{"id":111842,"date":"2015-06-25T00:01:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-24T14:01:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=111842"},"modified":"2020-11-12T13:05:28","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T03:05:28","slug":"racq-targets-bullbars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/06\/25\/racq-targets-bullbars\/","title":{"rendered":"RACQ Targets Bullbars"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Hilux bullbar … RACQ has targeted promotional statements (Photo: Toyota Australia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 25, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

The RACQ today attacked car industry promotional statements that could be interpreted as suggesting bull bars were \u201cfashion accessories\u201d.<\/p>\n

An RACQ spokesman said that when referring recently to the bull bars for the new HiLux utility range, Toyota Australia president Dave Buttner referred to them as \u201cgood looking bars\u201d and said they were \u201cfashion accessories for our vehicles\u201d.<\/p>\n

RACQ Executive Manager Technical and Safety Policy Steve Spalding said while bull bars were a necessity for some motorists in parts of rural Queensland, he warned against urban drivers fitting them to simply be trendy.<\/p>\n

\u201cBull bars should only be used if there\u2019s a genuine risk of an animal strike,\u201d Mr Spalding said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t want to see the unnecessary fitment of bull bars to city-based cars, or for there to be any increased risk of serious injury to vulnerable road users such as pedestrians or cyclists.<\/p>\n

\u201cBull bars should only be fitted when it\u2019s a necessity, and should never be purchased to simply improve the look of a car.\u201d<\/p>\n

* * *<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Editorial comment:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The RACQ has managed to turn what should have been a good news story for Toyota Australia and Australian manufacturing into a negative.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Earlier this month Toyota Australia announced it had signed a large contract with Australian-owned family company Abcor to manufacture bullbars for its Hilux range.<\/p>\n

Abcor builds the bull bars in two basic types \u2013 Prestige and Commercial \u2013 and in seven varieties. They all have to comply with Australian Design Rules that dictate safety.<\/p>\n

The bars are designed to bend in the event of an animal strike and will deflect kangaroos weighing up to 80kg.<\/p>\n

Abcor plans to export these bull bars to South Africa, New Zealand and possibly Asia and the Middle East.<\/p>\n

It has invested $15 million into the project and built a new production facility in Victoria which can make between 10,000-12,000 bullbars a year.<\/p>\n

Abcor currently employs 16 workers and when the HiLux commercial bullbars go into production next month, another six people will be hired.<\/p>\n

While the RACQ is right when it says bullbars are not necessary in urban environments, this is nothing new.<\/p>\n

However, instead of criticising Toyota Australia for statements probably made off the cuff at the recent promotional launch, we should all be applauding a decision by them to work with an Australian company to develop a new export item.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The RACQ today attacked car industry promotional statements that could be interpreted as suggesting bull bars were \u201cfashion accessories\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":111856,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5,3,36],"tags":[1134],"yoast_head":"\nRACQ Targets Bullbars - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/06\/25\/racq-targets-bullbars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"RACQ Targets Bullbars - southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The RACQ today attacked car industry promotional statements that could be interpreted as suggesting bull bars were \u201cfashion accessories\u201d.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/06\/25\/racq-targets-bullbars\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"southburnett.com.au\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-06-24T14:01:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-11-12T03:05:28+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/hiluxbullbar.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"346\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Anne Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/06\/25\/racq-targets-bullbars\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2015\/06\/25\/racq-targets-bullbars\/\",\"name\":\"RACQ Targets Bullbars - 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