Articles by Joshua Dowling

As the Volkswagen diesel crisis reaches its fifth day, lawyers are lining up to find out if cars sold locally are affected.Related: Is BMW about to join VW diesel scandal?More: ACCC lasunches investigation into VW diesel scandalAlso: Does the VW diesel scandal affect you

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the Mazda BT-50 at its Australian launch.

ANCAP to add "date-stamping" to its five-star safety ratings.

While Australian VW owners continue to wait to find out if their cars are affected, should BMW buyers be worried too?

In recent years several brands have offered super-low (0 or 0.5 per cent) interest rates, only for customers to find the deal applies to the full on-road cost of the car, which can easily add $5000 to a $20,000 car.In most cases it was cheaper to haggle a sharp price on the car and arrange your own finance.Interest is calculated from the day you sign the dealNow there are a couple of new finance offers to review with care. Holden's "no deposit, no repayments until 2016" is one.The interest is calculated from the day you sign the deal, even if you defer the first payment by 12 months.On a $38,990 Colorado ute, for example, the repayments are $1122.44 per month for four years (for a total payout figure of $53,877) if you defer the first payment until 2016.Start paying the loan back immediately on the same 9.9 per cent rate underwritten by St George on behalf of Holden, and the monthly repayments drop to $1017.54 for a four-year total of $48,845.By comparison, a 7.99 per cent finance rate via Esanda, also quoted at a Holden dealer, is $986.75 per month for a total four-year payout of $47,364.Ford is offering 2.9 per cent finance, but the catch is you must stump up 10 per cent of the loaned amount as a deposit and, as with the Holden offer, the loan must be repaid in full in 48 months.Many buyers can't meet these terms and, in the case of Ford, popular models such as the Ranger ute, XR8 sedan and Transit van are excluded from the offer.As ever, it pays to read the fine print. In most cases the best deals are the super-sharp drive-away prices.

If you're in the market to buy a new ute, you may want to hold off for a moment.

The Volkswagen diesel scandal has claimed its first high profile scalp, with CEO Martin Winterkorn stepping down despite insisting he had no knowledge of the software designed to cheat emissions tests."I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group," said Mr Winterkorn, who will walk away with a $46 million package."As CEO I accept responsibility for the irregularities that have been found in diesel engines and have therefore requested the Supervisory Board to agree on terminating my function as CEO of the Volkswagen Group."I am doing this in the interests of the company even though I am not aware of any wrongdoing on my part. Volkswagen needs a fresh start. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation."Related: Does the VW diesel scandal affect you?More: ACCC launches investigation into VW diesel emissions scandalAlso: VW diesel scandal goes globalIt comes as $41.5 billion was wiped from the value of Volkswagen in the wake of the crisis and industry analysts are questioning whether the company will survive.VW had set aside a staggering $10 billion (6.5 billion euros) for compensation claims and rectification work, but that figure is expected to triple once fines are taken into account.The crisis is also likely to hit the brakes on VW's growth. It had planned to overtake Japanese giant Toyota by 2018 and was on track to reach that target this year, three years earlier than expected.But aside from its focus on fixing the diesel scandal and securing the jobs of 270,000 workers (VW is Germany's single biggest employer), the payouts are likely to halt or delay future vehicle development.The funds set aside so far are equivalent to the development of 10 all-new models, more than half VW's passenger car range.VW will now need to delay those plans while the funds are diverted to fixing the diesel issue.Meanwhile, marketing experts believe the crisis may cause permanent damage to VW's image.A University of Sydney Business School marketing expert says it will be "very tough" for Volkswagen to recover from the scandal."Volkswagen is the people's car with a reputation built on reliability and its German brand," said Senior Lecturer in Marketing, Rohan Miller"People also bought VWs because they were thought to be environmentally friendly and that image has now been completely eroded. It is going to be very difficult for Volkswagen to recover."How was the fault discovered?In May 2014 a couple of clean air campaigners — Peter Mock and John German — wanted to conduct a real-world test to highlight the efficiency of VW diesel engines. They enlisted the help of West Virginia University which had the testing equipment and were shocked to find the emissions were up to 35 times more than in test lab conditions.Why is it a problem?Because the VW cars equipped with these engines are far more polluting than they claim to be. They also likely have better performance because the engines are not restricted by the anti-pollution equipment.How many cars are affected?Globally, 11 million diesel cars among the VW group of brands are affected, including some Audi and Skoda models. Porsche is also being investigated because its Cayenne diesel V6 is sourced from VW. In Australia, VW is yet to confirm how many, if any, cars are affected. But a News Corp Australia investigation has found more than 50,000 of the potentially affected vehicles were sold from 2009 to 2015.Should owners be worried?The car should drive normally and there should not be any problem outside normal servicing and maintenance issues. Health experts say it’s not a good idea to leave the car idling if you are getting something out of the boot, because the exhaust gases may not be as clean as claimed.What’s the fix?For now, there isn’t one. But it may involve VW customers taking their cars back to the dealership to have the engine computer reprogrammed. The process itself could take as little as an hour in a best-case scenario. The car may have less performance afterwards and may require more regular servicing as the toxins, soot and other nasties are likely to build up in the engine more quickly if the ant-pollution equipment operates normally.VW: by the numbers11 million: the number of cars affected globally by the VW diesel scandal.50,000: the number of cars sold in Australia between 2009 and 2015 with the same engines, although VW is yet to confirm if they are affected.$10 billion: the amount in Australian dollars (6.5 billion Euros) VW has set aside for rectification work and compensation claims.$18 billion: the estimates for the cost of compensation claims in the US alone.$25 billion: the estimated cost of US fines.$41.5 billion: how much was wiped off the value of VW in the wake of the crisis.$170: the value of VW shares before the diesel scandal was made public.$110: the value of VW shares after the diesel scandal was made public and CEO Martin Winterkorn resigned.0: how much information VW has been able to provide the Australian public (*at time of publication, which is 21 days after VW admitted it had cheated the system). 

Are you sitting down? The car industry has come to the realisation customer service is the key to its future success and perhaps – just perhaps – it hasn't always got it right in the past.You're forgiven for being skeptical given we've heard it all before, but this time we're assured it's different.Most of the big brands now acknowledge, apart from the design of the vehicle and the badge on the nose, there's not much that distinguishes cars these days.Most new models have similar levels of safety equipment, creature comforts and fuel economy, all for a similar price – which is why customer service is the new battleground.Every one of the Top 10 brands – and most of the big luxury marques – are in the middle of overhauling the way they treat customers before, during and after the car-buying experience, from the way you're greeted at a showroom, how easy it is to get your car serviced, or how quickly a warranty claim is fixed.Ford and Holden are facing their largest restructure since they set up shop in AustraliaTo date, Ford and Holden have been the most vocal about their changes, but others are set to follow.With the factories that once produced the majority of their sales closing within a couple of years, Ford and Holden are facing their largest restructure since they set up shop in Australia in the first half of last century."As the car market becomes more fragmented, and the big brands that used to dominate no longer dominate … more companies are realising that when products are very similar and there's no real big differentiator, a customer's experience is what differentiates their loyalty," says Michael Filazzola, Holden's executive director of aftersales.Holden's director of customer experience Narelle Stack says raising customer service standards "is not new" but admits there is "a new level of focus" across the company and the dealer network.Late last year Ford embarked on a multi-million-dollar overhaul of its showrooms – benchmarked on Apple stores.Ford took the unprecedented step of retraining all sales staff at its 200 dealers nationally, distributing more than 1000 iPads for use by customers, and streamlining the service check-in process by emailing owners a fixed quote before they hand over the keys.Ford dealers are also in the process of appointing a concierge to greet customers rather than thrust a brochure in their hands.We need to do a better job, we want to do a better job"I don't want you to quote me saying (we're) going to put the customer first. To me that's like discovering your thumbs," says Graeme Whickman, Ford Australia's new boss."(But) people have expectations based on their experience at a computer store and that has left an impression on people's minds and we're going to try to live up to that and exceed that. We need to do a better job, we want to do a better job."Ford sales staff are apparently being retrained to take a gentler approach rather than trying to crunch a deal.Because almost every car brand has drive-away pricing on its website (although it should be noted, some drive-away prices are more negotiable than others), buyers already have a good idea what they're up for before they get to a dealership."Customer requirements and expectations are in a different space now and we need to change with them," says Whickman.As part of Ford's plan to be even more transparent, it is giving buyers access to the same detailed data the car industry uses internally when comparing models.It's a brave call. The data comparisons go into much more detail than what is typically available, including differences such as whether a car has a full-size spare tyre, a space-saver spare, or a tyre inflator kit.The data also distinguishes which cars have rear-view cameras, parking sensors – or none of the above.It's designed to lay each car bare to the customer, because the company knows the truth is only ever really a click away.However, for all its efforts at transparency, Ford will only let you look at this information on iPads at its dealerships, whereas Hyundai offers the exact same forensic "JATO" data on its public website.Complicating the industry overhaul is the fact that all but a handful of dealerships across Australia are independently owned, and the brand they represent has little control over what happens once their car is unloaded off the truck and in the dealer's hands.But many car companies have changed – or are about to change – their level of influence on how a customer is treated at a dealership. Many are rewriting dealer agreements so that independent customer service audits count towards the dealer's hidden bonus scheme.In other words, if the dealership scores poorly for customer service, it pockets less of the incentive money dangled in front of it by the car company.Get the thumbs up from customers during independent audits and customer surveys, and dealerships stand to earn big bonuses, which will go some way to covering their vast overheads.Air-conditioned showrooms, marble flooring and all those service bays don't come cheap. And that's before the dealer has paid anyone a wage or covered the electricity bill.Given that Australia is the most competitive car market in the world – more brands are represented here per vehicle sale than the US, the UK, Europe and Japan – the industry is now clambering to overhaul its customer service experience from the showroom to the workshop.More than ever before you're going to be asked to fill out "a quick survey" after you've bought a car or had it serviced.If our experience is anything to go by, some dealer staff will ask bluntly "please give us a good score", with a hint of desperation in their voice.Other outlets have a long road ahead. A Mazda dealer recently quoted a CarsGuide reader $500 for a routine service on a Mazda CX-5 that should have been $294 according to the capped price servicing scheme.The customer didn't know until they queried the cost with us, but the dealer was happy to overcharge until the error was pointed out.Isolated examples like this will hopefully be stamped out in the near future.Not all capped price servicing deals are created equallyAt least one leading brand is so concerned about overcharging on capped price service deals that it is in the process of rewriting dealer agreements so the dealer's entire annual bonus is voided if a single customer is overcharged.Attempting to bill a customer an extra $50 on a service could cost the dealer $2 million in incentives. That is not a misprint. That's how seriously it is taking the matter.Capped price servicing, introduced by Toyota in 2008 but since followed by the rest of the Top 10 brands, was the start of the shift to making the dealership experience easier for customers.But, as we've reported, not all capped price servicing deals are created equally.Toyota, Holden and Hyundai are among the cheapest, with service costs ranging from a total of $600 to $800 over three years, while Nissan and Subaru are at the other end of the spectrum, with servicing costs in excess of $2200 over the same period on certain models.Frustratingly, many capped price service deals expire just before the big ticket items are due to be replaced, leaving the customer with a massive bill after several years of price certainty.We have it on good authority from dealers and car company insiders that pushing the dearer services outside the capped pricing scheme is not an accident.Little wonder the consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, has taken an active interest in service pricing.The schemes that were designed to take the guesswork out of service costs has wandered a little off script at some dealerships.That's because dealers make most of their profit from parts and service (typically more than 50 per cent, according to industry analysts Deloitte), about 30 per cent from finance and insurance, about 15 per cent from used cars, and only about 5 per cent from new car sales.Is a smiling face as we walk into a dealership enough to make us buy one brand over another?In service centre waiting areas across Australia, tea, coffee and biscuits have been joined by raisin toast and muffins at some dealerships. What's next: croissants? Lar-de-dar.But is a spot of brekkie, free wifi, a loan car or a shuttle bus enough to take our mind off the bill and inspire us to keep coming back?And is a smiling face as we walk into a dealership enough to make us buy one brand over another? Only time will tell.But make no mistake: every one of the Top 10 sellers and all the big luxury brands are in the middle of overhauling their customer service experiences.Here's hoping they mean it this time. Because then we'll all be happy.

But if all cars had these tiny cameras behind the windscreen they could actually improve traffic flow because, as I discovered by accident (not literally, touch wood), they have another handy use.The system warns you if the car in front has driven off and you haven’t – because you’re day-dreaming, rummaging for something, or doing your make-up (not guilty).The screen in the instrument panel flashes and there’s a beep, usually before the car behind you blasts the horn.I know this because having discovered it by chance, I tried it out a few more times to make sure I wasn’t imagining it.Imagine how much better the traffic would flow if more cars had a system like thisAnd...it works (apologies to those behind a dark blue Subaru Outback in peak hour last Tuesday night, in my defence we were only inching forward one car length at a time and, well, because research).The Subaru Eyesight system (their words, not ours) actually works better than any other lane keeping or forward collision warning system I’ve tested lately, including on German luxury cars. It’s also incredibly accurate at night, which can be a struggle for some systems.It got me thinking: car giant Toyota owns about 20 per cent of Subaru. I wonder if Toyota might dip into the basket and borrow this genius piece of Subaru-developed technology.Here’s hoping they do. Given that Toyota is the world’s biggest automotive brand, imagine how much better the traffic would flow if more cars had a system like this?

Most big brands sharpen their pencils and lay bare their bargain prices for the biggest sales month of the year.But some, sadly, are still trying to joust with the customer by not publishing drive-away prices.Instead, for example, most of the current deals on the Honda, Nissan and Mazda websites simply refer to "free on-road costs" or "huge factory bonuses".The customer doesn't know how far to push and the consequences can be twofold.Congratulations to the brands brave enough to not disguise their sharp dealsIf the customer is too timid, he or she won't get the full discount passed on.And that leads to buyer remorse on learning subsequently that there was a better deal.If the customer tries too hard with a low-ball price, the dealer rejects it — then loses the new-car to another business.It's still astonishing that, in a market as competitive as ours, some big brands elect to dip out of drive-away discount pricing.So congratulations to the brands brave enough to not disguise their sharp deals, and publish their drive-away prices in bold.And here's hoping the brands persevering with old-school tactics will learn a valuable lesson this month.