Shown in production guise for the first time at Geneva 2005, Alfa Romeo's Brera sports coupe is due on sale in Australia mid-2006. The 2+2 coupe will become the new leading light in the Alfa range with pricing from around $60,000. The four-cylinder JTS went on sale in June, with the V6 here from August.

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Holden's all-new VE Commodore goes on sale in August 2006, just a month after Toyota'd redesigned Camry. Slightly larger externally but riding on a much bigger footprint, it will set new Australian-built standards for safety, refinement and ride/handling. It'll be powered by the same 3.6 V6 and a 6.0 V8 - the latter with a six-speed auto. Pricing opens at $34,490 for the Omega, which replaces Executive and continues with a four-speed auto.

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The Golf range will be capped off in August by the range-topping R32 replacement, this time as a full-time member of the Golf line-up and available in both three and five-door bodystyles. The new R32 features 4Motion AWD and a 184kW/320Nm 3.2-litre V6 to out-power the muscular Golf GTI.

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Dodge's Caliber hatchback will return the 90-year-old nameplate to Australia for the first time since the 1970s. Built on an all-new front-drive platform and powered by a 2.0-litre or 2.4-litre four-cylinder, it will pitch Dodge straight into the biggest sales segment in Australia, the surging small-car market.

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A new-generation oil-burning V6 will continue VW’s turbo-diesel inroads from August, when its Touareg 4WD becomes available with the same 171kW/500Nm 3.0-litre TDI engine that will kick-off Audi’s new Q7 4WD range at about $85,000 from October.

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