Savvas replied:

Geoff...

All the stone damage would have occured on your gravel travelling, and is common on the widetrack Jackaroo's. I have the previous model Monterey (non-widetrack) and it doesn't get stonechips in the guards. This is the only thing you might have recourse on Holden, though I don't know how successful you will be.

8.2km/L or 12L/100km seems reasonable to me. The diesel Equipe is auto, right?

Don't know about the HF radio interference though. To my way of thinking that kind of thing usually points to an installation problem, not a problem with the car. Is the car radio/stereo noisy?

Darian replied:

G'day Geoff - I have the 99 SE Diesel - narrow track - no stone damage at all - yours is a design fault in the truest sense in my view - no provision for stones in terrain that they claim the vehicle is designed for - its a classic case of inadequate attention to design - they quickly widened the track to improve the vehicle's appeal without considering all implications.
Its the same story for the radio interference - I have been right through that subject with my car and come out the other end a bit exhausted - fixed it myself to an extent - little useful help from Holden.
The injector actuators on the motor put out strong radio interference - there is a warranty sheet out on a fix for the car radio - the dealer can fit a suppressor (from Eurovox - $20) to the back of it - this will fix the problem for metro use but will NOT HELP in the bush. Forget the HF CB radio if you have one - that is just about impossible to shield (UHF is un-affected by the problem).
Its all to do with signal strength - if the injectors are more powerful that the radio transmissions at a given place, you are in trouble.
I moved my long range HF radio antenna up the back , but has made no difference at all. I have made an auxiliary antenna set up for the car radio - mounted down on the spare wheel bracket - this works really well (right away from the injectors).
Great huh - wonderful motor with state of the art injection (but hard to start in the cold weather and showers your radios with interference) - lack of attention to design. Should I have bought another car ? Are the other makes any better ?
Apart from the above, I like the Jack.
Cheers ...dp

Tim replied:

Geoff - the biggest, most demanding "whingers" will get the most action from the dealer network and/or the manafacturer - im not implying that youre that type, but those who ask for help get nothing as apposed to those who demand action - im in the industry - so sorry it has to be this way but all car manafacturers do not want bad publicity or customer relattions and for the small cost that it would take to fix your problem they'll probably get you all fixed - good luck - tim

Savvas replied:

Geoff...

Just back on the chipping. If you do get the chips fixed, get the repairer to apply a protective film over the flares. Like 3m Scotchcal Paint Protection Film. This should prevent further chipping.

If you look at www.isuzu.com, the US Troopers actually have a black rubber cover on the front of the rear flares.