Articles by Paul Gover

The all-new Mercedes-Benz A-Class baby, revealed this week at the Geneva motor show, is a massive departure from earlier cars to wear the badge and will set a new price level for Mercedes-Benz in Australia. The car is more rounded, more elegant and answers complaints - led by Benz's chief designer Gordon Wagener - that the previous models had no chance of winning new buyers to the brand. "These were old man's cars. They damaged the reputation of our brand," Wagener told Carsguide last year. Now his work is on show as Mercedes-Benz continues a small-car rollout that will eventually grow to at least five body styles, including a compact SUV. The new A takes on a role as a youthful conquest car, something reflected in both its smooth new shape and an arsenal of connectivity in the cabin, leaving the B-Class to continue with families and older buyers. It is expected to be priced several thousand dollars below the B, which currently opens for Benz in Australia at $37,875. A showroom sticker around $35,000 makes sense as Benz admits it is now actively aiming to win people who might consider a Volkswagen Golf, not its traditional BMW opposition. "We're looking at people in their twenties and thirties. And up," says David McCarthy, spokesman for Mercedes-Benz Australia. "That market is where we are aiming. The technology in the car, the appearance and finish, the pricing, is going to appeal to a buyer that has never previously considered a Mercedes-Benz." He says more than half of Golf buyers in Australia spend more than $35,000 on their car, pointing to a major opportunity for his brand. "That's where we are going." But McCarthy refuses to go public on the price target, as the A-Class will not land in Australia for another year. "We're not going to disclose the price. We are only about to begin sales of the new B-Class and the A-Class won't follow until the first quarter of 2013. "Unfortunately, for us there is always a delay for right-hand drive cars."

... a radical new design and more support from Renault Australia could change that.The fourth-generation Clio definitely has a unique look and should make it down under in 2013.

Slow sales - running well behind forecasts - have derailed the GM green hero in the past week, after it took hits from a high prices and a safe scare last year.GM decided last week to 'idle' the Volt factory, which means stopping production temporarily, to clear a backlog of around 6000 unsold cars and adjust output to the actual showroom demand in the USA.Production at the Hamtramck factory in Detroit will be stopped for five weeks and 1300 workers will be idle, following first-year sales that only hit 7671 against a prediction of 10,000 and only 1626 deliveries in January. But Holden says the Volt drama will not affect its local plans, with the car already locked-in for sales in 2012."There are no concerns," Holden spokesperson, Emily Perry, says bluntly. "Honestly, the market dynamics in the US are not appropriate for us to talk about."She refuses to discuss or acknowledge the potential impact of the shutdown on local confidence, particularly after last year's Volt fires, and says Holden is not worried about pricing the Volt too high.Early guesstimates put the likely Volt price in the $65,000 range, based on the $48,800 sticker for the Mitsubishi iMiEV electric car and the $34,990 base price for the Toyota Prius, as well as the complexity of the range-extender hybrid drive system - which uses an onboard petrol engine to charge the car's battery pack - in the Volt."We're confident we have the right strategy for the vehicle. We haven't given any pricing," she tells Carsguide. "It's a one-of-a-kind vehicle. But of course we plan to sell more than just one."The first Australian Volts should arrive within two months to begin local engineering work and evaluation runs and, although Perry will not comment, customer deliveries are likely by August."Our vehicles are not affected by the situation in the US. For us, we have no concerns and we're really excited about the launch."

The Mazda3 scored another month at the top of the sales charts in February but Toyota Australia, which was best overall brand and equal second individually with the compact Corolla, said it is still unable to meet showroom demand.It is waiting for the resumption of full deliveries of the Corolla and its work-and-play HiLux utes and believes it will then have the firepower to tackle the Mazda3 head-on for sales supremacy."We're still not back to where we should be after the production problems last year, but we're getting there. We're looking to this month and April to get us back on track," the spokesman for Toyota Australia, Mike Breen, revealed yesterday. "We are holding more orders than we can fill. We're now being affected by global demand and the capacity in our factories."It's a matter of supply. We can only sell what arrives from Japan and Thailand."The February win for the Mazda3 was its third straight monthly success and came with deliveries of 3733 cars, well ahead of the Corolla and Holden Commodore in a tie for second on 2991.The Holden Cruze was not able to repeat its January result, when it outsold the Commodore for the first time, but still managed fourth overall with 2880 sales ahead of the Hyundai i30 on 2433.The February result gives the Mazda3 a 1404 margin after just two months of 2012, and around 25 per cent of its total sales, but Toyota is planning on at least 3200 sales a month for the Corolla once it can fill its pipeline.Although the Commodore was equal in second its sales were down by nearly 900 cars on the same month in 2011, with the Ford Falcon - only 18th in the charts - down by just on 800 in a reflection of the ongoing slide in large-car sales.But overall demand in February lifted by 6.0 per cent with a total of 85,723 deliveries for the month.The best performers, as usual, were SUVs which improved by 26.6 per cent on the same month in 2012, with compact SUV deliveries jumping by a massive 68.1 per cent.TOP 10 BRANDS - February 2012 (2012 YTD)Toyota: 14,849 (28,914 -1.7%)Holden: 9688 (18,749 0.3%)Mazda: 8689 (17,168 15.7%)Hyundai: 7412 (13,925 7.0%)Ford: 6951 (12,789 -8.7%)Nissan: 6227 (11,585 10.7%)Mitsubishi: 5166 (9732 0.8%)Volkswagen: 4132 (7498 35.6%)Subaru: 3225 (6830 -5.9%)Honda: 2603 (4182 -13.1%)

The Japanese brand that build the foundations for today's Nissan empire, and converted tens of thousands of Australians to the strengths of the compact 1600 and sporty 240Z, is being readied for a new role in the 21st century. Nissan is apparently preparing plans for a price fighting Datsun range that will sell in Russia, India, Indonesia and other emerging car markets. Reports from Japan suggest Datsun is the favoured badge for the new push, aiming for around 300,000 sales a year with vehicles - minivans in addition to cars - priced from as little as $5700.But don't expect any born-again Datsuns in Australia, as Nissan believes a price-fighter push would not work. "We would fail to understand where a brand like that would fit in the portfolio here," Nissan spokesman, Jeff Fisher, tells Carsguide."We've got the ST Micra at the lower end, all the way up to the Nissan GT-R at the top end. We've already got the bases covered, in the best sense. Where would we fit a Datsun in there?"There is no talk about this for Australia. None at all."In any case, Australia is a mature market, not a developing one."The Datsun plan comes as more and more makers develop two-tier sales strategies for a range of countries as diverse as Turkey and Indonesia. It allows them to spread their development and production costs without eroding the power - and price potential - of existing mainstream badges.Renault, which is part of the Nissan-Renault alliance, uses the Dacia brand for its cheapies and Suzuki uses Maruti in India. Toyota Australia tried for a while to push Daihatsu into the bottom end of the car business, but retreated when the cars could not be sold cheaply enough in Australia.Datsun was the flagship brand for its Nissan parent company for more than 30 years, although the first cars actually arrived down under in the 1930s. After success with the 1600 and 240Z, but then failures with everything from the 200B to 120Y, the badge was phased-out globally in the early 1980s.In Australia, cars were sold first with Datsun badges, then Datsun-Nissan, then Nissan-Datsun and finally just Nissan at a time when the Pulsar was the brand's local champion.The origins of the Datsun name go back to Kenjiro Den, Rokuro Aoyama and Meitaro Takeuchi, who built a car around 1914 and combined their initials to call it the Dat. In 1931, an all-new car was produced and badged the Datsun as the son of Dat.

The all-new A is testing in Sweden to finalise details for sales later this year alongside the latest hatchback B Class. Benz promises the newcomers are much more youthful and will be a real alternative to a starting-price Audi or BMW.Expect it here early in 2013 at around $35,000.

...with the British brand planning a mild makeover this year.There are predictable changes to the grille and lamps but the most important thing is more efficiency for the engines.

It says the all-wheel drive hero car will have 410 kiloWatts with body changes including wider guards, air inlets for the intercoolers and an integrated exhaust pipe in the rear bumper.

BMW calls it the Estate and Carparazzi says the F31 continues as today, despite the arrival of the upcoming 3 Series GT, with features including an opening glass window in the tailgate, 40-20-40 split-folding rear seat and - crucially - more luggage space in a bigger back end.

Supercars. Who needs them? No-one really, and yet they are dream machines around the world.Right at the top today is the outrageous Lamborgini Aventador, which trumpets everything from a carbon fibre chassis to a 350km/h top speed, 2.9-second sprint to 100km/h, and a $745,600 price tag in Australia.Lamborghini only sold 32 cars in here in 2011, despite the global success of the V10-powered Gallardo that goes up against the Ferrari 458, yet there is already a two-year waiting list for the Aventador LP700-4.That could be the styling, or the performance, or just the fact that 2011 brought an all-new Lamborghini V12 flagship with - translating its name - 700 horsepower and all-wheel drive.The first time I drove a V12 Lamborghini, back in the 1980s, it was a disaster. The borrowed Countach was grumpy, awfully uncomfortable, hot and cramped, and then a radiator hose sprung a leak   . . .It was outrageous, and memorable, but not in a good way. So I am interested to see how the Aventador goes, especially as it attracts the attention of the Italian Police - "documents please" - just 30 minutes of legal-speed driving after leaving the Lamborghini factory.VALUEHow do you measure value on a car as costly as the Aventador? It's mostly about the satisfaction it delivers to someone who has a fleet of cars and most likely a giant boat and a couple of houses, together with the bragging rights ability to shut down the owner of a Ferrari 599 or Lexus LF-A. And that's not me.Still, if you consider the Aventador against the Lexus LF-A at $700,00 and the outgoing Ferrari 599, it makes a solid case thanks to the styling, performance and lots of luxury equipment. The Lexus feels pretty ordinary against the Aventador, despite its track-tuned development.The starter button alone in the Lamborghini - it sits in the centre console and has a flip-up red cover like the ones used for missile launches - could be enough to win some people. "The car is already a sellout. Our whole allocation for 2012 is gone," says Martin Roller of Lamborghini."Nationally, we'll probably do 50 cars this year. Last year was down, of course, because we were waiting for the Aventador. But we've got it now and it's a cracker."TECHNOLOGYThe technical presentation from the engineers at Lamborghini headquarters in Sant'Agata goes on for nearly three house, and that's before the visit to the production line and carbon fibre laboratory.The highlights are the full carbon fibre chassis, claimed as the first in the world and displayed with aluminium suspension assemblies bolted to the passenger cell, as well as the high-tech V12 engine, Haldex all-wheel drive and a bank of computers to keep everything talking and pointing in the right direction.There is less attention to the 17.1l/100km fuel economy and CO2 emissions of a naughty 398 grams/kilometre, even though Lamborghini says this is a significant 20 per cent improvement over the car's Murcielago predecessor.DESIGNThe shape of the Aventador, designed in-house after a competitive pitch against Lamborghini's owners at Audi, is just plain outrageous. Lots of car companies say their sports cars are inspired by fighter jets but it's true for Lamborgini, even if the back-end view looks a lot like a scarab beetle.The nose is chiselled in true super sportscar style, the wheels and tyres are huge, and the Aventador has the scissor-lift doors - easy for close-in parking - that have become a V12 Lamborghini signature.Inside, the digital dashboard mimics old-style analogue dials - but with far more information - and there are two comfy and supportive bucks with a giant centre console. But it's hard to find somewhere to put the push-button key that unlocks the car, and the luggage space is - at best - tight.SAFETYNo-one from ANCAP is going to crash an Aventador, but the results of the company's own testing - on display as part of an illustration on repair work - shows the massive strength of the carbon fibre passenger cell. There is also ESP with a variety of driving modes, since some owners will take to racetracks, giant brakes with ABS control, parking radar and a - much needed - reversing camera.DRIVINGTime with the Aventador is theatre. It's also cracking good fun, even sticking religiously to the Italian motorway speed limits behind an Audi pace car and over snow-drenched minor roads.From the first moment that V12 engine fires behind my head, the car has me. The first time I uncork all the power, and feel a kick in the back that makes a V8 Supercar pretty bit tame, I wonder how anyone could possibly use an Aventador on the road every day.But it's surprisingly docile when you leave the robotised manual gearbox in drive, with all the driving assist systems set for manual support. It will dribble easily in traffic, isn't completely impossible to park, and is comfy and cosseting.Get the car cracking through some turns and there is a little reluctance from the nose, but application of power gets things sorted for a neutral balance and it will really hustle along any road at almost any - sane - speed.The best thing about the Aventador is the reaction it gets from other people. Jaws drop, camera phones fire into action, and people just wave and cheer. Even the police eventually smile and send me on my way.In Australia, the Aventador will be just plain outrageous and exotic and desirable. It's not for everyone, and most people will dismiss it as a piece of silly irrelevance, but it's good that cars like the flagship Lamborghini still exist.VERDICTThe Aventador is a silly car and silly money, but so much fun. It's a true dream machine.STAR RATINGLamborghini AventadorPrice: from $754,600Warranty: 3 years/ unlimited kmResale: New modelService interval: 15,000km or 12 monthsSafety: four airbags, ABS, ESP, TC.Crash rating: not testedEnigne: 515W/690Nm 6.5-litre V12Body: 2-door, 2-seatDimensions: 4780mm (L); 2030m (W); 1136mm (H); 2700mm (WB)Weight: 1575kgTransmission: 7-speed robotised manual; all-wheel-driveEconomy: 17.2l/100km; 398g/ CO2