Articles by Neil McDonald

Hard on the heels of a European price guide hitting the web for the yet to be launched Ferrari 599 GTO, images of the newest magic from Maranello have emerged.  And it is hardly surprising that the new GTO looks a lot like the 599XX, including the heavily ventilated bonnet. The ventilated bonnet is necessary to clear the engine heat from the worked over 6.0-litre V12.  Although official details are expected to be revealed on Friday, the GTO is tipped to develop close to 520kW and the V12 will bellow out to 9000 revs. The word is that the mean machine will hit 100km/h in around 3.2 seconds and have a top speed of more than 250km/h.  Ferrari is also said to have shaved weight out of the car, particularly the interior, by as much as 60kg. Only 500 examples are expected to be built for select Ferrari customers.  Leak details of pricing and equipment reveal that the car will cost the equivalent of $461,238 overseas, but by the time you add in the relevant taxes and charges it will be much, much more here.For the equivalent of an extra $11,222 you can get the entire engine compartment fitting out in carbon fibre while an upgraded leather interior will cost $6388 and a bespoke luggage set will cost $8632.

The latest VFACTS data shows 94,744 new vehicles were sold last month, an increase of 25.2 per cent or 19,094 vehicles.  The record March result eclipses the previous record set in March 2007 by 352 vehicles.It is the third month in a row that sales have grown, leading industry forecasters to predict that car sales could hit the magic million this year.  However, the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries is hosing down expectations, forecasting more modest 2010 sales of 970,000 vehicles.FCAI spokesman, James Goodwin, said there was no talk yet of revising upwards the VFACTS sales forecast.  "It would be great if we could reach the magic million but it is just too early to call given the easing of business sales and rising interest rates," he said.The Holden Commodore remains the country's number one family car with 4209 sold last month.  Toyota's lifestyle HiLux ute was the second most favourite seller last month, with 3935 sold.  Off-roaders continue to be the biggest sellers, with sales up 34 per cent this year.Top 10 cars - March1. Holden Commodore 42092. Toyota HiLux 39353. Hyundai i30 36784. Mazda3 35625. Toyota Corolla 35556. Ford Falcon 24967. Mitsubishi Lancer 22458. Nissan Navara 21549. Holden Cruze 212510. Toyota Yaris 2114Top Ten brands (March)1. Toyota 20,3062. Holden 11,7953. Ford 80924. Hyundai 77975. Mazda 74536. Nissan 65587. Mitsubishi 55568. Honda 41539. Subaru 367910. Volkswagen 3034

A five-door hatch has just debuted at the New York Motor Show and arrives in local showrooms in October.  It is expected to share the same engines and specifications as the sedan. Lower and firmly set on its haunches, the five-door has all the design attributes of the sedan, from the new front grille, pronounced wedge shoulder line to the alloy wheels and lower bumper design. Inside the car shares the same dashboard, but adds paddle shifters, push-button start and a navigation system. Depending on country, the five-door is available with three petrol engines, a 1.6-litre, 2.0-litre or 2.4-litre and a new six-speed manual or automatic transmission. Australian cars are expected to continue with the 2.0-litre four.  Kia Motors Australia will confirm pricing and local specifications closer to the launch. Although the Rio remains the South Korean’s strongest seller locally, adding a hatch to the Cerato lineup is expected to drive more sales in the competitive small car segment, which is dominated by hatches. Kia Motors Australia CEO MK Kim has confirmed he Cerato 5-door hatch will go on sale in Australia during the fourth quarter of 2010. "It will complete the Cerato range by joining the 4-door sedan and 2-door Koup," Kim says. "It will introduce key mechanical, feature and cosmetic changes to the Cerato range and join the Kia Soul in the important Small Hatch segment which so far this year has accounted for 51 per cent of total small vehicle sales."

Buoyed by the success of the Carsguide Car of the Year award for the Golf, Volkswagen Australia has taken a big punt and added a wagon to the lineup.  Although the playing in a segment with few direct rivals, Volkswagen Australia managing director, Anke Koeckler, believes the Golf wagon will find a following.However, she is naturally cautious about sales numbers.  "It is a ‘taste it and see’ type of car," she says.  "But we're confident it will do well."Koeckler is mindful too that smaller families might visit a showroom to look at a Golf hatch and walk out with a wagon.   Small wagons have never been big sellers locally but Koeckler believes this could change.  "In Europe they are very popular," she says.Price and marketWith the Toyota Corolla no longer competing in the small wagon segment, the Golf wagon can count its direct prestige rival as the Peugeot 308, with the lower cost Hyundai i30CW nipping around the edges.  Just like the Golf hatch, the wagon approaches its duties with that German thoroughness in design detail and engineering with a price of $33,990 – a handy premium of just $2000 over the hatch.Fit-out and equipmentThe chrome-ringed flip-out shopping bag holders reek quality and the nifty secret hideaway under the luggage cover has enough room for a laptop and other valuables.  The regular shape of the luggage area and fold-flat floor can swallow a fair amount of gear.The wagon is built on the same platform and engines and has the same 2574mm wheelbase.  In keeping with its extra duties though, the wagon is 432mm longer than the hatch - most of it at the back - and 45mm higher.  This translates into a respectable load area with plenty of room for small families.With the rear seats up there is 505 litres of space under the luggage cover. Folded flat this expands to 1495 litres. By comparison, the Peugeot 308 wagon has 674 litres with the seats up and 2149 litres with the seats down.For added safety there is a sturdy cargo net. A red indicator pops up on the seatbacks if they are not properly secured.  Our wagon came with some tasty extras like the $3000 satellite navigation system, $270 media device interface, $3300 leather seats, $400 foglights, $2000 panoramic glass sunroof and $1400 park assist.But you do not need to load this car up with creature comforts to appreciate the German engineering.Engine and gearboxBoth share their 1.6 and 2.0-litre turbo-diesels and high-tech 1.4-litre TSI petrol engines.  In the wagon a seven-speed DSG gearbox is standard on the 118 TSI Comfortline with a six-speed DSG on the 103 TDI Comfortline.  The Trendline models make do with five and six-speed manuals and optional seven-speed DSG gearboxes.DrivingThe Golf 118 TSI wagon combines a solid reputation with sparkling performance.  It might also be small in stature but it is practical where it counts - out back.  The wagon arrived on the carsGuide test fleet just as several friends went of a furniture buying spree.It was pressed into service to carry irregularly shaped Ikea flat-pack furniture and even a few bags of mulch. Everything was swallowed easily with the cargo net and luggage tie-downs keeping things snug.  If you have drive the 1.4-litre hatch the wagon will be no surprise.As we've said before the Golf's diminutive four cylinder has a big heart.  VW has wisely not put any "1.4" badges on the car because in reality, this 1.4 behaves like a spirited 2.0-litre.The wagon is quick off the line. The sweet revving engine spins eagerly and the seven-speed DSG, standard on the Comfortline, is well matched to the engine.  Although dual-clutch gearboxes have come a long way, the Golf's still has some lag when moving away from the traffic lights. It was a little hesitant but much better than past DSGs. But once it decides to engage, the perky engine performs.  Beyond 1700 revs the car slingshots forward, perhaps a little too eagerly, chirping the tyres even with modest pressure on the accelerator.  At highway speeds the 1.4 is very efficient, getting 5.5 litres/100km. There is a surprising amount of urge from 80km/h upwards for overtaking.The peppy performance is not at the expense of ride or handling. The wagon behaves like the hatch and that's a good thing.  However, there is some road noise over harsher bitumen but it is noticeably free of the drumming associated with big-boxy wagons.VW has added an acoustic windscreen to help subdue wind and engine noise up front but even back seat passengers will appreciate the rustle-free cabin.  Its Euro credibility will not be lost on inner city buyers who value function over form.It may not have the seating versatility of the Peugeot wagon but the build quality and superior dynamics push it past the post.  The Golf wagon is proof that practical family duties can sit well with driving pleasure.THE BOTTOM LINE: A more practical Golf with room for more.Score 82/100Volkswagen Golf 118 TSI wagonPrice: $33,990Engine: 1.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinderPower: 118kW at 5900 revsTorque: 240Nm from 1750 revsTransmission: Seven-speed DSG automaticEeconomy: 6.3/100km combinedEmissions: 148g/kmRivalsPeugeot 308 1.6 HDI Touring: 81/100 (from $35,447)Hyundai i30 2.0 Sportwagon: 78/100 (from $29,990)Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI DSG wagon: 80/100 ($35,290)Subaru Liberty 2.5i CVT wagon: 83/100 ($37,990)

The company is planning a long-needed product offensive over the next 12 months to reverse sales and finally entrench the importer as a fully fledged European competitor. Renault Australia managing director Rudi Koenig is blunt in his assessment of the French brand's performance in recent years, blaming a lack of product and prices."There are no more excuses," he says. "For the first time certainly within my tenure with Renault, we are bringing in serious product."When it launched back in 2000, the French carmaker boldly forecast sales of upwards of 6000 within the first couple of years. However, sales peaked in 2002 at more than 4500 and since then have hovered below 3500 despite a $20 million advertising spend in the early days to put its cars on buyers' radar.Last year it sold 2400 vehicles, down 24 per cent compared to 2008. Koenig is confident the company can improve this year but is not predicting wild numbers."The arrival of our new vehicles this year won't do much for sales because most of them arrive late in the year," he says.First up is the 2010 update for the Koleos in May, which gets satellite navigation as standard and other cosmetic updates. In June the Kangoo multi-purpose wagon arrives, followed by the Trafic van in July.The big hopes rest on the Megane hatch, which arrives in November, along with the Fluence sedan. However before the bread-and-butter hatch arrives the hot Megane RS250 hits showrooms in September and then a Megane Coupe-cabrio in October.Koenig says the product offensive has come about because Renault Australia has been able to source new cars from lower cost countries outside France. The Megane will come from Turkey and the mid-size Fluence will be built in Korea, where the Koleos is built.Renault sales peaked the in its first full year on sale in 2002 when 4565 vehicles were sold. Since then sales have hovered between 2400 and 3300, and are dependent on product launches.The arrival of the Koleos has been a saviour. Last year it was responsible for almost half of total Renault sales.

Well in future your backyard household waste could be the key to fueling the family sedan.  The Victorian Government and a consortium of companies is assessing the viability of a ground-breaking green fuel plant for the state that uses garbage.If successful the $400 million plant could produce more than 200 million litres of ethanol a year from regular household and building waste.  GM-Holden, which will introduce an ethanol-fueled Commodore V6 later this year, is one of the lead companies in the consortium.US-based biofuel company and ethanol producer Coskata, Caltex, Veolia and Mitsui have also signed up to investigate the viability of the plant, which could be built in Melbourne.  If successful, the alternative fuel will be blended as E85, a mixture of 85 per cent ethanol and 15 per cent regular petrol.Coskata believes it can produce ethanol for less than 35 centres a litre, more than offsetting is higher fuel use when compared to petrol.  The company's chief marketing officer Wes Bolsen, said the proposal would not just benefit Victoria."It's about what can be done in Queensland or NSW," he says.  "It's the tip of the iceberg for Australia to be less dependent on oil."Bolsen believes that Australia's surplus agriculture waste could make it a net exporter of material for ethanol plants in other parts of the world.  "There is a chance Australia could take the lead with this technology," he says.GM-Holden's energy and environment director Richard Marshall says ethanol could reduce our dependence on petrol by up to 30 per cent.  Marshall believes for alternative fuels to go mainstream petrol will have to hit a trigger point of $2 a litre.Caltex is rolling out more ethanol pumps in 30 metropolitan and regional service stations later this year, increasing to 100 within 12 months.  It already has about 400 service stations nationally selling E10.Bolsen said Coskata did not make fuel from food crops.  "We use sources like municipal waste that have reached the end of their lifecycle," he said.

A small after-tax profit of $12.8 million was overwhelmed last year by net losses of $210.6 million because of the axing of the Holden-built Pontiac export program. These losses also included a series of special, one-off charges totalling $223.4 million, mostly because of the cancellation of the export program. The special charges stemmed mainly from the closure of the Family II engine plant in Melbourne.Last year's loss is significantly more than the $70.2 million loss posted in 2008. GM-Holden's chief financial officer, Mark Bernhard, said the result was disappointing but a by-product of one of the most severe economic downturns in recent memory."This had a substantial impact on both our domestic and export sales," he said. "Much of our loss was incurred as a result of GM's decision to discontinue the Pontiac brand in North America."High-volume exports of the Pontiac G8 ended last April, impacting the company's build numbers. The company built 67,000 vehicles last year, significantly down from the 119,000 built in 2008. It exported 88,000 engines, compared to 136,000 in 2008.Bernhard said other key Holden export markets were also hit by the global economic downturn, which led to a dramatic decline in demand for locally built cars from Holden's overseas customers."At a local level, despite producing Australia's top-selling car, the Commodore, our domestic market was also impacted," he said. These factors resulted in revenue declining from $5.8 billion in 2008 to $3.8 billion in 2009. However, Bernhard said as the health of the world economy started to improve in the second half of the year, so too did Holden's finances."At this time that we started to witness the benefits of some of the more difficult restructuring decisions made during the year to ensure we were operating on a leaner, more efficient base," he said. "This contributed to the company's positive operating cash flow of $289.8 million."Bernhard is confident Holden will return to a profit soon, particularly with local production of the Cruze small car starting in Adelaide early next year. "While we've had a good start to the year, I'm not in a position to declare victory just yet," he said.

The silver Mercedes-Benz AMG C63 driven by Formula 1 star Lewis Hamilton is now a celebrity in its own right.  The super sedan was sold on Wednesday for $157,000 -- $7000 more than its book price -- to a leading but unnamed Mercedes-Benz dealer.The hot luxury V8 achieved icon status when the British Formula 1 driver was nabbed by police last week doing a burnout in St Kilda near the Albert Park race track.When news got out that Mercedes-Benz Australia was selling the car, dealers and well-heeled car enthusiasts jammed the company's switchboard.  The Hamilton car's notoriety has also peaked buyer interest in the C63 with dealers reporting strong interest.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman, David McCarthy, says an auction through its own dealers was the preferred option to avoid speculators.  He says there was a lot of interest.  "That's hardly surprising," he says.  "I suppose everyone likes a celebrity.  "Cars with a famous owner have always attracted big money."However, Hamilton's AMG C63 was a loaner from Mercedes-Benz Australia, one of 27 Mercedes vehicles given to drivers and teams during the Australian Grand Prix.  McCarthy said the final sale price would not be revealed.Any extra cash made from the sale beyond the car's retail price of $150,000 would go to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation, which is the official charity of the Grand Prix.  "We've supported the Alannah and Madeline Foundation previously and feel it is a good choice to benefit from any excess sale proceeds," he says.  "We honestly don't wish to profit from this, but if a charity can, well that's good."The massively powerful luxury sedan has only travelled about 5000km, of which Hamilton is said to have contributed about 100km during his stay in Melbourne.  "At the end of the day the only fair way to sell the car was at auction," McCarthy says.Despite the car's notoriety, McCarthy says it was sold without a plaque saying who had driven it.  "The vehicle's provenance is well established," he says.  However, the car still wears a sticker on the windscreen allowing priority access to Albert Park. 

A buyer frenzy has erupted between cashed-up Formula 1 enthusiasts and local Mercedes-Benz dealers keen to nab the notorious Mercedes.  Hoon Hamilton made global headlights last week after he was caught doing donuts in St Kilda.The car, a hot AMG C63 was impounded and the redfaced 25-year-old British race driver has been charged with improper use of a vehicle.  Mercedes-Benz Australia is auctioning the car to one of its dealers at lunch-time.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman, David McCarthy, said the high-performance sedan was expected to sell for considerably more than its $150,000 retail price.  "There has been a lot of interest," he said."It is likely to go for more than the real value but we can't put an estimate on it."  Mercedes-Benz will not reveal the lucky bidder, nor will it put a plaque on the car saying it was driving by Hamilton.However, McCarthy said any extra money made beyond the car's retail price would go to the Alannah and Madeline Foundation.  "We've supported the Alannah and Madeline Foundation previously and feel it is a good choice to benefit from any excess sale proceeds."The massively powerful V8 has only travelled about 5000km, of which Hamilton is said to have contributed about 100km during his stay in Melbourne for the Australian Grand Prix.

This matte-black RS500 is one of just 500 limited edition models being made to celebrate the end of the current model RS. The 500 individually numbered cars will be available only in Europe and buyers are already lining up to snare the elusive car.The RS500 gets a turbocharged 2.5-litre five-cylinder engine, which generates 15 per cent more power than the standard Focus RS to provide more top-end power. The hot Focus will hit 100km/h in 5.6 seconds and has a top speed of 265km/h. Max power 260kW at 6000revs and 460Nm from 2500 revs. The engine has also undergone other tweaks to enhance its breathing and combustion.The changes include a significantly larger air-to-air intercooler to deliver a cooler, denser charge; a larger air filter box for increased airflow; larger diameter exhaust downpipe; and an uprated fuel pump, along with an updated software calibration to optimise the performance of the revised engine.The RS500's breath-taking power is matched by an equally dramatic appearance. The limited edition model sports a unique matte black "foil" paint finish with matching alloy wheels."We were determined to mark the end of production for the current and acclaimed Focus RS with something even more special'' says Joe Bakaj, Ford of Europe's vice president for Product Development. Australian RS fans should not be too disappointed though. Ford's global technical chief, Derrick Kuzak, says the next-generation Focus RS will be a global car as part of the company's One Ford program, meaning there is a strong chance it will head Down Under.