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Classic Cars: Aston Martin DB5.
For everyone, there is something they consider important in their life; it even gets to the point where they meet up with like minded people. For some, a car is nothing more than a method of getting from A to B, like a fridge is for keeping things cold, a TV is for watching a reality program (shudder) but for many a car is a symbol of desire, of majesty, of perfection. In the first of an ongoing series (and because I grew up, like so many, with Sean Connery as Bond, James Bond) I’ve selected the Aston Martin DB5 to kick it off.
DB stands for David Brown, the head of Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972. The DB series commenced in 1950 with the DB2. 
The DB5 was launched in 1963, an evolution of the DB4. The alloy engine was increased from 3.7 litres to 4.0 litres with 210 kW available, a new five speed manual transmission (after the initial four speed manual was dropped) was standard and a weight of just 1500 kilos provided a top speed of 230 kmh and a 0-100kmh time of just over seven seconds. A buyer of a DB5 got electric windows, wool pile carpet, leather trim, disc brakes and a damned good looking car, thanks to the Italian company Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. There was 123 convertibles made (one most famously driven by Prince William after his wedding) with 37 made from October 1965.
Most people would know of the DB5 from the James Bond movie, Goldfinger. Somewhat scarily now, it was the prototype DB5 car used in the film, with another car providing the stunts. Complete with machine guns, ejector seat, Roman era style rotating
blades from the centre of the wheels and oil slick making gadgets, the DB5 quickly became, at the time, the most famous car in the world. Priced, when new, at 4175 pounds sterling for the hardtop and 4490 pounds sterling for the soft top, it was expensive for the time but when you consider one sold at auction in 2010 for 2.3 million pounds (one used the films Goldfinger and Thunderbird admittedly…) it’s a bargain now.
Still regarded as one of the most beautiful cars ever produced (alongside fellow Britisher the Jaguar E-Type), the coupe style fastback was a stunner. Laid back headlights, air vent in the bonnet, the now traditional and famous grille design with seven vertical bars, the low sweeping design leading into the three bulb tail lights conspired to delight and beguile the eyeballs.
A timeless design with curves Jennifer Hawkins would envy, a powerplant that provided some startling numbers for the ’60s and showing up in a couple of the most loved films of the James Bond pantheon have continued to excite and enthrall lovers of automotive beauty. The Aston Martin DB5, a classic car.
Four Wheeled Multiculturalism.
Much has been made of the fact that, for such a relatively small population base, Australia has one of the highest number of car brands to choose from. Sure, it’s a case of overkill but in the light of Australia Day, let’s have a look at our multicultural automotive range.
Home Grown
Holden
Holden has to be a first up runner with a history that goes back to the 1850s. James Alexander Holden emigrated to South Australia from the 
U.K. and established a saddlery business. In the early years of the twentieth century the firm had evolved to perform carriage building and upholstery repairs before establishing a body building facility in 1919. By 1923 they were producing around 12000 shells, including for Ford Australia whilst their own factory was being completed. 1926 saw General Motors (Australia) established after two years of Holden Motor Body Builders producing for GM. It was 1931 when GM bought out the firm and it became General Motors-Holden. Apart from the locally built Commodore, the range is either Korean sourced (Malibu, Barina, Captiva) or world car based (Volt and Cruze).
Ford Australia
Ford Australia was established in the mid 1920s, as the Australian arm of the American owned Canadian branch. At the time, Ford Canada was a separate entity to Ford North America, with Henry Ford granting building rights to Commonwealth countries for Canadian investors. Of note was the release of the coupe utility in 1934 and the engineered for Australia Falcon. The “ute” as it’s famously become to be known, was born out
of the Depression era need to perform dual duties, moving both family and livestock plus, as a working vehicle, became eligible for loans to farmers as passenger cars were seen as a luxury. Like Holden, Ford Australia sources virtually all of the vehicles from overseas; think Fiesta or Focus and, of course, the recent announcement of the Mustang returning as a Ford backed product for here.
Toyota Australia
Although it can be argued, that as a Japanese owned company, it’s not strictly Australian, that argument could be applied to both Ford and Holden. For the sake of expediency, I’ll leave that alone.
The Australian history of Toyota goes back to the 1950s and the Snowy Mountains hydro electric project, with Thiess Toyota importing the LandCruiser for the project. Production of Australian made Toyotas was underway by 1963, out of Port Melbourne by Australian Motor Industries. 
In 1972 Toyota bought out the share in AMI that British Leyland held and by 1978 was producing engines for export. In 1986 the first Australian Toyota car was exported, to New Zealand whilst in 1994 the vehicle manufacturing section had shifted to Altona, Victoria. Currently Toyota Australia continues to build the Camry and Aurion in Australia and imports a range of other vehicles including the legendary Corolla nameplate and the tough as guts HiLux.
There’s also HSV (Holden Special Vehicles), HDT-SV (Holden Dealer Team Special Vehicles) and the now defunct, in their own right, Ford Performance Vehicles.
World Brands
Mitsubishi Australia is now, alongside Nissan Australia, full importers of the Japanese brands vehicles into Australia. 
Nissan, originally known as Datsun, first came to Australia in the 1950s whilst Mitsubishi Australia came into being in 1980 after taking over the Australian arm of American brand, Chrysler. Both companies built vehicles here and now, as full importers, continue to offer cars covering most segments of the Aussie market, including the long running nameplate Lancer, Triton, 370Z and Navara, just to name a few.
Mazda is perhaps one of the biggest Japanese brands selling in Australia, with the Mazda3 the best known. Alongside is the CX5, a better packaged entity than the now discontinued CX7, plus the multi-award winning Mazda6 and solid BT-50 platform shared with Ford’s Ranger.
Honda is another major Japanese brand for Australia, with the local operation dating back to 1981. Based in Tullamarine, north of Melbourne. Their current range includes the multi award winning Odyssey, the Jazz and the long name plated Civic. Isuzu (trucks and 4wd utes), Infiniti (Nissan’s luxury arm), Subaru, Suzuki, Lexus and even Yamaha are other Japanese brands currently available in the automotive market here in Australia, with vehicles such as the Liberty, Swift, IS 250 and Yamaha’s all terrain vehicles.
From Korea comes Kia and Hyundai, with the former part owned by Hyundai (nearly 33%). Kia goes back to 1944 and gained traction in 1986 by coproducing cars with Ford. Hyundai dates back to 1967 as a motor company but even further back, to 1947 as the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company. Models currently include the Sorento/Santa Fe, Sportage/ix35 and Cerato/Optima/i30/i40 models. There’s also SsangYong, perhaps better known for their “unique” vehicle designs such as the Stavic and Korando.
In the UK there’s a long and distinguished historical link to Australia when it comes to cars. Small open cockpit cars such as the Caterham, Westfield and Lotus 7 butt up against Jaguar with their XJ/XF/XK range of luxury and sports oriented models,
plus their new F-Type convertible and hard top. Long time stable mates Land Rover chime in with their range, such as the Range Rover, Land Rover Discovery, the glorious looking Evoque and the tough as nails Defender. There’s the stunningly gorgeous Aston Martin family, including the DB9, Rapide and the blindingly beautiful Vantage. For something quirky, there’s old timer Morgan with their quirky three wheeler of the monstrous Aero Supersports, plus speed kings McLaren with the 12C and, of course, Rolls-Royce, Bentley and the (BMW produced) Mini. For race car lovers, based out of Sydney Motorsport Park at Eastern Creek, is the Radical brand, a two wheeled Le Mans style open cockpit firebreather.
The Australian market certainly loves the Europeans, with brands such as: Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen all long termers and the recent reappearance/disappearance of Opel from Germany being found here, plus the once one car brand but now diverse Porsche (911/Cayman/Boxster/Cayenne and the forthcoming Macan); Renault/Citroen/Peugeot from France; Maserati, Fiat, Lamborghini, the legendary Ferrari sports cars and Alfa Romeo from Italy plus, rarely but expensively, Pagani. A brand seen as a leading exponent of safety in their cars, Volvo, have maintained a presence here. Volvo, founded in 1927, hail from Sweden and were once renowned for producing boxy looking designs. Once owned by American giant, Ford, and now owned by Chinese conglomerate Geely, the brand offers cars from small (V40) to large all wheel drives such as the XC90. The other well known Swedish maker, SAAB, are currently undergoing a substantial restructure after going bankrupt and then bought by Hong Kong based National Electric Vehicles Sweden.
Not unexpectedly, the Americans have a sizeable presence, with Chrysler presenting the 300C, 
the Jeep range (think Wrangler and Grand Cherokee), Dodge Journey (shared with the Fiat Freemont), Chevrolet (predominantly imported cars such as the Camaro and SUVs range), the mooted return of Cadillac, Ford US (again predominantly SUVs or models shared with other companies such as Mazda) and the sporty Mosler. On the other side of the planet comes Tata, owner of the 
Jaguar/Land Rover group, with the recent introduction of the Xenon 4×4 dual cab ute, against the Chinese Great Wall range of SUV and 4×2/4×4 single and double cab utes. There’s Geely as well, plus Chery, both recent entrants to an already crowded market place.
Clearly, when it comes to automotive brands, Australia truly is a diverse mix and and four wheeled multicultural one at that.
Award Winning Wine: The Golf GTi
The timing of things can be fortuitous sometimes; I was fortunate to have the Volkswagen Golf 103 Highline in the driveway when Wheels magazine announced the Golf as recipient of their prestigious Car Of The Year award. The week prior I had the presence of the top of the range GTi, so, like any smart person, a drive to the Hunter Valley was called for, to sample fine wine in liquid and four wheeled form.
The roads chosen were windy, twisty, varying in elevation, the ideal test for such a vaunted chariot. Starting from the lower Blue Mountains directly west of Sydney, north through Penrith and Windsor and through to the delightful Wisemans Ferry, to the joy of the two younger occupants of the GTi. From here the nose went east then snaked north, paralleling the freeway before coming to a right hander at Wollombi before nor’easting to Cessnock, southern gateway to the Hunter Valley.
The GTi is powered and that’s definitely the appropriate word, by a firebreathing 2.0L turbo petrol engine. With 162kW on offer there’s plenty of upper end however there’s an astonishing 350 Newton metres of torque from as low as 1500rpm. Coupled to VW’s six speed DSG (direct shift gearbox http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Direct-Shift_Gearbox) it’s enough to launch the 1300 odd kilo hatch to 100 km/h in a handy 6.5 seconds (claimed). Given some welly it’s a shove in the back as the gearbox ratchets its way through with barely a feel of change whilst the dual exhaust emits a snarly pop on the upshift. It’s immensely flexible and incredibly linear in its delivery, thanks to some tricky engineering like the TSI system (http://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/technology_and_service/technical-glossary/tsi-engine.html dual fuel injection (cylinder and inlet port), friction reduced internals and variable valve timing. Somewhat surprising is the lack of torque steer through the front driven wheels; it’s simply unnoticed if there was any, possibly due to the torque vectoring system fitted. Gears can be selected via both the lever and the finely finished paddle shifters behind the steering wheel.
The Golf GTi comes with switchable suspension settings (think Cabernet Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Shiraz), 
ranging from Comfort through Normal and Sport to personalised settings, which remained untouched during A Wheel Thing’s tenure. Due to the abysmal road surfaces on much of the trip, Comfort was selected which did its best to absorb most of the lumps. Normal firmed up the response whilst Sport went harder and, sometimes, was the better pick for the unevenness. The GTi sits flat in turns at speed but, on the most unsettled surfaces, still managed to crash through to the bumpstops although there was no ongoing rebound or wallowing. Around town in Cessnock, the GTi is mild mannered, well behaved, docile, showing no signs of the demon that lurks under its shapely bonnet. The table top flat torque (available past 3500rpm) eases the Golf around with no fuss, with the 
stop/start system (normal key ignition, not press button) kicking in when the brake pedal is depressed far enough; a light lift of the foot keeps the brake on but restarts the engine. Being a dual clutch transmission, there’s some hesitancy, a delay when moving from reverse back to first and some indecisiveness on light throttle. Combined with the Normal suspension it makes for an exhilarating drive. Then there’s the pin point steering, responsive to the mildest touch and with a progressive feel lock to lock, entered via a solid, chunky yet tactile, flat bottomed tiller.
The seventh generation Golf is much like its cousin, the 911, stamped definably with DNA traceable 
to the very first of its kind. Five door hatchback, wheels pushed to the corners, solid C pillar, shortish bonnet and decent glasshouse have been design hallmarks of the Golf since its release in the mid 1970s. This model is an evolution of the previous, with subtle changes to the nose, headlights and rear lights. Colour plays a big part in how a car looks and the GTi provided came in a glossy fire engine red, complete with black plastic highlights and LED daylight running lights (DRL). It certainly looked the part, especially with the five spoke “pick axe” style alloys, clad in grippy 225/45/18 tyres. Punted 
through corners on flat surfaces, the Golf is superglued velcro, the suspension working to keep the car flat, the steering responding almost as if though thought was being transmitted via the driver’s brain, the engine delivering when asked and the exhaust barking
in response. On the back roads in the wine country, it’s a tantalising, almost sensual experience.
Of somewhat questionable flair is the tartan seat covering; contrasting vividly against the varying shades of black in the interior, it’s a bright if somewhat unusual choice of fabric for the sporty and comfortable seats. Being a smallish car overall, rear leg legroom is immediately compromised. Thankfully for the smaller occupants, their father isn’t eleventy feet tall but there still was noticeable shoving in the back. The dash itself is elegant yet simple; a lovely touch that harkens back to analogue screens is the rolling number 
change for distance covered rather than the traditional instant change plus also offers compass direction. The dials have a classic look, simple black on white with a chrome ring lending class whilst framing a screen with an efficient colour graphic 
depicting the vehicle itself. Climate control aircon, a small yet clearly legible monochrome touchscreen with a presence sensing feature, colour map display (with a voice readout that was sometimes out by 300 metres) that worked on a pinch and pull zoom basis plus showed your road location on the radio screen, bluetooth, rear parking camera and heated seats complete the picture. Of note was the fuel gauge; it barely moved as in there was no movement until the 180km mark, then suddenly a quarter of the 50 litre tank was shown to have been used….that’s not entirely inspiring. 
A note on that gauge; it’s broken into fifteen segments, rather than a standard four or even eight. Economy averaged around 9L/100km over the week. Rear cargo space is reasonable, holding a decent week’s worth of shopping, a 60/40 split fold rear plus ski ported rer seat setup plus there’s a full sized spare (steel) wheel under cover. The boot opens via the prominent VW badge. Safety wise there’s airbags aplenty, electric parking brake and hill start assist, collision sensing braking and more.
The Golf GTi is like a fine red wine that’s been cellared; subtle yet powerful, improving over time from a good if somewhat rough base, to a well honed and thoroughly enjoyable experience. The sediment particles left over are the downsides of the GTi, unavoidable to a point but are there none the less. From a tick under Au$42k for the manual and $44k (plus on roads, check your local dealer) for the DSG auto, it may seem pricey to some, but when you factor in the sheer useability as an overall package, especially if purchased to be used by one or two people that enjoy what the driving experience is all about including that slingshot like acceleration and go kart handling, it’s a small price to pay for an awarding winning car. There’s a three year and unlimited kilometre warranty, capped price servicing to go with the twelve month/15000k service intervals to sweeten the deal.
More details can be found here: http://www.volkswagen.com.au/en/models/golf/highlights.html
Perfect Poignancy: Holden Commodore SV6
It was with more than a twitch of sadness and emotion that I handed back to the dealership, after three weeks covering the Christmas/New Year’s period, Holden’s VF SV6 sedan, with six speed manual and coated in a a Perfect Blue paint scheme. Coming off the back of confirmation that Holden would cease local manufacturing in 2017, it was somewhat poignant to spend time in the Commodore that has been so well welcomed by the media and public.
The Driven Heart
It’s a strong combination in the VF Commodore; the torquey 3.6L V6 and six speed manual. There’s 210 killer wasps
(at a high 6700 revs) to be had alongside an immensely usable 350 torques at 2800 rpm, a rev point where push in the back acceleration can be had in the right gear. It’s mostly easy on the brain to drive, with a firm and progressive clutch pedal travel but a pickup point that seems to be on/off like a light switch. The gear shift itself, although not heavy, has a notchy feel when slotting the lever home. Reverse is across to the left and up and has no lockout mechanism. Oddly enough, first leaves the SV6 somewhat ragged and breathless but moves into its stride come second and third, where the torque of the V6 can really come into play. At freeways speeds sixth has the donk ticking over just under 2000 whilst the flexibility can be used to either simply slot back into fourth on the downchange or miss a gear on the upchange. There’s some induction noise and a nice rorty tune from the exhaust.
The Sheetmetal
In a nod to Peter “Perfect” Brock, 
Holden offer a blue so very similar in shade to the famous colour that coated the VK HDT range known as the “Blue Meanie” that it’s been called Perfect Blue. It’s a lovely shade and evokes, in those old enough to remember or those that follow motorsport, what HDT’s mid ’80s groundbreaker was all about. With contrasting matt and gloss black bodywork, it’s an eyecatching colour that highlights the curves and creases on the VF shape, from the eagle eye headlights cresting the LED DRLs wrapped in gloss black through to the almost Camaro like tail light clusters above the rear apron, 
sporting twin pipes. 
There’s a subtle lip spoiler for the boot which impedes only minimally on rear vision from the cabin. It’s a strong and assertive profile which suits the various colour schemes available, especially on the SS versions whilst chrome highlights the gloss black inserts at the nose.
The Office Space
The VF has been around for long enough now for it to be familiar to most. The main change to the interior of the VF SV6 is a carbon fibre look to the dash and an interesting carbon fibre style weave in the seat cloth. It’s flexible, looks good and feels good to the
fingers. As a manual, seating position is important and this was the case here, with a comfortable 
seating slot found easily. There’s sports style pedals, manual (not push button) ignition, red highlights to the dash display, whilst the centre dash display is the monochrome style from the Evoke, rather than the colour version found higher up the chain. Reverse camera parking was a doddle however satnav isn’t included, an odd omission. The MyLink system that is now standard across the range is user friendly, look the part and offers the internet based radio apps such as Pandora plus there’s Holden’s parking assist and blind spot notification system to enjoy as well. At the rear there’s the skiport access from the cavernous boot, a 60/40 rear fold would be handy though. Naturally there’s plenty of airbags should they be required.
On The Road
The FE2 suspension setup works a treat on the SV6; it’s firm yet supple, absorbent and fluid, provides confident handling and combines with a sensible steering ratio (with the electrically assisted steering) to give point and shoot driving. The Bridgestone 245/45/18s hang onto the road pretty well for the most part however did seems to lose some traction on barely damp surfaces, including one slide into a left hander on ramp. The six speed manual is not the epitome of smoothness in shifting, with a notchy crunch into each gear nor is the clutch exactly spot on. Although smooth and well pressured, the actual pick up point required a 
measure of finesse and constantly felt a little “lightswitch” on/off. A nice and nifty addition is the hill start brake system, holding the brakes for a second or so in order for the first gear to be selected and not allow rollback. Under acceleration, first felt rough and thready, running out breath even however in third or fourth a good go at the loud pedal saw rapid forward movement plus there was enough of a bark from the bonnet and exhaust to tickle the aural tastebuds. Brakes were progressive with enough bite from moderate pressure to haul in the 1800kgs or so of the SV6. Overall fuel economy was 9.4L/100 km with predominantly suburban driving; the first indication of needing fuel came at around the 600km mark.
The Wrap
It was with more than a sense of sadness that I had to give the mid $30K SV6 back to its temporary home; sad that soon Australia will lose such an excellent, well engineered, home grown product. Sad that, as a manual driver by preference and ideology, that the Australian market prefers the self shifter. Sad that the downsize factor takes away some of the sense of freedom and fun that a solid and torquey V6 offers plus the sheer roominess of a large sedan. Although the Malibu has failed to excite the wallets of Aussie drivers, it is, at least, a size comparable with the VF and requires some styling and engineering tweaks if it’s to be a serious contender to go some way in offering a physically large car exercise once the VF sees the end of Holden made cars in 2017. It was a poignant moment for me to hand over the key to what is a shining example of what will soon be lost to Australia’s future generations.
Information on the VF SV6 and its family can be found here:http://www.holden.com.au/cars/commodore/sedan-range
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