Articles by Neil Dowling

Toyota's eco-friendly but buyer-cool Prius hybrid was the first to slash its price, down between $5000 and $7500 depending on the model.  Effective immediately, Prius is $34,990 and the upmarket i-Tech version is $45,990.Toyota Australia says the substantial drop is in answer to its hybrid technology becoming more popular. Indeed, global Prius sales have exceeded a pleasing two-million units but in Australia, sales have totalled a relatively minor 16,000 since inception.It has recorded a 63.7 per cent year-to-date plunge for 2011 compared with the same period in 2010 despite total hybrid private buyer passenger car sales almost doubling. It is believed the Toyota Camry Hybrid has taken a large slice of the Prius market.Toyota Australia doesn't believe Prius buyers are disadvantaged by the price cuts.  Its sales and marketing director, Dave Buttner, says Toyota Australia has offered "substantial cost-of-ownership benefits for a considerable period through low-interest finance, in anticipation of official approval for the price repositioning"."Customers who have taken advantage of these offers to buy a Prius from our dealers over many months have made substantial savings and are certainly not disadvantaged."National passenger car sales slipped 4.1 per cent in March on a year-to-date basis and down 6.5 per cent on March 2010. Some big losers included the Ford Falcon, Volvo V70 and S40, VW Passat Mazda RX-8 and BMW 3-Series, the latter down 31 per cent on the same three-month period in 2010.Coincidentally, BMW has taken a knife to the prices of its 3-Series models with cuts of up to 11 per cent.  It says the "sharpened pricing" is "a celebration of what has been the world's most successful premium model series".Price changes affect the 3-Series sedan, wagon, coupe and convertible models. The 325i gets the biggest discount, falling $9100 (11 per cent) to $71,900 from $81,000 previously and at the same time, picking up the "Exclusive Innovations" pack with an upgraded sat-nav, voice control and bi-xenon headlights.The M Sport version of the 325i sedan is also down 11 per cent, now $76,700 with a similar $9100 saving.  The 3-Series 325i Convertible with the "Innovations" pack is $9500 cheaper at $94,600.Toyota's price cut aims to create greater acceptance of hybrids. The company is licensing its technology to other car makers.  Toyota's Dave Buttner says new hybrid models "will revitalise the market and help to make eco-cars in general more popular"."A key factor in lowering the cost of any advanced technology is market acceptance, leading to strong sales," he says.  "The more popular hybrid cars become, the more affordable their prices and, therefore, the greater the impact on the environment."

ADVERTISING agency BBDO Singapore pushed the envelope with a local TV ad that tugged at the religious beliefs of Singapore's community. It basically states that if they buy an eco-friendly Mercedes-Benz "Blue Efficiency" ML model, then nature will one day thank them. Doubtless Mercedes will thank them too, but that's

That white ute, built on a 3-Series platform, is real. Yes, it's a concept but it's also a fully-functional car. It's also not the only BMW ute. Yes, Australian golfer Stuart Appleby has one - a 2000 E39 M5 beheaded and bedded in 2008 by Deniliquin-based custom shop Southern Rod - but BMW has done the deed before.It chopped a sad E30 M3 of 1986 to become a work car that could haul parts around the factory. It's now even sadder and sits in a corner of a BMW warehouse.BMW last week put its tongue in its cheek with the announcement the M3 ute would become the fourth body variant of the M3 family. "Under the strictest secrecy, the world's first high-performance pickup (really?) has been created at the BMW M GmbH development centre," BMW's April 1 release states."The sportiest example by far in this vehicle category (really? HSV anyone?), the BMW M3 Pickup will fire the imaginations of all motorists with a deep appreciation of top performance matched by a keen practical bent. "309kW/420hp under the bonnet and a rear-axle load capacity of up to 450 kilos take the hallmark BMW M relationship between race-oriented driving pleasure and everyday utility to an entirely new level."This unique vehicle has already completed extensive test and set-up drives on the Nurburgring's Nordschleife in advance of its global unveiling on April 1, 2011." It adds that the BMW M3 Pickup is "the first BMW M3 variant in the 25-year-plus history of this model range to come with a trailer tow hitch"."Notwithstanding these unquestionable stand-out qualities, the BMW M3 Pickup will not be heading for the golf course or series development, but will retain its status as an exclusive one-off," the press release says as reality sets in."It is earmarked for use as a workshop transport vehicle for BMW M GmbH. With this in mind, the BMW M3 Pickup - unlike a similar predecessor built back in the 1980s - has gone through the requisite procedures to earn its road certification, which makes it officially a truck - but one that puts a whole new spin on the meaning of the word."

WHERE Are They Now shows generally wheel out faded actors who few viewers remember. Not this time. Arguably the star of the 2009 Western Australian-based movie - and based on a succesful stage play - Bran Nue Dae, a 1963 Volkswagen Kombi is still a happy and colourful member of the Perth southern coastal city of Rockingham. "It's a car that makes people smile," says owner Amanda Williams, 22, an estimator with builder Shelford Homes.  The Kombi has been hers for four years and was planned for restoration. "It was one colour - green - before I heard a company wanted a Kombi for a movie," she says.  "I put my Kombi up and the company agreed to rent it. My Dad, who has a panel shop, did a base red and white coat before it went up to Broome." It was there that local artists set to work with hippie-inspired murals on the flat panels.  The Kombi was then the central point to a road trip by characters played by Ernie Dingo, Missy Higgins and Tom Budge. "When it came back with the artwork on it, I thought 'wow' - I was so happy with it I wasn't going to change it," Amanda says.  The 1963 splitscreen Kombi is the second in the Williams family.  "We had one in New Zealand but we sold it before we came here," she says. "My Dad bought a splitscreen when we came to Rockingham and because I love Kombis, I wanted one. I found this in the country. It had no rust and a 1.5-litre engine - it runs really well and I've had no problems with it." The Kombi came with standard-issue WA number plates but these were changed for the movie.  As a present for her 21st birthday, Amanda's father gave her personalised plates with the same registration as the hand-made plates used inthe movie. The Kombi is used for camping and "cruising", says Amanda, with her Suzuki GSX-R 750 used for day-to-day travel.  "Yes, it has more power than the Kombi." KOMBI FACTS The Kombi, officially known as the Volkswagen Type 2 Transporter, was introduced in 1950 and picked up numerous nicknames including "microbus", "minibus", "kombi" and because of its popularity during the 1960s, "hippie van". The first model was the Commercial (a van) and the Kombi (with side windows and seats) but variants such as the Microbus, Deluxe Microbus and ambulance were soon added. A single-cab ute was available from 1952. From 1955 it received a tailgate. Engines started with the Beetle's 18kW 1.1-litre air-cooled flat-four. In 1953 this was upgraded to a 22kW 1.2-litre version and to 30kW in 1959. The 1963 model introduced a 38kW 1.5-litre engine, upped to 40kW from 1967. The 1964 model had a wider rear door and optional sliding - rather than hinged barn-door - side door. The Type 2, along with the 1947 Citroen H Van, are among the first forward-control vans in which the driver was placed above the front wheels and soon started a trend in Europe. The "split screen" ended production in 1967, superceded by the "bay window" range.

This avatar, now being built by Ford using data from Chinese hospitals, is a critical step in recreating a human baby to ensure its maximum chance of survival in any vehicle accident. But this model - one of the world's first digital child crash dummies - won't take the place of traditional crash test dummies. Ford's senior technical leader for its safety and research division, Dr Steve Rouhana, says: "We want to better understand how injuries to younger occupants may be different". "They don't take the place of crash dummies, which measure the effect of forces on the body. Instead, they are used as a way to understand how to further improve restraint system effectiveness through better understanding of injury mechanisms." Making a baby in digital form is intensely complex. Ford took 11 years building an adult version and committing it to the computer. Ford's task, announced this week, is to build a digital human model of a child with more lifelike re-creations of the skeletal structure, internal organs and brain. The model for the avatar comes from child MRIs to allow better a understanding of how crash forces affect children and adults differently. "We study injury trends in the field, and we know that traffic crashes are the leading cause of death for people from age one to 34," says Dr Rouhana. "Our restraint systems are developed to help reduce serious injuries and fatalities in the field, and they have proven to be very effective. But crash injuries still occur. The more you know about the human body, the more we can consider how to make our restraint systems even better." He says that building the model of a person is just like building a model of a car. "You start with your surface geometry for each component and any subcomponent it contains - in this case the geometry of the human body and its internal organs." Ford admits that child data are not as extensively available as adults. It has contracted into a one-year agreement with Tianjin University of Science and Technology, which is working with Tianjin Children's Hospital, to obtain child geometry and basic body information from sources like MRIs and CAT scans provided by volunteers. Ford says, in a statement, that Tianjin is one of the largest cities in China, close to the capital of Beijing. "All other information for the project will be obtained from public domain literature," it says.

NO-ONE tells Volvo jokes at barbecues anymore and traffic light confrontations now are instigated with great trepidation. This is a new era for Volvo in terms of performance, and from Volvo Australia's perspective, one where sales just keep on rising. The primary reason is a fresh line of product. The boxes went a long time ago but its only recently that the transition from rectangles to gentle curves hit home with buyers.Volvo Australia's new managing director Matt Braid says more than 7000 cars are forecast for sale this year, up from 4945 last year. Its mainly attributed, he says, to the mid-size S60 sedan - a rival to the BMW 3-Series and Audi A4 as well as examples from premium Japanese makes - and from this week, its wagon version, the V60. "The S60, V60 and XC60 are the strong players at the moment," he says. "They're offsetting a bit of a fall last year with the XC90 (once the most popular Volvo) and the smaller S40 and V50."The S40/V50 duo are suffering, Braid says, from intense rivalry in the compact premium sector. While the V60 has a big job to help increase sales, it carries those on broad and very capable shoulders, as I discovered this week at its launch.VALUEThere is no surprise that the V60 offers a lot for the money. Volvos now are all like that. The surprise is more that the emphasis is now on the driving experience rather than solely on keeping its occupants alive.The V60 comes with the choice of three drivetrains, 12 paint colours, a wide range of leather colours including pairings, and if that doesn't satisfy you, an option list so big that it can add about $25,000 to the price of the $54,950 entry-level T5.The T5 also comes as an R-Design version (15mm lowered and tightened suspension, body kit, snappy interior, and so on) for $59,150 and shares the 2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine and six-speed auto driving the front wheels.Step up to the D5 (2.4-litre five-cylinder turbo-diesel) and you'll spend from $60,950 and then climb up to the T6 (3-litre inline six-cylinder turbo-petrol) for $67,950 and in R-Design trim, $72,150.TECHNOLOGYThe V60 is based on the new S60 sedan and picks up a very taut and responsive chassis and a comprehensive list - when you add in the options - of safety gear.Standard is the City Safety system that automatically stops the car when it detects low-speed impact. Options include collision warning with full auto brake, the very clever radar-camera pedestrian detection and driver alert.More interesting is the 2-litre four-cylinder engine that will also be used in the Ford Falcon. It's a beauty, though drive it like it's stolen and Volvo's official fuel economy doesn't see eye to eye with reality. Except for the neat - but optional - full multi-media system, the V60 is more about relatively simple components honed for maximum efficiency.The only cruncher in all this is the lack of a spare wheel. You get an aerosol can of goo that is one step up the ladder from walking home. Not safe, Volvo!DRIVINGThis thing is really good. It is a quiet, comfortable wagon that Volvo freely admits is more for driving than delivering cargo. For that, Braid says, get the V70. The chassis is taut and the steering rarely feels vague like similar electro-hydraulic units. You push this into a corner and it sends back positive news through the steering wheel.Don't laugh at the 2-litre in the rather porky 1870kg body - it's an eager engine that has superb low-end torque (320Nm at 1800rpm) that makes it a quick machine through tight, winding roads.Volvo claims 8.7L/100km in the front-wheel drive wagon but I got 11.9L/100km.  The T6 - inline six with a turbo - is a great engine but maybe too much and too expensive for its class. Still, it has all-wheel drive and hangs on like a limpet through the corners. It returned 10.9L/100km/h on the test route.The seats are comfy and, in the R-Design option, get cuddly with your body thanks to heavy bolstering.  Ergonomics are pretty spot on - Scandinavians can't help themselves with some nuances, as anyone who has assembled Ikea will testify - and standard child seat bolsters in the back, split fold-flat rear seats, rear vents and personal item storage just add the sauce to the herring.VERDICTI'd recommend this as a buy, but if you travel outside the city you'll need a spare wheel and that's an option.VOLVO V60Price: from $54,950Warranty: 3-years/unlimited km, roadside assistResale: n/aService interval: 15,000km/12 monthsSafety: 5-star Euro NCAPEngine: 2-litre, 4-cyl turbo-petrol, 118kW/230Nm  2.4-litre, 5-cyl turbo-diesel, 151kw/420Nm  3-litre, 6-cyl turbo-petrol, 224kW/440NmBody: 5-door wagonWeight: from 1870kgTransmission: 6-speed auto (all); front drive (2-litre), AWD (2.4 and 3-litre)Thirst: 7.1L/100km, 98 RON, CO2 188g/km (2-litre); 8.7L/100km, CO2 205g/km (2.4-litre); 10.3L/100km, 98 RON, CO2 247g/km (3-litre)"Affordable balance of pace and grace with extra room for the toys"

The first four-cylinder model from Lexus piggy-backs the Toyota Prius to drive silently into new territory.  The hybrid CT200h - not only the first with four cylinders from the Toyota premium division but its first hatchback and first to slide in under $40,000 - is termed a "gateway'' model and is believed to win big sales for Lexus. Already its first shipment is sold out, even before the car this week arrives in showrooms.Chief executive for Lexus Australia, Tony Cramb, says the CT200h "challenges the established market norms" by delivering eco-friendly technology wrapped in a luxury package.The entry level's price of the four-model range starts at $39,990 which is staring at eye-level with the $39,900 Toyota Prius. No surprises then that they share more than just parents.VALUEAt $39,990 it's not exactly cheap but neither are its primarily European competitors. The trick is that the starter model is modestly equipped. You have to throw another $9000 at it to get what the luxury market expects - sat-nav, leather, heated seats, 10-speaker sound and a reverse camera - in the Luxury edition.The sports-oriented F-Sport model gets blackened alloys, body kit, sports suspension (no, no and no) and sports seats for $49,990.  Ring your banker and get $55,990 for the Sports Luxury which has additional safety like Lexus' new pre-collision system and active cruise control.TECHNOLOGYSame as Prius. The 1.8-litre engine is mated to an electric motor that also acts as a generator and starter motor.  The gearbox is a continuously-variable unit operated by a slick electronic, Playstation-style lever. An electric motor helps reduce steering effort and another electric motor runs the water pump.The battery at the back is nickel-metal hydride as Lexus says lithium-ion "wasn't available because of demand''. Rubbish - we've got Ni-MH because it's cheaper than Li-ion even though the latter is decades ahead in performance and lightness.But while this is all Prius gear, there are some interesting new bits.  Lexus has fitted four adjustable driving modes - EV (electric-only drive), Eco (petrol and electric but reduced power and airconditioning), Normal (petrol and electric but designed for smooth driving) and Sport (more responsive steering, more volts for the motor, less intrusive stability control and higher engine revs).Other handywork includes plant-derived material for the luggage floor, speaker diaphrams made from a bamboo-charcoal resin, and suspension strut bars that not only improve body rigidity but have an inbuilt absorber to reduce vibrations.DESIGNThe CT200h is the same size as the 1999-launched Lexus IS200 but is lighter, has a much bigger cabin and is one second quicker to 100km/h.  It doesn't break any new styling grounds but follows the conservative tastes of Lexus/Toyota and, therefore, its buyers.But it works well, with seating for four adults, a split-fold rear seat to boost the already accommodating boot space and reasonable visibility.  The cabin is better, with a dashboard that is both elegant and functional and - more importantly - more modern and youthful than Audi and BMW.The electronics and the displays are excellent - though you'll need the Luxury model to get the sat-nav on the big 200mm screen - but the foot-operated park brake is a jarring reminder of an archaic era.SAFETYThere's a five-star crash rating, eight airbags (the extra two are the knee airbags for the driver and front passenger) plus stability control, ABS brakes with EBD and brake assist, a hill holder - uphill or downhill - and traction control.  The seats are also designed to make the body squat while the active head restraints move forward, reducing the impact from rear-enders.DRIVINGMy head is saying Prius and it's not getting excited, but my heart's feeling that there's a lot of urge coming on from up front.  The weeny drive program included some city driving where the first hint of change was the firm-ish ride over Melbourne's battered city roads.  But the ride noise from the suspension was virtually inaudible, as was the engine given it was mostly turned off and it could travel for up to 2km on the battery.Pick a tight, winding road and the CT200h - with the Power mode engaged - is an absolute surprise. Stuff the economy, this thing will run hard through the corners and draw the huge near-zero rev torque of the motor to complement the engine to deliver instant power out of the corners.The handling is excellent, even though the electric steering can sometimes feel vague and the CVT sounds like it's spinning irrelevantly.It's also comfortable (though some may think the ride's a bit firm for oldies) and really feels taut, confident and fun to drive. Definitely not words you'd use to describe Prius.LEXUS CT200h PRICE: from $39,990WARRANTY: 4-years/unlimited kmRESALE: n/aSERVICE INTERVAL: 15,000km/12 monthsSAFETY: 5-star Euro NCAPENGINE: 1.8-litre, 4-cyl petrol engine, 73kW/142Nm; electric motor, 60kW/207NmBODY: 5-door hatchWEIGHT: from 1370kgTRANSMISSION: CVT, front driveTHIRST: 4.1L/100km, 91 RON, CO2 95g/km"Affordable luxury with a green tint''

In a status upgrade, car companies today say production is getting back to normal but it is still unknown how many component suppliers have been affected. Japan is unusual in the corporate world by sourcing smaller parts predominantly from cottage industries. These can be scattered over all Japan's four main islands. The earthquake and subsequent tsunami on March 11 specifically struck the city of Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture, known for its electronics manufacturing. It also borders Fukushima Prefecture, location of the crippled nuclear plants, where Nissan makes its 3.5-litre V6 engines and has a supplier base. The seven main vehicle manufacturers in Japan, and there current status, are: HONDAFactories: Saitama, Tochigi, Shizuoka (Hamamatsu) and Mie (east and south Honshu). Honda suspended production at all plants and briefly reopened all except its R&D centre in Tochigi, where damage - including an employee crushed by a wall and 30 staff injured - was more severe. Honda Australia says it has now extended the production suspension and will decide on a resumption date. MAZDAFactories: Hiroshima (west Honshu). "There will be delays - definitely," says Mazda Australia spokesman Steve Maciver of future supplies of vehicles to Australia. "But it's early days.We are monitoring the supply chain. We have vehicles in stock in Australia and some on water but in the longer term, I don't have an answer to how the supply situation will pan out." Mazda this week restarted production - it stopped on March 14, on  partial basis. Mr Maciver says this week the factories will use up their parts inventories and complete partly-built vehicles before deciding on its supply situation. MITSUBISHIFactories: Nagoya, Okayama, Gifu, Kyoto, Shiga (all south Honshu). Mitsubishi stopped production early this week. "There is no damage to the factories but some supplies have been disrupted," says Mitsubishi Australia spokesperson Lenore Fletcher. "It is still a day-to-day issue. We see no long term effect to production but the emotional effects of the tsunami are terrible."Mitsubishi has stock in Australia. NISSANFactories: Kyushu, Nagoya, Kyoto, Yokohama, Mie (south Honshu) and Iwaki (Kukushima). Nissan's engine factory in Iwaki - in the same prefecture where Tokyo Electric Power Co. workers are battling to avert a nuclear meltdown - had no power but is getting back to production. The plant makes the V6 engine for the Murano, Maxima, 370Z and Infiniti models but Nissan says it can also get supply from a sister factory in Tennessee. Nissan Australia spokesman Jeff Fisher says all plants are operational and stocks in Australia "are good". "We ramp up stocks at the end of the March financial year," he says. "It's good for the short term but very hazy in the mid to long term - three to four months onwards." Like all other Japanese car makers, Nissan says it has yet to confirm the situation with all its suppliers. SUBARUFactory: Gunma Prefecture (inland central Honshu). Subaru closed its five plants in Gunma though had no damage and no reported employee injuries. Subaru Australia spokesman David Rowley has extended its production halt until later this week. "We are confirming the situation  with our suppliers and have problems with the power supply," he says. "A decision about when to restart production will be made later this week." Mr Rowley says there is sufficient stock in Australia for the short term but after that, "we're in the dark". SUZUKIFactories: Sagara, Kosai, Iwata (south Honshu). Vehicle production at all factories stopped on March 15, four days after the tsunami struck north-east Honshu. Two plants restated early this week and today all plants except the Sagara engine assembly line are open. Suzuki Australia spokesperson Bridget O'Connor says the company was fortunate because its factories are further south than the tsunami zone and it directs vehicles to ports in the south and west coasts of Honshu. "Suzuki Australia has good stock levels at the moment but in three or four months, there maybe some delays," she says. "But it's really too early to tell. There maybe no effect for us." She says some parts suppliers are based in the north of the main island of Honshu but the factory has not confirmed any effects. The motorcycle division is producing at Toyokawa but has temporarily suspended assembly at Takatsuka. TOYOTAFactories: 12 in Nagoya (south Honshu), Kyushu, Hokkaido and Miyagi. Vehicle production is still halted in the 15 factories but intends to restart later this week. It says parts production started last week and parts used for overseas production (KD) started on Monday, March 21.Toyota Australia spokesman Mike Breen says the production situation changes and updates will be issued as they become available. Toyota has significant production in Australia and Thailand which are believed to be unaffected by the results of the tsunami. It opened a factory in the tsunami-affected Miyagi Prefecture at the beginning of the year which builds the Yaris. Toyota says work was stopped without incidents due to the earthquake and production was later resumed without any injuries to employees.

BORROWING from your neighbours is keeping Jaguar in good stead as it this week announced it was lifting one of Land Rover's engines for its new sedan. The Land Rover 2.2-litre turbo-diesel, seen in Australia in the new Freelander, will become the fifth engine option for the XF range. More importantly, it is seen as being the primary engine for the rumoured XS sedan that appears in 2013 as the delayed replacement for the X-Type. Announced this week in the UK but not for sale there until later this year - and yet to be confirmed for Australia - is the heavily revised four cylinder diesel. Unlike the Freelander, Jaguar places the engine in the north-south position to drive the XF's rear wheels through ZF's new eight-speed automatic that includes an advanced stop-start system. The engine has 140kW/450Nm and Jaguar claims 5.4 litres/100km and 149 grams/km of CO2. Aside from the inclusion of the small-bore oiler, the XF will also get a new face - with more resemblance to the XK range - and tail in its updated specification across all models. Further details of the engine and the new-look XF will be announced at its debut at the New York motor show next month.

It's a big call but the rollercoaster plan aims to take Hyundai's vision of "modern premium" into a new league.  The body blow - in style and performance - for the Australian market came this week with the confirmation of Hyundai's radical Veloster coupe, wearing two doors on on side, one door on the other. But it's just the start. Hyundai keeps sparring with the surprise confirmation of three more models - two of which were termed mere possibilities for Australia less than a month ago. All are set to be launched in the last half of this year.  A sleek Euro-styled wagon, the i40, puts an alluring option on the mid-size wagon buyers shopping list. The Mazda6 and Mondeo wagon rival - designed in Germany yet made in Korea - gets here late this year, likely with a choice of  a 1.7-litre turbo-diesel or 2-litre petrol engine. Hyundai says it's the first to target not on Japanese competitors, but aim the arrowhead at the premium wagon sector occupied by Audi, BMW and Volkswagen. Hyundai Australia's marketing director Oliver Mann says the i40 will slot into a small, niche sliver of the market.  "It's small but it's important,' he says.  "With the i45 (sedan) it will complete the segment for us." The company's volume players will be the long-awaited Elantra - the sedan version of the hot i30 hatchback - and the smaller Accent sedan, based on the i20. "Hyundai has determined that products should have a single model name for markets outside Korea," Mann says.  "Cars designed specifically for Europe wear the "i" prefix while those for general markets wear names.  "Australia is one of those markets that gets both." The Elantra enters a section of the market where Mann estimates 35 per cent of buyers want a sedan.  "The i30 has been very successful for people wanting a hatch and I see the Elantra as capturing a new group of  buyers wanting a sedan," he says. After this week announcing its 2011 plans, Hyundai is preparing its unusual three-door Veloster coupe for local launch. It arrives late this year as a 1.6-litre petrol engined four-seater with two side doors on the left side of the car, and one on the right. Transmission choices are a six-speed manual or six-speed dual-clutch unit. It has been specifically engineered for the right-hand drive markets - the left-drive US market gets the two doors on the other side - and will be the successor (in terms of market) to the original Hyundai S-Coupe. It also gives Hyundai the chance to re-enter the coupe market after it quietly withdrew the Tiburon two-door model from the Australian showrooms about 18 months ago. Mann says despite the change in direction of product marketing, Hyundai doesn't expect a big sales boost this year."Our targets are internal," he says. "We expect an increase but not huge. We face competition in getting supply - Australia's not at the top of the global list - so we may have to be patient before we can get the volume we need."