Articles by Paul Gover

Zoe is not the best name I've heard for a new car, even one as sparky as Renault's new battery electric contender. Can you really see a company chairman converting to a new-age plug-in with the same name as his 18-year-old daughter? It's not exactly macho, is it? Zoe is not the worst name I've heard, with more to follow soon on that subject, but it's not exactly winning as I drive the car in a Carsguide preview in Portugal. "No, I would not buy a car with this name," says the man responsible for recharging the cars at a coffee stop. "Do I like the name? Well, not really," admits a man on the Renault project team. It's pretty easy to work out the way the name was created. Zoe is part of Renault's aggressive Zero Emission strategy, just like the battery-swap Fluence Z.E. that was originally planned for Australia before being canned - officially, it is 'indefinitely delayed' - when the Better Place organisation backtracked on its plan for a nation-wide web of battery-swap stations. So, when you start with Z.E. and you want a name - well, it's easy to drop a vowel into the action. Zae, Zee, Zie and Zue are hardly standouts - although I personally prefer Zee because it's a bit like gee and whee - so you're left with Zoe. Nobody at Renault in France seems to have considered the potential gender drawback of the name, particularly in Australia where fast nasty animals - Falcon and Mustang for a start - work well for badges and advertising. So Zoe is coming to Australia and I'm already thinking about the ideal front-person for the car. Someone young and bright from Home and Away, perhaps? Renault says it has no intention of changing the name, in Australia or anywhere else, and that brings me to my worst-choice car name - Sassy. Proton of Malaysia intended to tag a new baby car as the Sassy and company chief Tengku Mahaleel was a strong fan when research showed it was a hit with young women. But Proton intended to sell half of its Sassys to men, and he quickly selected reverse gear when an impromptu lunchtime poll revealed 100 per cent of men were against the name. "I would never buy a car with that name," his son told him. Sassy was binned the same day, right down to the badges and brochures, But the car survived. And its name? The car hit showrooms in Malaysia and then Australia as the Savvy. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

Australia's last remaining motor show faces a massive makeover to help it survive beyond the cancellation of this year's event, scheduled for Melbourne in June. Falling attendances and dwindling car company support for the Australian International Motor Show triggered the cancellation, following the demise of motor shows in Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth over the past five years and the amalgamation of the standalone shows in Sydney and Melbourne. The joint-venture Australian show is in its infancy and was badly affected by a poor attendance and a lack of manufacturer backing for the inaugural running in Sydney last year at the outdated and undersized exhibition centre in Darling Harbour. Now the organisers - the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce - intend to bring the show into the 21st century with a reinvention that could lead to a rolling roadshow similar to the successful Goodwood Festival of Speed in Britain. "We're ruling nothing in and nothing out on the future structure of the motor show," the AIMS organiser, Russ Tyrie, told News Limited. "We really want to start again. We're exploring all the opportunities. We have a lot of research to help us and we intend to re-engage with our exhibitors." It is believed that the tipping point for the 2013 show was the withdrawal of the giant Volkswagen Group, with its Audi, Skoda and Volkswagen brands, and the uncertainty of support from the Korean giant, Hyundai. Less than 20 brands had committed to displaying their cars at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre, even though there are close to 60 now in showrooms and car sales are heading towards another record result this year. Carmakers report a minimum investment of $1 million in the show, with many spending more than $2 million for the week-long event. Tyrie admitted that changing trends in car buying and entertainment choice had hurt the motor show, and has not ruled out resorting to government funding to support the AIMS. "The show has never been involved in funding from governments but, in future, all opportunities will be investigated. Our research shows the last Melbourne show generated in excess of $20 million in benefits to the state of Victoria," he said. He also denied that running the show twice in the same financial year, even with one event in Sydney and the other planned for Melbourne, had contributed to the cancellation. "That had already been canvassed and there was nothing to suggest it was an impediment, from the point of view of the car companies." But the traditional motor show is already facing a growing threat from a new rival, the GreenZone Drive. It is a hands-on event that allows people to test drive the growing number of environmentally friendly cars in Australian showrooms and has drawn growing attendances to locations including Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast.  "This could be an opportunity for us. We have an event that has run successfully for the past four years and is attracting a growing number of people," GreenZone organiser, John Kananghinis, told News Limited. This journalist is on twitter: @paulwardgover  

Looking like a shrunken version of the all-new S-Class coming this year, it's still wrapped in camouflage during development testing in Scandinavia.

The Morgan 3 Wheeler is into the final stage of certification and should be set for deliveries before Christmas with a pricetag below $70,000. More than 300 people are keen to get a car and the number is expected to rise following the car's first official appearance - in classic British Racing Green - at the Australian Grand Prix meeting in Melbourne. "The car we brought to the AGP is built to comply with the Australian Design Rules and we're hoping for smooth sailing from here. We hope to have the certification done by June," the head of Morgan Cars Australia, Chris van Wyk, tells Carsguide. "We have spent the last two years working on ADR compliance issues and we think we have done all the hard work. We've had to comply with three different crash tests, different steering, higher rollover hoops, headrests and meeting the ADR noise test. "The car is with our compliance engineer this week and he will go through it with the proverbial fine-tooth comb. Once he is satisfied we will apply for inspection by the officials from Canberra." Van Wyk says Morgan will build Australia's first cars in the second half of the year and he hopes to have cars with customers around September. "The response to the 3 Wheeler has been quite unprecedented in our experience. We currently have over 300 expressions of interest. I have no idea how many will actually turn into orders, as this is new territory for us." The 3 Wheeler is a re-invention of a 1920s Morgan, powered by a front-mounted twin-cylinder motorcycle engine powering the single rear wheel, with steering to the front wheels. It's been selling strongly in Europe since last year with most owners customising their cars - some with livery that is modelled on the fighter planes of World War 1.  

The design drops any attempt to link to the regular four-door model.

The wraps will come off the new Subaru WRX on Friday week at New York motor show as Subaru also reveals plans for its first showroom hybrid. The WRX is a cult-car classic but the story is about to take a new twist as Subaru spins it away from the Impreza that has always provided the car's basic body. This time around, Subaru says the WRX will have a unique body - most people are expecting a two-door coupe - as it gives the car a more unique personality. The change to the Subaru WRX is also part of the plan for a three-pronged small-car drive that's already given the world the latest Impreza sedan and hatch, as well as the compact XV. Subaru is hoping to keep the WRX under wraps until the opening of the New York Auto Show on March 29. "We have absolutely no details on the show car. We are not expecting anything from Japan until late on the night before," the spokesman for Subaru Australia, Dave Rowley, tells Carsguide. He also emphasises that the Big Apple baby is only "an all-new performance concept car" and not a firm production model. The preview of the Subaru WRX comes exactly two years after Subaru went public in New York with the latest Impreza, reflecting the importance of the American show. The next Subaru WRX will be the fifth-generation model. Subaru is also using the event to unveil its XV Hybrid, the company's first move into the field. But unlike the WRX, which will be rushed to Australia as soon as production begins, hybrid fans should not get too excited about the XV. "There are no hybrid XV plans for Australia," says Rowley. On the WRX front, apart from the new-look body there has been considerable speculation about the car's mechanical package. It is certain to continue with a turbocharged boxer motor and Subaru's signature 'symmetrical all-wheel drive', but it could also get a hybrid boost in the same way that the latest LaFerrari and McLaren P1 supercars - and, probably, the renewal of the Mitsubishi Evo - use a petrol-electric package to combine economy with extra power on demand. The WRX has been Subaru's star car since it joined the lineup in 1992, but it really hit the bigtime in Australia off the back of World Rally Championship wins and the late Possum Bourne's domination of the Australian Rally Championship. This reporter is on Twitter: @paulwardgover  

The mid-sized SUV is being given another freshen in the nose and tail, for likely sales in the final quarter of this year.

SMART cars will take a bigger role in Daimler's future, with the phonebox-on-wheels ForTwo growing and improving next year under a new development deal with Renault. Part of the plan is this car, the born-again ForFour, which is intended to provide a proper four-city city car - even though it only has two doors and currently looks more like a delivery van. Here in 2014 for less than $30,000.

The ultra-luxury brand is expanding the lineup that sits below its Phantom flagship after unveiling its new Wraith coupe at the Geneva motor show, with the man at the top admitting an SUV is a potential addition to the family.Confirmation of the SUV investigation confirmation comes as Bentley pushes ahead with a production plan - including much-needed styling tweaks - of its EXP 9 F concept car and other upscale brands including Lamborghini and Maserati also work to provide an SUV solution for new-age families."There is potential for a high-end luxury vehicle in that segment. I wouldn’t rule it out, let's say it that way," the chief executive of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, Torsten Müller-Ötvös, tells Carsguide in the closest thing to an all-out admission."The big question for us is "Does it fit for Rolls-Royce?" We have to ask if it is possible to create an authentic Rolls-Royce in an authentic way that will fit into that segment. That is something we need to get our arms around."Insiders confirm a serious research plan for an SUV as Rolls-Royce looks to morph its two-door Wraith into a convertible, as well as considering an even-smaller car than the Ghost, which shares its mechanical package with the BMW 7 Series."I would say, with Wraith we have taken the first step after Ghost to move the brand into new territory. Definitely. And my clear understanding and long-term strategy is to move the brand on further." Müller-Ötvös has high expectations for the Wraith and reveals the thinking behind the name, which was first used by Rolls-Royce in 1938."It is Scottish, it is kind of a ghost, a black ghost, and a much more menacing ghost. This is the positioning of the car. Wraith is more menacing. Wraith is the most powerful car in our history. Wraith is also a car that, I don't want to say the evil brother of the Ghost, but it is on the more menacing side."Müller-Ötvös says the success of the Wraith is almost guaranteed and he hints strongly about a convertible to follow, probably within two years. "We have a substantial amount of firm orders with down payments. I've said quite often that this car lends massively to a convertible, or a drophead coupe as we call it. But this is not the moment to discuss a convertible. The time will come."Some analysts regard the Wraith as a Bentley buster, providing the sporty driving and head-turning looks that have worked well for the rival brand. “I would not be surprised to see a couple of Bentley GT buyers coming along and purchasing our car. It's now around every single street corner in London.“(But) I wouldn't say that we are competing against Bentley, because we operate in a far different price segment. This car is more expensive than Ghost. We are very keen to remain rare. We're not chasing volume."But Rolls-Royce could easily boost its volume with an SUV, or a sports activity vehicle as Müller-Ötvös calls it. The question now is the timing and the likely styling and price. "Regarding SAV or SUV-type vehicles, it's an interesting segment. It is very stable and is growing."There are no firm plans on our hands to bring an SUV type of car into the market, but it's an interesting segment," he says with a smile.This reporter is on Twitter @paulwardgover 

The Corsa is dowdy and downmarket inside, but there is the promise of improvements in an updated car being tested in Scandinavia.