Articles by Paul Gover

We've already got the cut new B-Class in Australia, with the new A to follow in the new year after a preview at the motor show in Sydney, and then everything up to a compact SUV. But Carparazzi is working on how the Mercedes three-door A-Class will look, and this is the result.

Some have something simple, like squeaky brakes or weird tyre wear, but there are others with major dramas. Just this week I've had a Volkswagen owner who needed a new engine and a Range-Rover tragic, owner of close to a dozen of the top-end SUVs, who is heading for an all-new replacement off the back of more than 20 fruitless trips to the repair shop with his $100,000-plus pick. Every one of these problems reminds me that cars are complex. And even the best ones can go wrong. But the cars of today are so much better than the cars of just 20 years ago that it's almost beyond belief. The only truly bad car I've test driven this year is the Chery J1. The Chinese toddler has quality that's worse than the original Korean arrivals in Australia and, if I can pick the difference on day one, then it's going to be bad news once it's got a few years and some serious kilometres under its wheels. Flick the calendar back and things were much worse. I still have nightmares about the press preview of the original Holden Camira. The first 'global' car to land in Australia seemed like a good idea, but that was before the gearstick feel out in my hand. And the bonnet flew up for no reason. And the dashboard squeaked and groaned and flexed and wobbled. Every motoring journalist has some sort of Jaguar horror story, and I recall the luxury XJ that dumped all its oil on the brand-new floor of my garage. Then there was the Range Rover that dropped both of its external rear-view mirrors - for now apparent reason - as I overtook through the shock blast of a B-double truck. In recent year, though, the failures have been few and far between. Yes, I've had complaints about the operation of a variety of DSG gearboxes in a variety of Volkswagens, but every car has come through its Carsguide test program without failing. Which brings me to the HSV Commodore I was once driving down the Hume Highway to Melbourne. Everything was fine through the performance runs and cornering trials, so I was dribbling home at a steady 100km/h when the engine failed. No bang, no crash, just a complete absence of power that was eventually traced to a fault on the crankshaft. The real kicker to the story is that I was forced to take a tow to the nearest town from a motoring journalist friend who was making the same trip. And he was driving a  … Jaguar.  

It was previewed at the Paris motor show and is now testing extensively, including at the Nurburgring. McLaren promises it will top the world as a track-ready road car, although a cabin with only left-hand drive means it won't be sold in Australia. 

The move has been announced following the unveiling of its impressive new Cayman coupe at the LA Auto Show. The good looking Cayman was one of the show's stars but the American base price of $52,600 is less than half the $115,000 starting sticker it will wear down under. When the difference is highlighted by Carsguide to Porsche's global boss, Matthias Mueller, he immediately promises an investigation. "I didn't know this. I will get answers," Mueller says. Porsche's premium pricing policy down under comes at a time when many of its luxury rivals are cutting their tabs. Mercedes-Benz consistently brings newer models to showrooms with lower prices and even Rolls-Royce recently cut the bottom line on its flagship Phantom, but a staggering amount of more than $200,000. The good news from LA is that the new Cayman is closer than ever to the classic Porsche 911, in both design and performance. There is also extra equipment in a bigger cabin, and even 15 per cent better fuel economy. The new design also makes it much more than just a baby Boxster with a coupe roof. "In short, the new version is lighter, more powerful and more fuel efficient. It is more distinctive than ever. It delivers an unmatched combination of driving dynamics," Mueller. The preview of the Cayman in Porsche heartland in California comes at the end of a year when the company has also put an all-new 911 and Boxster on the road. Production of the second-generation Cayman coupe will not begin until the first quarter of next year, with local delivers in the third quarter. "This has been a milestone year for Porsche. Globally, this has been a record setting year," says Mueller. "We have sold 160,000 cars. This is the best possible proof of the customer desire for our outstanding sports cars." The Cayman does the job too, and Porsche has allowed it to creep closer to the 911 in size and style. That's no surprise, since the basic mechanical package is shared with the big brother. The styling is more mature and the body sits over a chassis that is longer and wider than before, just like the Boxster, with a basic 2.7-litre engine and a 3.4 in the Cayman S. The starter engine makes 202 kiloWatts with economy of 8.2 litres/100km and a 0-100km/h time of 5.6 seconds as a six-speed manual, while the Cayman S numbers are 239, 8.8 and 5.0. The car retains the mid-engine layout it shares with the Boxster and that, says Porsche's technical chief Wolfgang Hatz is the big difference from the 911. "For me, the 911 is a car that people use as their first car, where the Cayman is a second car. The 911 is a two-plus-two and that is the difference," Hatz says. The basic Cayman manual is priced from $115,500 as a six-speed manual in Australia, with the bottom line rising to $155,700 for the Cayman S with a six-speed PDK manumatic transmission.

John Travolta and Nicholas Cage turned things upside down in the action blockbuster "Face Off". Now they could easily star in an automotive re-make of the movie, if Lexus and BMW hadn't already filled their starring roles. Just as Travolta went from nasty to nice and Cage went cop to crook in Face Off, Lexus and BMW have traded places in 2012.  The Germans have gone soft and cushy with the latest 3 Series and, after driving a lineup of disguised Lexus prototypes this week in the USA, I feel that the new IS is probably now the ultimate driving machine. This is my second deep dive with Lexus - after a preview drive of the GS last year - but landing in Los Angeles I'm aware that the new IS is the most important car in the history of Lexus. The original LS400 was a bigger gamble, but this is the car that must bring younger buyers to the brand and finally give Lexus a prestige starter car that's more than just nice, but... Lexus knows it too, which is why chief engineer Junichi Furuyama has only brought F Sport versions of his IS to LA and only seems interested in the way the car drives. There is nothing about comfort or quietness in his short, sharp, presentation and he only talks about the back-seat space when I raise the obvious question. "When developing the new IS, we set ourselves the target to be the best fun-to-drive car," Furuyama says. "We believe we were able to achieve that." He talks about driving harmony and fun, as well as the car's "flavour", before a brief technical rundown. The IS lineup is basically unchanged, although there is now a hybrid model - still to be confirmed for Australia - and the IS-F could change into an upcoming IS coupe. There is nothing to report on prices because the car will not be stripped of its camouflage until the Detroit motor show in January and Australian deliveries do not begin until the second half of next year. Still, based on Toyota's red-pen work this year on the showroom stickers of the all-new 86 and Corolla, it would be no surprise to see a slight drop from the current base prices of $55,800 for the IS250 and $64,300 for the IS350. Also, I cannot comment on the final finishing, or the equipment, because the various prototypes were still some way from showroom standard and almost everything in the cabins was covered with metres of black tape. A similar IS was well beaten by the Benz C and BMW 3 in my prestige comparison earlier this year and I'm reminded of the outdated cabin, cramped back seat and suspension that makes the car feel a bit skittish. But the new IS is improved in many, many areas, finally getting a useable back seat and a much bigger boot. It's two ticks there. The cabin space is a huge improvement with better-shaped front seats. The wheelbase is out by 75 millimetres but there is 90 more in the back-seat space, and even the door opening has been enlarged for easier access. The view from the back bench is also helped by front seats that are set 20 millimetres lower, although that was done to improve comfort in the front. Oh, and the boot is about 20 per cent larger. The hole in the dashboard points to a 20-centimetre display screen, the new switches and stalks feel more substantial, and Lexus promises a review-camera across the local lineup. It gets 10 airbags and a standard reversing camera with parking radar. The IS is basically new - "about 80 per cent of the parts" - but shares its mechanical package and suspension layout with the bigger GS. That means rear-wheel drive with more travel and control, but the basic body is much more rigid. It has a system that plumbs engine intake noise into the cabin during enthusiastic driving. Among the claimed improvements for driving enjoyment are lighter steering, better Bridgestone tyres, softer springs and rear suspension that separates the springs from the dampers. There is now an eight-speed automatic gearbox with various driving modes, and the gauges are a new take on the impressive TFT layout in the Lexus LF-A super car. The cars are waiting and the first job is a couple of track laps in the superseded IS, just to set the ground rules. Onto the track and the new transmission is more aggressive in its response, the front end grips better and the car sits a little flatter through the curves. So I step up to the camo 350 and find more of the same, with extra urge of course, and a bit more compliance in the rear suspension. But it's the road drive that will provide the real answers, so we hit the freeway and head for the hills. Literally. The IS250 is immediately quieter than I remember - Furuyama confirms big cuts to wind and road noise - and the eight-speed auto is great. As the road turns twisty the IS responds in the way I used to expect from a BMW. It responds eagerly to the wheel and drives confidently through turns. The IS350 is not as precise - with an extra 30 kilograms in the nose - but the extra punch makes any short straight a fun run. I also enjoy the LF-A-style instruments and the multi-mode automatic, which responds almost like a manual in the sportiest setting. So I'm convinced. These are real driving cars for people who take their motoring seriously, but they also have the sort of practical improvements that are essential for the long-flawed IS. Yes, the IS could do with more punch as both a 250 and a 350, I'm not a fan of plumbing engine noise into the cabin, and one of the suspension set-ups is significantly better for grip and comfort. But those are relatively small things. Overall it's a great drive. There was a time when the IS was really just a tweaked Toyota, but the new cars have grown up and improved in so many ways. Now I'm waiting to get the 'real' car out from under the camo and onto some home roads to ensure I have the story right. But, right now, it looks to me as if the BMW benchmark batton has been snitched by the IS. A one-day run is not enough for a final verdict, but I have rarely pushed a car as hard as I did in the California canyons - or hustled as enthusiastically as I did on a closed course at the Santa Anita raceway - without finding something big to complain about.

The upcoming Cerato is revealed in a shiny new suit at the Los Angeles Auto Show with the promise of a four-door sedan, five-door coupe and the two-door Koup to be rolled out through next year. The Cerato triplets pick up the latest Korean mechanical package from the Hyundai i30 but, crucially, will benefit from the Australianisation which has given Kia's cars a driving edge over the equivalent Hyundai models sold in Australia. The car was designed in Los Angeles and is badged as the Forte for America, but only those badges - and the final tweaking - will change for Australia "It's called the Forte in the US, but it is our Cerato," confirms Kevin Hepworth of Kia Motors Australia in LA. "The sedan will be in April, followed but the five-door - probably in July - and the two-door Koup very late in the year. "The Cerato is our volume car. The sedan is one of our main fleet cars and the hatch is the top selling model. Even in runout at the moment the old car is selling strongly." He cannot talk about Cerato pricing, which currently starts just a little under $20,000 for both the sedan and hatch, but is not forecasting any dramatic change for customers. "We've got no idea on price at this stage. But it will be typical Kia, so if there is an increase at all it won't be a big increase," Hepworth says. The emphasis in LA is on the car's design, including a significant upgrade of cabin quality and extra standard equipment at all levels. But the third-generation car is also longer, lower and wider than the one it will replace. The styling is bold and, in some ways, the Cerato looks like a shrunken Optima. Inside, it looks good and the American models are promised with everything from Bluetooth streaming and fan-forced seat cooling to satellite radio and an LCD dashboard display. None of the equipment, or a mechanical package with two engines and six-speed manuals and autos for America, is confirmed yet for Australia. "It's largely about the design at the moment. And timing is important, because last time we didn't have a hatch until 18 months from the end of the model," says Hepworth. "At the moment the engines look like a carryover 2-litre from the existing model. But the ride-and-handling team have got to the car quite early and done significant work. "We have the timing, we have a natural progression of models, and it's a style-driven vehicle."      

The fuse was lit in Las Vegas when Chevrolet unveiled its competition clone of the Holden hero as the Chevrolet SS. Strip away the numbers and racing warpaint and you see the road-going SS, which is also the VF for Australia and a future export winner with up to 10,000 sales a year. The look is bolder than today, with much more body contouring and an aggressive nose, but no-one is confirming how much of the NASCAR racing package - including its wildly flared guards - will be transferred to the road. The SS road car will go public at Daytona in Florida in February, then Holden will race VF-bodied V8 Supercars from March, the VF is scheduled for sale in April, and exports of the SS to the USA begin in the third quarter of 2013. "If you think Australians don't have influence, look at the SS," Mark Reuss, the former head of Holden who is now GM's chief of North American operations, tells Carsguide. "We're keeping Holden in mind. They're driving this. It's their project." The SS could easily become a major export winner for Holden and Australia, based on the plan for the car and previous success with the Pontiac G8. It was just getting good traction when Pontiac was killed as part of General Motors' bankruptcy proceedings. The SS is set as a premium performance car, will only be sold as a fully-loaded V8, and will be channeled through the much larger Chevrolet dealer network of 3000 outlets. "The Holden brand is one of our jewels. We're all fully supportive here," says Reuss. "Its future is very bright. But it will be ever-evolving, because if it says the same then it will be out of date." There is nothing outdated about the SS racers in Vegas, as they will help lead a major change in 2013 in the NASCAR oval-track series. "We've putting the stock back in stock car racing," Reuss says. He was the one who convinced NASCAR to change the regulations back to bodies that are more like regular road cars for the coming season, using the Chevrolet SS - although we prefer the Commodore handle - as part of the bait. He promised GM would bring a homologated road car, complete with V8 engine and rear-wheel drive, to showrooms if NASCAR tweaked its rules. When that happened, it opened the doors for the VF Commodore. So the heartbeat of America - Chevy's slogan - is now officially Australian. One of Chevrolet's champion racers, Tony Stewart, has been to Australia three times and even plans to put a Maloo ute into his garage. "How do I feel about racing a Holden? Real good," Stewart tells Carsguide. "I've been a fan of the brand since I first raced in Australia in 1995. I'm going to have one of these as a road car, real soon." Reuss refuses to give any detail on the mechanical package of the SS-VF, beyond admitting the V8 engine and rear drive. But the arrival of the SS signals an old-fashioned approach to motor racing that should work well for Holden, particularly with its Car of the Future fleet set to run VF bodywork from the Clipsal 500 meeting in Adelaide in March. “When you win races, it lifts the whole brand’s image. Opinions get better and people put you on your shopping list faster,” says Jim Campbell, GM vice-president of performance vehicles and motorsports. “There’s the old adage if you win on Sunday you sell on Monday. It just depends on which Monday, it might be a week, a month, or a year, but you’ve got to earn it.”      

The $19,990 bottom line for the upcoming Nissan Pulsar is exactly the same showroom sticker the car wore in 1996. If you think about inflation through that time - if you need a reminder, just take a look at the pump numbers rolling around the next time you're at the bowser - and all the extra equipment that now runs to standard aircon, electric windows and the rest, that's a mighty fine bottom line. But the same time hasn't been as kind to Australia's local carmakers. Ford, Holden and Toyota have all been badly hit by sagging demand for their local heroes, raising doubts about the same fatal flaws that forced Nissan and Mitsubishi to close their local operations. There have already been significant job losses during 2012, with Ford and Holden only committed to their production lines until the end of 2016 and Toyota also looking for a better business plan beyond the life of the current Aurion and Camry. There is a lot of backroom work going into cementing a future for the local makers and, even more importantly, the component makers who rely on them to provide the business foundations that keep thousands of people in jobs and new technology flowing into Australia. Holden chief Mike Devereux went public - again - with his concerns this week. It's easy to think that he's just rattling the begging bowl again and that the cash cow in Canberra has been milked dry by an industry that does not deserve to survive. Why should we be paying giant subsidies to an inefficient industry? But I know, after talking to Devereux's opposite numbers at Ford and Toyota, that his concerns are real. If these companies are going to remain in Australia for the long term, their parents in the USA and Japan expect co-investment cheques from the government. After all, do we really think that Thailand became the assembly line for Asia - with factories churning out Toyotas and Fords, Nissans and Hondas and Holdens - without significant government support? Devereux is calling for both sides of Federal politics to declare their policy for the motor industry so voters can consider their position ahead of next years election. "I believe 2013 will be the year that Australian decides whether it wants an auto industry or not," Devereux says bluntly. "I just want to sell cars, I don't want to be part of the political debate in this country. "(But) I need to understand very clearly, in a forward looking sense, what each party's policy is on auto manufacturing. Are they committed to making things in this country?" All the numbers say that manufacturing cars makes no sense. But if we send Ford, Holden and Toyota packing by refusing to support their businesses, Australia looks more and more like nothing more than a giant hole in the ground that's only good for supplying raw materials to China. Where, incidentally, they're preparing the next wave of cheap imported cars for Australia.  

Broadmeadows' baby droptop arrived at the same time as the Mazda MX-5 and, thanks to sub-standard quality, also bombed in the USA. But a born-again coupe, more like the gutsy Euro Capri of the '70s and '80s, is coming as a spin-off from the Focus and promises ST-style punch in a good looking two-door body from 2014 priced at less than $30,000.

That's the incredible significance of the unveiling of the upcoming VF Commodore as the Chevrolet SS in Las Vegas this morning. The SS will be Chevrolet's frontline race weapon in the NASCAR oval-track racing series and will also become a showroom car in the third quarter of next year with the potential to build an export business that's way bigger than Holden managed in the days when it was exporting the Pontiac G8 to the USA. This time around, around 3000 Chevrolet dealers - who operate under the slogan 'Heartbeat of America' - will be selling the SS as the brand's V8-powered performance flagship. "The new SS won't be mistaken for any other car. It bears a striking resemblance to the road car," says Mark Reuss, formerly chairman of Holden and now president of GM North America, at the unveiling of the Nascar racer. "We've putting the stock back in stock car racing." Reuss warns against reading too much into the appearance of the SS racer and its impact on the upcoming VF Holden, but confirms that the shape of the race car - especially its wildly flared guards, bulging bonnet and sculpted sides - will be reflected in the SS. The Holden name was only used once in the press preview of the SS in Las Vegas but its importance is not lost on former NASCAR champion Tony Stewart, who has raced in Australia three times since the 1990s in dirt-track cars. "How do I feel about racing a Holden? Real good," Stewart tells Carsguide. "I've been a fan of the brand since I first raced in Australia in 1995. I'm going to have one of these as a road car, real soon." The Chevrolet SS road car will be revealed in February at Daytona in the lead-up to the start of the 2013 NASCAR season, two months before the expected on-sale date of the VF Commodore in Australia.