Articles by Mark Hinchliffe

The new Passat is the first car in Australia to be fitted standard with Continental's new ContiSeal tyre which seals itself in most punctures.If the tyre is punctured by a sharp object no wider than 5mm, a polymer coating on the inside of the tread will seal the hole without loss of air pressure.Volkswagen Group Australia service general manager Phil Murray this week demonstrated the tyre's ability to withstand a puncture by drilling into a non ContiSeal tyre with a 5mm drill bit, deflating the tyre. He then drilled into the ContiSeal, which stayed inflated."This is not a run-flat tyre," Murray says."Its performance is the same as the standard high-performance (Continental ContiSportContact 3)."You don't have the harshness of a run-flat tyre."And in the unlikely case you have to change a tyre there is still an alloy full-size spare wheel."Murray says the ContiSportContact 3 tyres with ContiSeal cost $550, which was $50 more than the tyres without ContiSeal.Gregor Stone, general manager of marketing for Continental importer Tyres4U, said ContiSeal was available as a 235/45R17 94W Continental ContiSportContact 3 for $648 with fitting and balancing and 235/40R18 95W Continental ContiSportContact 3 Conti Seal at $787.Stone says the ContiSeals did not weigh extra like run-flats and were not restricted to distance and speed when punctured.Continental has warned that because the motorist won't notice when their tyre has been punctured, they should regularly examine the tyre for nails or screws.The polymer coating is only on the inside of the tread, not the sidewall, however Murray said 85 per cent of punctures were in the tread area. 

Crash avoidance technology in the Passat will not attract the 20 per cent insurance premium discount being offered to a similar system in the XC60.VW's new adaptive cruise control with front assist will operate from 30-150km/h and bring the car to a complete stop.If a rear-end collision is imminent, the car will sound and flash a warning to the driver, bring the disc pads up to the discs, increase brake pressure and even dab the brakes.However, the driver then has to take over — and that is one of the major differences with the Volvo City Safety radar system.NRMA Insurance last week offered a 20 per cent discount to XC60 owners based on the car’s new radar technology designed to prevent rear-end collisions, which are the most common insurance claims.However, spokesman Robert McDonald says the VW system would not qualify for several reasons.McDonald says the Volvo system intervenes and brings the car to a complete stop on its own, and will operate under 30km/h – the speed range where most rear-enders occurred.In comparison, the VW adaptive cruise control will operate from 30-150km/h and will come to a complete stop, but not in an emergency situation where driver input is required.Cost of repairs is also a consideration, McDonald says."The radar sensor on the VW is on the front grille and if that gets damaged it can be quite expensive," he says."In some cars it costs up to $10,000 to replace. The Volvo sensor is on the windscreen."The second-generation VW adaptive cruise control system is an update of the one originally designed for the ill-fated Phaeton luxury saloon. 

The VW Passat CC features self-parking and the accident avoidance radar as options, but is the first car in Australia to be fitted standard with Continental’s new ContiSeal tyre which seals itself if it runs over a sharp object no wider than 5mm.The tyres cost $550, which is $50 more than the standard tyre, and are available in limited sizes for fitting to vehicles other than the Passat CC.Volkswagen Group Australia service general manager Phil Murray yesterday demonstrated the tyre’s abilities to withstand a puncture by drilling into a standard tyre with a 5mm drill bit, then into the ContiSeal.The ContiSeal failed to deflate.The tyre is coated inside with a polymer coating which is a tacky tar-like material.“This is not a run-flat tyre,” Murray said.“Its performance is the same as the standard high-performance (Continental ContiSport).“You don’t have the harshness of a run flat tyre.“Änd in the unlikely case you have to change a tyre there is still an alloy full-size spare wheel.”The ContiSeals do not weigh extra like run flats and they are not restricted to distance and speed when punctured.Continental has warned that because the motorist won't notice when their tyre has been punctured, they should regularly examine the tyre for nails or screws.The Passat CC arrives with a two-litre diesel engine at $54,990 or with a 3.6-litre V6 petrol engine at $65,990. 

There was a time when a coupe was a two-door, two-plus-two seater with a close-cut body shape.But now there are many four-door models labelled coupes, such as Volkswagen's new Passat CC (Comfort Coupe).It arrives in two models: the two-litre diesel front-wheel drive costs $54,990 and the 3.6-litre V6 FSI petrol with 4Motion all-wheel drive is $65,990. Both come with the deliciously fast and smooth six-speed DSG transmission.The easiest way to distinguish them is by the wheels. The diesel has five-spoke alloys, while the V6 has 10-spoke wheels that look like turbo fans.Its body shape is similar to the beautiful Mercedes-Benz four-door CLS "coupe" with a similar `untrendy’ amount of front and rear overhang that works.It features frameless windows, a subtle rear spoiler and a larger-than-normal VW emblem on the grille.They come with a host of standard equipment that goes to justifying the $8000-$9000 premium over the sedan.Standard equipment includes automatic three-stage dampers (Adaptive Chassis Control), Bi-Xenon headlights with dynamic and static cornering, dual-zone airconditioning, electronic adjustable front seats, four heated leather seats, three-spoke leather steering wheel with paddle shifters, automatic hill hold, parking distance sensors front and rear, rain-sensing wipers, automatic boot lid opening and an acoustic windscreen which reduces noise by 2-4dB.Standard safety equipment involves eight airbags, ABS, brake assist, electronic brakeforce distribution, anti-slip regulation and electronic stability control.Options include adaptive cruise control with front assist, the self-parking system available in the Tiguan, satellite navigation, rear-view camera, media interface for iPod and other MP3 and DVD players, adaptive cruise control with front assist, and an electrically powered Panoramic glass roof that can be pivoted 30mm.There are eight different exterior colours available and three leather trims.There is also active climate control on the front vented seats which is only available in the black leather trim.Volkswagen Group Australia managing director Jutta Dierks says the car will provide VW with "a chance for existing customers to upgrade and also to talk to new customers who have never talked to us"."The car is packed with new technology which is easy to use."DrivingThe was certainly no challenge for the proven driving dynamics of the Passat on a bunch of straight B-grade country roads and freeways.However, it was enough to determine that the adaptive chassis control worked quite well, distributing variable damping characteristics to each wheel independently.The comfort setting was ideal for the lumpy country roads. The sport setting didn't get a look in with an absence of twisty tar on the program.The electro-mechanical steering felt a little numb, but still a precise tiller.Freeway stints helped demonstrate that while the acoustic film in the windscreen reduces high-speed buffeting, there is still a fair amount of wind noise from the frameless windows.The big 310mm discs on the TDI and 345mm discs on the V6 proved to be strong stoppers with a little too much initial bite, requiring deft application.The rear carpeted cargo area is flat, even though there is a full-sized spare under the floor.Despite the swooping roofline, rear adult passengers have ample head and leg room, although the centre console is too wide and prevents a passenger from `lounging’ or sleeping across the seats.And access is much easier in a four-door coupe than a traditional two-door model.Price: 125kW TDI $54,990, V6 FSI $65,990Engines: 4-cylinder 1968cc inline turbo diesel; V6 3597cc petrolPower: 125kW @ 4200rpm (TDI); 220kW @ 6600rpmTorque: 350Nm from 1750-2500rpm; 350Nm from 2400-5300rpmTransmission: 6-speed DSG, front-wheel drive (TDI), 4MOTION all wheel drive (V6)Performance: 0-100km/h 8.6 seconds (TDI), 5.6s (V6)Economy (combined): 6.3L/100km (TDI), 10.5 (V6)CO2: 166g/km (TDI), 254 (V6) 

AN automatic safety system that can detail injuries to emergency services in a crash has been axed for a lack of interest.BMW Australia corporate communications manager Toni Andreevski said the system was part of its Connected Drive package."The take-up rate was less than 100 customers out of a total of 17,000 new car sales a year, so we no longer offer it," he said."BMW was paying for the first year and then customers could choose to continue but few did."It was only a couple of hundred dollars a year."He said the technology was also limited in Australia because of a lack of universal mobile phone coverage.The BMW system estimates the injuries passengers have received and relays that information to medical personnel.When an accident occurs, data about the vehicle and its location are sent automatically to BMW Assists' call centre providers, who then call 000.Information culled from the dozen or so on-board car sensors is also analysed by software that was developed by BMW and the William Lehman Injury Research Centre in Miami.The program determines the severity of injuries by synthesizing information about whether passengers in the front seats wore seat belts, what the car's speed was at impact, where the car was hit and whether the airbags deployed.Andreevski said they began phasing out the system late last year. 

The tip-off came this week from the most unlikely of sources; a Frenchman travelling through Australia organising a rally for about 40 French bikers later this year.Parisian Eric Massiet du Biest was in Brisbane this week at the end of a month-long 7500km reconnaissance from Perth for the cross-continental Rallye BMW GS Dundee in October.The 46-year-old adventurer not only travels around the world organising adventure rallies, he also tests pre-production vehicles for manufacturers.He has organised Michelin's 2007 Challenge Bibendum rally in China for environmentally sound vehicles and tested pre-production vehicles such as Renault's first SUV, the Koleos, in the deserts of California several years before it reached showrooms.During an interview this week, Massiet du Biest let slip that he is organising a vigorous desert test for a pre-production German version of the HiLux. He would not say which manufacturer as he is sworn to secrecy.Mercedes-Benz corporate communications senior manager David McCarthy and BMW corporate communications manager Toni Andreevski agreed that it would likely be VW."We'd like to (have a ute), but it's not us," McCarthy said.Volkswagen Group Australia spokesman Karl Gehling said it was probably their Pickup which debuted as a concept at the Hanover Commercial Vehicles show in September.The VW Pickup would add a fourth series (in addition to Caddy, T5 and Crafter) to the brand's range of light commercial vehicles.It also means VW would be the first volume manufacturer in Europe to enter the one-tonne ute segment.VW Commercial Vehicles CEO Stephan Schaller said Australia would be a key market for the ute, along with South America, South Africa and South East Asia.Worldwide sales projections for the Pickup are about 100,000 units a year, with production to begin later this year.Gehling said he did not have any more information available."As far as an on-sale date for Australia, I don't know but you could speculate it would more likely be in 2010 than this year," he said."I think it could quickly become one of the best sellers in the Volkswagen line-up and would certainly be a welcome addition to our model range."Gehling said he could not speculate on engines, transmissions or other mechanical details.However, with VW's success in the diesel market, it should be expected to come with diesel variants.Massiet du Biest also said the vehicle he would be testing was four-wheel drive. However, the VW Pickup could also be available in two-wheel drive like its competitors."All I can say is that I'm sure that it would be a very competitive vehicle," Gehling said.The pickup segment of the market last year increased 3.1 per cent for two-wheel drives and 0.7 per cent for four-wheel drives, while the total market suffered a 3.6 per cent setback. 

A replica of the car that won triple Bathurst crowns and has been driven by the same victorious race drivers is up for auction.The Brisbane-based Triple 8 V8 Supercar race team is auctioning off its show car which has been used for promotions and drive days on circuits around the country by Craig Lowndes and current V8 Supercars champion Jamie Whincup.Triple 8 commercial manager Peter Jamieson said online bidding on eBay was up to about $24,000 and he expected it could go as high as $30,000 for the 2003 BA Falcon XR6 Turbo."It's definitely a piece of history," he said."This is rare memorabilia that should attract bids from all over the country."It is the first time the team has sold its show car, but the move was forced by the severing of sponsorship ties last year with the Ford Motor Company and the need to build an FG show car to match this year's new race car.The show car has done 86,000km, is road-registered, painted in 2008 livery and has been modified with a new front splitter, rear wing, alloy wheels and lower, stiffer suspension."But it's still got the straight XR6 Turbo engine stock standard," Jamieson said.Whincup said that because the car was road registered "there is no need to hide it away in the garage".Triple 8 is also selling what they call their "clunker" static display show car which is not road-registerable. It has attracted bids up to $5000.The auction closed at 6.15pm, January 30 and the winning bid was $27,600. 

The company that produces the bi-turbo 12-cylinder engine which guzzles 25 litres of fuel every 100km, is moving into ethanol power.Bentley will debut its first biofuel vehicle, presumably named Victoria, at the Geneva motor show in March.A brief internet video sneak preview of the vehicle shows a coupe shape, so it is likely to be based on the Continental GT, and a 12-cylinder engine, possibly boosted.The tacho is shown with a 6500rpm limit, ruling out a biodiesel engine.Since ethanol is not as economical as petrol, Bentley's reputation for high fuel consumption will remain and the car's green credentials will rely on reputable ethanol fuel sources.The company claims its "extreme Bentley" will have supercar performance and be its fastest, most powerful production car yet.Bentley Motors Limited regional manager Ed Striebig said it represented the company's first stage in its commitment to an environmental strategy announced at last year's Geneva show."It will have a flexfuel drivetrain with the ability to run on anything from 100 per cent petrol to 100 per cent ethanol with no interruption of performance," he said."We're excited and confident that this is the correct strategy to follow."Obviously there are divergent strategies out there, but we made the announcement last year that in 2012 we would have a complete fleet of flexfuel-compliant vehicles and this is the first step."What sets it aside from the others (environmental cars) is it is the fastest we have built."It is something we're quite proud of." 

The fleet industry is set for a strong downturn this year after propping up new vehicle sales over the past four years. Companies are now holding on to their fleet vehicles for longer and buying more second-hand vehicles, according to a study by market research company ACA. It found the median age for fleet vehicle replacement had risen from 3.5 years to four years or 120,000km. The survey also found that a third of fleet vehicles were now bought second hand and 31 per cent of businesses say that some or all of the vehicles in their fleet were purchased second-hand. Fleet sales have been bolstering the industry for the past four years, rising 11.93 per cent from 348,405 in 2005 to 389,958 last year, while private sales dropped 2.09 per cent from 470,602 to 460,773 and government sales deflated a massive 17.72 per cent from 87,547 to 71,037. Business fleet sales are now expected to start tumbling in the current economic downturn, according to FleetPartners CEO Nick Johnson. "We've done some market modelling for 2009 and we're predicting about a 10 per cent drop in the whole market," he said. "That is going to affect the business and private market. While the private market will drop further, there is no question that with companies producing less and selling less with fewer employees they will need fewer vehicles." He said companies were now discussing fleets at board level. "By elevating fleet management to a board issue, companies are signalling the important role fleet plays in their efficiency, profit and increasingly, their ability to adapt to the current tightening economic climate," he said. "This trend has accelerated as business confidence has weakened and growth has slowed." The national survey of more than 320 fleet managers, conducted for FleetPartners, found that the bigger a company's fleet the more likely it was to consider fleet strategy as core business. Occupational health and safety is still a major driver of fleet decisions, with 75 per cent of companies saying it played an important role in setting their fleet priorities. Airbags and anti-lock brakes are considered the most important safety features for fleet vehicles, with 62 per cent and 36 per cent of respondents respectively listing these as key safety requirements. Measures to cut carbon emissions from their fleet have been introduced by 38 per cent of companies, according to the survey.  

Starring British actor Jason Statham from Snatch and, of course, the first two Transporter movies, Transporter 3 takes the high-speed action right across Europe.In this film, Statham, as Frank Martin, is forced to transport two bulky bags and a young Ukrainian woman from Marseille to Odessa.In Transporter 1 & 2, most of the action scenes lasted 30-40 seconds. Transporter 3 features almost unlimited stunts.Bond film stunt expert Raacemi Julienne said they shot all the car chase scenes at high speed rather than speeding it up later."All the car chases are filmed at real speed, without models, to capture the pace and inertia of a car going into a spin," he said.Unlike most modern action movies, 3D was used sparingly with most stunts being performed on set."That's where you have to come up with new ideas," Julienne said."How do you jump a car on to a train without it smashing up? How do you slide it down the side of truck?"Every day was a different challenge and most of the solutions were dreamed up on the spot. That's what made the shoot so exciting and such fun."Most of the chase scenes were structured like action symphonies, which resulted in crumpled fenders, high-risk chopper flying and even the use of a purpose-built quad bike in the streets of Marseille.The car star of the action flick is the six-litre, 331kW, W12-powered Audi A8 quattro luxury saloon, driven by Statham's character; at one stage on two wheels between two trucks on a high-speed Autobahn.Although how he manages to do so many handbrake slides with an electronic parking brakes defies logic.The A8 also replicates the spiral jump first seen in the 1974 James Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun.Transporter3 also features a cornucopia of vehicles including an Audi Q7 SUV; BMW 3 and 5 Series; several Citroens and Renaults; a Hummer H1; Kenworth, DAF and Scania trucks; a Kia Cee'd; Range Rover Sport; Lada Samara and Peugeot police cars; and even a tractor that pulls the A8 out of a river.Statham is a bit of an Audi fan owning an old RS6 Audi and waiting on the release of the RS6 V10 twin turbo with 426kW of power.The rugged action flick actor with a background in martial arts did most of his own stunts in the first two Transporter movies, including car chases, scuba diving sequences and fights.Statham is no debutante to car action films having also appeared in last year's Death Race, which was a reworking of the 1975 film Death Race 2000 featuring David Carradine.Audi is also no debutante to the silver screen, having featured in the previous two Transporter movies, Ronin, I Robot, Mission Impossible 2, About a Boy, Legally Blond 2, Hitman and The Matrix 2.It also starred its R8 supercar in last year's action film, Iron Man, with Robert Downey Jr who arrived at the Australian premiere in a silver R8. Supporting roles in Iron Man were played by a S5 sports sedan and a Q7.The first two Transporter movies earned more than $50 million worldwide.Transporter3 hits the big screen on February 5.