Articles by Paul Gover

It's caught on a frozen lake in Scandinavia with bodywork that reflects the production plan for the car that will sit alongside the i8 coupe in BMW's new 'i' sub-brand.Expect it here in 2014 at about $50,000

In fact, the all-new Subaru Impreza and XV crossover received a five-star tick a week before they hit the road in Australia. The new babies joined the latest Toyota Camry in scoring the top five-star ranking from the Australasian New-Car Assessment Program, although it calls on both Subaru and Toyota to lift their work on pedestrian protection. The press preview of the XV is held this week in Tasmania but Carsguide will not drive the new Impreza until the second half of February.  The newcomers continue Subaru's five-star push and also complete a five-star passenger lineup for Toyota, although some of its commercial and SUV models lag on occupant safety. But ANCAP is now pushing pedestrian protection as well as active-safety systems - such as active cruise controls - to stretch its reach beyond the results of crash tests.  "Many manufacturers are now scoring in the top category for occupant protection but more attention must be paid to protecting pedestrians as well," says Lachlan McIntosh, chair of ANCAP. “Both Subaru and Toyota now need to work on getting the top ratings for pedestrian protection." The Subaru and Toyota results are the first for 2012 and come after a dozen cars hit the five-star target in December, led by the COTY winning Kia Rio. But ANCAP is lifting its bar this year as it demands more protection for new-car buyers.  It intends adding assessment of anti-whiplash seats and head restraints and will also assess safety-assist technologies for a revised set of standards expected by the middle of this year. "In 2008 we said you have to have ESC to get in the game. Now they'll need to have some of safety assist technologies," says McIntosh.

This is what happens when SUVs go bad. Or good. A muscle car makeover has just transformed the best Jeep in generations into a hotrod rival to a bunch of family heavyweights including the BMW X5M, Mercedes-Benz ML63 AMG and even the Porsche Cayenne turbo.The Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT picks up the classy engineering and cabin quality of the regular models that arrived in Australia last year, then gives the package a giant thump with a 6.4-litre V8 engine, big wheels and brakes, and sports-tuned suspension.It's not going to be a cheap machine, from around $90,000, but the SRT badge gives a Jeep just as much credibility for potential buyers as an M tag or AMG label in the BMW and Benz world.Downsides? The new SRT hauler is a little slower than the previous model, just as thirsty, and is not going to cash-in the savings that Chrysler Jeep Australia is delivering on other new models coming downunder.But the Nascar-style exhaust thunder from the ultimate Grand Cherokee will be more than enough compensation for some people.There are a surprising number of SUV muscle cars in Australia, since people with Porsches and Ferraris also need something more family friendly to fill their garage. The benchmarks are the X5 M and ML63, both in the $150,000-plus range, and that makes the Jeep SRT look like a bargain. Then again, they are from two of the best luxury brands in the business, just like the Cayenne Turbo from a whacking $248,600.So the SRT needs to be compared with the luxury stars, not a regular Grand Cherokee from $45,000. That makes it look pretty good, with everything from classy leather trim in an upscale cabin to climate control and beefy bodywork.The previous SRT didn't do particularly well in Australia, but that was probably down more to the base car than the upgrading."We think the new model will have wider appeal, based on the refinement of the Grand Cherokee overall. It's the same as the current Laredo and Limited, which are far more popular," says Dean Bonthorne of Chrysler Jeep Australia.Everything is new on the SRT8, starting with the body. That means more space and comfort inside, a better chassis with improved suspension - with switchable active ride - and all the latest safety gear including a knee airbag for the driver.The heart of the car is a 6.4-litre Hemi V8, up from the previous 5.7 and now with 344 kiloWatts and 624 Newton-metres. But there are only five gears in the automatic and the overall gearing is unchanged, which means slightly less go with an extra 150 kilograms to haul around.Chrysler says the SRT8 will still belt to 100km/h in less than five seconds, a mark we could not match in Nevada, but there is cylinder deactivation to improve the efficiency of the engien even though it still only managed 14.1 litres/100km and CO2 emissions of 328 grams/ kilometre.Oh, and there are now crawler gears, despite the off-road credentials of the Jeep brand. Not that an SRT8 owner is ever likely to head into the bush . . .For me, the best thing about the SRT8 is the beautifully sculpted bonnet, with twin scoops to tell the world what's happening in the engine room. The overall shape and soft-touch cabin - which is a massive improvement across the Grand Cherokee range - are much as before, including a driver's side rear-vision mirror that needs to be bigger.The SRT upgrade is predictable stuff, from the deeper front spoiler with blacked-out air intake to the 20-inch alloys, Pirelli tyres and six-piston front brake calipers. The look is tough but still restrained, even for the blacked-out big- bore exhausts.There is no ANCAP ruling on the Grand Cherokee, by Bonthorne says the Grand Cherokee have received the equivalent of a five-star ranking in the USA and the car is a top safety pick by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.The Grand Cherokee, like a lot of models developed when Chrysler was partnered with Daimler, gets a lot of Mercedes-Benz safety gear from impressive ESP stability control to blind-spot monitoring. There are a total of seven airbags, a rear-view camera, and even what Chrysler calls an enhanced accident response system - which turns on the interior lights, unlocks the doors, hits the hazard flashers and shuts off the engine and fuel in an impact where the airbags are triggered.The Grand Cherokee SRT8 makes an immediate impact, even in Sin City. There are lots of upscale cars in Las Vegas, and we spot a Lamborghini Gallardo Spider and Rolls-Royce Phantom in less than 30 minutes, but the Jeep easily holds its own. And when we head out towards the desert for some private picture work, the Nascar rumble from the 6.4 brings plenty of smiles.More smiles are provided by the comfy-yet-supportive leather buckets, the punchy sound system and aircon that copes easily with any conditions. It's the same with the roomier new back seat and a cabin that's well designed and screwed together so there are no squeaks or rattles - or any hint of future trouble.The stopwatch says the SRT8 is a few ticks slower than the previous model but it's not something you really notice, even if the upcoming ML63 has Benz's monster 5.5 twin-turbo V8 - a big advance for the ML that we need to trial at home for a serious score - and the Cayenne Turbo has a belter 4.8 V8 that will whack the Jeep. It's more like the Range Rover Sport, although not as hunkered-down and grippy for cornering work.It rolls along smoothy with little tyre or wind roar, and when you hit the go pedal it does. The cornering grip is good, either in the standard or Sport setting for the suspension, although it rocks and rolls a bit as you'd expect from a big and very heavy SUV. It also stops very well.The steering feel is not great, and I think the flagship Grand Cherokee needs a bigger colour display in the dash. It also gets very thirsty if you want to play.But the SRT8 cashes-in the quality of the Grand Cherokee update last year and it ticks the boxes for someone who wants an SUV with the sort of punch and packaging you get from Holden Special Vehicles or Ford Performance Vehicles.The SRT8 is not really a rival to the ML or X5, let alone the Porsche turbo, but it's a solid choice for anyone who wants a family SUV with real punch - and doesn't have an unlimited budget.A solid performance upgrade on the impressive new Grand Cherokee means another winner from Jeep.

After more than a year on the missing list, the Chrysler 300C is finally back.

One of the all-time greats of American muscle car history, the Barracuda has been chosen by Chrysler as it looks for the next step beyond its current comeback cars, the Dodge Challenger, Avenger and Charger. Early details of the Barracuda plan leak in motown during the Detroit motor show, where Chrysler returns the compact Dodge Dart to its roster with an American remake of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta mechanical package shared with the company's Italian alliance partner, Fiat. It's likely that a two-door Barracuda will be based on the mechanical package of the latest 300C sedan, but it is not expected until at least 2014 and there is no detail yet. "There's a lot of pressure on us to bring the 'Cuda back," says Chrysler's SRT performance boss, Ralf Gilles, in Detroit. "The customers have been stomping their feet for it.". A new Barracuda fits Chrysler's long-term plan to revive some of its classic nameplates, but only for a limited time. It wants to maximise their impact, but then clear them relatively quickly - less than eight years - to push something new. The Barracuda - usually known as the Hemi 'Cuda because of its Hemi V8 - would take over from the current Challenger coupe as the hero car for the brand to compete directly with the Ford Mustang and Chevrolet Camaro, just as it did when the three cars first went head-to-head in the 1970s. But, since the Plymouth brand has been dead for a long time, it's more likely to be called a Chrysler. The Cuda move comes as Ford renews its long-term commitment to the Mustang and GM moves towards an all-new Camaro coupe built over the all-new mechanical package of the Cadillac ATS first shown at this year's Detroit show. That's bad news for Australia, since the current Camaro is twinned with the Holden Commodore. The renewed performance push at Chrysler comes as the company puts more muscle into its SRT vehicles, with plans for a supercar Viper that is only badged - just as Nissan dropped Skyline from its GT-R name - as an SRT. But there is a lot more to come and the head of Chrysler Jeep Australia admits that even he is not completely in the loop. "I've not seen or heard anything official on a Barracuda plan. There may be some speculation," Clyde Campbell tells Carsguide in Detroit.

The Japanese brand is promising more two-door style cars as it works to 'emotionalise' a brand that's better known for its quality and efficiency. Coupes have been targeted as a breakthrough point by the company's global head of product and marketing planning, Karl Schlicht, who talks with Carsguide after the unveiling of the Lexus LF-LC concept at the Detroit motor show. The good looking LF-FC was designed at Toyota's CALTY design studio in the USA, is named as the best concept car at the show, and has a good chance for production if potential customers push Lexus hard enough. "We said we need to change and with that we said we needed some coupes to emotionalise the lineup," Schlicht says. "We do believe that if we change direction with our brand it's easier to do with a coupe, to make a statement. In the near future you're going to see an IS-based coupe. If you guys write some nice things about this red car out here we're probably going to get that one." The American executive admits that a Japanese approach to luxury cars, which worked well at first with the original LS400 in 1989, left Lexus struggling as its rivals got going with cars that provided more emotion. But there have been changes. Recently, Toyota chief Akio Toyoda has even become the Lexus brand champion in Japan and has cut through the complicated decision making process that stymied development of cars to move the brand forward. "We needed to emotionalise the brand more. We weren't going to stay stale and boring. We're not going to become the next Cadillac," he says. "In the last couple of years we've developed the changes you're seeing now. We said we need to change direction. We put together what we call a Compass Plan." The all-new Lexus GS coming to Australia is a good example, he says, of the change. The car was almost killed - twice - before engineers got the right combination of luxury and driving enjoyment to move beyond the fuddy-duddy first model. Schlicht also admits that Lexus concentrated on sales in the USA at the expense of other countries including Australia. "The fact that we succeeded in the US was a strength and a weakness. We rode that baby boomer market in the US extremely well. However, you sorta get a bit of a blind spot to the rest of the world," Schlicht says. "I'm being very onest with you, the sucess in the US was fantastic ... and why we're still here. But we developed a few blind spots and maybe we were slow to react to that." In future, he promises a company that's faster on its feet, more  focussed and with cars that have more style - and more substance. "We shouldn't be a replication of Toyota. We only sell half a million cars," Schlicht says. "For too long, we had design reviews with 100 people judging. It doesn't do anything. We think we can make a huge statement on the new direction with coupes."

For the first time the Porsche Boxster looks more like a serious sports car than a softer and scaled-down 911 for people who cannot afford the real thing. The 2012 model just revealed by Porsche has had a much bigger visual makeover than the latest all-new 991-series 911 and now trumpets a look that could have been inspired by the Carrera GT. It likely points towards the final bodywork on Porsche's next all-out supercar, the 918. Mechanically, the new Boxster picks up the development work on the 911 in a trickle-down plan that will also power the next Cayman coupe in 2013. "In relative terms, the Boxster is almost a bigger change than the 911. The car has evolved and it will enjoy all the changes that have come with the 911 platform," Michael Winkler, managing director of Porsche Cars Australia, tells Carsguide. "If you remember the refinements of the 991, you can see what to expect. In the context of the class, it will be a sensational car." The new Boxster is longer and wider than the outgoing car, with two engine choices as usual to power the regular car and the S. The starter motor has shrunk to just 2.7 litres but Porsche claims more power - 195 kiloWatts - and torque with similar direct fuel injection to the 911, while the S comes with an unchanged 3.4 that is up slightly to 232 kiloWatts. The manual gearbox is a six-speed, chopped a cog from the 911, but the PDK manumatic is now a seven-speeder and Porsche says it helps the Boxster S to hit 100km/h in 5.0 seconds. Porsche also claims a 15 per cent economy improvement with consumption as low as 7.9 litres/100km. The car is lighter than the current car, has a longer wheelbase, bigger wheels and electric power steering - the one 911 change that has not been universally praised. As part of the body work, Porsche has given the cabin a total makeover and there is more space and a similar look and feel to the 911. The folding roof is fully electric and there is no top on the compartment lid in the tail. "The car is stretched and it has the same interior dimensions as the 911," says Winkler. There is a Sport Chrono package on the options' list, as well as Porsche Torque Vectoring with a mechanical differential lock Sales of the Boxster make up a quarter of Australian deliveries, and half of the sports car volume, and Winkler recognises its importance when sales begin around June. "The Cayman is a bit further down the track still, but it's safe to assme there will be one," he admits. Winkler refuses to discuss the showroom stickers, even though the strength of the Australian dollar points towards a no-change deal for 2012 or a relatively small increase from the $106,100 and $132,400 of today's Boxster and S. "We're not talking about the pricing yet," Winkler says.

Just ask Sergio Marchionne, the top man at both Fiat and Chrysler, as someone did during the Detroit auto show this week. Actually, the question in a room full of 50 journalists from around the world went more like this: "Would you consider selling Ferrari to finance expansion of Fiat?"Marchionne, who talks more a university professor giving a tutorial on the motor business than a CEO barking out the usual whip-crack one- sentence replies, has the whole room laughing within a minute. "Imagine I have a can of caviar and 12 rotten eggs in the fridge," says the Canadian-Italian chief with the grubby stubble beard and a taste for cigarettes."Why would I sell the can of caviar to buy another 12 rotten eggs? I still cannot make an omlette." Then a pause, just for a couple of seconds. "No, Ferrari is not for sale."Marchionne goes on like this for just on an hour, fielding questions about everything from the chance of his snapping up Opel to the chances of a Fiat-backed start-up car in Turkey to he sales figures in Mexico. He even has a couple of lines on Australia. "I love the country. I’ve been there, I love it, but then I never do anything for you," he says, before promising more right-hand drive cars and a better supply line Fiat and Ferrari fans down under.Here are some Sergio gems, on a range of topics. Is he having talks with Peugeot about some sort of alliance? "We have not discussed a damn thing."What about building truly elegant new Fiats and Alfas? "Small, diverse and beautiful means nothing. You are going to be small and maybe non-existent."How does he see global car sales in 2012 and beyond? "Making a forecast in this environment is almost impossible. My best estimate is a flat line on volumes from 2011 to 2014. And that's my view of the best scenario, it could be worse. We are playing with fire."After an hour in the hot seat, Marchionne wraps with a single sentence before walking away without even a thankyou or a goodbye. "I've been talking for too long," he says.

Holden lost the top spot its Commodore held for 15 years, Toyota's Camry still leads its class but is nearly 6000 sales behind 2010, and the numbers for the Ford Falcon are . . . well, dismal.Imported small cars are biting deeper and deeper into the homegrown heartland and no-one is better on a serious future for the Falcon and Commodore beyond 2018 - at the latest.But drill a bit deeper and the news is not necessarily as bad as it looks.Yes, Falcon only managed to find 18,741 new friends last year and that number is impossible to sustain. For a start, there will be no money for future development.But Falcon sedan numbers now have to be combined with the Territory SUV - which is really a new-age replacement for the Falcon wagon - and Falcon utes.When you combine the three, production from Broadmeadows rises to 39,411. That's still not brilliant, but it's not a disaster.And remember Ford was without its crucial LPG model for much of the year, and has is about to introduce its EcoBoost four-cylinder Falcon to win government and fleet sales."We're putting our money where our mouth is, and investing in the future of this product. I see that the glass is half full. I'm positive," the new sales and marketing director of Ford Australia, Brad Brownell, tells Carsguide.Across at Holden, the story is the same but different.Commodore numbers are down but GM Holden has already hedged its bets by diversifying into production of the compact Cruze in Adelaide.So its local production needs to combine the two - even though there is distortion with some Cruze imports - to get a true number.Doing that, as well as adding the ute, and Caprice numbers, Holden's total goes from 40,617 for Commodore sedan up to something beyond 85,000.Holden says it is committed to local manufacturing for the long haul and that looks true, with the Cruze set to eventually overtake Commodore as its local showroom headliner.And Toyota? Well, its factory at Altona is geared for 50 per cent export and the Middle East slide has been far worse than Australia through the global financial downturn.Through 2011 the Camry and Aurion were also into runout ahead of an all-new model. So the 2011 result of 28,084 cars will jump considerably through 2012 with full production of Camry, V6 Aurion and Camry hybrid, as well as increased exports.Would Toyota be spending $350 million on a new engine factory in Melbourne if it was not committed to local production? No, exactly.Things are still tough, and both Ford and Holden are fighting hard to justify any future investments to their head offices in Detroit, but  Federal Industry Minister Kim Carr says he is bullish and is in Motown this week for meetings with company chiefs during the Detroit motor show.So there is lots of uncertainty, and Ford is definitely leaning away from a unique Ford Falcon, but it's a long time yet until the fat lady sings.

JAMES Bond drives an Aston Martin, and that's almost good enough for me. Almost. But when the pricetag of the Aston in the driveway hits $470,000 - drive away, no more left to pay - the rules change a bit. That sort of money buys some truly great cars but I cannot help comparing it with the Ferrari California.The Aston scores with brilliant convertible styling, all the luxury you can really want in a two-plus-two convertible, and rock-solid credentials that include two years as the coolest brand of all in Britain.It sits alongside the Virage coupe that costs $371,300 in a 13-car range that starts with the V8 Vantage at $250,272. But the fresh-air Ferrari is more tactile, more emotional, and it doesn't have a paddle-shift automatic gearbox that somehow quits shifting on me for a time during a straightforward run to the newsagent.VALUEOnce again, the colossal pricetag of the Virage means it's impossible for an ordinary person to make a true judgement call. People with half a million for a car that's a toy are more likely to be shopping it against a boat or another holiday house than 24 Hyundai i20s, or pitching it up against the California or Benz SLS roadster in  the driveway next door. But the mid-range Aston - yes, there really are other models that are even more costly, right up to the limited-edition 1-77 at something beyond $2 million in Australia - makes a reasonable case against car like the Jaguar XK-RS, California, Audi R8 Cabriolet and other exotica. TECHNOLOGYAston makes a lot of noise about the car's lightweight aluminium construction, even though it thumps the scales at close to 1900 kilos. So imagine what it could have been. What the alloy structure brings is incredible rigidity, especially for a convertible, and the sort of rock-solid feel that convinces you the car will go on for a long time.And you cannot say that about a Maserati GranCabrio, although the R8 - with its racecar layout, against the Aston's front-mounted V12 - is impressively taut. The British car has its hand-assembled 6-litre V12, adaptive damping in the suspension, carbon brakes, and even an exhaust with bypass valves that mean it can be shoosh quiet around town but howl on the open road.Or noisy all the time if the owner asks for a special switch . . . But an old-school automatic gearbox, even with paddle shifts and six speeds, is off the pace in 2012. DESIGNIt's hard to fault the Virage Volante, except that it looks a lot like the all the other Aston coupes and convertibles. It's a great looking family, but it can be hard to know if you're out on the town with Alec or Billy or Daniel, if you draw a comparison with the Baldwin brothers. It is a droolworthy shape that is beautifully finished, right down to  gorgeous wing mirrors and giant wheels that sit just right in a body  that's almost draped around the rubber. The dashboard looks great, and the steering wheel and other controls have a solidly chunky look and feel, but the car is let down by the details. The satnav screen is too small, although the mapping system is updated and greatly improved, and the digital readouts - including the speedo - wash out badly in harsh Australian sun.And that's before you drop the top. The top itself works extremely well, and seals well to keep noise levels down. The boot is not particularly big, and the back 'seats' barely qualify for anyone with legs, but it's pretty much the same as others in the class.SAFETYANCAP is never going to whack an Aston into a wall, so there is no star rating. Based on Carsguide experience it would probably be a four-star car, and it does have lots of nifty electronics to keep you out of trouble and airbags for both front seat occupants.DRIVINGWheel time in an exotic always gets personal, because the possible play things - remembering that could be a Bentley or a Porsche or a  Ferrari or whatever - are so very different in character. The Aston scores because of its Bond-like strengths, from the masculine styling to the macho V12 and the chunky way it sits on the  road and handles corners. Strangely, and despite 365 kiloWatt and a sprint time of 4.5 seconds to 100km/h, it doesn't feel particularly quick. It's definitely not as big a hitter as the twin-turbo V8 AMG E63 currently in the Carsguide garage, but it does waft along pretty briskly. It's not helped by that weight.The steering feel is good, the brakes are strong, and it's nice as a tourer, but push harder in tight corners and the front wants to push wide until you are hard on the gas. It's definitely not best in class if you want to muscle it around. But switch the adaptive damping to the sport setting and it wakes up and comes alive, with much more bite at the front end, more general composure, and the extra pace to bring a smile. With the engine tweaked to sport, and extra crispness in the throttle to match the barky exhaust, it does a lot better. But it's still not a match for the California, either in punch or personality. And, when the paddle shift goes awol for a while, I wonder again about famed British reliability. The FM radio reception is pretty poor, too.So the Virage Volante is a good car, and a very distinctive one, but a few pennies short of a pound. It's not nice for a Bond-style arrival, but not something to try and outrun any baddies. If I had the money and the choice, and I wanted a speedy droptop to make me feel really good, I'd go for a Ferrari California.VERDICTOne of the best lookers on the road today is not as good as it looks.Aston Martin Virage Volante Price: estimated $470,000 on roadEngine: 6.0 litre V12, 365kW/570NmBody: two-door convertibleWeight: 1890kgTransmission: six-speed automatic, rear-wheel drive