And the car industry is not immune from being saddled with these potentially damaging problems.
Apart from Ford's recent problems with brake hoses and brake booster valves on E-Gas Falcons the other ‘big two’ carmakers have had their fair share of recalls.
Holden has had five recalls for its VE Commodore and Statesman range since its introduction in 2006, involving things like fuel vapor lines, fuel lines and defective valves on LPG cars.
Toyota
Toyota had a range of recalls for its Camry, HiLux, RAV4, Yaris and LandCruiser over the past three years. Most, like a headlight dimmer switch on a Camry, have been minor. Others, like the potential fire hazard stemming from a poorly installed insulator pad on a Yaris, raised alarm bells among some customers.
Nissan
Last week Nissan was forced to recall 11,743 Maximas and 4972 Muranos because of a vibrating air intake in the engine bay.
Audi
Even the luxury German brands are not immune. Last year Audi had to recall its TT for a piece of rear side trim in its cars that unless fixed, could potentially injure passengers.
Mercedes-Benz
This year Mercedes-Benz has recalled its M-Class off-roader for a possible glitch in its electric rear hatch. It was also forced to recall S-Class sedans fitted with active body control because of problems with the front lower ball joints on its suspension. On some high-mileage vehicles, the front suspension could fracture on rough roads. Faulty left and right windows in the Viano van also required the replacement.
BMW
Of the German carmakers, BMW has fared better. It has not had a official government recall since 2006.
Volvo
Volvo has had three recalls this year of its S80, XC70, V70 and new XC60 for engine cooling fan problems and windscreen wiper problems with the S80 and XC70.
Jaguar
Jaguar, once widely ridiculed for its poor quality cars, has come a long way over the past few years. Jaguars these days have no less, or no more, problems with recalls than some of the other luxury brands. Last year it experienced some minor problems with the XF range involving wiring and rear seatbelts.
In all cases, recalls by carmakers are handled quickly and responsibly. If you want to check out whether your vehicle has had a recall, go to www.recalls.gov.au
1. CarsGuide has received many letters about recurrent customer problems with the Territory's front end, specifically ball joint failures (excessive wear to the point of failure). What are your findings on this?
A: We are aware of a small number of customers with ball joint issues which, on investigation, were found to be due to excessive wear and, in some cases, damage related. Most cases were found during the course of routine service and dealt with before any issue arose. Our engineering and service teams are continuing to actively monitor and investigate any incident identified in the field.
2. Carsguide understands this has been known about even during Territory's development. Is this right?
A: Our vehicles are subject to an extremely rigorous development process that exceeds global industry standards and which includes sophisticated CAD and CAE modelling, continued component development, on-road testing (both at our proving ground and on public roads over a variety of surfaces), and a comprehensive engineering review and sign-off process. The Territory ball joints passed this process successfully.
3. The updated Territory gets a new front suspension design. What has changed and has this fixed the problem?
A: In the automotive business it is normal practice to share technology and design changes across multiple product lines. This is normal and good business practice. A new design application for the virtual pivot front suspension was implemented for the FG Falcon in 2008 and Territory received that new suspension design with the recent launch of the SY Mark II. Our process of continual development often sees new technologies developed for either Falcon or Territory that then make their way onto the other vehicle at the appropriate time in the model cycle. One example of this was the introduction of Dynamic Stability Control on Territory when it first launched in 2004 - this technology was then applied to Falcon at the next model update in 2005. This continued development and sharing of technologies reduces production complexity and allows for shared technology across vehicle lines. Specifically, the new virtual pivot front suspension has altered the design application from a tension joint to a compression joint.
4. Brake hose failures. There has been a recall on Territory but what about BA/BF Falcons?
A: The Territory front brake recall is to rectify an issue that is Territory-specific. Despite a very low expected incident rate of only 1.5 per cent and the fact that Territory features a dual, independent braking system that provides braking performance from the rear in case of any issue with the front brakes (as does Falcon), Ford proactively recalled all Territory vehicles in order to ensure the safety and peace-of-mind of our customers. We are investigating a small number of incidents with Falcon front brake hoses although the root cause is yet to be determined. We are continuing to w ork with our dealers and other automotive repairers to gather data.
5. Brake hose failures - there is a dealer alert on rear brake hoses for BA/BF Falcon sedans but not Utes and wagons, why not?
A: Utes and wagons feature a different design for the brake hoses and as a result the service campaign for BA/BF sedan rear hoses does not apply to them.
6. Paint. Carsguide has fielded reports of peeling 'shockwave blue' paint on BF Falcons. How many are affected? Is this actually a problem?
A: We are working with the supplier of our Shockwave paint and have repainted those vehicles that have experienced an issue with no cost for the repair to the customer.
7. Rust. There are reports of rusting on Territory where the paint is thin. Have you had complaints about this? Has the new Territory fixed this?
A: We are aware of a small number of customers, primarily from coastline areas, who have experienced corrosion, which is cosmetic in nature. Where necessary, those cases are being repaired. It is not a broad problem.
8. Customer satisfaction. Are you happy with the efforts of the Customer Relationship Centre in its role to liaise with owners about their cars?
A: We regularly monitor customer satisfaction across all areas of our business. The results for our Customer Relationship Centre continue to be very strong. We are confident that the CRC has the resources required to liaise with our customers to deliver a positive brand experience.
9. The recent JD Power quality satisfaction survey found that Ford's "dealer service" category has slipped 15 points since last year's survey. Is there a problem with dealers?
A: Ford strongly believes that we have one of the best dealer groups in Australia. Our dealers are committed to working closely with us as we continually develop all aspects of our collective businesses. The JD Power survey has such a low sample size that is it difficult to quantify those results and compare them with other industry satisfaction surveys.
10. Reputation. Collectively, are these problems harming Ford's hard-fought reputation?
A: Ford is one of the most respected companies in Australia with 85 years of dedicated commitment to delivering outstanding vehicles across all market segments, which has been endorsed by numerous third party commendations and awards. Our reputation is of the utmost importance to us, which is one reason we invested significant resources to becoming the first Australian car company to achieve a 5-star safety rating for our Falcon sedan range. We are committed to doing the right thing by our customers and will continue to do so long into the future.
It's a Canadian-made armoured vehicle that looks like a Hummer on steroids.
And with a right-hand-drive version available, it could be coming to Australia, according to company spokesman Seth Feller.
"Right now we are speaking with several Aussies who have expressed interest in acquiring the Knight XV and anticipate having a few within the next 12 months Down Under," he said.
"We are working on pricing the Knight XV with right-hand drive and estimate that the cost would around $400,000 (US)."
At 6m long and 2.5m high, the Knight XV is substantially bigger than a Hummer H2.
It is based on Ford's F35 pick-up truck, but bigger. Much bigger. Like 5.5 tonnes.
Most of that weight is in the steel armour plating and 6cm-thick armoured glass. The doors alone are so heavy they have been fixed with reinforced hinges.
Feller said their market was people who needed luxury as well as security.
"Our target market consists of high net worth individuals, professional athletes, music artists, heads of state, automotive collectors who are looking for a bespoke vehicle which delivers both top-notch security and luxury," he said.
"Also, due to the sheer size of the Knight XV, anyone who likes making a grand entrance would certainly enjoy the Knight XV experience."
The Knight XV comes standard with night-vision cameras front and rear, a roof-mounted camera and tyres that will survive most gunfire, but still operate if shot out.
Security options include more surveillance cameras, an external listening device, under-vehicle magnetic attachment detector to locate explosives, a GPS transmitter, bolt lock door system, roof-mounted searchlight, oxygen survival kit and a smoke security system.
There is also a fire extinguisher and Black Box on board.
The Knight XV is powered by a 6.8-litre V10 Ford engine with 298kW of power and a massive 677Nm of torque. If that's not enough power, a turbocharger is available as an option.
For the greenies, it will also run on 85 per cent ethanol mixture and a diesel engine is available as an option.
The company calls it their "first ultra-luxurious, fully armoured, environmentally-respectful handcrafted SUV".
However, the fitting of a 151-litre fuel tank and the option of an auxiliary tank indicates it doesn't have great economy.
No fuel consumption or CO2 emission figures are available.
The Knight XV sits on 20-inch wheels with massive 40-inch desert tyres and has 4WD with a five-speed auto transmission.
But just because it's big, ugly and armour-plated doesn't mean it doesn't have luxury appointments.
Inside there are six leather seats with a conference table, wool carpets, DVD entertainment system, suede trim and laptop stations in the rear.
If that's not luxurious enough, options include sleeper seating, a driver partition, heated seats, large flat-screen satellite TV, curtains in the rear, a refreshments bar, cooler box, cigar humidor and a safe.
Each vehicle takes about 1500 hours to build by hand and only 100 of the machines will be made available as a limited first run with a starting price of $450,000.
With abundant local supplies of LPG and LNG transport analyst and managing director of energy group Rare Consulting, Mark McKenzie, told a gaseous fuels conference last week that Australia must secure its energy independence.
"We have a looming fuel deficit by 2030," he says.
"Australia's oil self-sufficiency will decline from 54 per cent in 2007 to less than 20 per cent by 2030 and possibly as low as 10 per cent if forecast new oil supply discoveries are not realised."
McKenzie believes gas is a fuel of the future, particular given that transport consumes three-quarters of conventional oil supplies in Australia.
"There is a good strategic fit for gas," he says.
"The other thing about LPG is that we've got all the infrastructure in place."
Currently there are 3200 LPG filling stations throughout Australia.
"That's one in every two service stations," McKenzie says.
McKenzie sees LPG as a passenger car mainstay with LNG and CNG being more widely used in the heavy duty transport sector.
The benefits of LPG are well documented. It delivers lower emissions, can be used in diesel engines, has lower engine wear and is half the cost of petrol.
Australia too is believed to have about 65 years of gas reserves, according to Geoscience Australia.
McKenzie also believes that newer-generation and more reliable LPG injection systems from carmakers and the after-market LPG fitters will help accelerate demand.
However, another conference delegate, GM-Holden's energy and environment director, Richard Marshall, warned that Australian motorists are unlikely to switch to LPG in any great numbers while petrol prices remaining relatively cheap in global terms.
Government incentives have helped induce buyers into LPG-powered vehicles and its tax-free status means it is cheaper at the pump compared to petrol.
On the LPG excise question, McKenzie accepts there will be some impact on growth once it comes in from 2011 but he says the fuel must start paying its way.
LPG receives no excise until 2011 at which time an excise of 2.5c a litre will apply, increasing by 2.5c each year until July 1, 2015, when it will be capped at 12.5c a litre.
McKenzie says that the Federal Government could use an excise-free inducement for the development of other new fuel technologies like bio-fuel.
"One of the challenges in terms of some of the new fuels, particularly bio-fuels is that they will not be competitive without that excise exemption, ever," he says.
"We should be looking for fuel sources that really just need a window of exemption to allow them to gain a foothold in the market on the understanding that they will be able to pay their way in the future."
Last year about 120,000 ex-factory and retro-fitted LPG cars were sold.
Another conference delegate, Tony Fitzgerald of Orbital Autogas Systems in Perth, expects that by 2015 150,000 LPG-fueled vehicles will be sold each year.
Of those about 80,000 will be ex-factory systems, with liquid injection and sequential vapour systems will take over from older LPG fuel systems.
Less than 5 per cent of Australia's LPG fleet currently use newer sequential injection systems but Fitzgerald believes the rate of growth will accelerate.
"One of the challenges the LPG industry faces at the moment is the range and degree of some of the technology," he says.
A pair of Great Wall utes are the spearhead of what is predicted to be a growing tide of Chinese-made vehicles heading into the Australian market.
However, neither of the Great Wall models have electronic stability control. The base model SA220 also goes without airbags or anti-lock brakes.
When the Indian-built Mahindra Pik-Up gets its suite of airbags and anti-lock brakes in July and the Toyota LandCruiser Troopie follows suit in August (if industry rumours are correct) it will leave the SA220 as the only car available for sale in Australia without a single airbag.
Neither of the Chinese models has been crashed tested for an ANCAP safety rating. A Great Wall Motors spokesman yesterday said the car had been crash-tested in China. However, he said: "We are assured that the company's own crash testing is to the same standard as ANCAP."
The company will offer the V240 in 4x2 and 4x4 configurations, while the SA220 will be a 4x2 proposition only, but the brand's Australian importer, Ateco Automotive, claims both vehicles offer value for money workhorses for Australian buyers.
A network of 45 dealers will back the vehicles with a three-year 100,000km warranty and sell the V240 4x2 for $23,990, with the 4x4 variant an extra $3000; the SA220 will retail for $19,990. The features list includes power windows, alloy wheels, leather trimmed seats and air conditioning.
Ateco Automotive managing director Ric Hull says Great Wall is one of China's leading car makers. "It has been consistently at the top of its domestic car market with its Ute and SUV models."
Hull says every mainstream car and component manufacturer is represented in China and the car industry there has come a long way in a very short time. "From day one we have been thoroughly impressed with Great Wall. World-class production facilities are becoming commonplace in China and there is no doubt that Great Wall has set a production benchmark.
Hull says the company's culture is impressive - with a motto of "improving little by little every day ... We targeted Great Wall for our Chinese plans because they are highly disciplined, organised and well-led," he says.
And it wasn’t done any favours by offering unusual looks and no automatic transmission. But Skoda is not giving up on it just yet.
The little people mover has sold just 66 over the whole of 2008 and is lagging behind that sales level this year.
“The numbers speak for themselves,” Skoda Australia head Matthew Wiesner admits.
“We didn’t give it enough attention – probably through the fact that we had to focus on (medium-size passenger) Octavia to give us best cut-through and best return on investment.
“Quite frankly, Roomster has suffered a bit because of that.”
However Wiesner says that situation will change next year.
“There will be a facelift in the new year – and some drivetrain changes and updates — which means we will then give Roomster the focus it requires, and give it the space to be a far better contribution to what we’ve been doing.
Wiesner says that the Roomster has also been hampered by not having an automatic transmission.
“Having it in manual only doesn’t help in the Australian market. People want an auto.
“And it is a quirky design – you either love it or you don’t.
“Is there a market for it? Yes, but it’s a niche market definitely.
“But do you give up on it? No. Now that we’ve had a few focus groups, we now better understand who a Roomster owner is – and what they do and how.
“They are very different to an Octavia buyer. We now don’t assume they will pick up on us as a brand by what we’re doing with Octavia, so we’ll start to target them specifically.”
Wiesner says Skoda missed the mark in thinking there “might been some carryover between wagons, given what Roomster represents”.
“But there is quite a distance even between a wagon buyer and somebody interested in Roomster – but their intentions, their motivations and interests are very different.
“They are incredibly practical … we just need to be practical about how we talk to them.
Ford Australia also says it will use the wagon's arrival in August to help relaunch the slow-selling Mondeo brand locally.
Despite the fact that the Sportwagon eclipses the four-cylinder Mondeo on the cylinder count with a choice of V6 and V8 powertrains as well as sporty and luxury models, Ford president, Marin Burela, believes the wagon "will be a real competitor for the Sportwagon".
"Let's take our first shot across the bow with the Mondeo wagon, which is a very classy car in terms of package, performance, fuel economy and styling," he says.
"We think it will be a real surprise and delight to the market."
Ford is expecting big things from fleet and private buyers for its mid-sizer as it broadens the choice between the sedan, hatch and wagon. Both the Mondeo sedan and hatch were launched in late 2007 but sales have never fired against the heavy hitting Toyota Camry, Mazda6, Honda Accord Euro and Subaru Liberty.
Last year more than 85,000 buyers bought mid-size cars but Ford's slice was just 4872 Mondeos.
Unlike the Japanese makes though, the Mondeo's ace is a 2.0-litre turbo diesel mated to a six-speed automatic. Burela believes a refocused and more aggressive Mondeo marketing push will lift sales.
"Even a 10 per cent share, which is around 8000, may not seem a lot but it's important," he says.
However, Burela recognises the segment is extremely competitive with 27 players in the under $80,000 bracket.
Even with all eyes on the Mondeo over the next few months, Burela still believes there is a place for the Falcon wagon in the lineup. Burela says the bigger Falcon wagon remains popular with fleets because of its packaging and room.
"The fleets love it," he says.
"What we found with our current Falcon wagon is that we are consistent every single month with an order book of 350 to 400 wagons a month."
Burela says Ford is cautious over how it moves forward with its wagon lineup, particularly in relation to the future of the larger load lugger.
"The last thing I want to do is invest our scarce resources where we don't need to invest them," he says..
"We are just going to take our time and get the Mondeo wagon out there and then once we've got that settled down we'll look at the next steps."
Despite Ford's pitch at the Sportwagon, the Holden still wins the space race. The Sportwagon has 895 litres of luggage room with the rear seats up and 2000 litres of space with the seats folded. By comparison the Mondeo has 542 litres of luggage room, growing to 1733 litres with the rear seats folded. The venerable Falcon wagon eclipses both, with 1260 litres of luggage space and a huge 2584 litres when the rear seats are folded flat.
Skoda’s brand presence in Australia has surprised the local office by growing much faster than they expected.
When the badge launched here late in 2007, they were aiming at a brand awareness of 60 per cent within two years, at a stage when they would have a range of additional models.
They’ve hit that mark six months early, and with mainly only the Octavia model to work with. Although the quirky Roomster people mover has been on the market here, it hasn’t had a sales impact, moving just 66 over the whole of 2008 and lagging behind that momentum this year.
“We’ve virtually had just one model, with a few variants, since launch – which is not ideal,” the carmaker’s local head, Matthew Wiesner says.
“So our brand awareness hitting this level, this early, is much better than expected.
Wiesner says that because Skoda’s limited range has not been able to rely on the exponential effect of having vehicles across a range of segments, there should be further boosts as they bring new models – like the large passenger Superb sedans being launched this week, and the Yeti SUV slated for next year..
“What generally will drive this further will be when you launch new product into new segments you don’t compete in — your awareness rises more then. There’s an exponential effect.
“If you don’t have product in a certain segment you’re going to miss out on chunk of people, for a start.
“And the ‘early rejecters’ (those who consider the brand but defer from buying) – a lot of that response is driven by segment spread.
“So we are surprised by how well we’ve managed to cut through into reasonably good awareness numbers.”
Wiesner says that as the badge’s profile is growing, the proportion of ‘rejecters’ is steadily decreasing.
“The early rejecters were the most frustrating part for us and the dealers. They would go through the normal process and then run out of reasons not to buy,” he says.
“They would be putting all the right ticks against the product, but then it would come down to ‘maybe not this time’.
“They would see the brand as being ‘a bit quirky’, they ‘just can’t be sure’ and ‘it’s a big investment’.
“They’re the people you see the second time around, and now we have more product in the market we can talk to them better. It’s all about being heard.
“The only thing that will fix that is spending time in the market. What we need to do is prove ourselves, do it well, get the products right.
“We just need to prove the brand here to stay, it’s a bloody good brand, and has a lot to offer.”
In the latest of a series of stunts designed to cover the fact that another Stig – race and stunt driver Ben Collins — has blown his cover, Jeremy Clarkson introduced the Stig and had him remove his helmet, revealing the former F1 champ underneath.
However those who have seen the footage of the show says the Schumacher Stig drove erratically, stalled the Reasonably Priced Car, and nearly crashed into the camera crew.
Earlier this year, Collins was outed as the current Stig, after ordering a print run of posters showing the mysterious ‘tame test driver’.
His stint as The Stig follows that of former F1 driver Perry McCarthy – the black Stig – who outed himself and then supposedly disappeared into the ocean after a stunt drive off an aircraft carrier .
A video on Youtube earlier this year showing a Black Stig reappearing from the sea off Britain suggested that the black firesuit may return.
It seems likely that the Schumacher ‘outing’ is a typical Top Gear stunt — highly unlikely to be true – concocted by the show’s producers and probably seen by Schumacher as a fun way to fill in an idle hour.
Check out Schuey driving not so well in Top Gear's Suzuki Liana.
The first generation Monaro was Holden’s response to Ford’s 1967 Bathurst winning Falcon XR GT. These two cars can be credited with establishing the Australian Muscle Car genre as well as starting the Holden v Falcon racing rivalry that continues today.
Named after the NSW Southern Tablelands region and in particular the Highway that runs to Cooma, the word Monaro is Aboriginal for "high plateau".
The V8 version of the Monaro was Australia’s take on producing a ‘muscle ’ to its original American definition, ie; “a two-door rear wheel drive mid-size car with a large V8 and sold at an affordable price”. Later the Australian take on the muscle car genre brought in the four door sedan to the definition.
Never has the adage "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" rung truer than during this period. The car you could buy in the showroom has never been closer than the version that was raced at Bathurst, (you can see in one of the Official Holden images in our gallery number plates on while racing at Bathurst).
While Ford fans had bragging rights in 1967 with the GT’s Bathurst win, they were left having to defend the Falcon’s somewhat square design with the launch of the stunning and curvaceous Monaro coupe. The Monaro got the buying public excited and the motor press were equally impressed. Wheels awarded it Car of the Year for 1968.
The significance of the Gen 1 Monaro can not be overstated. It was the first Holden V8, the first Holden Coupe and set Holden on its path as an exporter of motor vehicles. Completed cars and later components for assembly were exported to General Motors South Africa who sold the Monaro as the Chevrolet SS.
Previous to the Monaro, Holden’s racing success was very limited. The only wins of significance were the 1958 Ampol trial and Bathurst race in Easter that year.
The Monaro’s inaugural victory was at the Sandown 3 Hour in 1968 with the team of Tony Roberts and Bob Watson. This was soon followed by the win that started one of world motorsport’s most legendary pairings - Holden and Bathurst. The Monaro filled all podium positions at the Hardie Ferodo 500 in 1968 with Bruce McPhee/Barry Mulholland, Palmer/Phil West, Tony Roberts/Bob Watson respectively.
Bathurst therefore gained immense significance for Ford and Holden as the record for the new V8 era stood at one victory each - the bragging rights and the potential resulting sales were of enormous importance for the two manufacturers. The implication of the success of ‘68 was not lost on Holden chief executive John Bagshaw who wanted to build a new factory team. During this period however, General Motors would not allow any of its divisions to directly enter motorsport. Bagshaw therefore developed the Holden Dealer Team ostensibly owned by Bagshaw poached Harry Firth, the Ford team manager and he in turn hired two young new talented drivers named Colin Bond and Peter Brock. As HDT was to enter both rally and circuit events, Bond was the new rally young gun who also doubled in the touring car events.
Bond went on to win the 1969 event with Tony Roberts while Brock came in third with Des west.
This was to be the last win for Holden for three years as Ford were developing the all-conquering GTHO for '70 and '71 and Firth went down a different road with the more nimble Torana XU-1. The two-year domination of the Monaro ended and development did not continue.
The victories at Bathurst were not the only significant high profile outings for the Monaro. In Brisbane a teenage entrepreneur, Lloyd Robertson, was developing a small precision driving team with his mates using Volkswagen Beetles. The success of the initial outings prompted Robertson to take the team to the next level. He approached the Brisbane Holden dealer network for sponsorship and the use of Holden Monaros. The first gig was the Brisbane Royal Show and the professionalism of the team lead to further similar bookings. The Monaro Precision Driving Team was born. The next step in the successful venture was for Robertson to approach Holden directly. John Bagshaw came to the fore again and with factory backing this time the team became the Holden Precision Driving Team.
Forty years on from the Bathurst victory the allure of the Monaro has not diminished and current values for genuine 1969 HT Monaro GTS 350 remain strong. Even the lowest spec in-line sixes are difficult to find as most are in the hands of enthusiasts for restoration and upgrading.
