Articles by Stephen Ottley

People hate change. It’s just a fact of life, once we get accustomed to doing things a certain way, we’re happy to keep doing them even if a better alternative emerges.And if you want proof, look no further than the mixed results brands such as Genesis, Tesla and others have had with trying to make the buying experience better by doing away with the conventional new car showroom.But as Hyundai’s luxury brand has discovered, people actually prefer a conventional buying experience rather than the seemingly superior option Genesis is providing.The marque eschewed the traditional dealership model and opted for boutique-style retail spaces in Sydney and Melbourne CBDs which would arrange for a brand representative to bring a car directly to the would-be customer at their convenience. However, the brand has since added ‘Test Drive Centres’ in more conventional locations and recently announced plans to expand dramatically, with new showrooms on the Gold Coast and Sydney as well as introducing ‘agents’ that will be positioned at existing dealerships (most likely Hyundai dealers).Genesis Australia Chief Justin Douglass said the brand has tried multiple methods of reaching customers, but the preference is clearly towards the traditional.“So both sites do have the opportunity to test drive on site,” Douglass explained. “We do Genesis-to-you as well, so if a customer lives in that area and doesn't want to travel, to Parramatta, for example, or in Prahran in Melbourne, then our staff from those studios will take a car to them. So we certainly do sell cars from those sites, but certainly not at the level that we sell through our established showcases.” While Douglass made it clear the inner-city retail ‘studios’ will stay, he acknowledged they have some limitations.“I guess the opportunity for us is, when you look at the way the studios are structured, they're really brand experience centres. So we don't have the capability of showcasing our full range of vehicles at the sites," he said.“But, as I mentioned before, some customers are certainly happy to purchase through that type of environment, that type of experience, but you're right, there's still customers that prefer the traditional method, but we just happen to be conveniently located for those customers as well.”Genesis is by no means alone in this new trend of trying to make buying a car more convenient for buyers in recent years. It has been a period of upheaval in the car industry, with both Mercedes-Benz and Honda moving to the so-called ‘agency model’ that sees all sales handled directly by the brands, with the previous dealerships now only responsible for customer handovers. This has seen both brands endure a sales decline as seemingly both customers and dealers have come to terms with this new way of doing business.But that won’t deter new brands from trying to do things differently, General Motors Australia recently opened its first Cadillac Experience Centre in Sydney, with plans for more as it tries to compete with more established luxury rivals.Those who prefer to drive to a showroom, look at different vehicles, test drive and buy will likely be able to continue to do that for years to come though, as it will take a long time for people to accept such dramatic change.

There’s a reason why McDonald’s sells Big Macs and cheeseburgers and not salads and protein shakes — that’s what people want.The car industry is learning this lesson now, but in a more expensive way with brands that had committed to electric futures forced to backpedal as internal combustion remains the overwhelming choice for consumers.In a recent conference call, Porsche chief financial officer Lutz Meschke explained why the company has completely rethought its future model line-up with plans to have all but the 911 electric by the end of the decade scrapped.Instead, the Cayenne and Panamera will carry on with petrol power for the foreseeable future in the wake of softening demand for the Taycan electric sports sedan and a seemingly disappointing reception for the new electric Macan.“A lot of customers in the premium and luxury segment are looking in the direction of combustion-engined cars, there’s a clear trend,” Meschke said.While plug-in hybrids will continue to be invested in, Meschke made it clear that Porsche will be keeping its options open to adjust to the preferences of the market. He also appeared to indicate that the Taycan and new Macan could be reverse engineered for an internal combustion engine. “As for our electrified line-up, we are very flexible when it comes to our production footprint,” he explained. “We can produce combustion engine, plug-in hybrids and electrified cars in one production line in Leipzig. When it comes to research and development, you’ll see more flexibility in the upcoming years. We will develop new combustion-engined derivatives in order to give the right answer to customer demand.”Porsche is hardly alone in this situation either. Mercedes-Benz has also said it will have what it’s calling ‘tactical flexibility’ with vehicle platforms, creating architectures that can accommodate both ICE and EV powertrains in order to give itself a better chance in these changing times.At the other end of the market, Fiat is re-engineering its 500e to take a hybrid engine as sales of the electric city car have been well below expectations.While EV sales continue to grow in Australia they still make up only a small portion of the market, so car makers operating here will likely remain focused on ICE, hybrid and plug-in hybrid models in order to balance consumer demand and in the incoming New Vehicle Efficiency Standards.

Tesla fans are amongst the most patient and tolerant car buyers in the world. How else do you explain them waiting diligently for 18 years for the brand’s long-touted affordable Model 2 or seven years for the second-generation Roadster.  

The fastest speed limit in Australia at the time of publication is 130km/h, which is only applicable on the long stretches of freeway in the North Territory. There is no national speed limit Australia applies across all states, but 110km/h on freeways, 40km/h in a school zone and 50km/h in any built up area is common across several states.

It’s been a busy period for new utes with all-new models coming our way from Kia, BYD, Foton, JAC and more to join the likes of the Mitsubishi Triton, Isuzu D-Max and Mazda BT-50 in a highly competitive market.

Lotus was once famous for making lightweight sports cars, but since being taken over by Chinese auto giant Geely the British brand is facing a very different future.We drive the new Lotus Eletre S, an electric SUV with a focus on performance and luxury, to see if this reinvented car company can become a serious rival to BMW, Mercedes-Benz and more.

Are Left Hand Drive Cars Legal in Australia?Short answer - yes.Longer answer - it depends on the state and the age of the car as to how you can register and drive them. Most states in Australia allow you to register a left-hand drive vehicle but typically only if it’s conditionally registered (i.e. can only drive limited days per year) and often it has to be considered ‘historic’.For example, in New South Wales a vehicle is considered historic at 25 years, and can be registered either conditionally (on the historic scheme) or for a greater cost it can have a standard registration. The same is true in Queensland but in Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania, but needs to be 30 years old in Western Australia.Queensland also has a specific allowance for foreign defence personnel who are deployed in the state, so they can import their personal cars for use while here. It can be confusing because in Australia we drive on the left-hand side of the road but the steering wheel is on the right-hand side. A vehicle is considered left- or right-hand drive based on where the steering wheel is positioned relative to the centreline - so if it’s in any way towards the left of the centre of the car, it’s considered left-hand drive.According to the latest data we could find, approximately 165 countries drive on the right-hand side of the road and there are 75 countries that drive on the left. The key factor in this equation appears to be the British Empire, with the majority of right-hand drive cars used in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, India, Hong Kong as well as Japan and large parts of Southern Africa and South-East Asia, including Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia. Left-hand drive vehicles are adopted across some of the biggest automotive markets in the world, including North America, the majority of Europe, most of Central and South America and China.If you’re after some left-hand drive vs right-hand drive trivia, there have been several countries that have actually swapped sides.Sweden famously switched sides on September 3, 1967, when at 4:50am all the traffic stopped for 10 minutes and switched to driving on the right-hand side of the road. While in Samoa it happened as recently as 2009, in order for them to more closely align with the rules and vehicles offered in Australia and New Zealand.If you’re now asking, ‘why do some countries drive on the left and some on the right?’ That is up for conjecture, with various claims across the centuries. Some say it was an edict from the Pope, others claim it was because people used to draw their swords with their right-hand and others claim it’s just because the majority of the population is right handed.The reality is there are more mundane reasons. For example, in the USA it was because prior to the invention of the automobile horse-drawn wagon trains were used. As the wagons had nowhere to sit the ‘driver’ would sit on the left-most rear horse, with his whip in his right hand and therefore they wanted other wagons to pass on the left so they could make sure the wheels did tangle. That’s a pretty simple question to answer actually - because we’re part of the British Commonwealth, we never had the opportunity to go left-hand drive in Australia because we simply adopted what our British leadership insisted upon.The more interesting question is why did Great Britain decide to drive on the left-hand side of the road? There are loads of urban legends but the most reliable story dates back to 1669, more than 200 years before the car was invented.Back then horse-drawn carts were the primary form of transport but without any ‘road rules’ it became difficult to manage at times. So in 1669 the London lawmakers required all carts entering London via the famous London Bridge to travel on the left-hand side and all carts leaving had to go on the right-hand side of the bridge.It varies from state-to-state, so consult your local authority to get the right details. In most cases, in order to be registered as a historic vehicle you’ll need to join a car club that will help you get a conditional registration.Obviously, even left-hand drive cars have to be in safe working order, so depending on where it was imported from and its history you may need to fill out extra paperwork.However, in specific instances you may need additional paperwork to prove its roadworthiness and heritage, so check your local registration office for all the details you need.

Ford Australia could be on the verge of a major change, finally reaping the rewards of the Blue Oval’s push for more ‘opinionated’ models like the Mustang, Bronco and Raptor.

Can an unknown, all-new car brand help rescue the sales fortunes of one of the world’s biggest car makers in Australia?

Another week, another new car company joins the Australian market.