Articles by Neil Dowling

The 59-year-old, one of the last senior executives from the tumultuous Jacques Nasser era, started as Ford's vice president of design in 1997 after working with BMW, Audi and Volkswagen.

Volkswagen Beetle and Hyundai Veloster SR Turbo go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}

Halfway through a seven-year stint as the enviable car bay filler in Australia's corporate garage, BMW raises the bar.

They share a name but each sits at the polar ends of the population ledger.

Naysayers have been waiting for big 4WDs to suffocate under the weight of emission laws, soaring fuel prices and a urban-led rush to soft-roaders.

Demand for luxury cars has put Maserati on the curve of a wave that has swelled global orders to 22,500 cars, equivalent to four times its 2012 sales.Ghibli and a new Quattroporte are the catalysts but, without these models, it's not yet the case in Australia. Australia's upper large, $100,000-plus segment in which these new Maseratis will play is now up 12.8 per cent year-to-date - the only passenger-car segment aside from small cars to post a two-digit growth."We won't see Quattroporte - except for some of the very first order that are here before Christmas - in volume until the first quarter of 2014," says Maserati Australia general manager Glen Sealey."Ghibli will be here in the second quarter of next year." Mr Sealey says Australia is still waiting for the big wave because "we tend to be about 12 months behind Europe and the US in sales.""That's because we get new models some time after they're launched in Italy," he says. "The new Quattroporte has been in Europe for some months and the Ghibli is now on sale there."Mr Sealey says Maserati Australia is in a strong position despite not having stock. "We have the best year ever for GranTurismo but the problem is we are out of stock," he says. "We sell about 150 Maseratis a year in Australia and New Zealand with three models. The Quattroporte isn't available until the new model and GranCabrio stock is selling quickly."Mr Sealey says sales for Australia this year will be stable but he says 2014 - the marque's centenary - will be a record. "Ghibli will open up a new segment for us and new Quattroporte will rejuvenate the luxury car sector," he says. "The first few months of Ghibli stock has already been sold out. We are also holding strong orders for Quattroporte."It is in line with Maserati's plan to reach 50,000 sales a year by 2015, though the Mirafiori plant in Torino which will build the Levante SUV is yet to be finished." Mr Sealey expects Levante to add up to 50 per cent of Maserati's annual Australian sales. "It's a massive market segment," he says.Levante is expected in Australia by mid-2015. Maserati stated today that it is holding 17,000 orders for the Quattroporte and 7900 for Ghibli. It also has 5000 orders for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio. "Maserati is well on target to see sales for 2013 beating its best every year 9000 sales in 2008 and with such a full order book, that record is set to be broken again in 2014, when Maserati celebrates its 100th birthday," the company said in a statement."The demand for Maserati products worldwide is a spectacular vindication of the decision to invest 1.5 billion euros (about $2 billion) in the new range and a new state of the art factory to produce the Quattroporte and Ghibli so that the existing factory in Modena can concentrate on meeting the demand for Maserati sports cars."With yet another all-new Maserati model to come, the Maserati Levante, which will take the Italian car maker into the lucrative performance and luxury SUV market, Maserati is clearly on target to meet its goal of 50,000 sales worldwide by 2015."

The hybrid SUV market is becoming a war ground as Nissan today announces a hybrid version of its forthcoming Pathfinder. The seven-seat wagon, based on the Murano and Maxima, comes up against the long-standing Lexus RX450h and near-future players including the Mitsubishi Outlander and Volvo XC60.Nissan's announcement coincides with the end of a diesel-engine option in the Pathfinder that, in its 2014 guise, also dispenses with a full-frame ladder frame and becomes a monocoque body. The hybrid, shown at the New York motor show earlier this year, has a supercharged 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine mated to a single electric motor. It uses a lithium-ion battery pack that is beneath the third-row seat and has a regenerative braking system.The motor is relatively low in power at just 15kW but is enough to boost overall power to 187kW/329Nm - close to the 195kW/336Nm of the 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine that becomes standard in the new Pathfinder. Nissan claims the hybrid is about 25 per cent more economical than the V6, indicating an average of about 8.5 litres/100km.In the US the Hybrid is available in front or all-wheel drive and uses a CVT transmission. Nissan Australia hasn't revealed if one or both drivetrains are coming here. Like the Patrol and X-Trail, the Pathfinder all-wheel drive version has selectable front-drive, automatic "on demand" AWD or 4WD lock.The Pathfinder Hybrid has the same cabin space and flexibility as the non-hybrid models. It also has Nissan's "EZ Flex" seats that has a sliding second row with 60/40 split and fold functions. The slide function can be accessed even if a baby seat is attached. The third row seat is a 50/50 split-fold design that reclines for passenger comfort - a feature Nissan claims is not available on other SUVs in its class. The second and third seat rows also fold flat for maximum cargo space.In the US, Nissan claims the hybrid will be tow 1600kg. The Pathfinder Hybrid is expected to be launched at $55,000-$60,000, a premium of about 10 per cent on the entry-level ST model. Nissan was chewing over a 3-litre V6 turbo-diesel - also used in the Infiniti range - to appease lovers of diesels, but it was an easier fit to pick up the US-specced hybrid model. However, that may not preclude the diesel engine from making an appearance as an option later in the year. 

It's not turbocharged and it doesn't have red brakes. It's not European or Japanese and only a decade ago its name would be rained on by ridicule.

The hot mid-size prestige car market is ready to boil from 2015 when Jaguar unleashes an all-aluminium compact sedan. Australian buyers are in one of the first cabs off the ranks with the sedan

Jeep Grand Cherokee 2WD and Mazda CX-9 2WD go head-to-head in this comparative review. .star {width:135px;}#article-corpus {width:100%; padding-right: 0;}