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VIDEOS: Mazda's All-New 2011 BT-50 Pickup Truck

At the end of last week, Mazda lifted the covers off its all-new BT-50 pickup truck at the Australian Motor Show in Sydney. Now, the Japanese automaker has released three videos with static shots as well as footage from the motor show reveal. As a reminder, the BT-50 was co-developed with Ford, which also presented its proposal in Sydney, the new Ranger. The BT-50 shares its powertrains, including four- and five-cylinder diesel units and new six-speed automatic and manual transmissions, with Ford's pickup truck. Follow the break to watch the videos.

For the Australian car buff, Tom Walkinshaw needs no introduction. Here is the man who founded HSV and was responsible for the epic VL Commodore based HSV SS Group A in late '80s. Though no longer working for Holden, 'Walky' continues to turn out some of the most powerful and ballsiest vehicles Australia has ever seen through the performance company named after him.

At the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Walkinshaw Performance took the wraps off its latest model: the WP Series II Supercar. The Holden Commodore Series II SS derived super saloon is fitted with an Edelbrock WP 230 supercharger, boosting power to 617-horsepower (460 kw) and torque to 780 Nm (575 lb ft).

At the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Subaru unveiled the Forester S-Edition, a concept study that points to a new Forester variant for 2011. Built on the existing turbocharged Forester XT, the S-Edition produces an additional 32 hp and 20 lb ft (24 kw and 27 Nm) over the Australian market XT's 227 hp and 236 lb ft (169 kw and 320 Nm) lifting the 2.5-liter boxer engine's output to 259-horsepower.

Lexus chose this week's Australian International Motor Show (AIMS) for the world premiere of its CT 200h F Sport model ahead of the car's introduction to Australia in the first half of 2011 as well other markets around the world.

As with other Lexus models, the F Sport treatment adds a number of visual and performance goodies to the firm's dedicated hybrid. On the outside, the CT 200h gets a sportier looking front bumper along with a honeycomb upper grille, beefier side skirts, and a reworked rear bumper that incorporates a diffuser.

After a two year absence from the Australian International Motor Show, Mercedes-Benz is returning to this year's edition of the event that takes place in Sydney from October 15th to 24th with a [supposedly] special C63 AMG. Called the Concept 358, the show car was co designed by Mercedes-Benz Australia and built by AMG.

I'm pretty sure most of you outside Australia are wondering a) what the heck a Statesman HQ is and b) why should you care that there's a die-cast model. Well, let me try to provide answers for these two questions:

A) The Statesman HQ was a luxury long-wheelbase model for the masses produced by GM's Holden from 1971 through 1974, and B) Apparently, most readers need not care but for the other four viewers I was referring to in the title, as far as I know, this is the first time that a scale model of the specific car has been built. For more history on the Statesman and details on the scale model, hit the jump.

Shortly after the reveal of the 2011 Ford Ranger that we told you about in our previous post, Mazda released the first photos of the all-new BT-50. As we've mentioned many times before, the two pickup truck models are the result of a collaboration between Ford and Mazda and will both get their world premiere at this week's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney.

The Japanese automaker's iteration of the compact pickup truck theme gets its own unique exterior cues and interior styling inspired by the firm's passenger car range. Though far less aggressive than originally implied on the first teaser sketches, the BT-50's exterior design is more funky than it's Ford sibling. The same can be said about the interior which is said to feature all the accommodations of a passenger car.

The wraps are off the all-new for 2011, Ford Ranger pickup truck which makes its worldwide debut at this week's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney before going on sale in 180 markets around the world but not -you guessed it- in the USA.

Like its predecessor, Ford's new Ranger was developed in cooperation with Mazda, which will also unveil its version of the compact pickup truck called the BT-50 in Sydney.

The new Ranger moves a step closer to passenger cars in terms of styling, interior appointments as well as technology features. It will be available in three different cab body styles, 4x2 and 4x4 drivetrains, two ride heights and four series choices.

GM is gearing up for the Australian launch of the new Chevrolet Spark, which has been on sale in Asia and Europe for some months now. The first step towards its local launch is an appearance at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney next week, before it goes on sale locally as the Holden Barina Spark in late 2010.

In anticipation of the all-new BT-50's launch that will take place at next week's 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, Mazda has released a second teaser drawing of its compact pickup truck. This time, it's the BT-50's interior design that we get a peek at.

Due to the impending death of the American compact truck market, Ford has officially decided to not sell the next generation Ford Ranger in the States after 2011. Instead, the Blue Oval will concentrate on making its half-ton F-150 an all-around contender with a broader engine range. Apparently Ford doesn't think the compact pickup truck market in the States is too important (and at 2%, it really isn't).

This year's Australian International Motor Show in Sydney, which runs October 15 -24, will see Ford taking the wraps off an all-new generation of its Ranger compact pickup truck. The new Ranger will be joined by Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) first-ever supercharged V8 Falcons, and the Aussie debuts of the current Focus RS and Fiesta Sedan.

Car buyers in Australia and other RHD countries have long got the short end of the stick in terms of American muscle cars. The reason is quite simple: they drive on the "wrong" side of the road.

Most manufacturers are unwilling to do right-hand-drive conversions on what are essentially specialist models: cars like the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Viper, Ford Mustang and the like. There just aren't enough buyers to rationalize the cost.

Fortunately, a cottage industry (or rather a man-in-a-shed industry) has popped up offering RHD conversions of American muscle cars for eager buyers in countries like Australia, the UK and Japan.

With Saab's recent sale to Spyker and the global financial crisis effectively killing plans to import the Cadillac CTS into Australia, GM Holden is contemplating adding Opel as a premium brand in order to go head-to-head with Volkswagen.

In more recent times and without forgetting cars like the Vauxhall Viva-based Torana and the Opel Rekord / Senator / Omega rooted Commodores, the introduction of the Opel-sourced Corsa supermini in 1994 marked a return to prominence for Opels down under. The Corsa was followed soon after by the Astra small car and Vectra mid-size sedan / hatch. The Astra was particularly successful for Holden, though it all came to a head with GM's purchase of Daewoo in 2001.

Holden Special Vehicles has taken the wraps off an updated version of its Commodore derived performance range along with a special edition of the Malooo R8 ute. HSV is the performance arm of Australian automaker Holden, known in the States through the now defunct Pontiac G8 and the Chevy Caprice police car that was revealed earlier this year.

What you see pictured here is a teaser rendering of the all-new Mazda BT-50 compact pickup truck that will make its world premiere on Friday October 15 at the 2010 Australian International Motor Show in Sydney. The Japanese carmaker claims the exterior design of its next generation pickup truck will be amongst its strong points offering "a road presence that turns heads and makes it instantly recognizable as a Mazda".

Holden just announced that its high-performance Special Vehicles division, otherwise known as HSV, is about to release an updated version of its Grange flagship. The car is based on the Commodore's long-wheelbase platform, which can be found under the Statesman/Caprice and upcoming Chevrolet Caprice police car. Being an HSV vehicle, the Grange is tasked with being something like Holden's version of the S-Class AMG (in theory); it's a large, fast tanker on four wheels.

The Cruze sedan has been on sale in other markets for a while now. With it finally coming to the States, GM hopes to keep what momentum it has going by debuting the Holden-designed Cruze hatchback in Paris (full details in our previous post). A production version of the damn-fine hatchback is just around the bend, so it's no surprise that Holden will also get its own sleek 5-door Cruze.

The Ford vs. GM war continues to rage in a theater of Kangaroo meat and toilets that flush counter-clockwise. In order to give Holden (aka GM) a kick in the Down Under, Ford Australia recently dropped a load of forced induction all over its delectable Falcon GT. Unfortunately there are no cosmetic updates because all the money was spent on the engine. Rock and roll.

Ford Performance Vehicles, owned by Ford Australia and Prodrive, fell over itself to find a suitably-powered replacement for its retiring 5.4-liter.

After musing about the possibilities of twin-turbos, they decided to add a supercharger to the 5.0 instead; with it come improved cooling/fuel delivery, an active exhaust, and all the other tidbits necessary to make the car production-ready without grenading itself all over the asphalt.

Oh, would you look at that? GM will indeed be making some of its left-hand drive Holden conversion money back after all! Unfortunately, it's not doing anything other than cop cars in the States, just yet. Brazil, on the other hand, will be getting its own Holden Commodore Series II wearing the Omega nameplate. This move marks the return of Holden exports to Brazil, which ran between 1998 with the VT-based Chevrolet Omega and 2008.

Auto Blitz

VIDEOS: Mazda's All-New 2011 BT-50 Pickup Truck

Walkinshaw Performance Series II Commodore eats Ferraris for Breakfast

Sydney Show Subaru Forester S-Edition Study Hints at Sportier Production Model

New Lexus CT 200h F-Sport Receives World Premiere at 2010 Sydney Show

Mercedes-Benz Shows C63 AMG (Not-Much-of-a) Concept 358 in Sydney

Holden Statesman HQ Fans [All five of us] Rejoice; First Ever Scale Model Released by Trax

New Mazda BT-50 Pickup Truck: First Photos of Ford Ranger's Sister Model

All-New Ford Ranger Compact Pickup Truck Revealed but it's not for "U.S."

Chevy Spark to Debut as Holden Barina Spark at Sydney Motor Show

Mazda Teases Interior of All-New BT-50 Compact Pickup Truck

Ford Kills American Ranger after 2011, New Global Ranger Still a Go

Ford to Unveil All-New Ranger Pickup Truck and FPV Falcon with Supercharged V8 at Sydney Motor Show

Australia: The Pricey World of Right-Hand Drive Conversions

GM May Introduce Opel in Australia as VW-Rival and Stand Alone Brand

HSV Commodore Range gets Minor Updates and 20th Anniversary Maloo R8 Ute

Mazda Sketches All-New BT-50 Compact Pickup Truck, Also Previews New Ford Ranger

Holden Specialty Vehicles Releases new Caprice-Based Grange flagship with 436-hp V8

Cruze Hatchback: The Looker that Holden Designed and our Artist's Impression of the Production model

Burnin' gas and kickin' ass: Ford Australia Supercharges 5.0 V8 for FPV Falcon

Holden to test Brazilian market with limited edition Chevrolet Omega Fittipaldi

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