Interesting article about imports & costs.

[2011G6E]

http://yahoo.carsales.com.au/news/20...ore-here-27452

Not a bad article...it doesn't go into detail about our "unique differences" to other car markets, but they would obviously be our singular obsession with forcing everyone to drive right hand drive cars unless they're old ones, and some other unique-to-Oz ADR requirements.

There is another interesting point...how many people, given the choice of buying one of those supposedly "bare bones" BMW or Mercedes sedan fore the price of an ordinary Falcon or Commodore, would go for it? What Merc and BMW call "basic" would have safety and comfort levels beyond most of what is available in Australia in basic models, or at least equal them. Go to Germany and you see cars being used as Taxis that here would be getting driven by the CEO of a company.

Until motorists here are given the free choice of cars from where ever they want as motorists in every other country are allowed to, unrestricted by unique ADR's and panic about which side the steering wheel is on (requiring special models to be built for Australia, increasing costs artificially), we will be forever spoon fed whatever the factories here spit out, knowing that they have a captive market, supported by the government to keep them artificially in a position of strength against the big bad world outside our borders.