Articles by Paul Gover

MARCOS Ambrose says he has come "full circle" returning to Ford this year in the NASCAR Sprint Cup after driving for Toyota. Ambrose joins the famous Richard Petty Motorsports team alongside AJ Allmendinger this year with the first race at Daytona on February 20. "I started my professional racing career with Ford Australia and now here I am in the heart of my NASCAR career and come straight back to the Ford family." Ambrose says there is "a lot of prestige" about being associated with Richard Petty Motorsports and he expects to win races this year.TWO iconic names in Australian motorsport will join this year when Allan Moffat's son, James, races for old sparring partner Dick Johnson in the Jim Beam Racing team in the V8 Supercars Series. Moffat joins other team driver Steven Johnson and will be in the #18 FG Falcon of current champion James Courtney who has switched to the Holden Racing Team. Moffat has been driving in the support series where he finished third last year. He also raced in the V8 endurance rounds with Ford Performance Racing at Phillip Island and Bathurst where he finished 11th with Steven Richards.SECOND in 2009, HRT driver Will Davison dropped to 22nd last year in the V8 Supercar standings. This year he switches factories from Holden to Ford to drive for FPR, joining Mark Winterbottom and Paul Dumbrell. "I am tremendously excited about my move to Ford and FPR - they are the `coming team' without doubt, I have thought for some months that they are on the verge of great success, and I am delighted that I am going to be a part of that," he said. His first drive in his Trading Post FPR Ford Falcon will be at the official season-opening V8 Supercar test Day, at Eastern Creek, Sydney, on Saturday, January 29.YEARS of vehicle refinement have given Tasmanian Tony Warren a competitive edge to deend his 4WD Showroom title in this weekend's Targa Wrest Point. (JANUARY 29 to 30) Warren and co-driver Natasha Deniese won the class last year with theirm 2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX. Their main competition will come from new, but less proven vehicles such as the Lancer Evolution X models of Scott Millar and Christopher Dean and Queenslanders Greg and Rhonda Burrowes and the only non-Mitsubishi in the category, the Volkswagen Golf R32 of Tasmanian Dave Watson and co-driver Victorian Stuart Lister.MILDURA'S Josh Waters has scored a wild card for the World Superbike Championship at Phillip Island next month. (FEB 25-27) He will ride for the Yoshimura Suzuki team and test the bike at the final pre season test at Phillip Island on Febrauary 21-22. He will join fellow Australians Troy Corser (BMW) and Chris Vermeulen (Kawasaki) in the season opener. Waters, 24, is a multiple Australian road racing champion, and in 2009 won the premier Superbike category as a rookie.SOME of the top names in Australian off-road riding will compete in the inaugural indoor "enduro cross" event in Melbourne next month. Reigning Off Road Champion Toby Price, desert racing expert Ben Grabham and four-time world champion Stefan Merriman are among the line-up at Broadmeadows motocross track on Saturday February 5. Riders will negotiate a course that includes rocks, boulders, logs, sand, mud, water holes and special obstacles such as giant tyres and wooden sections. FLOOD damage in the Mary Valley north of Brisbane will be assessed ahead of the International Rally of Queensland in May. Organisers expected the rally to be unaffected as they will use more "weather-proof roads" and alternatives to ensure a full-distance international event. The rally is expected to attract competitors from Malaysia, Britain, Japan, India, New Zealand, Indonesia and New Caledonia.AUSTRALIAN Supercross star Chad Reed came from from three quarters of a lap down to finish seventh in the third round of the AMA Supercross in Los Angeles at ther weekend. He is now fifth in the FIM World Championship with his new, self-funded TwoTwo Motorsports Honda team. Kawasaki rider Ryan Villopoto won the event and leads the championship.RALLY ace Dean Herridge is hoping to be third time lucky when he drives for Subaru in the production car section of the Bathurst 12 Hour next weekend. (FEB 4-6) The 34-year-old four-time Australian Privateer Rally champion finished second in the enduro event in 2007 and crashed into actor Eric Bana's car last year while in contention for a win.A BIG field is set to grid up in five racing and two regularity `against the clock' categories at Bathurst this Easter. (April 22-24) Racing categories confirmed are Aussie Racing Cars Super Series, Commodore Cup National Series, Production Sports Cars, Saloon Cars and the return of Formula Ford 1600 to the Mountain.Visit: www.bathurstmotorfesival.com.au

The new 1 will get slightly bigger and more refined to leave space for an all-new baby car - the 0 Series? - to slide in below it. The newcomer will introduce front-wheel drive to the BMW range and will also share a lot of its running gear with a smaller Mini starter car.The next 1 Series should go public before the end of this year, which is how Carparazzi could a car during testing in Germany. The thinly-disguised five-door prototype shows the prominent grille, sportier bumpers and production tail lights that will be used on the car, as well as the slimmer C-pillar design being used to improved side and rear visibility.Carparazzi confirms BMW's plan for another full range of 1 Series models, from three and five-door hatches to a coupe and convertible. There could also be a longer, two-door wagon-hatch model in the style of the upcoming Mercedes 'shooting brake'.Powerplants will be updated to boost power and cut emissions and fuel use, but Carparazzi still predicts a range of petrol and diesel engines from 1.4 to 3.0-litres in capacity - as well as a hybrid.

Rubbish will move into the fuel frontline in 2014 when the Flex Ethanol Australia plant comes online in Victoria in a deal that links the Coskata company in a consortium including GM Holden and the Victorian government.Coskata already has a pilot ethanol program in the USA but is using wood chips, not rubbish, for a switch to full-scale production in less than two years. So Victoria will take up the rubbish collection in a deal that could eventually end the world's reliance on potential food sources - mostly corn in the USA - for automotive fuel."The technology is right today. We're hoping that is as soon as the Australian consortium moves forward," James Frawley, a vice-president of Coskata, tells Carsguide. "There is going to be a huge market. Our technology is cost competitive with gasoline as a transport fuel."His company rocked the fuel business when it first announced the rubbish-to-ethanol plan and its backing from General Motors, but it has been very quiet since then. Now Frawley is happy to confirm the success of a pilot production plant in the USA and the plans to go international, not just in Australia but to other countries including China and Brazil."This technology can go anywhere in the world. There are governments looking at Coskata technology as well."The Victorian plant could eventually turn up to one million tonnes of household, industrial and building waste into 200 million litres of ethanol each year, for use in the E85 fuel being rolled out across the country with backing from Holden.The Commodore is already E85 compatible and Holden is committed to the fuel for all future models. "We're in a position to now move to the next stage of the process, which is scaling up to a commercial design and full-scale processes," Frawley says. He forecasts that ethanol-from-rubbish plants have the eventual potential to supply half of the world's transport fuel needs without any impact on food or land use.What's considered 'rubbish'?Almost any sort of rubbish is suitable to ethanol production, says Coskata. That includes dirty nappies, used car tyres and even - potentially at least - cane toads."Rubbish is rubbish, anywhere you look," says James Frawley. "It's things that are going into landfill anywhere. Most of the things you recycle we wouldn't want in this process anyway."Rubbish becomes what is called a 'feed stock', which has mostly been corn until now in the USA. It is converted to a 'syngas' - composed mostly of carbon dioxide and nitrogen - at extremely high temperature before being fed to mico-organisms that produce ethanol as waste after 'eating' the gas."The organism does not care whether that carbon dioxide and nitrogen came from a tyre, a piece of biomass or whatever - it all works the same," says Frawley.

THE most upscale Kia to land in Australia is more than a car. The mid-sized Optima is also a test case for a Korean company that is still working hard to win convert customers and prove it is more than just a disposable brand.The basics of the Optima are solid and proven - as the same package rolls under the Hyundai i45 - but Kia has done a great job on giving the car some design style and Aussie-style driving enjoyment. It's also priced very effectively below $40,000 with the sort of equipment - including heated and cooled leather front seats - that only used to be found in $200,000-plus German star brands.The competition in the mid-sized class has never been tougher, from the appliance-like Toyota Camry to the sporty Suzuki Kizashi and the under-appreciated Ford Mondeo, but the Kia makes a solid claim.Kia is still at the stage where it has to under-promise and over-deliver, which explains a single-model strategy in showrooms and a   price of $36,990. The bottom line is well below the level of the class leading Toyota Camry, and even takes a $3000 chunk - including $1000 of extra equipment - from the top-line Hyundai i45.The package includes leather seats and a glass sunroof, 18-inch alloy wheels, automatic aircon, a punchy sound system and all the other   basics in today's mid-sized contenders, from power steering to electric windows and the rest. The only thing missing - really missing - is satnav but Kia Australia promises it is doing all it can to get a system in 2011.The Optima package is tried and proven by Hyundai, from its 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine and six-speed automatic gearbox to fully-  independent suspension and four-wheel disc brakes. Kia Australia makes lots of comparisons with the underwhelming Optima of the past, but the car needs to be considered on its own.So the Theta II engine has high-pressure direct fuel injection to make 148 kiloWatts and 250 Newton-metres with economy of 7.9litres/100km and emissions at 189grams/kilometre of CO2. The really impressive technology work in the Optima is done in Australia, thanks to suspension guru Graeme Gambold. He has tweaked   the car for Australian roads and drivers, and to give it a sharper and more enjoyable feel than the i45, by changing a bunch of stuff including much stiffer springs.The Optima looks more like a Saab than previous-generation Kia cars.  That's a big compliment for a car which is both restrained and elegant   than the i45, as well as more of a head-turner than a Camry.The design work runs from the latest corporate Kia grille to trendy   dish-style alloy wheels and a cabin that is less funky than Hyundai but more likely to appeal to someone who is shopping the Optima against a Japanese car. Some of the luxury touches are a bit old-school, like the fake wood trim, but the overall effect is classy and the quality seems good.Kia is still waiting on independent test results but claims five-star safety for the Optima. It is full loaded with everything from ABS brakes and stability control to hill-start help, reverse parking camera and radar, cornering lamps and daytime running lamps. Safety is another area where Kia knows it has to make an impact and it's ticking all the boxes.The new Optima makes an impressive first impression, firstly for itslooks and impressive equipment and then for its driving. It's not a sports car, but it doesn't have to be one either. The suspension is well tuned for local conditions, giving a slightly firmish feel without going nasty over the tram tracks of inner-city Melbourne.The suspension also responds well. It could be better, with some thumping from the low-profile tyres and a bit of wobbliness in the steering in tight corners, but overall it's a car to enjoy driving. The cabin is great with so much equipment, although satnav is a major missing link.There is leather and a sunroof and the sound system is good, there is space for five adults and the boot is roomy. But the Optima is still a cheaper Korean contender, from a company still learning the ropes, and that means the seats are lacking support and cushiness, some of the trim pieces look a bit fragile, and the engine is not as responsive as a European unit. Still, the Optima is $36,990 and it will be a winner for Kia.The only problem is that stocks are currently limited to just 1000 cars. "We think we could sell 10,000 but that is all we can get from Korea.  We are trying as hard as possible to get more," apologises the head of   Kia Australia, MK Kim.Another Kia success that will be a hit.

The cars could then send messages to warn their drivers about potential crashes.Ford Motor Co is demonstrating the technology for policy makers and journalists in advance of the Washington Auto Show. The technology sends out multiple messages per second about the vehicle's location, speed, brakes and steering.If a vehicle detects a potential hazard, it can warn the driver. The technology aims to prevent collisions involving a car changing lanes, approaching a stalled vehicle, or heading into an intersection in which another car ignores a red light or a stop sign."We really see a safety opportunity here," said Mike Shulman, technical leader for Ford Research and Advanced Engineering.Auto companies have been working on the technology for nearly a decade. Several automakers are part of a consortium sharing information on the crash avoidance systems, including General Motors, Toyota, Daimler and others.The systems, which warn drivers through beeping sounds and flashing red lights at the base of the dashboard, are still five to 10 years from being deployed into the nation's fleet. But Ford officials said the technology, if installed on enough vehicles, could reduce the more than 30,000 people who are killed each year on the nation's highways.The government has touted the intelligent vehicle systems. In October, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said the vehicle-to-vehicle communication could potentially address about 4.3 million vehicle crashes, or about 4 in 5 crashes involving drivers who are not impaired by drugs or alcohol.Some crash avoidance systems have used radar systems positioned in the front or back of the vehicle. Ford said the GPS/WiFi systems are less costly and can detect movements surrounding the vehicles, including conditions along winding roads where a driver's vision might be obstructed or in side crashes involving a car that barrels through a red light. The broad availability of GPS and WiFi, meanwhile, could help car companies eventually install the technology on vehicles already in the fleet, Ford said.To showcase the technology, auto companies plan to hold driving clinics next summer to let consumers experience the intelligent vehicles. Car companies and the government are developing standards and hoping to complete research by 2013 and plan for future deployment."This technology is an opportunity to help create a future where millions of vehicles communicate with each other by sharing anonymous real-time information about traffic speeds and conditions. This new world of wireless communication will make transportation safer," said Peter Appel, administrator of the Transportation Department's Research and Innovative Technology Administration.

They are caught in a vice that is changing the rules in showrooms across the world, but especially in Australia. Korean brands are rising fast and European prestige companies are drilling down, creating massive pressures in the middle ground that has been a happy place for the Japanese for more than 30 years. It's good news for buyers, who will get more choice and better value at both ends, but the new rules will change the game for the Japanese. Far too many Japanese carmakers - Toyota and Honda for sure - are also about to feel the impact of their cost cutting decisions through the global financial crisis. All of the major Japanese brands cut spending and several cancelled new-model programs and urgent update work to save money, leaving them without anything new to draw buyers. Honda has the new Civic coming but not much else, Toyota has the (yawn) new Camry this year but the vital FT-86 sports car is still more than a year away, and even Suzuki is running out of ammunition after the Kizashi and upcoming Swift. In the opposition camps, Hyundai and Kia are getting better and better with every new model - the Kia Optima is a Camry rival with more style and value from just $36,990 - and BMW, Audi and even Mercedes are coming down with a sub-1 Series, the A1 and upcoming B-Class hero. The Europeans are chasing more sales at every level and know there is demand they can tap with smaller cars that suit people downsizing around the world. In Australia, they could even jump from a Commodore or Falcon into an A1 for city-first work. But the real challenge is coming from the Koreans, as Kia highlights again this week with the Optima. It's doing a great job in tweaking solid shared Hyundai mechanical parts into vehicles that people really want, including the classy Sportage that was runner-up in last year's Carsguide Car of the Year contest. The things that once made Japanese cars so desirable - cabin quality, reliability and great air-conditioning - are now available in Korean models that cost less and have the big advantage of five-year warranty backup. And they keep on coming. In short, Korean companies now make better-value Japanese-style cars than the Japanese do. That means the Japanese brands need to find a point of different, and a reason for people to buy, and fast. Lots of people still wonder about the long-term benefit of buying Korean, or remember the days of a Hyundai Excel that was basically a disposable car, but things are changing and changing fast. Korea has already put a sword through Japan's electronics business and the cars are next.

Hidden beneath the billowing black blankets is the upcoming replacement for the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti.It is caught by Carparazzi on a road close to Ferrari's home base at Maranello in Italy and it doesn't take much imagination to strip away the disguise of a car that is expected to be officially unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show next month.Carparazzi reports the bodywork will have a frontal design very close to the latest 458 speedster, a four-tailpipe exhaust system and a prominent rear hatchback to make the 612 more practical than the mid- engined members of the Ferrari family.The 612 successor is expected to have an advanced all-wheel drive system, seven-speed double-clutch transmission and a 6.3-litre V12 engine making 500 kiloWatts. The package is promising a 0-100km/h launch in 3.7 seconds and a top speed of 335km/h.

An impressive presentation on the future of Ford, including a global drive by the Ford Focus, has Jac Nasser's name stamped all over it. Long before anyone got to work on today's One Ford strategy, Nasser was top man at the blue oval brand and trying to pull the company together in a centralised product-driven push into the 21st century. Nasser was eventually derailed by a power battle with Bill Ford, now the company chairman, but the Melbourne man is a superstar who heads my personal list of Aussie motoring heroes.Peter Brock is another hero and Australia Day next week reminds me of the work he did so often, and so well, to help celebrate the occasion. Brock used to laugh heartily when he talked about trips to small country towns for parties on Australia day. Back at Detroit, design guru Mike Simcoe is prowling the GM stand. He's a legend in the Aussie car business (the Monaro alone guarantees his spot) who is coming home soon to continue the good work and enjoy life in Melbourne.Kevin Wale is also on the GM stand and also a hero. He first surfaced as a heavyweight beancounter at Fishermans Bend and is now running GM China, the toughest and most important offshore posting in the business. Turning the clock back, there are lots of Australian heroes. Senator John Button re-wrote the rules for Australian carmaking in the 1980s and the success of the business can be traced back to his blueprint, as well as the enthusiasm of Industry Minister Kim Carr.At Ford, the late Geoff Polites was the true superstar. Polites did everything right during his time at Broadmeadows and will be remembered as the man who bulldogged the Territory through the Detroit system, as well as a champion of the Falcon and local motor sport. Sadly, he died too young after being tapped to head Jaguar and Land Rover in the UK.Toyota is less inspiring, until you remember John Conomos and Bob Miller. The dynamic duo drove the Japanese brand to number one in Australia, with Miller creating the brilliant 'chook' advertising for the boring Camry, and Conomos is now badly missed at the top.It's impossible to have a list of Aussie heroes without the father of the original Holden, Sir Laurence Hartnett, and marketing guru John Bagshaw who also starred overseas before returning to head Holden.On the motorsport front, there are plenty of legends. Sir Jack Brabham, Alan Jones, Mick Doohan, Mark Webber, Troy Bayliss, Chad Reed and Marcos Ambrose prove that Aussies can match the best in the world.My personal guides are led by the late Evan Green - a journalist and author who also headed public relations at Leyland and Holden - and Peter Robinson, who still stands Gandolf-like at the top of motoring journalism in Australia as an inspiration far beyond his landmark leadership at Wheels magazine.

The official car company count in this country is now officially at 46 and destined to hit 50 around the end of the year. Chery and Geely of China are already committed, McLaren has solid plans for November, and Opel also intends to land as stand-alone brand in the final days of 2011 or first thing in 2012. Putting four more into showrooms will take the total to 50, with more to come as extra Chinese brands get serious about Australia. Perhaps Tata will also bring the Nano . . . This boom in brands hits home this week during interviews with a range of executives at the North American International Motor Show. Nick Reilly is talking bullishly about the potential for Opel as a stand-alone brand, not just a supplier to Holden with cars like the Astra and Zafira. He believes there are cars to be sold and profits available in a country that always seems ready to accept another immigrant. But Reilly also concedes that the Australian patient will provide valuable feedback for Opel's export plans to a range of other countries. Toyota used Australia as a test case from the 1960s and now the Korean juggernaut - Hyundai and Kia - is also learning lessons downunder that it will feed back to base. On the Chinese front, Detroit sees BYD - another of the country's aggressive exporters - promising big things for the USA in a move that could also play well in Australia. Chery will hit the ground running this year even if Geely is taking a low-key approach by establishing a beachhead in Western Australia before expanding to the east coast in 2012. And McLaren? It is likely to sell less than 50 cars in Australia this year but will make a definite impact as it goes head-to-head with Ferrari and Lamborghini. The grand prix superteam is absolutely committed to its road car project and its MP4-12C coupe is one of the few cars I cannot wait to drive in 2011.

The hybrid fight comes as Lexus uses the high-profile event to introduce its compact CT200h to local buyers, as well as the drivers who will compete in the 2011 celebrity challenge.Hybrids have run in Formula One, as well as major sports car races and some touring car events, but only in contests open to normal petrol-powered cars.No-one in a CT200h will be going for all-out efficiency at Albert Park, or running the car on pure battery power, but Lexus believes the AGP is an ideal way to change the green focus away from the efficiency of the Prius to the potential driving enjoyment of the CT."We want to show that hybrids can be sporty and they can be fun. This is a world first," says Lexus executive, Peter Evans. "We also think this is the single biggest bang-for-your-buck opportunity to launch a new car in Australia. It's an amazing platform with 4.6 million people at the peak television viewing and 310,000 spectators over four days."Evans avoids discussing the potential on-track carnage with the cars but promises a field with far more genuine celebrities than recent AGP celebrity contests."Our target is to try and get a new group. Not so much new faces, but different faces. So not someone like Guy Leech," he says."We want high-profile people. We're targeting a 50:50 mix of male and female and we're going for people who match the intended buyer profile, so younger and almost half will be women. Most will be under 40. We're still working to finalise the list and we'll announce that in Melbourne next week. We don't want a repeat of 2008 when the motocross racer Robbie Madison cleared out and won by half a lap."The celebrity race commitment will gobble the early supply of CT200h cars, although they will head to dealerships afterwards for promotional work and likely sale.Evans also promises a record number of chances for non-celebrity drivers to take part in the race."There will be 30 cars, 27 on track and three reserves. They will be made up of 24 cars representing our dealer sites, plus three competition cars. There will be a consumer competition, a dealer competition and a buyer's competition. If you sign a contract to buy a CT200H then you go into a draw to win a drive. There will also be two winners in the race, an outright and an index-of-efficiency prize."The celebrity race program will be run by retired Australian rally champions Neal Bates and Coral Taylor, who drove for Lexus in Targa Tasmania with an IS200. They will be responsible for everything from car preparation at Bates' race base in Canberra to the training and licensing of the celebrity drivers, although Lexus technicians will also be involved in maintenance of the cars during the AGP meeting.