Articles by Bruce McMahon

Custom-made in Australia from an American kit plus local components, the Brute combines off-road substance with unique style, all sitting handsome on a lengthened TJ Wrangler chassis. It looks, and drives, like a factory job. With added attitude. And just the tiniest of vibration through the steering wheel from those extra knobby tyres on this first example. While Chrysler continues to toy with the idea of a pickup based on the current JK Wrangler (and those rumours are gathering strength), this Brute was first a SEMA concept truck. Built in 2005 by American Expedition Vehicles on the previous TJ model it was a real production possibility, stymied by the TJ being about to be replaced and early signs of looming global financial dramas in the US. So the Brute became a low production kit car and according to Stuart Murchison there's only about 100 running around the world for now. But the Queensland-based Murchison _ offering boutique suspension solutions, snorkels and ECU tunes for Jeeps across Australia and the US _ has built one as his business truck. And for $30,000-$35,000 on top of a donor vehicle, plus three months work, Murchison will build more. His Brute is worth about $75,000 as it rolls; customised with leather seats, air lockers, remote-locking and such. "As a small business I don't want to let average things out there," Murchison says about his Brutes and his suspension business. A long-time Jeep man, one-time suspension consultant and one-time BMW salesman, Murchison found more and more people chasing him for suspension ideas for Jeeps. He discovered a void for kits for late-model Jeeps _ six out of seven models run independent suspension and no-one was catering specifically for these. Now he does business here and in the US with coils and shocks kits, plus snorkels, plus ECU diesel tunes. For the Brute, Murchison suggests first chasing down a good donor vehicle, low kilometres and little off-road use. The kit only suits the TJ Wrangler, built from 1996 to 2006, the later the vehicle the better and it needs the hard doors though soft tops and hardtops can be sold off. Mid to late 2003 Jeeps for instance have better front seats; all run the four litre, six-cylinder engine but later models have six-speed manuals and four-speed automatics. The Wrangler chassis is lengthened from 233cm to 297cm; driveline and other lines lengthened to suit and then new body and tub bolted on. On this example Murchison's added one of AEV's Highline body kit, allowing bigger wheels and tyres (17" wheels with 35" tyres on this one). The kit _ bonnet and front guards plus wider guard flares front and back _ fits, and looks, like a factory job. All up the Brute weighs in around 300kg heavier than a Wrangler but is just as handy in the rough. Murchison is about to play with a 2.8 litre diesel engine with auto transmission in a Brute, reckons he can get that running at 480Nm and 8 litres per 100 kilometres. He is also looking to build a tradies' special with aluminium tray, and maybe not quite the same bad-ass attitude, for $45,000 driveaway with 16" rock-crawler rims, a 50mm lift and optional airbags for the rear suspension. Murchison's Brutes are fully complianced for registration in Queensland. He's happy to build for southern customers to those specifications but individuals would then need to talk to local transport authorities. (The height of body lifts and the size of tyres may be an issue in some parts.)

WILLYS MA (1941-1945)The first Willys MAs were delivered to the United States Army in June, 1941. Designed by American Bantam, it was the modified Willys version that served as a lightweight, four-wheel drive reconnaissance vehicle.WILLYS CJ-2A (1945-1949) As World War II came to a close Willys looked to a 'Civilian Jeep' and the CJ-2A became the first full-production Jeep for civilians; a basic machine intended for the man-on-the-land, explorers and industry.WILLYS STATION WAGON (1946-1965)This steel-bodied, two-door, seven-seater wagon was arguably the world's first SUV; four-wheel drive became an option in 1949.JEEPSTER (1948-1951)The two-door, two-wheel drive convertible proved the Kaiser-Willys crowd had a sense of humour and some Californian style: "A gay companionable car to drive with laughter in your heart and a song on your lips."WAGONEER (1963-1993)The world's first premium SUV, a niche filled out by Land Rover with the Range Rover seven years later. The Wagoneer, with automatic transmission and independent front end, replaced the Willys Wagon.CJ-7 (1976 -1987) On a longer wheelbase than previous CJs, the 7 offered automatic transmissions, hard tops and better dynamics in the first major update of the CJ series.WRANGLER (1987-present)This ongoing series tidied up the Jeep for a wider audience than just hard-core off-roaders; more engine and transmission options plus more comfort and features in two revisions so far (1997 and 2007).XJ CHEROKEE (1984-2001)One of the best Jeeps to date; surprisingly competent off road in standard form and a handy family wagon.JK WRANGLER UNLIMITED (2007-present)A no-nonsense four-door Jeep; not as refined on-road as some but excellent off-road credentials and practical as a four-five seater. Short wheelbase JKs also a treat.WK II GRAND CHEROKEE (2010)Now with four-wheel independent suspension this latest Grand Cherokee - a distant relative of the Willys Wagon and Wagoneer - has style and dynamics impressing critics around the world.

Designed and patented by Hankook's technical centre in Ohio, the Ventus V2 Concept features a Twister System _ the central channel 'twists' or 'waves' down the middle of the tread rather than running in a straight line. Designer Dean Rogers says using a central groove and directional tread to help expel water reduces tyre stability and creates extra wear in the centre. "The Twister System creates a sufficient void to evacuate water _ but the wave shape means the main channel is angled towards the centre of the tyre, avoiding the usual wear problems," says Rogers. The Korean-based Hankook claim back-to-back tests show a six per cent improvement in wet handling performance and three per cent improvement in wet braking distances. And Hankook used computers to help design the V2 Concept's tread for a quieter, softer ride. In Australia Hankook, sitting at seventh on the sales charts, is aiming for fourth spot by 2015, lifting its focus on ultra high performance rubber and improving its sales network. Among its new rubber is the Ventus ME01, a high performance tyre said to better stand up to hot road running. It uses a specially formulated tread compound, with smaller molecules of carbon black, for a lighter tyre that does not heat up as quickly and has a reduced rolling resistance, around 30 per cent lower than rivals according to Hankook. The Korean company saw global sales jump 16.3 per cent in the first quarter of 2011; ultra high performance tyres were up 42.5 percent on the same period last year. China, where Hankook holds 20 per cent of the market, continues to grow. Hankook took a gamble on business there in 1996 and now sells 17.5 million tyres a year to manufacturers and motorists with a third tyre plant to be built there by 2015.

Suzuki Swift GLX and VW Polo 77TSI Comfortline go head-to-head in this comparative review.

Chrysler Australia has confirmed the hot-rodded SUV is slated to top off the new Jeep Grand Cherokee fleet in the second quarter of next year. And at a price expected to undercut the $90,000 charged for the outgoing SRT8. The 346kW, 6.4 litre Hemi V8 is claimed to top 240 km/h and jump from 0 to 100km/h in around 4.8 seconds, aided by a stump-pulling 630Nm of torque fed through a permanent four-wheel drive system. As before, the SRT8 wagon is not for rock-climbing or mud-plugging. Just for getting places with a decent amount of pace. Jeep's five-speed auto, with paddle shifts, has been reworked with revised ratios; coil springs and Bilstein dampers have been fitted all round and the Grand Cherokee chassis stiffened by some 25 per cent. There's big Brembo brakes, a lockable rear differential  plus three, driver-selectable suspension modes to best keep the SRT8 at the right sort of attitude for different tasks. Until then the all-new 3.7 litre V6 and 5.7 litre V8 Grand Cherokees are keeping Chrysler Australia busy. "We can't get enough of Grand Cherokee at the moment," says Chrysler Australia's marketing manager Dean Bonthorne. "With that $45,000 starting price for the Laredo, and mixing it with the (Toyota) Kluger and (Ford) Territory, it's an absolute winner." Next wagon to roll in will be a 'bells and whistles' Overland version of the Grand Cherokee, priced under $70,000.

New design and engineering outfit Icona, headed by Italians, claims to be the first independent, debuting in Shanghai a striking, gull-winged electric sedan plus an electric, two-seater, three-wheeler.Icona looks to take advantage of the 18 million-strong car market and the growing sophistication of the Chinese consumer.The Fuselage concept, says designer Samuel Chuffart, is a feasible piece of automotive style, an elegant electric sedan designed and engineered in downtown Shanghai."The Chinese market likes sedans, another two-seater, V8 sports car makes no sense.""On the Fuselage we've reduced the front and rear to save more than 30 per cent of body area for more energy saving and battery longevity."The four-door sedan concept runs four electric motors for 100kW, a calculated top speed of 200km/h,  0 to 100km/h time of 4.5 seconds and a 220km range.Icona set up in Shanghai in August last year when Chuffart and CEO Teresio Gaudio moved from Bertone's Turin studio. New shareholders there did not share the passion for investment in China."But much of our work was going to China," says Gaudio. "This is a very vibrant place, really close to the action. We needed to be face to face with customers."Icona's first work here was a truck for the domestic brand Sany.While there are a host of Chinese car and truck manufacturers now vying for business, and some may lose out as in the west, Gaudio believe this winnowing will take time."And meanwhile they have to establish their brand and for that they need new models," he said. "The beauty of design is that if you have good product, people believe in you."Chuffart says the Chinese auto aesthetic is, for now, influenced by Volkswagen, early players here. This means simple, clean designs."While the Japanese like big headlights and narrow bodies, the Chinese like their cars to be planted to the road," Chuffart said.He has high praise for the adventurous style coming out of Kia at present, acknowledging that that too is largely being determined by western stylists."Kia are kicking arse of the Europeans with design and quality," he says.Italian design studio Pininfarina has followed Icona to China and later this year BMW subsidiary DesignworksUSA, a California-based strategic design consultancy with studios in Los Angeles, Munich, and Singapore,  opens a new studio in Shanghai to better understand Asia's growing influence on design.DesignworksUSA  _ a think tank for BMW, Mini Rolls-Royce and outside clients _ already has studios in Los Angeles, Munich and Singapore  but the China shop will contribute to China's 'creative industry development' says DesignworksUSA president Laurenz Schaffer.                 

It is a huge, unsated market and analysts predict the upper-end shows no signs of slowing.

While premium brands such as Mercedes-Benz and Ferrari continue to attract wealthy buyers, and while the Shanghai Show this month was sprinkled with electric vehicles, there was a huge array of production and concept SUVs on show from around the world.And analysts suggest the next wave of buyers, as the middle class grows, will be lookging more toward these types of vehicle in this vast market; 1340 million people living in 9.5 million square kilometres.  The new Chinese freeways and tollways are world class, head off those into the back streets and rural roads and the network is a little more rugged.In Shanghai world debuts included Audi's compact Q3 and Honda's Acura ZDX. The Audi softroader heads this way in 2012 to join the Q5 and Q7; the BMW X6-inspired ZDX with 3.7 litre V6 is left-hand drive only, on sale in China later this year.Many of the crossovers and SUVs on show followed the lines of the established X6 or Nissan's Dualis; some, like Jonway's A380 are Toyota RAV4 clones with Mitsubishi motors.Among Chinese-styled machines was Peugeot's SXC concept, a high-riding, two-wheel drive sedan with SUV overtones. Elsewhere showgoers were poring over Land Rover's three and five-door Evoques, due in showrooms from late this year.Great Wall's  Haval 6, a new SUV wagon for the Chinese market this season, stood close to the company's huge Wingle CL, an American-sized dual cab, four-wheel drive ute, due for sale there later this year but only in left-hand drive at this stage.Hankook's marketing and sales vice-president Byeong Jin Lee says the Chinese middle class is growing and more can now afford to buy vehicles.That will continue to fuel demand, even if growth slows from the 18-million strong market. Analysts predict the market will be 40 million by 2020, one in two cars across the world sold in China.The Korean tyre company Hankook, an early entrant in China, now controls 20 per cent of the tyre business here and is about to build its third factory to keep up with demand from both vehicle manufacturers and consumers."China is now not only a world factory but also a world market," says Lee.He says wages have risen with the Chinese government planning to lift minimum wages by 15 per cent each year for the next five years. So Lee sees more of the middle class starting to buy vehicles."And SUVs are becoming more popular. I think these will take a larger share of the market because China is big, it's not a country it's a continent," Lee said.And it is natural, he says. SUVs were a huge driver of market growth last year."People are getting the money, starting to buy and they have more interest in SUVs than sedans. It's a big country."Chinese maker Geely, trying for an Australian foothold in the west with a small car, had a staggering line-up of 37 models (under three brand names) on show in Shanghai.There were sports cars, convertibles, cute city cars plus a number of SUVs and crossover vehicles such as the GX6, the square-jawed GX5.FAW (First Automotive Works) showed of two handsome concepts _ the T012 and the X with hints of Nissan's Infiniti SUVs.But Geely, now 13 years in the business, looking to become a 'globally competitive brand by 2015' and these days owners of Volvo, still had room for one of the show-stoppers _ the EMGrand, a hybrid limousine, sporting a Lincoln Navigator-styled grille flanked by Audi-style headlights leading back to a Rolls-Royce style profile.More conventional debuts included General Motor's mid-sized Malibu sedan, to be sold here as a Holden and fill the gap between the smaller Cruze and the Commodore.Also on the menu for Australia is Volkswagen's latest interpretation of the Beetle, making it's international debut in Shanghai, and the inspiring Citroen DS5.BMW showed its M5 Concept, a thinly disguised version of the next M5 sports sedan, plus its new 6 Series coupe.And Nissan's Tiida hatchback, debuting at the Shanghai Auto Show, heads to Australia in 2012 longer in the wheelbase (at 2700mm) for more back seat room than its predecessor.It will be sold across 130 markets with the car on show running a 1.6 litre engine and CVT.

... a pointer to the next generation of the German company's small cars or 'the first heartbeat of a new generation' as Benz would have it.Rather than the upright, delivery-van approach of the original A Class, this one is a sculpted, coupe-style machine. The front-drive Mercedes concept here sported a 155kW, turbocharged and transverse-mounted engine.

... following the lines of the already seen 6 Series convertible.Both new Beemers run turbocharged V8s, 4.4 litres and 300kW in the case of the coupe, the M5's output through its seven-speed gearbox hasn't been announced.But the Germans promise this M5 will be a "new interpretation of the business sedan that aspires to reach the level of driving dynamics typical of a high-performance sports car".