Articles by Joshua Dowling

Our initial speculation was on the mark. He got Holden's 220-plus dealers offside from the start by blaming them for Holden's sales slide. The tally is at a 21-year low.Former Holden boss Mike Devereux - now Asia-Pacific head of sales for GM - found out how badly relations had soured on a routine visit about a fortnight ago. A week later, Dorizas was gone.The dealer network has carried Holden for the past five years as its ageing line-up battled newer competition. A turn for the better is a long way away, with no genuinely new cars arriving for at least 18 months.Next year Holden will rebadge a handful of Opels we've seen before (the Opel experiment failed after 11 months). Limited edition Commodores will keep the factory moving, as will minor touch-ups on other models.According to insiders, no one from Detroit wants to take on the top Holden jobRather than challenging Toyota for top-seller status, as Dorizas boldly claimed, Holden is in fact on the start of an even bigger sales slide. It gives me no joy to forecast this but Holden probably will be battling for fourth place (as Mazda and Hyundai vie for third) before the factory closes in 2017.According to insiders, no one from Detroit wants to take on the top Holden job. Any wonder?Holden's peak dealer body has written to GM regional boss Stefan Jacoby to request a new Holden boss with "an intimate understanding of the Australian market".That is tipped to be former Holden CFO Mark Bernhard, now in China. If appointed he would be the first Australian in almost a quarter of a century to run Holden. He certainly would have the toughest job in his 28-year career with GM.

Mitsubishi has unveiled its next Triton, the first in 10 years, which will be in showrooms by the middle of next year. Unlike the latest Ford Ranger, Mazda BT-50, Holden Colorado - and the coming Nissan Navara and Toyota HiLux - the Triton does not appear to be a completely new model from the ground up.Instead the Triton is a re-skinned version of the current model riding on the old chassis. This means it is still likely to be too cramped for the driver with its high floor and low roof. The rivals have roomier cabins.Mitsubishi says the Triton's cabin has grown by just 5mm in height and 10mm in width. Rear passengers an extra 20mm of legroom thanks to newly designed front seats which are thinner at the back. Mitsubishi is yet to publish towing capacity and payload but it will need to step up from the current 3000kg tow rating.There will be two turbo diesel engine options: the proven 2.5-litre in the current model (131kW/400Nm) and a new, alloy 2.4-litre (133kW/ 430Nm). The output of the 2.4 puts the new Triton behind the benchmark Ford Ranger (147kW/470Nm).On the plus side, the new Triton is the only ute among its peers with a five-year warranty. And Mitsubishi claims it has the tightest turning circle among the rivals (11.8 metres) and "excellent" fuel economy, although it is yet to publish the figures.Mitsubishi dealers have told Carsguide that the old model will continue to sell alongside the new Triton for much of next year, giving the company two price points: the outgoing ute will be at the bargain end of the market while the new model will attract premium pricing.Utes are the third biggest part of the new-car market in Australia behind small cars and SUVs, driven by the mining boom and private buyers who want a vehicle for weekday work and weekend play. Next year, strong sales growth for utes is anticipated, given the attractions of the Navara and HiLux, as well as significant facelifts for the Ranger, BT-50 and Colorado.

Joshua Dowling road tests and reviews the Mercedes AMG-GT at its international launch.

The Barina in the ‘Buy My Barina’ ad that went viral has been crashed and gone to the car park in the sky.The banged up Holden Barina in the ‘Buy My Barina’ ad that went viral earlier this year -- with 1.2 million hits and counting -- has crashed and gone to the big car park in the sky.The 1999 model of various fading colours with more than 188,000km on the clock became a worldwide hit after advertising agency guru David Johns created an elaborate YouTube clip as if it were for a new car, with such honesty as “matching seats” and “10 months rego”.The Barina bomb was sold to NRMA Insurance for an undisclosed sum, who donated the money to the Cancer Council.The insurer then used the Barina in a crash test, but not before it remade the advertisement in the original style.Worse still, the insurer crashed it in front of the original seller and creator of the ad, Sydney-based David Johns.The Barina will now be broken down for scrap after it has been used in displays showing the difference in safety between new and old vehicles.Crash tests show, in a serious collision, you are more likely to die or be severely injured in a car without airbags that one with airbags and a modern body structure."Drivers can be about 10 times more likely to die or be seriously injured in a crash driving a used car with a poor safety record compared with a top performer," said Royal Automobile Club of Queensland spokesman Steve Spalding.CarsGuide does not operate under an Australian financial services licence and relies on the exemption available under section 911A(2)(eb) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) in respect of any advice given. Any advice on this site is general in nature and does not take into consideration your objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making a decision please consider these and the relevant Product Disclosure Statement.

Facelifted Ford Explorer previews Ford Territory replacement.Ford has given a glimpse of its family-sized SUV for the future, taking the covers off the new Ford Explorer that will ultimately replace the locally-made Ford Territory once production at Broadmeadows ends in 2016.Ford unveiled the facelifted version of the 2011 Explorer at the Los Angeles motor show today and it is believed to be a pointer as to how the next generation model due in two years will look.Ford Australia has not yet confirmed that the US-built Explorer will replace the Territory SUV but well placed insiders say it is a done deal.CarsGuide understands Ford also considered using the Territory name on the next generation Explorer because it is so popular with Australian buyers.But in the end the decision was made to go with the global Explorer name, although the Territory badge may live on as one of the model grades.The facelifted version of the 2011 Ford Explorer, which arrives just past the midway point of the model’s lifecycle, has adopted a more upmarket appearance with hints of Range Rover in the grille and headlights.The interior has been upgraded with more luxury equipment and appearance.The current Ford Explorer already shares a lot in common with the Ford Territory: both share their underpinnings with large sedans (the US Taurus for the Explorer and the Australian Falcon for the Territory), are available with five or seven seats, and are car-like to drive.Ford insiders are adamant that the recently released Ford Everest, based on heavy duty Ranger ute underpinnings, is not the replacement for the Territory, and nor is the other global Ford SUV planned for Australia, the Edge, which is a five-seater only.Ford sold 17,291 Explorers across two generations in Australia from 1996 to 2005. But the US model was dropped after sales of the locally-made Territory quickly outsold it.Ford Explorer sales in Australia1996 6051997 38231998 35091999 18122000 14982001 13872002 18692003 14672004 8912005 430Source: VFACTSUPDATE: Since this article was published, CarsGuide has learned there are no plans to introduce a right-hand-drive version of this generation Ford Explorer.  

A reborn Mazda RX-7 was never ‘on’, says Mazda.A new version of Mazda’s iconic RX-7 sports-car is officially dead. In fact, the project was never “on”, the managing executive officer of Mazda, Masahiro Moro, has formally confirmed.Despite consistent speculation over the past three years Mazda was planning a rotary-powered sports-car in time for the engine’s 50th anniversary in 2017, Mr Moro has ruled it out once and for all -- even though development continues on the engine.Speaking to Australian media at the Los Angeles motor show overnight, Mr Moro said: “Rotary engine development has continued. We have allocated some resources to keep developing engines (but) we never ever put a program of a sports car. That’s not on and off, that’s off.”Mr Moro said engineers and enthusiasts inside Mazda were pushing for a reborn RX-7 or RX-8 sports-car but the company will instead invest in its mainstream models and more fuel-efficient engines to meet strict fuel economy targets in 2020.a successor to the turbocharged Mazda3 MPS hot hatchCX-9 seven-seat soft-roaderthe superseded CX-7“range extender” for an electric vehicleexperimental Mazda2 hatchback

Los Angeles motor show: Range Rover gets a gun holder, new Toyota Mirai sedan fuelled by garbageThis year's Los Angeles motor show is an event with two extremes.In the home city of Pimp My Ride and chrome-covered car bling, gangsta rappers take posh luxury vehicles and modify them as if they were a Holden Gemini.But LA is also the spiritual home of the hybrid car – even though the technology was pioneered in Japan, the US embraced it in the millions – which is why clean energy shares the spotlight.With that in mind here are the highlights from both ends of the automotive spectrum – from the super frugal cars of the future that run on garbage to the super lavish cars of today that come with a leather-lined gun case.Range Rover by Holland and HollandGuns, fancy cars and LA seem to go hand in hand, or so Range Rover believes. It unveiled a special edition that comes with its own leather-lined gun case, to coincide with Los Angeles motor show.The Range Rover by Holland and Holland (the name of a famous British gun maker) is just like a regular Range Rover but with every option box ticked and a leather gun case in the boot. Without the guns in it, the maker helpfully points out.It also gets the gun's branding on the door handles and seats. You know, in case you want to ‘send a message'. Oh, and there are two DVD screens in the back for the kids.The most expensive Range Rover ever "benefits from a raft of Special Vehicles Operations-designed exclusive features to complement outdoor pursuits", the maker says.It costs the equivalent of $320,000 but you can put your guns away: it's not coming to Australia. Just 40 are being built globally per year over the next three years.Toyota MiraiIt may have a face like a catfish but the Toyota Mirai is genius. It can be fuelled by garbage, generates enough electricity to power your house for a week, and emits only water. Believe it or not, it'll be in showrooms next year.Almost 20 years after Toyota launched the first Prius – and more than 7 million hybrid sales later – the Japanese company has unveiled what it truly believes is the car of the future.The Mirai promises to be a hydrogen-powered car for the masses that takes over where the Prius leaves off.It has an unusual appearance because its hi-tech hydrogen system needs special cooling; sharp creases in the bodywork help it slip through the air more efficiently.Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company founder, said the Mirai was a "turning point" that "redefines the (car) industry"."Imagine a world filled with vehicles that diminish our dependence on oil and reduce harm to the environment," said Mr Toyoda.Unlike pure electric cars, the Mirai can be refueled in less than five minutes and travel 480km on one tank, about the same as a regular car."Hydrogen can be made from virtually anything, even garbage," said Mr Toyoda, who added that the Mirai's on-board hydrogen system "creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week".There is, however, one significant hurdle. Hydrogen refueling stations are few and far between in the US, Japan and Europe – and there are none in Australia after an experiment with buses in West Australia was shut down seven years ago.The Mirai will go on sale in the US for $57,500 – or on a $499 per month lease deal – but it is not coming to Australia, at least for a few years, because there is nowhere to refuel it.Honda FCXWhile Toyota was unveiling a showroom-ready hydrogen car, Honda took the covers off its latest concept which uses the same technology and looks like a Storm Trooper.It's unclear whether the production version will share the concept's Star Wars looks when it goes on sale in the US and Japan in March 2016.Honda says its latest hydrogen car packs 60 per cent more energy into a fuel cell system that's 33 per cent smaller than before. It means it can travel 480km between refills, just like the Toyota.However, the Honda will be the first hydrogen car to package its entire fuel cell system under the bonnet like a conventional car, the company claims. Other systems take up space under the bonnet, cabin floor and boot.Honda was first to introduce a hydrogen-powered car in the United States, in 2002, as an experimental model in limited numbers.To date, though, fewer than 100 have been sold in the United States and Japan.Mercedes-Benz MaybachTake a close look at the new Maybach, the Rolls-Royce of Mercedes-Benzes, because we may not ever see one in Australia.The Maybach may be the preferred ride of US gangsta rappers, Middle East oil tycoons, and super-rich Chinese businessmen and women but, with a $1million price tag, just 13 were sold in Australia in the seven years from 2004.The Maybach brand was withdrawn from sale locally three years before it was axed globally.But now it's back as a stretched, super-long S-Class limousine powered by a 6.0-litre V12 (390kW/830Nm).The extra 200mm of leg room, unique styling, and hush-quiet interior will cost about $700,000 in Australia – $300,000 more than the dearest S-Class – but it's an order-only proposition. You'll have to fly overseas if you want to test drive one.Bentley Grand ConvertibleBritish brand Bentley has chopped the roof off its flagship Mulsanne sedan, added wood paneling to cover the convertible roof when it's stowed, and given it the price tag of a cruise boat whose styling inspired it.The new Bentley Grand Convertible is expected to cost close to $800,000 when it goes on sale in Australia next year.In the US, though, it costs roughly half as much, which is why LA's music stars and rich hangers-on can so easily afford to paint them fluro pink, slam the suspension and fit oversized chrome wheels.Or they could be buying it for the epic twin-turbo 6.75-litre V8 (for the tech geeks it has 395kW of power and 1100Nm of torque).BMW X5M /X6MSUVs are stealing sales away from sports-cars, says BMW. So it has an answer for that: a super-fast SUV.The X5M is BMW's answer to the Porsche Cayenne Turbo and promises blistering performance from a family-sized SUV, presumably to get the kids to school on time.The turtle-shaped X6M is an answer to a question no-one asked, but BMW says it designed it to appeal to younger buyers who don't like the look of the family-sized SUV.According to BMW marketing experts the X6M says "I'm single and don't have kids". With an X6M you may be single for longer than you think. Prices are yet to be confirmed but bank on them being close to $200,000.Ford Shelby Mustang GT350Ford has taken the covers off a road-legal, race-ready, 500 horsepower Mustang named after the late great racer Carroll Shelby.The exact power figures are still under wraps but Ford says the new 5.2-litre V8 (up from the Mustang's 5.0-litre) will pump out "more than 500 horsepower", or 373kW in modern terms, an extra 50kW on top of the standard V8.It also gets magnetically controlled suspension (the same technology used by Ferrari, Audi, Corvette, and Holden Special Vehicles), massive brakes and super-wide tyres.But Australians shouldn't get too excited about this one; a still-secret supercharged Shelby Mustang is due Down Under in about two years.In the meantime, the regular Mustang is due in Australian showrooms with a choice of four-cylinder and V8 power in coupe and convertible form in the second half of 2015 priced between $50,000 and $70,000.It's the first time in the 50-year history of the nameplate a right-hand-drive Mustang has been made on a Ford production line.Mazda CX-3And finally, something affordable that will be in showrooms soon. Pint-sized SUVs for the city are about to spread like wildfire.Japanese car maker Mazda released its long awaited CX-3 soft-roader, the smallest SUV in its line-up – and Australia will be crawling with them from early next year.The CX-3 is expected to fit between the top-selling Mazda3 hatch and CX-5 SUV in size and price, starting at about $25,000.It will join recently released five-seaters such as the Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, and Suzuki S-Cross in the booming baby SUV market.There is not much detail about the new model except that it has "human-centric packaging". In other words, it's designed for humans.Translated this means Mazda has positioned the front wheels further forward than usual to give the driver extra legroom and a more natural seating position.Meanwhile, the rear seat is set taller than the front so back seat passengers have a better view and are less likely to get car sick.As expected, the CX-3 adopts the latest Mazda design language with sharp creases and a pointy nose.Perhaps torturing the design language, however, Mazda's media blurb says: "The front grille stacks seven fins with silver-painted front edges to create an expression of concentrated energy that flows horizontally. The signature wing is stout and three-dimensional. It forms the starting point for a powerful sense of speed that flows across the entire body."In other words: "we designed it to look fun and sporty".

Mazda's new CX-3 Small SUV expected to draw big sales next yearSUVs for the city are about to spread like wildfire.Japanese car maker Mazda has released its long awaited CX-3 soft-roader, the smallest SUV in its line-up -- and Australia will be crawling with them from early next year.The CX-3 is expected to fit between the top-selling Mazda3 hatch and CX-5 SUV in size and price, starting at about $25,000.It will join recently released five-seaters such as the Holden Trax, Ford EcoSport, and Suzuki S-Cross in the booming baby SUV market.The CX-3 is expected to come with a choice of super economical 2.0-litre petrol or 1.5-litre diesel power, automatic or manual transmission, and front-wheel-drive or all-wheel-drive.The CX-3 will also be available with automatic emergency braking and a rear-view camera on selected models in some markets; although these safety items are not yet confirmed for Australia.There is no further detail about the new model except that it has "human-centric packaging". In other words, it's designed for humans.Translated this means Mazda has positioned the front wheels further forward than usual to give the driver extra legroom and a more natural seating position.Meanwhile, the rear seat is set taller than the front so back seat passengers have a better view and are less likely to get car sick.As expected, the CX-3 adopts the latest Mazda design language with sharp creases and a pointy nose.Perhaps torturing the design language, however, Mazda's media blurb says: "The front grille stacks seven fins with silver-painted front edges to create an expression of concentrated energy that flows horizontally. The signature wing is stout and three-dimensional. It forms the starting point for a powerful sense of speed that flows across the entire body."In other words: "we designed it to look fun and sporty".

Ford has taken the covers off the road-legal race-ready 500 horsepower Shelby Mustang GT350 ahead of this week's Los Angeles motor show.The exact power figures are still under wraps but Ford says the new 5.2-litre V8 (up from the Mustang's 5.0-litre) will pump out "more than 500 horsepower", or 373kW in modern terms, an extra 50kW on top of the standard V8.But it seems the high-revving engine won't get much of a boost in torque, with Ford saying it will simply have "more" than the current Mustang's modest 540Nm output.Instead, Ford has focused its energy on handling, giving the Shelby Mustang GT350 magnetically controlled shock absorbers (the same technology used by Ferrari, Audi, Corvette and HSV) and fitted massive brakes: 394-millimetre rotors clamped by Brembo six-piston calipers up front and 380-millimetre rotors with four-piston calipers at the rear.Ford has fitted a lightweight six-speed manual gearbox, and added body strengthening to improve stiffness by 28 per cent, to make it more precise in turns.Super-wide and super-sticky 19-inch Michelin Pilot Super Sport tyres (10.5-inch wide at the front and 11-inch wide at the rear) provide the grip.Before you get too excited it's worth noting the Ford Shelby Mustang GT350 is not confirmed for Australia; CarsGuide understands we will instead get the still-secret supercharged Shelby Mustang GT500 successor in two years.The regular Mustang is due in Australian showrooms with a choice of four-cylinder and V8 power in coupe and convertible form in the second half of 2015 priced between $50,000 and $70,000.It's the first time in the 50-year history of the nameplate a right-hand-drive Mustang has been made on a Ford production line.Extra detail for engine geeks from the Ford media bulletin:"The new 5.2-liter engine is the first-ever production V8 from Ford with a flat-plane crankshaft, an architecture typically found only in racing applications or exotic European sports cars. Unlike a traditional V8, where the connecting rods are attached to the crankshaft at 90-degree intervals, this design evenly spaces all crank pins at 180-degree intervals."We have no idea what this means but we expect it will sound great. Take a closer look - inside and out - at the Ford Shelby GT350 Mustang here.

It may have a face like a catfish but Toyota has unveiled a car that can be fuelled by garbage, generates enough electricity to power your house for a week and emits only water -- and it'll be in showrooms next year.Almost 20 years after Toyota launched the first Prius -- and more than 7 million hybrid sales later -- the Japanese company has unveiled what it truly believes is the car of the future.The Toyota Mirai (Japanese for "future") is powered by hydrogen, which can be produced by burning garbage, but is typically made in more conventional ways and delivered to refueling stations in tanks.The Toyota Mirai has an unusual appearance because its hi-tech hydrogen system needs special cooling; sharp creases in the bodywork help it slip through the air more efficiently.The Toyota Mirai was unveiled by the global boss of Toyota, Akio Toyoda, ahead of the Los Angeles motor show, which opens this Friday Australian time.The grandson of the company founder said the Mirai was a "turning point" that "redefines the (car) industry"."Imagine a world filled with vehicles that diminish our dependence on oil and reduce harm to the environment," said Mr Toyoda.Unlike pure electric cars, the Mirai can be refueled in less than five minutes and travel 480km on one tank, about the same as a regular car."Hydrogen can be made from virtually anything, even garbage," said Mr Toyoda, who added that the Mirai's on-board hydrogen system "creates enough electricity to power a house for about a week".Mr Toyoda says the Mirai has "no compromises" but there is one significant hurdle. Hydrogen refueling stations are few and far between in the US, Japan and Europe -- and there are none in Australia after an experiment with buses in West Australia was shut down seven years ago.The Mirai will go on sale in the US for $57,500 -- or on a $499 per month lease deal -- but it is not coming to Australia, at least for a few years, because there is nowhere to refuel it.