Articles by Mike Ryan

A truly unique off-roader will go to auction this weekend in the form of the Humber 'Hexonaut'. Auctions America by RM will auction this vehicle, along with dozens of others from Indiana's National Military History Center, at no reserve.

Toyota have unveiled their next-generation RAV4 at the Los Angeles International Motor Show. Australian delivered examples of the new model, expected in Q1 2013, will be available with a turbo-diesel engine for the very first time.

The Dakar rally is always a challenge, no matter who you are or what you're competing in. For Gianpaolo Bedin, the 2013 Dakar will not only be his first attempt at the iconic race, but the Italian will also be doing it in a 'Raitec Buggy', which is a vehicle entirely of his own design.

Hyundai was a triple winner at the Australia's Best Cars national awards for 2012. After rigorous testing and analysis, Hyundai received five finalist nominations with the all-new Santa Fe Elite winning in the 'SUV over $40,000' class.

Kia's Sportage has scored a win in this year's "Australia's Best Cars awards". At the Australian Automobile Association's annual presentation, the Sportage SLi AWD petrol took home the chocolates in the 'Best SUV under $40,000' category.

At the recent Australia's Best Cars awards, Land Rover owned the all-terrain 4WD category - again. For the fourth year in succession, the Land Rover Discovery 4 collected the award for 'Best All-Terrain 4WD Award'.

After giving the Landcruiser and RAV4 the 'Altitude' limited edition treatment, Toyota have announced that a similar package is now available for the Kluger.

Mazda Australia has confirmed that the new SKYACTIV-G 2.5 litre petrol engine will be added to its popular CX-5 SUV range. It will replace the SKYACTIV-G 2.0 litre petrol engine on All-Wheel Drive (AWD) Maxx, Maxx Sport and GT models.

The final dash of the 2012 Australian OffRoad Championship (AORC) turned into a final 'splash' as heavy rain forced a readjustment to the course and the format of the Mitsubishi Electric Lockyer Valley 300. Race organisers, the Brisbane Sporting Car Club, were forced to make hasty changes after rain on the Friday night and throughout Saturday.

After being a notable winner in past Dakar rallies, Mitsubishi will take on a much bigger role at the 2013 running of the annual endurance rally, signing on as official vehicle supplier to the event.

For the final round for 2012, the Australian Off Road Championships head to a new location in Queensland's Lockyer Valley. With three different round winners so far, the 2012 season finale is set to be one of the most hotly contested AORC rounds ever.

The annual SEMA auto industry aftermarket trade show in the US is where the major auto manufacturers get a chance to cut loose with their creativity and unleash one-off customs and limited edition models. Mazda used this year's SEMA show to present a trio of custom vehicles based around the CX-5 compact SUV.