The Toyota GT86 was making the Motor Show rounds five years ago as the Toyota FT-86 concept . Photos / Supplied
This month in 2009 everybody was talking about the Audi E-Tron. Just like this month in 2014.
But this was a different E-Tron: the concept car that introduced the world to the brand was a scaled-down version of the R8 supercar powered by four electric motors with 0-100 km/h performance of 4.8 seconds and a range of 250km.
Audi E-Tron
The rumoured production car ("On Sale In 2012!" screamed one local magazine cover) never materialised. But the seeds were sown for the introduction of the E-Tron brand this year, on a plug-in version of the A3 hatchback. There's a Q7 E-Tron on the way next year, too.
Toyota FT-86 concept
Here's one sports car that did materialise. Toyota was showing off its FT-86 coupe concept. Although it revealed little technical detail at the time, everybody pretty much guessed right: it was a 2-litre rear-drive coupe co-developed with Subaru. It was launched in somewhat toned-down form in 2012, as the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ.
Toyota's luxury arm, Lexus, finally launched the LFA supercar. It also announced it would withdraw from Formula One - timing not ideal, people.
Mitsubishi PX-MiEV
Tokyo Motor Stars included an electric crossover from Mitsubishi called the PX-MiEV, which clearly foreshadowed not only the styling of the next Outlander but also the eventual PHEV model. On the Mazda stand, the Kiyora concept car was really just a vehicle for a new family of engines the company was calling Sky. Later SkyActiv, of course.
Mazda Kiyora
Land Rover's managing director (later global operations director) visited New Zealand and told local media the next generation of Range Rover models would focus on weight reduction. How right he was.
Finally, food for thought: a new Volkswagen Polo was launched in November 2009, with a 63kW/132Nm 1.4-litre engine and a price of $27,990. The just-launched facelift version for 2014 has a 66kW/160Nm 1.2-litre engine and starts at $22,990.
Perhaps November is the month for Audi sports cars: back in 2004 details were emerging of a production car to be based on the maker's 2003 Le Mans sports car concept. The pundits got the name wrong - the RS9 badge was mooted by several publications - but pretty much everything else was bang on, with a projected choice of V8 and V10 engines and some platform sharing with Lamborghini.
The highly anticipated Audi R8 was launched in 2006.
A new BMW 3 Series is a big event at any time. The Munich maker revealed the all-new E90 sedan in official pictures in November 2009.
The car proved surprisingly conservative in an age where Chris Bangle's "flame surface" styling dominated BMW's corporate design.
However, there was still some controversy for the new car. BMW's iDrive controller was introduced to the 3 Series, which caused some distress to those still struggling with the technology after its introduction on the 7 Sseries three years earlier.
Toyota was scooped testing what it called a "Formula 1 celebration model" at the Nurburgring - hindsight showing it was in fact a prototype for the Lexus LFA. It was to take a further five years to get the car to market, by which time there was no F1 team to celebrate.
Jaguar X-Type
Jaguar was at a low ebb in 2004. Reportedly losing $130 million per month, it was hampered by retro styling, too many platforms and inefficient production. How times have changed.
In November 1994 Alfa Romeo announced it was intent on returning to its roots with an entry-level sports car. Sound familiar? This time it was the GTV coupe and Spider roadster charged with restoring honour to the Italian brand.
Alfa GTV
BMW announced the iconic "328" badge would make a comeback on a new 2.8-litre version of the 3 Series, replacing the 2.5-litre 325i. Back then, bootlid badges told you something about what was under the bonnet. Weird.
Honda NZ began building Civic and Accord engines at its Nelson plant. Previously the powerplants came complete as part of the completely knocked down (CKD) pack from Japan.
On the subject of local assembly, a model now fondly remembered by many motoring writers and former owners was introduced: a Ford Telstar V6 bearing the signature of local racing driver Paul Radisich, who had won the World 2-litre Touring Car Championship race earlier in the year. Ford New Zealand made 145 examples of the Radisich Signature Telstar, all finished in cobalt blue with a body kit and spring and damper package developed by Radisich at the Pukekohe circuit. On monster 16-inch wheels and 205/50 tyres - or so we thought at the time. But it was good. Anybody out there got one?
In 1974 the world was in the grip of a fuel crisis and there was a revolution of smaller, smarter high-tech transport brewing. Or so everybody thought.
1974 Dale
There are some great industry stories from the period. Consider the strange case of the Twentieth Century Motor Car Corporation (TCMCC) car called the Dale, a three-wheeler with lightweight construction, a two-cylinder engine and fuel economy of 3.4 litres per 100km. The original design was by an inventor named Dale Clift, who joined TCMCC founder Geraldine Elizabeth Carmichael to promote his concept.
The company was launched in November 1974.
Carmichael promised production of 90,000 in the car's first year on sale and attracted national attention.
By January 1975 TCMCC was under investigation for fraud. The prototypes were found to be nothing more than fibreglass shells with generator motors and could only drive very short distances. After Carmichael disappeared, it was discovered she was actually a man, Jerry Dean Michael, who was undergoing gender re-assignment and had been wanted by the FBI since 1961. Car-Michael: you can see what she did there.
Michael was captured and tried in 1977 but escaped and remained at large until 1989, when she was featured on an episode of the US television programme Unsolved Mysteries. She was recognised working at a flower shop near the town of ... Dale.
The offenders took off in a stolen vehicle with cigarettes, cash and other items.