Articles by Philip King

The Frankfurt motor show is an event for cars that eventually come to market, rather than flights of fancy.

Later this month Ferrari will show off its newest supercar, the 488 GTB, to Australian customers.First drive reviews suggest it's a more than worthy replacement for the fabulous 458. But if Italian supercars are not your style, brands from Germany, Japan, Britain and the US are lining up to tempt the supercar enthusiast.The second generation of Ingolstadt's supercar evolves the original design but is built around a new aluminium and carbon fibre space-frame. A 5.2-litre V10 engine sits behind the cabin and comes in two levels of tune: 397kW or 449kW, with the more powerful able to hit 100km/h in 3.2 seconds. A bright yellow example was on display at the MCG during the International Champions Cup at the weekend.Deliveries begin in the first quarter of 2016, with prices starting at about $370,000.The revived version of Honda's famous NSX from the 1990s will be a hybrid powered by a turbocharged 3.5-litre V6 engine in combination with three electric motors. One motor boosts engine output to the rear axle while the other two independently drive the front wheels. Where the original was all-aluminium, the new NSX will comprise a mix of carbon fibre, aluminium, steel and "other advanced materials". Deliveries begin next year, with prices expected to start around $250,000.The star of this year's Detroit motor show was designed by Australian Todd Willing, so it's a shame the GT is left-hand-drive only and cannot be road-registered here. That won't stop a few collectors signing up for the second revival of the famous Le Mans winning racer from the 1960s. Ford chose this year's event to announce it would use the new GT for another crack at the race next year.Road cars will be powered by a turbocharged V6 with about 450kW; overseas deliveries start next year.The British supercar specialist now has three strands to its model range, with the most accessible Sports Series comprising the recently unveiled 540C and 570S. The 570S is named for the output of its turbocharged 3.8-litre V8 in metric horsepower, equivalent to 419kW, and with a dry weight of just 1.3 tonnes it can reach 100km/h in 3.2 seconds. Australian deliveries begin next March, with prices at $408,000 (including NSW on-roads) for the 570S and $350,000 for the less powerful 540C.

When you walk into a Ford or Holden showroom in 2018, one thing will be certain: everything you see will have arrived on a boat.Holden stops building the Commodore late in 2017 and Ford calls time on the Falcon at the end of next year. What is not known is whether buyers will be tempted by what replaces them.Ford was first to declare its intentions with the Mondeo, which was launched in April as the nominated Falcon successor.A global model sold in the US as the Fusion, Australian cars are being shipped from a factory in Spain. The Mondeo comes as a wagon or hatchback and starts at $32,790, or $3610 below the price of the cheapest Falcon.It's early days for Mondeo but it's the most technically advanced car we offerThat buys a 2.0-litre, four-cylinder 149kW turbocharged petrol engine with six-speed automatic gearbox, with a more powerful petrol or frugal diesel also in the range. A performance model could be added later, but unlike the Falcon, there's no six-cylinder or V8, and power goes to the front wheels rather than the rears.Ford Australia spokesman Neil McDonald said fleets had cornered first deliveries but Mondeo's strong equipment list would lure private buyers too."It's early days for Mondeo but it's the most technically advanced car we offer so it's sure to attract new customers and some Falcon buyers who change over," he said.When pensioner Alan Chalker decided it was time to move out of his five-year-old Falcon XR6 he opted for a Mondeo Trend Ecoboost, which starts at $37,290.Sophisticated equipment — including a lane-departure warning system and smart cruise control — helped win him over."If you move off your lane without putting the blinkers on the wheel shakes — there are marvellous tricks like that. If I had these in the XR6 I wouldn't have changed," Mr Chalker said.Another plus was the Mondeo's cargo space. "The luggage compartment is brilliant — the hatchback lifts up so you don't have to bend and there's more room than the XR6. It hasn't got the grunt of the XR6, but it's plenty fast enough."Mr McDonald said other enthusiasts would switch to the US-built Mustang two-door, with the company already holding 2000 deposits. Prices start at $44,990 and run to $63,990 for a V8 convertible, with first Mustang deliveries due in December.Ford's other local model, the Territory, will live on as a rebadged SUV import. That will almost certainly be the Edge, which has been built in Canada since 2006. With four or six-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, and front or all-wheel drive, it's shorter than a Territory but includes a seven-seat version.Holden also plans to rebadge an import with the Commodore name and has decided which car it will be. However, with more than two years left to run, it wants to maximise the locally built Commodore's potential in a market where large sedans now attract fewer than 4 per cent of buyers.The next Commodore will absolutely live up to its namePrime candidate for rebadging is the German-built Insignia, a large sedan just launched here in performance guise. With all-wheel drive and a turbocharged 239kW petrol V6, the Insignia VXR starts at $51,990 — $9000 more than the most affordable Commodore SS V8.Spokeswoman Kate Lonsdale said "the next Commodore will absolutely live up to its name" as a value-for-money family car with a performance edge.Holden and Ford have seen their market shares cut in half with the decline in demand for large sedans, with fewer than one in 10 buyers opting for a Holden and Ford's slice plummeting to 7 per cent.

The June figure of 125,850 is 6.4 per cent more than the same month last year and leaves the industry on track to eclipse the annual high point of 1,136,227 sales in 2013.The results, obtained by News Corp Australia ahead of their official release at noon today, show that NSW and Queensland were the states best placed to benefit from end-of-financial year deals, with sales up 12 per cent and 11 per cent respectively.They cancelled out a small reverse in South Australia and plummeting sales in Western Australia, where demand fell by 8 per cent.The June bonanza was fuelled by small-business buyers racing to exploit tax incentives in the budget.Businesses bought 10.5 per cent more vehicles — almost 1000 a week — than in June last year and snapped up almost as many SUVs as traditional light commercials.They also charged into small cars, helping Hyundai emerge with the month's bestseller in its i30, with 5520 sales.It was enough to outshine strong demand for usual small car favourites the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3, although they both enjoyed gains of 16 per cent compared with last June.Luxury brands enjoyed a bumper month in what is already a runaway yearImports overwhelmed locally made models as the industry prepares to shut its Australian assembly lines over the next two years.Ford's Falcon, despite a freshen-up six months ago, continued its slide down shopping lists with just 530 buyers, and Holden's Commodore also went south with sales down 12 per cent.Toyota's Melbourne-made Camry, with 2600 buyers, was the only local vehicle in positive territory but the industry overall now accounts for fewer than one in every 12 vehicles bought.Luxury brands enjoyed a bumper month in what is already a runaway year, with the German trio of Mercedes, BMW and Audi leading the charge.Mercedes's mid-size C-Class is the luxury bestseller, with 890 buyers last month and almost 4860 year-to-date, followed by the Audi A3 and BMW X5.Meanwhile, Porsche is on track for its most successful year down under, fuelled by the clamour for its mid-size Macan SUV, with sales up 71 per cent for the month and more than 60 per cent for the year.

Lamborghini's Huracan shows just how far supercars have come. I suspect very few baby boomers would own up to having a poster of Gary Glitter on their bedroom wall when still in their formative musical years. But if you were a motorhead - lower-case "m" - chances are there was some choice duco up there between the

Philip King road tests and reviews the BMW 2 Series Active Tourer with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Philip King road tests and reviews the Porsche 911 GTS Cabriolet with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

The total of 105,054 registrations was one of the best ever and confirms an upswing in February, following a Reserve Bank interest rate cut.The figures, obtained by News Corp Australia ahead of their official release next Tuesday, show a broad-based rebound among private and business buyers and across all vehicle types.One in every three vehicles registered is now a high-rider.SUVs accounted for the bulk of the additional 7800 sales with demand up 15.3 per cent, led by Mazda's CX-5.One in every three vehicles registered is now a high-rider.However, the Toyota HiLux spearheaded a resurgence in light-commercial demand, with 2000 additional private buyers cancelling out a fall in business purchases. Rather than looking to utes, fleets bought an extra 1400 passenger cars over the same month last year in a rare boost for the traditional format.Toyota's Corolla, which was March best-seller with almost 4300 sales, and the company's locally built Camry, with deliveries up 11 per cent over last year, were two of the main beneficiaries.But Holden and Ford's Australian-made vehicles failed to fire, with the recently refreshed Falcon finding only 700 buyers and Commodore sales slipping 18 per cent.Ford's Melbourne-made Territory SUV also missed out on the sunshine, with sales down 15 per cent, while Holden's Adelaide-built small car, the Cruze, slumped 24 per cent.Most mainstream carmakers had a strong month but luxury brands were among the biggest winnersAs all three Australian makers prepare to halt production over the next two years, fewer than one in 12 vehicles sold is made locally.Most mainstream carmakers had a strong month but luxury brands were among the biggest winners, with Mercedes recording a 30 per cent increase and its second-highest number of registrations ever.The new Mercedes C-Class, which this week was awarded the World Car of the Year accolade during a ceremony in New York, is on a roll and outsold all other mid-size cars at any price except the Camry.Most premium makers outperformed the overall market, with demand for Lexus and BMW both up 14 per cent. Land Rover was up 19 per cent, Audi 22 per cent, Porsche 87 per cent and Maserati tripling its sales compared with March last year.

Last year the vehicle market notched up a record with 1,136,227 sales, busting the previous zenith by about 24,000 and confirming that in Australia, one million-plus is the norm.Figures for November, released last week, show sales have already passed the million mark, and when the final tally emerges in early January the industry will congratulate itself on another bumper year.In reality, it has spent most of 2014 in reverse and it would take a freak December to even approach last year's total.If the trend holds, then the overall decline will be about 2 per cent - equivalent to 500 fewer buyers a week. But it's a mixed picture for the 50 or so brands, with the gap between winners and losers larger than ever.With one or two exceptions, the winners by a substantial margin are luxury brands. Their share of the market now approaches 9 per cent, up from 7.7 per cent last year, and it's reflected in some impressive numbers.The German luxury trio dominates but Australia bucks the trend by favouring Mercedes-Benz ahead of BMW and Audi.With its small car range - the A, B, CLA and GLA - flying out of showrooms, the three-pointed star is stretching its lead over BMW and rubs it in by selling more of its expensive performance variants as well.Its bestseller, the C-Class, has been available for only a few months but will finish the year as the third most popular mid-size car at any price - behind only the Toyota Camry and Mazda6.Audi's ambition is to overtake its German peers and become No 1 here, replicating its position in Europe and China. After slowing in 2012, its growth spurt has resumed and it's catching BMW on the strength of its award-winning A3 small car.Some of the second-tier luxury brands are powering ahead even faster. Thanks to its new-generation Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, demand for the British SUV specialist is up 22 per cent. It will finish as the fourth most popular luxury marque.Ironically, SUV demand is also powering Porsche. It cannot get enough of its second SUV, the Macan, and waiting times are stretching the patience of buyers. Without the Macan, Porsche was on track for a record. With it, sales are up almost 50 per cent. When Maserati adds an SUV, the Levante, in 2016 it can expect to get a comparable boost.Super-large, super-expensive SUVs are what the elite badges lack but they are all working on one. Even so, Maserati's push for volume is yielding results. The new-generation large sedans Ghibli and Quattroporte have almost tripled sales this year.Even among the luxury brands there are losers. Volvo lacks the deep pockets of the Germans and is struggling to keep its product pipeline full. Its dealers will doubtless breathe easier when the overdue replacement for its XC90 SUV arrives in the second quarter next year, with sales down 7 per cent in 2014.Lexus is another that has waited too long for fresh product and its NX mid-size SUV arrives too late to prevent it treading water.Among mainstream brands, losers are much easier to find than winners. Over-optimism and the pressure to grow meant many ended 2013 carrying too much stock, with Nissan the standout - but far from sole - example.The traditional solution to this problem, and one by no means limited to mainstream brands, is for the distributor and/or dealers to register cars themselves.It's a way of meeting sales targets but it simply saves up trouble, not the least of which is an excess of ageing 'demonstrator' models that sooner or later have to actually be sold. When they are, the sales have already been counted.Combine that with an assault on their traditional territory by the luxury brands and everyone from Toyota to Honda, Holden to Ford, has seen their numbers go south.But the biggest losers in 2014? Cheap Chinese brands, with Chery sales down 35 per cent and Great Wall almost 60 per cent.

Tesla buyers will finally get their cars after the first nine examples were handed over at a ceremony in Sydney last night.Some have been waiting two years for the Model S, a battery-powered sedan, after putting down thousands in deposits and being given an original launch date of last year.US spokeswoman Alexis Georgeson said most knew they would need to be patient. "Owners were aware they would be waiting but the product is compelling and they're willing to wait," she said.Ms Georgeson said Australian buyers who ordered a car could expect it in March, in line with delivery times in the US. Local marketing chief Heath Walker said it was now full speed ahead for Tesla in Australia, with the brand's first retail centre opening in Sydney today and plans for a similar operation in Melbourne.He said Tesla would build a network of stations to counter anxiety over battery range, mirroring similar setups in the US and Europe.Superchargers take 20 minutes to deliver a 50 per cent recharge and the goal would be a station every 200km.Walker said the Model S offered an unparalleled blend of technology, performance and zero-emission driving that would draw buyers away from traditional luxury brands.Prices for the Model S vary from state to state because of registration costs, but start at $101,408 in NSW for the 60kWh entry car, which gives a 345km range.