Motor Trader e-magazine, October 2018

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OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE MOTOR TRADES ASSOCIATION OF QUEENSLAND

MEMBER'S CLASSIC: 1971 ALFA ROMEO 1750 GTV

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Things you should know: ^‘Same day’ includes eCommerce card sales before 5:30pm (AEST) and EFTPOS card sales before 10pm (AEST) and is available for eligible customers with a Commonwealth Bank business transaction account and a linked Commonwealth Bank merchant facility. Offers available to referrals made via MTAQ. MTAQ may receive a fee from Commonwealth Bank for each successful referral. Referral Fees are not payable on referrals from existing relationship managed customers. Applications for finance are subject to the Bank’s normal credit approval. Other fees, charges, terms and conditions may apply. As this advice has been prepared without considering your objectives, financial situation or needs, you should, before acting on the information, consider its appropriateness to your circumstances. Please view our Merchant Agreement, Financial Services Guide and Operator and User Guides at commbank.com.au/ merchantsupport. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL and Australian credit licence 234945.

From the Editor Official Publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland HEAD OFFICE Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113 P.O. Box 4530, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113 Tel: 07 3237 8777 Fax: 07 3844 4488 Toll Free: 1800 177 951 Email: publications@mtaq.com.au Website: www.mtaq.com.au EDITOR Jonathan Nash ART DIRECTOR Marco Ilinic INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS Ted Kowalski Paul Murray

JONATHAN NASH EDITOR

H

POLICY Kellie Dewar, General Manager MTA Queensland ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES Email: publications@mtaq.com.au EDITORIAL Editorial submissions are welcomed but cannot be guaranteed placement. For more information email the Editor at publications@mtaq.com.au SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including GST) Subscribing to the Motor Trader e-magazine is free.

Click here to subscribe MOTOR TRADER PUBLISHING POLICY Motor Trader is the official publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland. The role of Motor Trader is to inform members of current issues and legislation affecting the industry. As such it can be regarded as the business magazine for the Queensland motor industry. The role of Motor Trader is not to be in competition with the technical magazines already on the market. It will advise of new vehicles being released and of the latest technology incorporated into them; it will advise of latest technology affecting members in each of the MTA Queensland Divisions; it will keep members abreast of the latest in motor industry training and industrial affairs; and it will keep members informed of the latest technical aids available through MTA Queensland Member Services, which will assist members in staying ahead of the technological revolution presently being encountered within the motor industry. The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement and the advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities arising from the published material.

MTA QUEENSLAND ABN: 74 028 933 848

20180719

CORPORATE PARTNERS

ELLO AND WELCOME to the October edition of Motor Trader.

Over the past few months, the pace of change and development in technologies that will have a big impact on the automotive industry has been a major focus for us.

Autonomous cars, allelectric cars and battery technology, artificial intelligence . . . all of these and more have featured strongly within our publication as cover stories.

They will continue to be major talking points, of course - technology is the focus of our Innovation News section - but this month, as you may have gathered from our cover, we are going to head back in time just a little and have a bit of fun with our 'Top 10 Favourite Muscle Cars' list.

The catalyst for this is the imminent Australian debut of the Mustang Bullitt, the limited edition Ford muscle car built to pay homage to perhaps the most famous

Mustang of them all, the GT Fastback that Steve McQueen drove in the 1968 movie Bullitt.

There are, of course, dozens of classic muscle cars to choose from and that could have made it onto the list, but we think our choices make for a pretty good group of cars - even if we have shown an outrageous bias to our homegrown steroid chewers!

Turn to page 18 to take a look!

As always, the rest of Motor Trader is jam-packed with news and features and, heading back to news about innovation, we have stories about robot vehicles, the use of virtual reality in automotive development, articial intelligence, emergency vehicle warnings, and even an autonomous motorcycle. We also have an interview with the co-founders of Refueler - a new piece of smart technology that looks to revolutionise the buying and selling of fuel.

That is a truly interesting development and you can read more about it on pages 62-65.

I hope you enjoy this month's Motor Trader, and if you have any news you'd like to share, or have a classic vehicle we could feature on our Member's Classic pages, then please do get in contact with me.

Cheers!

Jonathan Nash, Editor jonathann@mtaq.com.au October 2018 Motor Trader | 1

Contents

18

01 FROM THE EDITOR 04 FROM THE DESK OF THE CEO 08 POLICY/VIEWPOINT 38 AN EYE ON INNOVATION 40 AUTO INNOVATION NEWS 74 AUTO NEWS 101 TRAINING GM'S PROFESSIONAL CIRCLE PERSPECTIVE 104 PLUGGED IN 108 SOCIAL MEDIA LUNCH & LEARN 117 INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS 122 DIFF LAPPING: 50 YEARS 132 MARKET WRAP 2 | Motor Trader October 2018

80

Search for MTA Queensland

126

104 12

62 October 2018 Motor Trader | 3

From the Desk of the CEO

BRETT DALE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MTA QUEENSLAND

A

S A REGISTERED employer’s association, a priority is to ensure that MTA Queensland operates as a business with efficient practices and systems with high standards of accountability and transparency.

Coinciding with the reporting obligations for the Annual General Meeting is the auditing of the financial records by the independent auditor BDO. Chief Financial Officer Kathy Winkcup has the responsibility for the preparation of the financial statements and the operating report. The independent auditor’s opinion was that the financial report fairly presented the Association’s fiscal position.

For the 2017-18 financial year it is pleasing to see a healthy surplus, which will be further supplemented by increased business activity and revenues in the coming year. The independent auditor commended the accounting team on the sound accounting practices and systems evidenced in statements and reports which reflects well on the governance standards that apply across the MTA Queensland business.

Scrutiny of processes, systems and records are not confined to MTA Queensland’s accounts and finances. The

4 | Motor Trader October 2018

MTA Institute’s (MTAI) training regime too will be subjected to appraisal by an Independent Review Panel. As a member of the Australian Council for Private Education and Training (ACPET) we are invited to participate in the Industry Certification Program (the program), a 360⁰ peer review process. Participation in the program means the MTAI will be one of first private training organisations with a quality training accreditation that is recognised for its student-centric educational quality, ethical practices, continuous improvement culture and professional student services that exceeds regulatory outcomes and measures.

CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES The combination of positive finances and approved governance standards and training qualities engenders confidence to undertake activities that will grow the business in the best interests of the membership. This can be illustrated by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University (RMIT) reaching out to MTA Queensland for its contribution as an industry expert and mentor for the launch of the University’s first short course on autonomous vehicles to on-line students.

Interestingly, it was our presence in the social media space, event involvement such as industry keynote addresses, and innovation activities that drew RMIT’s attention to MTA Queensland.

The role of the industry expert would be filming live webinars with industry leaders used in the delivery of the course with the focus on its practical application, including work-ready skills development. The industry mentor will be assigned to 20-30 online students,

“THE COMBINATION OF

POSITIVE FINANCES AND APPROVED GOVERNANCE STANDARDS AND TRAINING QUALITIES ENGENDERS CONFIDENCE TO UNDERTAKE ACTIVITIES THAT WILL GROW THE BUSINESS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE MEMBERSHIP.” supporting their learning via video conference for some six hours a week.

The RMIT and the MTA Queensland have agreed to work together to ensure students have an industry integrated learning experience to help them to develop the skills and capability for the world of work. Our contribution will be industry expertise, insights, brand and credibility as an innovative enterprise in Australia. The agreement will expire in May 2020.

The MTA Queensland’s innovation hub is being recognised by corporate entities and universities for its entrepreneurial approach to start-ups. In the coming days, collaboration will commence with Telstra’s Emerging Technology Strategy personnel and with the University of Queensland’s (UQ) Idea Hub Director Nimrod Klayman. The Idea Hub is a practical, hands-on program that provides aspiring student entrepreneurs, both university and secondary school students, with the skills and knowledge needed to conceive a startup. We were recommended to the Idea Hub by the Queensland Innovation Department’s Executive Director for Innovations Program due to our leadership in automated vehicle and emerging

technologies. The aim is to collaborate with UQ Idea Hub from an industry perspective and to encourage future industry leaders to interact with MTAiQ entrepreneurs.

MEETINGS ACPET invited me to a policy discussion lunch with the Minister for Finance Senator Mathias Cormann. I provided an overview of the issues impacting the motor trades and stressed the need for policy certainty into the future for small and medium businesses. The Federal Opposition’s policy intentions for the sector were being announced, but the government’s policy positions were unclear and needed to be stated.

Later this month, I will attend a policy discussion dinner with the Minister for Small and Family Business, Skills and Vocational Education Michaela Cash. I’m keen to participate in the conversation, particularly on vocational education as it needs solid policy focus to remedy the skills deficit experienced by industry and to engender enthusiasm in the trades amongst the nation’s youth. I will also table the points in the supplementary submission referring to the top ten issues impacting business for the inquiry into impediments to business investment as forwarded to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics. At the dinner I’ll elaborate on these including the need to review unfair dismissal regulations which have been a long-term frustration for members.

It is my practice to attend the Australian Automotive Dealer Association Convention (AADA) where a wide range of issues are on the agenda for discussion. It is an opportunity to engage with a wide cross section of stakeholders involved in the October 2018 Motor Trader | 5

From the desk of the CEO transformations occurring in the sector.

The convention attracts high-calibre speakers including the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development Michael McCormack, and the Shadow Assistant Treasurer Dr Andrew Leigh.

Minister McCormack addressed the infrastructure projects underway whilst Dr Leigh announced that a Labor Government would implement an industry specific code to address the power imbalance between franchised new car dealers and vehicle manufacturers.

AADA welcomed this commitment for the Automotive Code of Conduct which is its policy position. I must tell members, that the AADA’s Chairman Terry Keating at such forums acknowledges the contribution of MTA Queensland in the establishment of that Association.

Members will recall that we made a submission to the Senate Select Committee on Electric Vehicles.

Following the submission, I gave evidence at a hearing in Brisbane on the 27th September. In my opening statement to the Committee, I said that ‘opportunities would arise through electric vehicles and other emerging technologies that will present economic, environmental and social benefits that go beyond what we currently consider possible. These will include alternate power generation source, battery manufacturing, battery recycling, car and parts recycling, car manufacturing and the use of 3D printing in ways only limited by our imagination. If we move quickly, Australia could be a global manufacturing force. This will depend on business and consumers having the confidence in the economy to either invest or purchase.’

6 | Motor Trader October 2018

“THE EXECUTIVE TEAM IS

GOING THROUGH A BUSY PERIOD AND I THANK THEM FOR FINALISING THEIR ANNUAL REPORTS WHICH WILL ASSIST WITH MEETING PRINTING TIMEFRAMES AND HAVING THE INFORMATION AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.” INDUSTRY In last month’s From the Desk of the CEO, I referred to Block2 - technology which is a sharing platform that enables business to create resilience, particularly in modern operating environments. In the coming month, the Block2 technology will present the technology platform to the Executive Committee. I’ll keep the membership appraised of developments.

AND THE LAST THING Over the coming month, I’ll continue to focus on the challenges and opportunities that need attention and to represent the Association at various stakeholder meetings and events. The Executive Team is going through a busy period and I thank them for finalising their annual reports which will assist with meeting printing timeframes and having the information available to members as soon as possible.

On reflection of their reports it would be amiss of me not to acknowledge their significant contributions over the past 12 months which collectively have impacted the positive position of the Association.

Until next month, as Henry Ford, the industrialist and the founder of the Ford motor company said, ‘execute ideas with enthusiasm . . . as it is the bottom of all progress’.

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Policy/Viewpoint ADVOCACY

KELLIE DEWAR DEPUTY GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER MEMBER SERVICES

I

’VE BEEN PREPARING my report for the 9th November Annual General Meeting. This has caused me to think about the core responsibilities detailed in the MTA Queensland’s rules for which I’m accountable. In a nut shell these are neatly summarised as Service and Support for members.

‘Service’ has several meanings and many standards apply to its delivery. Here at the Corporate Office, pride is taken in putting members first, delivering quality advice or product and providing courteous and professional service. That is the standard we aspire to achieve.

Being a consumer myself, I know there are differing service standards.

Generally, my experience is queuing, being ignored, holding the line through interminable renditions of Mozart’s Little Night Music, casual indifference or sometimes enthusiastic and courteous helpfulness! I never complain, but many consumers do so - to the Office of Fair Trading as illustrated by analysis (see below) indicating that motor vehicle sales and motor vehicle repairs are a source for consumer angst.

8 | Motor Trader October 2018

Similar to service, advocacy is a core responsibility and is ongoing. A longestablished advocacy practice is to meet with Office of Fair Trading (OFT) personnel to discuss compliance issues relative to the automotive value chain.

Group Chief Executive Dr Brett Dale and I met with the Deputy Director General and Commissioner for Fair Trading David Ford and senior officers for a comprehensive discussion. We raised matters referred to us by members including: auction house compliance activity in relation to licences; and the cross-border issue of online platforms' ‘drive away prices’ not reflecting differing State on-road costs or in some instances any on road costs at all.

OFT officers overviewed their planned proactive compliance schedule for the coming months which included unlicensed motor dealers and education for new license holders. The comment was made that the MTA Queensland’s 'Dob in a Backyarder' continued to be a source for excellent information. Compliance trends analysis for 2017-18 indicated that 41 per cent of non-compliance in the motor vehicle industry related to administration and bookwork type issues. Complaints about the industry continue the trend similar to that of previous years. Motor vehicle sales and motor vehicle repairs and servicing both continue to be in the ‘top 5’ most complained about industries.

Over the past month I’ve finalised submissions on: Fuel price reporting: Consultation Regulatory Impact Statement to the Queensland Department of Energy and Mines; the Top ten issues impacting business for the inquiry into impediments to business investment to the House of Representatives Standing Committee on

Analysis for 2017-18 indicated that 41 per cent of non-compliance in the motor vehicle industry related to admin and bookwook issues

“OUR CONTRIBUTION

TO THE QUEENSLAND PARLIAMENTARY TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY INQUIRY RELATED TO THE CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES WHICH TECHNOLOGY WILL BRING TO THE TRANSPORT SECTOR IN COMING YEARS.” Economics (the Standing Committee); and the Inquiry into Transport Technology to the Queensland Parliamentary Transport and Public Works Committee.

The fuel price reporting submission was on behalf of our Service Station and Convenience Store Association, providing comments on the Queensland Government’s commitment to a two-year trial of the fuel price reporting scheme to be followed by an evaluation.

The underlying reasonings for the Government’s preparedness to act in relation to fuel price reporting with the intention of assisting Queensland motorists were acknowledged. Our views related to the regulatory compliance regime and the compliance and

enforcement strategies. In particular, we requested that the Association, as the peak automotive organisation in the State representing the majority of the state’s fuel retailers, to be included in the Working Group for the trial period to provide greater balance. At present it comprises two national fuel organisations and one local motoring group.

The ‘top ten issues impacting businesses’ was a supplementary submission and a consequence of Brett’s evidence before the Standing Committee.

With the help of MTA Queensland Board members, who I thank for their responses, an instructive and comprehensive ‘top ten’ was compiled. It includes the compliance obligations, registrations, selling of products permits and licences, insurance cover requirements, legal expenses, labour market regulations, platform inconsistencies between agencies, and the differing agency portals for the lodgment of documents. A consistent issue was impediments associated with unfair dismissal regulations. The MTA Queensland has advocated that small and medium business need flexibility with staffing when an employment relationship is not working. It is our view unfair dismissal requirements should be reviewed.

Our contribution to the Queensland Parliamentary transport technology inquiry related to the challenges and opportunities which technology will bring to the transport sector in coming years.

The submissions are on the website for your perusal. Pending is a response to the Skills for Queensland discussion paper.

The MTA Institute General Manager Paul Kulpa will guide the substance of our contribution to this important subject.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 9

Policy/Viewpoint INDUSTRY NEWS The Australian Tax Office (ATO) will be active on tax avoidance in the black economy following the Senate’s approval of legislation that introduces penalties on persons and businesses using sales suppression software. The 'zapper' software allows businesses to delete a transaction from point of sales systems to fudge earnings data and avoid tax. Persons found creating or distributing the software will face fines of more than $1 million, while those using it could be penalised more than $100,000.

To curtail cash payment opportunities, courier and cleaning companies will be required to report to the ATO payments to contractors. This measure alone is expected to return $132 million into the Commonwealth budget by 2020-21.

Another ATO activity is its new datamatching technology which means Australians leaving cash payments and foreign income off annual tax returns face the potential of being caught. This forms part of effort to recover an annual shortfall of up to $1.4 billion in undeclared income. The ATO will be assisted in this process by new analytic tools to examine masses of government data to identify inconsistencies.

Referring to ATO advices again, the most common mistake by taxpayers is leaving out cash wages such as failing to include income from second jobs, capital gains on cryptocurrency, the sharing economy, the gig economy, and foreignsourced income. More than 112,000 tax

10 | Motor Trader October 2018

“THE 'ZAPPER' SOFTWARE

ALLOWS BUSINESSES TO DELETE A TRANSACTION FROM POINT OF SALES SYSTEMS TO FUDGE EARNINGS DATA AND AVOID TAX. PERSONS FOUND CREATING OR DISTRIBUTING THE SOFTWARE WILL FACE FINES OF MORE THAN $1 MILLION, WHILE THOSE USING IT COULD BE PENALISED MORE THAN $100,000.” returns have been auto-adjusted using compliance systems in July and August, recouping $53 million.

FINALLY Seriously, if you haven’t given thought to attending the prestigious Annual Industry Dinner, now is the time to do so. It’s easy to obtain tickets. Simply go to our website or click on the link below and the details are there.

It is on Saturday 10th November at the new W Brisbane – 81 North Quay and dress is semi-formal. It is the one occasion of the year when we coalesce to enjoy the special common bond of being engaged in the motor trades and to celebrate the achievements of our apprentices and members. I look forward to seeing you there.

Until next month, take care and stay safe.

Small change.

Big future.

Matthew Webster (46) has a long way to go before he hangs up his hat, but he can already picture his retirement.

He plans to travel around Australia in a caravan with his wife - once he convinces her that it will be fun!

increased life expectancy, many of us will spend close to a quarter of our lives as retirees.

Matt has spent his career in the motor trades and is well on his way to make sure he has enough super to see the country in comfort.

For some, the age pension alone or relying solely on your employer’s super contributions may not be enough.

He joined MTAA Super as an apprentice in 1989 and now works in an automotive training role in NSW.

Leeanne Turner, CEO of MTAA Super, says it’s important that workers do what they can to help grow their super throughout their working lives.

“I’m really happy I’ve been with MTAA Super. It’s the industry super fund for my trade and has been supporting careers in the automotive industry for over 25 years.”

“I’m still a long way off retirement, but I do think about what I will do when I stop working and how I will support myself and my family.”

Matt, like many Australians, is not alone in his concern. Thanks to changing work patterns and

“Too many workers are hands-off with their super. Retirement can feel like a lifetime away, so it’s easy to put super on the back burner. But there are a lot of ways you can actively grow your super now.”

She says one of the easiest and most effective ways is to make regular extra contributions.

“Small amounts can go a long way.

Putting as little as an extra $10 per week into your super can add up to thousands over a 30+ year career.”

“This is because of the compounding nature of superannuation. With super, you don’t just grow your employer and voluntary contributions, you also grow the investment returns on these contributions. Every dollar you add to your super account boosts your super’s earning capacity.”

Ms Turner also adds that making extra contributions is easy.

“It’s simple. Just ask your employer to set up a regular (pre-tax) salary sacrifice into your super, or make direct (after-tax) deposits into your super whenever you can afford to put a little aside.”

Give your super a boost!

For ways to give your super a boost while you’re still working visit mtaasuper.com.au /extra-contributions

1300 362 415 mtaasuper.com.au

This article is issued by Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited (ABN 14 008 650 628, AFSL 238 718) of Level 3, 39 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600, Trustee of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited has ownership interests in Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd and Members Equity Bank Limited. The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your specific needs or personal situation. You should assess your financial position and personal objectives before making any decision based on this information. We also recommend that you seek advice from a licensed financial adviser.

The MTAA Super Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), an important document containing all the information you need to make a decision about MTAA Super, can be obtained by calling MTAA Super on 1300 362 415 or visiting mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks. You should consider the PDS in making a decision.

Damien Meneguzzo

MTA|Q&A Damien Meneguzzo, together with Martin Habershon, owns six Bridgestone Select stores across Brisbane. That’s not a bad effort for a 33-year-old who invested in his first store at just 21. Such growth comes through sales and operational success, and the continuous delivery to customers of the very highest standards of service – a combination that recently saw the pair’s Enoggera store recognised as the National Franchise of the Year by Bridgestone. Motor Trader caught up with Damien to talk about his career, running an award-winning business and working with one of the nation’s biggest tyre retailers.

What products and services do you provide?

DM: We obviously do tyre and wheel

alignments but offer full general servicing as well, so at Bridgestone Select we do offer a sort of one stop shop. We don’t, however, get caught up in work such as major engine or diff rebuilds.

12 | Motor Trader October 2018

We also own Ashgrove Auto Care, which is an independent mechanical workshop.

We have some really great mechanics there with years of experience between them and having that shop serves us well as we are able to use their skills across the group and, of course, pick up tyre

“I DIDN’T KNOW TOO MUCH ABOUT BUSINESS, BUT I DIDN’T HAVE TO THINK TWICE ABOUT HOW TO PLEASE CUSTOMERS - WHEN A CUSTOMER CAME IN IT WAS A CASE OF ‘WHEN DO YOU NEED IT BY? NO PROBLEM. . .” sales too as it is not far from our Enoggera Bridgestone Select store.

How did you come to work with Bridgestone and how did you and Martin come to own six stores?

DM: Back in about 1997, Martin had the

franchise at Enoggera. I started working there in about 2000, when I was still at school. I was working there at weekends and during school holidays and wound up doing my light vehicle apprenticeship there.

A few years later, in 2006, the store here at Sumner Park came up for sale.

Bridgestone spoke directly to Martin about it and Martin then spoke to me, and we ended up negotiating to be partners in this store. That’s how our partnership began.

I ran this store, now our head office, from day one and we have grown steadily from there. We opened a Springfield store in 2008 and at that point we rolled the Enoggera store, which Martin still owned separately, into our partnership. We then opened the Springfield Orion store, took over the Albion store from another dealer, and finally opened at Yarrabilba.

You were just 21 when you and Martin went into partnership on your Sumner Park store. How was that experience for someone so young and what has made the business so successful?

MD: I was lucky, I suppose, in that I unconsciously had some good habits.

In particular, I just wanted to meet customers’ expectations. I didn’t know too much about business, but I didn’t have to think twice about how to please customers - when a customer came in it was a case of ‘When do you need it by? No problem, no worries, all good.’

We would see a customer and before we knew it, their neighbour would come in, and then their daughter or son - word of mouth advertising was the best advertising we had. So, we would say yes to the October 2018 Motor Trader | 13

work, get the job done, and make sure the price was right. I wasn’t worrying about whatever anybody else was doing, or what price they were selling tyres for.

I think that a lot of people who go into business probably overthink things. The fundamentals are that we are here to serve the customer. Don’t worry about anything else, it’s all about the customer.

We like to say that the customer is above the CEO – all they have to do is take their money elsewhere or we’re all fired!

In fact, we look for ‘customer’ people, and a lot of the staff we now take on now come from outside the industry. We can teach them about tyres but getting someone who actually knows how to

“I DO MISS BEING IN THE

SHOP THOUGH. I LOVE SERVING CUSTOMERS AND BEING ABLE TO FIX THEIR PROBLEMS, BUT IT IS WHAT IT IS - YOU HAVE TO EVOLVE WITH THE BUSINESS.”

speak to a customer is hard!

As we have grown, I have learned. When we were at four stores, I was doing the accounts payable/receivable, doing the hiring and firing, doing relief managing – and it was difficult to do all that and be at 100 per cent. So, the plan became to get bigger and employ talented, senior people.

And we have been able to do that.

You’re a mechanic by trade. Do you get into the workshop much these days?

DM: No. It’s surprising how many different

things turn up on your desk each day that need to be considered. It was quite strange as we began to grow and had more stores. I would think to myself, ‘What is it that business owners do? When you have multiple stores, what do you do?’, but there is something different every day.

Decisions have to be made, and I manage our sales, the hiring of senior people with Mal, staff structures, strategy and so on.

I do miss being in the shop though. I love serving customers and being able to fix their problems, but it is what it is - you have to evolve with the business.

Why work with Bridgestone as a Bridgestone Select franchisee?

MD: In the future, I

believe you must be tied to a manufacturer.

We’ve seen Hankook acquire Jax and Continental acquire KMART Tyre & Auto, and I think if you must be aligned with a manufacturer, why wouldn’t you want to be aligned with the strongest manufacturer in the world?

Everyone knows Bridgestone, the tyres are fantastic, the range is fantastic, and there are very rarely problems with the product. And the company puts a lot of money into R&D and developing their product. For me, that instils confidence that we are aligned with the right brand. They are also investing in Australia and the team in Adelaide and making sure we have the right

infrastructure when it comes to IT, online marketing, and support of the franchise.

While everyone can complain about something, if you benchmark Bridgestone against everyone else, I think they are the clear leaders.

What tyres are the most popular across the range that you sell?

DM: We have the full range of Bridgestone tyres – the performance Potenza, Dueler 4WD and SUV, Turanza Serenity Plus touring tyre, the Ecopia eco-friendly tyre, the generic Supercat range and the Dayton, which is our entry-level tyre. We also sell Firestone brand tyres. We do have a very broad range - everything from the very high-end performance tyre to budget tyres, and they are all products made by Bridgestone.

The 4WD/SUV market is massive, so the Dueler range is very popular, and you have to make sure that is on the shelf. Our Serenity Plus range, which is exclusive to Bridgestone Select, is a fantastic tyre and popular too – it comes with a 50,000km guarantee, is extremely quiet and wears very well. For those who drive a European prestige vehicle, the Potenza is very

October 2018 Motor Trader | 15

“THE LAST TWO YEARS HAVE

BEEN ABOUT SETTING UP SYSTEMS, PROCEDURES, STRUCTURES, AND GETTING THE RIGHT MANAGERS IN STORES AND SO ON. . . IT LOOKS LIKE THE TIME IS RIGHT TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP.” popular and complements the vehicle.

It is really important that we ask the right questions of our customers when they ask about tyres. It is no different to when you go to the doctor - the doctor asks questions about symptoms and recommends medication based on those answers. So, we will ask the questions about what type of driving they do doing, their budget, if they are looking to sell the car, what tyres they currently have and if they are happy with them. And we ask those so that we can make sure we put the right products in front of them. The calls may take a bit longer, but people do respond well to being asked.

Some customers, a very small percentage, are interested only in the price, of course, and at the end of the day it is their choice - we are not going to force them to buy anything.

How many staff do you have?

DM: We have 35 staff across the group and the mix in every store is slightly different.

16 | Motor Trader October 2018

Generally, we’ll have a manager and a 2IC, a couple of tyre fitters/ aligners, one mechanic and an apprentice. In our bigger store at Orion we have three office staff, three full-time mechanics and three tyre fitters/aligners, bit it is a much bigger store.

Our apprentices train with the MTA Institute and we have an apprentice in every store.

Part of why we do that is because good mechanics are very hard to find, and we need to keep bringing apprentices along and developing them as the next generation of mechanics. Also, being smart in business means managing wages and while, for the first 12 months, you may not get a lot back from an apprentice, during the second, third and fourth year you start to see real value.

What plans do you have for the future of the business?

DM: In a nutshell, we would be looking

at more growth. A couple more stores would be nice to fill in a few gaps between our current stores and to leverage off some growing areas. The last two years have been about setting up systems, procedures, structures, and getting the right managers in stores and so on. Now that we have some really key people in the right positions, it looks like the time is right to take the next step.

What do you do in your spare time, if you have any?

DM: I spend time with my family - my wife Emily and my children, who are aged three and five. You don’t get this time back, so I make the time to spend it with them.

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HE FORD MUSTANG Bullitt will make its Australian debut later this month at the 2018 Motorclassica in Melbourne. A special edition of the Blue Oval’s most famous car, the Bullitt pays homage to the 1968 Mustang GT Fastback driven by Steve McQueen in the Bullitt movie and will be unveiled in time for that film’s 50th anniversary.

700 individually-numbered Bullitt Mustangs are to be available in Australia and it is the most powerful Mustang ever offered in this country, with a 345kW/556Nm 5.0-litre V8 grumbling away under the hood.

It looks fantastic too, with a Fastback body finished in Dark Highland Green, with sweet-looking black 19-inch alloy wheels, Red Brembo brake calipers, chrome window trim and, on the inside, along with some nice modern flourishes, a throwback cue-ball style gear-knob and Bullitt badging.

It’s a damn fine-looking muscle car.

Which got us here at Motor Trader thinking about muscle cars in general.

It’s a term that got its start in the U.S., 18 | Motor Trader October 2018

700 INDIVIDUALLY-NUMBERED BULLITT MUSTANGS ARE TO BE AVAILABLE IN AUSTRALIA AND IT IS THE MOST POWERFUL MUSTANG EVER OFFERED IN THIS COUNTRY . . . and while some may quibble over exactly what constitutes a muscle car (some might contend it should only refer to mid-size, two-door, four-seat, rear-wheel drive cars), it basically boils down to this – it’s a four-seater car, built with an eye on performance and with a whopping great V8 engine up front.

What we think of as classic muscle cars can be traced back to the U.S. in the early 1960s and beauties such as the Chevy Impala SS. The SS stood for ‘Super Sport’ - an option for the full-size family car that included a 6.7-litre V8 and upgraded shocks, wheels, tyres and various other items. Similarly, the GTO package on the Pontiac Tempest in 1964 would see that mid-sized family car be

Ford Mustang Bullitt

available with a 6.4-litre V8, a four-barrel carburettor, dual exhausts . . . you get the picture.

On its release in 1964, the Mustang was available with a 2.8-litre straight six engine and a pair of V8s and, soon after launch, a 4.7-litre HiPo (K code) V8 option. The Mustang lifted the game to a whole new level - it sold like hotcakes - and pretty soon everyone was on the muscle car bandwagon.

It’s no surprise then that the late 1960s and early 1970s was a boom time for V8 enthusiasts and the list of American muscle cars of the period seems endless.

There was the AMC AMX, the Chevy Chevelle SS, the Dodge Challenger, the Oldsmobile 442, the Mercury Cougar, the Plymouth Roadrunner, the Chevy Camaro, the Plymouth ‘Cuda . . . the list goes on and on.

Importantly, the muscle car bug didn’t stay quarantined in the U.S., but slowly infected the rest of the world. While it caught on big time in some places

THE MUSTANG LIFTED THE GAME TO A WHOLE NEW LEVEL - IT SOLD LIKE HOTCAKES - AND PRETTY SOON EVERYONE WAS ON THE MUSCLE CAR BANDWAGON. (here in Australia we caught that plague something fierce) and a little less so in others (Europeans continued to love their pretty little sports cars), there was plenty of muscle car action going on.

So, with the arrival of the Mustang Bullitt giving us the excuse we needed, we’ve put together this list of some of the great classic muscle cars. It’s all subjective, of course, and we are, naturally, hopelessly biased to our homegrown steroid chewers.

In which case you may think there are other cars far more deserving of a spot on the list. That’s cool. You can always drop us a line to let us know what we should have included!

October 2018 Motor Trader | 19

FORD MUSTANG // 1971 MACH 1

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E’RE GOING TO start where we should, with the Ford Mustang.

While there were earlier muscle cars around when it emerged from Ford’s factories in 1964, it is the Mustang that most people will think of when talk turns to the subject of classic muscle cars.

It was a monster seller from launch. Ford was apparently expecting somewhere in the region of 100,000 sales of the car in its first year, but 18 months on more than one million had sold. It has found buyers ever since, has never gone out of production, and is now in its sixth generation.

The best muscle car of all time? Surely the most popular.

While it had a shaky period in the ‘80s and ‘90s - when Ford’s normally excellent designers apparently decided that ‘dull and bland’ was the design direction they should take – on the whole, the Mustang has set the benchmark for

20 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: BOND AND THE MACH 1

potent-looking muscle car awesomeness.

Many people might raise their hands and vote for the 1968 Mustang 390 GT Fastback as the standout version (and the 6.4-litre V8-powered beauty certainly does look and sound great when driven by Steve McQueen in Bullitt), but we are going

to plump for the 1971 Mach 1 as our pick of the galloping Mustang models.

The Mach 1 was the performance-option package of the Mustang, and the second-generation version saw Ford’s designers fully embrace the words ‘muscle car’, Ths is a Mustang . . . honestly!

The Mustang I concept from 19 creating a model that looked 62 was originally designed as a comp etitor to cars such as the Corve as powerful on the outside as tte. it was under the skin.

It was huge, brutal and quick, movie Diamonds Are Forever, in which snorting fire from a range of V8s that when Sean Connery led the Las Vegas PD reached all the way up to a quite on a merry chase around the Vegas Strip ridiculous 7-litre Cobra Jet monster. and, memorably, through an apparently That set-up gave the car some tasty chock-full parking lot. Great stuff. performance figures – a top speed A side note here on the pre-production somewhere in the 180km/h mark, 0-100 history of the Mustang. The very first in a little over six seconds – and with Mustang was a littler two-seater concept engines that size, it’s no wonder the (see above). It may not look much like car had a front-end as long as a the cars that would follow, but it shares football pitch. one important feature with them – the The Mach 1 turned up in numerous galloping Mustang logo was first seen on movies, but our favourite outing this car. for the car was in the Bond

October 2018 Motor Trader | 21

DODGE CHARGER // 1968 440 MAGNUM

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E’LL KEEP GOING with the Mustang and Bullitt movie connection for a moment.

Released in 1968, the film is renowned for its epic car chase in which Steve McQueen does his best to scuff up his beautiful 390 Mustang GT Fastback as he zips around the streets of San Francisco in pursuit of a couple of bad dudes.

McQueen’s Mustang gets all the attention, but it takes two to tango and the Mustang’s dance partner is no slouch.

In fact, the bad guys were barrelling along in the awesome 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440.

To be honest, this Charger HAD to be the bad guys’ choice of transportation. In its Bullitt guise of Midnight Black, its broad body looked menacing and moody, and

22 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: DODGE CHARGER AND BULLITT

with a 440ci (that’s 7.2 litres!) Magnum V8 under the hood, it had epic amounts of grunt and could reach 100km/h in around 6.5 seconds on to a top speed nudging 200km/h. It just looked like the kind of car tough guys with an attitude would drive.

The 1968 Chargers were the second-generation of the car, and it probably saved the model from extinction. The previous incarnation, which shared much of its DNA with the Dodge Coronet, had not sold well with buyers more interested in the Mustang and the recently-introduced Dodge's performance car optio ns in 1968 Chevy Camaro. included the Dart GTS (top) , the Coronet R/T (middle) and the However, more than Charger 96,000 of the secondgen models were sold that “ . . . THE CHARGER HAD TO year – 17,000 of them being R/T versions BE THE BAD GUYS' CHOICE - and its status amongst the muscle car OF TRANSPORTATION . . . IT challengers was assured.

JUST LOOKED LIKE THE KIND And that’s just as well, because it OF CAR TOUGH GUYS WITH would have been sad indeed to have been AN ATTITUDE WOULD DRIVE” deprived of this beast.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 23

HOLDEN MONARO // HT GTS 350

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OLLING OFF THE production line for the first time in 1968, the HK Monaro was available in three models with a top-of-the-range GTS 327 packing a 5.3-litre Chevy V8 under the bonnet.

A challenger to Ford’s Bathurst-winning monster, the GT, the Monaro was a hit as soon as it emerged from the factory, and it didn’t let the Holden fans down – a racing 327 won the Bathurst 500 in 1968 and a couple of months later picked up the Wheels magazine Car of the Year Award.

A facelift came the following year with the HT model and, perhaps, the meatiest of the HTs is the pick of the Monaro bunch.

Packing a 300bhp 5.7-litre V8, and capable of a 200km/h top speed and a 0-100km/h time of about 8 seconds, the HT GTS 350 was the foundation on which the legendary racing outfit, the Holden Dealer Team (HDT), was founded.

At the Hardie-Ferodo 500 at Bathurst that year, a Monaro driven by Colin Bond and Tony Roberts took the win, with another, driven by Peter Brock (making his Mt Panorama debut) and Des West made

24 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: ORIGINAL HOLDEN MONARO COMMERCIAL

the podium in third.

The Monaro went through several model changes and tweaks over the next few years before production came to an end with the HX in 1977.

It would reappear in the late 90s, after Holden tested the waters by presenting a coupe concept at the Sydney Motor Show.

The clamour for the car was great enough that production of the new Monaro began in 2001 before the model was again shelved in 2005.

In pretty much all versions, the Monaro is a great muscle car, and its importance to Australia’s motoring, and motor racing, history is clear.

CHEVY CAMARO // 1969 ZL1

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HEN FORD REVEALED the Mustang in 1964, everyone took notice, not least the other manufacturers who looked to their design teams to come up with something, anything, that could tackle the monsterselling car from the Blue Oval.

Chevrolet didn’t hang about, and had the Camaro ready in 1966. When asked by journalists what the word 'Camaro' meant (it doesn’t mean anything by the way), a GM executive supposedly said, ‘It’s a small, vicious animal that eats Mustangs’.

Available in a bewildering array of options, the Camaro had something for everyone – from the base model with a 3.8-litre, six-cylinder engine to an SS package with a 375hp 6.5-litre V8 to a Z28 performance package with disc brakes, upgraded suspension and other goodies.

It’s tricky to pick just one car from the dozens of Camaro models, but according to a colleague here at Motor Trader, we should plump for the 1969 ZL1.

Only 69 ZL1 units were made and they came fitted with an absolutely monstrous 427ci (7-litre) V8 that produced more than 500hp and had been designed for racing.

The public was able to get their hands on this engine due to the quirks of the Chevy

VIDEO: ORIGINAL CHEVY CAMARO COMMERCIAL

factory ordering system. The company had what was known as a Central Office Production Order (COPO) that allowed vehicles to be specially ordered from the factory. A Chevy dealer by the name of Fred Gibb, keen to get his hands on some true performance machines, received approval for Camaros with a ZL1 engine and the biggest, baddest Camaro was born.

Interesting stuff. Perhaps just as interesting, from an Australian point of view, is that Bob Jane ran a ZL1 in the 1971 and 1972 Australian Touring Car Championship. And in the period when the GTHO Phase III, Charger E49 and Torana GTR XU-1 were also on track, he walked off with the championship title in both years.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 25

FORD FALCON // GTHO PHASE III

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HE BIG KAHUNA of Aussie muscle cars, the limited-production GTHO Phase III was the world's fastest four-door production car when it thundered its way onto the motoring scene in 1971.

A 351ci (5.7 litre) Cleveland V8 provided the grunt, with a bunch of tweaks and improvements giving it extra oomph and reliability. With something like 370bhp on tap, the Phase III could manage a very tidy 225km/h top speed and a 0-100km/h time of 6.5 seconds.

“ . . . THE PHASE III GAVE EVERYONE A SPANKING AT THE 1971 HARDIE-FERODO 500 AT BATHURST, TAKING EVERY PODIUM POSITION” All that added up to a race-winning machine and the Phase III gave everyone a thorough spanking in the 1971 HardieFerodo 500 at Bathurst, taking every podium position.

The road to the Phase III started a few years earlier when

A GTHO Phase III sold this year for more than $1million at Lloyds Auctions

Ford created the special Police Interceptor Pack Falcon in 1967, supplying the boys in blue with a four-door V8 that could outrun the fastest cars – read ‘getaway cars’ – of the time.

Ford took what they had learned and spruced up the interior a touch, resulting in a ‘pursuit special’ that found its way onto the forecourts as the GT. With that move, the era of the Aussie muscle car was born and the GT legend took off, with race-prepared models being the first Aussie-built muscle cars to compete at Bathurst.

The GT would be further refined in 1969 with the introduction of the HO (Handling Option) variant – a model built with an eye for racing – and would reach its peak with the Phase III. Just 300 GTHO Phase III’s were built, and the legend of these old ‘shakers’ continues to grow - as does the amount of money it takes to own one. Just this year, a Phase III once owned by cricket legend Jeff Thomson sold for more than $1million at auction!

CHRYSLER VALIANT CHARGER // R/T E49

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HILE FORD AND Holden were the dominant forces when it came to Australian muscle cars, there was one other contender for the crown, and Chrysler made a valiant (excuse the pun) effort to become top dog with its early ‘70s Charger.

First produced in 1971, the Chrysler Valiant Charger did have V8 engines in its most expensive models, but it was the six-cylinder R/T (Road/Track) model, the E49, that really impressed.

The Wheels magazine Car of the Year in 1971, the Charger was a real beauty, its neat lines and wicked styling making it the best-looking of the Australianproduced muscle machines.

And the E49 backed up its good looks with a 4.3-litre engine that was the most powerful six-cylinder in the world at the time. Just 149 of the E49s were built and

VIDEO: RIGINAL CHRYSLER CHARGER COMMERCIAL

they were good for a 0-100km/h time of a smidge over 6 seconds and a top speed of 215km/h – performance figures that made them a genuine threat on the track.

Though it couldn’t muster a victory at Bathurst, the Charger was successful and during its short on-track career notably took 3rd and 4th spots at the Mountain in 1972.

While not as pricey as its Australian steroid-chewing cousins, the Monaro and GTHO Phase III, an E49 will still set you back a pretty penny - don't expect much change from a cool $250,000.

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HOLDEN TORANA // A9X

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HEN IT WAS introduced in 1967, the Torana was a not very inspired take on the very British Vauxhall Viva. However, in 1969, Holden launched the LC and gave it a 2.6-litre, sixcylinder engine which, in the GTR version, gave the lightweight car considerable get-up-and-go.

It was the LC model that would be the foundation on which the Torana muscle car legend would be founded. Spirited away by the legendary Harry Firth, boss of the Holden Dealer Team, the car that emerged from some nip-and-tuck surgery was the formidable GTR XU-1.

Sporting a 160hp, 3-litre six-cylinder engine, the lightweight GTR XU-1 was quick and nimble, scoring third spot at Bathurst in 1970. With a host of additional tweaks, the LJ XU-1 was placed in the hands of Peter Brock at the 1972 Bathurst

28 | Motor Trader October 2018

race and the rest, as they say, is history.

Brock won that year, and Torana’s were first across the line in ’75, ’76, ’78 and ’79 as well. Those last two victories had Brock at the wheel of perhaps the best Torana – the 5-litre V8-powered A9X SS. The A9X option package included a host of improvements – including a VIDEO: ORIGINAL TORANA COMMERCIAL

suspension upgrade, rear disc brakes and rear-facing bonnet scoop amongst many others – and the brilliance of this particular model was made clear for all to see at the HardieFerodo 1000 at Bathurst in 1979.

The top 8 finishers all drove A9X Toranas, and Peter Brock would win The incredible GTR-X Tornana concept almost made it into pro the race by an incredible duction. six-lap margin and, for good measure, broke the lap record on the final lap. “ THE TOP 8 FINISHERS The last Torana was built in 1980, but ALL DROVE AN A9X TORANA, there is a little bit extra to the story. In AND PETER BROCK WOULD 1970, Holden built a Torana concept, WIN THE RACE BY AN the GTR-X, and it was awesome! A sleek, INCREDIBLE SIX-LAP MARGIN wedge-shaped machine that could have come out of any Italian supercar design AND, FOR GOOD MEASURE, studio, the GTR-X was, apparently, close to BROKE THE LAP RECORD ON going into production.

THE FINAL LAP” It didn't make it . . . what a shame!

October 2018 Motor Trader | 29

JENSEN INTERCEPTOR

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HE AMERICANS AND the Australians were not the only nations to build muscle cars – the Brits had a decent crack at it too, while also continuing to build those elegant twoseater soft-top sports cars that, if old movies are to be believed, were used exclusively to pootle around the sunny French Riviera.

Our first UK stop will be the Jensen Interceptor, an absolute corker of a car and we'll throw a net over all of them rather than pick just one. Produced between 1966 and 1976, it was styled by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring and is a bit of a stunner. With some interesting touches - not least the massive curved rear windscreen - it was what was under the hood that really mattered, and that was all about pure American grunt and growl.

The Interceptor used Chrysler V8s – big ones – including a brutal 7.2 litre. That’s serious muscle, and all Interceptor models had excellent performance with the Interceptor SP powered by the 7.2-litre six-pack engine (the six-pack was a reference to the three twin-barrel Holley carburettors). It had a top speed of about 230km/h and a 0-100km/h time under 7 seconds.

30 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: THE JENSEN INTERCEPTOR IN FAST & FURIOUS

A luxury car, the Interceptor had plenty of options - including electric windows, power steering, disc brakes all round and, in later models, air conditioning. The FF model was the first road-going production car to have four-wheel drive.

While Jensen went kaput in 1976, stuttering efforts to restart the company kept the name alive and the Interceptor has come back into favour as an interesting British/American hybrid.

While we are not massive fans of the Fast and Furious series of films, it can’t be denied that a lot of people go to watch them, so it was nice to see the Interceptor get a guernsey in the sixth movie in that franchise. Highly-modified it might have been, but it was still clearly an Interceptor.

ASTON MARTIN // 1969 DBS V8

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STON MARTIN HAVE always made beautiful cars. The DB5 (that’s the famous James Bond one) and the DB4 are standouts but, for our money, one of the best-looking vehicles to ever be built

by Aston Martin was the DBS, produced from 1967 to 1972.

The early models came with a sixcylinder engine, but in 1969 a 320hp 5.3-litre V8 was made available. The extra power of the V8 gave the DBS some pretty solid performance figures of 0-100km/h in around 6 seconds, and a top speed of 260km/h – making it the fastest fourseater of its day.

The DBS, while still having some grace to it, looked pretty aggressive the long hood, complete with scoop, hinted at the power hiding beneath, and its tapered rear end and general look and feel were clearly inspired by what was happening in the U.S., and with the Fastback Mustang in particular. The package worked brilliantly.

The look endeared it to

VIDEO: ASTON MARTIN DBS V8 IN THE PERSUADERS

producers of TV shows and movies, and the DBS V8 flexed its muscles while being driven by James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (that’s the one starring Australia’s own George Lazenby) and, wearing a mustard-coloured model paint job, by Roger Moore’s character Lord Brett Sinclair in the classic TV show The Persuaders.

Actually, that particular car was a sixcylinder dressed up as a V8 – the DBS was popular enough that although the production company apparently wanted the legit V8, all the production cars had been sold and there wasn’t one spare.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 31

FORD FALCON XC COBRA

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E’LL BE UP front and honest here and say that the XC Cobra is the best Australian muscle car . . . ever. This is purely a personal opinion, of course, but there is a certain something about the XC Cobra that just makes it extra special.

It ticks all the muscle car boxes, of course. It’s jaw-droppingly good-looking - big and aggressive with an absolutely inspired blue and white paint job and, thanks to the 5.8-litre 351 Cleveland V8 or 4.9-litre 302 Cleveland engines with which it came, plenty powerful.

But there’s something about Cobra’s back

32 | Motor Trader October 2018

story that makes it really compelling, for it nearly didn’t exist at all.

In 1977, motor racing legend Allan Moffat, with co-driver Jacky Ickx, won at Bathurst driving a Ford XC. The win was considered one of the most dominant for a manufacturer on the Mountain as Moffat slowly drove his wounded car across the finish line in tandem with the second of his team’s XC Falcons, driven by Colin Bond.

It was this victory, at least in part, that proved critical to the creation of the XC Cobra.

Off the track, the XC model was due to be phased out in 1978, and sales of the

VIDEO: FORD 1 AND 2 AT BATHURST

Hardtop version had been poor enough that Ford was expecting to be left with a surplus of 400 body shells once production had shifted over to the new XD model.

The bodies could have been crushed, but in a decision dipped in genius (and

attributed by some to the input of Edsel Ford II – Henry’s great-grandson and an executive with Ford Australia at the time), the company decided they would create a car inspired by Moffat’s Bathurst win – a car that would be a street-legal beast for the discerning Ford enthusiast.

The XC was the result . . . thank goodness for Edsel!

For some reason, the XC Cobra was not, for many years, a favourite with collectors, and one in decent condition could be grabbed for relative peanuts. It’s a little different now though and you’ll be looking at parting with $150,000 and more to get your hands on one. That's still a good price for what is a true muscle car classic . . . can anyone lend us some money?

October 2018 Motor Trader | 33

MTAQ Racing

MTAQ RACE TEAM CHALLENGES LEADERS WITH UPGRADED EXCEL

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T WAS BACK to Morgan Park Raceway for the MTAQ Racing Team in September, and the fourth round of the Hyundai Excel Series X3 Queensland Championship.

After a seesaw meeting in the last round at the Shannons Nationals - which saw the team work miracles to get a wounded car on track and racing - it was a significantly different Excel that took to the Morgan Park circuit, at least under the skin.

The car had received a new engine and new components since the Nationals hit-out at Queensland Raceway – changes that were partly through the development of custom34 | Motor Trader October 2018

“THE CAR IS VERY DIFFERENT

AFTER ALL THE UPGRADES WE HAVE DONE . . . SO WE HAD TO THINK ON THE RUN AND KEPT ADJUSTING OVER THE COURSE OF THE WEEKEND.” made parts and partly through a technical alliance with Phillips Wilson Racing.

The Philips Wilson Racing team, headed by defending national Excel champion Cameron Wilson and tuner Peter Philips, has a tremendously successful track record and their development program has

already paid spectacular dividends – at the Shannons Nationals the team used the latest evolution of their engine and won.

Collaboration between the two teams is a benefit to both, said MTAQ Racing Team driver David Wood.

“By having us collaborate and use common components is a win-win for everyone,” he said. “We can learn quicker, share resources to help economies of scale, reduce costs and accumulate data for development.

“This is a practice a lot of our opposition have been employing for some time and part of the reason for the insanely rapid rate of development in the Excel category, particularly in Queensland.”

The results of that rapid development was once again clear to see on the track at Morgan Park, where the racing was fast and frenetic and a massive field of 29 competitors included some real heavyweight challengers.

Along with the very tough regulars,

including 2017 Champion Brock Giblin, the starting grid also included two-time national excel champion Cameron Wilson, four-time Track Attack champion and 2018 series leader Brett Parrish, prolific Track Attack race winner Scott Green and 2015 Queensland State Champion Chris Donnelly.

Not surprisingly, with a monster line-up like that, and in a car with a new engine and new tweaks, it was going to be a tough assignment, but after steady improvement across the four-race meeting, and placing fourth in the last race, it could legitimately be called a success for the MTAQ team after some struggles in qualifying.

“The car is very different after all the upgrades we have done, especially to the suspension,” said David. “None of our old settings worked with the ‘new’ car, so we had to think on the run and kept adjusting over the course of the weekend. It was like we had to learn all over again and that did knock around our pace initially.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 35

MTAQ Racing “The engine is very different too and required some fiddling to achieve more of an optimum. We also had a new set of tyres on board, which is usually a slight disadvantage until they wear, so we weren’t as quick as we hoped.”

Saturday’s qualifying session took place in wet conditions after a torrential downpour which, along with the challenges of getting used to an upgraded car, added up to an imperfect start for the team, with an 18th place secured on the grid for Race One. “Since we have been involved in Excel racing, we have never had the chance to run our car in wet conditions and the lack of experience in the wet, compared to our opposition, did show,” said David.

“We learnt a lot in the qualifying session but just didn’t have the front grip to post a quicker time.”

The damp conditions continued in Race One, though the track had started to dry, and the MTAQ team took the gamble of racing on a full dry set-up - a gamble that paid off with a good fast run

36 | Motor Trader October 2018

and a 13th place finish.

Race Two was more of the same, with steady progress through the pack ensuring a 9th place finish to end Saturday’s racing.

That 9th place finish meant a 9th place grid start for Sunday’s Race 3 – a nice position from which to make a play for a top 5 placing. And that was pretty much how things played out, with some skilful driving in a quick and reliable car moving the team through the pack, while also escaping the clutches of a big crash that claimed several contenders.

“Five cars were taken out in that wild clash,” said David. “We were fortunate that, although we were in the middle of that

“THE WEEKEND WAS NOT THE

HOLLYWOOD RESULT WE HAD HOPED FOR, BUT IT WAS VERY PLEASING AS WE WERE ROCK SOLID THE ENTIRE WEEKEND – CALMLY GRINDING AWAY AND GETTING GOOD RESULTS.”

MTAQ RACING TEAM

THANKS

SPONSORS MTAQ RACING FOUNDATION PARTNER

MAJOR PARTNER

MAJOR PARTNER

OFFICIAL TOOL PARTNER

battle pack, we slipped through without a scratch. We did lose a few positions avoiding the mayhem and didn’t get many racing laps in because of a long safety car period, but we still came home 5th.”

A 5th place start for the final race of the weekend ensured a furious fight for podium positions and the tight racing saw David and the MTAQ team finish the meeting with a fine 4th place – just one place shy of the team’s best ever result.

It was a solid ending to a solid weekend, and important in that it was the first time in a while that the Excel ran almost trouble-free. The new components and engine performed flawlessly, and the adjustments made to the car’s set-up over the course of the race meeting made the car a real contender.

“The weekend was not the Hollywood result we had hoped for, but it was very pleasing as we were rock solid the entire weekend – calmly grinding away and getting good results,” said David. “We improved every race, we were faster each time, and made up 14 places over the weekend in the toughest field in statelevel history. That is very pleasing after

the drama-plagued Queensland Raceway round! Weekends like this are about persistence, patience OFFICIAL INSURANCE PARTNER and just sticking to the task – which the team did fantastically well.

SIGNAGE AND DESIGN PARTNER “We did learn a lot about the new set-up of the car and it now OFFICIAL LUBRICANT PARTNER has some tremendous potential. It is a lot more comfortable and OFFICIAL TYRE PARTNER consistent to drive and, importantly, it is reliable. We really ENGINEERING AND INNOVATION PARTNER had reached the peak with our old engine/suspension combination, but now we have the car just as fast, but with a lot more pace to unlock and that is the exciting thing.”

The final round of the X3 Series Championship will take place at Morgan Park Raceway on 17-19 November.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 37

An Eye on Innovation “VITALLY IMPORTANT TO OUR MISSION IS COLLABORATION WITH LIKE-MINDED ORGANISATIONS.”

KATHY WINKCUP CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER GENERAL MANAGER INNOVATION

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’VE SAID IT before and I’ll say it again – the speed of the change and innovation in the automotive industry is staggering.

On the next few pages of Motor Trader’s Innovation News section you'll read about artificial intelligence, battery technology, robot vehicles and even an autonomous motorcycle – amazing stuff and yet these news items represent a fraction of the immense amount of R&D being done across the innovation landscape.

The MTAiQ Innovation Hub is part of that landscape and we continue to help start-ups and entrepreneurs find the opportunities to develop their ideas.

Vitally important to our mission is collaboration and cooperation with likeminded organisations, and this past month has been an exciting one as the MTAiQ team attended some interesting events.

Firstly, the MTAiQ team attended the Deloitte Queensland Gala Dinner in Brisbane, which featured discussions on the future of mobility and was the site for the launch of Deloitte’s Mobility Index for Cities - a review of key aspects of mobility in 18 cities that can assist those involved in developing transportation systems.

The team also attended the Oracle Impact event in Brisbane that focused

38 | Motor Trader October 2018

on Artificial Intelligence, the Internet of Things, and Blockchain, and the idea of which was to look at the practical opportunities that new technologies like these can give businesses.

The Impact event introduced examples of real businesses that had brought innovation ideas to market, and also highlighted business use-cases, and offered guidance on the best place to start innovation in a business.

September also saw the launch of Innov8 Logan, a new innovation hub supported

by Logan City Council and which involves industry, university and Tafe, chamber of commerce, entrepreneurs, and other innovation programs. MTAiQ will be looking to work with Innov8 to provide our clients even more opportunities to advance their own programs and concepts.

SOCIAL MEDIA TRAINING MTAiQ was the location for MTA Queensland’s first Social Media for Automotive Business Lunch and Learn VIDEO: DELOITTE MOBILITY INSIGHTS

The Refueler technology, in the form event in September. Held in conjunction of a smartphone app, is a very exciting with Business Station Inc, Australian development for both fuel retailers and Small Business Advisory Services Digital consumers. It enables consumers to see Solutions and Regional Development the price of petrol in real-time and allows Australia (Southern, Central and them to pre-purchase it online from a Whitsunday), more than 35 business participating service station of their owners and representatives attended choosing when it is at the low end of the the session run by MTA Queensland’s price cycle. They can then collect their fuel Marketing and Communications Manager at any time over the following week.

Lysa Dugandzic.

Clearly, this offers a brilliant, moneyA knowledge and understanding of saving benefit to consumers, but for social media and the various channels that retailers too, there are clear advantages. are available (the most prominent being Because it allows consumers to collect Facebook, Youtube and Instagram) is their fuel at any time over a period of critical to business success.

The ability to generate consumer interest, a week, foot traffic through the service station should be regular, rather than and market and create commercial squeezed into a short period. Loyalty will opportunities through these social be increased as consumers head to media channels, has changed the way the same service station to use CLICK FOR business is conducted. It’s no longer MORE ON THE up their pre-purchased fuel and, enough to have a static website.

NEXT SOCIAL MEDIA perhaps just as importantly, To be successful requires active FOR AUTOMOTIVE the Refueler app can bring even WORKSHOP engagement on social media – the smallest service station creating, sharing and commenting operator into the digital age, on content and interacting with allowing them to advertise and potential customers. promote their business to a very large For busy automotive shops, finding time audience. It’s a win-win scenario. to devote to learning how best to use these channels can be difficult, and the Lunch FINALLY & Learn event was designed to share the As always, I encourage you to get in right information, in a condensed time touch with us with your automotiveperiod, with the smallest of disruption to related concept - it is our job to help you the daily working of a business. develop your idea into something special The success of this first Social Media for and commercially viable.

Automotive Event was fantastic to see, and We’re waiting, ready to go, so take the another will be held on October 18. chance and get in contact with us!

Other technologies will be covered in As organisational consultant Simon further sessions.

Sinek said: “What good is an idea if it remains an idea? Try. Experiment.

REFUELER: THE FUTURE OF Iterate. Fail. Try again. Change the FUEL TRADING world.”

CLICK TO SUBMIT On pages 62-65 of this edition, We look forward to hearing YOUR IDEA we have an article on MTAiQ from you.

TO MTAIQ client Refueler.

Until next month.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 39

Auto innovation news

VOLVO REVEALS STUNNING 360C CONCEPT

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HIS IS VOLVO’S 360c autonomous car concept, revealed in September as part of the company’s vision for the future of travel – autonomous, electric, connected and safe.

The concept is designed to reflect the potential for change in the fundamental structure of how people live,by transforming unproductive or boring travel time into useful and enjoyable minutes or hours on the road.

The concept presents four potential uses of autonomous driving vehicles – a sleeping environment, mobile office, living room and entertainment space ­- representing a travel option, says Volvo, that could rival air, bus and train providers, but with competitive advantages in comfort, convenience and privacy.

40 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: TTHE VOLVO 360C

The company says it anticipates strong customer interest from a range of different industries and offers as an example short­ haul air travel. The company says the 360c sleeping environment enables first­-class private cabin travel door to door, without the inconvenience of airport security, queuing, noisy and cramped airliners.

“The 360c explores what becomes possible when we remove the human

Volvo’s 360c

driver, using new freedoms in design and recapturing time – it’s a glimpse at how autonomous drive technology will change the world as we know it. The possibilities are mind­boggling,” said Mårten Levenstam, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Volvo Cars.

“People becoming less reliant on proximity to cities is just one example of the impact of removing the burden

of unproductive travel time.

The 360c driving office makes it viable for people to live at greater distances from crowded cities and use their time both in a more pleasant and more effective way.

“We regard the 360c as a conversation starter, with more ideas and answers to come as we learn more. Yet we believe fully autonomous drive has the potential to fundamentally change our society in many ways. It will have a profound impact on how people travel, how we design our cities and how we use infrastructure.”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 41

Auto innovation news

BMW MOTORRAD UNVEILS AUTONOMOUS MOTORBIKE

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ERE’S SOMETHING THAT is a little bit eerie to see – a self-driving motorcycle courtesy of BMW. BMW Motorrad presented its first autonomous motorbike at September’s BMW Motorrad Techday 2018 with a BMW R 1200 GS doing the rounds at the company's testing ground in Miramas, southern France.

Developed by graduate engineer Stefan Hans and his team, the vehicle independently drives off, accelerates, circles a winding test track and independently slows down to a stop.

VIDEO: BMW MOTORRAD PRESENTS ITS AUTONOMOUS BMW R 1200 GS MOTORBIKE

BMW Motorrad says that, though a driver for technical innovations in the field of motorcycling, it is not aiming for a completely independent motorbike.

Rather, the underlying technology should serve as a platform for development of future systems and functions to make motorcycling even safer and more comfortable The aim of the prototype is to gather additional knowledge with regards to driving dynamics in order to detect dangerous situations early and support the driver with appropriate safety systems.

42 | Motor Trader October 2018

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Mercedes-Benz EQC

MERCEDES-BENZ CHARGING UP FOR EQC ELECTRIC VEHICLE PRODUCTION

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HIS IS THE EQC, the first MercedesBenz vehicle to be launched under the electric vehicle EQ brand.

Classed as a crossover SUV, the EQC features an 80kWh lithium-ion battery and all-new drive system with compact electric drivetrains at each axle.

The electric drivetrains are configured differently: the front electric motor is optimised for best possible efficiency in the low to medium load range, while the rear one determines dynamism. Together, they generate an output of 300 kW and a maximum torque of 765 Nm. This delivers some pretty impressive performance with acceleration of 0-100km/h of 5.1 seconds and a top speed of 180km/h (governed). Range is equally impressive at more than 450km.

Power consumption and range of electric vehicles depend on the driving style so the EQC supports its driver with five driving programs, each with different

44 | Motor Trader October 2018

characteristics: COMFORT, ECO, MAX RANGE, SPORT and an individually adaptable program. In the more economical driving modes, the haptic accelerator pedal that prompts the driver to conserve power plays an important role. The driver is also able to influence the recuperation level using paddles behind the steering wheel.

The EQC is equipped with a water-cooled

VIDEO: THE ALL-NEW EQC

onboard charger (OBC) with a capacity of 7.4 kW, making it suitable for AC charging at home or at public charging stations.

Charging at a Mercedes-Benz Wallbox is up to three times faster than at a domestic power socket. It is faster still with DC charging.

Depending on the SoC (status of charge), the EQC can be charged with a maximum output of up to 110 kW at an appropriate charging station. In around 40 minutes, the battery can be charged from 10 - 80 percent SoC (provisional data).

The EQC features the MUBX - Mercedes-Benz User Experience - multimedia system, which has numerous EQ specific functions such as the display of range, charge status and energy flow. EQ optimised navigation, driving modes, charging current and departure time can also be controlled and set via MBUX. The ECO Assist system gives the driver support when driving predictively: by prompting the driver when it is appropriate to come off the accelerator - for example because the vehicle is approaching a speed limit - and by functions such as coasting and specific control of recuperation. For this purpose, navigation data, traffic sign recognition and information from the intelligent safety assistants (radar and stereo camera) are linked and processed.

New services and functions of the EQC planned for market launch include Preentry climate control and EQ optimised navigation (that bases its calculation on the fastest route taking into account the shortest charging time).

The latest generation of Mercedes-Benz driving assistance systems are feature in the EQC. These include new functions such as predictive speed adjustment and a lane guidance system that, in a tailback on the motorway, keeps the vehicle off-centre to leave space for the emergency services.

Series production of the EQC will start in 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz plant in Bremen, Germany. D October 2018 Motor Trader | 45

Auto innovation news

HYUNDAI TO DEVELOP HOLOGRAPHIC AR NAVIGATION WITH INVESTMENT IN WAYRAY

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YUNDAI IS INVESTING in Swiss deep-tech start-up WayRay AG to expedite the development of a holographic augmented reality (AR) navigation system for future vehicles, saying it aims to implement the tech into its massproduced vehicles as early as 2020.

WayRay’s holographic AR solutions create an augmented reality experience where virtual objects are integrated into a vehicle’s interior environment. A wide field of view allows for the displaying of more virtual objects. It has no restriction in display size parameters, and can project a display that covers the entire front windshield. The technology can also be integrated with the vehicle’s side windows

46 | Motor Trader October 2018

to provide passengers with infotainment services.

Hyundai says there are limitless possibilities for how this technology can be used in vehicles. Traffic information can be displayed on the road through the windshield, and it can provide improved driving directions based on the car’s speed, including real-time information about pedestrians, roads and warning signs.

In future, if incorporated with autonomous driving technology that is hyperconnected to the road and neighbouring vehicles, the company says the technology will be able to display further information about the surrounding environment for the driver.

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October 2018 Motor Trader | 47

Auto innovation news

ASTON MARTIN REVEALS DETAILS OF THE ALL-ELECTRIC RAPIDE E

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STON MARTIN HAS revealed details of its first all-electric production car - the Rapide E. Limited to 155 units, the Rapide E will be powered by an 800V battery electrical architecture with 65kWh installed capacity using over 5600 lithium ion 18650 format cylindrical cells. These are mounted in a bespoke battery pack where the original 6.0-litre V12, its gearbox and fuel tank were located. This battery system powers two rear mounted electric motors producing a combined target output of just over 610PS (600hp) and 950Nm of torque.

Rapide E’s range target is over 200 miles (321 km) under the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP), while the model is capable of charging at a rate of 185 miles of range per hour using a typical 400V 50kW charger.

However, the car’s 800V high-voltage battery system enables faster charging of Aston Martin Rapide E

48 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: ASTON MARTIN RAPIDE CONCEPT

310 miles of range (500km) per hour, using an 800V outlet delivering 100kW or higher.

Projected top speed for the Rapide E is 155mph, with a sub-4 second 0-100km/h.

The company says the car’s exterior and underbody has been aerodynamically optimised and complemented with newly-designed aerodynamic wheels. The Rapide E will be shod with Pirelli P Zero on bespoke tyres.

Aston Martin says it has been an objective of the project to retain and

enhance the feel, character and delivery of the V12engined Rapide S. To this end, careful attention will be paid to the development and tuning of both the electric powertrain and the chassis, with particular focus applied to software integration.

The rear-wheel drive Rapide E’s twin electric motors will drive through a Limited-Slip Differential combined with revised spring and damper rates.

Aston Martin has worked closely with Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) as its development partner. In addition to WAE, the Rapide E programme includes technical partners including Hyperbat Limited – a new joint venture company between Williams Advanced Engineering and Unipart Manufacturing Group – as the battery manufacturer, Integral Powertrain for the electric motors, Xtrac for the transmission and the H1PERBAT project consortium with grant funding from the Advanced Propulsion Centre.

“Environmental responsibility and sustainability is a global challenge faced by us all,” said Andy Palmer, Aston Martin CEO. “As a career automotive engineer, I’m proud that the car industry is leading the way in finding long-term solutions and reducing harmful emissions.

"As Aston Martin’s CEO, I take particular satisfaction working with Williams Advanced Engineering and our other associated technology partners to bring Rapide E to reality. As our first all-electric production model, Rapide E will fasttrack our knowledge and help us ensure the character and high-performance capabilities of our future EV models and enhance the unique qualities found in all

Aston Martins as we know them today.

Rapide E will also serve as a critical step on our path to re-launching Lagonda as the world’s first zero-emission luxury marque”.

Aston Martin is accepting expressions of interest via its global dealership network, with pricing available on application.

Customer deliveries are set for the fourth quarter of 2019.

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Whether you’re paying your team’s super, or building your own, we have the tools, resources and people to help you make financial decisions that work for you.

To find out how we can support you, call us or visit our website today.

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You should assess your financial position and personal objectives before making any decision based on this information. The MTAA Super Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) can be obtained by calling MTAA Super on 1300 362 415 or visiting mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks.

You should consider the PDS in making a decision.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 49

Auto innovation news

BMW INTRODUCES NEW AI-POWERED PERSONAL ASSISTANT VIDEO: BMW’S INTELLIGENT PERSONAL ASSISTANT

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HE BMW GROUP has announced the introduction of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant -- a new proprietary in-car Artificial Intelligence (AI) assistant.

BMW says the ‘always on-call technology platform’ is an intelligent, digital character that responds to the prompt “Hey BMW” and has the ability to serve the driver in a range of ways from controlling vehicle settings, navigation and entertainment systems to explaining vehicle functions and even conducting a conversation.

The company claims that, in the future, the Intelligent Personal Assistant will be available to driver’s outside their vehicle too, whether it’s at home with the help of a smart speaker or via a smartphone. It will also be compatible with other digital voice assistants, providing a link to other rapidly growing ecosystems.

A link-up with BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud means the personal assistant’s capabilities will be consistently enhanced and grow with the user over time. Regular

50 | Motor Trader October 2018

updates will keep expanding the range of functions and skills available.

The Intelligent Personal Assistant will, says BMW, learn routines and habits so that it can apply them in the appropriate context. It helps the driver, learns their preferences and is familiar with their preferred vehicle settings - for example, seat heating preferences or frequent destinations. Saying “Hey BMW, I’m cold” will prompt the Intelligent Personal Assistant to adjust the temperature inside the car accordingly.

It is able to explain different functions (“How do the Automatic Highbeams work?”), provide current status information (“Is the oil level okay?”) and

FCA US INVESTS $30 MILLION IN AUTONOMOUS DRIVING AND ADVANCED TESTING FACILITY

help answer questions (“What warning messages do I have?”). It can, says BMW, even activate a combination of them. For example, saying “Hey BMW, I feel tired” triggers a 'vitality' program that adjusts the lighting mood, music and temperature, among other things, in order to make the driver feel more awake.

Drivers will even be able to name their Intelligent Personal Assistant to assign even more individual character and personality.

BMW says that ongoing improvement of the technology will enable it to learn more preferences and favourite settings.

The assistant will improve with every command given, question asked, and setting made. Forming the basis for all of this will be the portable, digital customer profile – the BMW ID – which links the car to the customer and their digital world.

The Intelligent Personal Assistant will become available in a basic version in 23 languages and markets in March 2019. In the USA, Germany, UK, Italy, France, Spain, Switzerland, Austria, Brazil, Japan and (beginning in May 2019) China, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant will feature more natural voice control along with further intelligent functions such as Point of Interest Search, Weather and Music. The personal assistant will be offered for models featuring the new BMW iDrive 7.0 and as part of the Live Cockpit Professional.

FCA (FIAT CHRYSLER AUTOMOBILES) in the U.S. has invested more than $US30 million at its Chelsea Proving Grounds in Michigan to further development and testing of autonomous vehicle and advanced safety (ADAS) technologies.

The all-new facility, which begins testing programs in September, features a dedicated autonomous highway-speed track, 35-acre safetyfeature evaluation area and a hightech command centre.

The facility will allow for testing of various levels of autonomy and enables the company to evaluate FCA vehicles using test protocols from third parties, such as the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), U.S. New Car Assessment Program (NCAP) and European New Car Assessment Program (EuroNCAP), plus additional automatic electronic brake test simulations.

The autonomous highway-speed track offers the capability to develop autonomous vehicle systems under a wide range of challenging environments, including obstacles, tunnels, varying road lighting conditions, and interstate-style exit and entrance ramps.

The command centre covers more than 6,500 square feet and houses computer equipment vital to GPS capability and test vehicle communication.

The ADAS facility accommodates testing of advanced iterations of automatic emergency braking and automated parking technologies on a new 35-acre paved test facility.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 51

Auto innovation news

HYUNDAI AND H2 ENERGY TO BRING FUEL CELL ELECTRIC TRUCKS INTO COMMERCIAL OPERATION

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YUNDAI HAS ENTERED into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Swiss hydrogen company H2 Energy (H2E). Beginning in 2019, and over a five-year period, Hyundai Motor and H2 Energy will provide 1,000 heavy-duty fuel cell electric trucks and an adequate supply chain for renewable hydrogen.

The supply of a fleet of fuel cell electric trucks to H2 Energy marks Hyundai Motor’s first expansion into the ecofriendly commercial vehicle sector.

The fuel cell electric truck is being developed according to European regulations. It features a new 190kW hydrogen fuel cell system with two fuel cell systems connected in parallel. It is expected to deliver a single-fuelling travel range of approximately 400km, and in order to secure sufficient range, eight large hydrogen tanks will be installed, utilising areas such as between the cabin and the rigid body.

52 | Motor Trader October 2018

H2 Energy specialises in the production and supply of renewable hydrogen in Switzerland, with business subsidiaries in Germany, Norway and Austria. The company is ‘experienced in the roll out of an optimised hydrogen ecosystem, which focuses on commercial viability for all stakeholders’.

H2 Energy plans to make Hyundai’s fuel cell electric trucks available to its Swiss customers starting with members of the Swiss H2 Association, which includes several refuelling-station operators, retailers and other customers focusing on ecofriendly innovative solutions for logistics and goods distribution.

Hyundai says that fuel cell electric powertrain technology has advantages over battery electric powertrain technology in its applications to larger vehicles such as trucks and buses. The company says fuel cell technology saves space and reduces weight as well as being more cost efficient to apply as the vehicle size increases.

GOVT GRANT FOR EV CHARGING RESEARCH COLLABORATION BETWEEN CSIRO, NISSAN AND DELTA

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ISSAN AUSTRALIA HAS announced that a grant from the Victorian Government has been awarded to its research project on electric vehicle (EV) charging in partnership with the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) and Delta Energy Systems (Australia) Pty Ltd. $210,000 has been approved from the New Energy Jobs Fund (NEJF) towards the 18-month research project.

The joint research project aims to study off-grid EV charging, using solar power and battery backup, and the optimisation of EV charging profiles to reduce grid impact and maximise the use of renewable energy.

“Developing alternative sources of energy is our priority as we pursue innovation in the electric vehicle space”, said Stephen Lester, managing director Nissan Australia.

“While its undeniable that the future is electric, we believe that it is important that the future of electric is also sustainable. That’s part of what defines

intelligent mobility for us.”

The Delta-designed system will undergo tests to confirm its performance in various environmental conditions in the temperature control chamber at the CSIRO Monash facility.

After these initial tests are successful, researchers will deploy the system at Nissan Australia’s Melbourne facility.

Here the system will undergo extensive field trials with a fleet of the new Nissan LEAF which awaits release in Australia.

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Things you should know: Qualifying equipment includes cars with low CO2 and trucks or buses powered by an electric, hybrid, natural gas or regenerative drive/engine subject to our approval. Consider if this product is right for you. MTA Queensland may receive a referral fee from Commonwealth Bank of Australia for each successful referral (excludes existing customers). Fees, charges, terms and conditions apply. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124 AFSL and Australian credit licence 234945.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 53

Auto innovation news

VW AND MICROSOFT PARTNER ON DIGITAL TECH

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OLKSWAGEN AND MICROSOFT will collaborate to develop the ‘Volkswagen Automotive Cloud’ for all future Volkswagen digital services and mobility offerings.

VW says it is taking a decisive step in its digital transformation into a mobility provider with a fully connected vehicle fleet and the digital ecosystem “Volkswagen We”.

From 2020 onwards, more than 5 million new Volkswagen-brand vehicles per year will be fully connected and will be part of the Internet of Things (IoT) in the cloud.

In the future, all in-car services for vehicles of the core VW brand, as well as the Group-wide cloud-based platform (known as One Digital Platform, ODP), will be built on Microsoft’s Azure cloud platform and services as well as Azure IoT Edge.

By building the Volkswagen Automotive

54 | Motor Trader October 2018

Cloud, Volkswagen says it will be able to provide new services and solutions such as in-car consumer experiences, telematics, and securely connect data between the car and the cloud.

In the long term, VW says the solutions developed through the strategic partnership will be rolled out to other VW Group brands and the company's cars will become mobile ‘internet of things’ hubs linked by Microsoft Azure.

“The strategic partnership with Microsoft will turbocharge our digital transformation,” said Dr. Herbert Diess, CEO of Volkswagen AG. “Volkswagen, as one of the world’s largest automakers, and Microsoft, with its unique technological expertise, are outstandingly well-matched. Together, we will play a key role in shaping the future of auto-mobility.”

RENAULT LAUNCHING ADVANCED BATTERY STORAGE USING EV BATTERIES GROUPE RENAULT HAS announced the launch of Advanced Battery Storage, a stationary storage system for energy developed exclusively from EV batteries.

It will have a storage capacity of at least 60 MWh, making it the biggest system of its kind ever built in Europe. The first facilities will be developed in early 2019 on three sites in France and Germany. The storage capacity will then be gradually expanded over time to contain the energy of 2,000 EV batteries. The company says that at this phase, the system will have reached - or more likely, exceed - the 60 MWh, equivalent to the daily consumption of a city of 5,000 households.

The purpose of this system, Renault says, is to manage the difference between electricity consumption and production

at a given time, in order to increase the proportion of renewable sources in the energy mix. This means maintaining the balance between offer and demand on the electricity grid by integrating different energy sources with fluctuating production capacities. By helping to maintain the balance of the grid, the stationary storage system will boost the economic attractiveness of low-carbon energies.

This stationary storage system is built using EV batteries compiled in containers. The system uses second-life batteries, as well as new batteries stored for future use in standard replacement during after-sales operations.

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2. You must record and submit to the Department of Environment and Science specific information relating to each instance of tyre transportation. There are a number of different options available for completing this waste tracking information.

For more information relating to waste tyre transportation in Queensland, including details about waste tracking, please contact the Department of Environment and Science on 1300 130 372 (option 4) or visit the department’s Management of Regulated Waste web page.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 55

Jaguar I-PACE

JAG CHARGES THROUGH CHANNEL TUNNEL FOR CROSS-CONTINENT I-PACE DRIVE VIDEO: JAGUAR I-PACE | LONDON TO BRUSSELS ON A SINGLE CHARGE

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HE JAGUAR I-PACE has demonstrated its real-world usability by driving 369km from London to Brussels on a single charge.

The all-electric performance SUV began its intercity trip on London’s South Bank, with its 90kWh battery fully charged, before heading south to the Channel Tunnel terminal. However, unlike the 80 million vehicles that have made the crossing by train since the Channel Tunnel opened, the I-PACE travelled the 50km through the world’s longest undersea

tunnel using its own power.

After emerging into the French sunshine from the service tunnel which runs between the two rail tunnels, the Jag arrived in central Brussels with eight per

cent battery charge still in reserve.

“We know customers won’t compromise on everyday usability, so we engineered our electric performance SUV to deliver outstanding real-world range. By driving the 369km from London to Brussels on a single charge – and arriving with plenty of range left – we’ve demonstrated how comfortably it deals with long-distance journeys,” said Stephen Boulter, Vehicle Integration Manager, Jaguar I-PACE. As part of the challenge, the I-PACE travelled motorways and negotiated rushhour traffic in the summer heat to reach the Belgian capital.

The I-PACE is packed with technologies to optimise energy efficiency.

Before starting a journey, preconditioning can automatically heat or cool the battery to reach its ideal operating temperature and set the cabin to the desired temperature.

The navigation system takes account of route topography and driving style to calculate range on any given journey and can plot the most energy-efficient route available. It will also alert the driver if the programmed destination cannot be reached and will help to find charging stations within range – using a 100kW DC rapid charger can add

up to 100km of extra range in just 15 minutes.

The I-PACE’s 90kWh Lithium-ion battery offers performance figures of 0-60mph in 4.5 seconds alongside the practicality of a 470km range and 0-80 per cent charging time of 40 minutes (100kW DC). Home charging with an AC wall box (7kW) will achieve the same state of charge in just over ten hours.

The instrument cluster can show how much energy certain systems, such as climate control, are using, and how much range could be gained by switching them off. If equipped with four-zone climate control, the Smart Climate feature uses the restraint system’s sensors to determine how many people are in the vehicle and only heat or cool the area around each of them.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 57

Auto innovation news

BMW GROUP AND SWISS RE DEVELOP NEW AUTOMOTIVE INSURANCE CONCEPT

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HE BMW GROUP and Swiss Re, one of the world’s largest reinsurance companies, are working together to develop a vehicle-specific insurance rating that can be used to calculate car insurance premiums. The company says that the assessment system takes integration of safety-relevant driver assistance systems into account.

BMW says that as autonomous driving becomes ever closer to reality, more and more safety-relevant driver assistance systems are finding their way into BMW Group vehicles. In some cases, these actively intervene in vehicle control and increase vehicle safety. However, safetyrelevant driver assistance systems are currently only considered to a limited extent in calculating insurance premiums.

Auto insurance ratings are generally based on criteria such as the driver’s age or a vehicle’s horsepower. This will now open up new possibilities for customers and primary insurers.

BMW and Swiss Re have developed an algorithm that is capable of representing the complex effects of driver assistance systems on the safety of BMW vehicles as a score. This score facilitates calculation of an individual 58 | Motor Trader October 2018

vehicle-specific insurance premium.

“At the BMW Group, we are always focused on the customer. For this reason, we have developed a solution, together with Swiss Re, that will enable primary insurers to calculate premiums based on an individual assessment of a vehicle’s technical features,” said Thomas Wittig, head of BMW Group Financial Services.

“Our customers will benefit twice: from the added safety and convenience of intelligent assistance systems and from a possible reduction in their insurance payments.”

“The automotive landscape is changing and we at Swiss Re want to drive innovation in the motor insurance sector.

We are delighted that the BMW Group has chosen to be our partner,” added Moses Ojeisekhoba, Chief Executive Officer Reinsurance, Swiss Re. “To continually assess all individual OEM's safety features and their effect on accident frequencies and severities is difficult and burdensome for insurers. By combining our strengths, we have jointly developed the ADAS Risk Score, which will assist in the risk assessment of increasingly automated vehicles and help our clients develop their product suite."

PROTOTYPE TECH TO WARN DRIVERS OF EMERGENCY VEHICLES

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ORD IN EUROPE, together with Vodafone, is testing connected vehicle technology that could alert drivers to an accident ahead moments after it has happened. Furthermore, the system can provide early warning that emergency vehicles are approaching – and which side of the road they should move towards to avoid being an obstruction The system is designed to create an “emergency corridor” along which fire engines, ambulances and police vehicles can reach their destinations more quickly; and is being trialled as part of a €15 million ($AU24.3million) project for the practical testing of new connected car technologies and automated driving.

Already, in the event of an accident, “eCall” functionality, which is available on the all-new Focus, can automatically call emergency services, and enables occupants to do so manually by pushing an SOS button inside the car.

Anticipating a future where all vehicles communicate with each other via mobile phone networks and embedded modems, Ford and Vodafone are now exploring how “eCall Plus” might also inform other drivers that there is an accident ahead, across a range of up to 500 metres. Attending VIDEO: CLEARING WAY FOR EMERGENCY VEHICLES COULD BE A LIFESAVER

emergency vehicles would also issue the warning, using in-car displays to show the correct “emergency corridor” formation.

“Connected and automated driving are key technologies of the future. Ford has a long history of developing and testing vehicle to traffic infrastructure and vehicle to vehicle communications that can contribute to greater road safety and efficiency across the world. Together with Vodafone and in cooperation with the other companies involved, we will gain decisive insights on the Düsseldorf testing grounds to further advance the networking of vehicles,” said Gunnar Herrmann, CEO, Ford of Germany.

Ford says the new technology complements Emergency Vehicle Warning technology that it is also testing. This sends a signal from the ambulance, fire engine or police car directly to nearby drivers, so that they will know the exact location of the vehicle and how far away it is.

“The digital revolution is bringing new forms of mobility which may help save lives on our roads,” said Hannes Ametsreiter, CEO, Vodafone Germany. “When cars communicate with each other, our rescue teams get a clear path forwards, so they can provide the right help at the right time, in situations when every second counts.”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 59

Auto innovation news

Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY

JAGUAR REVEALS CALENDAR OF I-PACE ETROPHY RACE SERIES

J

AGUAR RACING HAS unveiled the full race calendar for the inaugural Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Championship. Up to 20 identical Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY race cars will line up on the grid on Saturday 15 December in Ad Diriyah, Saudi Arabia, for the first round of the new global electric production car racing series.

The Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY race will take place before the main ABB FIA Formula E race on the same city circuits, throughout the 2018-19 season and beyond.

Teams will soon travel to the Silverstone circuit in the UK to take delivery of their Jaguar eTROPHY race cars and take part in the first of the official pre-season tests.

“Seeing Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY racecars line up on the grid in December will be a proud and historic moment for 60 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: JAGUAR RACING | INTRODUCING THE I-PACE ETROPHY

“SEEING JAGUAR I-PACE

ETROPHY RACECARS LINE UP ON THE GRID IN DECEMBER WILL BE A PROUD AND HISTORIC MOMENT FOR JAGUAR, AND SPECTATORS CAN EXPECT PLENTY OF ACTION FROM THE RACES.”

Jaguar, and spectators can expect plenty of action from the races,” said Marion Barnaby, Championship Manager, Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY. “As we travel to some of the world’s most exciting cities we’ll be bringing a new kind of electric street racing to the public and inspiring the next generation of electric vehicle owners.”

The Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY race will be

25 minutes plus one lap.

This will follow practice and qualifying sessions in the build up to each race.

Jaguar plan for each race to feature a VIP entrant, with famous faces from the world of motorsport and beyond set to take part.

CLICK TO VISIT JAGUAR’S ETROPHY WEBSITE

The full race calendar is as follows, subject to approval by the FIA World Motorsport Council and track homologation:

October 2018 Motor Trader | 61

Auto innovation news

AUSTRALIAN FUEL TRADING APP A GAME CHANGER FOR RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS

I

F THERE IS one thing that can cause a furrowed brow and mutterings of exasperation in the driving public, it is the price of fuel – or rather the fluctuating price of fuel at the bowser. Up and down it goes, day to day, week to week, and the difference in those prices can, should the consumer make tank-filling trips at the ‘wrong’ time on the ‘wrong’ days, add up to some serious coin.

It was this scenario that prompted the creation of a new piece of technology that may well change the way fuel is bought and sold, and provide outcomes that will make not only the frustrated motorist smile, but get the service station owner beaming too.

Called Refueler, this tech comes in the form of a smartphone app that enables the consumer to see the price of fuel in real-time and pre-purchase it online from a participating service station of their choosing when it is at the low end of the price cycle. They can then collect their fuel at any time over the following seven days.

It’s an incredibly simple idea – one that can prompt the thought ‘Why didn’t I think of that?’ – and is a classic example of what David Ogilvy, the advertising guru of the last century, once said: “Big ideas are usually simple ideas”.

The features of the Refueler app do not stop at the ability to pre-purchase fuel at the best price. Litres of fuel, known in the

62 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: REFUELER APP DEMO

app vernacular as ‘droplets’, can be shared with others - a useful feature not only for parents who want to ensure ‘petrol money’ given to their socialising youngsters is actually being spent on fuel, but also for Refueler co-founders, Daniel Devine and Luigi Antonuccio

fleet managers who can pre-purchase fuel and not have to rely on staff using fuel cards at any time of the price cycle.

There is a Refueler reward system too, in which points, known as ‘fumes’, can be accumulated when purchases are made at participating stores, and which can be redeemed for fuel at a later date, potentially allowing the consumer, once enough 'fumes' are amassed, to receive a free tank of petrol.

It’s all very clever stuff.

Two of the company’s co-founders, Luigi Antonuccio and Daniel Devine, are the men to whom the Refueler idea first came and who, along with other co-founders Jitender Soodan and Sabby Soodan, have developed it into an application

that is currently being used and tested at a site in Melbourne, and which already has a major independent service station group committed to participating.

And while the benefits of Refueler to the consumer are clear, it is equally beneficial to the retailer. For now, the Refueler team are focusing on the benefits it can bring to those retailers that are not part of a major chain.

“We are focusing at the moment on the independents,” said Luigi.

“They are the ones that cannot offer discounts and are often selling fuel at a loss just to get foot traffic. Refueler can give them that foot traffic even during the high end of the price cycle because, CLICK TO with consumers having preVISIT THE purchased their fuel at the lower REFUELER WEBSITE price, they’ll come in throughout the week to fill up.”

“And Refueler increases loyalty too,” added Daniel. “For example, if a consumer has 85 ‘droplets’ but uses only 79 when they fill up, they will return to that same service station because that is where those extra droplets can be used.

“It’s an app that allows independents to sell their fuel online, gives them a reach to consumers that they’ve never been able to do before, and enables them to run promotions and advertising to those consumers. Basically, we are able to bring independents into the digital marketplace, and it will be a game changer.

“We are not ignoring the bigger service station providers, of course, but we feel October 2018 Motor Trader | 63

Auto innovation news that right now, the bigger advantage is there for the independents.”

Established in November last year, Refueler has come a long way in a short time. Already with 14 employees and growing quickly, it’s a testament to the entrepreneurial attitude of its founders.

Still in their 30s, Luigi and Daniel moved from working in the automotive industry as an apprentice panel beater and salesperson respectively to creating their own sandblasting contracting business, and then on to establishing the successful RapidBlast company to manufacture and market their own sandblasters.

While moving from sandblasters to the digital app business might not seem the most obvious of steps, the pair have a shared interest in technology and entrepreneurship that enabled them not only to conceive the Refueler concept but to have the confidence to make the idea a reality.

And that is what brought them to Queensland and into contact with the MTAiQ Innovation Hub. In Brisbane for a conference on blockchain technology, the pair were amazed at the level of interest and support available to those in the startup and technology space and were soon in conversation with MTAiQ. “We came up here in August and really had no idea how tech-friendly Brisbane was, or how 64 | Motor Trader October 2018

“REFUELER IS A GREAT

FIT FOR MTAiQ BECAUSE THEY OFFER A BENEFIT TO EVERYBODY – RETAILERS AND CONSUMERS – BUT WILL BE PARTICULARLY BENEFICIAL TO SMALLER, INDEPENDENT OPERATORS WHO MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF MTA QUEENSLAND’S SERVICE STATION MEMBERS.” much support there was for start-ups and in promoting tech” said Luigi. “MTAiQ welcomed us with open arms and have helped us a great deal.”

Part of the MTAiQ Innovation Hub’s brief is to support automotiverelated start-ups and Refueler fit the bill perfectly.

“Refueler is a great fit for MTAiQ because they offer a benefit to everybody – retailers and consumers – but will be particularly beneficial to smaller, independent operators who make up the majority of MTA Queensland’s service station members,” said Nathan Luu Nguyen, MTAiQ Community Manager.

“MTAiQ is about bringing the latest in technology and advancements in automotive to MTA Queensland members and helping them to integrate and be

educated about what’s coming. Refueler is a fine example of that through their use of tech such as blockchain.”

Refueler is, of course, an innovative use of technology anyway, but its use of blockchain to make its digital transactions rock-solid secure is a feature that puts it amongst the most cutting edge of apps.

Blockchain, originally created for use with the cryptocurrency known as Bitcoin, is a cryptographically-secure and essentially tamperproof system used for digital services that ensures transactions are foolproof. In terms of the digital pre-purchasing of fuel, it means that, for example, no one can hack the system and claim fuel they haven’t purchased.

As with all systems - and indeed businesses - research, evolution and development never stops, and there are already plans afoot to make Refueler even more technologically advanced and intuitive to its users’ needs.

“In the future, we’ll be bringing in Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Refueler as

“IN THE FUTURE, WE’LL BE

BRINGING IN ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) TO REFUELER AS WELL AS OBD INTEGRATION. . . YOU’LL KNOW WHEN YOU ROCK UP AT THE SERVO THAT YOU’LL BE BUYING AT ABSOLUTELY THE BEST PRICE EVERY TIME”

well as OBD integration,” said Luigi. “The AI will involve predicting the future pricing of oil and allow the app to automatically buy fuel for you.”

“As a consumer, you’ll be able set a weekly budget and you won’t even have to think about it,” added Daniel. “You’ll know when you rock up at the servo that you’ll be buying at absolutely the best price every time.

“We will also be able to connect to a vehicle’s OBD system which will allow Refueler to track every bit of fuel that you use and buy it as you need it.”

While those features will be added in due course, Refueler will roll out in its current form at the end of the year. And with live testing ongoing, the 43-station NUV Petroleum Group signed up and ready to go, and talks underway with a ‘national brand’, Refueler is already proving itself a winner.

And thanks to MTAiQ’s relationship with Refueler, MTA Queensland members can take advantage of an outstanding members-only offer.

“It won’t cost a cent for MTA Queensland members to come on board with Refueler,” said Luigi. “There will be no licence fee, we will install the system for free and, for a limited time, we are also offering no merchant fees on transactions. That will add up to a massive saving.”

It’s a tasty offer indeed, but even without it signing up with Refueler looks to be a no-brainer.

The game is changing.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 65

Auto innovation news

VW TO USE VIRTUAL TEST DRIVES TO MAKE NEW ASSISTANCE SYSTEMS PRODUCTION-READY

V

OLKSWAGEN INTENDS TO two main benefits with virtual validation. make new driver assistance Firstly, assistance systems can be trained systems production-ready even continuously over days and weeks in any scenario. This approach accelerates the faster using virtual validation. The next learning speed of the systems. generation of assistance systems will then The company also expects to be able learn from virtually generated driving and to develop a rapidly growing number of traffic situations. The company expects systems and networked vehicle functions this approach to make development to production maturity. To date, assistance processes even faster. In the long term, systems have been tested using a it says, it is conceivable that millions of hardware-based approach by connecting test kilometres required for validating components to test rigs via data interfaces. automated driving could be completed in virtual environments. Experts from VW are already testing software developed in-house “WE ARE BUILDING ON to simulate driving in traffic. This software OUR STRONG GLOBAL is to be used to teach assistance systems for DEVELOPMENT TEAM the forthcoming I.D. model family.

AND GRASPING ALL THE “We are continually developing OPPORTUNITIES OFFERED Volkswagen vehicles and taking

BY DIGITALIZATION.” innovations into all segments,” said Dr. Frank Welsch, Board Member for Development.

“We are building on our strong global development team and grasping all the opportunities offered by digitalisation. This also includes virtual validation.

"We are developing this technology for our work as it will make for faster and more efficient development processes.”

Volkswagen is aiming for The software for the simulation 66 | Motor Trader October 2018

of complex environments is being developed by experts from VW’s Group IT and Technical Development teams

As the number of networked functions grows, this means more and more hardware-based tests are necessary.

Virtual validation will reduce the volume required, as physical test rigs will no longer be essential.

High-performance software is being developed and VW says they want to be able to generate any virtual traffic and driving situation which may be required.

A new assistance system will then be connected to these virtual scenarios. Its sensors will process the virtual ambient data in the same way as actual ambient conditions. The software will also visualize the virtual scenario via a 3-D graphic environment. The engineers will be able to observe the behavior of assistance systems precisely and to intervene and optimise the systems as required.

Linking the simulation platform to the Group IT cloud will enable hundreds of driving situations to be learned by the same assistance system in parallel.

In addition, VW says its team would be able to build up a virtual library of traffic situations which could be stored as successful learning examples and transferred directly to all new assistance systems.

Volkswagen is already testing the software. The first application simulates thousands of individual car parks with freely definable parameters (architecture, lane guidance, traffic, etc.).

Car parks are regarded as an ideal example of complex environments which must be mastered by an assistance system, and this virtual car park pilot is already being used for validating the assistance systems that will feature on VW’s I.D. model family.

UK FIRST AS “GO ELECTRIC TAXI” SCHEME IS LAUNCHED THE UK’S MOST extensive program for encouraging taxi drivers to upgrade to an electric vehicle is being launched in the city of Coventry.

The Go Electric Taxi scheme includes a range of different incentives for taxi drivers interested in making the switch to a cleaner vehicle.

The initiative, led by Coventry City Council, is supported by a range of companies including the electric taxi maker LEVC, Irish energy company ESB, Siemens and the taxi app Gett.

Taxi owners in the city will be given the chance to try out the latest electric cabs produced by LEVC as part of a scheme to encourage cabbies to understand more about the benefits of electric taxis.

Go Electric Taxi aims to speed up the modernisation of the Coventry taxi fleet. All these vehicles will offer laptop charging, mobile phone charging, free wifi, card payment – and zero emission capable driving.

Two thirds of the city’s residents have already said that they would specifically choose an electric taxi, if given the option.

As part of the scheme, the first 60 drivers of electric taxis in the city will benefit from a significant contribution towards their insurance costs, as well as a waiver of several licensing fees. The scheme has been funded by grants from the Office of Low Emission Vehicles and the Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit.

In addition, the project aims to tackle some of the biggest barriers to EV uptake – which includes lack of familiarity with technology and concerns about EV charging infrastructure.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 67

Auto innovation news

Renault EZ-PRO

RENAULT REVEALS THE EZ-PRO ROBO DELIVERY VEHICLE

T

HE HANNOVER MOTOR Show was the venue for Renault to unveil the EZ-PRO - an autonomous, electric, connected and shared robo-pod concept, a concept that the company says is designed for the future of last-mile delivery solutions.

The company says last-mile delivery services are one of the biggest opportunities for disruption in professional delivery services as e-commerce continues to grow - consumers want immediate delivery, retailers need to manage delivery costs, and cities continue to look for new ways of managing intensified traffic and congestion.

The EZ-PRO concept consists of an

68 | Motor Trader October 2018

“EZ-PRO FEATURES

CUSTOMISABLE MODULES THAT CAN MEET A WIDE VARIETY OF SPECIFIC BUSINESS CUSTOMER NEEDS. . .” autonomous leader pod and driverless robo-pods. The leader pod hosts a human concierge who supervises the delivery of goods and services and its fleet. Released from today’s constraints of driving, Renault says the concierge can focus on value-added tasks, such as supervising the itinerary planning and driverless robo-

VIDEO: EZ-PRO, LINKING URBAN MOBILITY WITH THE FUTURE CITY | RENAULT

pods, or ensuring efficient and customised service, such as in-person, premium delivery of groceries or fragile objects.

The fleet of driverless robo-pods either follow each other by platooning or can move independently. EZ-PRO features customisable modules that can meet a wide variety of specific business customer needs: for specialists in delivery and last mile logistics, but also for retailers, craftsmen and entrepreneurs.

A convoy of pods leaving from the

same hub and managed by the same logistics operator can carry different types of goods and merchandise, each pod having its own paymaster, theme, clientele and delivery place. They are, however, operated by the same electric and autonomous platform. In the same manner, a pod can make a series of deliveries for one online store and another series for a different store.

Customers will be able to choose a convenient delivery time and location of their choice. They will also be able to choose between receiving their parcel by the concierge or accessing self-service lockers in the driverless robo-pods.

These lockers, accessible 24/7, can be opened by the recipient via a mobile phone application.

The shipping solution for consumers will also feature real-time tracking options via mobile with alert services for an even smoother delivery experience.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 69

Auto innovation news

OSLO AIRPORT TO DEPLOY AUTONOMOUS SNOWPLOUGHS

E

ARLIER THIS YEAR, autonomous snowploughs cleared snow from the runway at Fagernes Airport in Norway for the very first time. This project, named Yeti, is now to run snowploughs at Oslo Airport this winter.

Autonomous snow clearing will allow airports over the world to streamline their activities and reduce delays for their passengers. Two autonomous vehicles will be going into live operation and clearing snow at one of the busiest airports in Scandinavia. The future objective is to VIDEO: AUTONOMOUS SNOWPLOUGHS

70 | Motor Trader October 2018

maintain a fleet of ten autonomous snowploughs that will keep runways clear of snow.

“Having tested the control system at Fagernes Airport, we are really pleased that we are now able to launch this pilot scheme at Oslo Airport. Our aim is to complete 40 operations to ensure that the system is working as intended and see how we can develop it further. We are then hoping that more world airports will be interested in this technology,” said John Emil Halden, project manager at Semcon, the Sewdish tech company responsibsle for the technology’s development.

The Yeti project is the first of its kind to adapt such large machines for autonomous operation in wintry conditions.

This project has been developed by Yeti Snow Technology, co-owned by Semcon and Øveraasen, for Norwegian airport operator Avinor. The trials at Oslo Airport will begin in January 2019.

MTAiQ: THE INNOVATION HUB FOR THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

Do you have an idea, a concept or an innovation that could make a difference in the automotive world? Do you need assistance in taking that idea to the next step in its development and to the wider world?

The auto industry is evolving quickly – technology is pushing the industry forward in directions we could scarcely imagine a decade ago and in another 10 years the vehicles that will be cruising our highways and byways (and maybe skyways!) will be vastly different to what we see today.

New ideas and new thinking are the fuel of this evolution and MTAiQ has a mission to not only help nurture new concepts, but to educate and assist the industry to adjust to, and embrace, this evolution.

At MTAiQ, we know there are creative and innovative thinkers and doers in the automotive sector who are constantly working on new ways to advance their business and their industry – and we are here to help.

With a purpose-built workshop, hot-desk working area with high-speed internet, an environment humming with start-up creativity, the backing of an association with more than 80 years working for the automotive industry, and a dedicated team with links and contacts across the worlds of investment, research and government, MTAiQ can help give your idea the development and backing it needs to shift into top gear.

Click here and submit your ideas, or problems that need solving, to MTAiQ for consideration. Come on . . . Let’s get started!

www.mtaiq.com.au/submit-idea October 2018 Motor Trader | 71

AQUALUMA: LEADING THE WAY IN LIGHTING

F

OUNDED BY BROTHERS Carl and pace cars for many years. This led them to Grant Amor on the Gold Coast in become heavily involved with the Australian 2004, Aqualuma has set the standard Super Touring Championship where in LED lighting products and is leading they held leading roles in the day-to-day the industry with cutting edge technology, operations of the championship until its iconic designs and unparalleled service. untimely demise.

Starting their first Australian business With an extensive history of boating, with a Motor Trimming/ Panel Beating in 1985 the Amor brothers purchased a shop; their business would quickly become damaged 53-foot Southern Cross Motor the only approved Rolls-Royce Repair Yacht Hull and Decks from the factory. The Centre in Queensland. The success of brothers spent all of their spare time over their business is a testament to their high the next four years rebuilding the aptly standards of quality, time management and named 'BELLE AMOR' and launched her in customer service. Carl & Grant also helped December 1999. with the operational side of the Concours In 2003, the automotive side of the Amor De Elegance for a few years. brothers business was sold and they The brothers also have a long retained their Marine trimming history with motor sport - firstly business located in the Gold Coast CLICK TO being involved in the Gold Coast City Marina. It was at this time VISIT THE AQUALUMA Indy where they were in charge that the Amor’s decided to add WEBSITE of preparing and running the underwater lighting to 'BELLE

72 | Motor Trader October 2018

AMOR' and, upon researching the products available, they identified the many pitfalls of these products - such as metal housings, glass lens, seals, external driver boxes and old technology light sources. They came to the conclusion that none of these existing products were suitable for the environment in which they were intended to be used.

Whilst Grant Amor designed and constructed an efficient and economical Thu-Hull Underwater LED Light, Carl continued the trimming business to fund this development. Aqualuma was established in 2004 and Generation 1 quickly became recognised within the marine industry for its iconic, indestructible polymer housing and energy efficiency.

Aqualuma has dedicated an extensive amount of funds and time to research and development. The company boasts patents in 127 countries plus worldwide certifications, and it has evolved to include a comprehensive and versatile range of submersible, deck and flood lighting now in its 4th Generation of releases.

In 2007, the marine industry took a decidedly heavy downturn and the Amor

brothers saw the opportunity to expand their product range. The Aqualuma team spent considerable time in the R&D lab, designing and testing to develop a worldleading LED high-bay light. The result was a new LED high-bay luminaire that achieved energy efficiency levels unheard of in the market. Providing a warranty of seven years overcame any scepticism the market held for the new technology. They were unique in being environmentally friendly, being both recyclable and upgradable as technology improved.

The current Aqualuma Industrial / Commercial range of premium LED Highbay lighting ranges from 90w to 250w and includes a number of variants and optical options, ideally suited to manufacturers, engineering companies, logistics centres, freight companies, warehouses, storage faculties, vehicle showrooms, big-box retail stores and outdoor use.

The company is proudly Australian and manufactures its entire range from a purpose-built facility on the Gold Coast using local labour while sourcing 90 per cent of its components from local suppliers.

Aqualuma have also kindly invested some time into MTA Queensland recently, becoming the major sponsor of the MTAQ Racing team. This maintains the keen interest in the motor industry and motorsports for Carl and Grant, and the MTAQ Racing team are very proud to have a Queensland success story joining.

“Aqualuma is a great story, a Queensland business that exports across the world - so it is terrific to be able to work with them and their support for the MTAQ Racing Team has been invaluable” said MTAQ Racing Team driver David Wood. “It is a relationship we are thoroughly enjoying.

Carl and Grant are ‘car guys’ and love racing, so we are working towards doing them proud during the rest of the season.”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 73

Auto news

Lister LFP SUV

THE LISTER MOTOR COMPANY TO BUILD THE WORLD’S FASTEST SUV

L

ISTER, THE BRITISH prestige car company, has begun to take orders for its LFP SUV. Claiming that the LFP will be the fastest SUV in the world, Lister says the LFP –

74 | Motor Trader October 2018

which is based on Jaguar’s F-Pace – has 670 bhp on tap, extensive carbon fibre modifications to help improve weight reduction and road holding, an estimated 0-100 km/h acceleration time of 3.5

seconds, and a top speed of 200 mph (322km/h).

Set for full release his year, the LFP will follow the launch of the company’s Jag F-type-based LFT-666 coupe, that was revealed earlier this year, and has already become the fastest-selling model in the sports car maker’s 65-year history.

Early prospective customer interest in the Lister LFP prompted the company to open its order book early, ahead of the official reveal of the model, with pricing

set to begin at around £140,000 ($AU257,000).

“I am delighted, overwhelmed and gratified by the huge level of interest, excitement and orders our LFT-666 supercar has already generated in just a few months,” said Lawrence Whittaker, CEO of the Lister Motor Company. “Based on early indications, our new LFP promises to repeat the success of the LFT-666, and I really can’t wait to reveal the world’s fastest SUV.”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 75

Auto news

Renault Kadjar

RENAULT AUSTRALIA CONFIRMS KADJAR SUV IS COMING DOWN UNDER

R

ENAULT AUSTRALIA HAS confirmed its mid-size SUV, the Renault Kadjar, will be coming to Australia in 2019.

The 2019 Kadjar will be a refreshed model of the SUV – which was revealed in Europe n September - with a facelift and upgrades that include USB sockets for rear passengers, and an R-LINK 2 multimedia system - that includes a smartphone mirroring function - which is displayed on a flush-mounted 7-inch screen.

Seats have been redesigned to be more ergonomic, new vents have been installed, and a more modular layout at the back means the Kadjar has 527 litres of boot space and can accommodate items up to

76 | Motor Trader October 2018

2.5 metres long when the when the front passenger seat is folded flat.

The Kadjar will be available with a 1.3 litre four-cylinder petrol engine, a 1.5 litre turbo diesel or 1.8 litre turbo diesel.

“It is with great excitement that I can confirm that the Renault Kadjar SUV will be coming to Australia in the second half of 2019,” said Andrew Moore, Managing Director Renault Australia. “The stylish Kadjar mid-size SUV is a strong seller in Europe and along with our smaller Captur SUV and larger Koleos SUV product offerings, will provide Renault with a genuine SUV line-up to appeal to a wide range of Australian customers.

“The Kadjar boasts sleek lines that flow in a sporty yet elegant European fashion and is well placed to take the challenge right up to the established Japanese and Korean competitors as a refined European SUV, with torquey turbo performance and an upmarket interior.”

Representing the legal interests of MTAQ’s chosen firm Queensland’s automotive industry for Representing the legal interests of TheMTAQ’s MTAQ’s chosen firm more thanthe 15 years Bennett Philp Representing the legal interests Representing the legal interests of Representing legal interests of& of chosen firm Representing legal interests of for for automotive industry Queensland’s the automotive industry MTAQ’s chosen firm MTAQ’s chosen firm MTAQ’s chosen firm Lawyers are acknowledged asfor experts Queensland’s automotive industry for Queensland’s automotive industry for Queensland’s automotive industry Queensland’s automotive industry more than 15 years Bennett & Philpfor for for theautomotive automotive industry industry, more in a broad range of commercial issues more than 15 years Bennett & Philp more than 15 years Bennett & Philp than 15 years Bennett & Philp complimentary legal more than 15acknowledged years Bennett as & Philp for automotive industry for automotive industry Lawyers for automotive industry Lawyers are experts involving the automotiveasindustry. acknowledged as Lawyers are acknowledged as experts Lawyers areare acknowledged experts providing complimentary Lawyers are acknowledged asexperts experts in a broad range of commercial issues complimentary legal advice aa range of issues broad range of commercial issues in ainin broad range of commercial issues complimentary legal complimentary legal complimentary legal in abroad broad range ofcommercial commercial issues We advise car and truck dealerships, involving the automotive industry. legal advice involving the automotive industry. involving the automotive industry. involving the automotive industry. involving the automotive industry. advice vehicle tuning and customisation advice advice advice We advise car and truck dealerships, companies, performance and accessory advise and truck dealerships, We advise car and truck dealerships, WeWe advise carcar and truck dealerships, Take advantage of our Take advantage our expertise and ask of MTAQ Take advantage of ouryour expertise and ask for a referral today.

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Our team’s legal expertise includes: • Motor Trades licensing and regulatory compliance;

Our team’s legal expertise includes: Our team’s legal expertise includes: •team’s Business structuring and succession planning; Our team’s legal expertise includes: Our legal expertise includes: Our team’s expertise includes: • Motor Tradeslegal licensing and regulatory compliance;

••• •Motor Trades licensing regulatory compliance; Motor Trades licensing and regulatory compliance; • Motor Trades licensing regulatory compliance; Purchasing, sellingand orand leasing commercial property; Motor Trades licensing and regulatory compliance; • Business structuring and succession planning; ••• •Business structuring and succession planning; Business structuring and succession planning; • Business structuring and succession planning; Franchising advice; and succession planning; Business structuring • Purchasing, selling or leasing commercial property; ••• •Purchasing, selling oror commercial property; Purchasing, selling leasing commercial property; • Purchasing, or and leasing commercial property; Raisingselling finance entering into security arrangements; Purchasing, selling orleasing leasing commercial property; • Franchising advice; ••• •Franchising advice; Franchising advice; • Franchising advice; Contractualadvice; advice including compliance with consumer laws; Franchising • Raising finance and entering into security arrangements; ••• •Raising finance and entering security arrangements; Raising finance and entering into security arrangements; • Raising finance and entering intointo security arrangements; Intellectual property protection; Raising finance and entering into security arrangements; • Contractual advice including compliance with consumer laws; ••• •Contractual advice including compliance with laws; Contractual advice including compliance with consumer laws; • Contractual advice including compliance with consumer laws; Employment law and workplace relations; Contractual advice including compliance withconsumer consumer laws; • Intellectual property protection; ••• •Intellectual property protection; Intellectual property protection; • Intellectual property protection; Workplaceproperty health and safety; Intellectual protection; • Employment law and workplace relations; ••• •Employment law and workplace relations; Employment law and workplace relations; • Employment lawand and workplace relations; Insurance liability advice; Employment lawpublic and workplace relations; • Workplace health and safety; ••• •Workplace health and safety; Workplace health and safety; • Workplace health and safety; Insolvencyhealth and bankruptcy Workplace and safety;advice, and • Insurance and public liability advice; ••• •Insurance public liability advice; Insurance and public liability advice; • Insurance andand public liability advice; Commercial litigation and debt recovery Insurance and public liability advice; • Insolvency and bankruptcy advice, and ••• Insolvency and bankruptcy advice, Insolvency and bankruptcy advice, and • Insolvency and bankruptcy advice, andand Insolvency and bankruptcy advice, and • Commercial litigation and debt recovery ••• Commercial litigation and debt recovery Lachlan Thorburn I Associate Brian Smith I Director Commercial litigation and debt recovery • Commercial litigation and debt recovery Commercial litigation and debt recovery T: +61 7 3001 2914 Brian Smith I Director Brian Smith I IIDirector Brian Director Brian Brian Smith Director T:Smith +61Smith 7I Director 3001 2914 T:T: 7773001 +61 3001 2914 T: +61 7+61 3001 29142914 T:+61 3001 2914

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Our team’s legal expertise includes: • Motor Trades licensing and regulatory compliance; • Business structuring and succession planning; • Purchasing, selling or leasing commercial property; • Franchising advice; • Raising finance and entering into security arrangements;

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Simply ask MTAQ for athe referral to Bennett & Philp Lawyers. litigation and debt recovery Call us on 07 3001 2999 Automotive Dealers and Industry Suppliers problems.

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Simply ask MTAQ for a referral to Bennett & Philp Lawyers. problems. Simply ask MTAQ for a referral to Bennett & Philp Lawyers. firm of the MTAQ, and proud supporters Dealers and suppliers need to know their legal advisors can expertly Automotive Dealers and Industry Suppliers of the industry - including being a major Lachlan Thorburn I Associate Brian Smith I Director guide them through the sale and purchase of dealerships and related Automotive Dealers and Industry Suppliers Automotive Dealers and Industry Suppliers Automotive Dealers and Industry Suppliers Automotive and Industry Suppliers Dealers and Dealers suppliers need to know their legal advisors can expertly T: +61 7 3001 2957 T: +61 7 3001 2914 partner of the MTAQ Racing Team. businesses throughout Australia.

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As industry specialists we are ideally positioned to assist dealers and suppliers with operational issues such as commercial leasing, supply agreements, employment issues and franchise and consumer law.

We have expert advice available to assist with dealership and business acquisitions and sales, financing, negotiations with lenders to the automotive industry, and business succession and restructuring issues.

For more information contact: Phone: 07 3001 2914 For more information contact: For more information contact: For more information contact: Phone: 07 3001 2999 Phone: 07www.bennettphilp.com.au 3001 2914 Website: www.bennettphilp.com.au Website: Phone: 3001 2914 Phone: 07 3001 2914 Phone: 0707 3001 2914 Website: www.bennettphilp.com.au Website: www.bennettphilp.com.au Website: www.bennettphilp.com.au Website: www.bennettphilp.com.au

We take pride in knowing our team focus their considerable knowledge Representing the legal interests of and experience to deliver specialist, value-added and cost-effective Queensland’s automotive industry for

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Our team’s legal expertise includes: • Motor Trades licensing and regulatory compliance;

Auto news

PORSCHE REVEALS LIMITED EDITION 935

P

ORSCHE HAS UNVEILED the new 935 race car – a 700-horsepower competition monster that will be produced in a limited number of 77 units.

The company says that the race car’s technology is geared towards clubsport events and private training on racetracks and it is based on the street-legal 911 GT2 RS high-performance sports car. Like its predecessor, most of the body has been replaced or supplemented by carbon-fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) parts.

The car’s aerodynamics are a new development. The wheel arch air vents on the front fenders increase downforce at the front axle while the rear wing promotes aerodynamic balance.

A massive safety cage combined with a racing bucket seat and a six-point safety harness help ensure maximum safety. A second seat for a passenger is available as an optional extra. Air conditioning is available.

The new 935 is powered by a state-ofthe-art 3.8-litre flat-six-twin-turbo engine,

78 | Motor Trader October 2018

largely similar to the high-performance standard unit mounted in the road-legal 911 GT2 RS generating 700hp. Just as in production models such as the 911 GT2 RS and GT3 RS, the driver changes gears via shift paddles.

Six-piston aluminium monobloc racing calipers on the front axle, in combination with internally ventilated and grooved iron brake discs. The rear axle is fitted with four-piston calipers and 355-millimeter discs.

The 935 is equipped with PSM (Porsche Stability Management) including traction control as well as an anti-lock braking system (ABS). These assistance systems can be adjusted separately or switched off completely, depending upon the track situation.

The new Porsche 935 can be ordered now from €701,948 ($AU1.12million) plus country-specific VAT. Customers will receive their vehicles from June 2019 at exclusive delivery events.

We’re not just famous for getting into bed with CAMS.

At Famous Insurance we’re proud to be the Official Car Insurance Partner of CAMS. We’re committed to offering all CAMS members unique benefits on their Car and Bike Insurance. For further information, call 1300 32 6687 or visit famousinsurance.com.au Conditions, limits and exclusions apply. Insurance underwritten by RACQ Insurance Limited ABN 50 009 704 152 (‘RACQ’). Famous Insurance Agency Pty Ltd ABN 66 168 467 561 is authorised to arrange and issue this insurance as agent of RACQ. Please read the PDS before making a decision about this product, contact us for a copy.

MAKE: ALFA ROMEO MODEL: 1750 GTV YEAR: 1971 ENGINE: TWO-LITRE, FOUR-CYLINDER OWNER: BOB BEAR OWNED SINCE: 2010

A L FA R O M E O

80 | Motor Trader October 2018

C

S&COFFEE R A

O 1750 GTV

October 2018 Motor Trader | 81

T

HERE IS SOMETHING special about Italian motor cars.

Be it a Lambo, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia, Fiat or Alfa Romeo, there is a certain 'something' about them - especially their sportier models.

Maybe that 'something' is to do with their cool design, or their performance, or maybe it's in the name - anything Italian just sounds cool, doesn't it?

Take this Alfa Romeo 1750 GTV, for example. The 'GTV' stands for Gran Turismo Veloce, which sounds infinitely cooler than its English translation of 'Fast Grand Tourer'.

Whatever that 'something' is, the Italians seem to have the knack for making stylish motors, and the 1750 GTV certainly fits into that category.

Built between 1967 and 1972, the 1750 GTV is a two-door, four-seat, rear-wheel drive coupe. Though called the 1750, it actually had a 1779cc four-cylinder motor - an an updated version of the company's excellent double overhead cams engine that was so successful it would be used, in modified forms, for 40 years.

Good for a top speed of 190km/h and a 0-100km/h time of 9.3 seconds, the 1750 GTV was a nippy beast and popular too, with 45,000 of them being built.

Though you don't see too many on the roads, with Alfa Romeo's wonderful motor racing history - the company has been involved in motorsport since 1911 - it's no surprise to find that there are plenty of GTVs to be found on race tracks around the country, including this one, a 1971 model owned by Bob Bear.

And this one has seen plenty of racing action. Over the 8 years he has owned it, Bob has competed in more than 60 events, from track events at Morgan Park, Lakeside and Queensland Raceway, to on-road events at the Noosa Hill Climb and the Leyburn Sprints (Bob finished second in class at this year's Leyburn event). „ 82 | Motor Trader October 2018

1912 Willys-Overland Model 61 'Whitey'

October 2018 Motor Trader | 83

Bought as a racing car from a friend, Bob has given the GTV a decent tuning up including replacing the 1750 engine with a 2-litre motor from a later-model Alfa - and has spruced up other areas of the car too.

"The car was driveable when I bought it, but I have changed it quite a bit since then," he says. "I had it for about 12 months, then refreshed the engine, but then built a 2-litre engine which has a lot more torque and is a lot better.

"I’ve put a 2-litre’s limited slip diff in it, modified the suspension, and upgraded the brakes too. I haven’t changed the box or the syncro, which is a bit weak, but I really only do circuit work so it’s fine.

"I had some brake issues at the 84 | Motor Trader October 2018

beginning - they were pretty lousy - and changed the pads and a few other things, but eventually found t had put the wrong size cylinders on the boosters. When we put a gauge on it, the pressures weren’t right, so we played round and now the brakes are maybe too good!

"A lot of race guys throw the boosters away because it can save about 14kg, but I am happy with them. I’ve put thicker vented rotors on the front, spacers in the calipers and they’re working well."

Though a car and motor racing enthusiast - and a mechanic by trade - Bob, now retired, never was an 'Alfa Romeo guy', although he did have a run-in with an Alfa as young fellow that left an impression.

“IT'S LIKE A GO-KART, IT IS FANTASTIC. SOME PEOPLE DO BAG THE ALFAS AND SAY THEY BREAK DOWN A LOT AND SO ON, BUT IT HAS BEEN VERY RELIABLE. IT IS A GREAT LITTLE CAR.” "I remember my aunt bought a brand new 1964 EH Premier Wagon but only had it for 12 months before she bought an Alfa Guilia Ti," he says. "And she loved that car.

It was terrific, had disc brakes all round and it was one of the best stopping cars I have ever come across."

Still, it wasn't until his friend put this 1750 GTV up for sale that Bob considered owning one.

"Why did I buy it? Because I liked it and the memory of my aunt's car had always stayed with me," he says.

While Bob has been racing the Alfa for the 8 years he has owned it, his racing

history goes back quite a way, and he has owned and raced other classic cars too.

"I had an MGB into which I put a 3.5-litre Rover V8 and that was a very quick car - it ran 13.5s over the quarter mile, which made it quicker than a GTHO Phase III," he says.

"And I also had an LC GTR Torana - into which I put a 308 because the 253 that was in it was a bit fumey - and I did hill climbs in that. I’ve had a few good toys over the years."

The GTV, perhaps, is as good a car as he has owned and raced. It is, he says, a brilliant drive.

"It's like a go-kart, it is fantastic. Some people do bag the Alfas and say they break down alot and so on, but it has been very reliable. It is a great little car."

!

DO YOU HAVE A PRIDE AND JOY IN THE GARAGE THAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE IN THE PAGES OF MOTOR TRADER? Contact Jonathan Nash at jonathann@mtaq.com.au and let’s see if we can share your classic with other members.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 85

Auto news

HONDA AND BRIDGESTONE COLLABORATE ON LOCAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

H

ONDA AND BRIDGESTONE have teamed up to collaborate on future product development for the Australian market.

According to reports, the technical departments from the local arms of both companies identified areas where they could work together on individual projects that will benefit Australian customers. Bridgestone’s focus was on the development of future low rolling resistance Ecopia tyres – designed to save motorists fuel – using two Honda CR-Vs for testing in local conditions.

Honda Australia also used the opportunity to research the effects of around-the-clock driving across a variety of road, weather and traffic conditions, garnering insights into extreme usage patterns, rapid mileage accumulation and durability of its latest 1.5-litre VTEC Turbo engine with Earth Dreams Technology.

86 | Motor Trader October 2018

“Australia has played an important role in the global development programs of numerous Honda models, with the Civic, Civic Type R and NSX all being tested under our unique local conditions in recent years,” said Stephen Collins, Honda Australia Director.

“The program with Bridgestone not only ensured that current and future Ecopia tyres meet specification requirements for the CR-V, but it also enabled us to test the vehicles extensively by travelling more than 40,000 kilometres in just four weeks.

“This collaboration with Bridgestone represents a further expansion of local development work, as well as an extension of the long-running partnership between the two companies, which has seen Honda Tyre Centres operating at participating Honda dealerships since 2012.”

TRADITIONAL HANDBRAKE REACHING BREAKING POINT

Honda Tyre Centres supply Bridgestone branded tyres suitable for Honda vehicles, offering a range of premium tyres such as Ecopia (low rolling resistance), Potenza (performance), Turanza (touring) and Dueler (4x4) to suit a variety of customer needs and budgets.

According to Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Mr. Stephen Roche, the collaboration is one of many ways Bridgestone is ensuring it has the right products to meet the needs of Australian motorists.

“There’s a lot riding on tyres and it’s crucial that we have products suitable for the harsh roads and climates in Australia and New Zealand,” said Mr. Roche.

“Bridgestone conducts extensive testing in Australia, which directly impacts the development of products like our nextgeneration low rolling resistance Ecopia product. The learnings from local testing is of huge benefit for Bridgestone globally, as well as our own customers.

“Working with Honda Australia and using its latest CR-V, one of the top-selling models in the increasingly popular SUV segment, means we are in a great position to ensure we have superior products for the customers of tomorrow.”

THE TRADITIONAL HANDBRAKE is reaching the end of the road as car manufacturers ditch it in favour of electronic parking brakes, according to research by online automotive marketplace CarGurus in the UK. The company found just 37 per cent of new cars on sale in the UK today come with a manually-operated handbrake.

Many premium car makers have phased out the part completely and replaced it with an electronic parking brake, while some use a foot-operated parking brake.

The CarGurus investigation found that Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Mercedes and Porsche no longer have any models on sale fitted with a traditional handbrake.

The electronic parking brake requires less physical effort, holds the car more securely and doesn’t need adjusting like the traditional lever. Most electronic handbrakes disengage automatically when you pull away plus they often offer an automatic hill-hold assist function.

“Within the next few years we expect the number of cars on sale with traditional handbrakes to decline further, likely only to be found on a select number of niche models,” said Chris Knapman, editor at CarGurus UK. “It’s official, the death of the handbrake is coming as manufacturers switch to electronic parking brakes in huge numbers.

“The benefits can’t be ignored, but as the latest technology trickles through manufacturer line-ups, many new drivers might never experience one of the most CLICK TO VISIT familiar of automotive CARGURUS features. The temptation WEBSITE to attempt flamboyant handbrake turns is soon to be a thing of the past too!”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 87

Auto news

Mazda MX-5

MAZDA’S UPGRADED MX-5 ARRIVES IN AUSTRALIA

T

HE NEW MAZDA MX-5 is now available, delivering upgraded powertrain, dynamics and safety across Roadster and RF variants.

Mazda says it has applied advanced technologies to its SKYACTIV-G 2.0 and SKYACTIV-G 1.5 engines to extract maximum power balanced with linear response. Engineers revised the SKYACTIV-G 2.0, ultimately lifting the red line to 7,500rpm, boosting power from 118kW to 135kW and torque from 200Nm to 205Nm. The comprehensive update saw changes made to the air flow intake and exhaust systems, piston shape and weight, crankshaft and connecting rods, achieving increased air intake, improved combustion speed, reduced exhaust losses and mechanical friction.

88 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: THE NEW MAZDA MX-5 RF IN ROME

SKYACTIV-G 1.5 was also revised, with some of the same technologies applied to piston shape and combustion chambers, accounting for an increase in power from 96kW to 97kW and a boost in torque from 150Nm to 152Nm. SKYACTIV-G 1.5 is available exclusively with the entry-level Roadster, while Roadster GT and all RF variants are

equipped with the more powerful SKYACTIV-G 2.0 engine.

To match the extra power under foot, Mazda says that manual and automatic transmissions were revised to deliver a sharper response and more direct driving feel. Plus, shift timing at turn-in and torque control at turn-out have been tuned for greater precision in sporty driving situations.

“Every time we update Mazda MX-5, it’s in pursuit of refining and enhancing the thrilling drive that is so unique to our iconic two-seater,” said Alastair Doak, Mazda Australia Director of Marketing.

“Added power has been finely balanced to ensure the same smooth, direct response is felt from the moment the throttle opens up.”

Mazda has upgraded the safety systems on the MX-5 too, with the

addition of a rear camera to all grades, and more advanced i-ACTIVSENSE safety technologies to the standard safety package, including Smart City Brake Support [Forward] (SCBS-F) and Traffic Sign Recognition (TSR).

New-look 16-inch alloys with a black metallic finish are available for the 1.5L Roadster, while RF gets 17-inch wheels also finished in black metallic. Roadster GT and RF GT models sit on 17-inch wheels with a bright silver finish.

There are five interior trim options for MX-5, with Mazda’s Chroma Brown nappa leather available as an option for RF GT. New Mazda MX-5 is available in a choice of six exterior colours, including Soul Red Crystal Metallic, Machine Grey Metallic, Snowflake White Pearl Mica, Ceramic Mica, Eternal Blue Mica and Jet Black Mica. RF GT variants also have the option of a black roof.

The new Mazda MX-5 has a starting price of $34,190 for the 1.5L Roadster, with the RF GT topping the range at $48,960.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 89

Auto news

POLESTAR SHOWS FIRST DETAILS OF NEW RETAIL SPACE

P

OLESTAR HAS REVEALED the first details of its Polestar Space retail environment, the first location of which is expected to be confirmed soon.

The company says that, when it opens, the Polestar Space will bring a new approach to automotive retail.

Instead of traditional car dealerships, Polestar Spaces will be environments where customers will be able to physically interact with the digital brand. Polestar says its Spaces will be opened in major metropolitan centres, typically in the company of other innovative brands.

Polestar is now creating the interior concept for Polestar Spaces, developing ideas in a new retail lab.

The company says the interior concept will reflect the same minimalist and uncompromising design as Polestars cars, and will be curated to show elements of the company’s design language,

90 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: A NORTH AMERICAN DEBUT

philosophy and brand experience in a manner similar to art installations.

Components such as wheels and carbon-fibre sections will stand alone to exhibit their own unique design attributes.

Material finishes including paint colours and interior leather samples will also be presented in a unique context.

“Polestar will be a fully digital brand, but a Polestar Space is where customers will be able to come into direct contact with us,” said Thomas Ingenlath, Chief Executive

Kia Stinger

STINGER TAKES TO CRIME FIGHTING IN THE WEST

Officer at Polestar.

“In a Polestar Space, they’ll meet and interact with a Polestar brand and product expert, see the engineering under the skin as well as be able to take a test drive.

“A visit to a Polestar Space will be a very different experience to today’s typical car dealership. We aim to surprise and delight our customers, removing the hassle that comes with traditional car ownership.

"As the customer will order the car online, they won’t experience hard-sell, commission-based salespeople in a Polestar Space.

"Our customers will never feel pressure to sign a contract. Polestar is a multichannel brand which is why it must be supported by a unique retail experience - one which embodies the Polestar philosophy in every way.

“By the middle of 2020, we aim to have opened up to 60 Spaces around the world to support the key launch markets for the brand. As we progress, we will open Spaces in more locations to support our retail development, making the brand more accessible with the opening of each new Space.”

THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN Police Department is to add 50 Kia Stingers to its traffic management team over the next 12 months.

The decision makes WA the second police jurisdiction in Australia, after Queensland, to embrace the Stinger as a replacement for the outgoing Commodore and Falcon pursuit vehicles.

The announcement was made by WA Police and Road Safety Minister Michelle Roberts.

“We continue to give the Western Australian Police Force the money they need to replace their fleet and to provide the best service they can for the community of Western Australia,” said Mrs Roberts.

“These cars are fit for purpose and they are all 5-star ANCAP rated which is important for our officer safety.”

The Stinger was selected after an extensive six-month assessment program evaluating key criteria in performance, safety, availability and cost effectiveness.

As with Queensland, the WA fleet will be the entry-level bi-turbo V6 models with 272kW of power and 510Nm of torque, providing out-of-the-box performance of 4.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h sprint.

The cars join the force unmodified except for a plug-and-play wiring loom to manage the additional demands of multiple operational equipment systems.

The Stinger is still be assessed by other states as an operational option to replace the superseded Highway Patrol fleets.

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Auto news

NISSAN LOOKS TO THE STARS WITH DARK SKY CONCEPT

Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept VIDEO: NISSAN UNVEILS MOBILE OBSERVATORY – NAVARA DARK SKY CONCEPT

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HIS IS NISSAN’S Navara Dark Sky Concept, unveiled at the 2018 Hannover Motor Show, and one for the space geeks in all of us.

Developed in the UK, in collaboration with the European Space Agency (ESA), the concept vehicle functions as a mobile astronomy lab, featuring an observatoryclass telescope on a bespoke off-road trailer.

ESA is mapping the stars using the Gaia satellite and Nissan says the Navara Dark Sky Concept supports this project by helping astronomers conduct follow-up observations of the universe from hard-toreach, so-called ‘dark sky’ locations – away from the night-time glow of urban areas.

As the latest embodiment of Nissan Intelligent Mobility, the vehicle comes with ProPILOT driver assistance technology, which has been upgraded to make for safer and convenient towing.

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And that is useful, for at the heart of the trailer is the ultrahigh-power PlaneWave telescope. The upgraded Nissan Intelligent Mobility technologies allow the telescope to be transported to wild, remote dark-sky locations.

"The Nissan Navara Dark Sky Concept allows observations to take place in very remote places, avoiding light pollution, while also transporting telescopes safely and easily,” said Dr Fred Jansen, ESA’s senior mission manager for Gaia.

“Telescopes like the one in the trailer are

needed in studies of planets and stars in our galaxy, allowing Earth-based follow-up campaigns enabled by the Gaia data.”

Since red light affects human night vision least, both the vehicle and trailer exclusively use red lighting to avoid visual disruption during observations.

The trailer module also incorporates a special refrigerated atmosphere, allowing the telescope to remain stable and calibrated at the optimum temperature in transit to any location.

Once at the desired, often hard-to-reach destination, the trailer module’s mechanised roof can be opened to focus the telescope on the night sky. Using a 40cm (primary) mirror, it can give detailed views beyond the rings of Saturn, to distant galaxies.

Aside from the amazing star-spotting equipment, the Dark Sky Concept has plenty of upgrades and features to meet the needs of commercial vehicle customers: • ProPILOT enhances the driver’s control by combining Nissan's Intelligent

Cruise Control and Steering Assist technologies.

• The Intelligent Around View Monitor system has been upgraded to support towing, giving the driver a bird’s-eyeview around the vehicle and rig.

• Blind Spot Warning has been enhanced to highlight objects in blind spots within the trailer range.

• Intelligent Towing Hitch Alignment lets your car take control of steering, acceleration, braking and shifting, so that it can automatically manoeuvre to align with the trailer for easy hook-up • Nissan’s portable battery packs use electric vehicle technology from the Nissan LEAF to ensure auxiliary power supply, no matter how remote the location.

A secure towing hitch combined with a ladder-frame chassis; a 2.3-liter, 190ps (187hp) twin-turbo diesel engine, and 450 Nm of torque ensure performance on rough terrain.

The Navara and trailer both feature portable EV battery packs and additional smart features include Wi-Fi, a laptop station and UHF transmission to relay data instantaneously, anywhere in the world.

Eight combined radar units, on each corner of the vehicle and trailer, update the driver on the vehicle’s surroundings through the NissanConnect infotainment touch screen on the dashboard.

The Nissan Intelligent Mobility systems enable the Navara to manoeuvre the telescope trailer into prime position. - radar sensors and cameras scan the terrain for the right location to park and stabilize the trailer.

It’s pretty cool stuff !

Auto news

THE NEW BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT LANDS DOWN UNDER

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HE NEW BENTLEY Continental GT has arrived in Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and soon throughout Southeast Asia for deliveries to customers.

The third-generation of the luxurious GT - Designed, engineered and handcrafted in Britain – has at its heart the new an VIDEO: BENTLEY CONTINENTAL GT

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all-new, enhanced version of Bentley’s 626bhp, 6.0-litre, twin-turbocharged W12 TSI engine, mated, for the first time, to a dual-clutch eight-speed transmission.

Monstrously powerful, the engine transports the GT from 0-100km/h in 3.7 seconds and delivers a phenomenal top speed of 333 km/h. Variable displacement technology allows one entire bank of cylinders to disengage at gentle throttle openings, reducing the number in operation to six and optimising fuel consumption accordingly.

A new, adaptive chassis uses Bentley’s intelligent 48-volt Dynamic Ride System.

The company says the system controls ride comfort and lateral roll, and a lightweight, yet stiff, body with the engine positioned further back to improve weight distribution, results in adynamic performance.

Offering four seats and improved luggage capacity, the new Bentley Continental GT’s luxurious cabin is packed with exquisite details and the cabin integrates cuttingedge onboard technology with the finest handcrafted natural materials.

An advanced, fully digital, driver-focused instrument panel and Bentley Rotating Display for the driver are among the suite of innovations. The latter features a 12.3inch touchscreen housed in a three-sided unit, which revolves the veneer to reveal the touchscreen as well as three elegant analogue dials.

BOB JANE, MOTORSPORT LEGEND AND TYRE KING, DIES AGED 88 BOB JANE, MOTOR RACING LEGEND, four-time Australian Touring Car Championship winner and founder of the Bob Jane T-Marts tyre empire, died in September aged 88 after a long battle with prostate cancer.

Bob Jane was involved in Australian motorsport for decades and at many levels. As well as his four Touring Car Championship victories – that came in 1962, 1962 driving a Jaguar, and then in 1971 and 1972 driving a Camaro – Jane won the Armstrong 500 four times – twice at Phillip Island in 1961 and 1962, and twice when the race moved to Bathurst

in 1963 and 1964. He also owned Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne and was responsible for the building of the Thunderdome track located there.

As well as a successful racing driver, Bob Jane was hugely successful as a businessman. He established a parts distribution business called Bob Jane Autoland in the 1950s, but it was his tyre retailing business, Bob Jane T-Marts, that made him a truly wealthy man and a household name.

Established in 1965 the national tyre chain now has more than 140 outlets across the country.

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CHANGES ARE COMING

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T IS INTERESTING travelling around payments are the country visiting dealers and either being brokerages and listening to how they removed or are interacting with lenders. What is incorporated becoming a very certain reality is that as part of lending across all markets will look the up-front different, with changes occurring now commission with potentially more substantial and in many changes to come over the next 12 to cases are now 24 months. disclosed.

Angelo Lauro I have noticed a lot of different views What will on what the new world of finance for probably be the largest impact to the dealers will look like. Some have a view industry(s) will be the requirement to that nothing will change, but there are perform a more detailed assessment of the those who believe times will change and client by asking more questions around have started to take steps to ensure their their living expenses. continued success.

This includes providing confirmation Changes including capped commissions, of these expenses and completing a more more disclosure on commission and detailed analysis of their ability to service more detailed assessment of clients living the loan. expenses, are some of the changes that This has already commenced and is will affect the delivery of finance across all industry wide with all lenders requesting sectors, including dealers. more detail about expenses - and it is As most will realise by now, November getting extremely detailed. We are now will see the removal of flex commissions, asking questions about expenses such as which means a different way of pay tv, phone bills, insurance and even representing the customer rate affecting commissions.I have reviewed, in recent internet costs to establish the client’s times, some example plans which use serviceability. a fixed commission formula, and there I guess you can take your own view are definite changes in maximum of the impending changes but, as a commissions which will affect the income business owner, I would want to ensure for dealers and brokers. the stability and success of my business Commission structures are changing and anticipate changes to guarantee in various ways, including longevity. providing the customer an CLICK TO upfront proposal outlining CONTACT commission earnt by the DEALER BUSINESS SOLUTIONS introducer.

Many of the soft dollar

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WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF TRAINING WITH THE MTA INSTITUTE? • Trainers with extensive automotive industry experience • On-site one-on-one workplace training • Flexible employer arrangements • State-of-the-art training facility • Online learning capability • Free wi-fi at our training facility • Strong connections to government agencies and industry stakeholders • Unique student opportunities - Pathway to motorsports - Apprentice of the Month and Year Awards - Overseas scholarship opportunities - Links to employers that are members of MTA Queensland - Access to jobs board - Graduation ceremonies THE MTA INSTITUTE offers a full suite of nationally accredited automotive apprenticeships and traineeships in the fields of Light Vehicle, Heavy Vehicle, Motorcycle, Mobile Plant, Automotive Body Repair, Refinishing and more.

ENQUIRE: TRAINING@MTAI.EDU.AU 07 3237 8777 | WWW.MTAI.EDU.AU

RTO No: 31529

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In addition, accredited short courses for licensing requirements are available for Motor Vehicle Sales, Dealers, Wreckers and Automotive Air-Conditioning. We also offer non-accredited short courses in MIG Welding, Paintless Dent Repair, Hybrid Electric Vehicles and Common Rail Diesel Injection.

Become the top-rated dealership in your area.

Call us to watch a free demo. +61 8 7228 0161

PODIUM.COM

VON BIBRA MOTOR GROUP FINDS SUCCESS WITH ONLINE REVIEWS

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ON BIBRA MOTOR Group has been a mainstay in the Gold Coast of Australia for decades. They sell about 750 new and used cars, and handle 3,500 repairs, each month. But Wade von Bibra, Group GM, knew that if the business was going to grow, they had to evolve.

The way car buyers find and choose a dealership has changed. Now consumers are conducting most of their research online and reading reviews before ever stepping on a car lot.

“When people get it in their mind that they want to buy a car, the first thing they do is jump online to see what kind of car they want and which local dealer they should work with,” said von Bibra.

FINDING AN EASIER WAY Prior to implementing Podium, von Bibra had a solution in place to help dealerships collect reviews, but the process wasn’t streamlined. It required them to input customer details, take a photo of the vehicle, and forward it to their digital agency.

From there, the digital agency would send the customer an email with a link to leave a review. By the time the customer got invited, the experience was long gone. Von Bibra needed a faster, easier solution.

“I’m not a rocket scientist when it comes to technology, so what I like most about Podium is how simple it is to use. When you have a customer in front of you, all you have to do is enter their name, number, hit send, and they’ve got the invite.”

CONSISTENT REPUTATION Even though they have only been using Podium for a couple of months, von Bibra Auto Group has already seen 400+ new reviews with an average rating of 4.7 across all review sites.

“Podium is such a powerful tool,” concluded von Bibra. “It has made it very easy for us to collect reviews on Google.

The minute you start adding more steps, the less reviews you’re going to receive, and Podium is so easy—both for our staff and our customers.”

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Can you afford not to be in the circle?

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Innovation

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MTA Queensland | Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence Address Freeway Office Park, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113 Phone (07) 3237 8777 Fax +61 7 3844 4488 Email info@mtaq.com.au Website www.mtaq.com.au Postal PO Box 4530 Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113

Search for MTA Queensland

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• Our corporate partners offer substantial savings on EFTPOS fees, electricity & gas bills and business & residential insurance • Library of online business resources and templates • Weekly industry bulletin • FREE Jobs Board • Discounts on stationery & workshop products • Monthly subscription to the Motor Trader e-magazine • Regular specials & discounts

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M E M B E R S

Training GM's Professional Circle perspective PAUL KULPA GENERAL MANAGER MTA INSTITUTE

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are currently undertaking the design and develop assessment tools unit of competency. This process is helping shape our trainers to be the best in the business and provide quality outcomes for students.

We recently conducted an internal audit to ensure our systems and processes are compliant with the RTO Standards. It was measured against marketing and accuracy of information, information provided at student sign-up, our academic support, training and assessment strategies, trainers currency, our assessment processes, document & records management and continuous improvement processes.

All these areas were comprehensively

MEMBERS' ESSENTIALS Contents 104 Plugged In: Explaining Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Tech 108 Professional Circle training 117 Industrial Relations October 2018 Motor Trader | 101

E S S E N T I A L S

UALITY – AN outcome all consumers want when they purchase a product. As a training organisation, our quality is measured a variety of ways - through government contracts we service, our stakeholder feedback and from our staff. Sometimes it’s hard to quantify, but as I look over what we do as a training organisation, I believe our training quality is exceptional.

There are a number of areas where we continue to look to improve our quality, with the ultimate result benefiting the end user – the student. For example, the MTA Institute continues to work on its training resources with a dedicated Learning and Development manager. We are continually updating our assessment tools to ensure they meet the automotive training package requirements, but also industry expectations.

The development of our trainers continues, with all our trainers recently completing Address adult language, literacy and numeracy (LLN) skills and

QUEENSLAND AUTOMOTIVE TRADES – QOF SCHOLARSHIP The Queensland Automotive Trades – QOF Scholarship assists high achieving vocational education and training graduates (Certificate III and above) in the Queensland automotive industry to travel and work overseas in their chosen vocation for 12 months.

ELIGIBILITY To be eligible for this award, applicants must:

✔ Have completed an apprenticeship (Certificate lll or above) in the automotive industry; ✔ Have current work experience in the automotive industry; ✔ Be a Queensland resident (Australian citizens only); ✔ Be eligible for a work visa to the country in which they wish to travel;

✔ Be at least 18 years of age at the time the scholarship is awarded; ✔ Be prepared to take up the scholarship within 12 months of it being awarded; and ✔ Intend to return to Queensland after their placement.

APPLY • Applications open 30th July 2018 and close 26th October 2018 • Visit http://qof.org.au/qof-scholarship/ queensland-automotive-trades-qofscholarship to apply and find more information including Tc & Cs and selection criteria

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The scholarship funds travel related expenses and a settling in allowance up to $7,500. Recipients will gain valuable international work experience, improve their career prospects and return to Queensland to contribute more broadly from their learnings.

“SIMPLY PUT, EMPLOYERS

achievements in the Vocational Education & Training sector. We hope to have this completed by the end of the year, and the outcome reflecting all our positive process getting the tick of approval.

Quality is never an accident - it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skilful execution. It represents the wise choice of many alternatives.

I believe we’ve always provided a quality product – our training, through our people (i.e. trainers and admin staff) and our structures. While other training providers have come and gone, we’ve stood the test of time, and our quality has prevailed.

ACKNOWLEDGING THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF COLLISION REPAIR INDUSTRY EMPLOYEES IN QUEENSLAND

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-CAR AUSTRALIA, THE organisation that delivers information, training and education to the collision repair industry, is acknowledging the achievements of industry employees from across the country who have achieved I-CAR Platinum Individual accreditation and I-CAR Welding Certification.

The following is a list of Queenslandbased collision repair industry employees who have received I-CAR Platinum Individual Accreditation. These are the latest Platinum Individual Certifications for August:

• Adrian Oliver • Greg Nicoll • Graham Parkinson • Jonathan Reissman • Adam Craft • Glenn Walker • Brendan Moschetti • Paul Marriott • Julius Viljoen • Gordon Buckley • Rodney Laing • Dean Jones • John Clark • Laurence Class

AAMC Suncorp Suncorp Mangano Body Repairs Auto & General IAG Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General Auto & General

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RATED OUR TRAINERS HIGHLY AND STUDENTS RATED THE TRAINERS EQUALLY AS HIGH. OUR TRAINERS ARE QUALITY AND ARE UNDERPINNED BY OUR PROCESSES.”

M E M B E R S

looked at, with the final report stating overall things at MTA institute looked in good shape and all involved should be congratulated. A great result identifying quality processes in place for us as an RTO. However, at the coal face, where trainers are in front of students, and employers want to see great training outcomes, what does this mean in terms of quality? We are also conducting Employer and Student surveys on all our trainers, and the results have been overwhelmingly positive.

Simply put, employers rated our trainers highly and students rated the trainers equally as high. Our trainers are quality and are underpinned by our processes.

Not that we’re stopping there. The MTA Institute is also undertaking the Australian Council for Private Education and Training Industry Certification Program. This is a 360° peer review process, to focus on our student-centric educational quality; ethical practices and behaviours; continuous improvement culture and professional student services. Industry Certification is held in high regard and recognises exemplary

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Plugged In: Explaining Electric & Hybrid Vehicle Tech PAUL TUGWELL TECHNICAL ELECTRICAL TRAINER MTA INSTITUTE

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ELCOME TO THIS month’s Plugged In, in which we continue the journey explaining different types of storage accumulators or batteries and some of the terminology that is associated with these power sources.

With Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEV) or Electric Vehicles (EV), it is important to have the right power source that will be acceptable to the operation of the design of the vehicle.

In this article, I will explain the major types of accumulators that are used.

I expect NiMH and Lithium-ion to be the main source for the next 10 years and the 2020s will see a great many new EVs and PHEVs on the market.

A word or two on battery life.

Batteries are not only used as an initial power source but also as a stabiliser, absorbing ripple voltages that occur when charging and discharging. I do not like saying an automotive battery is ‘flat’ – rather it is dead if it has charge below 11 Volts or when it is discharging or charging.

Manufacturers consider the battery at its end-of-life when it is at 80 per cent of its rated capacity. That means if a battery can go 100km on a full charge, when at 80 per cent it will travel just 80km. The battery will still deliver usable power - it just means that, for example, the internal combustion engine (ICE) of an PHEV will be used more to charge the battery.

The time needed to charge a completely discharged battery can be estimated by using the reserve capacity rating in

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“I EXPECT NiMH AND LITHIUM-

ION BATTERIES TO BE THE MAIN SOURCE OF POWER FOR THE NEXT 10 YEARS, AND THE 2020S WILL SEE A GREAT MANY NEW RVS AND PHEVS ON THE MARKET.” minutes divided by the charging rate (hours needed to charge battery = Reserve capacity/Charge current). For example, if a 10A charge rate is applied to a discharged battery that has a 90-minute reserve capacity, the time needed to charge the battery will be 9 hours (90minutes/10A = 9 hours).

TYPES OF BATTERIES OVERVIEW Though the lead acid battery is more than 160 years old, it is still the major choice for low voltage vehicles. Improvements have been made, of course, such as in sealed low-maintenance batteries in which some of the active materials have been changed to reduce gassing and increase reliability.

VALVE REGULATED LEAD ACID (VRLA) BATTERY The most popular battery used in the industry is the Valve Regulated Lead Acid (VRLA) battery. Unlike the traditional flooded electrolyte lead acid battery, the VRLA provides a path for oxygen generated at the positive electrodes to reach the negative electrodes, where it recombines to form lead sulfate.

A gel cell battery is a VRLA battery with a gelified electrolyte. The sulfuric acid is mixed with silica fume (gas), which makes the resulting mass gel-like and immobile. Gel batteries reduce the electrolyte evaporation and spillage common to wet cell batteries and provide better resistance to temperature, shock, and vibration.Chemically they are the same as wet batteries except that antimony in the lead plates is replaced by calcium.

In a Lighting, Starting, Ignition (LSI) battery, cell components when active are Lead Dioxide, Sponge Lead, and Sulphuric Acid. These are held in grids to form positive and negative plates in parallel, with cells then connected in series Separators between the plates are made of micro porous plastic and these stop plates from shorting out.

A 12 Volt battery consist of 6 cells (2.1Volt) and each cell has plates of Lead Dioxide (Positive) and Sponge Lead (Negative). The electrolyte is a diluted solution of sulfuric acid by distilled or deionised water (60% distilled water and 40% sulfuric acid).

Specific gravity (SG) is a measurement defining the concentration of electrolyte acid. A fully charged cell at 25c would be in the range 1.240 to 1.260 (pronounced 12/40, 12/60). This is an approximate volume ratio of acid to water of 1:3. Pure sulphuric acid has SG of 1.835, water a nominal 1.0.

Always add acid to water, but never top up a battery with sulfuric acid - the ratio „

ABSORBED GLASS MAT BATTERY An Absorbed Glass Mat (AGM) battery is like a flooded lead acid battery except the electrolyte is held in glass mats as opposed to freely flooding the plates.

Very thin glass fibres are woven into a mat to increase surface area enough to hold sufficient electrolyte on the cells for their lifetime. The fibres that comprise the fine glass mat do not absorb, and are not affected by, the acidic electrolyte they are in.

An EV's lithium battery pack and power connections

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LSI BATTERY

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GEL CELL BATTERY

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will change and the chemical reaction will increase can cause explosion.

LITHIUM-ION BATTERY The main source of lithium is from salt pans and salt lakes which produce the soluble salt lithium chloride. Australia is a main supplier of this resource and worldwide reserves are estimated at 30 million tons.

About 0.3 kg of lithium is required per kW/h of battery energy, and even with the expected increase in EVs using lithium, it is estimated that there is enough to last 1000 years.

Lithium-ion cells are considered nonhazardous and contain elements that can be recycled. The anode is a graphite structure and the cathode is layered metal oxide. Lithium is deposited between these layers. The electrolyte is composed of nonaqueous organic lithium salts and acts purely as a conducting medium and does not take part in the chemical action.

When the battery is charging, the lithium–ions move from anode to cathode and take on electrons - the number of ions determines the energy density of the cell. Discharging is this process in reverse - lithium-ions release the electrons to the anode and move back to the cathode.

Lithium movement is slower during the charging process if the temperature is cold. If the charging current is too high it will cause elemental (electroplating) lithium to be deposited on top of the anode, covering the surface. This is known as lithium plating.

Lithium polymer batteries have polymer gel instead of a liquid electrolyte.

NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE The nickel metal hydride batteries evolved from nickel hydrogen batteries used to power satellites in the 1970s. These batteries were expensive and have low volumetric energy because they required high-pressure hydrogen storage tanks, but 106 | Motor Trader October 2018

“ABOUT 0.3KG OF LITHIUM

IS REQUIRED PER KW/H OF BATTERY ENERGY, AND EVEN WITH THE EXPECTED INCREASE IN EVs USING LITHIUM, IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THERE IS ENOUGH TO LAST 1000 YEARS.” they did offer high-pressure energy density, higher life cycle, and long calendar life compare to anything else of the time.

The modern nickel metal hydride (NiMH) electric vehicle battery was invented by the GS Yuasa Corporation and, in these batteries, the negative electrode has been replaced with a metal compound to store hydrogen.

Metal hydride cell chemistry depends on the ability of some metals to absorb large quantities of hydrogen. Metals or alloys are used for the negative electrodes, while the positive electrode is nickel hydroxide. The electrolyte - potassium hydroxide - takes no part in the reaction but serves to transport the hydrogen between the electrodes.

NiMH batteries are known as alkaline batteries due to the pH (greater than 7) nature of the electrolyte. Potassium hydroxide works very well for this application because it does not corrode the other parts of the battery and can be housed in a steel container.

VIDEO: BMW BATTERY ASSEMBLY

Battery cells combined into a module

NiMH battery during charging: hydrogen ions (an atom or a group of atoms that has electric charge), travel from the positive electrode to the negative electrode where they are absorbed into the metal hydride material.

NiMH battery during discharge: when the battery is discharged, this process reverses, with the hydrogen ions (protons) traveling from the negative electrode back to the positive electrode. The density of the electrodes changes during the chargedischarge process, but this is kept to a minimum as only protons are exchanged during battery cycling.

Electrode stability due to minimal density changes is one reason why the NiMH battery has very good cycle life.

SOC of a NiMH battery cannot be measured using cell voltage alone. Instead, SOC is determined using a complex

calculation based on battery temperature, output current, and cell voltage (NiMH cells produce 1.2volts, and modules come in packs of 6 cells). Accurate SOC measurements are critical for maximising NiMH battery performance and service life. This is worked out by the HV ECU. High operating temperatures can lower performance and cause damage to a NiMH battery pack. Consequently, all current HEVs use air-cooling to control temperature. Sensors are mounted in various locations in the battery pack housing to send data to the module responsible for controlling battery temperature. These inputs are used to help determined battery charge rate and cooling fan operation.

In some Ford vehicles, the air conditioning system is used to circulate cool air over the battery pack.

I hope you have found this article of interest, In the next issue of Motor Trader, I will discuss battery terms and how we measure battery Energy - kW/h, Power kW, C rate, Ah, and Rated peak power.

Until next time. Paul.

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Because it doesn not take part in the chemical reaction, the potassium hydroxide concentration stays constant at any given state of charge (SOC). These factors help the NiMH battery achieve high power performance and excellent life cycle.

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Professional Circle training

MTAQ HOLDS FIRST INTRODUCTION TO SOCIAL MEDIA WORKSHOP

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VERYONE HAS HEARD about ‘Social Media’. It’s a collective name for platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, and a host of others, and the chances are you use at least a couple of these every day - perhaps you use Facebook to let your friends know about something happening in your life, or watch a video via YouTube.

They have become an indispensable part of our lives and the words ‘followers’, ‘tweets’, ‘likes’, ‘hashtags’, ‘posts’ and ‘shares’ have become part of our vocabulary.

While these platforms may have started as a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family and entertain them with an

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amusing video or two, it was not long before their value as a business marketing tool became clear. They cost nothing to join, and the ability to reach millions of potential customers - with the only investment required one of time to craft an informative post - makes their value obvious.

Of course, while a business may know the importance of social media - more than 17million Australians are active social media users - what is perhaps more vital is to know how to use the platforms well to advance that business’s interests.

And that was the purpose of the MTA Queensland’s first ‘Lunch & Learn’ event, held in September. A new program

THE FACT THAT THE INTERNET ONLY TOOK ON A RECOGNISABLE FORM IN THE 1990S AND FACEBOOK DIDN’T EXIST BEFORE 2004, THIS IS REALLY A MODERN PHENOMENON . . .” of short events, the ‘Lunch & Learn’ sessions are intended to introduce members to technology and concepts that are important to the success of their business. They are to be held at a time when owners or representatives can slip out for a lunch break and receive a solid hour of content and learning without too much interruption to their daily business operations.

The inaugural Social Media for Automotive Businesses Lunch & Learn event was a great success. Held in conjunction with Business Station Inc,

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“WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT

M E M B E R S

Lysa Dugandzic, Marketing & Communications Manager for MTA Queensland

Australian Small Business Advisory Services Digital Solutions and Regional Development Australia (Southern, Central and Whitsunday), more than 35 business owners and representatives attended the session at the MTAiQ Innovation Hub. The session was delivered by Lysa Dugandzic, Marketing & Communications Manager for MTA Queensland, and attendees were introduced not only to the basics of the social media platforms but given some of the tricks and tips to forming a solid and successful presence on them.

“We are constantly hearing from members that social media is a difficult area in which to become proficient,” said Lysa. “When you think about the fact that the Internet only took on a recognisable form in the 1990s and Facebook didn’t exist before 2004, this is really a modern phenomenon and automotive businesses that have been around a long time have come to the realisation that traditional forms of marketing and advertising aren’t necessarily the best in today’s landscape.

“People in automotive businesses know they must have a marketing strategy that includes social media and online advertising, but for many it is very confusing and they are not quite sure where to start,” she added. “Often, business owners do not have the time or the money to undertake courses or hire consultants, so are learning on-the-go. It also doesn’t help that social media platforms are constantly changing, so there is no such thing as ‘mastering’ how to do it. I think that is why we have seen a great turn-out for this event - there is always something new to learn!”

Attendees were given guidance on which of the social media platforms may work best for them; how to produce adverts, create engaging content and how best to connect with potential customers; as well as information on the way the algorithms of the various platforms work and how best to take advantage of them.

It was a very thorough introduction

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Professional Circle training

More than 30 business owners and representatives attended the session on social media

and was met with very positive feedback.

“PEOPLE IN AUTOMOTIVE Emma Tout, from MTA Queensland member Truck & Earth Heavy Mechanical, BUSINESSES KNOW THEY travelled in to Brisbane from Beaudesert MUST HAVE A MARKETING to attend and was keen to get back to put STRATEGY THAT INCLUDES into practice what she had learned.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE “We were actually in the process of ADVERTISING, BUT FOR MANY getting a media person to take care of IT IS VERY CONFUSING AND all our Facebook, Instagram and website THEY ARE NOT QUITE SURE work,” said Emma. “However, we then saw WHERE TO START.” this event being advertised on Facebook and decided to come along. And it has been great. It covered a lot of areas that we other businesses across Queensland by undertaking joint marketing to get further had been trying to work out how to do for ourselves and I’m now ready to give it a go.” reach and increased attendance,” said Lysa. “The Social Media for Automotive This first Lunch & Learn event will be followed up over the next few months with Businesses workshop will continue around Queensland in various regional locations. sessions on other technologies and areas “MTA Queensland, in conjunction important to the automotive sector. The with MTAiQ, is aiming to hold monthly partnerships between MTA Queensland workshops covering topics that connect and other organisations will see the social to emerging technologies and support media workshop available to businesses members’ education in the ‘new world’ across the state. of the automotive industry, with a big “Our partnerships with Business focus on small business with future Station Inc, Australian Small topics to include blockchain and Business Advisory Services CLICK TO telematics.”

Digital Solutions and Regional VISIT THE MTA QUEENSLAND Development Australia will For more information, go to the MTA FACEBOOK PAGE ensure we can reach members Queensland website and keep an eye on of MTA Queensland as well the MTA Queensland Facebook page.

110 | Motor Trader October 2018

HOW CAN 3D PRINTING BENEFIT THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY?

Date: Wednesday 24th October Time: 9am – 1pm Venue: MTAiQ, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains Cost: FREE PRESENTERS > Richard Elving – Channel Sales Manager Asia Pacific at Markforged > Professor Michael Milford – QUT Robotics Professor, Expert Speaker, Microsoft & ARC Fellow, Australian Centre for Robotic Vision > Dr Sue Keay – Chief Operating Officer at Australian Centre for Robotic Vision, Superstar of STEM FACILITATOR > Dr Brett Dale – Chief Executive Officer at Motor Trades Association of Queensland Morning tea, lunch and refreshments provided.

No specific dietary requirements will be catered for.

For more information or 0427 532 888 or nnguyen@mtaq.com.au

20180713

REGISTER

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

Emily and Damien Meneguzzo

BRIDGESTONE SELECT ENOGGERA CLAIMS TOP SPOT IN ANNUAL BRIDGESTONE AWARDS

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RIDGESTONE SELECT ENOGGERA has been named Australia’s top performing store, claiming the title National Franchise of the Year in the annual Bridgestone MasterClass program awards, presented at the company’s National Dealer Conference in Adelaide last month.

The MasterClass program sees stores assessed over 12 months in a number of areas of business operations and customer service, as well as meeting sales targets.

Bridgestone Select Enoggera proved itself across all categories to take the national title and was awarded with the

112 | Motor Trader October 2018

grand prize of a new Toyota Hilux. The store, run by Damien Meneguzzo and Martin Habershon, was also named as Queensland’s top performing store.

Bridgestone Select stores throughout Australia that scored more than 95 per cent across the criteria being assessed were inducted into the coveted Chairman’s Club. This year, a record nine stores met the entry requirement.

According to retiring Bridgestone Australia and New Zealand Managing Director, Andrew Moffatt, this year’s MasterClass program was one of the most

MTA QUEENSLAND WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS Business Name

Principal/s

Address

Email

Division

Brake Force Plus Pty Ltd Burling Motor Group Gold Coast Collision Centre

Wayne Lee Neven Nicholas Burling Megan Leishman

64 Clarke Street Garbutt 3/8 Price Street, Southport QLD 4215 103 Dover Drive, Burleigh Heads QLD 4220

accounts@wnm.net.au Nick@burlingmotorgroup.com.au admin@gccollisioncentre.com

AED ARD NACA

October 2018 Motor Trader | 113

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our Enoggera store were really high - so we thought we were really in with a good shot.

“On the night, we were announced as the state winner and I knew then we had a chance at the national award. And when Andrew Moffatt announced us as the winner, it was incredible. It was a huge relief and a massive reward for all the hard work that we have put in.”

And it does take a lot of work, for the yearlong MasterClass program means stores have to be on the top of their game at all times.

“Whether you win or not, the program really does benefit the business,” he said.

“The idea of is to not only recognise excellent work but constantly keep the shops developing and focused on those aspects that are so important. It pushes you to raise the bar and always improve, and that, in return, should create more sales.

“So, we are always making sure that we are on top of OHS, testing and tagging equipment, environmental safety, hoist servicing and so on; and also that we are following the correct processes for sales, know what is happening in our marketplace, and ensuring we have the right products on the shelf and are meeting our customers’ expectations and needs.”

With six stores in his group, and all performing well at the awards, Damien said it was a real honour to come out on top, and a reflection of just how committed everyone in the group was to doing things right.

“We believe in Bridgestone and love the brand, so to get that award is really satisfying,” he said. “I am so happy for our staff. They are so engaged and work so hard, and to see them rewarded and know that we have done it as a team makes me very proud.”

M E M B E R S

competitive yet.

“Customer service is one of the pinnacles of Bridgestone’s retail network, and our MasterClass program is how we identify and reward our top performing stores,” said Mr Moffatt.

“We continually evolve the MasterClass program and raise the benchmark for our stores, so for a record number of stores to achieve entry into the Chairman’s Club in 2018 speaks volumes for the calibre of our network.

“Congratulations to Damien Meneguzzo, Martin Habershon and the team at Bridgestone Select Enoggera, winning this year’s top prize, as well as all of our regional winners across the Bridgestone Select and Bridgestone Service Centre network.

“Each year our stores go head-to-head for the top prize, and ultimately it is our customers that are the true winners, with stores continually improving on customer service and business processes.”

For Damien, taking out the coveted top award was a proud moment. As well as the Enoggera store, he and Martin own another five Bridgestone Select shops across Brisbane and have been challenging for the top spot in the awards for some years without ever taking the main prize.

“In previous years, we thought we were in with a real shot but didn’t win,” said Damien. “This year, we again knew we had done well – the customer service ratings at

CARS &

C O F F E E

The old and the new met at MT Queensland's head office for the monthly Cars & Coffee gathering.

Left: 'Whitey', a 1912 Willys-Overland Model 61 Right: A Mclaren 540c Coupe

THE OLD AND THE NEW BRING RAY OF SUNSHINE TO CARS & COFFEE

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HE WEATHER WASN'T great, but 1968 Mini Coupe and an equally die-hard enthusiasts still made the pristine 1978 BMW 635CSI Coupe. trip out to MTA Queensland's head These classics were joined by office at Eight Mile Plains for September's some modern stunners, including Cars & Coffee get together. a 2017 McLaren 540c Coupe Star of the show was 'Whitey', a - a 397kW, 3.8-litre twin1912 Willys-Overland Model 61. turbocharged V8 supercar CLICK TO For regular readers of Motor that can post performance READ THE 'WHITEY' STORY Trader, you might remember figures of 0-100km/h in 3.4 'Whitey' from our Classic Car seconds and a top speed feature in last month's edition. of 320km/h. Nice!

A rather special and unique vehicle MTA Queensland's Cars with a wonderful history, 'Whitey' made & Coffee will return on October for quite a talking point.

28. It's held at our head office Also making the trip out to MTA in Eight Mile Plains, Brisbane Queensland was a rather brilliant 1971 between 7.30am and 9.30am.

AMC Rambler Hornet, a picture perfect Hope to see you there!

114 | Motor Trader October 2018

„

October 2018 Motor Trader | 115

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Address Freeway Office Park, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113 Enquiries to: courses@mtai.edu.au Website www.mtai.edu.au

“SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES CAN

property of the business. The policy could specify that an employee may have limited INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS OFFICER personal use of the internet during nonwork hours such as lunch or morning / afternoon tea; and restricts streaming of music and videos and sports/ movies etc. Set out in the policy what you deem to be appropriate or inappropriate use of internet access, email or social media sites.

OCIAL MEDIA SITES such as State the consequences of breaching Facebook and Twitter have become the policy by way of inappropriate use of increasingly popular and are now social media. This may include disciplinary the norm in our society. With the high use action such as a verbal or written warning of social media sites it is worthwhile for and in some very serious cases, dismissal. businesses to have a social media policy Ensure that the stated consequences are in in place. Social media policies can apply line with any other disciplinary policy that to any company-based social media site, you may already have in place. instant messaging etc., but can also be As with the introduction of any policy, written to include employee’s private a meeting should be held with staff to social media sites. introduce them to the new or updated It is reasonable to provide that an policy. It is recommended that you employee who uses social media and who provide each employee with a copy of has his/her settings on “public” must not: the policy and have them return a signed • Make any slanderous, derogatory, acknowledgement confirming they discriminatory or otherwise offensive received, read and understood the policy. comments about any staff, management This topic is distinct from policies or affiliates of the business; the business can have about the use of • Defame the employer on any social electronic devices such as laptops and media site; ipads provided by the business to the • Bring the employer into disrepute. employee for work purposes.

In addition to the above, your policy can A Social Media Policy template is say that where employees have internet available for Members on the MTAQs access it is for work purposes and Knowledge Base - Industrial CLICK TO VISIT all material posted on the system, Relations or contact our IR staff.

THE MTAQ KNOWLEDGE including emails, remains the EVANGELINE KANNIS

SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY- WHY YOU SHOULD HAVE ONE FOR YOUR BUSINESS

S

BASE

October 2018 Motor Trader | 117

E S S E N T I A L S

APPLY TO ANY COMPANYBASED SOCIAL MEDIA SITE, INSTANT MESSAGING ETC., BUT CAN ALSO BE WRITTEN TO INCLUDE EMPLOYEE’S PRIVATE SOCIAL MEDIA SITES.”

M E M B E R S

Industrial relations

E S S E N T I A L S M E M B E R S

MTA Queensland CEO Dr Brett Dale with Chairman David Fraser at the launch of the MTAiQ Innovation Hub

MTA QUEENSLAND CHAIRMAN STEPS DOWN AFTER A DECADE OF LEADERSHIP

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AVID FRASER, MTA Queensland’s Chairman for the past 10 years, and the longest-serving Chairman in the Association’s 90-year history, is to step down from the role in November.

Having led MTA Queensland through a period of change and development that included the Association’s move to a new state-of-the-art administration and training facility in 2012, and having strongly supported the executive team as the Association shifted to embrace the technological evolution of the automotive industry through initiatives such as the MTAiQ Innovation Hub, 118 | Motor Trader October 2018

“I HAVE ENJOYED MY

TIME AS CHAIRMAN AT MTA QUEENSLAND AND HAVE BEEN PROUD TO WITNESS THE ASSOCIATION BECOME THE LEADING PEAK MOTOR INDUSTRY BODY IN AUSTRALIA.” David said that MTA Queensland was well prepared for the future and it was time for new leaders to come through and tackle the challenges ahead.

“Every position in life has a tenure, and

“I BELIEVE NOW IS THE

of the Board - during which time he also held positions as Director and Vice Chair of the MTA Institute and, by virture of his position at the Association, a seat on Campbell Newman's Queensland Government business advisory forum body - David will remain engaged with MTA Queensland and committed to its success through his ongoing roles as Director on the Board of MTA Queensland and as Chairman of the Association’s Queensland Farm and Industrial Machinery Division (QFIMDD). That is a position he has held for 15 years and, having spent his entire career working within that industry sector (a sector that is, incidentally, at the forefront of technological innovation) it is one that he is passionate about.

David (right) with then Queensland Premier Campbell Newman, motor racing legend Sir Jack Brabham, Steve Ghost, and current MTA Queensland Deputy CEO Kellie Dewar at the opening of the Association's head office in 2012

October 2018 Motor Trader | 119

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RIGHT TIME TO STEP DOWN AND SEE NEW LEADERS COME INTO THE INDUSTRY WITH FRESH IDEAS AND THOUGHTS ABOUT CHANGE.”

M E M B E R S

there comes a point when you know it’s the right time to go,” he said. “I have enjoyed my time as Chairman at MTA Queensland David Fraser and have been proud to witness the Association become the leading peak motor industry body in Australia.

“The automotive industry in this country is set to undergo more change in the next 10 years than it has seen in the last 90,” he added. “Who would have thought, just a few years ago, that we would be driving electric cars, or considering the possibility of flying a car to and from work or being chauffeured around in a vehicle with no driver at all. Technology never stands still, it is always evolving.

“I believe now is the right time to step down and see new leaders come into the industry with fresh ideas and thoughts about change.”

Although he will step down as Chairman

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“There is a lot to do in that division,” he said. “Especially in supporting members through specific training on new technology such as farm machinery auto steer guidance and driverless technology, which is used for all sorts of farm applications.”

Having David remain engaged with MTA Queensland will be a tremendous benefit to the Association. His exceptionally strong business background, together with his industry experience and knowledge, will continue to be a great asset.

His career in the industry stretches back to 1974, when he became an apprentice motor mechanic at a Ford tractor dealership in Dalby.

Taking the opportunity to develop his skills through Business Management

“I FELT I NEEDED TO GIVE

BACK TO AN INDUSTRY THAT HAD CONSUMED MY WHOLE WORKING LIFE AND GIVEN ME THE OPPORTUNITIES THAT I HAVE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO ENJOY.”

David during his address to guests at the y Ball land Industr MTA Queens annual 120 | Motor Trader October 2018

David oversaw MTA Queensland's move to its state-of-the-art head office - the Sir Jack Brabham Automotive CentreEight of Excellence - in 2012 MTA Queensland, Mile Planes, Brisbane

training, David would go on to develop a stellar business career – joining Chesterfield Australia in 1982 and rising to become the Chief Executive of that organisation in 2004, overseeing a period of sustained growth.

He is still deeply involved in the agricultural sector, now working with McIntosh & Son, Australia’s leading farming, construction, and grounds care machinery and equipment dealer.

He currently runs the company’s Dalby dealership and is part of the company’s management group.

On his involvement with MTA Queensland, David said that it was a privilege to have led the Association and he is proud to have been at its helm.

“I felt I needed to give back to an industry that had consumed my whole working life and given me the opportunities that I have been lucky enough to enjoy,” he said. “I am pleased to have had the opportunity

M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S

“. . . I AM PROUD TO HAVE

SEEN THE ASSOCIATION DEVELOP AND GROW, MOVE INTO ITS NEW HEAD OFFICE AND TRAINING FACILITY AND, AS I STEP DOWN, BE IN A VERY SOUND FINANCIAL POSITION.” to be a part of shaping MTA Queensland as we know it today.

“I have always had the vision for MTA Queensland to be the peak body supporting the motor industry in Queensland and I am proud to have seen the Association develop and grow, move into its new head office and training facility and, as I step down, be in a very sound financial position.”

“David has Chaired the group through one of the toughest periods in our history,” said Dr Brett Dale, CEO of the MTA Queensland Group. “When you look at the

skills required by the Chair to navigate that period and guide the Association, we couldn’t have been more fortunate.

“David has brought to the table a steady hand, a sensible approach and an outstanding level of industry and business expertise. He has always put the interests of the Association at the fore; been persuasive, supportive and decisive as the Chair, and managed to bring the Board through some tough times.

“He has backed the executive team 100 per cent and represented industry exceptionally well,” added Dr Dale.

“Our focus on innovation and leading opportunities for industry is a huge shift and requires a change in culture and the way we think instinctively. David has led that charge at the Board level and gained a consensus that allowed us to get on with the job and rebuild the business and reputation to its current success.

"He has been truly supportive and a strong leader who will be missed. His successor has big boots to fill!”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 121

Carl and Vicki Tattam, owners of Diff Lapping Qld

DIFF LAPPING QLD MARKS 50TH ANNIVERSAY IN 2018

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EING IN BUSINESS for 50 years is a remarkable milestone for any company. As many small and medium-sized business owners will know, it takes a lot of hard graft to get things moving, growing and running smoothly.

However, the 50th anniversary is exactly what MTA Queensland member Diff Lapping Qld is celebrating in 2018.

Based in the Brisbane suburb of Kedron, Diff Lapping Qld has been offering its services to the public and to industry since it was founded in 1968 and for many of those years it ran under the guidance of Charlie Serchen - a name members may recognise as Charlie was, for many years, a Board member of MTA Queensland and Chairman of the Association’s Automotive Engineers Division.

Now owned and run by Carl and Vicki Tattam, Diff Lapping Qld continues to prosper, offering its unique service to customers both national and international, and its long and successful

122 | Motor Trader October 2018

history is one that proves that a focus on delivering a service and product that is second to none will always be successful if you’re the best at what you do, customers will come. Another few decades could easily be on the cards.

Like many businesses, Diff Lapping Qld’s name reflects the service it offers. While the company’s services include differential parts, axle straightening, vintage and veteran vehicle parts and repairs, gearbox repairs and parts, and the sale of Drivetech 4x4 parts and accessories, it is diff lapping for which it is renowned.

VIDEO: DIFF LAPPING 1 OF 3 - STARTING OFF

VIDEO: DIFF LAPPING 2 OF 3 - LAPPING MACHINE

So, what is diff lapping? Well, it concerns the service and maintenance of a vehicle’s differential, but before we go any further, it’s probably worth reviewing exactly what a differential (diff) does.

While there are many varieties of diffs, they all essentially boil down to one job - it is a device that allows one input to drive two outputs at differing speeds.

In a vehicle, this means it allows for one wheel to turn faster than the other while they both receive engine power. This is important when taking a corner, for instance – a situation where the outer wheel rotates faster than the inner wheel.

The diff works through a system of gears that interlock and engage to adjust the power and speed being delivered to the drive wheels. Given that all power

to the drive wheels comes through it, a diff in perfect working order is vital to the smooth running, handling and performance of a vehicle - dodgy gears in a diff affect the performance of a vehicle and can be irritatingly noisy.

And that is where diff lapping – the process and the company – comes in.

Keeping the gears of a diff in excellent condition is the name of the game and ‘lapping’ is the process that is used.

In general, lapping is a process during which two surfaces are rubbed together with an abrasive - a solution of silicon carbide and oil in Diff Lapping's case between them. In the case of a diff, it is used to make adjustments to the tooth profile and contact points and improve the surface finishing - removing high spots to obtain even and consistent surface contact.

“The lapping process is basically about smoothing the surface of the gears, getting the contact pattern in the right position to provide long-lasting and quiet operation,” says Carl.

“Gears can get unevenly worn and through the lapping process we can smooth out worn gears and reposition the contact pattern. It’s a precision task and there is a lot of operator input into getting the right result.”

The range of gearsets that Diff Lapping Qld can work on is broad – anything from 4 to 18½ inches - and the company’s customer base is equally broad.

“We have had gears sent to us from NZ and from the UK for lapping,” says Carl.

“And we do a lot of work for various OEM manufacturers.

“We often lap brand new gears because those gearsets are not necessarily quiet when manufactured. We also lap secondhand gearsets to give them another life and reclaim a lot of gears that you can’t buy anymore - quite a lot of old and vintage stuff. For example, we recently finished working on a 1912 Argyle, which I believe is one of only two left in the world.”

October 2018 Motor Trader | 123

Central to the work that Diff Lapping Qld do is a Gleason Lapping Machine.

It is an amazing piece of equipment.

Built in 1936, the Gleason is not exactly the sleek piece of machinery you might expect in a 21st century business but, as the old saying goes, ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and the truth is that this glorious piece of 20th century engineering is just about the best piece of kit for the job.

“That machine is essential,” says Charlie. “It can lap almost any differential crown wheel and pinion and on several business trips to factories in Japan in the 1990s I observed identical machines sitting amongst other specialist lapping machines. When I asked why, I was told this old one was the most accurate!”

“The machine may be old, but it is still the perfect machine for the job” adds Carl.

“We manufacture different mountings and plates to fit a wide variety of gearsets – everything from a 4 inch to 18½ inches and it copes with that range no problem.

“Of course, it’s not just a case of putting a gear in, pushing the button and walking away. To get the best result out of the gearset comes through experience, and that is what we have. I don’t think there are many people who offer the service we do.”

A STORY 50 YEARS IN THE MAKING

The Diff Lapping Qld story actually starts before 1968, and in a different State, when Charlie Serchen’s uncle, Jim Liprini, having recognised that the differentials in the Holden cars he was using in his taxi business could use some improvement, saw a gap in the market and set about creating a differential assembly business at his workshop, called Modification P/L, at Surry Hills in Sydney.

“In those days the quality of finish on the mating surface of the crown wheel and pinion meant that drive noise was common,” says Charlie. “Lapping the gears meant the differentials could be set up to be much quieter and last longer. And that process was done not only on Holdens - all VIDEO: DIFF LAPPING 3 OF 3 - FINISHING OFF vehicles suffered from diff noise.”

After incorporating a local lapping business into Modifications P/L in 1966, Jim renamed the business Differentials P/L and a couple of years later established the Diff Lapping business in Brisbane under the management of Jim Milliner.

Charlie, who had served his apprenticeship at Modifications P/L in Sydney, and who had moved up to Queensland Carl Tattam with the extraordinary to work as a mechanic, Gleason Lapping machine joined Diff Lapping in Brisbane in the early ‘70s to work on diff assembly.

Located at a small shed in Red Hill, the Diff Lapping team consisted of just Charlie and Jim at the beginning, but over the next few years, as the business grew, the workshop was extended

124 | Motor Trader October 2018

and more staff were brought on, including a teenage Carl Tattam.

In 1983, a new workshop was built at Slacks Creek and the business opened a second shop there.

In 1985, Charlie became a director of the company and in 1989, after moving to new premises at Kedron, the business was renamed Diff Lapping & Repairs and became a separate company from its Sydney parent with Charlie responsible for all aspects of the running of the The Diff Lapping shopfront in the 1970s business.

Charlie bought the business outright in 2003 and purchased a standhas been with the business for 37 years, the alone building in Boothby Street, Kedron, last six as owner. There’s more experience that was more suited to automotive on the shop floor too, with four other mechanical work. In 2007, the buildingat technicians in the workshop with decades Slacks Creek was sold with Diff Lapping of diff work between them. continuing to operate out of the Having taken the opportunity to take Kedron site. over the business when Charlie retired, Which nearly brings us up to date, except that a bare bones timeline tells only Carl says it was an easy decision to make.

“After being here so long, and knowing part of the story. the ins and outs of the business, it was the Over the decades, thousands of people perfect opportunity,” he says. have had their vehicles improved by And it is, he adds, a great honour to be at the service Diff Lapping provides; the the head of such a well-respected shop. business has been involved with the local “It does make me extremely proud,” he community through sponsorships and other outreach programs; and hundreds says. “Quite honestly, it is a remarkable of young people have come through the achievement for a business to be around company’s workshops to work, develop a this long, skill and learn a trade to build their lives “It’s the quality of the work we put around. That’s no small feat. out that counts. I don’t think you can be For Charlie, who left school in Year 10 around for 50 years in business without with no formal training, the business producing a good quality job and we have is a monument to what determination a lot of customers, who have been with us and a good dollop of hard work can for a long time, who continue to spread the create and it led to his involvement with word about us.

MTA Queensland and a place within “And I hope the business will be around the Association that helped him be for another 50 years,” he adds. “I won’t be instrumental in actions designed to here then, but I’d like to think that the boys advance the automotive industry. who are here will keep rolling with it. We’re Diff Lapping Qld is now in the hands instilling in them everything that we’ve of Carl Tattam and his wife Vicki, learned over the years and hope that CLICK TO VISIT THE DIFF and a more experienced set of they will carry on their excellent LAPPING QLD hands would be hard to find - Carl work when the time comes.”

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Concept corner

MERC REVEALS THE ELE 126 | Motor Trader October 2018

ECTRIC SILVER ARROW October 2018 Motor Trader | 127

Concept corner

Mercedes-Benz Vision EQ Silver Arrow

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ERCEDES-BENZ HAS UNVEILED the electric Vision EQ Silver Arrow show car.

An homage to the record-breaking W125 car from 1937, the one-seater vehicle is an absolute stunner with the latest tech and quality materials used to create its sleek shape and sophisticated performance.

The car's body structure is made of carbon fibre, as are functional attachments such as the front splitter.

The side skirts feature a lighting strip, and the recessed EQ lettering in front of the rear wheels is illuminated blue. Other highlights include the multi-spoke wheels.

The 168 spokes per wheel are made of lightweight aluminium and painted rose gold colour.

While there is cool stuff going on outside the car, there's some good stuff on the inside too. A four-point seatbelt inspired by motorsport holds the driver securely in place while the pedals can be adapted to the driver's specific stature, with a controller located on the seat for adjusting the pedals.

The driver of the Silver Arrow is encompassed by a large panoramic screen

128 | Motor Trader October 2018

VIDEO: MERCEDES-BENZ VISION EQ SILVER ARROW: SHOW CAR WORLD PREMIERE

on which a 3D image of the surroundings is projected from behind.

With the help of artificial intelligence, Mercedes says it is also possible to engage in a virtual race against historic or present Silver Arrow racing cars. To do this a virtual racetrack is superimposed onto the real roadway on the panoramic screen and the driver sees their opponent either ahead of them or behind them as a "ghost".

There’s a touchscreen on the steering wheel that the driver can use to select programs such as Comfort, Sport and Sport+, which offer different driving characteristics.

Sound settings can also be configured from the touchscreen, with choices

including the sound of a current Formula One Silver Arrow or a Mercedes-AMG V8.

Conceived as an electric vehicle, Mercedes says the Silver Arrow has an output of 550kW (750hp).

Performance, while not specified, would no doubt be phenomenal. The thin rechargeable battery in the underbody

has a useable capacity of approx. 80kWh and enables a calculated range of over 400km.

While unlikely to go into production, if the Silver Arrow points to the development of the Mercedes EQ brand, then the electric vehicle future is looking very cool indeed.

October 2018 Motor Trader | 129

MT’s Christmas Gift Guide

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018 HAS SHOT by at a rate of knots and Christmas is now just a few weeks away. With that in mind, and knowing that it can be a bit tricky to find the time to find goodies for friends and family, here are a few ideas with an automotive twist that might make interesting gifts.

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❶ ROUTE 66 FUEL BOWSER TABLE LAMP A smart-looking lamp this one, that provides a soft red and white glow. Plenty of detail in the vintage styling and a decent gift for the car enthusiast in everyone – especially, perhaps, those with a particular fondness for classic American muscle cars. $49.95 Available from www.gyrofish.com.au (Not suitable for children under 3)

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❷ AIR POWER ENGINE CAR Build your own car that runs on clean energy.

No motor, no battery. This do-it-yourself science kit runs completely on air. The kids’ construction kit uses a pump and cylinder engine to send the DIY vehicle racing 50 metres. A great introduction to green energy through hands-on learning. $39.95 Available from www.shop. australiangeographic.com.au (For ages 10+)

❸ RACING CAR BISCUIT TIN Bring some ‘va va voom’ to rooms with this vintage-inspired American muscle car wall art. The worn, weathered finish of this car wall hanging gives it a lovely character that nods to old-fashioned grit and glamour. At more than a metre long, this metal relief wall art makes a real statement. $400 Available from www.artisanti.com 130 | Motor Trader October 2018

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❹ RECYCLED TYRE RUBBER PLANTER

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One for the tyre industry specialist perhaps!

We all know that end-of-life tyres are a problem and anything that sees more of them being recycled is a good thing. So, for the greenfingered amongst you, here are some handmade planters made with recycled car tyre rubber. $12 Available from www.upcyclestudio.com.au

❺ MERCEDES CLASSIC CAR FOR KIDS

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Luxury transportation for the kids, and it’s an electric vehicle too! The Classic Mercedes Car from Big Fun Club can even play music through an MP3 connection and includes a 128MB SD card for music storage. Reaches up to 8km/h and is good for two hours use per charge.

Bags of fun here! $439 Available from www.zanui.com.au

❻ VINTAGE CAR 3D PUZZLE Construct your very own Vintage Car in a stimulating puzzle challenge. The slot-and-tab design means you don't need tools and glue to put it together and who doesn’t like a puzzle? $29 Available from www.kogan.com (Not for children under 3 years.)

❼ 7-IN-1 SOLAR RECHARGEABLE VEHICLE CONSTRUCTION STATION KIT ❻

The 7-in-1 Solar Rechargeable Station is an innovative solar science kit that teaches children the different ways of powering and charging a machine using their imagination! Comes with all the interchangeable plastic parts to make 5 different vehicles and 2 power charging stations.

You can change the shape of your vehicle into varying configurations and experiment with solar power to see how it recharges the vehicle. $34.99 Available from www.yellowoctopus.com.au (Recommended for ages 8 and up (some parental assistance may be required).)

October 2018 Motor Trader | 131

Investment matters

MARKET WRAP

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HE S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index returned 1.42% in August with the best performing sector, Information Technology, closing up 12.95%. This was a solid result, particularly given the political instability during the month with Scott Morrison replacing Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister.

The Dow Jones Industrial and MSCI World Index closed up 2.16% and 1.24%, respectively. Trade issues continue to dominate headlines with President Trump indicating he would increase the tariff imposed on $200b of imports on China from 10% to 25%.

The price action this reporting season was highly unusual. Stock price movements were nearly double the average over the past decade, despite an ordinary set of earnings. Revenues have been strong and companies are starting to reinvest. Our thesis has been that as bond yields rose with higher inflation, multiples would come under pressure.

This has not played out. Trump trade wars have kept a lid on global growth and this has led to bond yields flattening out. In this environment with global growth not accelerating and yields not steepening, growth stocks have remained attractive.

We continue to see signs of inflation picking up. Results from US-exposed stocks like Brambles (ASX:BXB) and James Hardie Industries (ASX:JHX) highlighted a pickup in input costs. Resource companies also flagged rising input costs. The factors 132 | Motor Trader October 2018

THE PRICE ACTION THIS REPORTING SEASON WAS HIGHLY UNUSUAL. STOCK PRICE MOVEMENTS WERE NEARLY DOUBLE THE AVERAGE OVER THE PAST DECADE, DESPITE AN ORDINARY SET OF EARNINGS. driving subdued inflation remain in place. New technology is enabling better productivity and use of capacity and ageing baby boomers are being replaced by cheaper workers. But excess slack in the labour market is easing as the economic cycle extends. Tariffs and tax cuts are also inflationary and we are inclined to think central banks will let inflation run to allow the economies to emerge from the current deflationary environment. The conclusion is that margins are under pressure and we should focus on companies with quality characteristics.

DISCLAIMER This document has been prepared by DNR Capital Pty Ltd, AFS Representative - 294844 of DNR AFSL Pty Ltd ABN 39 118 946 400, AFSL 301658. It is general information only and is not intended to be a recommendation to invest in any product or financial service mentioned above. Whilst DNR Capital has used its best endeavours to ensure the information within this document is accurate it cannot be relied upon in any way and recipients must make their own enquiries concerning the accuracy of the information within. The general information in this document has been prepared without reference to any recipient’s objectives, financial situation or needs. Before making any financial investment decisions we recommend recipients obtain legal and taxation advice appropriate to their particular needs. Investment in a DNR Capital managed account can only be made on completion of all the required documentation.

MTAQ are a Charity Partner of Youngcare and our staff show support by wearing casual clothes on Friday and donating gold coins.

Please join us and donate to this life-changing organisation!

Steven Tong, Mechanic Member since 2002

It’s my choice.

Make it yours.

I’ve always loved working with cars.

When I retire, I want to continue to share this passion with others, spend time with my family, and travel.

With MTAA Super, I know I’m in good hands.

1300 362 415 mtaasuper.com.au

05/18

This document is issued by Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited (ABN 14 008 650 628, AFSL 238 718) of Level 3, 39 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600, Trustee of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited has ownership interests in Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd and Members Equity Bank Limited. The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your specific needs or personal situation. You should consider the MTAA Super Product Disclosure Statement in making a decision (mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks).