Category: Global News

News / Global News The Japanese manufacturer is in hot water. The ACCC has instituted Federal Court proceedings against Honda Australia Pty Ltd for making false or misleading representations to consumers about two former authorised Honda dealerships, Brighton Automotive Holdings Pty Ltd (Astoria) in Victoria and Tynan Motors Pty Ltd (Tynan) in NSW. The ACCC alleges that between January 2021 and June 2021, Honda Australia represented to customers of Astoria and Tynan that the dealerships would close or had closed and would no longer service Honda vehicles. In fact, the franchise agreements with Astoria and Tynan had been terminated after Honda’s restructure but both of these businesses were continuing to trade independently and were continuing to service vehicles, including Hondas. “While Astoria and Tynan were no longer a Honda franchisee, they remained open as independent dealerships and were able to service Honda vehicles,” ACCC Commissioner Liza Carver said. The ACCC alleges that in emails, text messages and phone conversations, Honda informed Astoria and Tynan customers that these businesses had closed and directed customers to contact a Honda dealership or Honda Service Centre to book their next service. [...]

News / Global News The C-, E- and S-Class two-doors could be on the chopping block. Mercedes-Benz is looking to save some cash by axing approximately seven versions of its low-roof vehicles, according to Automotive News. This came from a dealer meeting with USA CEO Nicholas Sparks in late June. He didn’t say what vehicles would be cut, but the S-, C- and E-Class coupes and convertibles could be the first to go. As much as we love two-doors, luxury car sales declined 37 percent in the past five years while luxury crossovers went up 73 percent. Mercedes is in the business of selling cars, not keeping the few remaining coupe fans happy. "Do we need all the products that we currently have?" Speeks told Automotive News in May. "We also have to play our part in cutting our costs to meet our means." This makes sense considering the global push for EVs, and Mercedes has several upcoming. AN reports that this could lead to the killing of entire engine platforms and families. You can pry your 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 from my cold, dead hands…as soon as I make enough money to buy one. free up space for popular and profitable crossovers and SUVs. This year the Mercedes-Benz GLC and GLE crossovers both outsold its most popular [...]

News / Global News Joe Carbonara is honoring the late, great NBA legend Kobe Bryant with a stylized Lamborghini Huracan. Carbonara’s Huracan, the “Kobe24Lambo” has been painted in purple and gold, the same colors sported by the Lakers, the team Kobe Bryant played for during his entire NBA career. Unfortunately, Bryant was tragically killed in late January in a helicopter accident, along with his young daughter and several other passengers. The Huracan has since been nicknamed the Kobe24Lambo. Besides purple and gold, the Huracan also has Bryant’s jersey number (24) painted on, as well as the Lakers script. More touchingly, the names of everyone killed in the accident have also been included in the paint job. Kobe Bryant’s tragic death has rocked the sports and celebrity world. Bryant was an icon like few others and was undoubtedly one of the most skilled and competitive players to ever play in the NBA. He will go down in history as one of the best to every play the game. The paint job is not without criticism. Some bel [...]

News / Global News London's transport regulator has refused to renew Uber's operating license in the UK capital, according to The Verge. Transport for London (TfL), which had been extending Uber's provisional licence in recent months, said it has identified a pattern of failures by the ride-hailing company that places passengers at risk. A TfL spokesperson said, "Despite addressing some of these issues, TfL does not have confidence that similar issues will not reoccur in the future, which has led it to conclude that the company is not fit and proper at this time." One of the identified issues is that the Uber's system allows unauthorised drivers to upload their photos to other Uber driver accounts, enabling them to pick up passengers as if they were the original drivers with whom the trip was booked. According to the TfL spokesperson, around 14,000 trips have witnessed this failure with some of the journeys taking place with unlicensed drivers, one of whom had previously had their licence revoked. According to The Verge report, Uber plans to appeal against the decision. Uber's regional general manager for Northern and Eastern Europe, Jamie Heywood, said, "TfL's decision not to renew Uber's licence in London is extraordinary [...]