prometheus

The "Liquid Metal" colour is quite striking and is slightly different from the Liquid Metal colour of the Camry.

The reason why I said that is because the sales guy showed me the colour samples of the Aurion and Camry , the Liquid Metal colour for either car was on different swabs and looked ever so different.

Work has been really quiet for me at the moment , so being a nice sunny day in Melbourne I walked to the nearby Toyota dealer and got talking to one of the sales guys.

I had a look at the update model of the Aurion in the showroom , it had the Option Pack 1 - Reversing camera + 6 disc in-dash CD changer , and I think Bluetooth as well.

I think this unit looks alot better than the standard head unit and dims when the headlights are on.

I was very impressed with the power and smoothness of the car. The footbrake was a bit weird.

Also , I think I prefer the AT-X without the spoiler.

They were offering a "special deal" , the reversing camera/display audio system, alloy wheels , spoiler , and possibly something else, for $34 990 provided you order and take accept the car by the end of Jan 2010.

I queried the sales guy about the build date of these cars , they would (understandably) have build dates as 2009, as its now only early Jan.

I think I'd rather wait till mid year end of financial year sales when no doubt Toyota will be throwing a few extra bells and whistles into the Aurions (probably much the same as above) in order to shift units , and the cars by then will have 2010 build plates.

The "Liquid Metal" colour is quite striking and is slightly different from the Liquid Metal colour of the Camry.

I still think that I prefer Silver , it would look great with tinted windows and is easier to keep clean.

Save your $30 and spend it on a few car washes instead , you will get more value from your money that way.

On a cold winter morning or day , I think its quite ok to let the engine idle for a minute before driving off , and then driving sensibly until the engine reaches its optimum operating temperature.

With modern cars and the thin oil that they use , warming up for more than a minute is probably not really necassary. Provided you don't push the car hard initially.

Or just go by how your particular car "feels" when you have a cold start when the car has been sitting there for 9 - 10 hours or more.

Off topic.

I remember talking to a mechanic a few years ago , he told me how his then girlfriend had bought a new Ford Probe ( a coupe ) , he drove it home from the dealers and gave it a nice "thrashing" so as to run the engine in , knowing that his girlfriend would baby the car when she drove it.

Here is a more "independent" review of the first model Aurion where they give it a pretty good wrap.

http://autoweb.com.au/cms/A_110869/title_T...TX/article.html

A hydraulic jack and two jack stands. Just jack the front, rear, either side up with the jack then put the stands in.

Prior to that, I was lifting the car with the jack in the boot then putting the stands on, but as this got more and more annoying, I eventually picked up a hydraulic jack.

That sounds like you are jacking your car up and then using the stands on the one side of the car , front and back ?

Or are you jacking the car up and placing the stands on either side of the front end of the car ?

At which point of the car are you jacking and where are you placing the stands?

.... just being pedantic.

p.s. A mate of mine that works in the concrete industry was telling me how apparently in the garage of many new houses these days the concrete stab is quite thin ( some 8cm thick , from memory) , so if you were to jack up a heavy car , there is potential for the jack to break through the concrete under the weight of the car !

True or urban myth ? who knows.

Changing the oil yourself is a great way to save cash and learn about your car , and it's pretty damn easy.

The only issue I have had is being able to get access underneath the car.

What do you guys use to get under the car ?

A jack and stands ?

Ramps ? if so , what type do you find works best for you

or do you go about it some other way ?

I reckon if you took old tires and cut them up the right way , they could make some pretty awesome thongs for your feet.

Back in the good old days , they used to make shoes out of old tyres. How's that for recycling.

If I was to install weather shields , I'd probably just do the front two windows.

Doesn't Autobarn or Supercheap sell (or allow you to order in) weathershields Aurions ? I think they would be cheaper than some of the prices quoted above.

DJKOR , you use Premium 98 RON unleaded , is that right ?

Thumbs down from me.

Note that the Honda Accord Euro needs Unleaded (RON 95) minimum to run , while the Accord and Aurion will both run on RON 91 fuel.

I've heard that Honda servicing tends to be more expensive than Toyota's.

I noticed your car "history"

1991 Toyota Corolla Seca ====> SOLD

2001 Subaru Impreza WRX ====> SOLD

2006 Honda Accord Euro Luxury ====> SOLD

1990 Nissan Silvia RB20DET ====> SOLD

2008 Toyota TRD Aurion 3500SL

Mine is alot simpler.

*Drove dad's 1983 Nissan Bluebird ( total piece of crap )

*1990 Paid half (dad paid the other half) and bought a 1980 Chrysler GH Sigma SE 2 litre.

Had creamish coloured velour seats , a back seat that tilted back in 3 settings and a very handy parcel shelf under the glovebox for the Melways.

Eventually it got tired and a bit rusty and I sold it to a guy for $600 , he fixed it all up and got his wife/daughter to drive it.

*1998 - bought a 1996 Widebody Camry CSi 2.2 l , with 32,000 klms on the clock at auction.

Still driving the thing, almost done 180 000 klms.

2010 - Looking at possibly getting a new Aurion ( depending on what sort of deal I can get)

Have thought about maybe a second hand Ford FG G6 and converting it to lpg , but after the reliability of the Camry , hesitant to go down the Ford path.

The simplest and easiest things to do to maximise fuel economy are as follows.

1) Pump your tyres up to or more than (by up to 5 psi) the recommended level, and check your tyre pressure regularly.

2) When it comes time to purchase new tyres , get the ones that are designed to save fuel.

3) Keep the amount of stuff you carry around in your car and the boot to a minimum, therefore minimising the amount of weight.

4) Your driving style will have a huge impact on fuel economy. Smooth and gradual as opposed to Hoonish and Abrupt.

5) Avoiding peak hour traffic and stop-start driving conditions.

6) Walking to the shops instead of driving. ;)

Magnetic "fuel savers" make really good fridge magnets because that is all they are really good for.

They simply do not work.

Even Peter Brock's ( RIP ) reputation was tarnished when he went off on his tangent with his "energy polariser" ,

From the Wikepedia entry on Brock ...

"" Brock, who lived hard in his early years, changed his lifestyle considerably after the failed 1984 Le Mans attempt left him physically and emotionally drained.[8]

Brock began to consult health practitioner Eric Dowker. He gave up alcohol and cigarettes, and became a vegan.[9] Brock began publicly supporting and, eventually, began to fit to all Holden Dealer Team specials a device called the "Energy Polarizer" containing crystals and magnets that, it was claimed, improved the performance and handling of vehicles through "aligning the molecules".

The overwhelming majority of the Australian motoring community regarded the device as pseudoscience.

Brock also recommended tyre pressures of 22psi (150kPa) for his polariser-equipped vehicles, a level which many regarded as near-dangerously low.

Holden, fearing the consequences of being associated with the device and a resulting breakdown in communications over Brock's plans for new models, cut ties with Brock and set up an alternative racing/modification operation, Holden Special Vehicles. ""

Was your girlfriend or wife in the car at the time ?

..... only joking

( damn , Taco beat me to it. )

Open up the Yellow Pages and shop around !

I'm with Alianz and have found their comprehensive cover for my car to be competitively priced.

I think everyone at Toyota design and engineering must work 9am - 5pm , because the way they have designed the lighting and illumination in the Aurion etc , you would think noone ever drove the cars after sunset.

An earlier poster mentioned Fords , I like the look and interior of the G6 - FG Falcon , but the things I have heard about Fords are not good at all.

On the Australian Ford forum they have a thread about what problems people have had with their FG Fords and it goes for over 50 pages !

Also , if I was to get an F6 , it would have to be converted to lpg to make it cheap to run ; again , more potential problems.

The Aurion has been around for longer and is now in its "series II" stage with the update model , so you would think that Toyota would have ironed out most of the issues with the car.

Maybe cars are getting too complicated to be built to an affordable budget.

To get similar features as the Aurion in a BMW , you'd be looking at $60 -$70K+

You're better off getting a leather steering wheel cover.

Yeah the wood trim in the Presara's looks weird , out of place and tryhard.

Maybe if it was alot darker it could work.

Yeah , I thought even the AT-X in the new Aurion Update came standard with Alloy Wheels.

I would go back to the dealer and point it out in their own brochure.

To get those sorts of times in my 96 Camry , I'd have to drive it off a quarter-mile high cliff.

;)

- Undercar green lights to match the car.

Please........... NO !

Mechanics love Fords and Commodores because they see lots of them on a regular basis for ongoing repairs.

Its good for their business.

Not so much Toyotas ;)

Aldi sells all sorts of random **** , and most of it is garbage.

Put their stuff on your car and all you will do is succeed in looking like a tool .... like the kind of guys that put stick-on fake bonnet scoops on their Hyundai excels to go with the oversized rear spoilers.