Fiat-Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne has ordered Alfa’s designers to try again with the new Giulia, the 2013 replacement for the 159 sedan and wagon.“I don’t think it’s an Alfa,” he said recently. “You could take off the badge, and it could be German.” The Giulia is the key model in Alfa’s plan to return to the US in late 2012 or early 2013 after an absence of almost 20 years, and Marchionne is worried.“If we butcher that one, we’re done,” he said. Asked if he thought a complete exterior makeover was required Marchionne said: “My gut says yes…” Fiat Group design chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti confirmed the redo was under way.“We are already working on alternatives, the problem is that we have to work on a certain platform.”The Giulia is to be built on an enlarged version of the Fiat Group’s new Compact architecture (basis of the new Giulietta), known as Compact Wide.Ramaciotti said the architecture’s hard points weren’t the best basis for a beautiful car.

New research by Queensland insurer Suncorp shows that motorists are continuing to ignore restricted speed limits in the state’s school zones.Surveying 2818 motorists, the study found that one-in-ten Queensland drivers (nine percent) regularly speed through school zones.

Nearly one-third of respondents (31 percent) also admitted to speeding on the drive to and from work.“With almost one-third of Queensland drivers admitting they speed during the hours that schools generally start and finish, and one-quarter believing exceeding the limit by anything up to 10km/h over is not speeding – it’s unsettling for both the driver and very dangerous for pedestrians.” Suncorp Insurance Corporate Affairs Manager, Mike Sopinski said.The report follows a recent blitz by Queensland Police on 40km/h and 50km/h zones in Brisbane and the Gold Coast, which resulted in more than 3000 motorists nabbed by marked and covert cameras.The cameras detected 71 vehicles out of 1000 (seven percent) speeding through 40km/h zones when the enforcement started in mid-December last year.The study also showed that 11 percent of Queensland motorists admit to speeding “most of the time,” and 66 percent said that they speed “some of the time.”“Most Queensland drivers (67 per cent) claim they are sometimes uncertain of the speed limit because they vary so much,” Mr Sopinski said.What’s your say? Do you share the same attitude as QLD motorists?

Porsche is sending off its 997-series 911 with this GT3 RS 4.0 limited edition.As the name suggests, the car features an enlarged 4.0-litre version of the current GT3 RS’s 3.8-litre naturally-aspirated flat six engine. Power rises 37kW to a 911 Turbo-matching 368kW, produced at a heady 8250rpm, and peak torque moves to 460Nm at 5750rpm. The donk comes straight out of the Porsche 997 911 RSR, but that donor car only gets 336kW.Performance claims for the 1360kg rear-driver are 3.9sec 0-100km/h, under-12sec 0-200km/h and a 7min27sec Nurburgring lap.The GT3 RS 4.0 is likely to be every Porsche purist’s hero – 285kg lighter than an all-wheel-drive 911, crisp atmo throttle response, and with a six-speed manual the only transmission available.Only 500 examples of the GT3 RS 4.0 will be produced, of which less than 10 are bound for Oz, priced at $409,100 – some $40-60K more than a GT3 RS or Turbo, but $10K less than a Turbo S.With the all-new 911 due to debut late this year, we couldn’t think of a better way to bid farewell to one of our favourite 911 generations…

Honda’s NSX hero car is to make its fabled return to the supercar market after all, according to reports out of the Shanghai Auto Show.Earlier reports claimed the new NSX would be downgraded from supercar to six-cylinder sports car, built on a reversed version of the Accord platform.According to US industry paper Autonews however, Honda CEO Takanobu Ito has confirmed that a spiritual successor to the NSX is in development.Don’t expect a big Lexus LFA-beating V10 engine however: no details have been confirmed, but Honda is understood to have ruled out the big engine approach, going instead for an environmentally-friendly hybrid drivetrain.“That’s the kind of sports car we want to make,” Ito reportedly told Autonews at the Shanghai show, describing a car that would be exhilirating to drive and environmentally-friendly.Dropping the planned V10 heart in favour of a hybrid approach suggests Honda is watching closely BMW’s Vision EfficientDynamics-based hybrid supercar.Reports of a hybrid-based supercar marks a significant departure from the red-blooded NSX that was in development before the global financial crisis caused the project to be cancelled.When it was first announced two years ago that the NSX spirit would live on in SuperGT track-only form, Honda confirmed the fiery HSV-010GT was actually a racing version of the aborted NSX.Though details beyond CEO Ito’s musing are absent, the new NSX will likely utilise a petrol-electric drivetrain with considerably more performance than the company’s current hybrid sportscar, the CR-Z.

Mercedes’ all-new 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 will power the E63 AMG sedan and Estate from 2012. More powerful, torquier, yet less thirsty than the outgoing high-revving 6.2-litre V8, the facelifted E63 offers a stunning, Panamera Turbo-bashing set of figures.Although the new engine comes standard with 368kW and 700Nm – identical to the old 6.2-litre – an optional AMG Performance Package raises outputs to 410 kW at 5250-5750 rpm, and 800Nm delivered across a broad 2000-4500rpm slab.Grunt is still sent to the rear wheels via a seven-speed MCT auto transmission, and Merc claims 0-100km/h in 4.2sec for the Performance Package-equipped E63, down from the current 6.2-litre car’s 4.5sec sprint.Combined consumption is 9.8L/100km for the standard 368kW 5.5-litre – down 2.9L/100km on the old 6.2-litre – and 10L/100km for the 410kW E63.Minor styling changes include a new flat-bottom steering wheel, full-colour TFT display in the central speedometer and fresh 10-spoke alloys.The new twin-turbo E63 AMG is due in Australia late this year.

What do our modern day monarchs drive when they clock off from their day jobs?

Mazda has unveiled its facelifted 3 sedan and hatch range, which debuts an all-new direct-injected four-cylinder powertrain.Tagged ‘Skyactive-G’ the new 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine produces 114kW at 6000rpm and 200Nm at 4000rpm – up 6kW and 18Nm on the current MZR engine that dates back to the original 2004 Mazda 3. The new engine utilises direct injection technology, variable valve and cam timing, and an ultra-high 12.0:1 compression ratio to deliver the improvements.A six-speed auto replaces the current five-speeder, electric power steering has been employed and Mazda has utilised its weight-loss gram strategy, including reducing the weight of the six-speed manual components by 2kg.Fuel consumption drops by 20 percent on the highway, to 5.9L/100km, and 17 percent in the city, to 8.4L/100km.Mazda sold a record 39,000 units of its 3 sedan and hatch range last year, cementing its place as Australia’s third most popular car. With new drivetrains and mildly tweaked styling, the 2012 Mazda 3 has every chance of bullying Corolla off its second-place on the podium.

Bang! It was over in seconds. It happened so quickly it seemed almost unreal. Chery’s J1 hatch has only just entered the Australian market, yet its crash safety was there being surveyed under the watchful eye of ANCAP. In front of my eyes, the little Chery just smashed into a 120-tonne steel block at 64km/h.It was the first time I’d witnessed a crash test, or any real-life smash with that kind of force. ANCAP won’t release the J1’s official results for at least a couple of months, but from where I was standing, the Chinese-made hatch didn’t fare well. The front crumple zones scrunched-up fine, but so did the passenger compartment: the driver’s footwell was completely caved-in, the A-pillar deformed, driver’s door inoperable. The Chery’s body twisted so much, the driver-dummy’s head hit the B-pillar on rebound.Viewing the incident from above, in a glass room at the NSW RTA’s Crash Lab at Huntingwood, it was shocking to think that anything could withstand such a violent impact. If you’re thinking 64km/h doesn’t sound overly fast, then let’s put it into perspective. Imagine if you were sprinting at full speed and ran straight into a building. It would be a messy scene. Now imagine you’re travelling at three times that speed and, again, suddenly brought to a halt. The human body isn’t designed to cope with such extreme forces and, when you’re driving, it’s the same thing. That’s why cars are designed to take some of that kinetic energy and distribute it elsewhere – allowing your body to take a little longer to slow down.Considering how much the bar has been raised in the small-car category, 4-stars or greater from ANCAP is a must. Electronic stability control and anti-lock braking systems are vital in avoiding a sticky situation. But what about when it all goes wrong? Seatbelts, airbags and crumple zones are all there to absorb energy in a crash to prevent or lessen injury to the driver and passengers.The chance of death or serious injury in a collision is two-times greater if you were to step into a one-star car rather than a five-star car, and you can tell the difference. A good crash-test performer, I’m told, won’t bend at the A-pillar and roof, and the front doors will open easily.For me, seeing a real-life crash-test certainly put passive safety, quite literally, under the spotlight. So, here comes the big question: would you rather pay less for a new car and avoid stretching to a 5-star one? Or would you rather someday walk away from a potentially fatal crash? You do the math.

Here is MOTOR Magazine’s pick of the top 5 cars from the Shanghai Motor Show 2011

Subaru’s jacked-up XV Concept will preview the next-generation Impreza hatch, due next year.

Shown at Auto Shanghai, China, the concept also “clearly flags Subaru’s intentions to capture even more of the crossover market in the future,” according to Subaru Managing Director, Nick Senior.Expect, then, an Outback-style high-riding variant of the Impreza to launch with the new range next year.Peel away the wheelarch cladding, however, and the car is pure Impreza hatch. With similar design cues to the Impreza Sedan Concept shown at the LA Motor Show earlier this year, particularly with the rear tailights and number plate surround, though the XV gets a less aggressive front-end. The XV is a more finished concept than the Impreza Sedan, however, with its doors and wheelarches reminiscent of the current Liberty.The concept is powered by a 2.0-litre Boxer four-cylinder engine linked to a CVT transmission (which will finally replace the current four-speed auto).More information on the XV Concept will be available in Wheels, June 2011 issue, out May 18th.

Click here to read the full range review of the Subaru XV.

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