Articles by Neil Dowling

“Safety is very important to the brand,” says Volvo president and CEO Hakan Samuelsson, outlining the brand's aim to hit annual sales of 800,000 by 2020. “We have to have a premium position in the market. But that premium cannot be based on changing our focus on safety. We should remain very proud of our safety foundation.”He says that safety was one vital key when it became “inevitable” that Volvo cars will be built in China for the Asia-Pacific market - including Australia - and says the timing could be as short as a decade. But he would not be drawn into which models would be affected.Mr Samuelsson says that though safety has been very important in sustaining Volvo, ultimately the customer seeks the best product. “Product is the king,” he says. “We have to mix safety with emotion. That’s the reason we are showing our Volvo Concept Coupe. It shows what you can expect from Volvo in the near future. We have to have a strong product and upgrade that product. Then volume will come.”The VCC, designed in house by Volvo and loosely based on the P1800 coupe of the 1960s, is unlikely to reach production, says Mr Samuelsson. “We have too many other things to concern ourselves with,” he says. One will be ensuring the company is profitable.It sells about 450,000 cars a year now and has invested heavily in the upcoming Scalable Product Architecture (SPA) that is the new, single-design platform for all future cars. It rolls out late next year in Europe (early 2015 for Australia) with the next XC90 SUV.Then there is the huge investment in the new engine designs and the factories in Sweden and China to build components. Mr Samuelsson says the way Volvo interacts with its customers will also change. “In Sweden we have a personal technician for the Volvo owner,” he says.“He’s like the personal doctor who looks after the customer and the car. That could be extended to other parts of the world. In China we have one-hour stops, a service that takes one hour or less. It’s like a barber shop for cars - you stand in line and your car is ready in an hour. That can also be looked at in other markets.” He says these are ideas that create better customer satisfaction and yet don’t require a lot of expense.Volvo must also increase its sales. “We think 800,000 is achievable,” Mr Samuelsson says, “perhaps even earlier than 2020. Building cars for China, in China, should give us sales of 200,000 a year. Then there is strengthening markets in Europe - which I believe will be on the increase by 2016 and the US.”Though parent company Geely appears keen to amalgamate Volvo into its own company, there is a lot of resistance from the board of Volvo. Mr Samuelsson says the product relationship between Geely and Volvo is like Skoda is to its sister company, Audi.“We (Volvo) are Audi and Geely is Skoda,” he says. “There will be some sharing of components - for example, gearbox and suspension parts - but we will remain a no-compromise Volvo product. Geely’s components and the way they are used in the car will make it a distinctly different type of car.” Mr Samuelsson says the fact that similar components are used by Skoda and Audi has not upset Audi’s premium place in the market.     

Autonomous cars are parked just around the next corner but the key to their suitability is being held by governments and big business, Audi says.Audi's chief Rupert Stadler says his company could introduce cars with the technology almost immediately. "We have spent three years developing an autonomous car and we have shown it at Geneva, in a TT, in 2011," he tells Carsguide at Frankfurt motor show."We believe it is coming but it's up to other factors than us. There are repercussions to the driver, the car owner, the passengers, the public and so on."Mr Stadler says a time frame before 2020 is "realistic" but regulation could change that. "It doesn't depend on us. It's now up to governments, regulations and businesses such as insurance.""Yes, we've had the technology to build a car and operate it without a driver at up to 130km/h. We've driven that in Nevada.""But the technology will also be expensive. There is a big investment in the pre-production phase. We also have to make a business case from this. It will be evolutionary rather than revolutionary and I think will take some time."The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

Australians will in two years plug into Volvo in a way never previously thought possible. An electric-hybrid SUV with seven seats, replacing the current flagship XC90, will be the first Volvo on a new platform, with new drivetrains and a new way of doing business.Volvo's vice president of product, Lex Kerssemakers, says that a few years after that Volvos will be made in China for the global market.The ambitious globalisation of Volvo was outlined, in skeleton form at best, this week at the Frankfurt motor show."The next XC90, to be released next year, will be the first of our plug-in hybrids for Australia," Mr Kerssemakers says. "Others will follow but we believe that this is the best car to showcase our new technology." Hybrid power with electric motors is necessary for the larger Volvo models because the company will now make only four cylinder engines - two in fact, one a diesel and one petrol.Mr Kerssemakers says this rationalisation brings efficient cost savings to the small company. But in admitting that some cars need more power - for performance or for towing - many will have the option of up to three electric motors. "We will be able to offer the same engine, for example, from 90kW to 275kW-plus," he says.One of the more powerful versions has a twincharger (turbocharger and supercharger) engine with 275kW and 400Nm of torque. "When we add the electric motor to this engine, we have 600Nm. We know that very few customers want 600Nm of torque but it will be important to those who tow large boats or trailers and for those who want a performance car."But the point is that we can get all this performance from the one basic engine - that saves a lot of money for our business." Saving more money comes from Volvo's parent Geely that this week opened its first joint-venture factory in China. The factory, the first of three, will make the S60 long wheelbase sedan initially specifically for the Chinese market."The car can be exported from China, sure, and we're not shying away from making future cars for export in China," he says. "The factories and the quality are world class and even the facilities make our Swedish workers jealous. But to say that China will make all our cars for all our markets in the future is absolutely wrong.""We will always make Volvo cars in Europe for the European market. It makes no sense making cars in China and then shipping them to Europe." But Mr Kerssemakers says it is practical for China-made cars to be exported to Asian markets, including the Asia-Pacific region into which Australia falls."The cars will be as good or better than those made in Europe." The cars to be made in China will start with the S60 - which from this week is being built in a new Chinese factory - but it may take a few years before it is offered in Australia and will not include the long wheelbase model.The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

Hybrid engines will replace conventional engines within 15-20 years as governments tighten emission rules and fuel costs escalate, says the boss of Audi."We have to bring fuel consumption down," says Audi board chairman Rupert Stadler. "But why should we have to lose vehicle performance at the same time? Electric and internal combustion engines combined are the only answer, for the moment."Mr Stadler says that within the "next few years" all engines will have turbochargers and reduced engine sizes and cylinder numbers. "There is room to move with fuel efficiency and smaller engines with turbocharging is one answer," he says."This downsizing and turbocharging is the first way to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. The next will be more efficient diesels - I think we have a way to go here - and then we'll have plug-in diesels and then, move to electric vehicles. But infrastructure and government regulations may have an impact on how quickly we move to the full electric vehicle stage."In the short term he says range extender powerplants are the best answer. A fan of Tesla, he nevertheless says Tesla's all-electric drive doesn't have the range to suit US, Chinese and Russian buyers. "It works in Europe but we see many customers in our emerging markets (China and Russia) will be disappointed."Audi's answer for the short term is the drivetrain as fitted to its Quattro Sport concept.This coupe, which Mr Stadler says is promised for production "in the mid term" and hinting at a 2016 launch, is an example of his "right way to go"."Plug in hybrids are very efficient," he says. "This is where we differ from Volkswagen. They see the answer in all-electric vehicles and we see plug-in hybrids as our future. Volkswagen make cars for the city where short range is acceptable. Our customers want something different.""The Quattro Sport is intended to slot in between the existing TT and R8 models and will be priced accordingly. It's our future - a powerful engine with low emissions," he says. "It will operate for about 50km on electric only which means 50km of driving in the city without any emissions."The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

I was standing at the pay-desk about to buy a pair of trendy orange-coloured jeans to propel me into 2013 when a shadow of reality told me I wasn't a trendy person.

The noise hurts. The exhaust note pounds the eardrums and the shockwaves turn my chest into a kettle drum in the hands of some musically-challenged maniac.All I have to do to make that noise -- that vibrating air -- disappear is to turn the console switch from "sport" to "strada" (street). That changes the engine settings, diverting the exhaust gases away from the optional performance-tuned extractors.But I can't. It's addictive not just to me but to the occupants of the cars alongside me at the traffic lights, to the cyclist I just passed a kilometre or two back down the road and to the now slightly-shaken shoppers wandering the narrow city streets. At least I presume they are equally in awe of the music as they are of the sharp-edged, hexagonal-trimmed wedge that is Lamborghini's Aventador Roadster.It is a car that shocks the senses with more than just its sound, with its razor-edged lines that defy the organic lines of contemporary transport and in its disproportionate dimensions that exaggerate its 2.3m width against a tiny 1.1m height.PRICEAnd if all that doesn't get you in, then the entry-level price of $795,000 - incidentally including about $300,000 of government taxes (so who says wealth is obscene) - is a reality check and the $929,000 on-road cost of the test car is just an impossible Monopoly number.Few cars - at least those capable of being licenced in Australia - will make your driveway look as good as this. Remarkably, it will make the driver look fantastic as well and do wonders for the person in the passenger seat.If you're introverted, drive a Pulsar. If you're here to be noticed, it's a Lamborghini and certainly one like the Aventador Roadster - there is also the Gallardo Convertible - that without its roof will make you a sunburnt star.If you've got it, flaunt it! Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916-1993), who started the company, reputedly said once about the high price of his cars: "The engine costs $150,000 - the rest you get for free."DESIGNThe hexagons that make up a large part of the Roadster's shell design - and incidentally are absent in the Aventador coupe - are a tip of the hat by Lamborghini to the element of carbon. Carbon fibre, you see, forms the bulk of the car's bodywork. The rest is jagged euphoria.The test car gets 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels (a $10,350 option) and glass-panelled engine cover ($14,985), a carbon-fibre fillet in the centre of the engine's vee ($4995), and metallic paint ($4875). Signs of parent company Audi are visible in some switchgear - not a bad thing, really.TECHNOLOGYToo much for this space but the engine can cut off six cylinders when coasting and the Aventador has stop-start with a capacitor - same as Mazda6! The AWD system sends power out of the front of the engine, into the gearbox between the seats, then uses one prop shaft to the rear wheels (alongside the right of the engine) and sends the other forward through a Haldex diff to the front wheels. The complexity ranks alongside Nissan GT-R's power transfer.SAFETYIt doesn’t have an Australian crash rating. If you've got $929,000 then buy one of these and give it to ANCAP and they'll crash it for you. Let me know how it fares.DRIVINGSomeone once described the acceleration of this as horizontal bungee jumping. I can't argue. Nothing comes closer to the slingshot immediacy of the Aventador with a claimed 2.9 second blink from rest to 100km/h.The first lesson is: Be very prepared when you play with the accelerator pedal. From start there's a click of the right-side paddle shifter into first gear, then a squeeze on the accelerator pedal. Then more of a squeeze and so on until I believe that the gear hasn't engaged. It has, it's just a few more hundred revs around the dominating, multi-coloured single tachometer dial before the electronic clutch bites.Then 515kW lurches forward. Leave it in "strada" mode for general street use and the exhaust note is tame and the automatic mode of the robotised seven-speed manual is almost domesticated - certainly a far cry from the early "e-gear" box in the first Gallardo that was like trying to appease a grumpy Collingwood supporter after a lost game.Depending on accelerator pressure, the box will either hold the gears back and fling them upward around 3000rpm, or roll up the cogs quickly. The steering is firm, almost heavy, and while visibility to the front is clear, the rear view is little more than a letterbox slit and to the sides - well, forget it.The car isn't hard to drive. It's the fear of failure that grips me. I drive haunted by thoughts of one tiny corner miscalculation resulting in doom in a financial vacuum yet, at the same time, the sheer exhilaration of pedalling a remarkably simple, shatteringly quick piece of hand built Italiana.Change the console-mount button the "sport" and that exhaust note erupts. There is an urgency that doesn't mix well with the lazy mid-week traffic on the coastal route. The "corsa" button keeps the exhaust bark and wail the same but turns off the electronic nanny - a move made by the brave or foolish. It also firms the steering and the gearchanges alter from abrupt to violent.Traffic lights disappear and the road sweeps and flows and traffic reduces, so the car can be moved with less restriction. Here, on the open bitumen, is where the Aventador starts to shine. Sure, it is upset by uneven bitumen that makes the suspension jiggle and the chassis jump and coachwork exhibit the occasional small squeak.But its hunger is insatiable. It eats the road and the faster - academically to speeds even intolerable in northern Italy - it goes, the more it hugs the bitumen and becomes locomotive solid. Roof up, the car is taut and quiet from wind - not road or engine noise, however - but with the two targa-type panels removed and the bevel-edge window glass down, it twirls the wind through the carpet and the leather and my remaining hair.These two targa panels, made of a composite so they're remarkably light at 6kg each, are suitably numbered so amateurs like myself can find how they slot into position beneath the shovel-shaped bonnet. Be warned: Once in place, there is no room for luggage. None. The seats - optional here in a Roadster-exclusive Elegante pack ($4440) with Lamborghini branding (add $2070) - look tiny but are supportive while being easy to access.The scissor doors are made of carbon fibre and perfectly balanced so they open and close as a two-finger exercise, far removed from the heavy hand needed for the Murcielago.VERDICTThe best Lamborghini to date.Lamborghini Aventador RoadsterPrice: from $795,000 ($929,000 on-road as tested)Warranty: 3 years/unlimited km, 3yr roadside assistCapped servicing: NoService interval: 12mths/12,000kmResale: 54%Safety: 8 airbags, ABS, ESC, EBD, TCCrash rating: Not testedEngine: 6.5-litre, V12 petrol; 515kW/690NmTransmission: 7-spd automated manual; AWDThirst: 17.2L/100km; 98RON; 398g/km CO2Dimensions: 4.8m (L), 2.0m (W), 1.1m (H)Weight: 1690kgSpare: None

Perhaps I misjudged the lazy beachside parallel of Holden's new mid-size entrant. Maybe I was anaesthetised to Holden's previous attempts at this segment, particularly the mind-numbing nothingness and barely acceptable build quality of the Epica.Like the Epica - suitably nicknamed Epitaph - the Malibu is made in Korea. It has nothing to do with California's average beachfront but is similar to the equally average Chevrolet Malibu sedan. Thankfully, Holden has Australianised the Chevrolet with significant changes in cabin room, suspension tuning and drivetrain.It gets the powertrain from Opel and at this point, the Malibu is starting to look like a real mid-size contender. But then the body styling creeps up and warms you like an old cardigan, proving that Mitsubishi and Toyota don't hold the licence for bland.The $32,490 tag for the Malibu CD automatic diesel is line-ball with rival offerings. It buys a big car - only 82mm shorter than the Commodore - with relatively low ownership costs thanks to capped-price service, a 12-month roadside assist package and the frugal diesel consumption. But three-year resale is low at 40 per cent.Features rate well and aim at occupant convenience - touch screen, Bluetooth and Gracenote, smartphone integration - and economy. But the $34,990 Commodore Evoke auto may be a better buy.In profile and under certain light I'm reminded - scarred may be more accurate - by the 2008 Chrysler Sebring. There's function in the Malibu but it's no dance partner you'd be happy to twirl.At least it is roomy with excellent rear-seat leg and headroom, though the 545-litre boot is relatively small given there's no spare wheel (it's optional). Square-rimmed dash gauges and centre console look dated - and are shared with GM products including the GMC SUVs - but are easy to use. Touch screen is excellent but electric park button is hidden.Under the bonnet it's all Opel. The German-built engine is the same as the Opel Insignia as is the six-speed automatic transmission. Holden passed on the similarly-sized Cruze/Captiva 2-litre diesel-engine from Italy.The drivetrain and chassis stuff is conventional though the diesel has hydraulic-assist power steering where the petrol-fuelled Malibu gets electric assist. Better is the MyLink media unit with Pandora and Stitcher apps, Gracenote and Bluetooth that provide audio streaming and smart phone integration.Malibu follows the rivals with a five-star crash rating and all the necessary electronic brake and chassis nannies. There's rear park sensors, a reverse camera, six airbags, heated mirrors, auto headlights but no spare wheel.Getting the engine from Germany and the transmission from Japan sounds like the ingredients for a top-notch car. They aren't. The engine shows promise but is a bit apathetic and not as bubbly as the VM unit in the Cruze. Performance is adequate and - unusually for a diesel - feels weak at low revs and doesn't start any enthusiasm until 2000rpm.It performs well at 2000-3000rpm and will close in on the claimed 6.4 L/100km fuel use. The steering feels too light and overgeared but is positive and with the taut body and well-tuned suspension, even induced a smile from me.The manual shifter for the auto is on top of the gear knob - an unorthodox location that isn't worth the extra brain neurons to master, though it may benefit the petrol model. I liked the ride comfort and the space but the car feels a bit dated against some rivals.

Have we become so lazy that we need amplifiers in cars to ensure clear passenger conversation? Jaguar thinks so. Its “Conversation Assist” consists of microphones above each seat to amp up the occupant's voice. Embedded in the optional Meridian Reference Audio System in the latest XJ, it “makes it much easier for occupants to be heard clearly by the other occupants in the vehicle above any cabin noise” says Jaguar.Which could be a damning indictment of the legendary quietness of a Jaguar saloon. Conversation Assist is one of the upgrades in the mid-life makeover XJ that also enhances its long wheelbase model with two rear airline-style seats. These seats include cushion and squab adjustment, three massage programs - wave/rolling, lumbar and shoulder - and lumbar adjustment.Rear seat passengers have 13mm more headroom than the outgoing model and can recline the seats by 11 degrees and move the cushion over 103mm. They can even control the front passenger seat from the rear.The XJ has optional front-seat massage functions for each seat with five levels of intensity, allowing occupants to personalise their massage settings to their preference.Options stretch as long as the wheelbase with an entertainment package of two 10.2-inch high-resolution screens mounted on the back of the front seat headrests. These display inputs from sources including the DVD player, digital TV tuner or an external media player. Audio can be transmitted through the wireless headphones, allowing each passenger to watch separate entertainment sources.Rear passengers also have a wireless controller to alter individual climate zones and seat heating and cooling functions. The XJ long wheelbase also has optional leather-surfaced business tables which fold out of the seatbacks of the front seats, rear window blinds and electric side window blinds.Options also extend to a 1300-Watt Meridian Reference Audio System with 26 speakers that include a set of two 80mm standard and one 25mm tweeter in the rear of each of the front seats. All XJ models in the latest iteration have soft-closing door technology and changes to the rear suspension to improve the ride suppleness. The XJR, to be launched later this year, expands on the 2014 XJ range by adding bespoke chassis and aerodynamic developments.It has a 404kW/680Nm 5-litre supercharged V8 engine capable of a 0-100km/h time of 4.6 seconds and will be available only in standard wheelbase for $298,000. This is the first time an R badge has been applied to the latest generation of the XJ range. Prices for the long wheelbase models are unchanged – and parallel pricing for the standard wheelbase versions. The long bi-turbo diesel V6 Premium Luxury is $198,800 and the supercharged petrol V6 is $198,445.The writer is on Twitter: @cg_dowling

And you can cook up your Fiesta with three meaty options:bacon stripes over the rear wheelsbacon racing stripes on the bonneta full bacon wrap (10 stripes layed around the car)Before you get too hungry, this is a public relations stunt from Ford of America and was delivered with pork-barrelling terms such as: "unlike bacon grease, nothing gets sizzled away from the Fiesta interior."Ford's pork barrelling got cooking at USA Today, Time and even - well, naturally - Pork magazine with some publicity. "It's no secret that bacon inspires a lot of passion, and that's what the Fiesta celebrates," says Ford Fiesta (US) marketing manager Liz Elser. "Our customers have a hunger for self-expression. Plus, it's just awesome to drive down the road in a piece of bacon."Ford Australia says it has no plans to ham it up with the car.The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling 

Sluggish electric-car sales may be history as Volkswagen enters the race with two new models. The Golf and Up hatchbacks go electric for the Frankfurt motor show next month, claiming fuel costs over 100km of as little as $3.50.But the e-Golf and e-Up, which could go into production for European markets as early as mid-2014, won't come to Australia.Volkswagen will show production models at Frankfurt and say the e-Golf's will cost only $3.80 in electricity (Australian average costs) for each 100km, while the e-Up will cost about $3.50 for 100km.The range is 190km and 160km respectively because the e-Up has a smaller battery. This compares with the most frugal Golf, the 110TDI at 4.9 litres/100km average, which costs $7.60 for 100km.Volkswagen Australia says it "has no plans to offer electric vehicles in Australia". "We will continue to review their suitability for our market, however, based on the local infrastructure and market demands we don't expect to see significant growth in this segment in the short term," says spokesman Karl Gehling.Both Volkswagen hachbacks are based heavily on the existing models. The company, in a statement, says: "Standard features (include) automatic climate control with parking heater and ventilation, radio-navigation system, windscreen heating, LED daytime running lights and, in the e-Golf, the Volkswagen brand's first use of LED headlights.""The zero-emission cars from Volkswagen are manufactured with the same high-volume production systems as their counterparts with combustion engines." The all-electric drive system will rely - in Germany at least - on using renewable energy sources and benefit mobility in metropolitan areas.Volkswagen says the German Federal Ministry for Transport, Building and Urban Development found that about 80 per cent of all car drivers in Germany drive fewer than 50km daily. For that reason, the electric cars will use quick charging stations.The fastest charging stations can charge the battery of an e-Up or an e-Golf to 80 per cent capacity in about 30 minutes. The e-Golf has an 85kW/270Nm motor that can sprint to 100km/h from rest in 10.4 seconds and is limited at 140km/h.The smaller e-Up uses a 60kW/210Nm motor that has a 12.4 second sprint time and a speed limited top speed of 130km/h. Both cars have driver-select driving modes - Eco and Eco+ - and four modes to activate regenerative braking to help extend maximum range.More details will be announced by Volkswagen at the Frankfurt show and will be published here.The reporter is on Twitter: @cg_dowling