NEWS

In January 2024, for the first time, a low-emission prototype with an electric drive, high-voltage battery and energy converter won the world’s toughest desert rally.

In January 2024 Tough Dog received nation-wide approval for its 3750kg-GVM upgrades for post-2022 Ford Ranger models. The upgrades can be applied to pre-registration and post-registration vehicles.

Toyota has never been noted for breaking new ground, but has built its reputation on doing things others have already done – but better. A planned RHD Tundra pickup program with Walkinshaw Automotive Group follows the success of RAM and Chevrolet in Australia.

Truck engine maker Cummins Inc has been fined US$1.675 billion (around A$2.5 billion) for installing so-called ‘defeat devices’ on hundreds of thousands of I6, 6.7-litre engines, fitted to RAM utes, to allow them to emit excess pollution.

Thirty-eight years ago, John Agostino chose family over traveling the world and didn’t look back. December 22nd, 2023, was John’s last official day in the global business he built initially with three partners and an investment of just $3000 each.

On November 30, 2023, customer deliveries of the controversial Tesla Cybertruck began in the USA. Australia is not in the short-term delivery program.

This book would make an ideal Xmas present for bush travellers who like to connect with local communities and who are interested in touring the adjacent countryside.

OTA has previously reported on battery electric vehicle (BEV) milestones achieved by students at Eindhoven University in the Netherlands and this time they’ve shown that their practical, off-road BEV vehicle could travel long distances without more than solar charging.

The second edition of this national store and social media based competition is being conducted from October 15 to November 12, 2023.

In Cape Town, on 15th August, 2023 Mahindra showcased its new Global Pik Up range.

The famed Rubicon Trail in the USA is the pinnacle off-road travel experience in the Jeep Jamboree calendar and the event had its 70th anniversary in 2023. Outback Travel Australia scored a drive across the Rubicon back in 1998, making this our 25th anniversary year.

At outbacktravelaustralia.com.au we’ve been calling for a special licence for those towing braked trailers for many years. The ABC has just added a fresh voice:

If you buy a replacement starting battery from Battery World you automatically go in the draw to win $1000. Every Battery World store around Australia is participating, so the total giveaway is $109,000.

Ineos Automotive’s hydrogen-fuelled Grenadier Demonstrator made its global debut at the 2023 Goodwood Festival of Speed, in the UK. The demo model emits only water vapour and demonstrates Ineos’ belief that hydrogen is a key fuel possibility for the future. 

The 2024 seven-seat GX is based on the LandCruiser 300 Series and is positioned between the RX and LX in the Lexus SUV line-up. It was launched globally in June 2023 and is due Down Under in early 2024.

The Birdsville Big Red Bash, the world’s most remote music festival, is gearing up for an unforgettable celebration of Tina Turner’s legacy with a newly created tribute on July 6 that will follow a hotly anticipated Big Red Bash Nutbush world record attempt.

We photographed the Iveco Daily 4×4 Tigrotto at the IAA 2022 Truck Show in Hannover, Germany and dismissed it as ‘concept’ display. However it has subsequently been released in Europe, including as a RHD version in the UK.

Ironman has announced a federally approved GVM upgrade from 3150kg standard to 3340kg. Spring and shock absorber kits are available to suit utes that have a temporary load or a permanent load, and with two grades of foam cell shock absorbers.

In our testing of current Defenders, Range Rovers and Rangie Sports we’ve criticised the ridiculous placement of intercooler radiators at the ends of the front bumpers.

Daimler Truck, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation, Hino Motors and Toyota Motor Corporation have concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on merging the Fuso and Hino brands. 

P-plate drivers are seven times more likely to be killed or injured when driving in the dark, compared to fully-licensed drivers. To help remedy this sad situation, Ford’s Driving Skills for Life program hits the road from June-September 2023, visiting regional and metro locations.

The 2023 Classic Defender Works V8 Islay Edition was inspired by a Series IIa Land Rover owned and used by Land Rover founder, Spencer Wilks and the Hebridean island where he holidayed.

The dominant Russian Kamaz truck entries were absent from the 2023 Dakar Rally event, so the lesser lights got their chance to star.

Why are photos of the latest Addams Family vehicle appearing on a website that’s dominated by off-road vehicles, you may well ask. Well, while the bodywork is modified 1938 Pontiac, the chassis and powertrain are Mercedes-Benz Gelandewagen 4WD.

This magnificent book was published in early 2022, but being on the outer fringes of the caravan world the OTA website didn’t get hold of a review copy until late-2022. 

LDV has launched the Australian market’s first electric ute, the eT60. It’s stupidly expensive, under-equipped and has a totally impractical rear axle design.

Unlike popular motoring news outlets, Outback Travel Australia didn’t share in the media enthusiasm for the proposed merger and acquisition (M&A) offer made by Korean electric bus maker, Edison, but a new buyer has now sealed the deal.

We all know that the range of the best electric vehicles (EVs) is around 500km and that’s a for a solo machine not towing anything. Optima and Rivian have come up with a range extending solution for EV 4WDs that tow.

Many trans-Tasman visitors rent vehicles, rather than risk buying a ‘lemon’ to tour around Australia or New Zealand. The pool of rental vehicles is about to get a boost.

Dengue virus disease (dengue fever, or ‘dengue’) is a viral disease spread by mosquitoes in many tropical and subtropical parts of the world including Africa, Asia, South America and parts of Australia.

Up to half a million Australian drivers may be represented by Maddens Lawyers in a class-action lawsuit against Toyota Motor Corporation Australia, for allegedly using a hidden feature to mask exhaust emissions, Australian Associated Press has reported.

Two of Australia’s biggest blockbuster outback music events – the Birdsville Big Red Bash and Broken Hill Mundi Mundi Bash – have announced stacked 2023 artist line-ups.

According to the Russian news agency, Tass, the Kamaz-Master team has refused to sign a document provided by the International Automobile Federation (FIA), required to participate in the 2023 Dakar Rally.

Hino Motors will suspend shipments of around 60-percent of its truck range from Japan until further notice. Apparently, Australia-bound Hino 4×4 models aren’t affected.

The New South Wales State Emergency Service (SES) has taken delivery of three Mercedes-Benz Trucks Unimog emergency response vehicles.

Roadvision has kindly presented a pair of Stealth Series seven-inch driving lights to a lucky couple, Moyra and Peter S, of Victoria. Outback Travel Australia regularly hands out prizes to people among our group of website donors.

Electrical systems specialist company, Projecta, has set up a technical support forum on Facebook. One of the tech experts is Projecta’s long-serving employee, Benny. 

We were very impressed with the value for money represented by Big Red Gear’s trio of LED driving lights and light bar. BRG has now made an Outback Travel Trio of this lighting combination, available for only $385.

Aeroklas Asia Pacific, a 4WD accessories and automotive parts business owned by a Thai-listed company, has acquired John Agostino’s Tough Dog Sydney-based after-market suspension company, for AU$70 million.

Mahindra & Mahindra have launched the new ‘Scorpio-N’ in India and it’s planned for Australian release in 2023.

Thousands of travellers are expected to cruise Longreach’s Thomson River in future years, thanks to the arrival of the 100-year-old paddle-wheeler, Pride of the Murray.

A class action by owners of certain HiLux and Prado vehicles against Toyota has received wide coverage in the general media. However, Toyota has a global reputation of being highly litigious and has already said it will appeal the Court’s ruling, so Class Action Members: don’t spend the money yet!

Probably the most-filmed Isuzu N Series of 2022 is being raffled, with the proceeds going to Gotcha4Life, Australia’s leading not-for-profit mental fitness foundation. Read below to find out how the truck performs and how to win it.

Outback NSW’s biggest ever live music event is scheduled for 18-20 August 2022, featuring a stellar lineup of Australian artists.

Retro RV motorhomes has committed its franchise operators to list their vans exclusively with leading motorhome, campervan and caravan rental platform Camplify. The Retro RV fleet numbers 25 vehicles.

Bendix has partnered with Outback Cleanups Australia, a registered not-for-profit charity dedicated to removing rubbish from Australia’s remote coastal areas, bushlands and marine environments.

Volkswagen Group plans to revive the Scout off-road badge, to create a share of the booming US light-truck market.

The Australian Government released some sobering news in April 2022: road fatalities spiked 2.7-percent in the last 12 months – the largest increase in incidents since 2018. More than 1100 people have died in road accidents since February 2021.

Ford Australia is planning for the legendary F-150 to arrive in Australia by mid-2023, through a right-hand drive, local remanufacturing program with RMA Automotive Holdings.

In 2022, Isuzu Trucks celebrated 50 years of operation in Australia, with a key focus on the people and product that have contributed to this enviable achievement.

Nissan’s legendary Patrol celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2021and to celebrate, Nissan is finding Patrol owners around Australia who have done incredible things with their vehicles. One such owner is Les Siviour.

Reporting on the current twin crises of Covid testing inadequacies and AdBlue supply uncertainty, without roundly condemning the Federal Government is just not possible.

Orange Sky, supported by Australian electronics manufacturer, REDARC and global visual communications platform, Canva, has launched the world’s first solar powered laundry van fleet, to support people experiencing homelessness, or doing it tough, in remote Indigenous communities.

After systematically downplaying the significance of battery-electric vehicles for years Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) displayed 16 battery-electric concept vehicles in Tokyo on December 15.

The Audi RS Q e-tron competition vehicle is scheduled to race in Dakar Rally in January 2022, with Audi Motorsport fielding its range-extended EV prototype. 

“Everything is connected to everything else,”  said Leonardo da Vinci, all those years ago, predicting situations like the post-pandemic skyrocketing price of oil and natural gas that would result in a sudden shortage of AdBlue.

Call us cynical, if you will, but we can’t rise to the level of press excitement generated by the news that Gippsland-based H2X Global is planning to launch a Ford Ranger based, fuel-cell ute in early 2022.

Guy Hull’s previous best-seller was called The Dogs that Made Australia and he’s followed it up with a sad history of the feral populations that have made life a misery for many Australians – indigenous and immigrants – over the past 200 years.

Slovakian company Torsus has announced its ‘Terrastorm’ derivative of the 4Motion-equipped Volkswagen Crafter/MAN TGE platform. Will this vehicle make it Down Under? Maybe.

Camperact has been appointed a dealer for Kimberley Kampers in NSW and the ACT, adding to an impressive list of brands it represents.

Those of us who drive on the nations dirt and gravel roads will probably agree with the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) in welcoming a new Commonwealth Remote Roads Upgrade Pilot Program. This Program will offer councils 80 to 100 percent of required funding to make unsealed local roads safer and more productive.

Many caravans have been sitting idle for quite some time, because of the travel restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. 

If you didn’t get to the recent Let’s Go Brisbane Caravan & Outdoor Show – only Queenslanders and captive interstate visitors could – here’s some of what you missed.

According to The Land, the NSW Government has purchased the 121,390-hectare Avenel/Mt Westwood Station, north of Broken Hill. The combined properties were once part of Sir Sydney Kidman’s Corona Station.

Yes, we know that this prototype solar motorhome has insufficient ground clearance for Aussie conditions, but its essence is worth investigating, we reckon.

New Zealand-born natural performance apparel company, Icebreaker, has launched a provocative marketing campaign that asks consumers one simple question: “Are you still wearing plastic?” For many consumers, the answer is: “Yes”. 

Watergen Ltd, a global leading company in atmospheric water generation technology, plans to launch what is said to be the world’s first built-in water generator for recreation vehicles and campers in 2022. 

An all-new British company has launched an extended-range, electrically-powered adventure ute that is designed to handle the most demanding terrains.

The fact that Middle Eastern, African and Afghani Islamic extremists prefer Toyotas as the base for their gunships is more than just an embarrassment for Toyota. The company is taking steps to ensure that thousands of new 300 Series wagons don’t find their way into conflict zones.

Redarc’s US office has used the company’s successful Australian Outback experience to demonstrate what it can do for adventurers based in the USA. Redarc has tricked-out a 2021 Toyota Tacoma TRD Off-Road model.