Articles by Mark Hinchliffe

In the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria's car blind-spot table, none of the 138 vehicles rated scored the maximum five stars. Only the Volkswagen Golf and Citroen C4 scored four. More than 80 per cent of the cars in the study rated one or two stars. Top sellers such as the Holden Commodore, Honda City and Accord and Hyundai i20 score only one. RACV chief engineer Michael Case said increasingly sleek car designs make for increased structural strength and better economy but the trade-off is a lack of visibility from the driver's seat. "There has been a huge focus on improving the safety performance of modern vehicles," Mr Case said. "Initially this was about adding safety equipment but progressively it has been about changing the fundamental design to perform better in a crash. That has translated into design features (such as thicker and wider windscreen pillars), which for styling and aerodynamics often need to have quite a slope and for sufficient strength, particularly for rollover crashes." The RACV found in many vehicles, this greatly reduced forward visibility "which can ironically affect the car's safety performance". Testers rotated a laser beam 180 degrees from the driver's seat and located obstructions. The current VE Commodore is a classic example, Mr Case said: "It has been designed for the best possible safety, but from day one it has had a very thick pillar, which has noticeable visibility problems." Mr Case said makers are under pressure to create aerodynamic vehicles with good fuel economy as well as high safety ratings and it is difficult to find the right balance. He said the Golf and C4 Picasso also score top marks in Australian crash tests and high scores in the Australian green vehicle guide meaning "it is possible to combine top safety performance with good fuel economy and visibility". Mr Case said there are no crash statistics on forward visibility, but he suspected it would be a major problem at pedestrian crossings and roundabouts, placing pedestrians and cyclist in danger. "It is a concern that in some cars a pedestrian or cyclist can be lost in a blind spot from as close as 9 metres and a driver can lose sight of another vehicle from about 20 metres." VISION IMPAIRED - THE '1 STAR' CARS THE FULL LIST Source: RACV.com.au.

For the 12 months to March, 94 per cent of Volvo and Renault drivers say they are satisfied with their vehicle, according to a Roy Morgan automotive report. This is 4 per cent above the European average and moves Volvo up from equal fourth place five years ago and Renault up from equal second. Roy Morgan spokesman Norman Morris says the number of drivers of European cars has increase 45 per cent in the past five years with almost two thirds coming from German brands. "It is interesting to note that (of the German brands) only Mercedes-Benz have made gains over the last five years," he says. Of the remaining German brands, Audi has experienced the strongest percentage point drop, moving from the top five years ago to equal fifth. BMW is also down, falling marginally under the 90 per cent mark. However, Citroen and Saab experienced the biggest declines in driver satisfaction over the past five years with Citroen dropping 10 percentage points and Saab five. "This is a concerning result for Saab who are currently launching a range of new models into the Australian marketplace," says Morris. "With vehicle satisfaction being one of the key drivers of brand loyalty, this is a very important measure for manufacturers to be aware of." European car satisfaction

These caravans are multi-purpose RVs that have space for a motorcycle, ATV, tinny or jetski inside, with a fold-down rear wall acting as a ramp for easy loading, says California Export Sales director Glenn Hodge. He is importing an American-made Carson Rebel toy-hauling caravan for $35,950. It has a unladen (tare) weight of 1850kg and can carry more than one tonne of cargo. There are anchor points inside to strap down your toy for the journey. "Having a large open layout, this allows longer items such a jetski or tinny on trailers, to be loaded, as well as motorbikes and quads to roll up inside," says Hodge. The 5.4m caravan is built in California, with a mirror reverse layout from the US model. Hodge says it is built using Australian-supplied AC wiring to comply with Australian rules. "The rest of the finish work such as gas and fitting appliances is completed in Australia," he says. All of the usual caravan appointments are included such as combined toilet/shower, stove, large fridge, hot water system, microwave, CD player, TV with DVD, and air conditioning. Sleeping consists of three fold-up beds, and room for two more under the double bed on a portable mattress. "California Export Sales expects to sell one or two a month at first, and once options and popular colours are worked out, more will be kept in stock," Hodge says.

While the passenger and commercial vehicle market has decreased 6.6 per cent in the first half of the year, bike, scooter and ATV sales are up 3.1 per cent to 50,379. Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries Andrew McKellar says sales were down 8.9 per cent to 105,766 last year after hitting a peak of 114,210 in 2008, but were returning to growth, particularly in the scooter (up 14 per cent) and all-terrain vehicle (up 29 per cent) segments. "The growth of scooter sales and the resilience of overall road bike sales suggest commuters are finding motorcycles to be a practical solution to continuing high fuel prices and inner-city traffic congestion,'' he says. ATV companies such as Polaris report that demand has been high in rural areas since the drought broke for much of the country last year. In the past year road bikes have become the biggest sellers with half-year sales of 18,653 (37 per cent), beating off-road bikes (15,268, 30 per cent), ATVs (10,544, 21 per cent) and scooters (5914, 11.7 per cent). However, McKellar pointed out that with seven of the top 10 motorcycles being off-road bikes, motorcycling remained a popular recreational sport and pastime in Australia. Japanese manufacturers continue to dominate sales. Honda was the number one brand with 10,424 sales, followed by Yamaha (9349), Suzuki (6333), Kawasaki (4882) and Harley Davidson (2955). FCAI motorcycle manager Rhys Griffiths says the road bike segment has been augmented by the performance of "a few influential models" such as the top-selling Kawasaki Ninja 250R and the Honda CBR250. The biggest loser was Buell down 89.3 per cent because the Harley sportsbike off-shoot discontinued production. BIKE SALES - THE WINNERS BIKE SALES - THE LOSERS

…after his title defence has unravelled spectacularly this year. At the half-way point he is running in a lowly 19th position, despite a promising start to the year with a win at the first round in Abu Dhabi. But the champion does not regret his decision to switch from the Gold Coast-based Dick Johnson Racing to the Melbourne-based Holden Racing Team, even though he continues to live on the Coast. "There is no question that I've made the right decision," he says. "We've had four wins as a team and a few failures, but I always knew it was going to be hard changing teams and personnel. "This is a building year for us. In the second half of the season we're just going to go for it. "Bathurst is my main focus now." Courtney teams with veteran Cam McConville for the endurance races at Phillip Island in September and Bathurst in October. "The enduros will be a good time for us," Courtney says. "We can take a few more risks with strategy than the other teams." Courtney says he also wants to score some good results at premiere events such as the Gold Coast and Sydney which attract more attention. "We're heading in the right direction, team morale is getting better and better and we're developing the car at a rapid rate," he said.

Despite more than a decade since five-times world 500cc motorcycle champion Doohan competed - except for a few tarmac rally car events - the Gold Coast retiree showed a turn of speed in a V8 Supercar yesterday at Queensland Raceway. The stop watches weren't in action, but current series champion James Courtney observed, "He's not shy, is he?" "He's really going for it," he said. Courtney took Doohan for a couple of sighting laps in the HRT drive-day car around the paperclip circuit which included an unintended 360-degree spin at turn two. "I was showing him my braking markers and he was saying I think I can get to those," Courtney says. Then it was the motorcycle ace's turn to drive solo. Doohan declared his short stints "good fun". "The brakes seem quite good, although they lock up pretty easy," he says. "I locked them a few times testing to see how deep I could go into a corner." Courtney said Doohan's fused right ankle from his many motorcycle crashes made it difficult for him to modulate the brake pedal. Doohan's laps included a couple of spins and backing it into the gravel trap at turn six, but it was better than his Formula One test for Williams in 1983 when he crashed into a guard rail at Catalunya, in Spain. The ex-champ flew his chopper in to the Ipswich circuit yesterday, had two short stints in the car, then flew home a couple of hours later. His parting thoughts were less about the V8 experience and more about the current MotoGP season which Australian Casey Stoner is leading for Doohan's old factory Honda team. "He's definitely the one to beat and he seems to understand now that he only needs to keep scoring points and avoid DNFs (did not finish) like he had earlier in the season," Doohan said. He also predicted that the poor MotoGP grid would pick up in the next few years, tipping that "BMW and a couple of others" would join the series.

The current crop of movies hitting the cinemas with cars as the stars started with the "NOS"-fed Fast & Furious 5 last month. It features a range of hot cars from a 1963 Ford Galaxy through to a 2011 Dodge Charger pony car. Star car is "Mongo", the 450kW V8 Chevrolet Corvette driven off a cliff by actors Vin Diesel and Paul Walker. Apart from traditional Yankee iron, there is also a host of Japanese "rice burners": 1972 Nissan Skyline, 1996 Toyota Supra, 2010 Subaru STi, a Nissan GT-R, a honda NSX and a 2010 Lexus LFA supercar seen blazing down the autobahn. There is also some Euro exotica such as a Porsche GT3 RS, Koenigsegg CCX and a Ducati Streetfighter. The Pixar animated film Cars2 is back with a variety of race cars and transporters with the character Jeff Gorvette replaced in some markets by local talent. In Australia its V8 Supercar driver Mark Winterbottom as Frosty, in Spain it's Ferrari-driving Fernando Alonso and in Germany it's F1 champion Sebastian Vettel as Sebastian Schnell. Transformers has also returned to the big screen for the third instalment with a range of glamorous cars. It features the return of the fifth-generation Chevrolet Camaro as Bumblebee and a Chevrolet Corvette Stingray as Sideswipe. Bumblebee now features a new body kit and paint job while the Sideswipe Autobot have become a convertible. The film also introduces a range of supercars such as Mirage, a red Ferrari 458 Italia; a blue Mercedes-Benz W212 as an Autobot inventor; and Soundwave, a silver Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG. Another new crew of Transformer machines called Wreckers are Nascar Sprint Cup Series Chevrolet Impala stock cars equipped with machine guns. The Wreckers are Leadfoot (Juan Pablo Montoya's car), Roadbuster, (Dale Earnhardt Jr) and Topspin (Jimmie Johnson). Set in the 1940s, Captain America hits our movie screens at the end of this month (JULY) with a $26m chase scene involving war-time Yank tanks. But the revhead's star will be villain Red Skull's fantasy coupe, an 8m-long six wheeler with a turning circle of 25m. The car was created by designer Daniel Simon with inspiration from Hitler's six-wheeled 1933 Mercedes G4, the supercharged 1920s Bentley Blower and the 6.4m long-nosed Bugatti Royale. He says the hardest part was finding the right wheels. Eventually they sourced rubber from an American World War II Deuce And A Half Truck found in Holland. In the original Captain America Marvel comic, the car is powered by an aircraft V18 engine, but the movie version has a 520kW V8 American drag car engine. The makers reckon that gives the Coupe the equivalent power of two Porsche 911s.

Even at a time when fuel economy is top-of-mind with a growing number of Australian drivers there is plenty of space on the roads for Commodores and Falcons with old-fashioned V8 muscle under the bonnet. They burble menacingly at idle. They are the backbone of V8 Supercar racing.Yet V8s in the 21st century are not what they were in the days when they first conquered Mount Panorama and a GTHO Falcon or a Monaro - or even a Valiant V8 - was a dream machine for a generation of Aussie youngsters.Since 1970 the crude oil price has exploded from $20 a barrel to double that amount during the Iran revolution, over $70 during the first Gulf War, broke through the $100 barrier ahead of the Global Financial Crisis and has now settled at just below $100.In Australia, petrol prices have correspondingly risen from about 8c a litre in 1970 to about 50c in 1984 and almost $1.50 today.Despite all this, and despite one attempt at a death sentence by Ford in the 1980s, the V8 has not been wiped from Australian showrooms. Holden and Ford have continued to produce large cars with a V8 alternative and continue to slog it out at Bathurst.But Australian cars, even the ones that now have American V8s imported for local use, are not the only bent-eight blasters on the road.Germans are prolific builders of V8s and produce some of the most powerful engines in the world thanks to AMG-Mercedes, BMW and Audi. English V8s are built by Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar, while the Americans provide V8s in the Chrysler 300C sold here. Even the Japanese luxury brand Lexus has a V8 in its IS F hero and its luxury saloon LS460, as well as the LandCruiser-cloned LX470.Most V8s are powerful enough breathing ordinary air, but there are many forced-induction models with either turbo or supercharging to liberate even more power. Walkinshaw Performance does the job in Australia for Holden, BMW is going down the turbo V8 road for its latest M cars and Benz had a time with a supercharged AMG V8.But V8s are not just about unrestricted power. The push for greater fuel economy has also reached V8 land and so Chrysler and Holden have V8s with multiple displacement technology which shuts down half the cylinders when the car is just cruising to improve fuel economy. Formula One racing engines now do the same thing when they are idling on a grand prix starting grid.Holden's Active Fuel Management (AFM) was introduced on the V8 Commodore and Caprice in 2008 and the red lion brand is committed to the engine - with future technology updates - despite near-record fuel prices."It is incumbent on us to keep it relevant and continue introducing new technology that delivers on our customers' needs," says Holden's Shayna Welsh.Holden has the biggest stake in V8s with more models than any other company selling in Australia. It has a total of 12 models with V8 engines across four nameplates and four body styles, including Commodore SS, SS V, Calais V, Caprice V and the recently introduced Redline range. V8s account for about one quarter of Commodore sedan sales and almost half of Ute sales."We see it as being more than just the V8 engine - it's about the entire car. It's the whole performance package that appeals to people and we want to continue making cars that people are proud to own," Welsh says."The combination of features and technology, great handling and braking and outstanding value is consistent across our V8 model range."Ford fans are also committed to V8s, according to company spokesperson Sinead McAlary, who says a recent Facebook survey was overwhelmingly positive."We asked whether they worry about petrol prices and they say 'No, it's the sound of the V8 we love and we are prepared to pay the price'," she says.Both Ford and Holden also have performance divisions where the V8 was, and still is, king. Ford's is Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and Holden's is Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).HSV marketing manager Tim Jackson says their sales are "on par" with last year."That's despite the fact that last year we had the limited edition GX-P which is an entry level product for us," he says. "We don't have that model in our range at all this year and you would expect numbers to come off, but we've been able to maintain sales volume."All of HSV's range are powered by a naturally aspirated V8 engine (6200cc 317kW-325kW), while the opposition at FPV has gained the kilowatt advantage with forced induction (supercharged 5000cc 315kW-335kW).Jackson says their LS3 V8 has been "validated" by customers."We're not getting guys screaming at us to go turbocharging. The LS3 is an extraordinary unit. It's a light engine with a good power-to-weight figure. There is not a turbo engine that would do it for us at the right development cost. But I wouldn't rule it (turbo) out or rule it in."Jackson says there have been no repercussions from the rise in petrol prices."Our customers don't have other choices in their repertoire," he says. "A small car doesn't suit them and they're not into an SUV. They're of a certain level where the whole cost of running the car is easy for them to absorb."The top-selling HSV is the ClubSport R8, followed by the Maloo R8, then GTS.However, the greatest HSV in history is debatable, Jackson says.HSV engineering boss Joel Stoddart prefers the all-wheel-drive Coupe4 and sales boss Darren Bowler the SV5000."The Coupe4 is special because of its engineering but I like the W427 because it's the fastest," Jackson says.FPV boss Rod Barrett says they are also experiencing strong sales growth. He says they sold about 500 cars in the first quarter, which is up 32 per cent on the previous year. He also says sales of the F6 have slowed since the launch of the supercharged V8 engine variants late last year, as customers "opt for power". Ford no longer offers a V8 with the demise of the XR8 sedan and ute last year."Our middle name is performance so we have all the V8s," Barrett says. "When we were launching this new supercharged car all the V8s came across here."Barrett says their supercharged engine has changed people's minds about "dinosaur V8s"."The turbocharged F6 was a cult hero car in its day and people thought a V8 was a low-tech dinosaur," he says. "But when we produced a high-tech all-alloy five-litre supercharged V8 built in Australia people started to think that V8s aren't all that bad after all. I'm not seeing the demise of the V8 just yet, but for us, the future is hi-tech."The supercharged 5.0Litre V8 335kW FPV GT continues to be FPV's top-selling vehicle followed closely by the supercharged V8 5.0 litre 315kW GS sedan and GS ute.Barrett believes the current GT is the best FPV car yet with its segment-leading power, light weight and improved fuel economy."However, I think our most iconic car was the 2007 BF Mk II 302kW Cobra in white with blue stripes. That car brought back the passion of '78 with the original Cobra. If you have a look at the second-hand prices, they are still holding up very well" he says.

Holden leads with 12 models plus 10 HSVs, all of which are naturally aspirated. Ford was second, before it deleted all its XR8 models and handed the V8 exclusively keys to FPV which has nine supercharged V8s in its Falcons.So it's now - surprisingly - Mercedes-Benz that is runner-up to Holden in the muscle-car stakes, with 12 models, four different V8 capacities and three turbocharged choices.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says the number will increase with the introduction of the E 63 AMG estate with twin turbo later this year."And that's in response to customer demand," he says.McCarthy calculates that V8 sales represent about $200 million a year in AMG and $50 million in other models."A quarter of a billion dollars is a pretty sizeable chunk of our business."He says V8s account for about 10 per cent of sales in most classes, except the super-costly CL 500 which is 20 per cent."That will probably change a little when we release the CL 500 bi-turbo."McCarthy says the future looks good for V8s."The reason for that is that technology is delivering lower emissions and better fuel economy without sacrificing power," he says.The ranks of the supercars are surprisingly not dominated by V8s, but by bigger cylinder capacities. For example, all Lamborghinis are either V10 or V12. The most expensive V8 in Australia is the $526,950 Ferrari 458 Italia with a 419kW 4499cc V8. If you can still find one, the cheapest is the Falcon XR8 ute with a 290kW 5408cc V8 starting at $41,690.The most powerful is the 420kW 6208cc V8 in the Mercedes-Benz SLS ($468,820) which has just 1kW more than the 458 Italia. Least powerful V8 is the 250kW 5.7-litre HEMI in the Chrysler 300C ($46,000), although the SRT version is a healthy 317kW.

Based on bang-for-buck impact, as well as classic muscle appeal, Shannons Insurance says it has to be the Falcon XY GTHO Phase 3 that ruled at Bathurst in the 1970s and was the world's fastest four-door sedan at the time it was introduced.A Silver HO was passed in at the Brisbane Motor Show auction in 2008 at about $750,000."You wouldn't get those prices now as the bubble burst on the Aussie V8 muscle car market over 12 months ago and we haven't seen those numbers back ... yet," says Shannons spokesman Phil Ross.But Dan Bowden, whose family museum has one of the greatest collections of Aussie muscle cars, reckons the top prize goes to the Falcon XR GT which he calls "The first of the real Aussie V8s". It won Bathurst in 1967.What about Holdens?Ross says the number two and three cars in the price stake are both Bathurst winning Holdens: the A9X hatchback 308 V8 LX SS and the 1968 327 V8 HK Holden Monaro, "or possibly the 1970 HT 350 V8 Monaro". Shannons Auctions sold a HK 327 Monaro for $220,000 at one of our auctions at the height of the muscle car price wars," he says."We have an A9X in our next auction ... and it may go for around $250,000 or more. They only made 100 of these so the Holden fans will argue it's the number one Aussie V8 of all time and the most collectable."Bowden's museum seems to favour the Falcons, but he agrees that the HK 327 GTS Monaro is "one of the most beautiful and a real contender", winning Bathurst in 1968.Others to consider are:Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV, the one Ford said they never built, killed by the super car scare and only one road car ever made.Holden L34 Torana, with Hi-Po option, our only all-Aussie-made engine.VL HDT Group A Brock Commodore, another homologation special. "The polariser plus pack version just adds to the story," says Bowden.Falcon XA RPO-83 option GT. A lot of those Phase IV bits went on these special cars.Falcon XC Cobra, one of the first 30, the Bathurst special versions.Ross says the cars that conquered Bathurst were awarded hero status by the car-buying public."But I don't think this kind of hero status for Aussie V8s will be as big with the later model cars but time may prove me wrong," he says. "I have just noticed there is a bit of a cult following starting with younger guys and the humble XD Falcon at shows. I always thought it looked more like a taxi but after looking at the Dick Johnson `Tru Blu' Falcon Group C race car at Bowden's museum I have changed my mind."Neither Ross nor Bowden mentioned any Chrysler product."Sadly Chrysler didn't have any good V8s," says Bowden. "The ones with any real sporting pedigree were the six-cylinder versions. In the end they built the V8s in the Charger, the VJ E55 versions, but they were very toned down, marketed against the big luxury Ford Fairmont and LS Monaros, not as a sporting car."Ross says the six-cylinder E49 E49 RT Charger in the popular Vitamin C (orange) six pack "Big Tank" (extra Fuel for Bathurst) fully restored can be worth $170,000-$200.000."I once asked Leo Geogeghan if he thought a Charger could win Bathurst and he said not without a V8," he says. "He couldn't beat the V8 GT Falcons up the mountain. There was a 770 Charger released with a V8 but it never ran at Bathurst. If they had won maybe they would be worth more."Of the current batch of Aussie V8s, Bowden likes the FPV GT."Amazing engine. The only manufacturer that hand assembles its engine in Australia," he says.Bowden also throws a monkey into the works with the rear-mounted HSV V8 engine in the Alfa Romeo Sprint made by Giocattolo Motori Pty Ltd.The Australian car company built just 15 cars from 1986 to 1989 which were capable of up to 260km/h.