Articles by Joshua Dowling

As modern cars get safer and there are fewer differences in technology between the big brands, all that's left to win buyers is what the marketing experts like to call the "customer experience".Perhaps we shouldn't be applauding this new found interest in customer care (after all, shouldn't this have been happening in the first place?) but nevertheless it's a welcome relief, if a little overdue.Ford is modelling its showroom and service driveway experience on Apple stores, and last week announced free loan cars for service customers in a national six-month trial.This week Holden announced capped price servicing on every model since the very first one in 1948, an Australian if not world first dating back 67 years.Australia is the most diverse and most competitive new-car market in the worldWhile most owners of classic Holdens will probably continue to do the work themselves or at a local mechanic (or just drive the car into the ground), it's a significant sign of just how serious the battle to keep customers is becoming.Regular readers will know Australia is the most diverse and most competitive new-car market in the world, with more than 64 brands. There are more new models than there are days in the week.This puts buyers in the driver's seat, even if it can make decisions a little confusing because there is so much choice.Meanwhile the ACCC has taken an interest in capped price servicing after finding that certain Kia dealers hadn't capped the price at all.According to industry figures, service and parts... make up for the majority of a dealer's profitCertain dealers across all brands have become accustomed to "upselling" customers to pay for service items beyond what is on the rate card. It is worth pointing out that, according to industry figures, service and parts – not new-car sales – make up for the majority of a dealer's profit.Kia wasn't fined as it acted quickly. But the ACCC is said to now be looking at the CPS schemes of all marques.We welcome the move. The ACCC might want to start by looking at certain brands that don't include all service items on their menu pricing, or don't list each service as one price.Presumably in an attempt to take the sting out of some of the prices, some brands split out other fixed elements of the service in another table. Surely that's not helping the customer?

Compact SUVs are now loaded with luxury. Ford’s relative new-comer takes on the top-selling Mazda CX-5.

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the 2015 Mercedes-Benz C63 S AMG at its international launch.

The Suzuki Celerio will return to showrooms after an urgent fix following brake test failures in the UK.

Rolls-Royce has finally given in to the global boom in SUV sales and will build a 4WD likely to cost in excess of $1 million apiece when it goes on sale in two years.The proud British brand, owned by German car maker BMW since 2003, made the announcement in a letter to customers, but couldn't bring itself to utter "SUV", the global term given to recreational wagons.The first 4WD in Rolls-Royce's 111-year history is still being kept under wrapsInstead Rolls-Royce called the new model "a high-bodied car that delivers supreme luxury yet is effortless to drive...and can cross any terrain".There are no photos of the first 4WD in Rolls-Royce's 111-year history as it is still being kept under wraps.But the Rolls-Royce of SUVs will join the likes of Bentley and Lamborghini who also plan to introduce super-expensive off-roaders, and have unveiled concept cars in the past two years to signal their intentions and gauge customer interest.It's unclear just how far off the beaten track the well-heeled are likely to trek in their new Rolls-Royce 4WD – expected to be powered by a whopping 6.8-litre V12 – but the company insists "many of our discerning customers have urged us to develop this car".The appetite for SUVs is so strong even Mercedes-Benz is going to head upmarket and introduce a mega-dollar Maybach version of its next full-size SUV, the boss of the company Dieter Zetsche told News Corp Australia this week.Sales of SUVs globally have tripled in the past 10 years; in Australia SUVs are the second biggest automotive category after small cars and represent one in three of all new vehicles sold.By developing an SUV, Rolls-Royce is supporting jobs and investment in the regionIn 2003 Australians bought 150,000 SUVs, last year the figure eclipsed 352,000 sales, a new record and a staggering growth of 134 per cent over a period the total new-car market grew by 20 per cent.The announcement of a Rolls-Royce SUV was so significant that David Cameron this week became the first British Prime Minister to visit the company's Goodwood factory.But it seems Prime Minister Cameron didn't get the memo about not calling it an SUV, telling the assembled workers and media: "By developing an SUV, Rolls-Royce is supporting jobs and investment in the region – and we in government will do everything we can to support you".While the Australian car manufacturing industry will close in 2017 – once Ford, Holden and Toyota shutter their factories – in Britain automotive manufacturers have rebounded due to an increase in exports to Europe."What Rolls-Royce is doing here is something our country needs to do more of – manufacturing, designing, investing, era searching and developing, training apprentices, creating an infrastructure," said Prime Minister Cameron.

The original car had just 206kW of power whereas the new model due in Australian showrooms in August has a thumping 375kW of grunt from a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8.However, while the price marginally undercuts the BMW M3 sedan, it is not the cheapest C63 AMG ever sold locally.In 2001 the C32 powered by a supercharged V6 sold for $146,900 while the previous C63 dipped to $144,365 in 2008 before climbing to $153,900 last year.Mercedes-Benz Australia has opted to take only the high output C63 S rather than the standard C63; the difference is 350kW and 650Nm versus 375kW and 700Nm and a 0 to 100km/h time of 4.0 seconds.“There has really been nothing quite like the previous C63 and the new C63 S won’t just move the goal posts, it creates a new sports ground," said Mercedes-Benz Australia boss Horst von Sanden.A wagon version of the new C63 AMG will also be also available, for $157,400 plus on-road costs.  1995 to 1997Mercedes-Benz C36, 3.6-litre six-cylinder, 206kW, four-speed auto: $154,900 to $155,100 1998 to 2000Mercedes-Benz C43, 4.3-litre V8, 225kW, five-speed auto:$152,090 to $156,100 2001 to 2004Mercedes-Benz C32, supercharged 3.2-litre V6, 260kW, five-speed auto: $146,900 to $150,900 2005 to 2007Mercedes-Benz C55, 5.5-litre V8, 270kW, five-speed auto:$159,900 to $160,490 2008 to 2014Mercedes-Benz C63, 6.2-litre V8, 336kW, seven-speed auto:$144,365 to $153,900 2013 to 2014Mercedes-Benz C63 507 Edition, 6.2-litre V8, 372kW, seven-speed auto: $169,407

The new generation E63 is still at least two years away but the German car maker is in the middle of development.In the US, the E63 is sold exclusively with all-wheel-drive and in Germany, where both rear-drive and all-wheel-drive are available, more than 90 per cent of customers opt for all-wheel-drive.“Where we have both (rear-drive and all-wheel-drive) on sale, the demand is so tremendous that we have 94 to 96 per cent all-wheel-drive,” said the boss of Mercedes-Benz AMG Tobias Moers, speaking at the European media preview of the new C63 AMG.“In the US we just have the (all-wheel-drive) system and it was a story of success, and if we see what happened in Germany, where we had both variants in the market, then you have to move business-wise into one variant.”He said this meant “there is no argument to have both variants any more”.There is no argument to have both variants any more.But he said fans should not worry that the next E63 will lose its character.“If we have a sophisticated all-wheel-drive system in the car which provides a nice drifting behaviour then it’s ok,” he said. “All-wheel-drive systems are getting better and better … we have a lot ideas for the future.”Previously, all-wheel-drive versions of the E63 were not available in Australia as it was developed for left-hand-drive only.“The future architecture is feasible for right-hand-drive all-wheel-drive,” said Moers.

The global boss of Mercedes-Benz -- the company that invented the motor car -- believes plans by technology giant Apple to develop an autonomous vehicle may be nothing more than a publicity stunt.Mercedes-Benz chairman Dieter Zetsche told News Corp Australia in Europe overnight he is not having “sleepless nights” over recent reports that Apple is hiring engineers from the car industry to develop a vehicle that drives itself.When asked if the rumour was deliberately leaked to generate publicity for Apple, Mr Zetsche said: “I could guess that is the very reason why these rumours are spread. Other than that I don’t find any rationale.”The Mercedes-Benz boss admitted: “I don’t know their strategy and I don’t know what they’re doing (but) I would be very surprised if that proved to be right.”I would be very surprised if that proved to be right.The straight-talking boss also said there was as much chance of Mercedes-Benz getting into the smartphone business as there was of Apple making cars.“I guess when there would be a rumour that Mercedes or Daimler plans to start building smartphones they would not be sleepless at night, and the same applies to me,” said Mr Zetsche.Apple, one of the most profitable businesses on the planet, would be horrified once it found just how slim the profit margins were in the car industry, said Mr Zetsche. Typically the big automotive brands call it a good year if they make 3 per cent profit on their turnover.“I mean why (would Apple) with this kind of margin go into this business?” asked Mr Zetsche.“I think investors would hate it because they don’t like conglomerates, they want focused management on what they understand and perhaps some neighbouring fields, not somewhere different (such as cars),” said Mr Zetsche.“The fact that you can listen to iTunes in a car doesn’t make it something which is in itself consistent (with developing an entire car). And this is full of respect for Apple,” he said.

Swedish car maker Volvo plans to share information between cars over the internet via a data cloud, to help navigate around trouble spots.Volvo says it will soon be possible for one car to warn others nearby about road hazards, such as an oil spill or a pot hole.Road workers could be alerted to oil spills and pot holes as soon as they surfaceSensors in modern cars are now so sensitive they can accurately measure changes in road surfaces.In theory, if the cloud system were linked to authorities, road workers could be alerted to oil spills and pot holes as soon as they surface.This latest development is all part of the gradual automation of the automobile.Two years from now Volvo, Audi and Mercedes-Benz and others will have cars on sale that will be able to all but drive themselves on freeways.The "on-ramp to off-ramp" technology is designed to take the bump out of the daily grind by using cameras, lasers and radar sensors to keep pace with other traffic, steer the car in a lane, and maintain a gap with the vehicle in front – or brake automatically if the car ahead stops suddenly."We have one of the most advanced autonomous driving projects of all car makers, we're way ahead of Google," said Volvo safety expert Graeme McInally."The commute is the most boring time for any driver, so that's obviously something that we're working on."Audi and others believe it will be at least another 10 years before automated cars can handle city trafficTech giant Google has been working on automated cars for several years, modifying Toyota Prius hybrids and other vehicles, and using them primarily to map roads.But Google has indicated it wants to challenge the automotive industry with a self-driving car of its own.The biggest challenge is getting automated cars to process information in city and suburban environments, where there are many more hazards to avoid than on freeways.Audi and others believe it will be at least another 10 years before automated cars can handle city traffic and spot pedestrians and cyclists.The South Australian government this week became the first state to announce plans to amend its road rules to accommodate autonomous cars.In the US, there are special exemptions for automated cars in California, Nevada and Michigan"Our Motor Vehicles Act was written when the FB model Holden was being released to the market in 1959 and our Road Traffic Act two years later," Governor Hieu Van Le told Parliament." Government will reform both pieces of legislation and also legislate for driverless vehicles, which will revolutionise transportation in South Australia."In the US, there are special exemptions for automated cars in California, Nevada and Michigan, where the world's biggest brands are testing new systems that have been likened to auto-pilot on an aircraft.However, anyone thinking they may be able to drink and drive or read a book while behind the wheel of an automated car should be aware that authorities and the insurance industry have already deemed that the driver is legally responsible, and therefore must obey the road rules, including the 0.05 blood alcohol limit."In most countries, legislation has to get up to speed on this," said Mr McInally. "Who has the ultimate responsibility? It has to be the driver."Drivers must stay alert at all times and be ready to take controls in case the car's automated systems malfunction, say authorities.

Joshua Dowling compares the new Hyundai Sonata Active with the updated Mazda 6 Sport, Subaru Liberty 2.5i and Toyota Camry Altise.