I had the article at hand today, but lost it...anyway, looks like we signed the free trade agreement with Australia....which coincidentally removes the 25% tariff on imported trucks...and that Holden was expected to import Utes to the US...

 

WOOHOO!!!!!!

 

We've been covering this for a few days now It does sound like good news though!

http://web.camaross.com/forums/showt...hreadid=222514

 

So what about bringing a car into Australia?

It's always been a huge cost to import a car into Aus.......has that changed too?

 

Well, with the Camaro coming in 2007 and a new GTO, it looks as if everything in the world will be set right again. (minus Firebird)

Now if they could just find a way to lower the price of Guiness.

 

 

Import as in a personal import or manufacturers sell US cars in Aus importing?

One thing I can tell you is if you want to sell a car in australia it has to be higher quality than most US products. An example is the 4L60E tranny. In Australia it gets bagged constantly by mag. reviewers for its harsh shifting and gear hunting. I just read a US review of the GTO where the same tranny was complemented as being smooth. Australia has much higher quality standards than the US currently and a love of RWD. RWD is of less importance on small cars, but there is alot of competition in that market. And as Ford and the taurus (sp?) found out, you find out pretty quickly if your uncompetitve.

 

AFAIK, the main cost is shipping, conversion and possibly duty (unless you've owned the car for a while, 1 year???). Back in mid 90's, it would cost around AUD$10K to do the conversion. Shipping (including cargo box, cleaning vehicle, etc) may set you back in the vicinity of AUD$5K. In regards to conversion, not all converters will convert any car. They convert the "most popular" simply because they will have molds created (like dash), steering conversion standardised, etc. Prior to the '90s, converting steering means moving the steering mechanism from the left to right and using local (such as Holden) steering parts if possible. Sometimes this leads to interference problems from equipment that's located on the right hand side.

One example is my '79 TransAm that was imported into Melbourne back in the early 80's. The steering and brake was moved from the left to right. I ordered Hooker LT Headers and I had to have a intake runner modified on the RHS to clear the converted steering shaft. Granted that the LT header was designed to clear steering column located on the left.

However, in the early 90's, there appeared steering conversions that retained the original geometry with a twist; that is, the steering is on the right hand side, but using chains, pulleys and rod located on the Firewall, the main steering mechanisms remain on the left hand side. Similar pulley system for the brake. I left Oz in '98 so I don;t know if this is the more exceptable conversion since you don't have to replicate left to right for the steering and brakes.

the link below shows my ex-79 clearly with the steering on the right (it's not a pic in reverse).

http://gab328.tripod.com/html/my_79ta.html

 

Guiness is not a Aussie beer it is an IRISH Malt

 

Tastes like coffee with alcohol in it.

 

I know. Point is, my world would be a better place if the price came down a smidge.

 

Or a loaf of bread in a glass.

 

Very nice.

 

This it?
http://www.goauto.com.au/mellor/mell...256E3600032DC7
I started another thread on it because there were quite a few great quotes in it.