Chevrolet Lumina SS

By Peter Palm
Whether you prefer the “home town” designation of Holden Commodore or the local title Chevy Lumina, the important part of this celebrated Australian-built General Motors product is the “SS” badge, which means that a 270 kW 6,0-litre V8 lurks under the bonnet and feeds 530 N.m to the rear wheels only. No smaller engines will be available, and to keep the dealer’s job simple, only four versions of the Lumina will be available - the saloon or Ute with either 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmissions. The saloon’s auto ‘box is USA-developed and offers the option of manually selecting gears, via the gearlever (not paddles) and without override at peak revs. The Ute, on the other hand, uses an automatic transmission with a conventional shift sans manual selection.Apparently, a billion dollars was spent on redesigning the Lumina and styling now receives the Chevrolet family touch with even a resemblance to the much smaller, Korean-built Aveo saloon. Flared wheel arches, a huge rear wing and four tailpipes add the necessary muscular looks to go with the under-bonnet urge.
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Proton Satria Neo

By Gareth Dean
To me, all cars carry an association; Honda Civics remind me of a bovine-related collision I had on an English country road one night, Toyota Hi-Aces have a fist-shaking, expletive-riddled association of being cut up in traffic and Proton… well, I learned to drive in an old Persona Compact with a dodgy gearbox – enough said! Would the Proton Satria Neo be able to undo those memories of smoking clutch plates and bashed alloys?At R134 995, the Satria Neo sits in the same price bracket as similarly engined offerings from Ford and Renault. It is on the specifications front where Proton hopes to get the edge on the competition; ABS with EBD, climate control, airbags, rear parking distance sensors, MP3 compatible CD player with Bluetooth capability, electric windows and mirrors are among the standard features of the car, the only optional extra thus far being leather upholstery at R4 999. A rather vocal 1,6-litre mpi DOHC engine, which generates 82 kW, powers the Satria Neo from 0-100km/h in a claimed 11,56 secs on the way to a 190km/h top speed. This unit is mated with a five-speed manual gearbox with a notchy feel to downward shifts – oh dear, those driving lesson memories have re-emerged!

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DeTomaso Pantera

Do you seriously believe you could outrun a Pantera 200 squad car?

The late Gary Wilson's GT5. The first Pantera inducted into the PI Hall of Fame