when Dunlop manufactured Volley's (amongst other products) . But for an additional eleven bucks...

Street Sighting ~ Subaru WRX

By Henry McEwen

This car has passed, been opposite and crossed in front of me multiple times driving. Every time so incredibly short - enough to bug me with intrigue. So to finally see it standing still I took my chance to pass, circle, cross it & take pics. I found it pretty perplexing. Close examination revealed it was more setup as a track toy and yet every prior interaction it was running the streets. Normally when I type up these street sightings I undertake a bit of guess work. But for this rather unique looking rexy, with no internet presence, I attempted some research ( desperate to know more ). Lucky one bloke came through ( Cheers Grant ). The car has been an SA car for at least half a decade, starting life as a street car that progressed into its current state. Motor wise a built 2litre mated to a STI 6speed gives it the ducks guts. The other works like suspension, brakes, seats, turbo, and ECU make for a level headed but quick bita machinery. But the kicka has to be the ae...

SUBARU VORTEX VS AUDI QUATTRO

By Henry McEwen

** PREFACE: RECOVERED ARTICLE FROM MOTOR WEEK SEPTEMBER 1985 ** FOUR-WHEEL-DRIVE is not only a powerful tractive tool, but a potent marketing weapon. Just ask Subaru and Audi. The Japanese firm has been in the all-wheel-drive business longer than the Germans, and has specialised in small saloons and estates that can scoot through mud and snow with the aid of selectable four-wheel drive. It also sells these vehicles in two-wheel-drive form, and in the States the importers have netted a sizeable portion of the import market with these sturdy but unexciting cars. Around 80 per cent of Subaru's production crosses the Pacific to America. With the aid of four-wheel-drive, Subaru has created a profitable business in a market niche that has been left unsullied until recently. Now that Toyota and others have entered the arena, it is looking further afield. The answer has been provided by Audi, which entered the four-wheel-drive field with the epoch-making Quattro in 1980, five years after S...