Articles by Joshua Dowling

Ford put a brand-new Mustang on a high-rise rooftop for Sydney's New Year's Eve celebrations, but it won't put one on a truck to Adelaide for the nation's biggest gathering of the classic muscle cars this weekend.Ford fans are upset the company won't be sending a new Mustang for the show, even though there are three display models in Australia ahead of the car going on sale later this year."Not in my wildest dreams did we expect Ford to let us down," said John Greco, the president of the Mustang Owners Club of South Australia, which is hosting the annual gathering of every Mustang club across the country in Adelaide on Saturday."Ford likes to say that it is in touch with its fans, but you'd have to say that's not the case, we're bitterly disappointed."Big corporations need to support the people at the grass roots levelMr Greco suspects Ford did not support the event because it wrongly believes Mustang enthusiasts can't afford one of the new models, which will cost from about $50,000."What Ford probably doesn't realise is that more than a dozen club members have already ordered a new one, and many of the classic Mustangs are worth as much as, if not more than, a new one," said Mr Greco."At some point, big corporations need to support the people at the grass roots level, who support you."More than 250 classic Mustangs will be on displayMore than 250 classic Mustangs will be on display, including cars from interstate clubs.Ford spokesman Wes Sherwood confirmed there was "dialogue" with the Mustang club about displaying a new model "but no commitments were given"."We always live up to our commitments and we've not reneged on anything," said Mr Sherwood."Our global approach is that car clubs are self sustaining, in general we don't have a regular role with the clubs," said Mr Sherwood. "That's no different to what we do anywhere in the world."Ford said it would be "there in spirit" at the Mustang event this weekend. "We're connected to them no matter what," said Mr Sherwood.

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the hydrogen fuel cell Hyundai ix35 in Germany.

The new Chevrolet Malibu unveiled at the New York motor show overnight has internet forums buzzing with speculation that it’s a pointer to the next Holden Commodore.However, well placed sources have told News Corp Australia that Holden is still on track to source the Commodore’s replacement from another part of the General Motors world: the Opel brand in Germany.The new Chevrolet Malibu is about the same size as the Holden Commodore’s successor, and shares the same sleek hoop-shaped roof and sports-sedan design.But the similarities end there, even though more than half of Holden’s current line-up is shared with Chevrolet vehicles.When contacted for this story Holden refused to comment on the first ever imported Commodore due in 2018.However, the new Commodore is widely tipped to be front-wheel-drive like a Toyota Camry, not rear-wheel-drive as with every large Holden sedan since the first model in 1948.The new Commodore is widely tipped to be front-wheel-drive like a Toyota Camry.The new Commodore will do more than share its DNA with the next generation Opel Insignia, it will in effect be an Opel Insignia with a Holden badge, albeit with Australian input.Holden is on the record as stating that about one-in-three of all its future vehicles will be sourced from Opel in Germany.When the Opel Insignia eventually replaces the homegrown hero, it means the Commodore will have come full circle.The first Commodore sold in 1978 was a derivative of Opel’s European family sedan at the time.The Australian-made Commodore is due to reach the end of the line in late 2017.

The Federal Government believes Ford, Holden and Toyota will not shut their factories early and there are funds set aside to ensure suppliers make it to the end of the line.It means the 4000 workers across the three car manufacturers and up to 30,000 employees at parts suppliers will have up to three years to find a new job.Ford is due to close its Broadmeadows car assembly line and Geelong engine and stamping plants in October 2016, while Holden will shutter its Elizabeth facility in late 2017, followed soon after by Toyota’s Altona site.Most of the smaller factories that make components for all three brands are also destined to close about the same time, given that export opportunities are limited as the same parts can be made in low-cost neighbouring countries.4000 workers across the three car manufacturers and up to 30,000 employees at parts suppliers will have up to three years to find a new job.But as sales of locally-made cars continue to fall sharply, the industry is concerned parts suppliers may not be able to go the distance.The Federal Minister for Industry, Ian Macfarlane, says he is confident all three of Australia’s remaining car manufacturers will fulfil their promise to keep their production lines running until the very end.Minister Macfarlane said Ford “doesn’t have that far to go” and he was “super confident about Toyota and I’m very confident about Holden”.The Minister said $192 million in funding is available in addition to the remaining $700 million set aside in the Automotive Transformation Scheme after the Senate blocked cuts to industry support last month.“The decision not to pursue the changes to the ATS is worth about an extra $192 million to the industry,” said Mr Macfarlane.“I’ve said to the manufacturers that’s $192 million you can share with the component industry (parts suppliers) or you can give them your share, because that’s money you hadn’t factored into the bottom line.“Having that extra bit of money in there, I’m more confident about the component industry. If the component industry holds up we’ve got an opportunity to keep the industry going until December 2017.”Sales of locally-made cars are a record lows, with just 14,172 Australian-made vehicles sold in the first two months of this year.It follows last year’s 60-year low when just 100,648 locally-made new cars were delivered.Ford Falcon sales are down 12 per cent so far this year despite an updated model, Commodore sales are down by 16 per cent and the Toyota Camry was down 6.6 per cent last month.

The Top Gear Live Festival will go ahead in Australia and Jeremy Clarkson is coming, even though he has been sacked by the BBC from the hit TV show.BBC Worldwide has agreed that the show can go on but without BBC or Top Gear branding.Dates have been moved from April to July and the event is now being held indoors rather than at a race trackA statement from BBC Worldwide said the shows would go ahead "so as not to disappoint the thousands of people around the world who have already purchased tickets. These events will not however feature any BBC Top Gear branding or content. We believe this is a sensible approach in the circumstances".However, the dates have been moved from April to July and the event is now being held indoors rather than at a race track.Two Melbourne shows have been added to the calendar but the change in dates is likely to leave interstate show-goers out of pocket when they rebook flights and accommodation."A decision has been made to reschedule the festival planned for Sydney in April until July of this year and will instead become an indoor arena show staged in both Melbourne on 18-19 July and Sydney on 25 -26 July," the BBC statement said.It will be the first time all three presenters — Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May — will make the trek Down Under for the performance; the previous Australian Top Gear Live shows only had two of the three presenters, but always with Clarkson as the main host.The BBC statement said: "We'd like to thank our ticket holders for their continued patience. The fans are the most important people to Jeremy, Richard and James so we're delighted to be able to say 'we're still coming'."News Corp Australia understands organisers stood to lose millions of dollars — and thousands of fans would have been entitled to refunds — if the show did not go ahead as planned.The new event...will be an arena format starring Jeremy, Richard and JamesOrganisers called it "a great solution for the fans".A statement from Brand Events said ticket-holders will be able to exchange their old tickets for new ones after April 10."The new event...will be an arena format starring Jeremy, Richard and James -  simply titled ‘Clarkson, Hammond and May Live', and they'll be staged in both Sydney and Melbourne," said a bulletin from Brand Events.Organisers say they are making “appropriate provisions” to ensure the BBC is not brought into "disrepute" by the presenters during the live shows.News Corp Australia understands any content directly related to or inspired by Top Gear TV will not be part of the live events, which means The Stig, clips from the TV show and the theme music cannot be used.Meanwhile, the BBC says the TV show’s future “is not in doubt”.“We have committed to its renewal and return in good shape in 2016,” said a BBC statement.Organisers said cancellation of the live show “was always an option” but they didn’t want to disappoint more than 100,000 fans who’d bought tickets.The consortium insists forging ahead with the show was not a money-grabbing exercise, claiming the priority is to “simply cover costs”.Exisiting ticket holders will have the choice of swapping for tickets to the new shows, or they will be refunded.Prices and details for the new shows will be available after April 10.Organisers said new tickets would only be released after existing ticket holders had an opportunity to swap their entry passes to the new shows.

The Federal Government has backed a plan to build a “hydrogen superhighway” between Melbourne and Sydney via the nation’s capital, Canberra.At the unveiling of Australia’s first hydrogen refuelling pump for cars in Sydney today, Federal Minister for Industry and Science, Ian MacFarlane, said the alternative fuel was “a very exciting first step for a hydrogen highway ... on the eastern seaboard of Australia”.South Korean car maker Hyundai has beaten hydrogen-car pioneers Toyota and Honda to Australian roads with a family SUV that emits only water vapour from its plastic tailpipe.The hydrogen-powered Hyundai is on sale in North America, Europe and South Korea and the company wants to sell the same car locally -- but as of today there is only one refuelling point for automobiles after a three-year trail with Mercedes-Benz buses ended in Perth in 2007.The car industry is pushing for the establishment of a hydrogen refuelling network between Australia’s two biggest capital cities because hydrogen cars are ready to be sold in showrooms.Japanese brands Toyota and Honda are also poised to introduce hydrogen-powered sedans overseas, but won’t sell them locally until there is a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure.“Hyundai strongly supports the idea of a ‘hydrogen superhighway’ infrastructure roll out in Australia, like those already in operation overseas,” said Hyundai Australia CEO Charlie Kim. “We see no reason why Australians should not enjoy the same environmental solutions as consumers in other markets.”Hyundai is the first manufacturer globally to make a hydrogen-powered car in mass production.“We look forward to engaging in industry and partner discussions about ways to further motivate the adoption of hydrogen motoring in Australia and to offering some viable options to our Federal, State and local policy makers.”Senior Hyundai Australia executive John Elsworth said “burning fossil fuel will and must come to and end … we need to end our dependence on oil and find an alternative to fuel our transport. But Australia has a bit of catching up to do.”Mr Macfarlane said the Australian Government supports alternative fuel research through Australian Research Council funding.“The CSIRO is also developing scientific capabilities and new technologies relevant to hydrogen,” said Mr Macfarlane.Unlike electric cars or petrol-electric hybrids, hydrogen vehicles create their own electricity while on the move.The other advantage: they can refilled with hydrogen in the same amount of time as it takes to refuel a petrol car, and the driving distance between top-ups is about the same as regular vehicles.The hydrogen is used by the onboard “fuel cell” to create electricity which, in turn, either charges the onboard battery pack or powers the car’s electric motor, or both.Australia’s first hydrogen pump for cars is located behind Hyundai’s head office in the Sydney suburb of Macquarie Park, but the company says it will allow rival brands’ hydrogen cars to use the pump in its bid to get the technology moving.Japanese giants Toyota and Honda have been developing hydrogen cars for the past decade and experimental vehicles have been in customer hands in limited numbers since 2007.However, Hyundai is the first manufacturer globally to make a hydrogen-powered car in mass production; it goes down the same assembly line as petrol and diesel versions of the same car.

The latest version of Australia's favourite people-mover, the Kia Carnival, has been slammed by safety experts in the latest round of crash tests.The new generation Kia Carnival has received just four stars out of five for crash safety at a time when most new cars earn top marks.The 2015 Kia Carnival scored just 10.48 out of 16 in the critical offset frontal crash testThe new model that went on sale last month priced from $39,490 was criticised by the independent safety authority ANCAP because there was "deformation" of the footwell area, "pedal movement was excessive" and "dash components were a potential source of knee injury for the driver".Despite being an all-new model, the 2015 Kia Carnival scored just 10.48 out of 16 in the critical offset frontal crash test (where the vehicle strikes a barrier at 64km/h); not much higher than the previous generation Kia Carnival released in 2006 which scored 9.81 out of 16.Vehicles must earn a minimum of 12.5 out of 16Several rival people movers score more than 13 out of 16, some more than 14 out of 16.Under ANCAP guidelines, vehicles must earn a minimum of 12.5 out of 16 in this part of the test to be eligible for further tests which might elevate it to a five-star safety rating.A statement issued by Kia in February indicated the sole reason the Carnival would not earn a five-star rating was the lack of seatbelt reminders for the back seats.The statement said in part: "Due to the absence of second row seatbelt reminders, a feature which became an ANCAP critical feature on January 1 (2015), the new Carnival will initially be eligible for a maximum 4-star ANCAP rating."The earlier Kia statement also claimed: "The new Carnival features a stronger structure than the outgoing model, with improved crash safety performance".We abide by the umpire's decisionKia says it plans to add seatbelt reminders in the second row (they are not an ANCAP requirement for third-row seats, even though it is a family car) in the coming months, but this change is unlikely to bump up the Carnival to a five-star rating according to ANCAP criteria.Kia Australia's chief operating officer Damien Meredith told News Corp Australia: "We abide by the umpire's decision and we're talking with our colleagues at Kia head office to make the necessary changes to bring this car up to a five-star rating."NRMA safety expert Jack Haley said it was disappointing that a vehicle synonymous with affordable family transport had "fallen behind the field"."The Carnival's latest competitors have all achieved a five-star rating," said Mr Haley. "Five stars might be the maximum score but it's our minimum expectation."The Kia Carnival has been Australia's biggest selling people mover for 10 of the past 11 years.It overtook the Toyota Tarago in 2004 and was Australia'a top selling people-mover until 2014, when it was outsold by the Honda Odyssey by a narrow margin.The new Kia Carnival was expected to reclaim its title as Australia's top-selling family van this year, but industry pundits believe the safety setback may blunt its sales.

Mercedes-Benz, the inventor of the automobile, is about to roll up its sleeves and join the ute market – and Australia has been the driving force behind it.The German car-maker has made the shock announcement that it will introduce a pick-up “by the end of the decade” to take on the likes of the Toyota HiLux.It will be the first ever ute from a luxury brand and is a clear sign of just how much our workhorses have become show ponies as buyers demand more car-like features.The Toyota HiLux was the second most popular vehicle in Australia last year and four utes made it into the Top 10, as buyers embrace the ability of utes to be used for “work and play”.“We’ve been pushing for this for some years, it’s now across the line and we can’t wait,” said Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy.“The ute market has dramatically changed over the past decade and we’re going to bring new levels of luxury and technology. We think the market’s ready for it.”The ute market has dramatically changed over the past decade and we’re going to bring new levels of luxury and technology.Earlier this week Ford released a new version of the Ranger ute, ahead of its showroom arrival in July, with technology that first appeared on luxury cars just five years ago.The new Ranger, by far Ford's biggest selling model locally, will be available with radar cruise control, blind spot warning and a lane-keeping system that will gently steer the car if the onboard cameras sense it is wandering from the lane.The global pick-up market was even too big for Volkswagen to ignore, releasing the Amarok ute in 2010.The year 2015 is going to be a boom time for utes, with five significant new models due in the next seven months, including the Mitsubishi Triton (April), Nissan Navara (May), Ford Ranger (July), Mazda BT-50 (August) and Toyota HiLux (October).The official statement from Mercedes-Benz of Germany said: “The midsize pick-up segment is currently undergoing a transformation worldwide. More and more pickups are being used for private purposes, and commercial as well as private users are increasingly asking for vehicles that have car-like specifications. Mercedes-Benz is the first premium manufacturer to respond to this market shift by developing its own pick-up.”

The car giant believes as cities of the future become more congested we may be forced to drive to the outskirts and then cycle the rest of the way.As part of its global “future mobility challenge” Ford Australia is offering $15,000 in prize-money for the best transport solution ideas over the next two months.While Ford engineers have already come up with the idea of an electric bicycle that folds neatly into the back of a car, it wants Australians to solve the challenge of long distance travel.Ford wants Australians to solve the challenge of long distance travel.“We want to know how people would use (technology) to enhance the experience of being mobile in rugged outback Australia,” said Ken Washington, a former aerospace engineer who is now the head of research and advanced engineering for Ford globally.“We’re not prescribing the answer, we’re just posing the problem,” said Mr Washington during his first visit from the US to Ford Australia engineering headquarters in Melbourne today.“We’re resisting the urge of describing what the solution might look like because we’re looking forward to seeing what comes back.”The winner will be awarded a $15,000 cash award to use to advance their idea into a prototype.“We are driving innovation in every part of our business ... to change the way the world moves just as our founder Henry Ford did 111 years ago,” said Mr Washington.Ford is in a race with technology giants such as Apple and Google to find mobility solutions for what it calls “mega cities” of the future.“The future of transportation is going to be more congested, and we talk often about global gridlock,” said Mr Washington.“Today there are 2 billion people globally in the middle class, by 2030 we expect that figure to double to 4 billion.”Ford believes bicycles and autonomous cars will likely play a role in future mobility; more than 16 million electrically-powered bicycles are sold in China every year."In some circumstances it may be too difficult to be mobile in an efficient way (or) it may not be best for the environment for everyone to be on the road at the same time,” said Mr Washington, who added that Ford is now “a technology company, a mobility company as well as a car company.”Ford says the driver may eventually become redundant and that it is experimenting with driverless golf carts, although Swedish car maker Volvo and Germany’s Volkswagen already have experimental full size cars that can park without a driver at the tap of a touchscreen on a mobile phone.“We’re actually doing (driverless) experiments with golf carts right now,” said Mr Washington. “We’re going to see if it makes sense (to take the driver out of the car).”Ford says driverless car systems will be ready by 2020 but the world may not be ready for the technology.“The future as we see it is going to be informed by the pace and depth by the evolution of a broad set of technologies … and legislation,” he said.“As we bring more autonomy into the vehicle you get to the point where you can bring the driver out of the loop.”

Holden is going back in time to make sure the Commodore makes it to the end of the production line.