Innholdsfortegnelse for Issue 458 i Deals On Wheels Australia

Reach and engagement across Bauer Media Group’s transport and machinery websites has skyrocketed over the past four months following the roll-out of a modern new classifieds platform for dealers. In the four months since the launch of the new dealer mini-sites, organic sessions on BusNews.com.au, Fullyloaded.com.au, OwnerDriver.com.au, TradeTrucks.com.au, TradeEarthmovers.com.au, TradeFarmMachinery.com.au and TradePlantEquipment.com.au have jumped 16 per cent compared to the previous period; while page views are up 31 per cent – from 4.9 to 6.2 pages per session. Most importantly, the increased reach and engagement has fuelled strong growth in dealer enquiries, with leads on the 24,000+ trucks, trailers, and parts and accessories for sale on the four transport sites up 5 per cent month-on-month (MOM) and 11 per cent year-on-year (YOY) in August. This growth accelerated in September, with…

The slight sales momentum gains of recent months for commercial vehicles seem to have eased in August, Truck Industry Council (TIC) data reveals. Where numbers looked to be creeping back toward 2017 levels, August data sees 2,616 sales take this year’s tally to 21,955, further away from 3,266/23,008 in August 2017. While still well ahead of 21,088 units at this time in 2016, that year’s August tally was more than 200 ahead, at 2,818. Individually, last month spelled some good news for Kenworth in the heavy-duty sector as it regained market share from Volvo, while Fuso’s strong performance in the light-duty sector helped it make up some ground on Hino. HEAVY DUTY Heavy duty showed some buoyancy as the only sector up on last month, with 821 sales in August…

the Hulk was a perfect concept There is something extremely uplifting about meeting a genuine Aussie. Not the cliché ‘corks on his Akubra’ kind of Aussie; I mean a real Aussie. The kind of person that thrives on hard work, who lives for challenges, who doesn’t shy away from anything. The kind of person that stands by his mates and the kind of person whose entertaining tall tales requires my editor to censor nearly every second word just so we can print his quotes. A true-blue ‘No BS’ genuine Aussie. Filling that position today is Ryan Demasi of Bandana Earthing in Perth. When it comes to filling the role of a genuine Aussie, Ryan fills it fuller than a self-poured pint. His story is about as true-blue Aussie as they…

Combines progressive design with comfort and safety…

Brisbane Isuzu isn't just an ordinary dealership Isuzu is undoubtedly one of the most loved and trusted brands in the Australian truck market, and has been a market leader in the trucking and transport industry for over three decades. Part of this success is due to Isuzu’s broad range of Ready-to-Work trucks, starting from the trusted Traypack and Tradepack through to the Vanpack, factory tippers, Servicepacks and Freightpack range. Brisbane Isuzu takes that extensive list one step further. In addition to the Isuzu Ready-to-Work range, the business also builds a suite of specialised products, including tilt slide trays, pantechs, general freight-type trucks, crane trucks, heavy-duty tippers and a variety of other solutions for customers to purchase and put straight to work. One of the latest additions is the popular Isuzu…

All the pieces are falling into place Amidst the madness of 2020, sometimes it is difficult to know if we are heading in the right direction; at times it feels like the pace of things is slowing down to a cautious crawl at the expense of our businesses, our economy and maybe even our sanity Then, that speck of light in the distance provides us with everything we need to pick up our pace again and start heading forward, with the surety that everything is going to be alright. Naturally there has been some nerves about whether everything will be good to go by 2021. Well, five months into 2021 actually: the 2021 Brisbane Truck Show will run May 13–16. Then there are some actions that add the level of…

It’s more than a fair bet that right now, somewhere on the Bruce Highway, there’s a Mack Trident belonging to Followmont Transport running B-double shuttles between Brisbane and Far North Queensland. Nothing particularly unusual about that, except for one rather pertinent and compelling detail: instead of Mack’s 535hp (399kW) MP8 13-litre Euro 5 engine under the snout, typically married to the 12-speed mDrive automated transmission, there’s a 580hp (432kW) Cummins X15 Euro 6 engine coupled to Eaton’s automated Ultrashift-Plus 18-speeder. The truck is being trialled in what is effectively a shared project between Cummins and Followmont Transport principal, Mark Tobin. Meantime, Volvo Group Australia (VGA) and its Mack management insist they are in no way connected to the exercise light-heartedly known within Cummins and Followmont as ‘Project Wilson’, named after…

Chaotic, exotic and damn near unstoppable What’s on your bucket list of 4x4 and off-road vehicles to drive? A classic LandCruiser maybe? An AMG-G63 6x6 perhaps? What about a Bushmaster? Any takers for a Rolls-Royce Cullinan or Lamborghini LM002? Classics, exotics or just downright unstoppable, these are the off-road vehicles that dreams are made of. and most of us will never have the opportunity to climb behind the wheel of them. The venerable Mercedes-Benz Unimog fits in to all of those categories: classic, exotic and damn near unstoppable, so you can imagine my smile when offered a drive of the latest Mog. A CLASSIC The Unimog has been in production for more than 70 years. It was conceived as a vehicle that could do the job of a tractor, a…

We’re starting to give our trailer products a greater presence PACCAR Parts Australia thrives with the motivation to move customers and businesses ahead by ensuring they have access to the highest-quality parts, exceptional product availability, and industry-leading service. A division of PACCAR Inc, PACCAR Parts is a global leader in the distribution, sales and marketing of aftermarket parts for heavy and medium-duty trucks, trailers and engines. Decades of industry-leading parts distribution processes, remarkable customer service and quality products have made PACCAR Parts one of the most trusted names in the transport sector. PACCAR Parts Australia distributes quality OEM and aftermarket products, and provides aftersales support with an industry-leading range of high-quality products to Kenworth and DAF dealers, and TRP store locations in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. PRODUCT…

Twenty-five years ago, a van that would go on to lend its name to an entire vehicle segment was launched on the market: the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. Today, a quarter of a century later, the current generation still represents the benchmark for the competition. Alongside its timeless values such as quality, reliability, economy and comfort, the current Sprinter also stands for networking and connectivity and – with the recent launch of the eSprinter variant – for emission-free transportation too. VAN EXPERTISE SINCE 1955 Even the first Sprinter generation was nothing less but the result of 40 years of van expertise at Mercedes-Benz, as the L319 celebrated its debut in 1955. As the first transporter with the star on its radiator grille, it had a gross vehicle weight of 3.6 tons, which…

Make no mistake, Cummins was super-keen to get its light-weight and highly-responsive 500hp (373kW) X12 engine into Kenworth’s T410 model. Likewise, and equally keen to satisfy the liking of Kenworth customers for Cummins power, there were more than a few Kenworth managers and dealers anxious to see the Chinese-built Cummins offered as an alternative to Paccar’s MX-13 in the 410. There was also the hope that X12 would even find its way into Kenworth’s T360, offered alongside the Paccar MX-11 and the 8.9-litre Cummins ISL. However, it wasn’t to be and despite the impressive results of several X12 trial units – including a Kenworth T408 tipper pulling a four-axle dog trailer and a Western Star on B-double shuttles – Paccar’s US masters delivered an emphatic ‘No!’ and that was the…

Unidan Engineering’s Daniel Mavin has owned 46 Unimogs of his own since 2007 and says hundreds of the vehicles have passed through his Gold Coast business since he established it back in 2011. As well as being a Mercedes-Benz Special Vehicles (specifically Unimog) dealer, Unidan has become Australia’s go-to workshop for the big Benzs. Dan tells us that most of the work these days is for recreational users wanting expedition-style vehicles, but he also does vehicles for industry including mining, agriculture and people moving. As well as selling and working on the vehicles themselves, Unidan has developed its own bodies and camper conversions to suit the different Unimog models including the incredible Odyssey X camper. The tray on the back of the U5023 tested here is also from Unidan. Take…