Articles by Paul Gover

The S-Class prototype is tightly wrapped in all-over camouflage but Carparazi reports it looks longer and wider than the current car, with styling expected to be influence by the F700 concept car from 2007.

The new Civic, which even company chief Takanobu Ito admits is not as good as it needs to be, is the ninth generation of the once-dominant small car.  It will land in Australia in early March with a $20,990 starting price for the four-door VTi-L, down from $22,490 for the outgoing car.  Honda Australia plans four models up to the Civic Hybrid with metallic paint at $36,465.  The current plan only includes the four-door car and there is no Type R in the new lineup, although that is likely to change as Honda builds its range.  The Civic has had a big win with a five-star ANCAP safety rating and Honda Australia director, Stephen Collins, touts advanced technology, improved handling and value as cornerstones for the car. “We are confident our customers will agree that the Civic is a brilliant package and delivers exceptional value for money," Collins says.  The three Civic models are the VTi-L, Sport and Hybrid, with a 1.8-litre engine making 104kW/174Nm in the base car, a 2-litre with 114/190 in the Sport - with improved economy - and a 1.5-litre petrol engine and upgraded IMA hybrid system making 82/172 in the Hybrid.  Standard features include a mult-function display, auto aircon, cruise control, Bluetooth with audio streaming, iPod connectivity and steering wheel-mounted controls.   The Sport also gets leather seats, an electric sunroof, 17-inch alloy wheels and automatic front wipers.

... comes from Carparazzi with this picture of the 4 Series Cabriolet.The hardtop convertible will arrive in 2013 at about $80,000 and headline a range that takes a new name, instead of living off the 3 Series family.BMW is likely to have a 4 Series coupe, cabrio and GT to go up against Audi's good looking A5 range.

Both brands saw their compact cars become their best sellers in January. In the official sales figures, Australia’s former number one car - Holden’s Commodore - was beaten for the first time by the Cruze. To compound the plight of the slow selling locally made big car, Ford’s Focus also easily outsold the troubled Falcon. Australia’s number one car remains the 2011 champion, the Mazda 3, followed by two other small models, Toyota’s Corolla and the Cruze. In a week when Holden took steps to reduce its Elizabeth South Australia workforce, the carmaker can at least take consolation from the Cruze being built locally.The Focus is imported from Belgium. Only 931 Falcons were delivered in January, down even from the miserable 1157 start to last year's sales for the one-time local favourite. The overall Ford total lifts to only 2135 vehicles once the Melbourne- made Territory SUV and Falcon ute are included, still behind the 2170 Holden Commodore sedan deliveries for the first month of 2012.And trailing the baby Focus on 1576. Ford said it was hit badly by a giant storm on Christmas Day that pelted its Broadmeadows site with car crumpling hailstones. Around 1000 cars, a mix of Falcon and Territory, were being stored in the open and took the full force of the weather. "It was a shocking storm. They really took a hit," a spokesman for Ford Australia, Neil McDonald, revealed to News Limited. "It was on Christmas Day. The cars were at the plant, waiting to be shipped to dealers and then on to customers." The hailstorm is the latest in a series of disasters for Australia's three local carmakers, as Toyota has just cut 350 jobs from its factory at Altona and Holden expects to shed as many as 200 contract workers during a re-organisation of production at its plant in Adelaide. Both decisions are based on falling export sales. Ford was forced in early January to inject $103 million into its local operation in joint funding from its global parent in the USA and the Federal government to provide security for local manufacturing through to 2016. The January results, revealed in official VFacts sales totals, are no real surprise. Large car sales are traditionally down in January because government departments and big fleet customers are not buying, while Toyota is still getting up to speed with its new Camry - so 1290 sales - and the Mazda3 is still powering off the back of its best selling performance in 2011. The January total is a little better than the first month of 2011, with a total of 76,783 sales for a 4.3 per cent lift, but passenger car sales were down slightly and needed bolstering as usual from the strength in SUVs. As usually, Toyota was Australia's favourite brand in January, ahead of Toyota and Mazda.  

Ford Australia only delivered 931 cars in January, down even from the miserable 1157 start to last year's sales for the one-time local favourite. The overall Ford total lifts to only 2135 vehicles once the Melbourne-made Territory SUV and Falcon ute are included, still behind the 2170 Holden Commodore sedan deliveries for the first month of 2012. And trailing the baby Focus on 1576. The January numbers show the Commodore was beaten for the first time in January by its locally-made sibling, the compact Cruze on 2445, while the Mazda3 was overall number one with 4045. Ford said it was hit badly by a giant storm on Christmas Day that pelted its Broadmeadows site with car crumpling hailstones. Around 1000 cars, a mix of Falcon and Territory, were being stored in the open and took the full force of the weather. "It was a shocking storm. They really took a hit," a spokesman for Ford Australia, Neil McDonald, revealed to News Limited. "It was on Christmas Day. The cars were at the plant, waiting to be shipped to dealers and then on to customers." The hailstorm is only one in a series of recent disasters for Australia's three local carmakers, as Toyota has just cut 350 jobs from its factory at Altona and Holden expects to shed as many as 200 contract workers during a re-organisation of production at its plant in Adelaide. Both decisions are based on falling export sales. Ford was forced in early January to inject $103 million into its local operation in joint funding from its global parent in the USA and the Federal government to provide security for local manufacturing through to 2016. The January results, revealed in official VFacts sales totals, are no real surprise. Large car sales are traditionally down in January because government departments and big fleet customers are not buying, while Toyota is still getting up to speed with its new Camry - so 1290 sales - and the Mazda3 is still powering off the back of its best selling performance in 2011. The January total is a little better than the first month of 2011, with a total of 76,783 sales for a 4.3 per cent lift, but passenger car sales were down slightly and needed bolstering as usual from the strength in SUVs. As usual, Toyota was Australia's favourite brand in January, ahead of Toyota and Mazda.

One of those could be the Junior, a 3.7-metre city car that's just a year away from production and planned to slot in below the Corsa - once a Barina - in Europe.

It is dropping to a single shift in the general assembly area responsible for the Commodore and Cruze but says it is maintaining a two-shift operation in the rest of the facility. There will be job losses among fixed-term contractors and casual labour, but full details are not yet available. Holden says the change is a response to the poor export outlook for the company at a time when the strong Australian dollar is making things tough for all exporters. “Holden has set a very clear business strategy to grow sustainably, lower its cost base and make a small car in Elizabeth to ensure we are profitable on domestic production,” says the managing director of GM Holden, Mike Devereux. Holden intends to move to a 60-second production cycle by May that will allow the factory to produce up to 400 cars a day, allowing the company to maintain volume while reducing costs. Devereux says the new schedule will also help to manage complexity in a factory with two very different cars and improve quality. Output is planned to continue at 2011 levels, which means around 90,000 cars. “At the current exchange rate we won’t be able to realise further growth in our export programs so the shift changes allow us to maintain production levels and do it more efficiently," says Devereux. “With these tough economic conditions it’s our obligation to our people, and those that invest with us, to build a sustainable business and to continuously improve productivity. No voluntary or forced redundancies for permanent Holden employees are expected as result of the shift changes."

The Fiesta-based B is a mini people mover copied from the successful C-Max, complete with sliding rear doors to make it more family friendly.

Early returns from January's showroom blitz point to a Mazda 3 victory and a flying start to its 2012 battle with the Holden Commodore and Toyota Corolla.

The American idol is on the way back, with all the gangsta attitude that made it a hit more than two years ago. The Chrysler 300C SRT8 has had a major makeover that goes right down to the road and all the way up to a thumping new 6.4-litre V8 engine. The number run includes 351 kiloWatts and 637 Newton-metres of torque, as well as a 0-100km/h sprint time in 4.7 seconds.The mean-streets look has been tamed a little, and there is a lot more to like in the cabin, but it's still an old-school muscle car that means the SRT8 tag - it stands for Street, Road, Track - has lost none of its impact. A two-day preview drive in Las Vegas is the ideal start to the new SRT8 experience, running down the glitter strip and out into the desert alongside the Grand Cherokee that's already had a tick from Carsguide ahead of its Australian return.The cheapest of the new 300Cs comes in from $45,000 and there will eventually be five models, topped by the SRT8 at close to $65,000. Chrysler Jeep Australia is keeping the exact number a secret until cars land in April, but the bottom line is fairly firm. There is plenty of justify the showroom sticker, from the belter engine to giant alloys and a loaded cabin with leather trim, a big touch-screen display and seriously good sound.The price point is a clever choice, since it positions the SRT8 above the Commodore SS-V and Falcon XR6 Turbo, but below the seriously speedy machines wearing Holden Special Vehicles and Ford Performances Vehicles badges.The basics are fairly basic in the chunky Chrysler, just like Australia's Falcon and Commodore, although the platform under the body is taken from the superseded Mercedes-Benz E Class sedan. The engine is in the nose, there is a five-speed auto gearbox, and drive goes through the area wheels.There is some neat stuff, like a rear-view camera and a system - a lot like the Nissan GT-R - that displays all sorts of performance information and can even log acceleration runs and measure cornering grip. The upgrade comes at a price, as the SRT has put on around 150 kilos since the previous model, although the engine has grown from 6.1 to 6.4 litres.The new 300C body is longer than the old one, which means more space in the back seat, and it's also been rounded-off compared with the chunky edges of the previous car. It's generally smoother and looks more, well, adult. There is a blacked-out grille and 20-inch alloys, subtle side skirts and a tiny blade spoiler on the boots. Oh, and blacked-out shotgun exhaust tips. The SRT work inside runs to well-bolstered front buckets and a flat-bottomed leather steering wheel, as well as embroided badges on the seats.There is no official ANCAP rating yet but the 300C is a top safety pick for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the USA. The airbag protection runs down to one for the driver's knees there are ESP and ABS as usual, with a huge lineup of extras including automatic wipers. Full details will not be available until the Australian cars land.The SRT8 was a Carsguide favourite and stays on the list, thanks to old-school muscle and a cabin that - like the updated Grand Cherokee - finally justifies a premium price and place. The seats are comfy, though short on support in turns, the display screen and sound are great, and it has all the luxury you expect for $65,000. But turn the key and the V8 thunder makes a statement that is backed when you hit the accelerator. The ultimate C-car really kicks hard from a standstill and has huge go when the rev counter spins past 4000.It's all V8 grunt and muscle but the engine has cylinder deactivation to boost economy, not that the gear-short auto really helps. Basic 300s have a new eight-speed automatic but the SRT's performance means its held back to five. The cornering grip is very good, with a predictable feel through the controls, although the steering is a bit woolly and the car wants to walk around on its big tyres in tight corners or anywhere with low-ish grip. When you're on a sandy desert road it can get quite lively.It's not as responsive as the HSV cars, but more punchy than the FPV Falcons. It feels less involving, but that will suit some people and it does have a very distinctive look.So the new 300C SRT8 is much more refined than it was, perhaps a little less playful, but still an old-school thumper that will work for a lot of muscle car fans down under. It's not as precise as the homegrown heroes but it's better than it was, although badly in need of a six-speed automatic.