Articles by Paul Gover

The Ranger, which is still more than six months away from showrooms, is a reflection of Ford Australia's new role in the blue oval world. Designed and developed at Broadmeadows, and twinned with the Mazda BT-50, the Ranger is planned to finally give Ford a rival to the benchmark Toyota HiLux. But the international sweep of the Ford stand - imported from Europe for the local event - is also reflected in the Focus RS and the latest update of the mid-sized Mondeo. "Today is our most significant motor show ever," says Ford Australia's president, Marin Burela.  "Australia is playing a key role in the global Ford product story.  Today's show is the springboard to the future." The Ranger was unveiled at the show by Ford's Asia-Pacific president, Joe Hinrichs, who promises big things from the ute. "We want to transform the pickup experience," he says.

... with the opening of the first truly national Australian International Motor Show.  A total of 60 new vehicles, including 12 world firsts led by the Ford Ranger and Mazda BT-50 pickups, headline the new-age show at Darling Harbour.More than $15 million worth of cars and light commercials is on display at a show that runs for 10 days in the harbourside city.  Just as importantly, it points to a new future for shows, with July set to become the biggest month in Australian motoring.The date for the 2011 running of the AIMS is now locked in from July 1-10 in Melbourne as the Victoria and NSW capitals alternate their hosting of the event."This show is different. It's time for a contemporary approach," says Doug Dickson, chairman of the organising committee and the managing director of Mazda Australia.  "It presents the very best the global motor industry has to offer."Dickson says 45 brands are displaying at the show, representing 27 countries.  He also pays tribute to the local manufacturers and their contribution to the whole industry, which contribute $5.6 billion to the Australian economy with production up 20 per cent through the first nine months of 2010 and exports growing by 55 per cent over the same period in 2009.

The opening day of the Australian International Motor Show will see an unprecedented battle between two of the heavyweights of world motoring.  Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are each going all-out with a pumped-up contender for car-of-the-show honours. Ford and Mazda each has a global first at the show, revealing their shared versions of the T6 pickup developed at Ford Australia in Melbourne, but Porsche and Benz are going all-out at the top end of the car world. Their latest supercars, the Mercedes-Benz SLS and Porsche 911 GT2 RS, will lead the hit-ups with the promise of 330km/h top speeds and 0-100km/h sprints in less than four seconds. Lamborghini also has something special, and the limited-edition Hulme supercar is arriving from New Zealand, but no-one will better the German blitz.  The two brands are both air-freighting their hero cars to Sydney and their combined value is well over $1 million. But that's just a start for Benz, which will have cars worth more than $4 million on its stand and also has a one-off C63 sports sedan for the show.  The Benz blaster is a one-off SLS Gullwing called the Blackbird. It's named in honour of the Lockheed SR-71, one of the front-line aircraft of the Cold War era. The Blackbird was the ultimate in the days before stealth technology, flying so fast - beyond Mach 3, or 2200km/h - that it could outrun any rocket fired at it. "Our Blackbird is pretty special too. It's painted in flat black and has some military-style orange highlights," says David McCarthy, spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia.  The 6.2-litre, V8-engined Blackbird was built at the AMG Performance Studio in Germany, which was also the birthplace of the bright orange C63 - called Jaffa - that will sit alongside it at the show.  "Australia is one of the biggest markets for AMG cars anywhere in the world and we've had phenomenal support with these two cars," says McCarthy. "In the case of the SLS, the car has already been seen fairly widely so we wanted to do something special. That starts with the paint finish, black badges, a matt exhaust and some other tweaks.  It will also have a special AIMS plaque, the same as the Jaffa." McCarthy says the Jaffa car is a one-off but also shows what customers can order up from the Performance Studio in Germany.  "The Jaffa marks the introduction to Australia of the C63 Performance Pack. That comes with an extra 22 kiloWatts, larger front calipers and rotors from the E63, the sports locking differential, 19-inch alloys. "The extra 22 kiloWatts is not simply a matter of chipping the engine. There are actually internal changes to the engine and some of those components are from the SLS." McCarthy is coy about prices for the cars but admits they are well above the regular production models of the C63 and Gullwing.  "The price of the Blackbird will have a five in front of it. We haven't calculated the actual price yet," he says.  "The Jaffa will have a two in front of it. A normal C63 is about $155,000." Benz was hoping to have it's all-new CLS coupe at the show but ran out of time, although it will preview the Australian return of the heavyweight G-Wagen off-roader with a display of the G55. "We advocated pretty strongly for one show and now there is just one, with the FCAI and VACC working together, we wanted to show our strong support," McCarthy says. "We've made an extra effort to give the people who come to the show a real feeling about the Mercedes-Benz brand."  Porsche is also renewing its commitment to the show and will have the  GT2 RS under lights on its standard, together with a GT3 road rocket and the Carrera Cup racer that will return to Australian circuits in 2011 as the major supporting class to the V8 Supercar championship. "The GT2 RS will be our hero car. We're air-freighting a car to Australia just for the event," says Paul Ellis, spokesman for Porsche Cars Australia. "It's red, Guards Red, which is the brightest colour we have. It will stay in Australia after the show and could become a customer car. We're still waiting to hear." The GT2 RS is the go-faster development of the turbocharged, rear-wheel drive GT2 which already sits at the top of the road car lineup at Porsche.  "The RS is the fastest and most powerful Porsche ever built with a number plate," says Ellis. "To put that into perspective, it's only 1370 kilograms in weight and has 456 kiloWatts - that's 620 horsepower - with 700 Newton-metres of torque.  "It goes to 100km/h in 3.5 seconds. Top speed is 330km/h." The list of upgrades beyond the regular GT2 include carbon fibre for the bonnet and engine cover, giant 335x30 rear tyres on 19-inch alloy rims, and a trick cabin fit-out. "Despite all that, its fuel consumption is 11.9 litres/100km and CO2 and 284 grams a kilometre. That puts it into Holden Commodore territory," says Ellis.  The bottom line for a potential buyer is $560,000, but that's no worry to the 10 cashed-up Australians who have already ensure the RS is a sellout down under. "We have a very limited allocation from Porsche. We're looking at around 10 cars, perhaps even less than that, and they are already sold," says Ellis.

The T6 project which spawned the two vehicles, which are both starring at the Australian International Motor Show from today, was based in a 'home room' at Ford Australia in Broadmeadows but the Japanese brand is claiming its share of the credit."I just want to say the project was jointly developed with Ford," says Keichi Wakabayashi, Mazda's general manager of corporate communications. The rolling chassis was engineered by Mazda. The interior, top hat and tuning of the BT-50 was done by Mazda.""Platform developed overall was joint. There is discussion on who took the lead. It's our intention to build a unique brand for Mazda."Wakabayashi is in Australia as part of a high-powered team led by Mazda's chief executive officer, Takashi Yamanouchi. He says the objective with the BT-50 was to make it for "active lifestyle use", not just a commercial workhorse.The BT-50 is one of the sales drivers for a Mazda Australia plan to hit 100,000 sales a year by 2012, four years ahead of the timetable set from Japan."Australia will be the largest market for this new product," says Yamanouchi.The BT-50, like the Ranger, will not go on sale until the second half of next year as production at the two companies' joint-venture factory in Thailand does not begin until next year.Yamanouchi says the new-look motor show - the first since rival shows in Sydney and Melbourne merged to create a single Australian showcase - makes a powerful case for more impact on the global scene."Yes, I think especially for Mazda. The operation here is a best- practice model for the whole world. There is a good possibility Australia will be the venue for a global preview."

The opening day of the Australian International Motor Show will see an unprecedented battle between two of the heavyweights of world motoring. Mercedes-Benz and Porsche are each going all-out with a p

Saab Australia will be up and running in 2011 and the company is promising big things as it rebuilds following its sale by General Motors to the Spyker sports car company in Holland. The all-new 9-5 will be the first new model into action, but Saab says it has existing orders and will have a range of new vehicles including the 9-5 SportCombi and 9-4X SUV. "The last 18 months has been a challenge for all of us. The future will also be demanding, but we are now in a positive phase as we build Saab under new independent ownership," says Saab's regional director for Asia-Pacific, Stephen Nicholls. "We believe that Saab has a bright future around the world including Australia and New Zealand, with at least 5 significant product launches here by the end of 2012." Only seven Saabs have been sold in Australia this year, compared with 647 at the same time in 2009, although it's significant that five of those were sold in September after early news on the Australian comeback. Saab is not revealing its distribution plan but it unlikely to include many of the Holden dealers who had the brand under the failed GM Premium Brands line. Holden shut the operation when Cadillac became too costly, Hummer was closed and Saab's future became uncertain. But Nicholls refuses to be downbeat. "Firstly, we should point out that Saab never left Australia and New Zealand. We have had continuous representation in the market for almost 40 years, most recently through Holden," he says. "Saab has taken the decision to reform Saab Australia and is now working on the activities and plans necessary to implement this decision. Australia and New Zealand have historically been important (top 10) markets for Saab and we believe in a strong future potential for the brand in these countries. "We have evaluated a number of different business models for Australia and New Zealand and decided that the potential justifies a wholly owned subsidiary operation. We recognise the need to provide continuity of service to our loyal owners and so will take this into account when finalising the plans for our relaunch." Nicholls is not talking about models, but hints that 9-3 pricing will be line-ball with the current showroom stickers.

Volkswagen is close to a final sign-off on the second generation of its New Beetle and the car, caught by Carparazzi, looks to have answered most of the complaints of about the born-again original. It has more space, more elegance, and is more faithful to the 1940s original - which survived into the 1980s - than the New Beetle. The original comeback car was nothing more than a Volkswagen Golf with a Beetle-ish body on top, a layout that gave a people mover-style driving position and almost no space in the back seat or boot. The next Beetle is coming in 2012 and the Caparazzi pictures show a test car with the production cabin layout, but with modified front and rear panels to give it some disguise. Carparazzi sources say the next Beetle will grow in length but will become lower than today's car.  It should also answer the call from the USA for more back-seat customers and more masculine appeal. Engine-wise, Carparazzi expects the German maker to carry-over the lineup found in the Jetta, including a base 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, an optional 2.5-litre five-cylinder petrol engine, the 2.0-litre turbocharged TSI engine for those looking for sport, a 2.0-litre TDI diesel for those looking for a blend of longevity and fuel economy, and perhaps even a hybrid model as well. There is no news yet on a cabriolet conversion for a car that is almost certainly not going to be called the New New Beetle.

AUSTRALIAN racer Daniel Ricciardo has been pipped by two points for the World Series by Renault title in Europe after a thrilling wet final race in Spain at the weekend. The Perth 21-year-old withstood the pressure from Russian rival Mikhail Aleshin for almost three quarters of an hour in torrential rain at Barcelona's Catalunya circuit. However, as Ricciardo struggled for grip in the closing stages Aleshin passed three laps from the chequered flag to finish third in the race and end the season with 138 points to the Australian's 136. They started the 17th race of the championship equal on 128 points after Ricciardo's victory in Saturday's penultimate race. Argentinian Esteban Guerrieri won the finale, his sixth victory of the year, ahead of Ricciardo's French teammate, Jean-Eric Vergne. Ricciardo, the reserve driver for the Formula One world championship-leading Red Bull Racing team, won four races and Aleshin three. Ricciardo was the top rookie, coming close to emulating the 2005 feat of Poland's F1 driver Robert Kubica in winning the World Series by Renault in his first season. GOLD Coast father and son Tony and Klark Quinn blitzed the field in the Australian GT Championship races at Bathurst at the weekend. Quinn qualified on pole and won both races and scored the fastest race lap (2:11.9943) in his Aston Martin while son, Klark, finished both races in second position in his Mosler. The victories were a satisfying result for Quinn after the disappointment of an early retirement with mechanical problems from the recent Australasian Safari. AUSTRALIAN rally driver Molly Taylor has scored a chance to break into WRC. She is the only female selected for the shootout for next October's FIA WRC Academy at the Spain WRC round. The 2009 British ladies rally champion and two-time Australian Rally F16 Champion is an AMSF International Rising Star. The rally shootout selects 18 young rally crews but only six will be part of the 2011 WRC Academy. "This is my biggest chance for an entry into World Championship competition," Taylor says. DAVID Russell scored his biggest career victory in taking out the Fujitsu V8 Supercar Series' fifth round at Bathurst at the weekend. Russell, 28, of Casino, won both races in his Team Jayco Falcon despite having his driver's door ripped off in a mountain-top accident. He also partnered Jonathon Webb to 19th in the Bathurst 1000. James Moffat (Norton 360 Ford Rising Stars Racing) and Nick Percat (Bundaberg Red Racing) completed the Fujitsu podium. Steve Owen still leads the series by a slightly reduced margin, 175 points, from Percat, Tim Blanchard and Russell. The next round is on November 19-21 at Sandown. THE 20 millionth fan in 14 years of V8 Supercar racing walked through the gate at Bathurst at the weekend. Holden fan Anthony Hanlon, of Sydney, and his daughter, Jordyn, were greeted by Channel Sevens' Tom Williams and awarded prizes as they walked through the gates. Hanlon has been to the Bathurst 1000 at least 13 times. V8 Supercars Australia chairman Tony Cochrane said the sport was "in the best shape of its history". "We are completely debt free, growth is continuing in all areas and our fan base is bigger than it has ever been." More than 1.7 million people attended V8 Supercar events in 2009 compared with 900,000 in 1997. An average of more than 100,000 people attended each of the 14 events in 2009. KOREAN car manufacturer Hyundai has denied they are interested in joining the V8 Supercar series. The Car of the Future project that reduces car building and running costs was expected to attract other manufacturers to the series. However, Hyundai Motor Company Australia says they are "not interested". "We are not going to be competing in V8 supercars at this point," says senior product communications manager Ben Hershman. "There has been a lot of media speculation about us, but we have not attended any meetings at all with V8 Supercars and have n o plans to be involved for the foreseeable future." A DAD'S army of veteran racers will return to the streets of Surfers Paradise for the V8 Supercars Gold Coast 600 next weekend. (October 22-24) Legendary racers such as Dick Johnson, his Bathurst co-driver John French, "Big Rev" Kev Bartlett and "newcomers" Allan Moffat and Tony Longhurst will drive demonstration laps between races. V8 Supercars Australia boss Tony Cochrane said the veteran racers were brought in at the 11th hour last year to help salvage the event after the A1GP pulled out, but were returning this year because they had proved popular with the crowd. Other famous racing cars in the Australian Legends category include Moffat's Mustang, Longhurst's Ford Sierra turbo, and the Bathurst-winning Nissan GT-R of Jim Richards. MARCOS Ambrose suffered two spins in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Pepsi Max 400 at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, last weekend. The spins caused flat tyres and relegated the Australian, who started from the outside of the 13th row, to a 33rd finish and is 26th in the series. The race was won by Tony Stewart from Clint Bowyer and Jimmie Johnson who continues to lead the Chase in his Chevy with 5673 points, 40 clear of Denny Hamlin in a Toyota. SPARE cars will be wheeled out for the Walkinshaw Racing teams at the Gold Coast 600 next weekend after a punishing Bathurst weekend. Fabian Coulthard's Bundaberg Red Racing car was spectacularly destroyed in the first lap, while Will Davison badly damaged his Toll Holden Racing Team Commodore eight laps from the finish when he hit a wall on the mountain. The drivers will revert to VE chassis they have driven earlier this season. CHAD Reed has ended speculation about his bike for the coming SuperX season, announcing he will ride for Honda. The multiple world and American champion parted with the Kawasaki team at the end of this year's American motocross season. The 28-year-old will ride the TeamVodafone Honda in the first round of the season this weekend at his home town of Newcastle. Reed was struck down with illness this year, but says he is fit enough to defend his Australian title which he won the past two years.

Systems that help to avoid a crash, instead of just protecting in an impact, have finally been recognised by the test team behind the Euro NCAP rating system. This is expected to eventually lead to a level about the current five- star safety racing - also used by Australian NCAP - perhaps with an extra golden star for significant improvements. For now there is Euro NCAP Advanced and ten technologies developed by brands from Audi to Volvo have just been recognised under the program for their ability to save lives. They range from Audi's side assist blind-spot warning through the Pre-Safe crash preparation technology developed by Mercedes-Benz to Volvo's latest city safety package. "Euro NCAP Advanced is open to any technical system that has a proven safety benefit," says the head of the organisation, Michel van Ratingen. He says Euro NCAP assessors were flooded by applications for the Advanced rating and more will be recognised in 2011. "Carmakers were involved in the development of the process and were very keen to get their systems into the assessment," van Ratingen says. "We ended up having almost too many dossiers to cope with and we have more coming up in the next months, which is a clear sign that the industry is actively driving safety improvements, even when green cars are top on the agenda." Euro NCAP announced the top 10 at the Paris Motor Show but is also working on ways to assess and rate new technologies as they are developed. "Most systems rewarded at the Paris Motor Show were developed a few years ago and have been in the marketplace for at least a year or two.  In the future, Euro NCAP Advanced will be able to use the methodology to assess completely new technologies, tackling areas of safety which have not yet been addressed." Meanwhile, some of the world's leading brands have shared the glory from the Euro NCAP update. Brands and technologies chosen for a reward in 2010 are: Audi Side AssistBMW Assist Advanced eCallHonda Collision Mitigation Braking System (CMBS)Mercedes-Benz PRE-SAFE® and PRE-SAFE® BrakeOpel EyePeugeot Connect SOSCitroën Localized Emergency CallVolkswagen Lane AssistVolvo City Safety.

It's always hard in the car business to do a sequel off the back of a success story, and the latest Mercedes-Benz CLS proves it. The original four-door coupe is a sales winner and a category pioneer, converting people to the idea of a four-seat sedan with a curvy coupe roofline, so CLS II is more of the same.But...Benz has done a good job to improve the package and value, with a number of important new safety systems, but there are questions about the styling of the car that lands in Australia in the first half of next year. If the original CLS was as smooth and unruffled as Pierce Brosnan playing James Bond, then the new car is more like Daniel Craig.It's still 007, but harder edged, more brutal and threatening. Benz knows it is pushing the limit with CLS II and that it could polarize buyers, but there is a strategy. "I think the world is becoming a bit more obvious. There is a higher demand for showing your label, your brand," says Benz's chief designer, Gordon Wagener.He has definitely driven the CLS forward and there is lots of stuff inside his body to like, from a slightly roomier cabin to a driving   experience that's more planted and more refined.Mercedes-Benz Australia is also promising pricing for the new team - with V8, V6 petrol and turbodiesel engines - that will be almost line-  ball with the current stickers, which points to a starting price around $155,000."Mercedes-Benz would not be Mercedes if the second generation did not have more of everthing. We are convinced it will succeed on both the rational and emotional levels," says SLS program chief, Dr Michael Kramer.VALUEA lot of money has gone into the new CLS but it is not going to cost a lot more to buy. That's definitely a win.The engines are upgraded, and the V6 petrol is an impressive newcomer, while the CLS gets Benz's classy seven-speed automatic.  It's too early for Benz to confirm prices or equipment for Australia, but CLS II should come loaded and the company always boosts safety when it can. In this case that means nine airbags - there is now even protection for the front passengers' pelvis area - although the active lane and blind-spot assistance will likely be optional.TECHNOLOGYThere are four new engines, aluminium doors, more safety, active parking assistance, a full-LED light package, and all-new electronic   power assistance for the steering. It's a lot of stuff and shows how much Benz has in the melting pot for everything new it designs and builds.The most impressive things are the engines - more power, less fuel, lower emissions - the chassis work and the lamps. Switching to LEDs also cuts power drain, important with the extra needed for the electric steering.The active lane-change and blind-spot systems are claimed as big breakthroughs, braking the car - ESP style - to bring it back into line.DESIGNThe original CLS was elegant and impressive, despite comparisons with Ford's unloved AU Falcon. This time around, Wagener has gone tough. The front is blunt and sends   an 'outa my way' message, and there are chunky wheelarches and some edgy finishing to the body.It's not my favourite, but it's always important to let a car have some time to settle into the landscape. A former Benz design chief, Bruno Scacco, once told me any car you like straight away would date very fast and he is usually right. The cabin is more refined and user-friendly in the new CLS, although - despite the company's claims of more width and headroom in the back - you still have to be careful not to bang your head while getting into   the rear seats and headroom is not good.SAFETYBenz is the world leader in safety - despite Volvo's track record - and the CLS has those nine airbags, plenty of active safety systems to   get you out of trouble, and even the LED lamps for better night-time visibility. It's a certain five-star NCAP car and will get bonus points for its new technology.DRIVINGThe new CLS is a significantly better drive and it comes down to two things - chassis work and the new power steering. The car feels more relaxed in all conditions, even pushing hard with the V8 engine, and the steering is wonderfully tactic and rewarding.  It makes the car a dream drive, even on narrow, pockmarked Italian backroads. CLS II sits firmly on the road, has great brakes, and the latest engines - the V6 petrol is a real treat, although it needs some revving for its best - are up to the class of the whole package.I like the cabin layout, it's comfortable and quiet, and there is plenty of standard equipment and a mind-boggling array of extra stuff. But you still have to be careful sliding into the back seat, and I'm not a fan of the latest 'active' safety systems that take control away from the driver.No engineer can possibly predict every potential emergency or the driver's reaction, and that worries me. But there is no worry about the second-generation CLS, which will be a winner. It's not the best looking car on the road, but it easily beats the Porsche Panamera and definitely stands out in a crowd.VERDICTNot the prettiest new car, but a great drive