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Based on bang-for-buck impact, as well as classic muscle appeal, Shannons Insurance says it has to be the Falcon XY GTHO Phase 3 that ruled at Bathurst in the 1970s and was the world's fastest four-door sedan at the time it was introduced. A silver HO was passed in at the Brisbane Motor Show auction in 2008 at about $750,000."You wouldn't get those prices now as the bubble burst on the Aussie V8 muscle car market over 12 months ago and we haven't seen those numbers back ... yet," says Shannons spokesman Phil Ross.But Dan Bowden, whose Sunshine Coast family museum has one of the greatest collections of Aussie muscle cars, reckons the top prize goes to the Falcon XR GT which he calls "The first of the real Aussie V8s". It won Bathurst in 1967.Bathurst victory seems to be the common thread here. But what about Holdens? Ross says the number two and three cars in the price stakes are both Bathurst-winning Holdens: the 1978/79 A9X hatchback 308 V8 LX SS and the 1968 327 V8 HK Holden Monaro, "or possibly the 1970 HT 350 V8 Monaro"."Shannons Auctions sold a HK 327 Monaro for $220,000 at one of our auctions at the height of the muscle car price wars," he says.Earlier this year an A9X was passed in at a Shannons auction in Melbourne for more than $270,000. "They only made 100 of these so the Holden fans will argue it's the number one Aussie V8 of all time and the most collectable," says Ross.Road cars are one thing, but race cars attract even higher price tags. Bowden's museum has Peter Brock's 1979 A9X in which he won Bathurst by six laps, setting a record on the last lap while waving at the fans.It's insured for over $1m. Bowden says the car recently won an Auto Action poll as the most significant race car in Australia's history and won a Facebook poll among Bowden followers.Despite all that, he says the HK 327 GTS Monaro is "one of the most beautiful and a real contender", winning Bathurst in 1968.Ross says the cars that conquered Bathurst were awarded hero status by the car-buying public. "I don't think this kind of hero status for Aussie V8s will be as big with the later model cars but time may prove me wrong," he says. "I have just noticed there is a bit of a cult following starting with younger guys and the humble XD Falcon at shows."I always thought it looked more like a taxi but after looking at the Dick Johnson `Tru Blu' Falcon Group C race car at Bowden's museum I have changed my mind."Neither Ross nor Bowden mentioned any Chrysler product. "Sadly Chrysler didn't have any good V8s," says Bowden. "The ones with any real sporting pedigree were the six-cylinder versions."In the end they built the V8s in the Charger, the VJ E55 versions, but they were very toned down, marketed against the big luxury Ford Fairmont and LS Monaros, not as a sporting car."Ross says the six-cylinder E49 E49 RT Charger in the popular Vitamin C (orange) six pack "Big Tank" (extra Fuel for Bathurst) fully restored can be worth $170,000-$200.000."I once asked Leo Geogeghan if he thought a Charger could win Bathurst and he said not without a V8," he says. "He couldn't beat the V8 GT Falcons up the mountain. There was a 770 Charger released with a V8 but it never ran at Bathurst. If they had won maybe they would be worth more."Of the current batch of Aussie V8s, Bowden likes the FPV GT. "Amazing engine. The only manufacturer that hand assembles its engine in Australia," he says.Bowden also throws a monkey into the works with the rear-mounted HSV V8 engine in the Alfa Romeo Sprint made by Giocattolo Motori Pty Ltd. The Australian car company built just 15 cars from 1986 to 1989 which were capable of up to 260km/h.OTHERS TO CONSIDER* Falcon XA GTHO Phase IV, the one Ford said they never built, killed by the super car scare and only one road car ever made.* Holden L34 Torana, with Hi-Po option, our only all-Aussie-made engine.* VL HDT Group A Brock Commodore, another homologation special. "The polariser plus pack version just adds to the story," says Bowden.* Falcon XA RPO-83 option GT. A lot of those Phase IV bits went on these special cars.* Falcon XC Cobra, one of the first 30, the Bathurst special versions.

Even at a time when fuel economy is top-of-mind with a growing number of Australian drivers there is plenty of space on the roads for Commodores and Falcons with old-fashioned V8 muscle under the bonnet. They burble menacingly at idle. They are the backbone of V8 Supercar racing.Yet V8s in the 21st century are not what they were in the days when they first conquered Mount Panorama and a GTHO Falcon or a Monaro - or even a Valiant V8 - was a dream machine for a generation of Aussie youngsters.Since 1970 the crude oil price has exploded from $20 a barrel to double that amount during the Iran revolution, over $70 during the first Gulf War, broke through the $100 barrier ahead of the Global Financial Crisis and has now settled at just below $100.In Australia, petrol prices have correspondingly risen from about 8c a litre in 1970 to about 50c in 1984 and almost $1.50 today.Despite all this, and despite one attempt at a death sentence by Ford in the 1980s, the V8 has not been wiped from Australian showrooms. Holden and Ford have continued to produce large cars with a V8 alternative and continue to slog it out at Bathurst.But Australian cars, even the ones that now have American V8s imported for local use, are not the only bent-eight blasters on the road.Germans are prolific builders of V8s and produce some of the most powerful engines in the world thanks to AMG-Mercedes, BMW and Audi. English V8s are built by Aston Martin, Land Rover and Jaguar, while the Americans provide V8s in the Chrysler 300C sold here. Even the Japanese luxury brand Lexus has a V8 in its IS F hero and its luxury saloon LS460, as well as the LandCruiser-cloned LX470.Most V8s are powerful enough breathing ordinary air, but there are many forced-induction models with either turbo or supercharging to liberate even more power. Walkinshaw Performance does the job in Australia for Holden, BMW is going down the turbo V8 road for its latest M cars and Benz had a time with a supercharged AMG V8.But V8s are not just about unrestricted power. The push for greater fuel economy has also reached V8 land and so Chrysler and Holden have V8s with multiple displacement technology which shuts down half the cylinders when the car is just cruising to improve fuel economy. Formula One racing engines now do the same thing when they are idling on a grand prix starting grid.Holden's Active Fuel Management (AFM) was introduced on the V8 Commodore and Caprice in 2008 and the red lion brand is committed to the engine - with future technology updates - despite near-record fuel prices."It is incumbent on us to keep it relevant and continue introducing new technology that delivers on our customers' needs," says Holden's Shayna Welsh.Holden has the biggest stake in V8s with more models than any other company selling in Australia. It has a total of 12 models with V8 engines across four nameplates and four body styles, including Commodore SS, SS V, Calais V, Caprice V and the recently introduced Redline range. V8s account for about one quarter of Commodore sedan sales and almost half of Ute sales."We see it as being more than just the V8 engine - it's about the entire car. It's the whole performance package that appeals to people and we want to continue making cars that people are proud to own," Welsh says."The combination of features and technology, great handling and braking and outstanding value is consistent across our V8 model range."Ford fans are also committed to V8s, according to company spokesperson Sinead McAlary, who says a recent Facebook survey was overwhelmingly positive."We asked whether they worry about petrol prices and they say 'No, it's the sound of the V8 we love and we are prepared to pay the price'," she says.Both Ford and Holden also have performance divisions where the V8 was, and still is, king. Ford's is Ford Performance Vehicles (FPV) and Holden's is Holden Special Vehicles (HSV).HSV marketing manager Tim Jackson says their sales are "on par" with last year."That's despite the fact that last year we had the limited edition GX-P which is an entry level product for us," he says. "We don't have that model in our range at all this year and you would expect numbers to come off, but we've been able to maintain sales volume."All of HSV's range are powered by a naturally aspirated V8 engine (6200cc 317kW-325kW), while the opposition at FPV has gained the kilowatt advantage with forced induction (supercharged 5000cc 315kW-335kW).Jackson says their LS3 V8 has been "validated" by customers."We're not getting guys screaming at us to go turbocharging. The LS3 is an extraordinary unit. It's a light engine with a good power-to-weight figure. There is not a turbo engine that would do it for us at the right development cost. But I wouldn't rule it (turbo) out or rule it in."Jackson says there have been no repercussions from the rise in petrol prices."Our customers don't have other choices in their repertoire," he says. "A small car doesn't suit them and they're not into an SUV. They're of a certain level where the whole cost of running the car is easy for them to absorb."The top-selling HSV is the ClubSport R8, followed by the Maloo R8, then GTS.However, the greatest HSV in history is debatable, Jackson says.HSV engineering boss Joel Stoddart prefers the all-wheel-drive Coupe4 and sales boss Darren Bowler the SV5000."The Coupe4 is special because of its engineering but I like the W427 because it's the fastest," Jackson says.FPV boss Rod Barrett says they are also experiencing strong sales growth. He says they sold about 500 cars in the first quarter, which is up 32 per cent on the previous year. He also says sales of the F6 have slowed since the launch of the supercharged V8 engine variants late last year, as customers "opt for power". Ford no longer offers a V8 with the demise of the XR8 sedan and ute last year."Our middle name is performance so we have all the V8s," Barrett says. "When we were launching this new supercharged car all the V8s came across here."Barrett says their supercharged engine has changed people's minds about "dinosaur V8s"."The turbocharged F6 was a cult hero car in its day and people thought a V8 was a low-tech dinosaur," he says. "But when we produced a high-tech all-alloy five-litre supercharged V8 built in Australia people started to think that V8s aren't all that bad after all. I'm not seeing the demise of the V8 just yet, but for us, the future is hi-tech."The supercharged 5.0Litre V8 335kW FPV GT continues to be FPV's top-selling vehicle followed closely by the supercharged V8 5.0 litre 315kW GS sedan and GS ute.Barrett believes the current GT is the best FPV car yet with its segment-leading power, light weight and improved fuel economy."However, I think our most iconic car was the 2007 BF Mk II 302kW Cobra in white with blue stripes. That car brought back the passion of '78 with the original Cobra. If you have a look at the second-hand prices, they are still holding up very well" he says.

Holden leads with 12 models plus 10 HSVs, all of which are naturally aspirated. Ford was second, before it deleted all its XR8 models and handed the V8 exclusively keys to FPV which has nine supercharged V8s in its Falcons.So it's now - surprisingly - Mercedes-Benz that is runner-up to Holden in the muscle-car stakes, with 12 models, four different V8 capacities and three turbocharged choices.Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesman David McCarthy says the number will increase with the introduction of the E 63 AMG estate with twin turbo later this year."And that's in response to customer demand," he says.McCarthy calculates that V8 sales represent about $200 million a year in AMG and $50 million in other models."A quarter of a billion dollars is a pretty sizeable chunk of our business."He says V8s account for about 10 per cent of sales in most classes, except the super-costly CL 500 which is 20 per cent."That will probably change a little when we release the CL 500 bi-turbo."McCarthy says the future looks good for V8s."The reason for that is that technology is delivering lower emissions and better fuel economy without sacrificing power," he says.The ranks of the supercars are surprisingly not dominated by V8s, but by bigger cylinder capacities. For example, all Lamborghinis are either V10 or V12. The most expensive V8 in Australia is the $526,950 Ferrari 458 Italia with a 419kW 4499cc V8. If you can still find one, the cheapest is the Falcon XR8 ute with a 290kW 5408cc V8 starting at $41,690.The most powerful is the 420kW 6208cc V8 in the Mercedes-Benz SLS ($468,820) which has just 1kW more than the 458 Italia. Least powerful V8 is the 250kW 5.7-litre HEMI in the Chrysler 300C ($46,000), although the SRT version is a healthy 317kW.

And if the predictions are correct, this time the Caliber will have a bit more gunpowder to back up its name. Thanks to the ownership by Fiat, the Chrysler family-owned Dodge Caliber will sit on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta "Wide C" platform and make its appearance at the 2012 Detroit motor show in January. The "Wide C" platform will also provide the underpinnings for the 2013 Alfa SUV and possibly the later Jeep Compass and Patriot. Caliber may get access to the Giulietta's 173kW/340Nm 1.75-lire turbo-petrol engine to create a hot SRT4 version, though most will either retain Chrysler's tired 2.4-litre petrol engine or gradually move into the hi-tech Fiat Group MultiAir engine range.

 ...another dymamic duo graced our television screens — The Green Hornet and Kato. And, just like the caped crusader, the suave Hornet had a very special car with lots of really cool gadgets to deal with the baddies. In fact, the pair actually appeared in a couple of Batman episodes. In a first foray outside the United States, the ultra cool car from The Green Hornet movie is touring Oz to promote its DVD release on June 1. The movie stars Seth Rogen as playboy newspaper publisher Britt Reid/Green Hornet and Chinese singer Jay Chou as Kato his driver and trusty sidekick.  Chou reprises the role in which martial arts legend Bruce Lee made his Hollywood debut.  Together the pair spend their evenings kicking butt as the crime fighting duo. In the TV series, kato drove a jet black 1966 Chrysler Crown Imperial that had been heavily customised one for its screen role. Known as "The Black Beauty" it reportedly cost $US50,000 to build and was the work of Dean Jefferies who authored many Hollywood vehicles including the Batmobile. For the movie the producers had plenty of offers from eager car companies wanting to see their steeds up in lights. But none of the contenders measured up to the cool original, according to star Rogen. So a 65 Imperial Crown was sourced and modified in a bid to convince director Michel Gondry it could still pull off the role. The trouble is the producers needed more than just one car. What followed was a hunt for all the `64-`66 Imperials that the film makers could lay their hands, a search that spanned Canada and the United States — some 29 cars in all. Most were in pretty bad shape and had to be stripped back to the metal to provide the cannon fodder for the many stunt sequences. Many didn't survive the experience. Replacing the original Chrysler V8 was a big block 7.4-litre Chevy ZZ454, along with Race Trans Turbo 400 transmissions, Ford differentials and four-wheel disc brakes. The finished cars were then handed over to the stunt department that added machine guns, missiles and a flamethrower. It's a far cry from the 60s TV series for which just two Beauties were assembled: one for close-ups and the other less detailed model for long shots.  But as was the norm in those days, many of the gadgets actually worked. You could fire rockets from the front and rear, although the first time they tried to do this for the camera, it blew half the front away.   A built-in TV camera could see "four miles" ahead and twin green headlights rotated, emitting a light that could only be seen by the Hornet and Kato. Built into the trunk was the launching mechanism for the Hornet Scanner, but in one episode this was replaced with a mortar. Pop out brooms swept away tell-tale tyre tracks behind each rear wheel. Steel rams in the front and rear locked into clamps which held the car tight as the floor on which it sat revolved to reveal Britt Reid's daily driver. When it was originally delivered, Black Beauty was finished in black lacquer, but unfortunately it didn't show up well on film because the lacquer reflected the light. So the car was repainted in flat black. Both the movie and TV series are based on the 1930s radio drama by George W Trendle. Trendle is reported to have bought the rights for the Hornet from Fran Striker, who was the creator of The Lone Ranger. The TV series ran over a two year period, between 1966 and 1967.  It starred Van Williams as the Hornet and martial arts superstar Bruce Lee as his chaffeur Kato. It was Lee's first major Hollywood role. Trivia buffs will also be interested to learn that Van Williams lives in Ketchum, Idaho, where his next door neighbor is Batman star Adam West.  Though they're getting on in years the two are said to be the best of buddies. You can see The Black Beauty at the Supanova Pop Culture Expo on from June 17 to 19 in Sydney's Olympic Park.  

After a major bailout by the American government, and a new partnership with Fiat of Italy, the US maker has just reported its first black-ink result since 2009. It banked $106 million on its first-quarter operations for 2010, compared with a $180 million loss for the same period in 2010. Chrysler's revenue improved 35 percent through the quarter to $12 billion as its worldwide sales - led by the successful new Chrysler 300C in the USA and the latest Grand Cherokee from Jeep - improved by 18 per cent. The result is praised by anaylsts at Morgan Stanley in the USA, which calls the results "impressive". "Chrysler Group's improved sales and financial performance in the first quarter show that our rejuvenated product lineup is gaining momentum in the marketplace," says Chrysler's chief executive, Sergio Marchionne, who took the top job as part of Fiat's buy-in to the company two years ago.

Chrysler Australia has confirmed the hot-rodded SUV is slated to top off the new Jeep Grand Cherokee fleet in the second quarter of next year. And at a price expected to undercut the $90,000 charged for the outgoing SRT8. The 346kW, 6.4 litre Hemi V8 is claimed to top 240 km/h and jump from 0 to 100km/h in around 4.8 seconds, aided by a stump-pulling 630Nm of torque fed through a permanent four-wheel drive system. As before, the SRT8 wagon is not for rock-climbing or mud-plugging. Just for getting places with a decent amount of pace. Jeep's five-speed auto, with paddle shifts, has been reworked with revised ratios; coil springs and Bilstein dampers have been fitted all round and the Grand Cherokee chassis stiffened by some 25 per cent. There's big Brembo brakes, a lockable rear differential  plus three, driver-selectable suspension modes to best keep the SRT8 at the right sort of attitude for different tasks. Until then the all-new 3.7 litre V6 and 5.7 litre V8 Grand Cherokees are keeping Chrysler Australia busy. "We can't get enough of Grand Cherokee at the moment," says Chrysler Australia's marketing manager Dean Bonthorne. "With that $45,000 starting price for the Laredo, and mixing it with the (Toyota) Kluger and (Ford) Territory, it's an absolute winner." Next wagon to roll in will be a 'bells and whistles' Overland version of the Grand Cherokee, priced under $70,000.

The Lonsdale engine plant might be unrecognisable and Tonsley Park has little signage left, but there's plenty of examples of Chrysler's production history still running hard. The Chrysler Charger legend was born in 1971 and for years was the fastest-accelerating Australian-built car. Tony and Karen Lennell have strong connections to the breed, with family working for the company at the time of the Charger's production. But it wasn't always Chryslers that sat in the Lennell garage - Holdens and later HSVs were under the the roof as well. "I was a Holden man but had family ties to Chrysler here - Karen's dad was an engineer there, they've grown on me over the years so we decided to buy one," he says. The couple - under the pretence of a weekend away in Sydney - found what they were looking for just over a year ago at Australian Musclecar Sales in Sydney. The couple's car is a pretty rare beast - a 1971 three-speed manual VH E37 Charger R/T, powered by the famous 265-cubic inch (about 4.3-litre) in-line "Hemi" six-cylinder engine. When it left the factory in 1971 priced at $3935 new, there was 248 horsepower on offer - 185kW and 415Nm - thanks to triple Weber carburettors. It's one of only 135 R/Ts built and one of just 18 painted in the hot mustard colour - while Mr Lennell was coy about how much he paid for the car, pristine examples have sold for as much as $100,000. "We flew to Sydney for a weekend away, and I happened to just say that we were going to stop off and look at a car - four hours later we owned the car," he says. The E37 has been returned to factory-spec after the long and expensive task of sourcing parts and getting the car to the right automotive people for the serious work. Friday nights have become known as shed night with work continuing into early hours of Saturday morning. "We got to work on researching the original parts and equipment, it needed a three-speed gearbox, Mark at Brighton Service Centre put that in for me - he sourced the gearbox for me." Mr Lennell said the floor, interior trim and the cabin have been returned to how the car was as it left the line at Tonsley Park 40 years ago. "The engine and diff have been given the once-over as well, the 3.23:1 LSD is back in there, it's got new original-spec extractors and the triple carburettors have been put back to rights by West Torrens Dyno Centre," he says. Although registered on historic plates, the E37 isn't a molly-coddled museum piece - the Lennells drove it to Renmark for an award-winning appearance at a recent club event and more recently braved locusts and native fauna to enter the car in the Chrysler on The Murray event at Albury-Wodonga. "We were just at Chrysler On The Murray, where we won the best VH Charger .... we were one of more than 150 Chargers up there for the 40th anniversary," he says. The couple received plenty of "Hey Charger" salutes on the trip to Albury-Wodonga. "Every time we stopped for fuel it took about half an hour to leave as people wanted to have a look at the car, it hardly used any oil and cruised at 100km/h all the way. "We were driving down the Hume with Leo Geoghegan's car next to us, E49s, E38s - they got a group shot of 150 of these cars together, it was fantastic." The job is not done yet as the couple have plans to pull the engine out for another re-build - as well as a taking it back to its original colour - re-painting the engine bay and re-building the front suspension in preparation for next year. "It was a fun drive and we're going to do it again next year - we're going to take it up to Bathurst next year and take it up The Mountain," he says. About the Chrysler Valiant Charger The Chrysler Valiant Charger is an icon of Australian motor vehicle manufacturing and the VH started it all. The company started manufacturing in 1971 and built 17,918 VH Chargers - at one stage accounting for half of the total Valiant production by Chrysler. Overall, around 1300 were R/T models, and of these, but R/T E37 Performance models numbered only 135. The R/T had a 3.23:1 differential (rather than the 2.92 standard in other Chargers), as well as a tachometer, oil pressure gauge, six-inch rims, a front anti-roll bar and a three-speed manual gearbox. At the time the company claimed a stock E37 could complete a quarter-mile sprint in 15.7 seconds, but that number fell if the optional "six-pack" package was added, which put three two-barrel Weber carburettors on the straight-six engine and upped the power to 248hp (a 30hp increase) and 306 foot pounds. The base-model car was priced from $2795 but the R/T was priced $3395 - now these cars can fetch anywhere between $60,000 and $110,000. The R/T high performance pack came about from a desire to go motor racing, adding black stripes, a black radiator grille, driving lights, model-specific steel wheels, a sports instrumentation pack and a two-spoke aluminium steering wheel.

So when a pristine 1956 Cadillac Fleetwood limo was offered for sale by a New South Wales funeral director fallen on hard times Mike was quick to name his price. And for $30,000 scored a big and handsome American machine to park alongside his aquamarine 1966 Ford Mustang convertible and yet-to-be-loved 1967 Mustang coupe. "The bloke bought a PT Cruiser convertible from me a while back because his wife had one she wouldn't let him drive," says Mike. "Six months ago he fell into a bit of strife and tried to sell the Cruiser back. That didn't work out and I asked about this Cadillac he'd told me about. "He reckons he'd spent $87,000 on the Cadillac but how do you research a price on something like this? I offered him $30,000 and he drove it up one day while we were out. We raced back and did the deal." The long-standing Brisbane dealer also bought a black 1972 Cadillac hearse, since onsold, from the Ballina funeral director. But it's the gold-painted and chromed Fleetwood limo that's now taking up some time and space in Mike's shed. Originally black, the Cadillac was brought in from San Francisco where it was owned by a man with an interest in a Reno casino; he was chauffeur-driven the 350 kilometres between the two North American cities. Here it was converted to right-hand drive, rebuilt and resprayed in Cadillac Pale Gold. The 6 litre V8 and three-speed transmission were rebuilt to General Motors' specifications while the eight-seater's internal trim was remanufactured in the USA. Standard Cadillac equipment here - all operational - includes ducted air-conditioning, power windows and front seats, glass divider behind the front seat, power brakes, steering and radio antenna. All that's been added to the original comfort and convenience features is a CD stacker and 600 watt amplifier, tucked tidily away in the boot, plus a cassette radio under the dashboard. Mike allows the Fleetwood 'is a bit of a beast to drive'. "It'd be okay out on the highway, probably cruise pretty well. Around town the brakes are either on or off and she's a bit long," he notes. But with daughter Rachael's wedding approaching in May, someone will be driving the bridesmaids in the Cadillac. The bride? She wants to go in the Mustang convertible. About the Cadillac Fleetwood Cadillacs were the favourite transport of the King, Elvis Presley, who owned a string of them from the 1950s to the 1970s. For these were the Rolls-Royce of the States, favoured by presidents, celebrities and gangsters. Less than 1000 Cadillac Fleetwood Imperials were built in 1956, priced close to $7000. Almost six metres long, the Cadillac weighed in around 2.3 tonne and rode on a 3.8m wheelbase with 15 inch wheels. The V8 produced 285 horsepower with one four-barrel carburettor; 305 horsepower with the option of an extra four-barrel carb. And for 1956 the Cadillac's three-speed Hydra-Matic transmission was claimed to smooth out shifting qualities. Other models in the 1956 line-up included a Fleetwood sedan, DeVille four-door hardtop and Eldorado Seville two-door hardtop.

Ford is posting huge profits and knows where it is going with everything from the Focus to the upcoming Escape and Explorer, and General Motors has trimmed for growth as well as previewing the Barina sedan and a couple of classy American hopefuls in motown on Monday morning.But when Chrysler chief Olivier Francois got up to introduce the all-new 300C he talked openly about a company, and an industry, that is pulling itself up off the ropes to answer the bell for future sales."It's time. Time for Chrysler to come back onto the automotive stage like this," says Francois. "It's time for a car that makes a bold statement without saying a word. It's time for the torch of the most awarded car ever to be passed. And we did this with only one objective - to make it even better."Chrysler says it spent more than $1 billion on the impressive looking new 300C and it's the standout American car at this year's Detroit show. But there is, as always, a lot more to see and understand at the first major show of the year. When Hyundai turns the spotlight on its all-new Veloster and the Curb concept it gets a predictable reaction, but then it also talks reinventing the brand in the USA.Then Kia, which is using a couple of months of extra lead time on all the joint models it shares with Hyundai to do a better job, rolls the adventurous KV7 concept onto its stand.The combined impact is great news for buyers but an awful effort for Japanese carmakers, since Korea is now doing a better job of Japanese-  style vehicles and including the emotion that's missing from contenders from the other country.Honda does its best in Detroit by previewing the all-new Civic concept - it's basically the production car and far more punchy than the underdone CR-Z hybrid - but it could be too little and too late for Japan, since Toyota has nothing new and Nissan is not even at the show.And BYD of China makes a splash as well, although its cars are still early-Korean standard when you get up close.Detroit has plenty of eye candy, from the race-bred Porsche 918 RSR to the plug-in electric SLS in safety vest yellow on the Mercedes-Benz stand and the huge selection of Boss 302 Mustangs on the Ford stand. It seems every carmaker also has some form of plug-in electric car, hybrid or alternative energy vehicle, from the hybrid RSR on down.But the company with the single most impressive exhibit, once you drill down a bit, is Ford. It is using the all-new Focus as the base to show what can be done in a One Ford world where spin-offs from a basic platform satisfy just about every showroom shopper. There is everything from an all-electric Focus battery car to a hybrid, a C-Max mini people mover, the upcoming replacement for the Escape and more."There are 10 different models, top hats, off the one platform. All on the one production line,"  says Ford's CEO, Alan Mulally. "Henry Ford, back in 1925, advertised opening the highways to all mankind. Making it affordable. We're accelerating Henry's original vision."The news in Detroit is more than just concept cars and new showroom contenders. Opel confirms a plan that will put its cars into Australian showrooms from 2012, not as part of the Holden lineup but as a separate brand under its own banner."This is not just an Australian play. It's important for Opel. It's an important brand statement," says Opel chief, Nick Reilly.Ford leaks news that the Falcon could go front or all-wheel drive, with the potential loss of local production. "Don't hold your breath," says global design boss, J Mays.Mercedes-Benz talks for the first time about a huge safety push on its C-Class starter car, Chrysler confirms a 12-month delay on Australian deliveries of its impressive new 300C, and there is endless hopeful banter at General Motors on the future prospects of the Commodore and a born-again export program to the USA.Gover's opinion ...The overall vibe at Detroit 2011 is more positive than recent years, but not nearly as upbeat as the years before the global financial crisis. There are far fewer concept cars and dream machines. The concepts that are presented are, mostly, based on real production cars with some extra bling for the spotlights.What comes through clearly is that the GFC has forced all carmakers to re-think their business.Most have dumped the old 'push' model, where factories ran at capacity and dealers were force-feeding buyers using huge incentives, for a 'pull' program where production is matched to the real demand in showrooms.There are still some exceptions, but GM Holden boss Mike Devereux talks openly about building "one fewer car than customers want" in Australia.It's a policy that worked brilliantly for Enzo Ferrari and one that is being adopted more and more in the post-GFC motoring world.