Articles by Carsguide.com.au

There are strong parallels between Tom Cruise’s role in the blockbuster movie (which stars the stunning BMW i8) and the story of Westcoast BMW’s stunning new showroom. Cruise of course faces incredible hurdles before winning, and Westcoast BMW also had a few challenges to overcome – not least being that the GFC delayed the $22 million project, and that some extremely exacting requirements had been set for the design. “The focus for the architects was to incorporate all of the latest international BMW corporate identity in a Western Australian setting of wide open spaces,” Westcoast BMW Marketing Manager Charles Kobelke said. “We needed to utilise the wide parcel of land and create floating white panels on a seemingly unsupported structure… the emphasis is always on the BMW vehicles. “Energy and water efficiency were priorities. With the showroom design, practically no sun reaches the glass during the hot summer months. The entire 600 square metre roof is a catchment area for water that is then stored and used in vehicle washing and from there recycled for the gardens. This means that no scheme water is used for more than 10 months of the year. “Planning commenced in 2007 with planning approvals granted in 2008, and building approvals in 2009. Construction commenced in May 2010 and was completed in just over 14 months. But during that time, the GFC did make the project more complicated delaying the construction phase by almost a year.” The new facility opened late last year in the Perth suburb of Wangara, and is the West Australian capital’s second BMW dealership alongside Auto Classic in Victoria Park. It has also nabbed Auto Classic’s title as the country’s largest BMW dealer, with the Westcoast BMW greenfield development premises built to a massive scale on 140,000 square metres of land. With showrooms capable of displaying around 25 new BMW cars, as well as a used-car facility with room for 70 vehicles, Westcoast BMW has been built to achieve future sales of up to 130 vehicles a month. The service department resides in a spacious workshop designed to meet these expectations and the initial staff level of around 40 employees will be increased as the business grows. The northern suburbs of Perth have a demographic well suited to BMW sales, according to Mr Kobelke: “We hope to see good sales growth in what is a strong aspirational market. Combined with its status as Australia’s largest BMW dealer, this should see strong growth for the brand in Western Australia during the next few years. The public reaction has been very positive and the community has certainly welcomed us with open arms. Next on the plan is increasingly developing Westcoast BMW into a community-based dealership that rewards customers for their loyalty and support.”

That’s how Craig Homann of Gulson Canberra described winning first prize in the Porsche Cars Australia 'Service Excellence Awards 2011 for Service Consultants’. And the prize he enjoyed so much? Spending a day blasting around a race track in a Porsche GT3.“The prize was the chance to complete the Porsche Sports Driving School Master - Level 4 at Brisbane raceway, including flights and accommodation,” Homann said.“Yes, it was better than winning money. The experience costs $3500 for a normal customer; and if I was given money I wouldn't have spent it on the GT3 day -- and would never have known what I was missing out on. An experience like that is priceless.”Homann said the Sports Driving School Master training was intense. “Performance training comprises of a variety of exercises, with concentrated driving components, in particular driving a racing line at high speeds and the resulting load-changing reactions, aimed at further improving your command of the vehicle,” he said.“One of the main components is circuit lapping, which is given further attention during the course. Here you have an opportunity to put your knowledge to the test over the entire circuit.“Porsche has a team of expert drivers as instructors, including Luke Youlden – who I drove with on the day - Alex Davison, Mark Adderton, Jonathon Webb, Andy McElrea, Scott Jacob, Warren Luff, Ian Dyk, Daniel Pappas and Fabian Coulthard. The instructor monitors your driving on the racetrack from the lead vehicle before assessing your progress, prior to your own solo lapping. You have to complete this training level before you can take part in the Master course.“The Master level course uses the high performance 911 GT3 and is designed to take your skills to the next level. The car is the closest vehicle to a real race car available from the showroom floor. It features a race developed, 3.6 litre, 305kW (415bhp) engine, 8400 rpm rev limit, six-speed manual gearbox and adjustable dampers, rollbars and spoiler."Race developed suspension tuning, bespoke Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tyres and great down force from the aero package (wing and front spoiler) mean greatly enhanced grip levels. The more grip the car generates, the harder it is to drive close to the limit. The lines and technique must, therefore, be very precise.“Satellite tracking is used to record the exact position of the car on the racetrack. This information, downloaded to a laptop, is overlaid and adjusted against the data set by the instructor. This is the most sophisticated tool available to improve the lines through the corners."The cars are equipped with lightweight seats and a roll cage and are monitored by Porsche instructors and engineers. One-on-one instruction is followed up by solo runs with radio communication. Given the level of complexity, technology and individual tuition, the course is limited to eight participants. A ‘must’ if you have an eye on the GT3 Cup program.”Homann says he had his eye on the prize from the start of the Service Excellence Awards, although he was not fast off the line when the competition opened.“The competition ran for five months, from the start of June until the end of October.  After a slow start in June, I managed to take the lead in my group and hold on to it until the end of the competition,” he said. “The competition divided the Porsche Centres throughout Australia into two groups, each of which would compete for the prize, with five scoring criteria: Service Reminder Penetration; Service Customer Mobility; Warranty Extension Penetration; Customer Satisfaction; and Training - learning path completion.”

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"Pack light" was the advice, given the photographer was destined to use almost all of his luggage space quota with his camera equipment. The MX-5 two-seater is 3995mm long and is short on storage space – that much is blindingly obvious.But what is not as clear is the superb dynamics and driving experience in the slick little convertible.It was this I wanted to exploit – most definitely for my own enjoyment. After all, if I'm to going to buzz around some of the hottest holiday destinations in South Australia watching and writing about how much fun others are having, I want to enjoy myself ... and driving the MX-5 delivered the goods. Fellow CARSguide writer Stuart Martin – a man whose stature is not particularly matched to the cute and sleek little MX-5 – warned that some women might throw me a strange sideways look when they saw me behind the wheel.It has something to do with the car's lack of masculinity. Big on brawn it is not.Martin has given up trying to sway his at-home boss that the driving experience of the MX-5 builds on the superb dynamics and feel of the old one. Myself, well, I had no problem with my domestic leader calling it a "girl's car" – I'm comfortable with my masculinity and even more pleased she had no desire to steal the keys and that enviable driving experience from me. Off the line, the 1090kg Mazda isn't super quick. The two-litre in-line four-cylinder engine throws out 118kW of power with 188Nm of torque, driving it from 0-100km/h in 7.8 seconds. But it is the cornering ability of the MX-5, the ease at which it can be thrown through the twists and bends and how it hugs the road even when pushed. That is what puts it in a fancied league.Drop the soft-top and there's an element of "look-at-me" fun to be had also, although that tends to attract those strange looks from women I spoke of earlier. They're just jealous.The fact I found myself asking where the rest of the car went each time I looked in the rear-view mirror has a lot to do with how good this car is to drive.The saying "good things come in small packages" is only too true when it comes to the MX-5. Don't be mistaken – there's a lot packed into this little parcel.Something which could be easily overlooked – but not on a long trip – is the fuel efficiency achievable while having all this fun.Combined city/country driving tests put the MX-5 consumption, for the six-speed manual, at 8.5 litres/100km. It was stunningly obvious just how frugal this setup is when the 333km trip from Naracoorte to Adelaide barely troubled the fuel-gauge needle.The manual shift furthers the driving enjoyment. The short sports stick, offering clean and quick gear changes, is typical of the MX-5 controls and switch gear.All the controls – from the indicator stalk through to the radio and CD player controls on the steering wheel – are set up to meld the driver with the car.Mazda calls this the principle of "Jinba Ittai" – rider and horse as one. Handling has been refined so it is so intuitive that it feels like an extension of the body, and balance and harmony, the most complex of feelings, come together to create the ultimate Zoom-Zoom. The new MX-5, we're told, was engineered and designed around the Jinba Ittai idiom instead of specific, unemotional performance targets such as the time required to accelerate to 100km/h.The comfy leather seats continue that marriage of car and driver. The fact those seats in the road-test model were in a somewhat disturbing terracotta colour was something I was willing to deal with to enjoy the ride.It is fair to say some sacrifices have to be made in order to enjoy the MX-5.There's the space issue for one, and also the fact envious women – and uneducated men – will refer to it as a girl's car.So what, I say. Let the name calling begin.PADDLESHIFTS and an extra cog are just the beginning when it comes to the new MX-5.Where the second-gen drop-top had to make do with something of a slug in the auto gearbox stakes, the new car looks set to up the rate of sales of the auto significantly.While the speed of the shift is not likely to frighten the engineers at Ferrari, its shift quality in auto or manual-change mode is slick.Dawdling around in traffic with the selector in D, the other qualities of the car – taut frame, extra room, quality fittings and an easy-to-operate manual roof – can be admired without the distraction of gear changes.Its a bit like cheating when a lightweight with great on-road manners and a sweet four-cylinder changes gears on its own.Flip the lever to the left and the decision is back with the driver. It will hold gears in corners at high engine revs, something many "sports" cars refuse to do, and the accurate throttle makes the whole package a joy.– Stuart Martin

Like the Mazda 6, demand for the new Mazda 3 has been very strong, so much so that Mazda has not been able to keep pace with demand.