Articles by Joshua Dowling

Joshua Dowling and Craig Duff review the Toyota Camry at its Australian launch.

Ford's new Ferrari-fighting supercar has a staggering 10 million lines of computer code to get all its turbocharged power to the road.That's eight million more lines of computer code required to keep a Lockheed Martin F22 fighter jet in the air, and at least three million more lines of computer code to get the brand-new Boeing 787 Dreamliner off the ground.There is just one problem: in the modern tech geek world, less is now more.Boeing has even boasted that its new 787 didn't need as many lines of code because its latest commercial aircraft had more advanced software to process data.It turns out the new Ford GT has more computer power than it actually needs.In a detailed briefing of the yet-to-be-released Ford GT supercar in Detroit, Ford Performance chief engineer Jamal Hameedi admitted the GT has more lines of code than what is required because the company uses "off-the-shelf" parts from technology suppliers, rather than tailor-made systems.Nevertheless, the extra capacity means the new Ford GT will be able to be driven faster on a racetrack in non-expert hands, because the computer power can control more individual elements of the car.You want everything off? Okay then, you can be the slower guy but the heroFor example, the Ford GT's traction control system is so accurate it can apply pressure to any one or all four of the brake discs independently and at different rates, to prevent a skid or to get through the corner as fast as possible.Mr Hameedi said the technology was now so advanced it is quicker to leave the traction control systems switched on, whereas previously some expert drivers disabled them on a racetrack because they interfered too much."Do you truly turn everything off (even though) you can make the car go faster with some things on," Mr Hameedi told Australian media in Detroit. "You want everything off? Okay then, you can be the slower guy but the hero."The new Ford GT, made from the same lightweight carbon-fibre material used in Formula One racecars, has more than 50 different sensors and 28 microprocessors to keep its power in check.More than 3000 different signals -- handled by six "communication area networks" -- generate 300MB of data per second, which equate to more than 100GB of data per hour.On top of that, the data is refreshed every eight milliseconds, and measures everything from outside humidity, the pressure in each tyre, and how much G-force the car is generating, whether it's in a straight line or in corners.The new Ford GT is due to go on sale internationally next year even though it was unveiled at this year's Detroit motor show in January.The new Ford GT won't be sold in AustraliaPrice -- and power figures from the twin-turbo 3.5-litre V6 -- are yet to be announced, but Ford has confirmed just 250 will be made each year, which is much less than the 4037 of the previous 2005-model Ford GTs that were made.The new Ford GT won't be sold in Australia -- even though Australian Todd Willing was one of the small team who designed the car in a secret bunker under Ford's technical centre in Detroit -- because it is only being made in left-hand-drive.However Ford says a small number of super-rich buyers may add it to their private collections -- even though it can't legally be driven on Australian roads.The original Ford GT40 won the LeMans 24-hour race four consecutive times from 1966 to 1969 after a bitter battle with Ferrari, which had won the previous six years in a row.The 1966 event was the first European race victory by an American car manufacturer since 1921; Henry Ford himself was there to witness the momentous win.Ford built a modern version of the GT between 2004 and 2006 but it was axed earlier than planned because only 4037 of the 4500 it forecast had actually sold.

Joshua Dowling reviews the Ford F150 in the United States.

A Ford technology expert has controversially claimed that mobile phones are NOT causing an increase in car crashes.The comments come after a US study speculated that bans on mobile phones may cause crashes -- because drivers try to hide them from view, forcing them to look down in their laps rather than holding their device at eye level so they can see the road.Jeff Greenburg, Ford's senior technical leader for "human machine interface" told international media at a conference at Ford's Detroit headquarters overnight: "there is no distracted driving epidemic"."If you look at a lot of the stories in the media, you would believe there is an epidemic related to driver distraction," said Mr Greenburg.They just make you a bad citizen"But in fact crash rates have been declining for well over a decade (yet) over the same period of time the number of (mobile phones) has increased exponentially. And so the epidemic of crashes that we might expect, we don't really see reflected in the data, and that's really puzzling to a lot of researchers."Mr Greenburg said drivers are "actually reasonably good judges about whether they have spare capacity (to use their phones)".Even though Mr Greenburg admitted that drivers using their mobile phones could make "mental errors" such as "missing an exit" or "they may miss stop signs", he said "going slower and not changing lanes are actually safety positive behaviours...they actually reduce the number of crashes; they just make you a bad citizen because you're doing it in the wrong way."Mr Greenburg added: "We all see the distracted driver, going slow and you go past and you look and they're on the phone. But...there is a difference between driving unsafely and driving like a jerk."When asked by News Corp Australia if police should not write tickets for drivers using mobile phones, Mr Greenburg said: "That's a great policy question and Ford doesn't have a position on it but...communities have done hyper enforcement of anti-texting laws (and) it's been really hard to find a correlation between hyper enforcement and reduced crash rates."Inspector Phil Brooks of the NSW Police Traffic and Highway Patrol disputed the claim that mobile phones don't cause crashes."There is absolutely no question that using a mobile phone while driving is dangerous and, sadly, we have evidence of mobile phones being the likely cause of some fatal crashes," said Inspector Brooks.In December 2012, 20-year-old Brooke Richardson crashed at 100km/h near Cobram on the NSW-Victoria border moments after sending a text message.The coroner found she dropped the phone, bent down to pick it up and swerved to the wrong side of the road and hit a tree.The death came one month after the NSW Government launched its "Get Your Hands Off It" campaign.The Australian fines for using a phone while driving are among the toughest in the worldIn August 2013, 26-year-old Sarah Durazza died after crashing her car into a tree on Sydney's Northern Beaches.Her boyfriend told police he was talking to her on her mobile phone at the time of the incident, and heard the impact.Victoria has the highest fines in Australia for using a mobile phone while driving -- $433 and four demerit points -- while most other states issue drivers with tickets costing about $300 and three demerit points. The Australian fines are among the toughest in the world.However, a 2010 study conducted by North America's Insurance Institute for Highway Safety after 30 US states introduced bans on mobile phone use found the strict new laws led to an increase in crashes."This unexpected consequence of banning texting suggests that texting drivers have responded to the law, perhaps by attempting to avoid fines by hiding their phones from view," the report said."If this causes them to take their eyes off the road more than before the ban, then the bans may make texting more dangerous rather than eliminating it."However, a more recent study by the same IIHS organisation, conducted in 2014, has since found using a mobile phone while driving increases the risk of a crash by 17 per cent.After the conference, Ford's technology expert clarified his remarks regarding police enforcement of mobile phone use.None of this means that it's safe to text and drive"That's not to say that (enforcement) can't work or that it's the wrong approach, it's just that right now the data is pretty weak linking hyper enforcement (of mobile phone use) to reducing crash rates," said Mr Greenburg.Mr Greenburg also added: "None of this means that it's safe to text and drive. Taking your eyes off the road is clearly linked to an increase in crash involvement. What these studies do show is that the traffic system is extremely complex, effects often don't show up in simple ways and simplistic attempts to change behaviour can have unintended consequences."

About 1500 workers have been told not to turn up to work on Wednesday while the fault at the seat supplier is fixed.The company expects production will resume on Thursday, however workers have been told to listen to the radio or check their email for updates.“A technical issue with a major supplier has impacted availability of critical parts and therefore vehicle production,” said Holden spokesman Sean Poppitt. “Our aim is to have production return to normal on Thursday.”A technical issue with a major supplier has impacted availability of critical parts and therefore vehicle productionThe supplier at the centre of the drama is understood to be Futuris, with factories in Adelaide in Melbourne.Ford Australia says its Broadmeadows factory, which makes the Falcon sedan and Territory SUV, is not affected by the supplier shutdown.Australia’s biggest car factory, the Toyota site in Altona, which makes the Camry, is also unaffected by the supplier’s seat shortage.The Holden shutdown comes as the car maker is about to make 270 factory workers redundant by the end of this month.Staff numbers will fall from 1530 production line workers to 1260 as a result of the cutbacks, and vehicle production will drop from 290 cars per day to 240 cars per day from May 25, when the redundancies are due to take place.“We’re hoping the majority of the redundancies will be on a voluntary basis, that will be our first priority,” Mr Poppitt said at the time of the announcement.Holden has not ruled out further redundancies later this year.“As difficult as this process is, the contraction of the manufacturing will happen on a sliding scale,” he said. “One of our priorities is to not release everyone onto the job market at the same time.”So far this year sales of the Holden Commodore are down by 17 per cent and deliveries of the Cruze small car are down by11 per cent in a market that has just posted the strongest first three months on record.

Strewth! Aussies are now consistently buying more Hyundai cars than Holdens.Figures from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries show Holden finished fourth behind Toyota, Mazda and Hyundai in April – and the two brands are in a bumper-to-bumper race for third place this year.Holden and Hyundai are barely 1000 sales apart in the year-to-date tally but the South Korean brand is closing the gap after beating Holden for the third month in a row and the seventh time in two years.The age-old Holden versus Ford battle is about to be revived – but it will be for the minor placingsThe change in fortunes means the age-old Holden versus Ford battle is about to be revived – but it will be for the minor placings as the former family and fleet favourites are overtaken by imported cars.The Ford and Holden fall from grace comes as the Australian new-car market continues its record-setting pace, up by 3.5 per cent year-to-date.Sales in the first four months of this year are also higher than in the same period in 2013 – the previous record year – with 359,250 new vehicles reported as sold versus 358,165 two years ago.Buoyed by an artificially devalued Yen, Japanese-branded cars continued to dominate.The Toyota Corolla outsold the Mazda3 for the third month in a row in April to remain our top-selling car while three utes made it into the Top 10, including the second-placed Toyota HiLux, fifth-placed Ford Ranger and ninth-placed Mitsubishi Triton.Sales of SUVs (up 15.7 per cent) and four-wheel-drive utes (up 9.1 per cent) continue to drive the market while sales of traditional passenger cars hit the brakes (down 4.4 per cent), according to figures that compare the first four months of this year with the same period in 2014.Mercedes-Benz C Class also outsold the Ford FalconOther movers and shakers include the Volkswagen Golf, which made it into the Top 10, and the Hyundai i30 which nearly overtook the Mazda3.Mercedes-Benz (2654 sales in April) edged out Honda (2559) to make it into the Top 10 for the fourth time in 12 months, and increased its sales lead in the luxury-car class ahead of Audi (1714) and BMW (1554).The Mercedes-Benz C Class (681) was the second best-selling medium-size car after the Toyota Camry (1141) and ahead of the Mazda6 (415).The Mercedes-Benz C Class also outsold the Ford Falcon (446), whose sales are down by 11.9 per cent despite the recent arrival of an updated model.Holden is selling four times as many Commodores as Ford is selling Falcons, but sales are down by a greater margin: 16.8 per cent.New-car sales in May are expected to remain steady as the industry braces for June, the biggest month of the year.Toyota Corolla – 3238, down 2.3 per centToyota HiLux – 2789, up 8.4 per centMazda3 – 2365, down 22.6 per centHyundai i30 – 2298, up 1.2 per centFord Ranger – 2200, up 5.1 per centHolden Commodore – 2043, down 16.4 per centMazda CX-5 – 1868, up 21.1 per centVolkswagen Golf – 1728, up 22.5 per centMitsubishi Triton – 1538, up 12.1 per centToyota RAV4 – 1399, down 9.6 per centToyota – 15,299, up 2.0 per centMazda – 8068, up 4.5 per centHyundai – 7210, down 1.2 per centHolden – 7072, down 10.1 per centFord – 5163, down 18.9 per centVolkswagen – 4572, up 13.6 per centNissan – 4188, up 15.7 per centMitsubishi – 4079, up 11.2 per centSubaru – 3052, up 3.8 per centMercedes-Benz – 2654, up 22.7 per centSales and their percentage change with the same month last year. Source: Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries

As car buyers continue to downsize – to upgrade performance – we gathered two new arrivals and lined them up against the reigning champ.

Australians are buying small cars in record numbers as our cities become more congested -- and we shun large cars and instead take cheap flights to travel between our capital cities.Sales of pint-sized city cars are up by 15 per cent in the first three months of this year -- the same growth rate as SUVs -- as buyers embrace new levels of performance, luxury and safety in a compact hatch.People don't need large cars like they once didCheap domestic flights are indirectly a factor in our shift into smaller vehicles -- because most people fly interstate these days rather than drive, says industry analyst Richard Johns, of Australian Automotive Intelligence."People don't need large cars like they once did," said Mr Johns. "Very few people drive between our major capital cities now that cheap flights have become more widely available."The move to smaller cars has also accelerated as the fringes of our capital cities become more congested and it becomes harder to find a parking spot."Once upon a time one family car had to meet all our needs," said Mr Johns. "Now Australians are buying personal cars that better suit their individual needs."With advances in technology, buyers also don't need to compromise on luxury, safety or performance.The latest crop of city-sized hatchbacks -- or "Light Cars" as the industry defines them, as they are slightly smaller than Toyota Corolla-like vehicles -- includes models that would have once shamed a Holden V8 road car tuned by racing legend Peter Brock.Indeed, with 141kW of power from its turbocharged engine, the latest generation Volkswagen Polo GTI hot hatch has more grunt than the last series of road cars that Peter Brock put his signature on (137kW from a 5.0-litre V8) in 1987.At $30,000, the new Polo GTI might be twice the price of a regular version of the Polo, but Australians can't enough of them.Small cars aren't what they used to beThere is already a three-month waiting list on certain models of the Polo GTI even though it only went on sale last week. Perhaps part of the appeal is that it can reach the 100km/h speed limit in 6.7 seconds -- quicker than a Peter Brock Commodore.Even Ford has joined the hot hatch brigade, with a turbocharged version of its commuter car -- called the Fiesta ST -- as it tries to cash-in on the shift away from V8s and into small performance cars."Small cars aren't what they used to be," said Mr Johns. "People are finding that small cars meet most of their requirements now that the know what they're truly capable of."2015Volkswagen Polo GTIEngine: Turbocharged 1.8-litre four-cylinderPower: 141kW and 320Nm0 to 100km/h: 6.7 seconds1987Peter Brock Holden Commodore SS Group AEngine: 5.0-litre V8Power: 137kW and 345Nm0 to 100km/h: 7.5 seconds

Joshua Dowling reviews the Mitsubishi Triton ute, with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its Australian launch.

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