Articles by Joshua Dowling

Want proof Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May will be back on the TV soon? Australia, it's right in front of you.With sold-out live shows from Perth to Sydney this week following sell-out events overseas, a petition that attracted 1 million votes in just 10 days, and Hammond and May knocking back twice their salary to continue on Top Gear with a new host, there is no doubt the trio will return to the small screen. It's only a matter of time.To recap the rumours so far, the lads have been linked to deals with Netflix, ITV and even a television station in Russia, where there is a hugely popular licensed version of the original Top Gear format.Industry insiders believe there are just as many potential TV deals that have not been made public.For now, though, fans are stuck in neutral waiting for the world tour of the live show to end (renamed simply "Clarkson, Hammond and May", the Top Gear branding is gone) and for the boys to go back to what they do best.Before flying to Perth for the first of the Australian shows this weekend, Clarkson filmed the last segment for his final Top Gear episode.Clarkson wrote on Twitter: "My last ever lap of the Top Gear track is done. Bit sad leaving the place for the final time".A 75-minute special -- a collection of segments originally filmed for three episodes but cut into one giant show -- is due to air in the UK in the coming weeks, before Top Gear starts a new series with a new presenter.British radio star and car guy Chris Evans -- who has blown his multi-million-dollar media earnings into a fleet of Ferraris, as any car perve would do -- is due to host the show with an as-yet unnamed cast to be decided by public auditions.It is, in effect, the same method that helped create the magical combination of Clarkson, Hammond and May. However, the chances of Top Gear being so lucky a second time are slim.What's not reported is just how vital Clarkson was behind the scenes, how he not only helped create many of the crazy ideas but how he drove the stories (pun intended) during filming.When you see Clarkson aggravating May or irritating Hammond, it's real. Clarkson is deliberating being a twat because he knows their responses make for good tele.Driving some old bangers from A to B is a bit of a laugh, but it's their interaction that keeps the audience glued, just as much as wondering which car is going to conk out next.Car enthusiasts love it because all three presenters are so knowledgeable and so skilled as motoring journalists, their opinions have street cred because their arguments, amid the banter, are so incredibly accurate and thorough.The rest of the world sees a bunch of blokes doing some skids and having a laugh. The other person who doesn't get enough credit for Top Gear's epic success -- 350 million viewers worldwide -- is executive producer Andy Wilman, an old school friend of Clarkson, former motoring journalist turned TV genius, and the hardest worker on the show, regularly putting in 18-hour days to make sure every segment is perfect.Unlike many other reality shows, Clarkson, Hammond and May are involved in each story idea from beginning to end.In most if not all cases Clarkson even makes the final cuts, sprinkling pieces of brilliance throughout each film and deleting any material that slows the performance.But he's also a divisive figure, with many viewers put off by the unruly, egotistical behaviorRarely is there such a consistency of voice in television making.Which is why, as talented as the new cast will no doubt be, the new show is unlikely to repeat the success Top Gear's had over the past decade.New host Chris Evans is rightly cautious about what he's heading into."I promise I will do everything I possibly can to respect what has gone on before and take the show forward," Evans says.But even the BBC's own media critics acknowledge the new Top Gear is going to be a challenge.Mark Savage, BBC News entertainment reporter says: "On paper, he's a perfect replacement for his good friend Jeremy Clarkson. A car nut with a motor mouth and a track record in steering a television juggernaut to success.""But he's also a divisive figure, with many viewers put off by the unruly, egotistical behavior," Savage wrote.Evans openly admits his appointment was greeted with a "50/50 split" among Top Gear fans."In TV or radio, if you get a 50/50 love/hate reaction that usually equals massive hit," he says.But Top Gear without Clarkson has been tried before, and it tanked. The audience halved in the gap years between Clarkson's departure in 2000 and his return in 2002.Few people are irreplaceable, but Clarkson is.David Sillito, BBC media and arts correspondent says when Top Gear relaunched with Clarkson in 2002 it ceased to be a program about cars, "it became a program about slightly tragic men who loved cars"."The essence was banter, lists and brilliant film-making. The problem is what happens when you lose the blokes," wrote Sillito."Chris Evans is one of Britain's most successful broadcasters. He loves cars, he understands how to make television and he's a friend of Jeremy Clarkson. But he ain't Jeremy Clarkson."Sillito adds a telling point: "Around the world Top Gear has appeared in different forms. The ones that work best have Jeremy Clarkson -- even if he has to be dubbed into Farsi."So why couldn't the BBC resolve the issue that led to Clarkson's departure? (For the record, he wasn't "sacked", he was suspended and then his contract was not renewed).The BBC had no choice. If Clarkson's behavior went unpunished it would create a nasty precedent. The consequences for assaulting another staff member are the same for TV stars as they are for forklift drivers or any other profession.No-one is suggesting Clarkson should have gotten off for his altercation with producer Oisin Tymon, who went to hospital with a split lip after Clarkson chose an unconventional way to express his disappointment at missing out on a hot dinner after a long day of filming.Lost in much of the hysteria is the fact it was Clarkson who dobbed himself in to BBC management. It was Clarkson who fessed up and said he overstepped the mark.We had a lot of laughs, we had a lot of tiffs. We went to amazing places and we went to some s---holesTymon to date has not pressed charges, but Clarkson has nevertheless paid a high price.In his first radio interview about the incident two months ago, coincidentally with the man who will replace him, Clarkson told Evans being dropped from Top Gear "was my own silly fault".Most poignant, however, was an email written by Wilman and sent to the 113 crew who worked on Top Gear during the Clarkson era just days after the "fracas" in March."I know none of us wanted it to end this way, but for a moment I'd like us to look back and think about just what an incredible thing you all had a had in creating," wrote Wilman in an email that was eventually leaked to the media by one of the recipients."We had a lot of laughs, we had a lot of tiffs. We went to amazing places and we went to some s---holes. We nearly killed a presenter, we had to run for the border. We started off with whoever we could get in the Reasonably Priced Car and ended up with Tom Cruise. At least we left 'em wanting more."Finally, Wilman added: "Our stint as guardians of Top Gear was a good one, but we were only part of the show's history, not the whole of it. Those two words are bigger than us."

Are you sick and tired of being stuck behind an SUV in traffic?Are you horrified these soccer mum cars now represent more than one in three of all new passenger vehicles sold?You may need to lie down after reading this. It turns out for many of us, if we can't beat em, we're joining em.The global boom in SUV sales will "never" end, said the head of research and development at one of the world's biggest car makers.We bought 170,000 SUVs in a full year in 2006 and almost 200,000 in the first six months of 2015This is a significant advance on the predictions from other industry heavyweights who believe SUV demand may plateau by about 2020.With sales in Australia more than doubling in the past 10 years -- we bought 170,000 SUVs in a full year in 2006 and almost 200,000 in the first six months of 2015 -- News Corp asked the person in charge of future vehicles at Mercedes-Benz when SUV sales might subside."Never. Why should it?" said Thomas Weber at the launch of Mercedes' new mid-size SUV in Germany this week, the GLC, ahead of its Australian arrival later this year."One critical argument in the past was always fuel consumption...these old fashioned guys thought it was not possible to carry your kids to kindergarten (in an) SUV. It doesn't make sense in the city."But, Weber says, new advancements in fuel economy have all but removed one of the big arguments against SUVs. Plus they have gotten smaller in recent years, often filling the same size parking space as a small car."The biggest trend around the globe is the trend to SUVs. Why? Higher seating position, more freedom, independence from tough road conditions (and) in the meantime with technology we can overcome this topic (of fuel consumption)."SUVs aren't boring, they're a getaway carWeber admits few SUV drivers ever leave the tarmac but he insists buyers like knowing they have the ability to, should the need arise.He said it was the same reason performance car buyers bought fast cars "that can do 250km/h"."They may not ever go to 250km/h but they like to know the car can do it," says Weber, who added that the popularity of SUVs was also driven by "image". "SUVs aren't boring, they're a getaway car," he says.There is just one catch to all of this. Mercedes-Benz is one of the last car-makers with a medium-size SUV for the global market.A decade ago it decided to build one, but only in left-hand-drive, and so countries such as Japan, the UK and Australia missed out.When asked why Mercedes-Benz didn't see the global SUV sales boom earlier, Weber admitted "it was a mistake"."This mistake was 10 years ago, we didn't believe there was such a huge demand, nobody expected it," says Weber. "But now we realise this mistake and have many models coming."

New-car sales are down, dealers are overstocked, buyers are in the driver's seat.

During our research for the 2014 clearance sales we discovered certain states aren't obliged to supply a new car with a full 12 months registration.In South Australia the dealer is only required to provide three months registration on new vehicles and in West Australia and the Northern Territory the dealer is only required to provide six months registration.All other states must provide a full 12 months registration with new cars (although dealers and private owners across the country do have the flexibility to put six months rego on a used car).We stumbled on this anomaly in the fine print of Suzuki's latest drive-away deals.Suzuki assures us dealers in SA, WA and the NT are given an appropriate bonus to supply a full 12 months rego at no extra charge, so customers there pay the same price as the rest of the nation, and don't have to pay extra to "top-up" the rego to 12 months.But it doesn't say so on the website and we are told some customers have been asked to pay a few hundred dollars extra to get the full 12 months. So check that the drive-away deal you're signing includes a full 12 months and make sure you're not paying more.

It means Holden has been in the red for eight of the past 10 years, posting only modest profits in 2010 ($112.4 million) and 2011 ($89.7 million).The result wasn’t as bad as Holden’s previous year’s loss of $553.8 million, and was driven largely by redundancies and other costs linked to the 2017 closure of its car assembly line in Elizabeth in South Australia and the engine factory in Port Melbourne.The result includes $345.9 million in “employment separation charges” and $9.36 million in asset write-downs.Once costs associated with the factory shutdowns are excluded, Holden’s operating loss was $5.6 million in 2014.However, the car maker received $80.8 million in government assistance, without which the financial loss would have been much higher.The figures show Holden received almost twice as much taxpayer assistance as Ford and more than double what Toyota received over the same period.The result was driven largely by redundancies and other costs linked to the 2017 closure of Holden's factoriesBy comparison, Ford Australia’s worst financial result on record was a loss of $274 million in 2008. Last year Ford lost $191 million. Ford is due to close its factories in October 2016, one year before Holden and Toyota also shut their local factories.Holden’s total revenue of $3.62 billion in 2014 was the lowest in at least 10 years, and down from $4.05 billion in 2013 and $4.02 billion in 2012, as sales hit a two-decade low.Holden chief financial officer Jeff Rolfs said the 2014 result “does not surprise anyone, it’s completely expected”.“These figures were expected and well within our forecast,” said Mr Rolfs.“This is simply the cost of doing what we have to do, treating our people with dignity (and) to support our people with retraining and reskilling.”Of the 3100 people employed at Holden there are currently 1200 on the production line in Elizabeth and 180 at the engine factory in Port Melbourne.Mr Rolfs said the costs “ensure we transition in an orderly manner and build a sustainable and profitable future”.“We have a very strong balance sheet, we have no debt, sufficient cash reserves and a healthy pension fund … something other companies aspire to,” said Mr Rolfs.Mr Rolfs handled the briefing with media today as the newly appointed boss of Holden, Mark Bernhard, the first Australian to run the company in 25 years, was moving into his house after returning from an extended posting for General Motors in China.Holden insists the financial loss means there are no plans to close the factories earlier than the proposed timing of late 2017, when the brand will become solely an importer of vehicles from the General Motors world, including South Korea, Thailand, the UK and Germany, where the next Commodore is likely to be sourced.Holden says it will introduce 24 new models over the next five years, including a flagship sports-car believed to be the next generation Chevrolet Corvette, which is expected to be the only V8 left in Holden showrooms as the Commodore of the future switches to turbo V6 power.“We think the way forward is bright for Holden,” said Rolfs, who would not divulge details of the future models due to replace the cars in Holden's aging line-up.However, News Corp Australia understands most of the new metal arrives after the factory closures, which is still at least two years away.

Mercedes has announced prices for its upcoming GLC SUV ahead of its Australian arrival in December 2015.

New-car affordability hits 38-year high as prices hit 20-year lows.

Australian Customs has seized a shipment of counterfeit car parts as authorities crack down on dodgy repairers.Car giant Toyota has sent an urgent bulletin to its network of more than 200 dealers across the country to help identify the bogus parts, which could cause engine failures and leave customers with repair bills in the thousands of dollars.According to the dealer alert obtained by News Corp Australia, Toyota is trying to identify oil filters for the Corolla, Camry, RAV4, and Kluger, which may have been used by independent repairers.The parts, which had Toyota labels and packaging but were not made by Toyota, were intercepted by Customs and Border Protection during their importation.Toyota is concerned earlier shipments have arrived undetected.the bogus parts could cause engine failuresIt is suspected the importers intended to sell the parts to independent workshops unaware they were non-genuine items.The shipment of more than 350 oil filters were seized on the docks in Sydney in February this year and were supposed to be forwarded to a residential address.Customs is yet to confirm if any charges have yet been made against the importer of the bogus parts.Mechanics say faulty oil filters, a part which typically costs $15 to $20, can cause thousands of dollars in engine repairs.“If oil can’t go through the filter it can starve the engine,” said Ian Rolf, a senior manager with the Motor Traders Association of NSW.“If the failure is severe enough there would generally be a catastrophic engine failure.”Toyota spokeswoman Beck Angel said the car maker was concerned because customers could unwittingly get caught out by counterfeit parts which can “cause engine damage through no fault of their own”.

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the 2015 Audi TT Roadster at its Australian launch.

But if you missed out there are still good deals to be found.As one dealer told us this week: "now we've got to push a rock back up a hill again". We're pretty sure that's industry jargon for selling more cars to meet monthly sales targets.Hyundai is backing up again this month, after the i30 hatch became the top-selling car in June.This time the deal is on the Active X, which is the next model up from the base grade and comes with automatic transmission, a rear-view camera, alloy wheels and leather seats for $21,990 drive-away, a massive saving of $7000 off full retail price.Need something smaller? You won't see the price advertised widely but a Toyota Yaris automatic hatch can be had for $17,590 drive-away if you ask nicely (the price premium for auto is back down to $1600, after a few months at $2000 above the $15,990 drive-away for the manual).The Ford Kuga MkII petrol automatic SUV makes good buying at $29,990 drive-away, sweetened by a 1.9 per cent finance offer. The low interest rate also applies to the diesel Territory at $41,490 drive-away.Holden's Colorado LS crew cab 4WD ute is now at "fleet price" ($36,865 drive-away for the manual and $37,865 drive-away for the auto) but the five-year warranty deal offered in June has ended.There are a handful of superseded Mitsubishi Tritons left in stock at $29,990 drive-away, and the about-to-be superseded Mitsubishi Challenger SUV is a rock bottom $39,990 drive-away, close to $10,000 off.Nissan is offering sharp finance deals but is still not putting the price of its cars in a headline number.But we can tell you a Pulsar auto hatch or sedan can be had for $24,990 drive-away with 0 per cent finance over three years. There is still some wriggle room in that price, so be sure to haggle.