Articles by Craig Duff

….and now promises the definitive business sedan. The seventh generation of the A6 is on sale now with a body that is 20 per cent alloy. That translates into weight savings of up to 80kg. Prices start at $93,900 for the 2.8-litre petrol engine with 150kW/280Nm and climb to $121,500 for the 3-litre supercharged petrol model boasting 220kW/440Nm. Fuel consumption for the 2.8 is officially 8 litres/100km, while the TFSI engine uses 8.2 litres over the same ground. The mid-range 3-litre turbodiesel costs $116,500, puts out 180kW/500Nm and uses just 6 litres of fuel/100km. All models use Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system and a seven-speed auto.

BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics show car is a concept but it will go intro production in 2013 when it will be known as the i8 as part of BMW’s new i sub-brand. Call it what you like, the car turned heads from interested amateurs and envious engineers alike. The car is a hybrid drive, with a pair of electric motors matched to a 1.5-litre three cylinder diesel engine. “Sustainable personal mobility in the future will be anything but boring,” BMW Australia head Tom Noble said. “Customers are looking for solutions to live responsibly while still having a dynamic drive.” The body makes extensive use of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) to help offset the weight of the battery packs, which are housed along the centre of the car in what would be the “transmission tunnel” on a regular rear-drive car. That’s why the car can sprint to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and still uses just 3.8 litres of fuel for every 100km/h. The batteries give a 50km range, after which the diesel kicks in to extend driving distance to around 700km.

…and uses only 25 per cent more fuel headlines the products on Ford’s Australian International Motor Show stand. The EcoLPi Falcon won’t go on sale until later this year, but Ford head Bob Graziano was talking up the engine’s potential. "It represents another key pillar in Ford's plan to bring a range of sustainability initiatives to market, following the launch of Australia's first locally-produced diesel vehicle in the new SZ Territory, as well as the introduction of Ford's patented EcoBoost engine technology in Mondeo," he said. Engine outputs for the EcoLPi Falcon match those of the regular I6 Falcon engine - if the petrol Falcon is running on 95 RON. Feed it regular unleaded and the LPG car has the edge. Fuel consumption for the EcoLPi is 12.6 litres for 100km against the petrol car’s 10 litres, but that’s more than offset by the cheaper price of LPG. “This engine will sit alongside our EcoBoost engines, arriving in the Falcon next year, and give our customers genuine options in terms of emissions and driving styles,” Graziano said. The hi-tech liquid phase port injection system replaces the older LPG venturi-mixer system Ford had sold on Falcons until September last year. The Ford stand also features two scale models that show how the latest generation of Ford designers would interpret the Mad Max Interceptor (Ford helped with the car on the original movie), along with the latest version of the Focus small car and the new Ranger pick-up.

The supercharged V8 as shown at the Australian International Motor Show from tomorrowis good for 460kW and at $82,000 rates as the quickest set of surfers’ wheels on the market. A positive reaction from the 200,000-strong crowd over the 10-day event will see the modern interpretation of the panel van recreated. “We partnered with Centaur to develop the unique ($5500) canopy with a carbon fibre rear “screen”,” Walkinshaw Performance sales manager Tony Harris said. “The car on show will differ from the production model, which we’re already 95 per cent sure of building, only in that the rear brake light will be mounted on the rear spoiler and there will be a camera fitted on the spoiler for rear parking.” The show car started life as a Holden Commodore SS ute. Walkinshaw then commissioned the rear canopy and fitted its WP230 supercharger from US company Edelbrock, a set of stoppers from V8 Suppercar brake supplier Alcon, a leather-accented interior upgrade and Bilstein suspension to match the braking and performance. “It should sell. It’s the best-priced Walkinshaw model yet and it it’s backed by a balance of factory warranty, which is unique this high in the performance market,” Harris said. The car will be shown alongside a Bundaberg Racing Commodre V8 Supercar on the Walkinshaw stand at this year’s show and is one of 50 concept or new model vehicles on display over the 10-day event. The lack of a concept car is one of the reasons Renault won’t be at this year’s event, other than having a battery-powered Fluence (Fluence) mid-sized car on the Better Place electrical vehicle stand. “We don’t have any concepts and don’t want to disappoint customers by having a stand and showing them models they can see in in a regular showroom,” Renault spokeswoman Emily Ambrosy said. “That’s not what the motor show is about.” The show opens its doors at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre from 6pm on Friday.

…will be the German company’s headline act in Melbourne.

A Prius expansion heads “the greatest line-up of new and concept cars ever assembled for an Australian motor show by a single company”.Brand T is back in a big way with new models of the HiLux four-wheel-drive workhorse, a bigger Yaris hatch and a preview of the FT-86 II sports car. Then there is the family-focused Prius v and the urban runabout Prius c Concept, which isn’t far from production."The Prius family tree is set to grow in Australia, branching out into a modern family with a Prius for everyone," Toyota sales and marketing director David Buttner said."The Prius c Concept and Prius v demonstrate Toyota's ability to offer the benefits of Prius in a variety of vehicles to a wider range of customers. With fuel prices rising and a growing emphasis on reducing carbon emissions, it's a perfect time to be raising a family."A pre-production version of the new Yaris is on the stand, having grown bigger and more sophisticated. The car is a core model for Toyota with global sales topping 3.5 million. The new car is easy to pick by the single windscreen wiper with an integrated washer nozzle.“Yaris is a major segment for us. There’s a lot of first time buyers. We have greater loyalty than the average of Toyota, so it’s a very important segment for us,” Buttner said.Buttner refused to talk pricing or whether a sedan-based Yaris will make it Down Under. “It will be market-orientated pricing to ensure we retain our share,” he said of the car, which is due in showrooms late this year.The facelifted HiLux on show is another major model for Toyota. It will be in showrooms in September with a new grille, headlights and bumpers and the bonnet scoop has been repositioned on turbodiesel models.“HiLux embodies Toyota’s brand promise of superior quality and often doubles as a workhorse during the week and family transport on the weekends,” Buttner said.

a vehicle now has to look good, go well and have a label on the windscreen showing it runs on the smell of an oily rag.

...at the Australian International Motor Show - or anyone looking to downsize.General Motor’s Asia-Pacific design executive director Mike Simcoe noted the new Barina had grown - “it’s on the high side of the small car class” to differentiate it from the Spark.The Barina chases a coupe profile with the rear door handles mounted in the pillar to emphasise the roorline arc and the exposed front headlights and instrument cluster were “motorcycle inspired.” Holden’s Ondrej Koromhaz helped style the Barina while on assignment at GM’s South Korea design centre.Specification and pricing will be announced closer to launch, but the car will have a 1.6-litre engine electronic stability control.

They’ve already reached tipping point and concede fossil fuels have a finite future.

…..they were once reserved for F1 cars, MotoGP bikes and aeroplanes.