Articles by Paul Gover

...but the mid-life update means it's only another four years before there will be a right-hand drive model. The tweaked GLK gets new bumpers and a bolder nose to try and boost sales against the newer Audi Q5 and BMW X3.

There is a good chance the car will have a triple-turbo six-cylinder engine, replacing today's V8 just as the M5 has moved from a V10 back to a V8.The body tweaks look fairly subtle in this Carparazzi shot but the wider arches including carbon fibre-reinforced plastic to save weight.Expect it here next year with a price tag of about $150,000.

... rival the prices on the BMW options' list for things like salad and spuds.So it's no surprise that the top end of town calls the shots at the Palexpo alongside Geneva Airport as Europe's carmakers go head-to-head for the first time in 2012. Ferrari and Lamborghini battle for go-faster bragging rights as Rolls-Royce and Bentley get serious about family motoring for the ultra-rich, while Infiniti pitches an new exotic coupe and even Ssangyong of Korea goes upmarket with a new concept. There are also dozens of one-off dream machines and hotrod tuner cars in Geneva, a show that is traditionally dominated by European design stars including Pininfarina and Giugiaro. But there is plenty, too, for ordinary car buyers as the Fiesta ST brakes cover, Hyundai updates the i20 and teases with the Veloster Turbo, Jaguar confirms an XF station wagon, Audi and Mercedes-Benz previews their A3 and A-Class, and Ford even updates its box-boring Transit workhorse. Picking the best of the best is tough with so much gorgeous stuff on the stands, but Alfa Romeo is the winner for 2012 and edges out the Infiniti Emerge-E with its Disco Volante.The pretty little red coupe is dreamy without being stupid and is already confirmed for production, although the slightly-retro body will be draped over Alfa's existing 8C Competizione chassis - 4.7-litre V8, 335kW, 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds - which means it's no chance for Australia with only left-hand drive.The Ferrari F12 is exactly what you expect from the fastest car to wear the badge - 340km/h and 0-100km/h in 3.1 seconds - including a swoopy body that taps the past as well as the influences that created the California convertible, but Lamborghini goes even better with an Aventador J preview car that is snapped up for a rumoured $2.8 million ahead of genuine production of an open-topped Aventador supercar.Rolls-Royce updates the Phantom with a new nose that still demands respect, as well as tweaking its colour choices with a two-tone approach that triggers memories of cheap seventies vinyl roofs, and Jaguar gets serious for families with an XF Sportbrake that will still struggle in a world of SUVs.Further down the food chain, the Audi A3 looks good but not as edgy as an A-Class that must break away from the bus pass generation into something closer to the Y-Gen futurists, and Volkswagen previews a more car-like Tiguan crossover with its Cross Coupe.Hyundai has a preview of a new flagship coupe called the i-oniq - did it mean ironic? - Kia shows a Track'ster that will become the new Soul, Honda shows the CR-V design that's coming to Australia, and the pocket rocket Ford Fiesta ST breaks cover with a confirmation for Australia.The action and excitement at Geneva goes on and on, and that is - really - the best thing about the show. Detroit in January hinted that the word's carmakers are finally emerging from the austerity and fear of the global financial crisis and the big-spending effort in Geneva confirms it, with good news for almost everyone from Euro billionaires to ordinary Aussie families.PG PICKS:1. Bentley EXP 9 F.Only one word fits - Ugly. With a big capital U. The hulking British bulldog might tick the boxes for cashed-up families, but this SUV makes a LandCruiser look elegant, and subtle.2. Giugiaro Brivido.Exactly what you expect to see in Geneva, as designers go all-out to impress the crowds - and each other. Not for production but a great looker with huge gullwing doors.3. Range Rover Evoque Convertible. A certainty for production as Land Rover milks its most successful design - ever. This one will never go bush but is being fast tracked for Double Bay and Toorak.4. Ssangyong XIV-2. Who knew the South Koreans could trump the Euros with a design that combines SUV practicality with a coupe-convertible body? A big surprise.5. Toyota FT-Bh: Just when you thought the uglies were done, Toyota lobbed with this. If it's the future for hybrid cars then sales will be slow. Very slow.

Prototypes are up and running and, although they look much like the current SUV, there is a shorter front overhang and wider front guards disguising the new mechanical package under the skin.

There has been another poor month of sales and a backhanded slap from the brand's global chief.Alan Mulally ignored the Falcon while painting a clear picture for Ford's future products at the Geneva motor show.He is putting the emphasis on globalisation under a program called One Ford, which is likely to mean a Ford Taurus from America under the Falcon badge in 2017, at the same time as the Falcon slumped to 18th in the February sales results with a total less than half the best selling Mazda3.Ford has only given a commitment to the local Falcon until the end of 2016 following a government-backed $103 million cash injection in January, similar timing to General Motors' current plan for the Holden Commodore.The Falcon and Commodore are both facing a downsizing crisis, as Australians flock to small cars and compact SUVs, as well as integration into worldwide development plans that call for an end to unique small-volume models tailored for individual countries."The family is now really becoming clear to everyone," said Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company."You look at the Ka, the Fiesta, the Focus, the Fusion and the Mondeo, and of course then the Taurus and then the Mustang, the Escape, the Edge, the Flex, the new Explorer, the Expedition, the new Ranger, the F-Series, the E-Series and the Transit and that family now is a complete family that serves 100 per cent of the markets worldwide."But what does Mulally have to say on Falcon? "We love the Falcon," he said in Geneva, continuing to run a line he has spruiked to Australians for more than three years. "It's a real good vehicle for us ... we're going to provide the things people want in all the different segments."Mulally's comments sparked a predictable response from Ford Australia, which has been firefighting at global motor shows for more than two years. "There is nothing new in this. It's a beat-up," said Neil McDonald of Ford Australia.While the future of the Falcon looks tough, Mulally's time at Ford is earning him huge rewards including more than $34 million worth of stock for his performance in 2009, reported on Tuesday to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.Mulally earns a salary of $1.9 million and banked a $9.4 million cash bonus last year, as well as a $33 million win on stock options.

Hyundai is calling its newest SUV the ix45, which sits well alongside the popular ix35 in Australia. The styling on the newcomer is more aggressive and Hyundai is certain to set the price and value bar at the right height.

He is joining drift king Ken Block in a two-car Monster attack on the third round of the World Rally Championship, looking to revive a career that stalled when Subaru withdrew from the title fight.Atkinson has been a close mate of the sideways American star for several years and hopes to compete in three WRC events this year in a Monster Ford Fiesta identical to Block's speed machine.The Queenslander is making final preparations for the rally today but took time out to give Carsguide readers an exclusive sneak peak at how his rally racer looks for Mexico.

The very latest thing in blow dryers - capable of styling your hair at 300km/h - is headlining the Italian action at the Geneva show.The Lamborghini Aventador J is the natural development from the supercar company's existing super sports hero coupe, with the roof ripped away for extra driving enjoyment. It is a concept car at the show but should be ready for production and Australian deliveries in 2013.The J-car is presented without a windscreen and with a periscope rear-view mirror at the show to add to its dramatic top-off look, but it shares its carbon fibre heart and jet fighter-inspired look with the Aventador coupe, as well as its 515 kiloWatt V12 engine and all-wheel drive system. The monocoque has been re-designed including two safety bars behind the seats.For the show only, to cut weight below the 1575 kilos of the coupe, the car has also been stripped of its aircon and navigation system. "The Aventador J is the proof that, despite the rules, Lamborghini will always make people dream, even in the future," says Stephan Winkelmann, president of Automobili Lamborghini.He says the company's designers went wild on the Aventador J, which he describes as "an absolute one-off: a one-of-a-kind piece of art".The choice of Aventador J taps Lamborghini's past, as its Jota of 1970 was a one-off development of the Miura coupe with a different body and better performance. It is also linked to the motorsport classification of Appendix J, which sets the technical regulations for various racing classes.

... Carparazzi picture of the production body shows. The car will not be ready for sale until 2013 but BMW is promising 30,000 deliveries in the first year.

Facelifts got started with the ultra-rich and now their favourite family car, the Rolls-Royce Phantom, has also been for a bit of surgery. The Phantom II is revealed at the Geneva show with the first visual tweaks since the $1.1 million loungeroom-on-wheels hit the road in 2003. But it's the mechanical changes, and a 10 per cent improvement to the car's considerable thirst, which will give potential buyers the permission they need to buy again after the global financial crisis. The car's CO2 emissions also drop from a nasty 388 grams/kilometre to a less unacceptable 347. The Phantom II models - sedan, coupe and convertible - now come with an eight-speed automatic gearbox, full LED headlights (claimed as a world first), as well as new bumpers and re-styled lights. Rolls-Royce is part of the BMW Group and that means the Phantom II now gets the all-round camera viewing system first fitted to the 7 Series, as well as updated satnav and adaptive headlamps. "These cars are timeless in their appeal, but technology moves rapidly and we cannot afford to stand still," says Torsten Muller-Otvos, CEO of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars.