New noses and tails are obvious on everything at the Lexus stand at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the Japanese luxury brand works to combat a new-model onslaught from its rivals at Audi, BMW and Benz.

Sadly, the only major mechanical difference is a go-faster differential change to Lexus' M3 rival, the IS-F. "It's minor facelifts. Just something to keep the cars fresh in showrooms. It's mainly grilles and lamps," admits the boss of Lexus Australia, John Roca. "We have changes to the IS, GS, LS and RX. They will flow progressively through the system. "The first one here is the IS, but we will probably hold the GS, LS and LX over until next year so they become 2010 models.

And Roca says the massive LX gets some visual fine-tuning. "The good news about the LX is we finally get 20-inch wheels," he says. "And there are some aero changes to the front and rear bars so it looks significantly different."

The changes to the IS-F are relatively minor, but anyone who drives hard will appreciate the addition of a Torsen limited-slip differential. Lexus says it slashes lap times at its Fuji Speedway course in Japan, where the IS-F is tested, by two seconds thanks to better cornering grip and traction for its V8 engine.

Otherwise, the cabin gets improved satnav and a USB input for the sound system, foldable headrests, a new steering wheel and better switchgear.

In Australia, the arrival of the updated IS-F — less than a year into its local life — also sees Lexus trying to spread the car's impact with a new ‘Sport’ model. "IS-F has been of critical importance in shifting Lexus' brand perception," says Roca.

The result is a tweaked IS250 with an F-Sport package. "The new car replaces the previous sports version of the IS range," he says. "It's for the customer that's looking at the IS-F, but cannot afford to make that sort of commitment. "It gets upgraded seats, a small spoiler, and tweaked sports suspension. It will become more of a true sports model. "It will sit in between the Prestige and the Sports Luxury, which remains the top of the range."

...that is leaving some Holden Commodore owners stranded. Even GM-Holden is stumped by what's causing batteries in late-model VE Commodores to run flat. The company's product communications manager, Kate Lonsdale, says the battery bugbear is now being treated as a priority.

However, GM-Holden is unsure how many cars are affected, or which models. "We need to see if there is a pattern or a common link," she says. Lonsdale says the electrical problem was proving difficult to pinpoint. "There are so many reasons why a battery can go flat," she says. "What we're hearing is that it is not the battery so much as something draining the battery."

Nationally several dealers have experienced intermittent battery problems with customer cars but they say these have largely been fixed. South Gippsland oil rig worker, Rob Flannigan, says his $55,000 Calais wagon has left his family stranded five times since he bought the car new last year. "I'm fed up," he says.

Flannigan says he is so worried the 2008 luxury wagon will not start he now carries a recharge pack in the car. "When you spend that amount of money on a car you don't expect 1950s levels of reliability," he says.

Despite his local dealer admitting there was a problem, Flannigan says has had little luck with Holden's customer assistance centre. "I really would like it fixed," he says.

The battery problem became critical when Flannigan's 17-year-old son needed urgent medical help earlier this year because of a broken hand. "My wife Julie tried to start the car and the battery was flat," he says.

They phoned Holden roadside assist to jump start the car but then had to borrow a car to rush his son to hospital. Various state-based motoring organisations say the problem is an old one. The NRMA, which handles Holden's premium roadside assist, says there has been a small increase in flat batteries in the VE ‘but nothing that would be categorised as a major issue’.

One popular theory on the cause is a software problem with the alternator, which is not providing enough charge to the battery on short journeys, causing the battery to run down.

Lonsdale urges worried owners to contact their dealers or Holden's customer assistance centre.

Three budget utes — two from China and one from Malaysia — have scored poorly in the latest crash tests done by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program. The Great Wall Motors SA220 and V240 utes from China scored just two stars out of five. The third ute, the Malaysian-built Proton Jumbuck, did worse, scoring just one star.

All three models received severely deformed cabins when crashed into a wall at 64km/h to replicate ANCAP's off-set head-on collision. The utes also had poor impact protection for both the driver and passenger crash test dummies, which recorded critical head and leg injuries.

ANCAP council chair and VicRoads manager vehicle safety, Ross McArthur, said the results for the China utes were particularly disappointing because they were new models.

The SA220 and the Jumbuck lack airbags and other safety features that are expected as standard equipment by new car buyers, McArthur said. “The V240 has dual airbags but these failed to protect the driver and passenger from injury in our crash tests,” he said.

Proton axed its $16,990 Jumbuck several weeks ago in anticipation of the arrival of a new model. However, Proton Australia managing director, John Startari, said the ute was not withdrawn because of the impending crash test result.

The ute, which has been in the market for about seven years, had reached the end of its production life, he said.“But a new Jumbuck is a fair way off,” Startari said.

GWM is one of the first Chinese carmakers to begin a big push on to the Australian market with low-cost vehicles. Both the SA220 and V240 were launched in June, with prices starting at $19,990.

Chinese-built vehicles have a history of poor crash test performances. A four-wheel drive Jiangling Motors LandWind model famously scored zero in similar German crash tests in 2005.

To check out the latest results, go to www.ancap.com.au

Is it really worth buying a hybrid and why safety is catching on among car buyers.

Plus our resident car reviewer Paul Maric has been behind the wheel of the new third generation Toyota Prius this week.

For all this and more, listen to the podcast above...

While starting from a higher base of CO2 emissions, companies such as Ferrari have made the biggest improvements, according to automotive data and intelligence provider, JATO Dynamics.

Ferrari leads the CO2 volume reduction race, with a 40.4g/km improvement in CO2 output so far this year. This is the greatest volume reduction of any brand on sale in Europe and represents a 9.5 per cent improvement. Ferrari's net reduction puts it well on its way to achieving its stated aim to reduce CO2 emissions from 400g/km per vehicle to 280-300g/km, by 2012.

While Ferrari can claim the greatest CO2 volume reduction, when expressed as percentage improvement, it is Alpina that is the outright best performer, although on a small sales base.

The next best in percentage improvement is Porsche with 10.6 per cent reduction. Meanwhile, 96 per cent of the top 25 brands of European new cars sold so far this year have reduced CO2 output by an average of 6.2g/km.

New car sales for Smart, Fiat and MINI are already under the 130g/km CO2 average required under EU legislation by 2015. The outright biggest improvement of all mainstream marques over the past year belongs to Alfa Romeo, whose average new car CO2 output fell by 19.9g/km.

The top spot is taken by Chevrolet, whose diesel Cruze model and three-cylinder, 0.8-litre, 119g/km Matiz helped its new car sales to a 15.2g/km average CO2 improvement. Second is Audi, whose 2.0-litre TDi engine helped it to an average of 163g/km. Toyota, Suzuki, Hyundai and Mazda also recorded double-digit improvements. Ford was best of the biggest European volume sellers, improving average CO2 by 8g/km as its ECOnetic range.

The cleanest of the range is the new 98 g/km Fiesta ECOnetic which is yet to be released here.However, Ford Australia is bringing the car out for next month's 3000km Global Green Challenge trial from Darwin to Adelaide.

But Kia has valiantly soldiered on against the odds as sales of fellow Korean Hyundai - which owns 38 per cent of Kia - has shot ahead on the back of the i30, iMax and iLoad and its market share has grown to 7 per cent. However, Kia is pinning its future on a product-led recovery that it expects to increase sales and its market share.

Kia is one of only a handful of brands this year that have increased market share, despite its sales slipping 6.7 per cent. Kia Australia's national sales manager, Alan Crouch, acknowledges there will be comparisions with Kia's performance against Hyundai. "But they have reached a critical mass and we're still some way off," he says.

Crouch says Kia is on track to sell around 20,000 vehicles this year, the same as last year, despite the economic slowdown. "We'll be very happy with that," he says. "We think the market will be around 850,000 and our market share will be about 2.5 per cent compared to 1.8 per cent last year."

Crouch says Kia Australia has done a lot of development work this year "sowing the ground" for future product and more investment. Dealer numbers have grown from 108 to 117 and for the first time there is now a dealer in Alice Springs and Broome. "As we said when we launched Soul, Kia is a different company now," he says.

Crouch says the company has also had a more consistent approach to advertising and marketing, moving away from the budget brand tag. Fresh European-inspired product is also driving new buyers into showrooms. "What we're noticing is that the people who are buying our cars are changing," he says. They are younger, design-driven people, he says. "We're seeing people we have never seen before in a Kia dealership."

Crouch attributes this change to the new Cerato sedan and Soul and their competitive pricepoints. He expects more people will cross shop against Kia with the arrival of the Koup and the new Sorento off-roader in a few months.

However, those looking to compare in the van segment will have less luck. The cheap and cheerful Kia Pregio diesel van won a legion of fans because of its practicality, and also helped underpin Kia sales locally. But since it was withdrawn in 2006 Kia has moved on and a replacement is unlikely, according to Alan Crouch. "The facts are that there is not a product applicable to the Australian market going forward, especially on safety," Crouch says.

Given the high-level of specification and safety now required for the local light commercial van market, Crouch says filling the space left by the Pregio would be difficult.

The Cerato, Soul and Koup also show that Kia is moving on from being a rudimentary carmaker, he says.

The sparky newcomers are almost everywhere at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show, easily the biggest motoring event of the year. But no-one can look past the first battery-powered supercar from a major manufacturer, the Audi e-tron, which turns the mid-engined R8 road rocket into a genuine future car.

A giant lithium-ion battery pack and electric motors for each wheel - putting a new twist on Audi's signature quattro drive - ensure the racy red concept car can zap to 100km/h in 4.8 seconds and has a top speed limited to 200km/h. Proving it's now just a flashy fraud, Audi says it has a range of 248 kilometres between recharging.

But the Audi e-tron is just the start of the electric action at the show. Volkswagen has converted its tiny Up! cit y car into a plug-and-play runner, Renault has four surprise electric concept cars, and Mercedes-Benz is showing three electric-powered concept cars that get their volts from sources including a conventional home socket and a hybrid fuel cell.

Inevitably, there are hybrid cars on the stands of almost every maker - with BMW setting the benchmark - but the serious talk is about a fully electric future in the years beyond 2015. "We are at the tipping point now with electric cars," says the head of Mercedes-Benz, Dieter Zetsche. "Electricity within the car as a growing percentage is the name of the game."

Officially Benz only has its concepts but, behind the scenes, it is finalising a battery-powered version of its SLS super-coupe for full-scale production in 2012. The born-again Gullwing currently uses a stonking AMG V8 motor but development of the plug-in SLS already has produced a car with a top speed of 215km/h and a range of 240 kilometre, with an eventual target of at least 250 and 350.

The update of the Up! from Volkswagen comes two years after the company first tickled potential buyers with a modern interpretation of the basic Beetle. It lost the rounded body but was compact, cost-effective and capable of converting young customers.

This time the plug-in car has 240 kilograms of lithium-ion batteries that allow it to accelerate to 100km/h in 11.3 seconds with a top speed of 140km/h and a range of more than 120km.

The car has space inside for three adults and a child - or luggage - despite a body that is just 3.199 metres long. And its trimmed-down equipment means old-fashioned manual adjustment for the windows and mirrors.

The E-Up! concept looks headed for production, based on the unveiling speech of Volkswagen's chairman, Dr Martin Winterkorn. "Cars with pure petrol and diesel engines - which in the foreseeable future will continue to be unbeatable for mid- to long-range distances - will be supplemented by cars like the E-Up! in coming years. And that will happen starting in 2013," he says. "The concept now being presented in Frankfurt very realistically shows how we envision such a Volkswagen with pure electric drive technology, visually and in terms of size." Still, it's the e-tron that is drawing the big crowds.

It looks like a mildly-tweaked R8 and that is just what Audi wants, as it knows the car is its hero.

Visually, the only real differences are the lack of air intakes for the radiators and a clean-up of the wheels and nose, as the 4 70 kilogram battery pack, inverter and computer controller sit in the space behind the seats that is normally filled by either a V8 or V10 petrol engine.

But the changes run deep, down to a heat pump for the cabin and a thermal management system for the battery pack. The cabin is also missing the central console needed for a conventional gearshift, there are lightweight ceramic disc brakes and an energy recovery system.

Audi says the battery pack can be recharged from a home socket in six to eight hours, although this drops to 2.5 hours with a high-voltage charger. "We are trying to find a concept that requires no compromises," says Michael Dick, the Audi board member in charge of technical development. "Electromobility means more to us than just electrifying conventional cars. Instead, we are dedicated to a holistic approach to all aspects of the topic."

The company has also axed its Astra VXR on the back of GM-Holdens decision to can the four-cylinder pocket-rocket and concentrate on the Cruze. HSV had previously looked at introducing both the Insignia and Corsa VXR models from Europe.

However, Phil Harding says a hot performance pair will now not happen because they would be too expensive. "The basic issue is we can't launch these cars here and place them in a competitive pricepoint,” he says.

Harding remains a big fan of both the hot supermini Corsa VXR and mid-size Insignia, having driven the Corsa in Europe, but says he will not walk into another program that would have a high price point.

Harding says the 140kW 1.6-litre turbocharged Corsa had all the attributes expected of a HSV car with a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 6.8 seconds and top speed of more than 220km/h.

The company’s experience with the slow-selling $43,000 Astra VXR is also believed to have had some bearing on the decision not to go ahead with the other Euro models. Harding admits the Astra was always going to be a low-volume car.

With the Corsa, Insignia and Astra out of the picture, HSV is looking at the prospects of building a HSV Cruze. "I have said previously that we are very excited about Holden's decision to make a locally built Cruze," Harding says. "We are looking at what to do as a business on this model. "Remember we have three brand pillars - performance, driving enjoyment and the look."

Harding says both the Cruze sedan and hatch are being studied for HSV. “Our styling department is working on it,” Harding says. “But we have not ticked all the boxes.” Harding would not elaborate on what engine lineup could be expected but says any choice would need to meet HSV performance parameters.

An unlikely liaison between the two Italian brands is being planned as a way to take Fiat upmarket down under and give the brand the momentum it needs to prevent a retreat from local showrooms. The deal will be set before the end of the year, if it goes ahead, with Fiat boss Neville Crichton desperate to change the fortunes of the Italian brand.

"It makes no sense to continue with the Punto and Ritmo if we lose money on every car we sell," says Crichton, speaking at the Frankfurt Motor Show. "We need to take the brand upmarket. The 500 is working well, particularly the Abarth versions. I think it could be a good match with Maserati."

He believes Fiat might need to move away from its stand-alone dealership network to partner with Maserati to cut costs and also give a more aspirational rub-off to the brand. "I think it would work well with Maserati. We're looking into it at the moment, and I think the two brands would work well together," Crichton says.

His company, Ateco Automotive, is the most broad-based importer in Australia with a portfolio that runs from Alfa, Fiat, Maserati and Ferrari to Citroen and Great Wall of China. But it has been suffering badly because of the global economy downturn and the showroom slide in Australia, although he says the second half of 2009 will be much better.

"We started trading profitably again in July. We've got things back under control, and the strengthening of the dollar has helped," Crichton says. So far this year Fiat has only sold 1338 cars, slightly down on 1341 to the end of August in 2008, despite a broader range of vehicles. But Maserati has seen its sales cut from 162 in 2008 to 84 this year, with Ferrari also trailing 68 to 121 in the year-to-date results for August.

"Things are starting to improve and the interest in the Ferrari F458 has been incredible. The new products from Maserati also look great," says Crichton. Meanwhile, Fiat has already linked its baby 500 with Ferrari. A special edition of the cute little Italian baby car, called the Tributo Ferrari, is being produced by Fiat's high-performance Abarth division and is on the shopping list for sales in Australia.

The car gets the 120kW turbo 1.4-litre engine first seen in the Abarth Esseesse version of the 500, bolted to a five-speed sequential manual gearbox with paddles behind the steering wheel. Fiat says the car can sprint to 100km/h in less than seven seconds with a top speed of 225km/h.

But the real changes are to the way the car looks and sounds, with Ferrari-red bodywork topped by a GT strip over the bonnet and roof, a deep-set spoiler, 17-inch alloy wheels and red-painted brake calipers - and a dual-note exhaust which is quiet at idle but turns wicked once the engine is pushed beyond 3000 revs.

But it's not a Himalayan bigfoot. Yeti is the name for Skoda's first serious compact SUV and it was targeted at the Frankfurt Motor Show as the most important model yet for the Czech brand as it looks to build a serious following down under.

"This is exactly the car we need to break through with younger, funky buyers. It's going to give us a point of difference," says the head of Skoda in Australia, Matthew Weisner. "This is the one I think will take us to another level.

It's even more important than Octavia." The Yeti only hit the scene in Europe in August and that means a slight delay for Australia while the paperwork and pricing is done, but it will land next year and the starting price will be below $30,000.

Its obvious rivals are the Subaru Forester and Volkswagen Tiguan, but it will come with both front and all-wheel drive, as well as with some serious off-road ability. "We would like to think we can get it here for the second half of 2010.

But we are still finalising the detail on homologation," Weisner says. "The basic mechanical package is similar to the Octavia, but running the 4Motion system. “And the Skoda engineers have done their own work to ensure it is a much better off-roader than you would normally expect in a compact SUV. “That's its point of difference."

Skoda is deliberately targeting a front-drive Yeti as a price leader, although it plans for a spread of models including petrol and diesel engines, manual and DSG gearboxes. "We've got to be around the Volkswagen Tiguan from four-wheel drive point of view, and for the two-wheel drive car it has to be under $30,000. And we equip cars well, and we wouldn't change that, so we'd hold the value propostion."

Weisner is confident the Yeti will be an easier sell than the baby Roomster, which has radical looks but is hard to sell in Australia's compact class. "If you look at it, Yeti is a fairly funky but typical compact SUV. Roomster is quite a radical sort of design, and it's not easy to position in Australia," he says.

"Yeti will sit perfectly comfortably in that growing compact SUV segment. And that's now stronger than the medium segment." Weisner believes the Yeti could eventually become Skoda's best seller, even bettering the Octavia in showrooms.

"We'll probably do around 1000 Octavias this year. I think it will give a similar or greater contribution. It will give us a big lift in a relatively short period of time," he says. "If we can do 1400 or 1500 cars in total this year, with the Superb now in the range, Yeti will make a hell of a difference to our total sales."