Articles by Neil Dowling

"I'm not scared with nature," he says, "but standing up in front of 6000 people is very hard."  The second thing he admits to disliking is endorsing products. Yet he's agreed to promote the Nissan X-Trail SUV, saying it's a car "that is all about fun, families and adventure".  They're all the things I like in life," he says. Grylls, the British adventurer who at aged 22 climbed Everest and has more recently conquered TV with his Man vs Wild series, is in Australia on a whirlwind tour filming two episodes, fundraising with Mission Australia for flood relief and filming television advertisements for Nissan. "The two episodes I've just filmed in Australia were the hardest I've ever done," he says. "That's the magic of Australia - things like crocodiles and heat all reduce your margin for error."  Grylls, through Discovery Networks that runs his Man vs Wild series, today signed a 12-month exclusive partnership with Nissan. Discovery's Asia-Pacific general manager Mandy Pattinson says this "unprecedented partnership" is a natural fit for Grylls.  "He is the very embodiment of the Nissan X-Trail's brand attributes," she says. Nissan's executive general manager Tim Stuckey says the car is a "capable and practical SUV".  "It can take what the life outdoors throws at it so the association with Bear Grylls is a perfect synergy," Stuckey says. Grylls, son of the late Conservative Party politician Sir Michael Grylls, has just finished filming at a desert island off the Torres Strait and in the Northern Territory. The weeks before were spent filming in New Zealand. Charity and a strong religious bond are the key threads in his life.  He says raising funds for those in need comes from his time in the SAS. "It's about supporting others and particularly for groups such as Global Angels. It's also about my role as Chief Scout so fund raising is something you can impress on 28 million young scouts.  "I feel I have a privileged platform." The two Australian Man vs Wild will premiere in Australia exclusively on Discovery Channel Wednesday March 9 at 7.30pm and 8.30pm (AEDT).

... but no supercar can turn on a dime like the Tata "Pixel" concept.Shown at Geneva motor show, the Pixel is a 3m long city car based on the Tata Nano and has a unique, UK-invented "zero turn" drive system.It allows the four-seater car to turn almost within its own length and makes a doddle of parking in congested European city streets - which is exactly where Tata is targeting the car.The steering agility is attributed to a new transmission from UK-based - but majority owned by Allison Transmission of the US - company Torotrak which has its technology on machinery including lawn mowers and industrial vehicles.Torotrak's "infinitely variable transmission" has a spin-on-the-spot functionality which - at low vehicle speeds - controls each rear wheel independently. It allows the wheels to turn in opposite directions.The result is a turning circle of 5.2m compared with most small cars at about 9m.Tata Motors CEO, Carl-Peter Forster, says there is "an opportunity in Europe for a city car, which is optimal in space, manoeuvrability and environment-friendliness.""The Tata Pixel is a reflection of Tata Motors - idea of what such a car should be."But there's no conformation that the Pixel will become reality.Tata, which also owns Jaguar Land Rover, has boasted that the Pixel is the world's most space-efficient four-seat car. It has features including scissor doors to make ease of entry and exit in tight spaces.Power comes from a three-cylinder 1.2-litre turbo-diesel that is mounted in the rear.Tata claims an average fuel economy of 3.4 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of just 89g/km.The car also showcases "My Tata Connect" which integrates the owner's smartphone or iPad with the vehicle's infotainment system and also allows control of the car's key functions."This provides a customised, user friendly, all-in-one touch screen display, while also allowing the driver to remain seamlessly connected to the external world in much the same way as they would be when at home or in the office, listening to favourite songs, internet news and sport or stock updates," Tata says."In addition to serving as the infotainment display when docked in the instrument panel, the tablet also allows temperature, ventilation and airconditioning settings to be adjusted through its touch screen, as well as displaying information on the vehicle's performance."

Shown at the Geneva motor show and expected here early next year is the SUT1 concept that will replace the Actyon ute.  By its own admission, Ssangyong says the current Actyon is "polarising" and has presented SUT1 with a neater nose and softer lines along the flanks. A product range that is less "polarising" should help sales. It's not scratching up as Ssangyong's best year on record despite probably its best range of vehicles. It has sold 173 units year to date in 2011 compared with 238 in the same period last year. But SUT1 may change that. It gets a Euro-5 compliant engine similar to the 114kW/360Nm 2-litre turbo-diesel in the new Korando and either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic gearbox.  Ssangyong Motors Australia general manager, Jeff Barber said the SUT1 concept has a more contemporary look. "The SUT1 concept has styling that will find ready acceptance in today's dual cab ute market, " he says.  "Australia is the fourth largest market in the world for utes and it is a very crowded and competitive sector. "However with the next generation Ssangyong Actyon I believe we will have a vehicle that will become a real force in the dual cab ute category.  Like the Korando this is another new Ssangyong that can sell on style as well as substance, but the new Actyon Sports' beauty will be much more than skin deep." The SUT1 concept has the same dimensions as the current Actyon Sports ute, with a length of 4965mm, a width of 1900mm and a height of 1755mm high. It sits on a 3060mm wheelbase.  Barber says it will only come as a dual cab ute in the same ilk as the current Actyon Sports with a large deep load tray at the rear.

The two-seat, mid-engined rocket is the proposed second road-going model from German-based Gumpert - which if you hadn't noticed is also a strange name - after its Apollo and a line of track cars.The Tornante - it's Italian for a "hairpin bend" - gets a 520kW bi-turbo 4.2-litre V8 Audi engine and Tiptronic gearbox with paddle shifters.The body is by Touring Superleggera which means it looks sexy and has that firm's lightweight chrome-moly steel space frame, carbon-fibre spine and composite body panel design.Roland Gumpert - previously a top executive with Audi in China - retains a strong link with Audi and exclusively uses its drivetrains.Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur was started in 2004 and uses the technical assistance of Audi, the Technical University of Munich and the Ingolstadt University of Applied Sciences.They have assisted with the construction, computer simulations and wind tunnel tests.Gumpert has made a hybrid version of the Apollo and will in 2012 repeat the exercise using the Tornante as the donor car.

The latest in the "thought-they-were-dead" chronicles is De Tomaso - they of the Pantera - which materialised at the Geneva motor show with a bulky five-door SUV called De Auville. The crossover concept, previously known as the SLC, is as ungainly as it is probably unsaleable but cleverly revives both an esteemed automobile marque and a corruption of one of its earlier cars, the De Auville sedan. De Tomaso, started in 1959 by Italian-based Argentine car racer Alejandro de Tomaso (1928-2003), is now owned by former Lancia CEO Gianmario Rossignolo and operates from a factory leased from Pininfarina near Turin. The aluminium-framed De Auville, which is targeted at the Maserati Quattroporte, hopes to kickstart another chapter in De Tomaso's life. It follows the theme of the BMW X6 with a tall and wide body with a sloping rear deck for the rear hatch. The company says the car will come with an all-wheel drive system, six-speed ZF automatic and with the choice of a 185kW V6 turbo-diesel from VM Motori, a 220kW V6 turbo-petrol or a 405kW petrol V8. De Tomaso claims the V6 turbo-petrol will run 0-100km/h in 6.7 seconds. It says it intends to make 3000 cars a year and says it is establishing dealers in Europe and North America. MORE ON THE DTs De Tomaso started in 1959 and went into liquidation in 2004 and bought by Mr Rossignolo in 2009. The new company's business plan calls for three models for a total of 8000 vehicles: 3000 crossovers, 3000 limousines, and 2000 two-seater sports cars. From 1976 to 1993, De Tomaso owned Maserati and was responsible for building the Biturbo, Kyalami, Quattroporte III and Karif. De Tomaso also owned motorcycle company Moto Guzzi from 1973 to 1993. De Tomaso's first road-going production model was the Vallelunga, introduced in 1963. There is one right-hand drive mid-engined example in Australia. In association with Ford, the company introduced the Mangusta in 1966 with a 4.7-litre V8 and Ghia (also owned by De Tomaso) coachwork. Production ended in 1971. The Pantera started in 1971 with a 5.8-litre V8 and put the company on the world map. About 6100 were made. The 1971 Deauville saloon - with a front-mounted Pantera engine - was De Tomaso's attempt to rival Jaguar and Mercedes-Benz. It ended in 1985 with only 244 made. A sole Deauville estate was made for Alejandro de Tomaso's wife, the American racing driver Isabelle Haskell.

Now it's back. Volkswagen's newer take on the, er, new Kombi, was shown at Geneva motor show - but though the shape is familiar, it's not what you'd expect.  For one the Bulli - the German nickname for the original 1950 concept - is smaller. Second, it's powered by batteries.Yes, it's just a concept but whispers on the Geneva show floor say it's very possibly in showroom contention.  Volkswagen product director Ulrich Hackenberg says there's a "big chance" it will be built.The concept Bulli gets seating for six - three in the front, three in the back - and runs on lithium-ion batteries stored under the floor.  The concept has a single, 85kW/270Nm electric motor under the blunt nose and drives the front wheels.Volkswagen claims a 0-100km/h time of 11.5 seconds (compared to an hour and a half in the 1960s Kombi) and a 300km range.  But for production, Volkswagen is looking at a petrol or diesel engine.Given the space under that short nose, this is likely to be the 1.2-litre, three-cylinder petrol or diesel engines.  All the cues of the past - except the gaping accommodation in the rear - are there including the bold VW emblem on the nose.As for size, it's small. The Bulli is 3900mm long (the 1969 bay-window Kombi is 4350mm); with a 2550mm wheelbase (2400mm in 1969), and is 1650mm tall (1918mm).

It all sounds great and Volvo's almost ready to sell you a plug-in electric hybrid wagon - but only if you live in Europe. Volvo Cars president and CEO Stefan Jacoby last week in Geneva unveiled its plug-in hybrid car that is the first to use a diesel engine. It claims a tiny 1.9 litres/100km and emissions of 49 grams of CO2 per kilometre - a new Commodore drinks at 9.3 l/100km and has 221g/km CO2 - and starts production next year. Volvo Australia says it's on their wish list but there's no decision yet. Jacoby says the V60 Plug-in Hybrid is a 'no-compromise car'. "This car already points very clearly to what our customers can expect when the plug-in hybrid enters showrooms next year," he says of the car on the Geneva stand. "It is not a contradiction in performance or its effect on the environment." Volvo ups the ante by launching the car in association with Swedish energy producer Vattenfall, the company that owns the world's biggest wind turbine farm. This energy company - which plans to halve its own emissions by 2030 and be climate-neutral by 2050 - will offer Scandanavian buyers of the plug-in hybrid a contract including electricity from renewable sources. The plug-in hybrid will have a range of 50km on pure electricity and takes a 4.5 hour charge. "It has zero environment impact," Jacoby says. "Zero emissions and zero impact." The car is Volvo's second generation model and combines a D5 turbo-diesel engine for the front wheels and an electric motor powering the rear wheels. "It is the best of three car types," Jacoby says. "In 'pure' mode it runs on the electric motor and has a 50km  range. In 'hybrid' model it combines diesel and electric power and together, can get fuel consumption down to 1.9 litres/100km and CO2 emissions to 49g/km and a range of up to 1200km. Then in 'power' mode the combination realises 150kW (plus 50kW from the electric motor) and 440Nm (plus 200Nm) for a 0-100km/h time of only 6.9 seconds." Aside from its unusual powertrain, the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will allow the driver to preheat or cool the passenger compartment during the recharging process. This also means that more battery capacity can be used for powering the car. The pre-conditioning is programmed by a timer in the car's computer or remotely via a mobile phone. The V60 Plug-in Hybrid is being developed alongside the Volvo C30 Electric, which runs entirely on electricity. "These two car types complement one another," says Jacoby. "With a plug-in hybrid the driver is entirely independent of recharging stations when driving long distances. The future electric-car market will feature a mixture of both all-electric cars and plug-in hybrids." Over the next five years, Volvo will invest $11 billion in global products. Mr Jacoby says a key development is the China strategy involving a new production plan of 100,000 cars a year by 2013. The aim by 2015 is 200,000 cars made in China. WHAT IS PLUG-IN HYBRID? A plug-in electric vehicle has an onboard battery that is charged by plugging it in - usually overnight - into a power source such as your home's power outlet. Cars include the latest Mitsubishi i-MiEV and forthcoming cars such as the Tesla Roadster and Nissan Leaf. A plug-in hybrid works the same way, but has a second power plant. In Volvo's case, a diesel engine and these two - electric and diesel - make it a hybrid. The Volvo runs on electricity or diesel or a combination of both meaning the driver can decide which power source is suitable for traffic conditions.

All it took were some hushed words, a nod or two and lots of smiles. That's the response from some Jaguar guys on the Geneva motor show stand about the next E-Type Jaguar.The talk is that the car has been made in concept form and is about two years away from launch. And that car is the C-X75 - Jag's chief designer Ian Callum's new take on the V12-engined 1971 XJ13 that almost made it to Le Mans.It's pertinent that we're talking about the next E-Type while we're celebrating the 50th anniversary of the long-bonneted, sexed-up coupe that wowed them in 1961.It's also pertinent that the C-X75, built to honours Jaguar's 75th anniversary, is also an incredibly beautiful and balanced piece of automobile.The C-X75 has been shown at the Paris and Los Angeles motor shows in 2010 as a unique hybrid using four electric motors charged from two small turbines. That, most definitely, won't make it to production.Instead, Jaguar may unleash the C-X75 with a V8 petrol engine - perhaps even with a supercharger.

Unassisted by Botox and scalpels, Jaguar's ageless icon, the E-Type, last week had its 50th anniversary of its debut.  In the cool halls of the Geneva motor show in the winter of 1961, Jaguar heated debate about the car as a work of art. And won.Even Enzo Ferrari was impressed, coining it "beautiful".  And the remarkable thing is that the car that turned the world's head in 1961 is still doing it today.As ageless and as able as the 1961 car is its test driver.  Norman Dewis, now aged 90 and sharp as a Jaguar body crease, remembers clearly his task 50 years ago to get the car from Coventry to the Geneva show.Jaguar already had one car at the Geneva show but Jaguar had underestimated the sensation the car was causing ahead of the show opening.  It needed another car.Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons called on Dewis - who was working on brake testing at the MIRA proving ground in Warwickshire - to get an extra car to Geneva.  Dewis, speaking at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, told me he just made the 10pm Dover-Ostend ferry.After a three hour crossing, he drove through the night to arrive just before 10am at the Geneva show.  Dewis, who joined Jaguar 10 years earlier as a development driver, remembers the road and the drive and the sensation of the car in his palms.Standing next to the exact car he drove 50 years ago on that express run from England, Dewis says "It is such a lovely car."  "It was like no other - is like no other. It's an icon."You can park this in the street today and people - people who aren't the least bit interested in cars - will come up and look and smile. You can't even get that with car they make today."Dewis clearly enjoyed the spirited drive on quiet, open roads and with 260hp (194kW) admits to testing its limits.  "I broke a few speed limits," he says with a smile."The average was 68mph (109km/h) and had only one stop. I'm not saying how fast it went."  He says that on his arrival, William Lyons walked over, said "Well done Dewis, I thought you'd do it" and walked off again.  In its 50th year, the E-Type now starts a packed program of celebrations.THINGS ABOUT THE LETTER 'E'Jaguar launched the E-Type 10 years after the sensation of the XK120.  The vehicle shown here, which appeared on the stand at the former Palais, now belongs to a Swiss collector who has fully restored it to its original condition.The E-Type used the race-only D-Type's central steel monocoque with a separate subframe for the engine and front suspension.  Original cars had a 3.8-litre twin-cam six-cylinder engine, non-synchro four-speed gearbox and rear inboard disc brakes - the latter from the D-Type.As Jaguar's chief development test engineer, Norman Dewis spent 36 years deciding how the company's cars should feel to drive.  Dewis joined Jaguar in 1951 to set up a testing department. He developed more than 600 testing procedures.Dewis set a speed record with the D-Type in 1953 and drove in both the Mille Miglia rally in Italy in 1952 and at Le Mans in 1955.  He was the key developer of the disc brake with Dunlop - an innovation that has saved countless lives over the years.Dewis drove Jaguar's second E-Type concept, E2A, which, unlike the previous E1A was constructed from a steel chassis and used an aluminium body.

The drama of Spyker - which bought Saab early last year - unfolded in Geneva when Saab chairman Victor Muller exposed the teetering financial condition of both car makers."One year ago Saab was in liquidation, had no cars in production, a supply chain in tatters and all its new models on hold," says Muller.  "Now we have a milestone for the company. We have celebrated our 12 months of independence."In fact, it's a double independence. One year ago General Motors sold Saab to Spyker for $400 million.  Unfolding over the past few weeks, new owner Spyker found itself unable to swim in a sea of debt and has cut itself adrift. At the same time, it revalued Saab at $200 million - half of what it paid."Spyker needs cash," Muller says.  "It needs euro 25 million (about $36 million) to keep going.  "We can get that by issuing new stock in the company but that would dilute existing shareholders by 22 per cent."That is unjustified. The only solution was to split Spyker and Saab."  Saab and its parent Spyker will now go on different roads with a change of the board of directors.  They will, however, be linked. Muller, for example, is to remain chairman of both companies. But the divorce allows each to concentrate on their specific paths.Saab is quickly out of the blocks running solo. To celebrate its single status, Muller says it will introduce a limited edition of 300 cars.  "Next year, we will celebrate the second year of independence with the launch of another series of limited edition models."And we will keep this up, year after year, until infinity."  Concurrently, Saab next month starts building its new 9-4X SUV in the US and plans to expand production of its 9-5 Sport Combi - a car Muller says "is extremely important to us in Northern Europe and especially Sweden"."Seldom have we been able to introduce so many products," says Muller.  "In 2012 we will have the new 9-3. New products will be based on flexible architectures and we will offer vehicles designed for drivers."Small displacement engines with turbocharging will become our cornerstone for the future for Saab."  Powertrains for the 9-4X and 9-5 come from GM but the 9-3 gets a BMW turbo-petrol engine.The platforms come from the Phoenix architecture that formed the basis for Saab's Phoenix show car at Geneva.  This architecture for the 9-3 can be stretched for 9-5 but, says Muller, would be too expensive to be cut back to create a proposed 9-2 small car.Saab employed designer Jason Castriota to style the Geneva show car, the Phoenix.  The coupe is a metal-finished, distinctly aeronautical coupe that bristles with unusual lines.Muller says its a concept "a pointer to the future" and while he doesn't see it as making the step to production, he believes key design elements will soon be used on production cars.The concept uses a 147kW 1.6-litre turbo-petrol engine from BMW and has all-wheel drive using the engine for the front wheels and an electric motor for the rear.Spyker, which makes the short wheelbase C8 - as a Spyder and Laviolette coupe - and its newer Aileron exotic sports cars, will become an asset of UK-based Coventry Prototype Panels (CPP).CPP - which is owned by Russian investor Vladimir Antonov - has been making body panels for Spyker cars for about 10 years. It also makes panels for other manufacturers, including the multi-million dollar Aston Martin One-77.Spyker spokesman Sander Van Dijk says it has 38 dealers and makes about 50 cars a year.  "But we are ramping up production of Aileron and plan 90-100 a year from 2012," he says.