Have Car, Will Drive

BMW Vision Concept at AIMS 2011 After more than a month of running around madly, resting intensly, and doing various things that can only be done during uni holidays, it is well and truly time for me to put some time back into Have Car, Will Drive. In that time I've visited the Melbourne Motor Show, driven upwards of 1500km including two trips to Phillip Island, and dipped my feet in the mirky waters of car mechanics peforming my first radiator flush and attempting to understand the intricate workings of a Hyundai's hydraulic clutch system. 

Can you say Mini Cooper Coupe ten times fast? You'd better get practising if you want a slice of Mini's newest additional to its ever-expanding line-up. Or if you want one with a longer name, you could go for the Mini John Cooper Works Coupe pictured here. Expected in Australia later this year, the Coupe chops two rear seats and a bit of rear roof from the standard Mini to turn it into a three-box sports coupe. I can't quite decide whether I like the design of the roof or not, but it certainly fits the brand's quirky young image. Expect to see the Coupe in Cooper, Cooper S and John Cooper Works guises, as well as possibly the diesel version on Australian shores, with engines just slightly updated versions of those found in other Mini variants.

Exam study can at times cause bursts of insanity. In my case, this seems to be manifesting itself as a strange compulsive desire to acquire a Volvo. And not just any Volvo, and not even the sporty, driver-focussed kind of Volvo that you might almost expect me to lust after. No, instead I am pining for a V70 wagon, preferably built early in the new millenium.

Like most small cars, the Fiat 500 is sold with an optional diesel engine in Europe. To date Australia has only had the choice of petrol-engined Fiat 500s, so when I heard that Fiat had announced the Fiat 500 Diesel for sale in Australia I was excited at the prospect of a new version of the funky Italian hatchback offering spectacular fuel efficiency while burning those long-chained hydrocarbons once reserved for trucks and tractors. Unfortunately, my hopes were soon dashed like a diesel-powered boat caught on a rocky coastline. Instead of being a diesel powered version of the miniature Italian, the Fiat 500 Diesel is a special edition of the regular petrol-powered 500 with trimmings designed by an Italian fashion house. 'Which Italian fashion house?' I hear you ask. That's right, you guessed it: Diesel.

I'm not usually a fan of convertibles. Beyond their good looks they are the epitome of style over function. However, I think in the case of the Audi R8 GT Spyder I may have to make an exception. I have always admired the R8 coupe's styling, and I was recently reminded of its beauty when I saw one in the flesh driving in the Melbourne CBD a couple of weeks ago, and then re-reminded when a silver R8 made a brief appearance on a movie I was watching on TV last night (which shall remain nameless on the grounds that it may incriminate, or worse, embarrass me).

Porsche 911 GT1-98 at AIMS 2010 in Sydney I love a good motor show. Since a young age, the journey to the Melbourne Motor Show has been an annual ritual. Until last year that is. For the first time in my lifetime, there was no motor show in Melbourne for 2010. Thanks to a new agreement between the organisers of the respective shows in Melbourne and Sydney, a show would occur in each city in alternating years. This came after industry pressure for a single show shared between the two cities, and struggles experienced by organisers of shows in lesser Australian cities. But was this enough to save the motor show from the jaws of the internet generation? Or are high-cost events that seem to cater to an increasingly niche audience headed for extinction?

I have previously mentioned my affection for both BMW's 1-Series, and Porsche's Cayman. The 1-Series M and Cayman R are the most focused examples of each respective vehicle, and the UK's Autocar has just posted a brief video comparison of the two machines. Given that my hypothetical ideal garage contains both a 1-Series coupe (admittedly a 135i) and a Cayman (S or R would do just fine), I couldn't resist re-posting this video here. I won't give too much away, but it comes as no surprise that as these cars are far from identical, each has its certain strengths and weaknesses. Click through the jump to watch the 4-minute video.