Power war is on

[VICFPV]

http://www.caradvice.com.au/215837/m...med-australia/

AMG turns the wick up for OZ cars.
Who wants a supercar now?
4 second 0-100 and 11 second quarters for a family car.

[Sorted]

And the price tag on said cars is?

Also you have to let wheels test it as they are the ones that only achieved 4.5sec to 100kl with the FPV GT RSPEC

[HULK EF]

or buy a 2nd hand B series T -throw $5,000 at it in custom tune, injectors/ pump ECT and have high 11's for under $30 grand.

[roberts]

supercar scare round 2 we soon will all drive zee prius

[babyf6]

Might spark another power war (hoping it does), but chances are they won't cos the general public wouldnt give..............

[HULK EF]

nah, cant ban aussie muscle cars, now that we have massivly powered german brands ECT.

+ safety regulations are much much higher with airbags/abs/traction control/ stability control, curtain/side airbags/ collision avoidance/ blind spot indicators. ECt

[Wretched]

love the E63, but then i'd rather the CLS 63
Pity the prices here are outrageous :(

[roberts]

did the public care last time, or was it just a slow news cycle
makes sense to bring something like that out to kick off the v8 supercar career, cashed up bogans driving the german

[2011G6E]

"Family car"...

Only families who have what would have to be close to two hundred grand (the E300 Hybrid is $115,000...can't imagine it would be within spitting distance of that...the "AMG" badge alone adds huge dollars) would consider this a "family car".

The article touches briefly on puzzlement as to why the beautiful E-Class Estate wagon is "slow selling"...a hint would be that because of taxes, tariffs, luxury car tax, and our requirement for RHD only, cars that in Germany are seen as nothing more than ordinary cars or taxis need to be sold here as premium luxury cars...

[VICFPV]

Could it be that AMG Oz are feeling the pressure coming from the locals ie GT or GTS that will or already has that much?
Ok it is chalk and cheese but the marketplace maybe tightening up in the super sedan space and the need to stay ahead of the locals in power.

[pottery beige]

zeeee germans... no thanks...

[Nic85]

Originally Posted by HULK EF

or buy a 2nd hand B series T -throw $5,000 at it in custom tune, injectors/ pump ECT and have high 11's for under $30 grand.

Power isn't everything. Refinement plays a big role, particularly in a large sedan. That's where the Germans have it in spades. The refinement of their cars, the cabin, the drivetrain etc is always first class.

[mik]

the price of the current Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG Estate ........... $244,500.00

[VICFPV]

Any car that has been built to handle that type of power levels and comes with factory backing is refined.
The falcon is refined and is not too far behind what the germans have.
Got to keep in mind the R & D done on the cars and their R & D budgets allocated. Also the price point the car is positioned at.
I am sure if the consumer paid 200k for a falcon then they would get their moneys worth of refinement and development.
I think we should be proud of falcon in terms of refinement as it has come along way since 30 years ago.
Can't wait for the next update of the falcon. I am sure it will be a cracker of a car in terms of development and refinement.
And if you still don't think the falcon is refined then go and spend some time with a german car and then go and compare it to the falcon.

[mik]

Originally Posted by Nic85

Power isn't everything. Refinement plays a big role, particularly in a large sedan. That's where the Germans have it in spades. The refinement of their cars, the cabin, the drivetrain etc is always first class.

i look at this video of a henry being given a bit of a squirt around a track, it seems ,smooth , quite, powerful, good handling/road manners, quite the opposite of your remark, plenty of refinement in my eyes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...4IeQeowuc&NR=1

[Uwish]

Originally Posted by Wretched

love the E63, but then i'd rather the CLS 63
Pity the prices here are outrageous :(

My thoughts exactly. (NEW) CLS63 all day everyday

[XR6_661]

Originally Posted by pottery beige

zeeee germans... no thanks...

Don't mention ze war!

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by roberts

supercar scare round 2 we soon will all drive zee prius

Who are you? Evan Green?

High powered cars have been available for some time in Australia - You may remember in 1971 the Fastest 4-door car in the World was produced here???

Anyways - just because I love statistics - here's a couple of cars that were around 5 years ago that are similar to the OP Merc

1) 2008 Audi RS6 - Twin Turbo V10, 426kw/650nm, $262k new - good for 4.5sec to 100km/h.
2) 2008 Mercedes AMG E63 - N/A V8, 378kw/630nm, $238k new - good for 4.5sec to 100km/h
3) 2008 Ferrari F430 - N/A V8, 360kw/465nm, $434k new - good for 4.1 sec to 100 km/h
4) 2008 HSV GTS (E Series) - N/A V8 - 325kw/550nm - $80k new - good for 5.2 sec to 100km/h.

Deliberately haven't used a Ford in this list - because the new R-Spec GT is quicker and cheaper than above examples - and it's available today.

High powered cars have been available to high-flyers for a long time. Even standard every day cars can be modified to be uber-quick for a few $$$...

For less than $50k you could get a car that behaves well on the street, is safe enough for the wife to drive the kids around, and could slam out a sub 11second 1/4 mile / 4 second 100km/h run all day. And i'm sure there are cheaper ways to go quick too...

Maybe your comment was tongue in cheek? But my response is serious.

Segments of the new car market want power, speed, safety, and they don't care about the cost.

Why ban them?

[VICFPV]

Super cars are here to stay. Me thinks.
Technology will enbale them to stay.

The cars designed for their homeland. Ie germans for autobhans and oz cars for our freeways and potholes.

[Auslandau]

Yep, cause they are here to stay. No problem with that as there are way too many available now. Problem being, they could always tax them for the good of the community, save the children and protect the elderly. High power tax is more feasible these days than a luxury tax as it fits in with the 'Good for you' scheme of taxation (Smokes, Alcohol, Speed taxes).

PS: Hope the pollies aren't reading this!

[UberKnee]

zee Germans just want more money, I doubt that AMG are concerned with FPVs. Entirely different markets in Australia due to us getting bent over and raped for any car that isn't made in this country. So while the GT's are good 70-80k cars, the only people buying a new E63 or C63 AMG are people with a spare 200k sitting in the bank, you wont steal many FPV/HSV buyers away. Just compete with the high end Beemers and Audis.

[Angeldust]

lol... what we need are cheap chinese 'supercars'.. ie 30K ferrari knockoffs etc lol..

[flappist]

Originally Posted by Angeldust

lol... what we need are cheap chinese 'supercars'.. ie 30K ferrari knockoffs etc lol..

You mean like cheap Chinese computers, televisions and just about everything else?

I remember when Japanese and Korean cars were very average in performance and quality.

Now there are ISF, LFA, GTR, Genesis et. al.

[2011G6E]

Yes, 0-100 times and quarter mile runs are vitally important, because everyone only uses their car on a dragstrip...

The last time I actually saw someone get into a $200,000-plus exotic supercar was in Brisbane...and I reckon inside that expensive tailored suit he was wearing, if he wasn't close to 80 years old I'll eat my hat.

AMG stuff might be popular in Europe...but it's half the damn price there or less than what we pay...look at the many comparisons of, for one make, Porsche and what they pay in the USA and what we pay here for the exact same car.

People...ordinary people with a good wage...might actually consider one of these AMG's or whatever as a family car. Here, they're expensive scarecely-used toys for investment bankers and doddering old millionaires to gently cruise down to the coffee shop on a sunny sunday morning...

I would lay lefty on the chopping block and predict that no potential FPV or HSV driver will even test drive an AMG, much less seriously consider buying one as an "alternative" to an FPV or HSV...


In Australia, they're an interesting technical exercise, but so far into the stratosphere costwise that you will never see one driven in anger by a talented younger driver as intended.

[RPO83]

2011G6E - I hope you didn't really want your lefty.

[Chopped]

I know two previous HSV owners who now own AMGs.
The C63 AMG has been very successful for Mercedes.

I wouldn't be betting any nuts on more owners doing the same thing.

[VICFPV]

From my experiences FPV, SRT8 and HSV are the first step then when they have improved their wealth they get into the AMG and the other germans. Or go straight for AMG.

[VICFPV]

It will get really interesting when the locals have clawed back the power gap from AMG. Would it mean that AMG C63 starts losing sales to the locals due to price.
Regardless of price AMG C63 and the FPV HSV and SRT8 are in the same market competing for sales. The difference is how much a consumer can afford or their desire to own one.
I think it was a very clever of AMG to enter the V8 supercars as a private entry so it doesn't upset their brand status and prestige to its consumers in OZ. But it will also give them inroads to the local heros ie FPV HSV.
This segment has gone from diehard fans to what ever suits the pocket and will be on equal terms in performance and thrill factors.

[UberKnee]

Originally Posted by VICFPV

It will get really interesting when the locals have clawed back the power gap from AMG. Would it mean that AMG C63 starts losing sales to the locals due to price.
Regardless of price AMG C63 and the FPV HSV and SRT8 are in the same market competing for sales. The difference is how much a consumer can afford or their desire to own one.
I think it was a very clever of AMG to enter the V8 supercars as a private entry so it doesn't upset their brand status and prestige to its consumers in OZ. But it will also give them inroads to the local heros ie FPV HSV.
This segment has gone from diehard fans to what ever suits the pocket and will be on equal terms in performance and thrill factors.

The badge and price itself will always prevent that from happening. If you're ubersuccesful and wipe your *** with money are you going to pot around in some mum and dad family taxi with a loud exhaust like a HSV/FPV just like everyone else or something that has more tech than a spacecraft and lets the world know your ubersuccesful.

[DJR-351]

Originally Posted by UberKnee

wipe your *** with money

Nah.....the older stuff from years ago that was more paper like was ok but this plasticised stuff don't cut it at all....