Love takes time

Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking on criticism of the look of the four-wheel-drive Cayenne (above): "This is the regular reaction to a new Porsche. A good design needs time to understand. A Porsche is a long-term design. To fall in love with a good thing takes time. A product that looks good at first, the looks go down a year after." Can Porsche expand its appeal to women with the Cayenne? "Only 10 to 15 per cent of women go for a Porsche sports car. Cayenne may be higher. If a woman starts to drive a Cayenne, she wants it. We know it. If your wife gets into it, you will never get it back."

Sales going up

There were 83,700 new vehicles sold in New Zealand last year, a 12 per cent rise on 2001. Toyota was the bestselling brand, followed by Holden and Ford. It was a good year across the Tasman, too - sales were up 6.7 per cent on 2001 to 824,309. The top 10 brands in Australia were: Holden (178,392 sales), Toyota (157,854), Ford (109,194), Mitsubishi (67,396), Nissan (50,628), Mazda (39,152), Hyundai (34,176), Subaru (28,112), Honda (23,587) and Mercedes-Benz (18,077). The top 10 cars were: Holden Commodore (88,478), Ford Falcon (54,629), Toyota Corolla (34,948), Toyota Camry (30,952), Holden Astra (27,388), Mitsubishi Magna/Diamante (23,405), Mitsubishi Lancer (18,646), Nissan Pulsar (16,258), Toyota Avalon (15,941), and Hyundai Accent (15,109).

British soul

The new BMW-built Rolls-Royce has stirred emotions about the marque's British heritage. The car is built in Germany but finishing touches are done at a $160m factory in the grounds of Goodwood Estate, a stately home in southern England. But Michael Shrimpton, a non-executive chairman of Crewe Motors Ltd, which tried unsuccessfully to keep Rolls-Royce in British hands, said: "The soul of Rolls-Royce is British. It is and always has been a symbol of our freedom. The name will always be symbolic, along with the Spitfire fighter plane, of our victory over the Luftwaffe in 1940 and our survival as a nation."

Always ask Y

Under-25 consumers - Generation Y - in the United States are becoming a buying force so strong that carmakers are rewriting sales training manuals and warning dealers not to use the lingo of younger buyers. It is predicted that their buying power will ultimately exceed that of baby boomers (today's 38 to 57-year-olds) and Generation X (today's 26 to 37-year-olds). "Baby boomers are still the dominant consumer force," a car industry analyst told The Detroit News, "but Generation Y will surpass them in income by 2020." A Toyota spokesman said Generation Y buyers "are really difficult to reach. They are the most professional consumer we've ever seen. They are a lot more sceptical." Honda's American salespeople are undergoing special training to deal with the under-25s. Generation Y buyers are a "lot less tolerant of real sales tactics," said a Honda spokesman. Chrysler's product chief Jim Schroer said: "Generation Y buyers are unimpressed by the hard sell. You have to participate in their world."

We are the world

If you are getting weary at the wheel, stop and take a break. That's always been the accepted advice. But Thailand has come up with a more interesting variation. Motorcycle website AllMoto says drivers there can pull off the road and receive a stress-relieving massage before continuing on their way. It's being dubbed "rub and revive".