Articles by Paul Gover

The next major remake of the Ford Mondeo has just been confirmed for Australia.  It gets a major tweak to the styling, extra comfort and improved diesel efficiency, but will not come with the latest ECOboost engine used in Europe. Ford Australia is still finalising its plan but says it will have cars in showrooms before the end of the year. Pricing is not decided.  "We will get the car late this year, in November or December," says Sinead McAlary, spokesperson for Ford Australia. "We'll be getting a lot of the technical and visual updates on the Mondeo but we'll be remaining with the current powertrain. At this point in time we're not taking the ECOboost engine." The Mondeo will arrive after Ford's new performance heroes, the Focus RS and Falcon GT from Ford Performance Vehicle, to add extra showroom punch with the Thai-built Fiesta baby car. It has been updated in Europe as part of a total overhaul of the Ford range there, with what the company describes as "continuing evolution of Ford kinetic design". Like most newcomers these days it gets LED lamps, but there is also a new bonnet, new tail lamps and a different look to the grille. The cabin has been upgraded as Ford works to improve the perceived quality against rivals such as Audi and Volkswagen, including an overhead console on some models. A range of driver-assist technologies are now fitted for Europe - including blind-spot monitoring and a speed limiter - but there is no news on their availability in Australia.  Ford says it is expecting a second-half sales surge driven by its new models and is happy with results for the Mondeo, even ahead of the upgrade. "The car is going quite well. We've been hamstrung a little by supply, particularly with the diesel engine in the wagon. We had good sales in August but we think that the update, and with full supply of the diesel wagon, will give us a major lift," says McAlary.

It's a test mule for the upcoming Subaru version of the shared FT-86 sports car being developed by Toyota. The outrageous body bits are supposed to disguise the car underneath, but instead - particularly because of the rear wing - they point directly to the Subaru connection. It's some of the most bizarre camouflage to hit the road in recent years but there is already a change from earlier test cars - a bonnet with a major bump. This could point to a top-mounted intercooler, something common on turbocharged Subaru engines, but there are also signs of a front-mounted cooler in the test car. So the bump points to this being a Subaru mechanical test car running the engine and transmission from the Impreza STi. Carparazzi sources say the FT-86 project uses a modified Subaru Liberty chassis with some Impreza parts, but with rear-wheel drive only.  It has two-plus-two seating in the cabin and fully-independent suspension. Some sources say the car will be ready by the end of 2011, at least as a Toyota, but there are also rumours it will not be ready for the road unit the back end of 2012. Even so, there is every chance of FT-86 appearances on the international motor show circuit, wearing both Toyota and Subaru badges, next year.

BRAZILIAN Helio Castroneves has won his second IndyCar race of the season after inheriting the lead through a clever pit strategy at the Kentucky Indy 300 at the weekend. The three-time Indy 500 winner has also been added to the list of internationals to compete at the V8 Supercars Gold Coast 600 in October, driving with Tim Slade. Castroneves edged out pole sitter Ed Carpenter, while Toowoomba's Will Power finished eight, his championship lead whittled down by Dario Franchitti's fifth position. Power leads by 17 with two races left in the season. "We have our work cut out for us for the championship," Power said. The next race is the Indy Japan 300 on September 19 at Motegi.DICK Johnson is celebrating 30 years since "the rock" incident at this year's Bathurst 1000 with a special website tribute to his fans. Donations to help the young Queenslander flooded in after his race-leading drive was halted by an errant rock on the mountain in 1980. The www.jimbeamracing.com.au website includes images of some of the original letters from fans who donated.MALAYASIAN racing driver, Nabil Jeffri, has become the youngest Formula One test driver with a day of aero testing for Lotus Racing in the UK. "I have had an incredible day, one of the best days of my life," he said, admitting to being scared. Jeffri is an Asian and Malaysian kart champ and races in Formula BMW Pacific. Finnish F1 driver Heikki Kovalainen was on hand for the test, saying Jeffri did "a great job".YOUNG South Australian Scott Pye claimed a double victory in the wet for Triple Eight Race Engineering at the Dunlop MSA Ford Championship at Snetterton UK at the weekend. The Mt Gambier 20-year-old is now the series leader with nine wins from 17 starts. Triple Eight boss Roland Dane says Pye is "an extremely promising young driver".TWO-wheeled action will share the spotlight at the V8 Supercars Phillip Island round this weekend. The Australian Superbike Championships will be staged at the event and will be broadcast along with Channel 7's coverage. The bikes return at the V8 Supercars Symmons Plains round in November. The championship is being led by Honda rider Bryan Staring after clean sweeps in the last two rounds at Queensland Raceway.NEW South Wales drivers Jonathan Venter and Simon Meyer dominated in the wet at Ipswich on the weekend to claim their maiden Australian karting championships. Venter, 14, of Sydney, who began racing at age four in South Africa, claimed his first Formula JMA title in the Sparco Rotax Nationals with an easy win, while Meyer had a race-long battle with CRG team-mate Jason Pringle for the Heavy National crown. Venter said it was "the biggest win of my career".ITALIAN MotoGP Honda rider Marco Melandri will move to Yamaha for the World Superbike 2011 season. The 28 year-old who is currently 10th in MotoGP will replace current Yamaha rider Cal Crutchlow moving to MotoGP to replace American Ben Spies who takes Valentino Rossi's position on the factory Yamaha team. Rossi moves to Ducati replacing Australian Casey Stoner who will ride for Honda next year.CHAMPION V8 Supercars team Triple 8 Race Engineering has shifted from the track to the water to compete in Hamilton Island Race Week. Despite their boat "Jessandra" being the smallest in the competition, the five-man team crossed the finish line in fourth.AUSTRALIAN Troy Corser was on target for a World Superbike podium finish on his BMW when he was caught up in the collateral damage of Leon Haslam's race one crash at the Nurburgring in Germany at the weekend. Corser restarted, but was forced to retire with his injured elbow. He laboured through race two for 11th position. The two 20-lap races were won by Jonathan Rea (Honda) and Noriyuki Haga (Ducati). Haslam scored sixth and third, trimming Aprilia rider Max Biaggi's lead to 58 points with two rounds to go.

More than 100,000 utes are involved in the first major recall involving Toyota Australia since the world's largest carmaker was first hit by global safety and quality problems last year. Toyota managed to dodge the accelerator dramas which led to the recall of more than eight million vehicles globally but it has been forced to a local recall after 16 owners reported a significant HiLux fault in Australia.  It involves the tailshaft support bracket in the four-wheel drive version of the HiLux, which can fail and potentially lead to the tailshaft hitting the road. Toyota says there have been no reports of crashes.  In all, 116,000 HiLux four-wheel drives, built in Thailand from January 2005 to February 2010, are involved in the recall. It comes as Ford Australia recalls the PJ and PJ-model Ranger to have the bonnet striker replaced and also to fix the shift cable bracket on the PJ Ranger. Toyota's troubles in the US continued this week with a recall for the Matrix and Corolla over a computer problem which can potentially affect the engine. The cars are not sold in Australia. Toyota Australia spokesperson Laura Hill said the effected vehicles had come from country New South Wales.  "People who frequently cross very severe road conditions, mining companies have these conditions as well, but we believe there will only be a small number of vehicles that will need the new cross member, the bulk of the vehicles recalled will be fitted with the new brackets," she said. All vehicles will be inspected at Toyota dealerships with two courses of action.  If no damage is found the company said it will install a reinforcing brackets - a three-hour job - or if damage to the cross-member is found, the rear tray would have to be removed for a new modified cross member, which could take as long as two days. The issue is apparently most likely to occur in rural areas if the vehicle is frequently accelerated or decelerated quickly under extreme conditions on rough roads.  The high loads that are put on the drivetrain - severely corrugated roads or cattle grids - may force the rear tailshaft centre bearing support brackets to give way. Hilux owners yesterday said they had not yet been contacted by Toyota.  Mark Hennessey, of Hennessey Constructions in South Australia, bought a new HiLux single-cab 4WD turbodiesel, his first new vehicle in mid-2009 under the Federal Government's small business investment company vehicle allowance scheme. "I've not been contacted by Toyota yet but I haven't had any problems with mine, it's the third one I've had and it carries a pretty big load most of the time," he said.  Mr Hennessey said Toyota normally dealt well with recalls on vehicles used for business. "It wouldn't be a good thing to have it off the road for a couple of days, but sometimes you can get loan car from them, but maybe not with something this big," he said.  Shane Plumridge, owner of two Ultra Tune service centres in Queensland, bought a turbo-diesel 4WD HiLux last year and has not experienced any problems. "However, we've just had a look underneath at the tailshaft centre bearing support bracket and it looks like a cheap piece of metal that has been bent into shape," he said.  "It looks like it would be strong enough for a two-wheel drive, but maybe not a four-wheel drive. "My stores are in city areas, although we do have some rural customers, but we havent heard of any problems.  "The'yre still one of the most reliable cars on the road and one of the most popular 4WDs."  He said Toyota had not yet sent him a recall notification.

The Citroen C4 and Honda CR-Z also make a maximum score in the test, proving the quality of the latest newcomers but also highlighting shortcomings in the NCAP system. At the same time as revealing its latest result, Euro NCAP says it will have more-detailed ratings available from October and plans to test its first electric vehicles before the end of the year. "The results show that manufacturers are rising to the challenges of Euro NCAP’s new rating scheme and are continuing to make safety a priority. The Honda CR-Z demonstrates that good all round safety needs not be compromised by a fuel efficient petrol-electric hybrid," says the secretary-general of Euro NCAP, Michiel van Ratingen. "Several manufacturers are expected to release fully electric vehicles in the near future. Euro NCAP is poised to test them to ensure that high safety standards are maintained, with the first results expected early in 2011." The five-star scores reflect the standard fitting of ESP stability control on three of the four test cars, although it is optional on the C4 in some European countries. "Euro NCAP’s requirements on ESP have encouraged much broader fitment of this important technology by car manufacturers, ahead of the European legislation which will begin in 2012 for new car models and 2014 for all cars," says van Ratingen. He also highlights the changes with NCAP 'Advanced', which will look at technology beyond actual impact protection.  "The C4 was the only car to be rewarded for an active, driver-set speed limitation device which assists drivers in maintaining a safe driving speed. Euro NCAP believes that car manufacturers who are committed to safety need to be justly awarded with a good overall rating and is encouraging all car manufacturers to reach such good results in the future. “I am looking forward to the launch of Euro NCAP Advanced. The new assessments will broaden the scope of our safety assessments and will greatly enhance the information we are able to provide to consumers.  It is reassuring that, as well as developing these new advanced technologies, manufacturers are not neglecting fundamental crash protection and today’s results show that car-makers are still striving for the very best levels of protection.”

YOUNGSTER David Reynolds is the big winner in the endurance driving line-up for the Holden Racing Team at Phillip Island and Bathurst.Reynolds has been promoted to the seat alongside Will Davison, and veteran Cam McConville partners Garth Tander.DANIEL Gaunt, the young New Zealander recently dumped by Lucas Dumbrell, could bounce back on the V8 Supercar scene with a guest drive in Greg Murphy's Castrol Commodore at the L&H 500 at Phillip Island. Murphy has been sidelined by a back injury and Gaunt tested this week in readiness for a race start, though Murphy plans to be healed and ready to race at the Bathurst 1000 in October.MARCOS Ambrose lost another clear shot at Nascar success when he had electrical and suspension dramas in the Nationwide Series race at Montreal last weekend. Ambrose qualified on pole position and was leading before his problems, which took him out of the event and allowed one-time Bathurst 1000 visitor Boris Said to win.AUSTRALIAN championship rallying returns to Victoria on November 12-13 with a new organising team from the Cerberus Car Club under clerk of course Alan Mackay and a new base in Warragul. The event will wrap up this year's series and is likely to have a giant field with the state championship and Excel series both joining the action through forests in the Noojee and Neerim areas.THE head of Volkswagen's motorsport division says the German manufacturer could be competing in the World Rally Championship as early as 2013 if plans are given the green light in coming months. Volkswagen has revealed the Race Touareg III (below) it will use to defend its Dakar Rally championship in South America in January, but is looking to join Mini in a return to the world series.THREE of the world's top riders will exchange their 150kW, 300km/h superbikes for something with half the engine capacity and one quarter the number of cylinders when they contest the 2010 Australian Historic Championships at Victoria's Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this weekend. Reigning New Zealand Superbike champion Andrew Stroud, Isle of Man TT hero Cameron Donald and 2008 World Superstock 1000 champion Brendan Roberts are three of a record 335 entries for the event from September 3-5.

Then again, the open-air Phantom was revealed at Pebble Beach in California, the scene of America's most cashed-up annual car show. The Concours d'Elegance judging at Pebble, on the 18th fairway of one of the country's most-famous golf courses, usually draws a collection of restored classics with a total pricetag beyond $250 million. The special Phantom was created to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Pebble Beach classic and was re-worked from a Phantom Drophead Coupe, a convertible with a starting price of $1.35 million in Australia. The Bespoke department at Rolls-Royce in England went all the way on the car, starting with a special one-off Bespoke exterior colour called Stillwater Blue as a tribute to Stillwater Cove on the Monterey Peninsula. The car's navy blue soft-top is lined with cashmere and upholstered in a cream-coloured leather interior. Interior wood fittings combine cross-banded Santos Pallisander veneer with a silver pinstripe inlay. The car has special teak decking for the roof tonneau and luggage compartment, which is loaded with a fitted champagne set to take advantage of the refrigerated cabined beneath the floor in the boot. The final Bespoke touches are an enamelled plaque on the dash with special Concours logs on the tread plates and embroidered on the seats.

The wedgy styling of the Italian original has been reinvented by Pininfarina and German car collector Michael Stoschek already has the first car - and plans for a limited run of 25 copies. Stoschek is a huge fan of the Stratos and has a 1970s original, with the full World Rally Championship package, in a personal car collection that includes many of the world's greatest cars. He has stayed almost completely true to the original Stratos - apart from pop-up headlamps that would not pass today's safety checks - down to using a Ferrari as the donor car for the chassis and engine. The seventies car was twinned with a Ferrari Dino and this time the work has been done on a shortened Ferrari 430 Scuderia chassis. The 21st century Stratos project actually began when Stoschek met a young car designer, Chris Hrabalek, who is another Stratos tragic. The pair worked together on the Fenomenon Stratos project, which was displayed at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, before the money man bought all Stratos trademark rights. Work on Stoschek's car began early in 2008, first at Pininfarina in Turin, Italy. It has since been tested at Alfa Romeo's test track at Balocco, where its carbon fibre body and Ferrari chassis combine for an ultra-rigid and very lightweight car that sits comfortably in the supercar class.

It's important to make regular returns and re-runs with benchmark cars in Australian showrooms. So here we are with the 2010 update of the BMW X5, the car that's been top of the prestige SUV pack since it first landed in Australia.The latest tweaks are a mid-life overhaul, just like the VEII Commodore, and, just like the Holden hero, BMW has concentrated on efficiency with the remake of the X5. It's also focussed on keeping an edge over everything from the Audi Q5 to the Benz ML - and perhaps even the giant ML - the all-new Porsche Cayenne and the massively improved Range Rover Sport.Changes to the X5 include three new models - xDrive35i, X5 xDrive40d and flagship X5 xDrive50i - improved engines with more power torque, better fuel economy and more emphasis on the Sport package which has been popular with so many X5 buyers."We have given the car the highest standard specification in the segment. Combined with its on-road performance, and a range of features that are not offered by our competitors, the BMW X5 looks set to continue its success story in Australia,” says the boss of BMW Australia, Stavros Yallouridis.VALUEThe starting price of $92,100 looks pretty good, but that's for the basic 3-litre diesel and you can easily run the X5 up to $133,400 - bottom line for the new 50i Sport - or even more for the M-built model. And BMW options are always there to entice, with everything from Sport packs to third-row seats, all sorts of light choices, leather and wood, and on and on and on.Maximising value in any BMW is about picking the right model and staying as close as possible to the standard specification, which is usually pretty good these days.Looking at some of its rivals, and concentrating on the mid-range 40d which looks to be the potential best-seller, the BMW lines up well against revised Q7s from Audi, although Benz starts a fair bit cheaper at $84,760 for a 3-litre ML.TECHNOLOGYThis time around the X5 improvements are focussed on the engines. It's possible to fill an entire Carsguide liftout with the detail, so lets concentrate on the 40d M Sport which arrives for testing. Its diesel engine is a significant step up from the previous 35d, with the inline six taking on twin-turbo and common-rail injection technology.BMW says output is up by 15 kiloWatts and 20 Newton-metres, the benchmark 0-100km/h sprint time is down to 6.6 seconds and fuel economy is 10 per cent better than the outgoing 35d at 7.5 litres/100km.The all-wheel drive system is unchanged but X5s move up to BMW's latest eight-speed automatic gearbox with speed-tuned Servotronic steering as standard.DESIGNThe '10 model is only a tweak, which means the nose has the greatest change. There are larger side intakes, more use of body-coloured paint, re-positioned foglamps and matt-silver body protection. The tail lamps are also new, with an L shape.The 40d comes with a  standard Sports package including a leather-wrapped wheel, a special anthracite roof liner, as well as stuff like bi-Xenon lamps, Bluetooth, a sunroof, leather seats and more.SAFETYA lot of SUVs feel like trucks but one of the safety advantages in the X5 - from day one - is its carlike driving feel. There is the usual suite of front and side airbags, ABS with brakeforce distribution, top-class ESP stability control and more.The 40d also comes standard with a rear-view camera, which should be compulsory now on every SUV, automatic high-beam cut, and the chance to add lane departure warning for $1400, adaptive headlights at $1000 and the latest active cruise control with Stop&Start for a hefty $4700.DRIVING - Paul GoverThe X5 has always been one of my favourite drives the latest model continues the appeal, mostly because of the way it drives but also because the 40d - even with a bottom line in the test car of $149,220 - has so much nice stuff.It's hard not to enjoy well-shaped leather seats, the sunroof, and even the lane-departure and rear-camera systems.The latest X5 seems bigger than I remember, and a bit beefier too, but the latest turbodiesel has more than enough muscle for the job. It does not feel as sweet as some of BMW's earlier turbodiesels, perhaps because of the latest high-pressure fuel injection, and there sounds to be more rattling at start-up. But the only other thing I can criticise is the lack of gearchange paddles on the steering wheel.The eight-speed auto is as wonderful as I remember from other BMWs and both responsive and efficient.The latest X5 is seriously quick, is great for family work, yet drives more like a car than a truck. If BMW can keep this up with the new X3 - which is actually similar in size to the original X5 - instead of straying into the middle of the X1 then it will be seriously tough to toss in the luxury SUV class.SHE SAYS - Alison WardIt's been so long since I've driven an X5 that I don't notice most of the changes. The car still drives well and has heaps of space, and I like little things like the pull-up sunshades to cover Mr Man in the back seat. It's a lot nicer in the X5 than the X1, which I still don't really understand.The performance is pretty good for something this size, which even has an optional fold-out third-row seat in the car we're driving. It's not going to be any good for adults but should be fine if there are extra bubs around.I've always liked the X5 but I've also been spoiled recently by the Mercedes GL. It's bigger, more cushy and, for me, a nicer drive. If I already owned an X5 I can see it would be worth upgrading, and there are lots of people who prefer its industrial-style design, but I've been won over by the GL despite the extra cost.VERDICT: Hidden changes and a few cosmetic tweaks are all worthwhile.

They cannot help starting a stoush when their deadliest rival has something important happening.So, in the same week Team Red rips the covers off the Series II version of its VE Commodore the members of Team Blue have news on the Coyote V8 for the latest Ford Performance Vehicles tweak. Except that it's now called Miami...It's classic stuff and a reminder of the importance of cars - and homegrown hero cars - to ordinary Australians.The FPV V8 numbers are impressive and so is news that the engine could actually be re-exported to the USA after the local tweaking that includes a supercharger package from the classy Harrop Engineering. Most people, including Carsguide, expected FPV to take most of the engine upgrade from America but the company has spent $40 million doing the job right on home ground.It's just a pity that the upcoming FPV GT will not have much in the way of visual changes to flag its benchmark performance.Over at Holden, it's a big week with VEII and news of a fresh export program to Brazil, complete with a sales campaign built around motorsport legend - double world champion and Indianapolis 500 winner- Emerson Fittipaldi.We've known for more than a year that Holden's big focus for VEII is what it calls flex-fuel engines, with the ability to run on E85 ethanol fuel. It's the same stuff which has been used by the V8 Supercar racer since the start of last year.Carsguide is not convinced the E85 ability will win too many private buyers to the car, particularly with only a handful of service stations currently pumping the stuff and range limitations for the fuel, but could be a powerful incentive for major fleet buyers.The real change is that a local carmaker is pushing ahead on ethanol, a fuel with serious potential in Australia because it can be made from sugar can off-cuts. Even better, Holden is tapped into a program led by an American company - Coskata - that is working on a process to extract ethanol from rubbish that currently goes into landfill.Holden's E85 push is also giving the oil companies a solid shove on a greener fuel and that's got to be a good thing, too.