There has been a general rearranging of deck chairs in Australian new car markets, as they react to the imminent closing of Ford, Holden and Toyota Australia factories. According to the media this was because their cars were too expensive. Pundits speculated the surplus cash for cars from new car showrooms would shift to imported littlies, but that has not proved to be the case. Nissan has pulled the plug on the Almera, and Smart Car sales are radically down. This follows the axing of the VW Up! micro car in April. The only small car that is making any progress appears to be the baby Fiat 500. Reasons behind the loss in small car brand sales could include the cost of importation being relatively higher, and buyers demanding gadgets that do not come cheap. The Car Buyers has detected a steady uptick in demand across the full range of our used cars. Our buyers tell us they are no longer able to meet steeply rising new car prices. If anything, demand for small cars from The Car Buyers is increasing. That could be because we pay cash for cars, and sell cars for cash prices better than the rest. Take care, Kane