Articles by Paul Gover

The latest hero car in the long history of the Mustang, a Shelby GT500, is confirmed with the 321km/h top speed at its official unveiling at the Los Angeles Auto Show. Other privately tuned Mustangs have been just as fast, or even faster, but Ford is taking official credit for the GT500 and a supercharged 4.8-litre V8 engine that  cranks out a massive 485 kiloWatts. The company's performance vehicles division is also responsible for changing the car's gearing to ensure it can top the double-ton, after earlier models routinely ran up to 250km/h, as well as tweaking the front and rear spoilers for smoother airflow. "This is the fastest Mustang ever. It's about listening to customers and offering the full choice of what they want," Mark Fields, the executive vice-president of Ford Motor Company, tells Carsguide. The Shelby hero car is unveiled at the top of a facelifted  and updated range of Mustangs that goes into showrooms early in 2012, just in time for the American summer. They have a redesigned front end and Xenon headlamps and a six-speed automatic with a touch-change manual mode similar to the Ford Falcon in Australia. The king-of-the-hill Mustang comes as Chevrolet finalises its own showroom plans for a rampaging Camaro ZL1 with a supercharged V8 engine that pumps out 430 kiloWatts. It's a new high for the two-door coupe developed in Australia as a spin-off from the VE Holden Commodore. Fields says there is no conflict between Mustang development and moves to a greener landscape in the car world, highlighting the car's ability to avoid the gas-guzzler tax in the USA. He also says Mustang is vital to Ford. "It's an icon for the company, and people still aspire to owning a Mustang. There is a certain portion of the population that loves that fun-to-drive muscle element and I don't think that will ever go away,"  Fields says. "Our business is about passion, and I think there will always be a segment of customers that always appreciates that. And we'll be there for them."

The newcomer will be revealed at the Tokyo Motor Show in less than a month - possibly wearing a CrossTrak badge - on the home ground of its target, the Subaru Outback. Subaru has been a consistent winner with its high-rider Outback and Forester wagons and Volkswagen is going down the same track, says a German insider at the Los Angeles Auto Show. He promises a vehicle that is also similar in style to the latest Skoda Yeti from Volkswagen Group, as Volkswagen continues work on a series of crossover cars based on the Up and Polo. Volkswagen will have a couple of big advantages over Subaru with its newcomer, as it has an automatic transmission to trump its rival's CVT system and can also supply a diesel engine with more than just the manual shift in the Outback. It could also, at least potentially, have more cabin space and standard luxury. But Volkswagen is unlikely to challenge the pricetag of the Outback, which starts at $38,490 with a 2.5-litre petrol engine. Its starting sticker is likely to be in the mid-$40,000 range, rising sharply to $60,000 for a fully-equipped car.

Interior changes and engine upgrades are the most likely improvements for 2012, but are still on the top-secret list.Still, it's clear that the '12 model is only a minor change with small alterations to the headlamps, foglamps and daytime running lights.

The all-new 911 is already finished and ready for the road and now the German sports car brand is finalising work on the compact contenders it will spin from the basics of the car known as the 991. The open-air Boxster is expected to go public first, most likely at the Geneva Motor Show in March, followed by the Cayman coupe in the second half of next year. "Yes, this is the fastest roll-out we've had," confirms Michael Winkler, head of Porsche Cars Australia, without going into any detail. The Boxster and Cayman have shared plenty of 911 parts and thoughts in the past, but it's unclear yet how much of the big brother will make it into the babies next year. A longer wheelbase and upgraded engines are a given, but details are not confirmed. "You will just have to wait," laughs Winkler. But the wait on the 911 is coming down to hours, not weeks or months, as Carsguide prepares for the first Australian preview drive in California this week. And Winkler is certain of one big detail. "The car goes on sale on March 6 next year," he says. While the 911, Boxster and Cayman are locked and loaded, there is growing doubt about Porsche's plans for a sub-Boxster sports car sharing parts with Volkswagen. The economic downturn in Europe is forcing a re-think at many carmakers - with Jaguar refusing to commit to a born-again E-Type based on its C-X16 - and Porsche admits it is worried. The financial crisis is real and we need to see how far it develops into an economic crisis develops. If this happens and it leads to a cooling of the auto industry, then this would certainly impact our strategy," Porsche's CEO, Matthias Mueller, tells the Financial Times Deutschland this week.

Smokers' cars are being marked down at trade-in time and owners are being given a fresh warning about the dangers of cigarettes. The bare minimum hit is the $100 it costs for a full clean-up and interior detailing job, according to car auction specialists ManheimFowles. "Buyers will typically try and avoid cars that have been smoked in, which therefore impacts a vehicle’s resale value," said Mathew McAuley of ManheimFowles. "If a car has been heavily smoked in it can make the difference between people bidding on and buying it – if the smell is strong and telltale signs such as stains on the upholstery and roof lining are present, the penalty could be as much as $1000 dollars." The no-smoking call comes as secondhand experts Glass's Guide highlight the need for owners to concentrate on positive presentation at trade-in time. "The most common wear-and-tear factors affecting the values while trading-in are condition of paint, condition of upholstery, and condition of the tyres," said Rushad Parkar (correct) of Glass's. It's a similar story at the auctions. "Anything that affects a car’s roadworthy condition will have an impact on resale values – such as worn tyres, cracked windscreens etc, as buyers will know that these items will need to be repaired and will affect what they pay for a car," said McAuley. "Other cosmetic factors also come into play, like scratches,  minor damage, worn seats and dirty carpets, which can make cars less appealing to buyers." Both Glass's Guide and ManheimFowles highlighted the potential cost of professional cleaning, but McAuley said cigarette cars are particularly risky. "As smoking in cars occurs less and less, buyers are avoiding cars that have been smoked in – especially if there are similar cars available that have not been smoked in," said McAuley.

Just a fortnight before the road-ready BRZ is unveiled at the Tokyo Motor Show, and with a Carsguide preview drive set for Japan in the first week in December, Subaru is going public with a thinly-disguised concept car in California. It comes as the BRZ Concept-STI on the opening day of the Los Angeles Auto Show, competing for attention with everything from the new Honda CR-V to the Shelby Mustang GT500 complete with a 320km/h top speed. But there is still no confirmation of sales in Australia. The BRZ is a joint venture with Toyota and, even though Subaru is responsible for the basic chassis design and the car's horizontally- opposed four-cylinder engine, the company is still lagging more than six months behind its partner's preview plan for a car expected to be called the Toyota 86. A pair of FT-86 concepts have been on the motor show trail for more than 18 months, with a showroom-ready Series II model unveiled at the New York show back in April. The BRZ STI looks much as expected, with the same basic body as the 86 and tweaking by STI to give it extra punch - including a new twist on Subaru's classic World Rally Championship colour called WR Blue Pearl II. The STI work is concentrated around the edges - with a deep front spoiler, rear wing, wheel arch flares, rear diffuser and twin exhaust pipes - but there is a carbon fibre roof. An STI WRX already has a carbon roof in Japan but there is no news on whether the costly topping, already used by BMW on its M3, will make it to production. But the roof will cut weight and reduce the car's centre-of-gravity, helping with what Subaru is already claiming as "pure handling delight" in the BRZ. Looking closer at the BRZ, the nose gets Subaru DNA including a hexagonal grille, "hawk-eye" headlamps and fin-shaped fog lamps. Subaru says the car's 2.0-litre flat four-cylinder has direct fuel-injection, using Toyota's D-4S technology for a high output and high environmental standards, although it gives no power or torque figures. But the engine is set a full 120 mm lower and 240 mm closer to the centre of the chassis than other Subaru cars. "As a result, it achieves one of the lowest possible centres of gravity compared to other cars on the market today," Subaru says. "By including lightweight parts such as the carbon fibre roof, the overall weight has been reduced. The body structure is both lightweight and highly rigid." The only other notable inclusions on the car are Brembo four-wheel disc brakes and STI lightweight 18-inch alloy wheels with STI sports suspension. When the BRZ hits the road it will become the first Subaru coupe since the flabby SVX of 1991. That car was intended as a grand tourer and had a six-cylinder engine, as well as jet-fighter side glass with a small opening for the windows in the doors. It never sold well in Australia, partly because of a high price, but it looked a lot better than the Vortex two-door that Subaru unleashed in the 1980s with a wedgy body that looked more like a motorised door stop.

The most likely site of the preview is the Paris Motor Show in the final quarter of 2012, based on strong sales in crowded European capital cities.

... Mazda also poised to return to the forest fight. A pair of all-new Honda Jazz rally cars is being built in Europe for the full-scale assault on a championship which will focus on compact front-wheel drive cars from 2012. Honda Australia has backed a lower-key effort for the past two years with a Civic Type R driven by Eli Evans, in a championship dominated by turbocharged all-wheel drive Subarus and Mitsubishis. Evans is expected to be joined next year by Mark Pedder in the second Jazz. Evans and Pedder will slide into what Honda Australia is already describing as "the world's fastest Jazz". Its Jazz G2 is expected to be built by J.A.S. Motorsport, which was responsible for the Civic, and will use a Mugen engine producin 183 kiloWatts of power. Evans' older brother, four-time national champion Simon, is considered the most-likely choice if Mazda moves ahead with a rally program using its baby Mazda2. He has just completed a winning audition for Mazda Motorsport in Targa High Country a fortnight ago in a Mazda3, with his co-driving wife Sue alongside. The new-look series is also likely to draw a number of family haulers in the new SUV category, with former class champion Brett Middleton - who won in a Honda - committed to a Subaru Forester. Honda confirms early details of the rally program today, grabbing the high ground for a series that promises six events in 2012 starting from Rally Calder in March. "We are excited about the next year of rallying. These may well be the fastest Jazz in the world," says Lindsay Smalley of Honda Australia. "Honda is proud to continue its support of Australian rallying and we hope next season will be even better than the last. As our founder Mr Honda said, 'If Honda does not race, there is no Honda'.

The new luxury Lexus GS comes with a six-speed automatic - and set of six 'steps' in the constantly-variable transmission used in the GS hybrid - even though its luxury rivals have mostly moved to seven and eight-speed automatics. Lexus actually led the eight-speed shift with its flagship, the LS600h, and has since been joined by both Mercedes-Benz and BMW. But the new GS has missed out because of customer needs in the USA. The company's product planning team gave higher priority to a giant new colour display in the dashboard, over-ruling the six-speed in a head-to-head assessment of the cost benefit in the new model. "They decided buyers would be more interested in the dashboard display than the gearbox. So keen drivers have been left out," an industry source tells Carsguide. Yet Lexus says keen drivers are the primary focus for the new GS, which is a much sharper tool than the previous model. A preview drive earlier this year, which will soon be backed by a Carsguide drive in the showroom model coming to Australia in March, shows that the Japanese luxury brand is committed to a new approach. Even so, six speeds is less than the car deserves - and needs - and there are questions about the performance of the hybrid car in a class where it runs up against V8-powered rivals topped by the hero BMW M5 and Benz's E63 AMG.

One of the other newcomers being readied in Germany is based on the Polo, the reigning Carsguide Car of the Year, and Carparazzi has a clear vision of how it will look.