The latest round of bad news regarding the Australian domestic auto industry has shifted TTAC’s attention to Canada, another country burdened with some similar issues. If Australia’s own car industry is getting hammered, then how much longer does Canada have?

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Jac Nasser, the former head of Ford, is warning that Australia’s car industry has passed the point of no return, and expects to see it die within the next few years.

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One of the biggest changes implemented by Ford in the post-bailout area is the “One Ford” policy, which calls for an end to regional specialty products. While this has led to Ford’s mainstream lineup moving towards the European Fords that enthusiasts previously longed for, it also means that vehicles like the rear-drive Falcon will get the axe.

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After having received  more than $2 billion in subsidies from, the Australian government in the past 12 years, GM’s down-under Holden unit announced that it will lay off another 500 workers in response to falling demand and the high Australian dollar, Australia’s ABC News reports. (Read More…)

Good news, Aussie car fans. The Commodore lives. But the evidence keeps piling up that the next one will be a front-drive car bearing little to no resemblance to the current RWD muscle car.

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The big, rear-drive Aussie sedans beloved by enthusiasts overseas aren’t gaining traction in the Australian marketplace, and the smart money is betting on the death of the Holden Commodore and Ford Falcon.

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With stiff competition coming from both Holden’s HSV sedans and the Ford Falcon FPV, Chrysler is looking to make the 300C SRT8 more competitive by offering a decontented version, that’s actually a bit quicker than the standard-spec car.

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A struggling domestic auto industry long past its glory days of big rear-drive sedans is at an existential cross-roads. An upcoming election may decide the fate of thousands of jobs and decades of motoring history. Sound familiar? The madness of America’s election is over, but the same scenario is playing out in Australia.

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Ford and Holden are laying off hundreds of workers at their Australian plants as sales of domestic brands continue to take a beating.

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Ford and GM co-signed a $6.5 million loan in an effort to pull a key Australian parts supplier from the brink, Reuters says. (Read More…)

Lately we have travelled to Iran, Japan, Puerto Rico and Poland, today I’m taking you to Australia. A once-in-a-(almost)-lifetime event has just happened there.

Kangaroos and koalas not your thing? That’s fine. You can discover the best-selling models in 170 additional countries and territories in my blog. Or today I can offer you the 264 best-selling models in the USA in October 2012. Every single one of them.

Now back to Australia.

You’d think a Holden or a Ford would be the best-selling local model in Australia…

Not so this month and for the first time in 17 years!

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The demise of a large Australian auto parts supplier threatens to bring Australian units of Ford and GM to their knees as early as next week.  Management is working feverishly on keeping the doors open, while complaining about “lack of support from key players in the industry,” Reuters says. (Read More…)

General Motors is so desperate to find new customers for Opel cars that they’re introducing the brand to Australia, where it’s set to butt heads against Holden – Australia’s long-time favorite car brand.

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I don’t know why people buy a Mitsubishi. That is a simple question, difficult answer that I have to think about for the next three or four months. What is the benefit?

The above quote is attributed to Mutsuhiro Oshikiri, head of Mitsubishi Australia. While hearing any company head speak so disparagingly about their product would be shocking, Mitsubishi used to be a serious player down under, with local manufacturing facilities and best-selling cars.

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“It should be right at home on the roads and farms of the US,” writes the Herald Sun in Australia,  “but tariffs and the strong Australian dollar could prevent the Commodore Ute following the sedan as an export.” (Read More…)