The four-door Panamera is already causing ripples.

“We are getting some inquiries; people are interested in the idea,” Porsche Cars Australia's Michael Winkler says.

“What's very interesting is that this is a whole new segment for us, and we're not sure just how it's going to pan out.”

The four-door, V8-powered grand tourer is likely to make its official motor-show debut at Detroit in January or Geneva in March.

“It's too early for us to talk about the car for Australia _ certainly too early to be thinking about sales numbers,” Winkler says.

“The segment it will compete in is a very small one with limited offerings. Mercedes-Benz sells about 250 S-Class cars a year at that level, and BMW a similar number of 7 Series.

“To be realistic, the Panamera is a performance car, and will probably be considered against the (Mercedes) AMG cars and BMW's M5.”

Winkler won't say it, but it's fair to assume that Porsche would be disappointed if it couldn't entice at least a couple of hundred buyers to the Panamera.

Most pundits believe other natural competitors for the Panamera will be the second-generation Maserati Quattroporte, due to be released soon, and Aston Martin's four-door Rapide, which should hit showrooms around the same time as the Panamera.

“They are very specialised vehicles that sell only a handful of cars here a year ... we would certainly hope to be selling more than that.”

Watching a Panamera punching out test laps at the Porsche track at Weissach, Winkler is moved to rationalise the logic of Porsche's first four-door sports car.

“It's half sports car and half luxury tourer ... it's so easy to forget when you're driving it that you have, in effect, another 911 at the back of you.

“You really have to think about how much car is behind you.”

It's precisely in that difference that Winkler sees an opportunity for the Panamera to bring new blood to the Porsche family.

“This is a very small, very select segment, but it does have the potential to have people who may never have thought about Porsche before considering a Panamera,” he says.

“From there, it's possible they may consider another Porsche _ maybe a Cayenne _ as a second car.”

Initially, the Panamera is expected to feature a pair of 4.8-litre V8s from the Cayenne and Cayenne Turbo models, but with power levels raised from the donor vehicle's 287kW and 373kW.

There's also a possibility that Porsche will migrate its under-development hybrid engine from the Cayenne into the Panamera _ a model where it would make ideal sense.

One certainty is that the new PDK double-clutch automatic gearbox will be the standard transmission for the new model.

The tiddler of Japanese carmakers has plans for a big year in 2009 in Australia.

Suzuki, which is a fraction of the size of Toyota and Nissan and made its name and money with micro cars in Japan, is almost ready to deliver a new baby car and a mid-sized star in local showrooms.

No one at Suzuki Australia will confirm the exact plan for the micro-car, though it is likely to be a Splash baby car made in Hungary, or the production version of the Kizashi concept that will go up against a range of mid-sized V6 rivals.

But a group of Australian dealers travelled to Europe last week to see the Splash, Swift and SX4 being built in Hungary — at a rate of 300,000 cars a year — before going to the Rally of Turkey to see the company's World Rally Championship car in action.

“We will launch a sub-Swift car in the second quarter and Kizashi at the end of 2009, both in new segments for Suzuki,” Suzuki Australia general manager Tony Devers says.

“Two new cars in 2009 will increase our volume naturally as we currently compete in only 45 per cent of the Australian market.”

Devers says the Australian plan will reflect Suzuki's global moves, which have already seen the Euro-style Splash make big gains in Europe.

“Suzuki's new philosophy is to become a global player and produce vehicles in strategic locations in factories in Japan, Hungary, India — where Suzuki has 50 per cent market share and has won several JD Power and Associates quality awards — and Thailand, which comes on stream in 2010,” he says.

“Our stated goal is to achieve 40000 units by 2010, again with incremental models sourced from the most appropriate global factory. This will allow us to continue the Suzuki core philosophy of true value for money.”

Devers will not confirm Splash from Hungary and hints India or Thailand could be a better long-term fit for Australia, despite the size and success of the Eastern European factory.

Planning for the Kizashi is further into the future, though the final production version of the car — previewed with concepts at several shows — is expected to be seen at the Paris Motor Show in October.

Devers is still not committed to a rally program in Australia, though an SX4 suitable for local regulations should be ready towards the end of the year.

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Community advocacy organisation Getup looks set to make some waves with an irreverent TV ad.

The parody advertisement targets the Government’s Fuelwatch proposal, and contains repeated bleeped expletives.

It depicts FuelWatch Headquarters filled with civil servants manning high-tech binoculars and reporting on tomorrow’s petrol prices today.

Getup emailed the ad around Australia on Thursday morning, asking for donations online and by the end of the day had more than the 50,000 needed to buy a television spot, and was on the way to hitting the $70,000 that would extend the spot to an extra million viewers.

“The spoof humorously demonstrates how the Government knows exactly where fuel prices are going – through the roof. If Mr. Rudd and Dr. Nelson are truly committed to helping average Australians, they should look beyond the bowser wowsers and their short-term petrol populism, towards long-term transport solutions,” GetUp campaigns coordinator Ed Coper says.

“FuelWatch, or tinkering with the excise, is like rearranging the deckchairs on the Titanic when Australia needs to invest billions towards better public transport and mandatory fuel efficiency standards.”

“The ad cuts right though the oil slick onto the larger problem at hand -- petrol prices will keep going up regardless of what our Government does. So let us take this opportunity to invest in real solutions that address both the transport and the climate crises,” Mr Coper says.

GetUp is a not-for-profit and receives no money from any political party or the government.

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Sydneysiders are leading the push away from cars, with a 6 per cent increase in public transport use over the past year and a corresponding 6 per cent decrease in drivers.

But problems with the reliability and safety of public transport are still stopping other drivers who want to switch from leaving the car at home. Nationally three in five commuters drive to get to work or school, while one in five use public transport. Only one in 10 ride a bike or walk to work.

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Research, to be released today, shows Sydney commuters are the highest users of public transport nationally, with 26 per cent catching the train or a bus to work or school.

Battered by soaring petrol prices and peak-hour congestion, only 57 per cent of commuters now drive to work - the lowest proportion of any capital city.

But even so more than one-third of Sydney commuters (35 per cent) refuse to use public transport because it takes too long, almost four in 10 say it is unreliable (38 per cent) and one-quarter (25 per cent) say it is not available where they live, work or go to school.

About 7 per cent of Sydney commuters say they are worried about their safety on public transport.

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In Melbourne, only one in five braves the stretched public transport system, according to the survey by insurer AAMI.

But more than two-thirds of them said they would be happy to use public transport if services were more reliable, more frequent, and safer.

In Darwin, nearly 75 per cent of Darwin commuters drive to and from work or school - with the lack of availability and reliability cited as key reasons for not using public transport.

AAMI corporate affairs manager Mike Sopinski said high fuel prices, consecutive interest rate rises and sinking consumer confidence were contributing to a rethink in how people travelled in our cities.

He said there was also a growing concern for the environment among commuters.

"Forcing people's hands are fuel prices and the availability of fuel so governments will need to plan for that," he said.

"Over the next two to three years the use of motor vehicles will change and their attitude to daily commuting will change.

"Reports say the price of petrol is heading towards $2 a litre by the end of the year. This will force people into car pooling and into lighter vehicles." Click here for more news on the petrol crisis.

Prestige car companies have applauded the move by Federal Parliament to put the proposed Luxury Car Tax changes before a Senate Committee.

The decision, made in Parliament this week, effectively stalls proposed move to raise the tax to 33 per cent from July 1.

The committee will investigate the proposed changes to the tax and their effect, including:

• Effect on vehicle price, affordability, cost of living and Consumer Price Index
• Effect of the tax and proposed increase on the adoption of vehicle safety features and environmental technologies; and
• expected impact on vehicle demand and likely consequences for government revenues from GST and stamp duty;
• indexing of the LCT threshold (currently $57,123);
• rationale for taxing ‘luxury’ cars at a higher rate than other goods and services;
• effect on Australian motor industry
• overall taxation burden on ownership and operation of motor vehicles including customs duty, GST, LCT stamp duty and excise on fuel
• extent to which the LCT is viewed as a non-tariff barrier by other car exporting countries.

It was suggested that the committee should hold hearings to hear evidence from Australia’s vehicle manufacturers, importers and distributors as well as industry bodies and tourism organisations.

“The opportunity to present what we believe are very compelling arguments against an increase in this non-tariff barrier is welcome,” Mercedes-Benz managing director Horst von Sanden says.

“Several aspects need to be investigated closely and carefully.

“There is the issue of the threshold at which the tax is applied, and the fact that many everyday family vehicles are being taxed, plus our concern for the livelihood of the 2000 Australian workers who directly depend on Mercedes-Benz for their income.

“There is also the separate issue of the damage to the environment by making these low-emission vehicles more expensive.

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“The adverse consequences that the Senate Economics Committee will inquire into — such as the threshold, the rationale for taxing luxury cars and no other luxury goods, the taxation burden on ownership and operation of vehicles (10 per cent import import duty, 10 per cent GST, LCT at a proposed rate of 33 per cent and the excise on fuel) — all of these together represent an inequitable and unfair burden on the working family who desire low emissions, low fuel economy and five-star safety.”

Audi spokesperson Anna Burgdorf says the company is “extremely pleased” with Parliament’s decision.

“The tax as it was makes Australia uncompetitive and really is a tax on innovation and on safety,” she says.

“We hope that the senate inquiry will show the government that the laws on LCT should be altered dramatically, or abolished altogether.”

When it was launched here in 2004, you could not mistake the 407 for anything but a Peugeot.

Its distinctive design, long bonnet, huge gaping mouth and feline-looking headlights instantly oozed French sex appeal.

Now in its first mid-life update since launch, Peugeot designers have left the car's distinctive looks largely untouched.

There's a mild tweak here and there, more chrome and some new engines, but the look is still distinctly Peugeot.

Peugeot Automobiles Australia spokesman Mathew McAuley says the new sedan and wagon will probably arrive in showrooms in time for next year's Melbourne Motor Show.

Apart from styling updates, Peugeot has added a new 2.0-litre Bioflex engine that runs on E85 ethanol.

It will be available in markets where governments provide biofuel tax incentives.

But McAuley says the Bioflex engine and a smaller 1.6-litre HDi model are unlikely for Australia.

“I expect we will continue with our engine line-up as it is,” he says.

That means a 2.2-litre petrol four-cylinder, 2.0-litre HDi, 2.7-litre HDi V6 and 3.0-litre petrol V6.

The sedan and station wagon benefit from small exterior upgrades to keep them fresh.

There is more chrome detailing, such as the vertical bars in the grille, and redesigned tail-lights.

Inside, Peugeot has revised trim and comfort with on-board temperature control, new telematics systems and parking assist, similar to the system introduced in the newly launched Volkswagen Tiguan.

The company has also lifted build quality, in line with the new 308 hatch.

But the most interesting changes to the 407 are under the bonnet, with the upgraded 2.0-litre HDi engine.

The 2.0-litre HDi gets an extra 3kW to lift power to 103kW at 4000 revs, using 5.6 litres of diesel for a 100km and emitting 150g/km of CO2 when mated to the six-speed manual.

Torque remains at 320Nm at 2000 revs.

The engine meets tough Euro 5 emissions standards.

McAuley says the HDi engines will continue to form most 407 sales.

More than 50 per cent of all Peugeot models sold in Australia are diesel-powered. coops

The super-hot CTS-V is the king of the Cadillac hill — and claimed to be the world's fastest four-door sedan.

Still, the key is the engine: a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 with either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic directing power to the rear wheels. The bottom line is 410kW and 745Nm.

Unfortunately, all that engineering has left little room for a right-hand drive conversion that would bring it to Australia.

 “When we put the 6.2-litre V8 engine in and the supercharger plumbing on it, we ran out of real estate,” General Motors product boss Bob Lutz says.

Its mechanical package includes magnetic ride control for the suspension, Brembo six-piston disc brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 tyres.

But Lutz, always the optimist, believes there is potential for Holden Special Vehicles to tweak a go-faster CTS for Australia.

“Talk to HSV. I'm sure they will whomp up something,” he says.

Pick up the phone, HSV.

The world's only metallic white Phantom Pearl Rolls-Royce, one of 11 Rollers delivered to Australia last year, is being auctioned online.

It is from the exclusive bespoke collection, with mother-of-pearl inlays adorning the dash and centre console.

CEO of graysonline, Cameron Poolman, said it was the company's first world-exclusive sale.

The car, which was part of a liquidation, cost about $1.1 million new and is expected to fetch more than $600,000, he said.

“This is a business asset and so due to downturn in the financial markets the business is in liquidation,” he said. “It is currently registered in Victoria but will be sold unregistered.”

Features include 21-inch chrome-vaned alloy wheels and the Phantom aluminium 6.75L, V12 engine.

The vehicle has travelled fewer than 6000km and log books are included.

“We are expecting mainly local interest, however, overseas parties are welcome to bid,” Poolman said.

The auction closes on Friday.

Visit: www.graysonline.com.au