Articles by Neil Dowling

The two fresh Subaru faces will arrive in January, with the Forester's complete change brings with it an automatic gearbox for its diesel-engined models.The CVT box is a tweaked version of the unit fitted to the current Impreza models, with gearshift changes designed to suit off-road applications. Subaru will also bring access to offroad adventure in the form of a high-riding sedan.The Liberty sedan cross-over - effectively a four-door Outback - arrives in January with 60mm extra high-ride suspension and the choice of four and six-cylinder petrol engines.It has no direct competitors in its expected $35,000 to $55,000 price bracket but will be shopped against its wagon counterpart and new models including the diesel-only Volkswagen Passat Alltrack wagon, due here in November.The Liberty sedan cross-over - which is yet to get an official name - was first displayed at last month's Beijing motor show. Compared with the standard Liberty sedan, it features a new grille and front bumper, chrome side skirts and 18-inch alloy wheels.Cabin changes are black metal dash trim and relocated electronic park brake and SI-Drive switches. Subaru Australia's managing director Nick Senior says the car will be ideal for Australian roads ``where we have a huge percentage of unsealed surfaces and the extra ride height adds to its capability in regional and rural areas''.Subaru sells the bulk of its diesel models into these areas yet, conversely, the Liberty sedan won't come with a diesel engine. Well, not initially."Another key aspect of this new Liberty variant is that the hip point is 70mm higher than the current sedan,'' Senior says. Only two markets in the world - Australia and China - will get this model. Senior says that's because they each have unique road conditions. "It is still an enlightening statistic that around 60 per cent of our roads are unsealed,'' he says."Our all-wheel drive Liberty is a great choice for these conditions and the new variant with its extra ground clearance makes an even stronger case."We see its main market to be in rural areas, but it will also be ideal for those with tricky driveways, those who travel with trailers and caravans, or just those who want a sedan where you can sit a bit higher.''The Liberty sedan variant goes on sale about January and will be available with either 2.5-litre four-cylinder or 3.6-litre six-cylinder petrol engines. Keen spotters of Subaru product would have noticed a hybrid model on the 2011 Tokyo motor show stand. The Advanced Tourer Concept (ATC) is a sports wagon with an aerodynamic body over a hybrid system that combines a 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine and an electric motor. Though the drivetrain is interesting and may be with us in a few years, be prepared to see that body shape a bit earlier. 

Toyota's disco ball will be spinning above its GT-86 sports coupe in June, but away from the dance floor, it's the all-new Corolla that will bring in the profits. However Toyota is being typically elusive about the 11th generation Corolla, due in Australia in November as a hatchback before its early-2013 sedan launch. In fact Toyota Australia simply says it "can't provide any details'' of any upcoming new model. The first Corolla sighting - aside from heavily-camouflaged spy shots - will be at the Australian International Motor Show in Sydney on October 19. Corolla is expected to be marginally longer but will lose some kilos thanks to more use of high tensile steel in production. There's no news on mechanical specifications but Australia is long overdue for the Valvematic mechanism that is an evolution of the existing VVT-i system. Valvematic has been in selected Toyota products in Japan and Europe since 2007 and claims a 10 per cent power increase and a 5-10 per cent drop in fuel consumption. The engine with this value system is identified by the FAE designation. Two variants are possible for the Corolla - the 2ZR-FAE 1.8-litre with 110kW and 179Nm, or the 3ZR-FAE 2-litre with 116kW and 195Nm. This compares with the current Corolla Ultima 2-litre with 102kW and 189Nm. More welcome will be a new automatic gearbox. The Corolla has struggled for decades with its four-speed unit while many rivals are offering up to six cogs. Aside from an all-new gearbox, Toyota has a new CVT (continuously-variable transmission) Sports Mode gearbox available. It claims to have a G-sensor to detect deceleration and turning force to make it automatically downshift when entering a corner. It can also hold the gear when cornering so there's no annoying mid-corner upshift. The Corolla sedan, to follow early in 2013, will arrive about the same time as the Yaris sedan and the all-new RAV4. The Yaris repeats most of the body changes - forward of the B-pillar - of the hatch model and has the same drivetrain options. But the RAV4 is not only a new look but a new direction. Toyota will follow the cross-over road with its next RAV4 - the first since the current model launched in 2006 - with a bigger wagon that sits lower to the ground. It will get the Camry 135kW/235Nm 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine and a five-speed automatic transmission. It's possible that Toyota may insert the Camry's six-cog auto box but there may be two constraints - issues with mating that to the all-wheel drive system and the cost of the six-speeder. There are rumours of a turbo-diesel RAV4 - complete with automatic transmission - for Australia but given demand in Europe, supply for Australia may be a problem. Toyota recently announced an electric version, the RAV4 EV, but it is based on the current model and only designed for left-hand drive. In growing in size, the Camry-based RAV4 will lose its tailgate-mounted spare wheel. This  may lead to a top-hinged tailgate instead of the current side-hinged door. Aside from these new models, Toyota will in the third quarter launch special editions of the current Kluger, Land Cruiser 200-Series and RAV4. There will also be upgrades to the FJ Cruiser and Tarago in November.  

Virtually all stock of the hot rear-drive coupe is sold ahead of its official July launch - an event that is shaping up to be a very quiet affair for motoring journalists - and it may take months for the pent-up demand to ease. Subaru has sacrificed part of its own marketing strategy with the BRZ. It ceased production of its broad-brush mini-car range - sold predominantly into the Japanese domestic market - and converted the factory to make the BRZ. Toyota, the majority shareholder in Subaru's parent Fuji Heavy Industries, has taken over some of the minicar production. The BRZ is expected to be sold in the $40,000 range, slightly higher than the Toyota GT 86 clone that goes on sale a month earlier. The July launch date for the BRZ coincides with the release of the far less thrilling - unless you're a parent - seven-seat Exiga wagon. This wagon was originally launched as a six seater but was re-configured to broaden its market. It retains the 2.5-litre engine of its sister car, the Liberty. Subaru Australia's managing director Nick Senior says feedback from Exiga customers showed they wanted the size and flexibility of the cabin "but some felt a seventh seat would be the icing on the cake''. "So that's exactly what Fuji Heavy Industries has now delivered,'' he says. Minor cosmetic changes will come with the seven seats, including a new-look 17-inch alloy wheel design for the Premium model and changes to the door mirrors. The model was upgraded in January with standard reversing camera, dusk-sensing headlights (Premium model) and steering wheel controls for Bluetooth, voice command, audio streaming, USB connectivity and iPod jack.  

Skoda is punching hard as it lifts its profile, firing up cars as small as its budget-priced Citigo city car - expected here around February - and the new mid-size Rapid that will be on sale mid-year and take on the Mazda3, Ford Focus, Holden Cruze and Toyota Corolla.The entry of the Rapid - a Volkswagen Polo-based liftback - also opens the door to the 2013 Octavia that grows in size to dimensions shared with rivals including the Ford Mondeo and its own cousin, the Passat. Carsguide drove the five-door Citigo in Portugal earlier this year and was impressed by the compact car's ability to mix nimble inner-city handling with 120km/h open-road touring.The Citigo is Skoda's take on the Volkswagen Up, which is expected to go on sale in Australia before this Christmas. Skoda Australia spokesman Karl Gehling says that, officially, the Citigo is still "under consideration''.  But significant legwork has been done by Skoda to make the car fit into its Australian line up. It could be here by February and carry a price tag of about $15,000.The Rapid - which borrows its name from Skoda's sporty, rear-engined two-door model made from 1984 to 1990 - is almost the same size as the current Octavia. It is almost identical to the MissionL (CORR) concept car first shown by Skoda at last year's Frankfurt motor show and then at last month's car show in Beijing.Australia will get the Rapid from the Czech factory and not from Skoda plants making the car in India or, from next year, China. It will come with a choice of Volkswagen drivetrains, the most likely a 1.4-litre and 1.8-litre turbo-petrol and 2-litre turbo-diesel. The Rapid inherits the Octavia's liftback - a large hatch that makes it look like a sedan - and variable seating for SUV-like flexibility to make it a hit with families. Skoda hints that it will have a wagon version within a year of the liftback's launch.The arrival of the Rapid will kick start the launch of the bigger Octavia, giving Skoda by the end of 2013 an incremental model line-up from this car down to the Rapid, Fabia and Citigo. Skoda CEO Winfried Vahland told Carsguide at the Citigo launch in February that there were also plans for a larger SUV based on a platform similar to the Audi Q5. That SUV, to complement the Yeti and Octavia Scout, won't be seen until late 2014. 

The third generation Mitsubishi Outlander, here first as a petrol model in December, is being cloned into an ultra-efficient plug-in hybrid and a turbo-diesel. All three powerplants are on Australia's shopping list and all are expected to be on sale by mid-2013. The all-new Outlander grows in size to seat up to seven occupants. First shown in Asia last month at the Beijing motor show, it follows the styling of the hybrid SUV show car, the PX-MiEV, that has quietly ridden the international motor show circuit since 2010.  Mitsubishi is expected to bring the plug-in hybrid Outlander - which is capable of an incredible 2.5 L/100km and a scant 50 grams/km of CO2 - to Australia around the middle of next year. It will be preceded by a diesel automatic model - which initially was off the list for Australia - around Fe bruary. The turbo-diesel may be either Mitsubishi's new 130kW 2.2-litre unit or the 114kW 2.2-litre engine from PSA-Peugeot and currently used in Peugeot's 4007 SUV, a joint-venture build between the two companies. Even the petrol model here later this year will be all new.  The Outlander on the stand in Beijing came with either a 2-litre or 2.4-litre four-cylinder petrol engine but Australia is likely to get the smaller engine. This engine is an evolution of the 2-litre unit in the ASX, with a n ew MIVEC valve system for more power and lower fuel consumption.  The Outlander's fuel economy will also benefit from using high-tensile steel construction to trim the new SUV's weight - down from the current model despite the addition of a third row of seats - and improved aerodynamics. The SUV will also get a stop-start system.  Mitsubishi claims it can get fuel consumption down to 4.9 L/100km  for its entry-level, front-wheel drive diesel manual. But the big news is the hybrid. Mitsubishi says the plug-in hybrid is expected to be affordable, with pricing about $5000 more than its petrol counterparts, currently in the $30,000-$50,000 range depending on trim level.  The plug-in Outlander has a range of about 800km on its batteries, assisted by a small onboard petrol engine. Mitsubishi Australia's spokesman on electric vehicles, Ashley Sanders, last year said that the plug-in uses two 60kW electric motors, one driving the front wheels and the other the rear.  The 70kW petrol engine acts ma inly as a generator. The vehicle will run on electric-only after an overnight charge and, as the batteries run down, the petrol engine will start up and power a generator. "However, the engine can provide power to the wheels,'' Sanders says. "It will act as a supplementary power source. It's not the primary power source as is the case in hybrids such as the Prius.  "So the Outlander can be driven with all-electric power from the batteries, or with the engine used as a generator for the batteri es, or where the engine is helping the electric motors. It's all done automatically." The plug-in Outlander weighs about 180kg more than the petrol version, due mainly to the 72 lithium-ion battery cells under the floor. Other features of all Outlander models will be an ``eco-friendly'' driving system that tells the driver when they are driving at maximum efficiency.  There will also be driving aid options including FCM (Forward Crash Mitigation System) that detects vehicles in front of the Mits ubishi and automatically applies the brakes to reduce any chance of a collision; and an Adaptive Cruise Control System that is a radar-based system designed to maintain a safe distance between the vehicle at all speeds.  

Its resurrection comes after partner in the BlueSport concept program, Porsche, publicly dropped plans to build the car. It was expected the BlueSport would be a shared car for Volkswagen and Porsche, using a modified Boxster platform and a Volkswagen Group four-cylinder engine. Volkswagen was the lead partner in the car's development but Porsche wrested control in 2010. But the car has been handed back to Volkswagen as Porsche busies itself with its next volume car, the small SUV code-named Macan. Carsguide interviewed Volkswagen's head of engineering - and father of the BlueSport concept - Dr Ulrich Hackenberg, at the 2012 Geneva motor show who confirmed the BlueSport project is still alive. "I am working on it,'' says Dr Hackenberg. "I drove it. But I don't have the agreement of the company that we will build it.'' Dr Hackenberg says the car has to be profitable and believes it needs volumes of  "about 50,000'' a year to justify production. "Porsche has the Boxster based on the 911's systems, but I think they are (currently) not looking for a smaller one,'' he says. Porsche CEO Matthias Mueller also told a news site in Porsche’s hometown, Stuttgart, that Porsche has no immediate plans to develop a smaller version of its four-door Panamera sedan, though he indicated that such a model could become an option in five or six years. But it will start building a fifth model, the Macan compact SUV, next year.  

The Federal Government's carbon tax and an increase on LPG tax from July will further push up the costs of vehicle freight, particularly taxi fares. Prices for LPG are up almost 20 per cent on last financial year with Perth and Canberra hit recently with average prices about 85c a litre. In the same period, national city petrol prices rose 10 per cent. Industry group LPG Australia has hit back at the government for another LPG tax rise - to 5 cents a litre from July - while slashing the LPG conversion subsidy. "Where are the government's standards?'' asks LPGA CEO Michael Carmody. "LPG has 15 per cent less vehicle emissions than petrol, is half the price of petrol, is available at 4000 stations around Australia and is largely a home-grown product."You would think that a government trying to reduce carbon emissions would provide incentives for this product. But the subsidy to convert to LPG has fallen to a point where it isn't as attractive as before.''  Mr Carmody says the Federal Government offers a $1250 rebate for a gas conversion. It was $1500 until June 2011 and will fall to $1000 from June this year before being phased out next year. A rebate of $2000 is available to buyers of new LPG cars. He blames the soaring LPG price on three main factors - a jump in the gas price because of European winter demand; the end of a national vehicle fuel price war between Coles, Woolworths and 711; and the effect of the government's new LPG tax that started from December 1, 2011. The tax started at 2.5 cents a litre - plus GST - from December and rises in 2.5c/litre increments annually until it reaches 12.5c/litre on July 2015. LPG for vehicle use is not currently proposed to be affected by the carbon tax but Mr Carmody says that could change. "There are negative messages coming out of the government about using alternative fuels, at the specific time when it wants a carbon tax and when it says it's trying to lower emissions,'' Mr Carmody says. "I think the LPG sector will decline. The problem is that it will dwindle to a point where, one day, Australia will need alternative fuel. "By then it will be too late - there will be no infrastructure and we will be left to being totally reliant on importing all our fuel needs.'' Mr Carmody says the government's decision to introduce the LPG tax was about politics, not policy. "We (LPGA) has made dozens of submissions to the government and we've got nowhere. "I have to ask if the government is serious about moving away from our reliance on imported fuels.''  

The Invicta S1 project has ground to a halt after its parent company collapsed under a $75,000 debt. The UK-built S1 was to be a $300,000 hand-built sports car using a 4.6-litre or 5.0-litre V8s from Ford SVT. Customers could tune the engine up to 445kW. When announced in 2003, the S1 was claimed to have the world's first one-piece carbon-fibre body over its space-frame with integrated rollcage. It also had AP Racing brakes with six-pot calipers, a Brembo independent handbrake system, double wishbone suspension that was fully adjustable and a BTR Hydratrak limited-slip differential. The recent closure of the marque is the third time the Invicta name has collapsed in its 87-year history. Invicta – ironically Latin for ‘invincible’ – was launched in 1925 with a focus on sporty performance, and closed 10 years later with founder Noel Macklin going on to start the Railton brand. Invicta was restarted in 1946 and this time lasted five years before being bought by AFN (best known for the Frazer Nash brand). The Invicta S1 was seeded in the marque’s third start out of the blocks about 10 years ago, but it looks like third time unlucky again.  

Now Ferrari's engineering skunkworks is hotly pursuing similar performance figures with its F70 supercar. The Ferrari Enzo replacement goes on show at the 2013 Geneva motor show using the F12 Berlinetta's 6.2-litre V12 aided by an electric motor. The F70 - the Ferrari internal code for the car and not expected to be used as a name for the production vehicle - is to be the Ferrari flagship. So it must outdo the F12 in power and performance -- meaning it must beat the F12's 552kW and 3.2 second acceleration time.  The F70 is likely to delivery around 650kW and get the acceleration times below 3 seconds. So what will it look like? Hopefully something like the image above – which is an artist impression rendering from Pininfarina and uses styling cues from the 430 and Enzo. We will have to wait until March next year to see the real thing.  

The urban hatch, previously known as Junior, is smaller than the Corsa and joins the Opel range in Europe in September. The name comes from founder of the company that takes his name. Adam Opel AG is celebrating its 150th anniversary of a business that started as a sewing machine maker. Opel says the name reflects its starting point and is simple to pronounce in all languages. The Adam is expected to use the Corsa drivetrain that includes a three petrol engines - 1-litre three-cylinder, and a 1.2-litre and 1.4-litre four-cylinder - and a 1.3-litre turbo-diesel. Transmissions include a six-speed manual and six-speed semi-automatic. The car isn't yet confirmed for Australia. Opel will first bed down its three-model launch in Australia with the Astra, Corsa and Indignia from September.