Articles by Karla Pincott

In a similar trick to James Bond's car in Die Another Day - covered with screens and cameras that rendered it invisible - Mercedes-Benz has tried to make a B-Class vanish on German streets.They covered a hydrogen-powered F-Cell version of the model with LED panels that screen whatever is being filmed by a camera on the other side of the car.The camera rig shoots continuous live video and the screen projects the footage in real time, even when the F-Cell is moving. Okay, it's not completely invisible, but fairly well camouflaged, especially at night when telltale finer details are suppressed.Check out the video to see the effect as they pilot the car around Stuttgart. Are they auditioning for the next film in the Bond series? No, it's a publicity stunt to tout that the B-Class F-Cell has zero exhaust emissions, which means it's "invisible to the environment".We can't see 007 in a B-Class anyway. Grab Merc's hot and gorgeous SLS AMG Gullwing and cover that with the screen and camera set-up -- now you're talking.But even if they perfect the technology so it's completely invisible, we'll bet a bar tab of dry martinis - shaken not stirred - that it could still be hunted down by parking nazis on our city council's secret service.

The concept car looks like the design team accidentally left their baby sitting in an oven overnight. Or perhaps they forgot to take the cover off it during the unveiling.This is the latest oddity from the Finnish company Valmet Automotive, who also build the Fisker Karma, Think electric cars (yes, we know they call them Think, but using the exclamation mark in the name is new-age fakery of such epic proportions it hurts every cell in our brain pan) and the Marussia supercar is also on their plan.We think the Dawn is an electric car. We suspect it may have an electric motor. And probably even has some batteries under that white drape of carbon-fibre. On the other hand, it could have hovercraft blowers. Or a propeller, for that matter.But then again, that electric blue disk at the front could easily be a stove hotplate, so maybe Valmet has just built the motor show’s snack stand.What do you think? Is it a car?

This year’s Geneva show includes about 180 new car debuts, and the line-up certainly hasn’t disappointed us.A delicious parade of top-shelf exotics and concepts will hog the spotlight of course: the stunning Lamborghini Aventador J, the Volkswagen-linked Giugiaro Brivido, the Infinti Emerg-E, the Ferrari F12 Berlinetta will all fight for attention.But in the face of economies across Europe struggling – in some cases stumbling towards a crash – it’s clear from the unveilings that there’s a strong move towards downsizing.Skoda’s Citigo, Volkwagen’s Up and even the Volvo V40 are all practical takes on a smaller and leaner world.But the SUVs still get a look-in, with the likes of Mitsubishi flagging their plug-in Outlander, Nissan’s Hi-Cross clearly hinting at the next X-Trail – although they won’t come right out and say it.And Bentley proving yet again that money doesn’t even need to buy style and taste with the ugliest thing on wheels since … possibly ever.Electric, hybrid and range-extender technology is everywhere at Geneva, showing that - in Europe at least – it has long moved past being some kind of geeky indulgence. Every carmaker is talking economy and value. And there’s a lot more chatter about global platforms, with VW taking it to a planned one-size-fits-all extreme.What does it mean for the buyer? At the very least, while our economy looks pretty healthy here, the disasters elsewhere are having a strong impact on industry attitudes, and that means carmakers are going to try harder than ever to win over our wallets.Expect to see leaner cars, smarter cars and – faced with increasing competition from emerging industrial giants like China and India – better value cars. That’s good news for all of us. 

You'd be brave to pick the star of Geneva before the show is over. But you'd be blind to overlook the lead set by the Giugiaro Brivido.Styled by design maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro, and built at his Italdesign Giugiaro studio in Turin, the sleek hybrid supercar doesn't have a bad angle. A lanky streamlined carbon-fibre and aluminium body of close to 5 metres, set off with panorama roof, bisected gullwing doors and talons of LED lights. It's pure Italian supermodel.The hybrid system comprises a Volkswagen-sourced,  front-mounted 265kW/460Nm 3.0-litre V6 engine matched with an electric motor to give a total of 300kW/600Nm, delivered to the rear wheels via an eight-speed automatic transmission.The press kit says the car will get from 0-100km/h in 5.8 seconds - no match for most Italian supercars - but can reach a top speed of 275km/h.It's something of a technology showcase, with cameras (instead of side mirrors) feeding into steering wheel-mounted monitors, touchscreens for the instrument cluster and airconditioning controls - which descend from the headliner - and the almost mandatory iPad docking station.

After concept teases at previous motor shows, the little hot hatch will be unveiled within hours in production form at Geneva motor show, and will arrive in our showrooms late in 2013.It will carry the 1.6-litre Ecoboost four-cylinder engine seen at the last Frankfurt and LA shows, using a six-speed manual to deliver 132kW of power and 240Nm of torque. Ford says the ST will cover the 0-100km/h sprint in less than seven seconds and has a top speed of 219km/h. The Fiesta ST will sit lower than the standard car on a special sports suspension tuning, and will have triple-mode stability control and torque vectoring control that brakes the inside wheel in cornering to improve handling. It follows the Focus ST in style  and will follow it on sale here - with twin exhausts, trapezoid mesh grille and body kit that includes skirts and roof spoiler.All that is set to stay on the model we’ll see go on sale here, but Ford says it’s too early to hint about price tags. “It’s far too early to speculate on numbers and pricing,” Ford spokesman Neil McDonald says. “We’ll know more closer to it being rolled out… It will go into the US and Europe in 2012 and we’ll see it here in 2013 - but later rather than earlier.”McDonald agrees the pair of hot hatches will add a good dose of spice to Ford’s local line-up.“The Fiesta ST is a good complement for Focus ST, and is part of that sport technology global strategy we’ve introduced. We think there’s a lot of potential here for Fiesta as well as Focus.“There’s certainly been a lot of interest in Australia in the smaller hot hatch segment – we’ve seen that with XR4 and XR5 models – and we expect the same with ST because it’s a harmonised approach. It’s going to excite people about the performance end of Ford’s small line-up.”

Comfortable with khakis and work boots, they're usually sensible enough to avoid the tutu and frou-frou of concept car bolt-ons. So VW has been sensibly restrained in giving Amarok ute a style makeover for Geneva. The Amarok Canyon is supposed to inspire believable outdoorsy lust, specifically around freestyle kayaking. For most purposes, you should ignore the carbon fibre watercraft bolted into the tray and concentrate on the features that could conceivably make it onto a 'tough truck' special. The Canyon sits higher and wider than the production Amarok, with its body lifted 40mm with a kit, and massive 275/65 R 18 all-terrain tyres raising it another 45mm - and forcing the wheel housings to be widened by 35mm. Side tread plates give you a step up into the Canyon, and then retract to allow for better offroading angles. It carries the Amarok's 2.0-litre biturbo diesel engine with an identical 400Nm of torque but the power boosted 12kW to 132kW, getting it to all four corners with the Volkswagen '4MOTION' all-wheel drive system, standard rear differential lock and off-road gear reduction. The cabin gets a two-tone leather fit-out and extra instruments to show climbing and tilt angles. Exterior kit includes a row of roof spotlights, black wheels and roll bar painted in 'Adamantium' - the fictional substance responsible for Wolverine's claws - and an orange body paint job that should be easily spotted by rescue helicopters. For the most part, it wouldn't look out of place - and could take pride of place -- at any rural rodeo. Unfortunately, while the design department was realistic about the concept car, the marketing office went into overdrive with a puff piece asking you to picture an eager drive to a mountain canyon and into the adventurous promise of wild river rapids. Wasn't that the opening scene of Deliverance?  

The spiced-up version of the Audi TT-RS that is on the dance card for Geneva may be on the cards for Australia. To be released overseas as both a coupe and roadster, the TT RS Plus boosts the TT's 2.5-litre turbo five- cylinder by 15kW of power to 265kW, and adds an extra 15Nm of torque for 465Nm.Buyers can self-shift with a six-speed manual or let a seven-speed dual-clutch do the work for them. The automatic is an attractive option when it comes with a launch control mode that can teleport the Plus Coupe to 100 km/h in 4.1 seconds (the manual is only barely behind at 4.3 seconds) - and that's getting into Ferrari territory, friends. Top speed is limited to 280 km/h, and Audi claims the auto Ccoupe uses 8.5L/100km, with the Roadster at 8.6L. Style changes nose in with the black diamond-mesh of the single-frame grille, and tail out with a large fixed rear wing. The black accents carry through into five-spoke 19-in cast alloys -- with red rim flanges -- and black oval tailpipe trims, down the throat of which a 'reverber' amplifies the engine sound.The good news? Audi Australia is considering the TT RS Plus for local sales. “We don’t have a final date for launch overseas at this stage, but we are certainly looking at it with interest for the Australian line-up,” Audi general manager of corporate communications Anna Burgdorf says. Burgdorf says Audi wants to make sure they have a good business case for the TT RS Plus, but admits Australians are likely to warm to it.Audi steadily sold more than 35 TT variants per month over 2010 and 2011, and this year has started off with an average closer to 40 per month YTD. Sales have spiked when both  higher spec versions were introduced.“The TT has been a strong seller from the first day, the TT S on top of that was extremely well received, and the TT RS moved quickly – and for those who want a little more the TT RS Plus goes one step further,” Burgdorf says. “It is something that would be great to have in the range, but we want to make sure there is a market here for the car.“We may see it by the end of the year, but to say that at this stage would just be speculation – and so would any discussion of price. The current pricing of the TT RS is just shy of $140,000 and at the top end the TT RS Plus would be fairly loaded with spec, but our goal is to bring in the best value package we possibly can.”

With 3733 sales for the month, it was ahead of the Holden Commodore and Toyota Corolla who tied for second place on 2991.Overall sales of 85,723 were up by 6 per cent over February last year, and 11.6 per cent higher January, sparking more confidence in another million-plus year.Toyota was February's top brand with 14,849 vehicle sales, ahead of Holden with 9688 and Mazda third with 8689.Those places are repeated in the year's leaderboard so far, with Toyota holding a market share of 17.8%, Holden at 11.5%, and Mazda not far behind at 10.6% placing it third.TOP 10 VEHICLES - Feb 12 (2012 YTD)Mazda 3: 3733 (7778)Toyota Corolla: 2991 (6374)Holden Commodore: 2991 (5161)Holden Cruze: 2880 (5325)Hyundai i30: 2433 (4419)Toyota HiLux: 2272 (3352)Nissan Navara: 2017 (3626)Mazda2: 1771 (3395)Toyota Camry: 1562 (2852)Ford Focus: 1524 (3100)

The Advertising Standards Board has cleared a road safety ad that shows dead people. A complaint to the ASB said children were scared by the ‘Room For One More’ ad when they saw it in cinemas before G movies. The commercial targets young drivers, and is aimed at getting them to stop being distracted by loud music, mates and phones calls while behind the wheel. It was launched into cinemas by Victoria’s Transport Accident Commission on Boxing Day, and is part of their MAFMAD - make a film, make a difference - campaign. MAFMAD invites entries from budding movie-makers aged under 25, and promotes the winning efforts.Tom Campbell won the 2011 MAFMADs with Room For One More, which was shown at youth festivals before its cinema launch.Following it will be ‘Adventure’ by fellow winner, Year 12 student Tess Fisher.  We’ll keep you posted on that one when it appears.The TAC argued that Campbell’s two-minute ad didn’t breach acceptable community standards in light of the considerable social harm accidents can cause.The ASB evidently agreed, saying that the ad’s message was important and would resonate with the target audience.But should it be played where young children can see it. Granted, there’s more blood and gore in a Harry Potter movie, but they are rated at least PG - and the last one was M.Should this ad be restricted as well?

Reports of the big Australian-built car’s death are – as Twain quipped – an exaggeration, or at least grossly premature.But there’s no denying the patient has gone from just looking a bit poorly to possibly needing palliative care.Read full story