Articles by Matt Brogan

Subaru’s annual award has seen Key Motors in Townsville take out the first prize of Subaru National Retailer of the year for 2012. Key Motors’ Dealer Principle Scott McElligot was present to receive the award. In presenting the award in Sydney, Subaru Australia Managing Director Nick Senior said, “It takes huge discipline and multiple skills to run an outstanding dealership in this competitive environment. “Scott and his team in Townsville have combined to offer outstanding customer service and sales success, underlined by great expertise, training and product knowledge.  “These ingredients are a winning formula for both Key Motors and their customers.” All retailers competing for the award were measured by sales levels, customer satisfaction and use of master techniques in workshops. Other winners were: Northern Key Motors, Townsville Brisbane Garry Crick Subaru, Maroochydore Eastern Crossroads Subaru, Glendale Sydney Denlo Subaru, Parramatta Southern Geelong Subaru Melbourne Subaru Glen Waverley Tasmania Neil Buckby Motors, Launceston Central Jarvis Subaru, Adelaide Western Bunbury Subaru  

Darwin-based Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) took out two prizes for its Light Vehicle Committee initiative. The program focused on protecting its Ranger mine site employees and promoting safe driving in the broader Northern Territory community. The Rio Tinto Semi Quantitative Risk Assessment (SQRA) found that the 260 kilometre on-the-job commute between the Ranger mine and Darwin posed the biggest risk to ERA workers – larger than any other task performed during work operations. The Light Vehicle Committee initiative won the most prestigious honour, the Founder’s Award, largely due to its originality and ability to coincide with other local safety initiatives. ARSF CEO and Founder Russell White commended the ERA’s niche road safety program for also promoting general road safety in the area. “It is clear from the Light Vehicle Committee program that ERA takes road safety very seriously. The Committee is an important step in ERA’s campaign to reduce the significant risk the Ranger mine to Darwin commute poses to ERA employees. But not only is the Committee’s working to protect ERA staff and contractors it is promoting road safety to the broader driving community,” said Mr White. While only in its second year, the Australian Road Safety Awards is already proving to be a major catalyst for influencing and implementing safety measures on our roads. This year saw a large number of positive initiatives and achievements spurring from a range of entrants including individuals, schools, government organisations and community groups. Further winners at the awards included the Qld Police Citizens Youth and Welfare Association (Community Programs); Playful Beginnings Aboriginal Corporation (Indigenous Road Safety); Hanson Construction Queensland (Innovation); Lismore City Council (Local Government Initiatives); Queensland Police Service (State Government initiatives) and Westmead Hospital’s Trauma Service (Schools Program). Mr White said that this years' entrants and winners highlighted a positive move for Australia in fostering new and ongoing road safety measures. “I would like to congratulate tonight’s Awards winners for their commitment to improving road safety and reducing road trauma. “We hope the Awards will encourage new standards of excellence in the road safety industry and in turn, will act as a catalyst to increase road safety activities across the nation,” said Mr White. 2012 Australian Road Safety Awards Community Programs Winner: Queensland Police Citizens Youth and Welfare Association (QLD) Project: Braking the Cycle Program School Programs Winner: Trauma Service Westmead Hospital (NSW) Project: bStreetSmart State Government Initiatives Winner: Queensland Police Service (QLD) Project: Project R.A.P.T.A.R (Reduce Accidents, Prevent Tragedy, Activate Resources) Local Government Initiative Winner: Lismore City Council (NSW) Project: Drive to Conditions Road Safety Project Innovation Winner: Hanson Construction Queensland (QLD) Project: Wolffdene Quarry Safe Driving Workshop Corporate Fleet Safety Winner: Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) (NT) Project: Light Vehicle Committee Indigenous Road Safety Winner: Playful Beginnings Aboriginal Corporation (NSW) Project: “The Road, My Mob and Me” Founder’s Award for Outstanding Achievement – Overall Winner Winner: Energy Resources of Australia (ERA) (NT) Project: Light Vehicle Committee Caltex Improvement Grant recipients Hypodrive (QLD) Playful Beginnings Aboriginal Corporation (NSW) Spinal Injuries Association (QLD) Queensland Police Citizens Youth and Welfare Association (QLD)  

Plates will offer new combinations starting with numbers for the first time in NSW. Disappointed somebody else got a TOY 86 plate. Good news, you could have 86 TOY as NSW moves to allow 'number first' plates. Classic car fans will be keen to grab plates that will point out their vehicle's vintage: 67 XRGT (for the Ford XR Falcon GT) is just one that's likely to be snapped up in no time. From October 8 these new ‘number first’ plates will be made available in NSW by myPlates, resulting in an array of newly available combinations. “The release of numbers first content is a really exciting time," myPlates CEO Daryl Head says. "It creates a once in a lifetime opportunity for people to secure their ideal number plate content and marks a milestone in the evolution of number plates in NSW.” Birthdate combinations, renowned lucky numbers and famous dates are predicted to be snapped up first, while popular vehicle and model numbers are also expected to see out quickly. The plates will be released from 9am on October 8. For more information visit www.myplates.com.au or call 131 758.  

It’s a debate that’s raged for decades. Who are the better drivers, males or females? Guys claim to be skilfully superior while the girls prefer the crown of sensibility. One thing’s for sure, Aussie boys like speed but skill levels are questionable. And ladies, certain technologies seem to be testing your self-proclaimed sensible nature while behind the wheel. A recent survey compiled by Continental Tyres has revealed that around 50 per cent of Australian motorists break the road rules on a regular basis. Speeding, using a mobile phone while driving, disobeying traffic lights, signs or signals and failing to wear a seat belt are among the top rules being broken. Just over 70 per cent of males surveyed admitted to speeding on a daily basis, while only around 30 per cent of females confessed to breaking the speed limit every day. More than half of those males who confessed to frequent speeding had also been caught for driving over the speed limit in the last three years – with males aged between 30-49 racking up the most demerit points for the offence. Females aged between 18-24 years old proved most likely to put their foot down, with around 30 per cent admitting to being caught by a police radar or camera. Continental Tyres General Manager Steve Brown expressed his concern with speeding issues. "With so many campaigns in place to reduce the number of drivers speeding on our roads, it is distressing to learn that so many are still risking the lives of their loved ones by exceeding the limit". Of those surveyed, women took the top spot for using a mobile phone while driving with over 25 per cent owning up to the offence. Guys tended to prefer disobeying traffic lights, sign or signals with more than 25 per cent admitting to doing so on a regular basis. So it seems guys do indeed prefer driving like speedy loons, but that amounts to nothing when it comes to skill. And females may have the ability to multi-task (there we admit it), although this trait may prove detrimental when cars and phone are mixed together.  

Love them or loathe them, personalised number plates are here to stay.And with myPlates introducing new (and legal) colour schemes, patterns and designs you can expect to see plenty more individualised plates on our roads now and in the future.As their popularity grows, availability of sought after phrases, names and combinations of digits and letters is dwindling. And with that driver’s creative juices are bubbling in attempts to unearth a witty word that is yet to be claimed.In true-blue style, Aussies have been testing the patience of number plate approvers with rude, crude and outright hilarious idioms – many of which will never make it onto our roads.So if you were thinking B1ACH, H0RNEE or B00ZY might go well with your wheels then you’re going to be bitterly disappointed. These are just some examples that have been submitted for approval, only to be rejected by the RTA.Comedian Steve Bedwell has brought together these tried and denied number plate submissions in a small book. Naughty NMB PL8 shows some of the best phrases out there. Be warned, you may want to keep this out of reach of the kids.For the cleaner minds out there, you can check the availability of your desired numbers and letters on myPlates.com.au. To my delight I was able to get BROGAN (not BOGAN as one colleague mistakenly read) with the mighty green and red Rabbitohs styling.The only drawback, it would cost a one-off order fee of $250 and annual debit of $440 – maybe a little pricey to attract plenty of abuse from rival footy fans. Not to mention having it read as BOGAN on my street.But with Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, one of these plates would make a great ‘thinking outside the box’ pressie. 

'If it’s not broken, don’t fix it'. This seems to be the motto for the Morgan Motor Company. The classic car connoisseurs don’t like change. In over 100 years the company has remained independent, created all the cars by hand, made customers wait over a year for an order and still build their vehicles out of wood. No, that’s not a typo. Morgan cars have always been crafted entirely around a wooden skeleton. A metal shell is then layered over this seemingly archaic frame to provide a more solid structure. Each metal shear is slightly different, ensuring that every owner receives a one of a kind Morgan vehicle. Understandably, Morgan only build around 600 cars each year. Owners can pay anything from around $40,000 to $300,000 for one of these superb ‘grownup go-karts’. Morgan also like to keep things in the family. Founded by Henry Frederick Stanley Morgan, it was passed down to his son Peter and is now owned by Peter’s son Charles.  

After decades of focus groups and voiced opinions on what makes for high quality vehicle interiors Ford have come to a conclusion – humans don’t know. We don’t understand how to measure quality and we’re too indecisive to ever be truly satisfied. So in true twenty-first century style Ford have resorted to the only sensible option – create a robot to do it. She’s called RUTH – Robotized Unit for Tactility and Haptics – and she may be the answer to all our interior quality woes. Developed in Europe but now residing in the US, she’s aiding Ford in ensuring the 2013 Fusion is the world’s most comfortable car. But what’s the secret? And how does a robotic creation measure areas like softness, hardness and comfort? It comes down to mathematical evidence and RUTH’s uncanny number crunching abilities. Consisting of one giant arm with six joints, RUTH is programmed poke and prod at a car’s interior. She’ll press buttons, turn knobs, push on seating and generally mimic the actions of us humans. The data is then collated to provide Ford’s interior design teams information on the perfect quality and comfort levels. This skips the lengthy process of collecting customer feedback and provides a higher quality product, as Ford craftsmanship supervisor Eileen Franko explains, “We are going further for our customers by more accurately and quickly assessing our products’ performance,” “RUTH simulates the motor skills of a real person, allowing us to get precise measurements that explain what the customer wants. Engineers can take the findings and implement them. As a result, when customers sit in an affordable car like Fusion, they’ll feel instantly like they’re in a high-end ride” says Franko. While the main focus remains on customer satisfaction, Ford’s productivity levels are expected to increase dramatically claims Franko, “Before RUTH, many engineers had access only to hand-held measuring tools, and no means to test the interiors in a manner that resembled in-vehicle scenarios,” he explains. “An engineer outside of our department might even have pushed a dictionary and a pop can into an armrest to measure its resistance and softness. But now engineers can contact us and we can put RUTH into a vehicle; within a few hours, we can give them tangible data.” So have Ford really created the perfect woman? We think so. Gone are the days of cooking and cleaning importance. If RUTH can make our ride perfectly comfortable then we’re more than happy. Now Ford just need a RUTH.2 for their engine development and they’ve hit gold.  

After giving Australian journalists a look at the Shooting Brake overseas, Mercedes has revealed details of the high-powered AMG version.Under the bonnet it packs one heck of a punch with a 5.5-litre V8 biturbo engine with a power output range of 386-410kW and an AMG SpeedShift MCT 7-speed sports transmission and AMG Ride Control sports suspension.That generous boot allows up to 1550 litres of storage space, while the stylish interior will have many second guessing the practical nature of the Shooting Brake – and just to confuse you further, look out for the wooden luggage compartment flooring.The proportions still aim to make it carry a coupe style. Glance at it again and you’ll notice there are five practical doors. But with an AMG workover, this is a sports car with five seats and plenty of bootspace – sting, style and a sensible package.Mercedes-AMG GmbH Chairman Ola Kallenius claims the Shooting Brake will follow the company trend of creating a new market segment. "After the successes of the CLS 55 AMG and CLS 63 AMG, with the new CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake we are consistently pursuing the philosophy of offering our customers unrivalled, exciting high-performance cars.”While Mercedes are eager to attract new buyers, Kallenius says existing customers will be equally delighted. “The CLS 63 AMG Shooting Brake is establishing a completely new, small and select niche sector, and is expected to delight new customers just as much as it will existing AMG enthusiasts. The combination of performance, style and usability is unique."Sitting between the coupe and wagon markets, the Shooting Brake currently has no direct competition. However, a sporty, spacious and curiously good-looking car such as this will be highly appealing – young families are an obvious target, yet you’d expect interest from a range of other groups as well. 

Either that or these grease monkeys have had a lot of coffee. But if that’s what it takes to strip and re-build a Subaru Impreza WRX STI in three minutes, then why not.And when the car is set to be driven by daredevil Travis Pastrana you’d want a speedy mechanic team. Pastrana’s had more smashes, spills and misshapes than a crash test dummy on a bad day – so hasty repair jobs are in regular demand.Maybe the techno overlay has something behind this swift strip and build? That track alone has got us twitching in our seats.Whatever the catalyst, we wouldn’t mind some in the Carsguide office. 

The Citroen 2CV was – or is – a breed of its own. It apparently breeds well, too. Yes, the 2CV is still very much alive and kicking – and if it keeps on behaving in this wanton manner it will be popping out new models for generations to come.Who would have known this classic beast was such an animal. From what we’ve seen on this sex tape, this naughty little number sees more action than Paris Hilton and Charlie Sheen combined. And seems to feel the same happiness to flaunt debauchery on film.Equally surprising is that the 2CV seems to be part bird, or reptile, or both. Now you’ve got rampant outdoor sex, possible bestiality, and an eagerness to put on a show for -- well, anyone willing to watch --  we’ll never look at this classic car in the same light again.Forget Lara Bingle’s nude shower and balcony shots and Matthew Newtown’s endless list of ‘tired and emotional’ shenanigans. This Citroen old timer blows them off the murky tabloid front page every time.