Articles by Paul Gover

... a fresh event on a new date with a new direction. Welcome to the Australian International Motor Show. The show has been reinvented with a global focus and a truly national approach, supported by more than two dozen brands spending more than $20 million to showcase their newest and most exciting models. There are future cars, green cars, fast cars, economy cars, luxury cars and bargain-basement cars, all fighting for their share of the spotlight in a $400 million battle of the brands. "This is the motor show that Australians have always wanted," says show director Russ Tyrie. "The shoppers want to come and see what’s new and exciting. That’s what motor shows have always been about," says David McCarthy, spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia. "That’s why we have a couple of new models that won’t be on sale until later this year, including one that’s being air-freighted in for the event." The first Melbourne motor show was run in 1925 and set the template for the annual automotive showcase at the Royal Exhibition Building for more than 70 years. Things changed dramatically in 1996 when the show became the first major event at the then-new Melbourne Exhibition Centre on the banks of the Yarra River, allowing for the show’s expansion and theatrical presentation that had always been missing at the original venue. Now the first Australian International Motor Show held in Victoria reflects the change to a truly national event, combining the efforts of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce and the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. The new-look show will alternate annually between Melbourne and Sydney, as well as running on a new date in the middle of the year. "We now have a sustainable model to present motor shows of genuine international quality in Australia," says Andrew McKellar, chief executive of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries. "The joint venture itself has worked extremely well. There has been a great level of co-operation between the two organisations, and melding the industry perspective with the dealer side of things brings a very good mix for the show." The date change is the biggest difference for Melbourne motoring enthusiasts, moving away from the long-term commitment to a March event. The Sydney show ran until last year in September, which usually clashed with major shows in Europe and Japan, and that helped ease the decision to review the dates for every Australian International Motor Show from here on. "The date change was something the car companies had pushed for, and it means they have access to some of the vehicles that are available for international events. We should have some exciting stuff to put on display," McKellar says. In coming years, it also means the Australian show will take on greater importance in the Asia-Pacific area, which is driving much of the global growth in new-car sales. McKellar is not worried about a winter show date in Melbourne, and says it moves the event away from its earlier clash with the Australian Grand Prix at Albert Park. "We’ve got an even better show on the new date in Melbourne. And Melbourne traditionally gets out and supports these type of events in a big way," he says. Show director Tyrie, who has more than 20 years’ experience in the hot seat – first with the Melbourne show and then with the inaugural Australian International Motor Show in Sydney last year – says the support for the 2011 event shows a renewed commitment by car makers. "I think the response this year has been excellent from all the companies involved in the show. The number of new-model reveals and special cars for the show is outstanding," he says. Despite tough times in the car business, the show’s floorspace of 30,000sq m at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre – compared with 27,000sq m at Darling Harbour in Sydney – is filled to capacity. The latest addition to the line-up is Bentley, which is showing three cars, including its recently-updated Continental GT. "At last count we had 29 brands, more than 400 cars in total, and 40 new-model reveals. That’s a lot for people to come and see," Tyrie says. "To have that sort of turnout, only eight months after the Australian show ran for the first time in Sydney, shows there is a lot of action in the motor industry." "While sales are healthy," McCarthy says, "you’ve got to fight for every deal. For Mercedes-Benz, motor shows have always been worthwhile at the end of the day. People come to look, to cross-shop and also to buy."

The FT-86 II concept car at the motor show provides very good insight into the car that’s into final testing in Europe. With talk that it will be called Celica, it’s being readied for Australia for the second half of 2012. The FT-86 has been a show star once before but the second-generation concept car is edgier and closer to the final shape, giving a clearer indication of how the showroom version will look. But Toyota Australia says there is no hint yet from Japan about the name it will carry, even though the FT-86 badging ties the car to the classic AE86 Toyota Sprinter that starred in the 1980s and has become a drift car favourite. "FT-86 II pays homage to Toyota’s illustrious sports car history that includes cars such as the Supra, MR2 and 2000GT," says Dave Buttner, sales and marketing chief at Toyota Australia. "It heralds a compact, rear-drive production car with the style, performance and handling demanded by those who regard driving as a passion rather than a necessity." What he doesn’t say, and the show won’t reveal, is that the FT-86 is a joint-development project being spearheaded by Subaru. It is providing the flat-four engine, six-speed manual gearbox and rear-drive mechanical package for the car, although Toyota and Subaru will each have a separate body design for their finished cars. FT-86 II marks a turnaround at Toyota. The company killed its previous sports car stars – the Supra, Celica and MR-2 – as a result of falling sales in the 1990s. Buttner says Toyota’s global president Akio Toyoda believes the mission of car makers is to provide the fundamental excitement of cars to customers and vehicles that people want to drive. "The FT-86 II concept illustrates one of the ways Toyota plans to bring that mission to life," he says.

…and it’s not just the GT300 version of the Liberty, specially imported from the Japanese touring car championship, that puts some extra punch into its line-up. Instead, they will come face-to-face with the new small-car direction from the Japanese brand. The all-new Impreza and XV concept are two of the headliners in a new three-car small-car strategy. The Impreza is going upmarket, the XV will be translated from a concept car into a new baby SUV sitting below the Forester, and the WRX and STi will move away as a separate sports car duo. "The change started last year when the separation of WRX and STi from Impreza began. So those cars have taken on a life of their own," explains Nick Senior, managing director of Subaru Australia. "In future there will be a clear separation from our small-car contenders and our sporty car. This allows the Impreza to become a strong identity in its own right." Senior refuses to confirm the production timing for the XV, even though Subaru already says it will become a future addition to its line-up. "It’s on the new Impreza platform but it then becomes a stand-alone compact SUV," Senior says. The motor show is a giant event for Subaru, which has a lot of fresh contenders and is also fighting to rebuild after the Japanese earthquake and tsunami in March. "I’m a big fan of having one major show a year. I also think that having it in July is a good time of the year," Senior says. "We normally have a sales peak in June and there is traditionally a bit of a letdown in July. The show potentially gives us all some impetus in quarter three. "The show is now bigger and better and we’ll get more rub-off. The new date distances it from some of the other major shows overseas as well." Senior says the Impreza is the most-important newcomer and shows Subaru’s move towards a bigger, cushier and higher-quality compact car. "Melbourne is the first showing of the right-hand-drive car, and only the second time in the world it’s been shown after New York. We’ll have both the four-door sedan and the five-door hatch. "It’s an early preview of a step change for Subaru. With only one motor show a year we’ve taken the decision to get it to Australia and create some excitement. "This is our largest-ever commitment to a motor show in Australia. We’ve never taken this much space (and) we’ve never had a concept car that points to the future – as well as a new Impreza, some new EyeSight technology and a Japanese GT racing car – all in the same place at the same time."

The baby i3 city car is coming first, to be followed by the i8 supercar, with Australia set for an early adoption during the global runout after a showing of the Vision ED - a prototype of the i8 - at the Australian International Motor Show in Melbourne from today.The i8 will be previewed in Germany and both cars are expected in showroom-ready condition at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September. Final details of the i-brand program are still being signed-off, with BMW Group Australia working on a business plan for down under deliveries, but the cars are ready to go and the German brand is totally committed."We've put our hand up for both. Yes, it is something we'd like to introduce and is in our preliminary planning," says Phil Horton, managing director of BMW Australia. "We would like to offer those models here. We think there would be a niche market for them. It's our desire to talk about both the i3 and the i8."But Horton sounds a warning, based on the potential pricing and the complication of converting BMW customers to any sort of major plug-in future. "It would be premature to say that there is confirmation of the cars coming. It's early in the process. Europe is late 2013 for i3 . . . that would be 2014 at the earliest for us."There is no directive that we must take it. It's available to us and it's something for us to make a decision on. Planning for the i cars - developed under a new sub-brand similar to BMW's M performance division - is underway but there are still more questions than answers in Australia. We think there would be a niche market for them and it's our desire to offer both the i3 and i8, but we haven't gone through formal business-case approval," says Toni Andreevski, product and planning manager at BMW Australia."I don't know the plans going forward. Wether there will be a full range. It's possible of course they be more models."He says BMW has been using a number of major trials of its Mini E prototypes to gather information on electric cars and the back-up they need. "The Mini E trials around the world are still being done to assess what people's daily commutes are, where charging infrastructure would be most usefully placed. I think one of the reasons for a delayed rollout around the world would be that markets like Australia could take from those lessons before taking the cars here."

The first Carsguide drive in the new-new Beetle is coming up fast.The more sharply-focussed newcomer is a total change from the underdone original revival of the rounded lovebug, and not just a Beetle body over a Golf. We'll drive it in Berlin later this month, with the Cabrio expected to follow as a preview at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

But even the go-fast two-door looks bland compared to the 380 kiloWatt Black Series beast caught by Carparazzi - complete with giant fender flares - during handling tests in Germany.

A plug-in hybrid version of the Swift has just been confirmed in Japan, with a 30-kilometre electric range for an extra $600 over the price of a petrol-powered model. Like the General Motors Volt, which will eventually be sold in Australia as a Holden, the Swift does not use a petrol engine for propulsion but instead there is a tiny three-cylinder motor to provide the electricity to charge the onboard batteries once any plug-in charge is depleted. This sort of 'range extender' hybrid is going to become more common in future years, with Jaguar even proposing a supercar using tiny twin jet engines to put the punch into a 320km/h contender. Suzuki says the first supplies of the hybrid Swift will be reserved for Japan in 2013 but there is already interest in Australia. "Obviously we'd like to have an alternative fuel car here in Australia and if it goes into production we will definitely look at it," says Andrew Ellis, spokesman for Suzuki Australia. The car first emerged at the Tokyo Motor Show in 2009 when it was shown as a concept. The hybrid Swift is primarily intended for plug-in use, taking its power - in the style promoted heavily in Australia by Better Place - from the grid. In that case its 260-volt lithium-ion battery, which is fitted inside the centre console, have a capacity of 2.66 kiloWatt- hours. Its front-wheel drive motivation comes from a synchronous electric motor rated at 55 kiloWatts. "The Swift plug-in hybrid not only meets the needs of the many people who drive no more than 20km each day but also saves users from worrying about being stranded or having to search for a charging stand if the battery runs low. Anyone can easily do something for the environment while enjoying daily mobility," says Suzuki. It intends to ship the first cars to dealers later this year for on- road trials before the start of full-scale production and everyday sales in Japan.

….to the biggest appointment of his life this weekend. The right royal Lexus is a custom-made original built to head the wedding fleet for the ruler of the super-rich city-state, although guests will not be short-changed as they will be chauffeured in a fleet of 7 Series BMWs to the ceremony for Prince Albert and former Olympic swimmer Carlene Wittstock. The wedding car for the ceremony on Saturday began life as a regular Lexus LS600h in Japan before being shipped to a Belgian coachbuilding company for conversion into a landaulet with a transparent polycarbonate roof. The actual roof piece only weighs 26 kilograms but its installation required massive research by Lexus and painstaking craftsmanship. It took more than 2000 hours to complete the conversion, which includes a number of Kevlar and carbon fibre pieces to maintain the original structural integrity of the Lexus following the removal of its metal roof. Around 20,000 individual parts were stripped and then re-assembled during the work. The car was also re-painted in a special midnight blue. The petrol-electric hybrid drive system in the car was left intact and Lexus says the car will drive in fully electric mode for most of the planned drive through Monaco during the wedding celebrations.

...but it's not the only sports update in the family.BMW's M division is also working on an upgrade for the regular 135i hatch that is part of the upcoming renewal of the 1 Series line-up.

...and will even have a three-cylinder engine, according to European sources.Not that you can tell much with all the horrid black plastic screening covering this 208 prototype when it was caught by Carparazzi.