Archive for March, 2013
Are Motor Shows still relevant in Australia?
This week we were informed that the Australian International Motor Show (AIMS), scheduled for Melbourne in June this year, has been cancelled.
AIMS Event Director, Russ Tyrie, said: “We have made the decision to not proceed with this year’s Show based on a consensus view of the Automotive Industry to focus limited marketing budgets in 2013 on firm specific activities rather than an industry based Motor Show.
“In not proceeding with the Show in 2013, Australia is following a global trend that has been apparent for several years, where cities do not always have a Motor Show. This trend is evident in the recent suspension of Motor Shows in London, Zagreb and Amsterdam,” Tyrie continued.
In 2009, a joint venture was formed between the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries- organisers of the Sydney Motor Show- and the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce who co-ordinated the Melbourne show.
Their agreement saw a shared arrangement where each city would share AIMS responsibilities, hosting the show on alternating years. The venture sought to ensure enough manufacturer and public interest in Australian shows rather than competing for attendance and revenue each year.
Now, with manufacturers moving towards different areas of promotion (for example, associating with major events like BMW at the L’Oreal Melbourne Fashion Festival or sponsoring a sporting team like Renault has the Port Adelaide Football Club) the question needs to be asked: Is the Australian Motor Show on the verge of extinction?
The AIMS organisers have been adamant that they will return in 2014, but with a new focus on the Asia-Pacific region. This bodes well, and I for one hope they return with a vengeance, but several challenges lie in the way. For one, our population is not big enough to truly justify a massive brand presence, the like of which is seen at Tokyo, Geneva or New York. Related is the sheer distance we lie away from the global manufacturer bases. Big European brands are particularly limited by time and budget constraints, putting the clamps on just what they can do with their local promotional opportunities.
Also shifting are the public’s perceptions, and that’s where you come in. With the multitude of information available online augmenting traditional print channels, do you still feel a need to attend a motor show physically? Does the motor show model remain a worthwhile manufacturer showcase? Would you still prefer to attend a show when looking for a new car, or is it easier to research online?
Alternative fuels and the human intestine
It’s interesting to see that, on a global scale, just 2% of the gas fuel resources are used for powering the world’s transport industries. Obviously, oil is the big natural resource that’s being used to power transportation needs, with 47% of annual oil production being tied up with powering the world’s transport industries. Biofuels on the other hand, while a great idea, are still in the infant stages of being a major player. So biofuels make up a pretty tiny proportion of the world’s transportation fuel requirements. What would make using gas and biofuels more attractive, and what is holding them back? There are researchers who are working hard to overcome the downsides of Biofuels and gas.
Biofuels should be the fuel of the future with crop fuels sounding like they should be a win-win scenario. Biofuel is mostly made from plant-based materials, and Biodiesel and Ethanol are the two main fuels that vehicles are able to run on. In a perfect world, we would grow masses of crops for obtaining the material used in biofuel production. However, the shortage of grain stocks and the surge in food prices has led to a big problem in the viability of sustainable production of biofuels. Corn and soy are correspondingly used for flour, baked goods, meat, dairy and processed foods containing corn syrup and soy, and most economic analysts agree that the increased biofuel production has contributed to the rise in food prices. This isn’t the sort of news we need to hear. Ideally, land needs to be separated and portioned for biofuels over and above the land needed for food production.
To gas we go, and, certainly, you can’t argue with the very low CO2 emissions that come from burning gas as a transport fuel. Researchers are finding ways for making gas a better option to use as a transport fuel – as there has been one or two issues with gas powered vehicles. A more positive finding shows researchers are looking at a gas fuel tank based on the serpentine tubes of the human gut. Now that’s cool.
Emissions from natural gas engines are 10% lower than those of an equivalent petrol engine. However, there is a practical difficulty for gas because the combustion-ready density of methane is lower than for petrol, and about 30% more fuel is needed to cover the same range as a petrol equivalent vehicle. To cope with a higher volume of gas fuel, the reality is that the high-pressure fuel tanks need to be fatter and heavier, which not only takes up a lot of space but it correspondingly dents what could be a better fuel efficiency. It also increases the price of producing the car.
To save space, “Otherlab of San Francisco”, with funding from the US government’s energy research arm, ARPA-E, has found that the human body maximises storage capacity by folding the intestines back and forth. They’ve endeavoured to design a gas fuel tank mirroring the serpentine intestine, so in place of the big, bulky, single large, high-pressure tank, multiple banks of thin, pressurised metal tubes are bent and distributed throughout the car. So a close up of the new gas fuel tank would reveal it folding back and forth, hugging the inside of the wheel arches, roof supports and front wings. They are also looking at designing a gas fuel tank with a flexible honeycomb-like assembly that is able to conform to any shape within the car. This technology, they reckon, could make cars running on natural gas a whole lot more attractive to motorists. I’m not so sure, though, if I would want a potentially explosive gas fuel tank any closer to my body than necessary!
Link to Private Fleet and win a $25 gift card!
Since commencing 1999, Private Fleet has grown from a two-person operation to a business which employs over 40 staff. This expansion could not have been achieved without the positive feedback and word-of-mouth generated by our wonderful clients.
So, do you love the Private Fleet service, whether you ended up buying through us or not? Do you own a blog or post on automotive or other online forums? Then please link to our homepage (www.privatefleet.com.au) from another website and briefly share your experience with others. As a thank-you for spreading the word we’ll send you a $25 Myer gift card, posted directly to your address. It’s that easy!
Simply send us your name, address, email and a contact number along with a copy of the link’s location and we’ll look after the rest. Send it to ‘newsletter [at] privatefleet.com.au’
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Some V8 competition at last!
At last! I can see some wider interest building in the V8 Supercars, particularly for those of us who enjoy a V8 rumble that’s not necessarily burbling from underneath the bonnet of a Holden or Ford. For over a decade, Holden and Ford have been the two marques battling it out for supremacy in the V8 Supercars Championship. Thankfully, the pin has been pulled on only allowing Ford and Holden to race in this championship and we’re going to see other cars entering into a very competitive V8 racing series.
Nissan has had big success in past years when the regulations for the racing allowed Turbo power and AWD. The Nissan GTR cleaned up in the early nineties. Authorities changed the format soon after Nissan’s success, only allowing Class A racing to encompass Australian-produced Holden and Ford 5.0-litre V8s to race each other. Class B racing included 2.0-litre cars that observed the FIA Class II Touring Car regulations. In my view, the spectacle was never quite as good. I enjoyed watching Volvo’s and Commodores battling it out alongside a BMW 635 CSi, M3 and Jaguar – to name a few of the cars involved in what was a highly entertaining series. I guess, that just shows my age!
Things have changed, and CotF (Car of the Future) is the naming for the new Class A racing format for 2013. The welcome changes in regulations have now loosened to open the door to other car manufacturers that are RWD, V8s that are based on a current four-door sedan shape which is a production model.
So who’s joining the racing party, which has now started? Mercedes are racing their Erebus Motorsport V8 racing car that’s based on the E-Class sedan. Race 1, The Clipsal 500 Adelaide, had Tim Slade finish 15th for Mercedes. Race 2, on the same track, had Lee Holdsworth finish 17th for Mercedes.
Nissan have their V8 racing car which is based on the Nissan Altima four-door sedan. Race 1 had Rick Kelly finish 11th for Nissan, while Race 2 had James Moffat finishing 13th.
Craig Lowndes finished race 1 in first place seated in the cockpit of a Holden Commodore race car, while race 2 had Shane van Gisbergen place first in another Commodore. At present, Holden dominate the standings.
I have heard rumours of Lexus entering the championship, and wouldn’t it be good to see a BMW back in the competition, again.
Catch up with the racing action at http://www.v8supercars.com.au.
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