From 1934 until the outbreak of war in 1939, the Silver Arrows of Mercedes-Benz and Auto Union dominated grand prix racing.

It didn’t happen by accident. The Silver Arrows campaigns were funded quite overtly by Adolf Hitler’s ruthless Nazi regime.He demanded German success on the racetracks of Europe and his equally ambitious forelock tuggers at Benz and Auto Union complied by creating the most technically progressive and stunning racing cars seen to that time.The brutal grand prix beasts of that era produced nearly 600 horsepower but with less-than-effective drum brakes, and skinny tyres, the men who drove them were rather special.They were hero worshipped, paid large sums of money…and Bernie Ecclestone was still in kindergarten.The link between the Silver Arrows and the Nazis is hardly new, but Hitler’s Motor Racing Battles written by Eberhard Reuss and published by Haynes, provides astonishing detail of the cosiness of the car giants and some of the drivers to the unsavoury regime.Sub titled The Silver Arrows Under the Swastika, it reinforces how Benz and Auto Union happily took the budgets from the Nazis to chase glory. They were willing pawns in the propaganda that flowed from track triumphs. Cronyism, bribery and political influence were ever present.Reuss carefully researched his nearly 400-page book for 20 years, and it’s easy to believe. Never before have we fully understood the complicity of the car companies in Hitler’s manic push for to dominate.It wasn’t a late rush of blood either. In 1924, when Hitler was released from prison, it was a Mercedes sales executive Jacob Werlin who picked him up at the gates.The Nazis were to in 1933 establish the NSKK – the Nationalist Socialist Drivers Corps – which “Nazified” the German driving associations and clubs. In charge was a Hitler crony Adolf Huhnlein, who attended most of the important races and reported directly to the Fuhrer.The Nazi presence pervaded motor sport as it did the rest of Germany.With Hitler’s patronage and Nazi money, heroes were made of Rudolf Caracciola, Hans Stuck, Manfred von Brauchitsch and Bernd Rosemeyer, the German aces of the ’30s.Oddly, Hitler had to accept the occasional foreigner on the driving strength of the Silver Arrows. This led to dented national pride when Briton Dick Seaman won the 1938 German Grand Prix, albeit in a German car.Hans Stuck comes across in the book as a chronic Hitler brown noser. The self-important Stuck was also something of a problem for the Nazis as he was both a national hero and the husband of a half Jew. SS chief Himmler’s intervention meant Mrs Stuck evaded arrest. Stuck also appeared to be a devious individual who manipulated furiously behind the scenes to keep his job playing Auto Union against Mercedes while plotting to build and drive a Porsche to the world land speed record.Others of Jewish background were not so lucky. Leo Steinweg, a successful bike racer, was forced out of motor racing in 1934 and was later killed in a concentration camp.Stuck and his co-horts always maintained their apolitical stance but were often guilty of wearing the swastika at the racetrack. Some were Nazi Party members and held honorary roles in the dreaded SS.Nazi uniforms were ever-present at the big races, and massed Nazi salutes greeted the winning drivers toured the Mercedes and Auto Union factories.But though the drivers faced post war investigations, most escaped punishment and eventually resumed their racing careers.Author Reuss has a stolid technique but his attention to detail is impressive as he relates the deep support and commitment of the top Nazis to the German motor industry and racing programme.Rosemeyer’s death in 1938 in an Auto Union record-breaking streamliner brought a nation to tears. Reuss noted that his coffin was hoisted by SS troopers at the funeral.The Silver Arrows kept racing right until war started when the Nazis marched into Poland. In fact the Belgrade Grand Prix was run on September 3 – three days into World War II – with five cars. There were two Auto Unions, two Mercedes and an old Bugatti.But that was end of Hitler’s Silver Arrows.Hitler’s Motor Racing Battles (ISBN 978 1 84425 476 7) is published by Haynes, and is available from Sydney’s Autobookworld and other good specialist bookstores for $69.00 RRP.

Bring priceless historic racing cars together with some legendary drivers at the iconic Monaco grand prix venue, shoot everything that moves, lace through some loving words of a true enthusiast, and finally use a stunning production technology to produce a seriously memorable commemorative coffee-table book of the occasion….

This is the précis of Race Face, a magnificent and massive A3-sized superb-quality limited-run album of the 6th Grand Prix Historique at Monaco, the impressive work of Jeremy Braithwaite, an Australian motorsport enthusiast.The Monaco event covers the pre-war era of Bugatti and Alfa Romeo through to the 3.0-litre cars of 1978 and is unique in that so many of the cars in the field had a Monaco history.Monaco is of course unique in that almost the whole principality stops for a historic motor race and where the circuit is little changed from before the war.Braithwaite also observes that Monaco is also uniquely appealing to shooters because photographers can get very close to the cars. It helps too that historic racing cars did not smother the driver in bodywork. He is highly visible.To quote from the Introduction to the book: “In most motorsport photographs you simply see a picture of a car. Here you see the driver at work, especially in the more open cockpits of early cars, and you can clearly see their eyes. The eyes are very expressive. They give you a real insight into the driver and that special place in their head people go when racing a motorcar.” The title of the book is therefore very apt..The album contains one or more photographs of every car that raced in the event as well as some cars that only practised.Braithwaite’s decision to design the book around the large A3 format (almost as big as a coffee table) and to closely crop many of the shots has provided some marvellous detail. The reader can gaze at each rivet, read the instruments, or compare tyre deformation at the very limit on the exit of Casino Square. The colour photography is brilliant, and the reproduction almost beyond belief.Race Face is available in two editions. The premium Gold Edition is limited to 350 and is signed and numbered. It is bound in red leather, printed on 250gsm paper and priced at A$495. One copy of the Gold Edition is reserved for each entrant in the event and they will receive their race number. The balance of 133 albums are available for sale.The Silver Edition is bound in black, printed on 170gsm paper and priced at A$295.Race Face was digitally printed by award-winning The Digital Centre in Sydney using the latest iGen3 press. The Digital Centre differentiation is based on their Oris colour management system and their staff skills. Digital press technology makes very low volume productions such as Race Face an economic proposition for both publisher and purchaser; in quality terms it is the equal of traditional offset or photography techniques.Published by J2B Publishing, Race Face is distributed in Australia by Autobookworld and AutopicsBackground:The Monaco Grand Prix Historique is hosted by the Automobile Club de Monaco. www.acm.mcThe 1st GP Historique was held in 1997, one week before the Formula One grand prix.There was a three year gap to the next event in 2000, and there has been an event every two years since.In 2008 for the first time there was a two week gap to the F1 race due to the length of time needed to erect the F1 paddock!The event started as an interesting prelude to GP week but now stands on its own, with many grandstands looking full.The Grand Prix Historique caters for seven different classes:• Series A for GP cars up to 1947. The first Monaco GP on 14thApril 1929 was won by a Bugatti. There were seven in the 2008 field along with Maserati, Alfa, and a number of Riley’s including Raymond May’s famous Brooklands White Riley. There were also three ERAs including the car in which Peter Whitehead won the Australian GP at Bathurst in 1938.• Series B for front-engined GP Cars built before 1961. Highlights were an all Lotus 16 front row, the ex-Phil Hill Ferrari 246 that was the last front-engined car to win a GP in 1960, and everybody’s favourite car of the period -the Maserati 250F. The Connaught’s looked quite brutish especially when compared to the dainty Gordini and Cooper Bristol.• Series C for Sports Cars built before 1953. Highlights were the presence of Sir Stirling Moss in the field at nearly 80 years of age, and still wearing his old helmet, and the battle between the C Type Jaguars of David Wenman and Nigel Webb. The Ferrari 225S of Jose Fernandez won the only Monaco GP for sports cars in 1952; it finished 7thin 2008.• Series D for Formula Junior. It was the category’s Golden Anniversary and the Monaco race brought together many of the very early cars with long stroke motors. Simone Stanguellini drove a car built by his grandfather and finished on the podium. This category has provided very close racing over the years as the traditional ‘crowd warmer’ for the GP.• Series E for rear-engined GP cars built before 1966. This was the end of the golden era of motor racing before wings and slicks. Simon Hadfield, in his Lotus 21, won the race against much later machinery. John Elliott ran his distinctive Lotus 18 at the Eastern Creek Tasman Revival meeting; a late afternoon shaft of light illuminates his car at Ste Devote.• Series F for 3.0 litre F1 cars built before 1975. The two McLarens that James Hunt used to win the World Championship in 1976 were both in the field, #3 and #6. Jean-Louis Duret had a big oversteer slide in his Lotus at Ste Devote and clouted the Armco inches away; the four photo sequence in the book.• Series G for 3.0 litre F1 cars built between 1975 and 1978. Highlights were the two Tyrrell six-wheelers. Mauro Pane crashed into the Armco beside the author at the exit from Tabac. It looked and sounded like a hard hit, but astonishingly he carried on to finish second.There has been a limited Australian involvement over the years. In 2008 Tasmanian ex Bathurst racer Scotty Taylor ran in a Lotus 24, #18. In 1997 Ivan Glasby ran a rear engined Cooper Bristol, Peter Briggs a 195S Coupe Ferrari and fromer Gold Star champ Spencer Martin drove Kerry Manolas’ C Type. In 2002 Gary Ryan drove his pretty Lola Mk 3 in the Formula Junior event.No mistake, for anyone interested in grand old historic racing cars, Race Face is THE ultimate coffee-table book.

A Holden development engineer, circuit racer, Australian Rally Champion and event organiser amongst many other varied roles in a full and successful life, Bob Watson finally took the hint and took time out to write his memoirs.

And we should be grateful that he did. He fills in some yawning gaps in our history, those relating to race and road car development, as well as the sporting adventures in international rallying.Consider that Watson was a works driver for Holden, Ford, Renault and Nissan. He competed in the East African Safari and ’77 London to Sydney Marathon. Always adaptable, he also raced touring cars at Sandown and Bathurst. And he was a hero of rallycross along with Peter Brock, Ed Mulligan, Michael Browning and Larry Perkins back when this hybrid form of motor sport was a major attraction. In recent times, he has organised some of Australia’s more popular outback endurance events.In Control, is a 176-page ride through Watson’s fulsome life, touching on characters such as Ross Dunkerton, whom he has observed as rival and teammate, and the late Gil Davis.Apropos bugger-all, really, the mug shot used on the cover of the book evokes similarities with someone far removed from motor sport, the singer Elvis Costello.To my knowledge, Bob Watson isn’t much of a singer. But he was and is a heck of a driver, and, as it turns out, a very handy storyteller too.Remarkably, Watson is now 70. This surprises me as he retains the vigour and passion of a way younger man.As many and varying activities that Watson has tackled successfully, it’s clear that rallying retains his greatest affection.The crazy characters, the camaraderie, and the thrill it gives can’t be matched.Sliding a rally cars through a series of corners at the limit of tyre adhesion in perfect balance, writes Watson, must equate to a golfer getting a hole in one, or a surfer catching a perfect wave.He recalls too with affection the less complicated era of motor sport when the emphasis was equally applied to ‘motor’ and ‘sport’.In Control carries some excellent photos – black-and-white and colour chronicling Watson’s career.In Control is published by Bookworks. phone 0403 008513.

Californian Hank Butcher arrived in Australia for the 1969 summer season of speedway racing with his Offenhauser speedcar fitted with the latest safety feature from the United States, a new bolt-on rollcage.

But Australian speed car authorities, not always the sharpest knives in the cutlery drawer, were not impressed. Butcher was told to remove the life-saving cage before he could race the car at the Sydney Showground. He asked if he could address the crowd, took the microphone and told the stunned spectators that he would race but only if race officials agreed to call his wife back home should he be hurt or worse in the cageless Offy…Within a few seasons, from 1973 onwards, roll-cages were obligatory and the shocking stream of fatalities in speedcar racing slowed dramatically.The 1960s is remembered as the most dangerous decade in Australian dirt track racing. It was also a time of genuinely huge crowds and regular lurid back page and front page stories in the tabloids.One of the biggest names of the first half of the 1960s was jug-eared Jeff Freeman, a working-class hero from Sydney’s Paddington, who fought some epic battles with Johnny Stewart, Andy McGavin, Garry Rush, Ray Oram and a fresh-faced Johnny Harvey, making his way as one of the kings of sideways motoring before being lured to road racing.Freeman’s death on Mother’s Day 1965, when his Offy overturned and his head hit a safety fence upright at Westmead Speedway, plunged the sport into mourning. Others died before and after Freeman, but he had always seemed too good and too indestructible to lose his life.Stewart went on to develop a keen rivalry with Kiwi Barry Butterworth, a controversial figure who caused a near riot at the Showground when the crowd invaded the track in protest at his exclusion from a race.Another star of the day was a Brock – the irascible rough nut, hard living Leadfoot Len Brock.Americans Bob “Two-Gun” Tattersall, Merle Bettenhausen, Mike McGreevy, Larry Burton, Jimmy Davies visited, bringing a dash of international glamour to the Brisbane Ekka, Perth’s Claremont, Adelaide’s Rowley Park, and Sydney’s Showground. And later in the decade, suburban Liverpool.The excitement and ever-present danger of racing in that era is captured in a new book called Speedway’s Sensational Sixties, sub-titled with some justification, The Deadliest Decade.Mainly pictorial, it’s 160 pages of black and white shots on quality paper, has been compiled by log-time speedway enthusiast and photographer Tony Loxley, who’s dedicated the publication to the much-admired speedway great George Tatnell, who passed away last year.Loxley has sifted through thousands of photos taken by the stellar lensmen of the era including Warren Bridge, David Cumming, Larry Taylor, Ian Smith, Bill Meyer, Gordon Hogarth, Des Lawrence…The images extend beyond the speedcars that were the staple of the sport during the 1960s to solo motorcycles, sidecars and the new categories on the move – sedans and super modifieds.Included is the classic shot of Bob Holt’s Holden launched high into the night sky during a Sydney Showground feature race in 1963. Wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, Holt survived the mighty shunt. Thirty five years later, as a wiser veteran racer, the great survivor Holt became the national speedcar champion.There are shots of fatal crashes, and lucky escapes, which marked Saturday at ‘the skids’ in the bloody 1960s. Loxley has also included a smattering of press cuttings of the time, but frustratingly they are too small and impossible to read. That’s a shame.Speedway’s Sensational Sixties is published by Bookworks-Haynes and is available from Sydney’s Autobookworld and other good specialist book stores at a recommended retail price of $39.95. Though let down by a few proofreading slip ups, it’s a must for any speedway fan.

Approach the Honda Odyssey with any degree of objectivity and it has to be seen as a runaway contender for best family car of our times. After all, evidence shows that as the year 2010 approaches, people are chiefly concerned about utility and practicality, inherent safety, low fuel consumption and low emissions. Those latter two criteria are oft-quoted as being reasons why traditional family cars (aka Falcons and Commodores) are on the nose.

So with its four-cylinder fuel economy (8.9L/100km) and carbon emissions (212g/km), bundled with seven-seat capacity, the Odyssey rivals something like a Toyota Prius when it comes to environmental responsibility per seating position. Throw in Japanese build quality, extremely high levels of standard equipment across two model levels, and even a certain level of individuality in the styling, and it’s easy to like this car a lot.Until, of course, you realise the Odyssey is a people-mover. Like the previous model, Honda may have tried to disguise the fact by lowering the stance and roofline and flattening the windscreen angle. But in a country where the machismo of a seven-seater off-roader or the proletariat status of a locally built sedan still rule the roads, driving any type of one-box transport has all the appeal of a colonoscopy.Can this image be reversed? I reckon Honda is nearer to hitting the magic recipe (of making people-movers cool, even desirable) than most. In fact, the company got so close with the last Odyssey it has retained the platform and then added stuff for this one. On the existing 2830mm wheelbase sits a new upper body architecture that is 30mm longer, has 60mm more cabin length, and is actually 5mm lower than before.The 2.4-litre four has copped a power hike of 14kW to 132kW, but max torque remains static at 218Nm, and kerb weight is up by about 30kg in base trim. The upshot is that while heavy-throttle, high-rev acceleration from a standing start feels reasonable, the Odyssey can be caught out when asked to gather speed in the middle part of the rev range. The five-speed auto reacts in a civilised fashion when kicked down, but strangely has lost the old model’s sequential-manual override.Perhaps the Odyssey’s main charm is its refinement, exemplified by low levels of wind and road noise, along with dignified ride comfort and a cultured and distant engine note. The road-hugging driving position is almost car-like (interesting that, when many buyers seek an elevated, 4WD-style view of the road) and the ritzy level of instrumentation and wrap-around dash gives a sporty impression far removed from other vans. The only let-down is a crummy looking single-DIN aftermarket CD/radio on the base model that stands out like a zit on a supermodel’s chin.Prices start at $43,990 for the base model with six airbags, ESP and cruise control, and $49,990 for the Luxury grade, which adds leather-trimmed and power-adjustable seats (including a power-retractable third row), 17-inch alloys and a double-DIN six-CD stereo. It stacks up pretty well against the likes of Toyota’s Tarago and cheaper versions of Ford’s Territory, if not the $34K Kia Carnival. And, finally, all Odysseys score a lap-sash seatbelt for the centre middle seat.Honda claims a low centre of gravity aids handling, which is difficult to argue against given this Odyssey has all the body control and front-end grip of its predecessor and probably a bit more. The steering is light and lacking in soul, but the overall impression is of grace and manoeuvrability — not adjectives normally associated with the breed. A tightish 10.8m turning circle does no harm, either.Undoubtedly this is an evolution of the existing vehicle. But to dismiss the Odyssey as just another people-mover would be to ignore the merits of its refinement, classy interior, spaciousness, and even environmental responsibility.Honda Odyssey Engine 2354cc 4cyl, dohc, 16v Max Power 132kW @ 6500rpm Max Torque 218Nm @ 4500rpm Transmission 5-speed automatic 0-100km/h 10.8sec (estimated) Price $43,990 On sale Now

Not surprisingly, given their differing engine and drivetrain configurations, Evo and Zed offer poles-apart driving experiences on a circuit. Yet, as the stopwatch attests, they conspire to produce uncannily similar lap times around Sydney’s short and challenging Oran Park north circuit – a blink-and-you-miss-it 0.02sec in the Mitsubishi’s favour on a surface damp in parts on our test day.

Each have their strengths in different sections of the track. The Evo is at its best under brakes, turning into corners, and belting out of them with a commendable level of composure, whereas the 370Z generally feels faster in a straight line.Though both had to deal with the same patchy, moist track conditions, the all-paw Evo certainly felt more composed when it went for a skate on a damp spot. On the other hand, in the 370Z, jumping too hard on the throttle (even in the dry) saw the rear Yokohamas quickly spin free, triggering a lurid but – thanks to the standard viscous limited-slip diff – very controllable powerslide.In a racetrack environment, though, the Nissan does deliver both fun and thrills. There’s little sign of subtlety as it goes about its business, although its power is delivered with good linearity and the steering messages come strongly and consistently.A torsionally stiff chassis, short, bloke-strength gearshift action, and good-enough brakes all add up to a raucous, good-times driving machine rather than one that does everything impeccably well. The Zed is unquestionably for the purist who dares.The Evo’s 217kW doesn’t sound world-beating, but the Mitsu boasts a toughness and competence borne out of its rally-honed evolution that can’t be underestimated. Its well-sorted chassis, nicely weighted (and quick) steering, and excellent Brembo brakes combine with its turbocharged 366Nm, all-wheel-drive traction and fine SST dual-clutch transmission to deliver a devastatingly effective driving package.Brake late, turn in, and get back on the accelerator impossibly early and the Evo stops, turns and goes with a gob-smacking efficiency. Its higher centre of gravity when compared with the Zed is no handicap either, as it goes precisely where the driver intends.That this AWD car has less understeer at the same turn-in speed as the rear-drive 370Z says much about its dynamic prowess. It’s even possible to provoke a small degree of power oversteer before a full-throttle application pulls things straight.Aggravatingly, Mitsubishi doesn’t provide paddleshifters that move with the steering wheel. Midway through a corner, when you need to upshift, you’re forced to take your right mitt from the tiller to go searching for the paddle, or use your left to tap the shift lever on the console – both of which destroy the whole reason for having paddles.Priced below $70K, this pair offer plenty of zing for the ka-ching. Both have much to offer the enthusiast seeking a road car capable of turning track plaything.If you want a car for expression sessions involving lots of lurid oversteer, the Zed is your car. But if you want a tool for track days, lap dashes or production racing, the Evo is still the pick. Dry or wet, its competitive credentials are unrivalled.

You might yawn at the prospect of a new Nissan Maxima, but perhaps you need reminding that the J31 iteration made the second stage of Wheels Car of the Year 2003. Then, in mid-2006, it was declared co-winner of a Wheels big-six comparo alongside the Ford BF Falcon Futura and ahead of the likes of Holden VZ Commodore and Toyota Camry V6.

That happened before the drivetrain was upgraded from a four-speed auto to a CVT, something that further highlighted the excellence of the VQ-series 3.5-litre V6.Trouble is, Maxima amnesia is afflicting car buyers too — the 2008 average dropped to just 90 sales per month. Dare we say, the average buyer age is 55…So, enter the new J32 Maxima and with it, renewed Nissan determination to get a younger and wider selection of mainstream and prestige sedan buyers thinking about this car.Shifting production from Japan to Thailand is a vital part of the process. Combined with the introduction of a new 2.5-litre V6 engine option, this allows the entry price to be dropped $2000 to $33,990 for the 250 ST-L. The cheaper 3.5 (or 350) is the $37,990 ST-S, while the top-spec 350 Ti is $46,990.Because it’s a Maxima, plenty of equipment comes with the affordable pricing. The base model includes six airbags, stability control, leather trim, dual-zone climate control, xenons, 17-inch alloys and six-CD audio. The ST-S adds parking sensors and keyless entry, the Ti a sunroof, touchscreen DVD, sat-nav, Bose 11-speaker audio and more.Spaciousness, plushness and quietness are also Maxima traits that carry over. And while the controls and dashboard are new, they are from the classically intuitive Japanese mould.But there are some interior glitches; the steering doesn’t reach-adjust, there’s no rear screen for the DVD player and the rear-seat doesn’t split-fold. Also, there’s a similarity between interiors that belies the $13,000 gap in pricing from the bottom to top of the range.The cookie-cutter mentality also applies to the new-but-familiar exterior. But under the skin the changes are dramatic.Maxima now rides on Nissan’s new Global D platform, providing J32 with a claimed 40 percent improvement in torsional stiffness and an 85 percent improvement in front lateral stiffness. Add a fundamentally revised multi-link rear-end and the 350Z’s power steering system and you can see where this is heading — to a corner near you.Okay, Maxima isn’t transformed dynamically, but it’s now much more complete. Yes, the V6’s smooth, responsive, deep, quiet character (imbued for J32 with an extra 15kW, denuded of 7Nm and less thirsty by 0.6L/100km to 10.2L/100km) continues to star, but the chassis is no longer just along for the ride.Indeed, some low-speed ride comfort has actually been sacrificed to the cause of body control and handling balance. The dampers are firmed up and the springs stiffened. Inputs are quickly and efficiently dealt with.This is a far cry from the soft and pillowy behaviour of yore, and the early onset of understeer that sogginess provoked. Only the steering is unimpressive, simply refusing to communicate which way the wheels are pointing.But it’s a flaw that highlights many worthwhile improvements. If you fancy quiet competence, Maxima is a car worth remembering.Nissan Maxima 350 Ti Engine 3498cc V6, dohc, 24v Max Power 185kW @ 6000 rpm Max Torque 326Nm @ 4400rpm Transmission CVT 1-100km/h 7.3 sec (estimated) Price $46,990 On sale now

When Mazda dropped the bombshell announcement that its hugely talented and youthful design boss Laurens van den Acker was leaving to “pursue other interests”, the global car-design network went into gossip-overdrive.

During his three years at Mazda, Dutch-born van den Acker had overseen the creation of a series of brilliant, breakthrough concept cars that transformed the car maker into the hottest design-led automotive brand on the planet.So potent was the collective creative force of his Nagare, Kabura, Senku, Ryuga and Sassou concepts, van den Acker had become the must-have target for car industry headhunters worldwide. Now, it seemed, one of them had claimed the prize scalp.Soon after Mazda announced that he was leaving, rumour spread that van den Acker would succeed the influential Patrick le Quement at Renault. Three days later, Renault confirmed that the pundits had got it right.But why would Laurens van den Acker – a true cosmopolitan who was in the process of adding Japanese to his fluent Dutch, German, Italian and English – jump ship from his relative comfort zone at Mazda, where he’d clearly had the freedom and influence to generate a genuinely new design language? What’s more, he doesn’t (yet) speak French fluently.What made his departure from Mazda even more ironic was the fact that the first van den Acker-inspired production car – the next-gen Premacy/5 MPV – was still more than a year away.“I was very happy at Mazda and had no intention to leave,” van den Acker told me days after his switch to Renault had been confirmed. “As you know, I was probably having too much fun. The design team is fantastic and with Nagare [Japanese for ‘flow’] we managed to set a strong new direction that we were busy turning into a production reality.”Van den Acker moves to Renault as Design Director, reporting to Chief Operating Officer, Patrick Pelata. It’s a senior role that’s clearly a step up from his old position as General Manager of Mazda Design, responsible to the head of R&D.Neither his new status nor the fact that Renault outsells Mazda roughly two-to-one worldwide (2.4 million vs 1.3 million last year) was critical to his decision, according to van den Acker, who seems much younger than his 44 years.“When Renault approached me, I couldn’t be anything else but very honoured to be given this unique opportunity and responsibility,” he said. “Patrick le Quement is one of the most pre-eminent car designers in the world, and the reputation of Renault Design is unparalleled. I considered this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”If his answer is predictable, it’s also clear that he means it and is genuinely sorry to leave Japan, a country he describes as “the most fascinating in which I’ve ever lived”.“I am strengthened, though, by the thought that with Maeda-san [his successor at Mazda, Ikuo Maeda, who styled the RX-8 and new Mazda 2], Mazda Design is left in very capable and experienced hands.” he said. “I have no doubt that Mazda will continue its momentum. I wish them well and I will root for them.”Significantly, van den Acker heads to a Renault that has recently shifted away from its often-controversial style leadership. Instead, it’s embracing a strategy that puts more emphasis on quality than bold design. Insiders say Renault believed that by plucking a high-profile outsider from a design-led Japanese car maker – where quality is taken for granted – it could simultaneously achieve both its aims.Perhaps understandably, when I spoke with him pre-Wheels deadline, Laurens couldn’t yet comment about that. “I’m not yet in a position to give you a good idea of what the challenges will be,” he told me. (Although he joined Renault on May 15, he doesn’t officially take over from le Quement until October.)Late last year the likeable van den Acker gave Aussie hacks a long-lead preview of the new Mazda 3 and explained the theory behind the radical look, known internally as Flow Design. Through a welcome smile and obvious enthusiasm, he explained to Wheels that Flow is a surface treatment which implies air or fluid flowing over a car’s textured surfaces to play with the light. As the various concepts prove, the surfaces vary depending upon the vehicle type and its shape and personality. Mazda’s more traditional design elements, like the five-point grille, the (much-copied) prominent front wheelarches and the head and tail-light treatments, plus the fast-wedge body shape, are also important elements. And there is a visual connection between all these elements so that the design flows.“We can apply Flow to any Mazda,” van den Acker claimed. “Trucks, sports cars, sedans … everything, because the look has depth and is culturally simple to understand, though the execution demands incredible attention to detail.”Always, there is a sense that what drives Flow Design is a desire for good-looking cars.“If we lose beauty in the process, what is the point? We are going to have the efficiency, a low aero and light weight, but, guess what … we are going to be beautiful, too.“We have embraced and been inspired by nature; the promise of the outside must be sustained by the interior. Too many cars today look like industrial products and owe their inspiration to electrical goods.“What has been surprising is that when you do something advanced you expect it to be an acquired taste, even provocative, but people seem to naturally embrace the look … though, yes, we still have to prove it [on production cars]. We want Mazdas to be instantly recognisable designs, so that you could take a picture from any point and know it’s a Mazda. And we want to get it out quickly so that we own it. Otherwise, the Chinese will do it.”Robert Cumberford is a former designer who, among other car makers, worked for Renault in the 1970s. He’s now the world’s leading independent car design pundit. Cumberford believes that under van den Acker, Mazda has shown the world that it’s possible to embrace Japanese cultural sensibilities – with a sense of motion and emotion that are “central to the global love of cars” – to express a true Japanese automotive character.“It was never my goal to show Japanese design,” Laurens said. “You could live [in Japan] for 20 years and still not understand the culture. I just wanted to make good Mazdas and didn’t care where the inspiration came from. Now people say they look Oriental. A Japanese designer could say that; I can’t.”Laurens began his design career at Design Systems, a consultancy in Turin, Italy, after graduating from the Netherlands’ Delft University with a Masters in Engineering from the Faculty of Industrial Design. The tall Dutchman, born in the Netherlands though he has since lived in six countries, says the cars that most influenced him as a student were the General Motors Firebirds I, II and III and the wild Bertone BATs 5, 7 and 9, all concepts from the 1950s.Current Ford design boss J Mays first met van den Acker when they both worked for Audi in the early ’90s. Mays then poached the talented Dutchman, first to Arizona-based brand development company SHR Perceptual Management, and later to Ford.Before he moved to Mazda in early 2006 (succeeding Scot Moray Callum), van den Acker worked for Ford in Dearborn. He was involved in creating such concepts as the Ford 427, Model U, Bronco, GloCar, MA and 24/7 – “I’ve done my share of wacky cars,” he says – as well as the Ford Escape and Mercury Mariner production cars.Away from cars, he’s perhaps most famous for his seemingly endless supply of colourful sneakers. True to his convictions, he wore a pair to the interview with Renault’s Pelata. Mazda people tell of how he wore a different pair for eight consecutive days during a press event. How many does he have? “As many as my wife,” he says. “These things are secret, but I do wear a different pair every day.”Says Cumberford, “Laurens was an excellent choice for what is a very important design job; certainly better than any of the others I know were in the running.“The hardest part of being chief designer anywhere is getting past the need on the part of untutored executives to put their hands on the product to show how powerful they are. Jacques Calvet [who ran PSA Peugeot/Citroén from 1983 to 1997] almost destroyed Citroén with his conservative tastes. Laurens will need tremendous strength of character and self-assurance in this job.”On my reading a design revival is a near certainty at Renault, given van den Acker’s impressive record, as a designer and a manager.

Like its huge parent company Toyota, luxury car maker Lexus has hybrids very much on the agenda for its current and future personal transport solutions.

Lexus’s tone is quite dismissive of diesels and other current fashionable fuel-saving technologies, suggesting that hybrids offer distinct advantages off into the foreseeable future.It is planning a full range of hybrids for the Lexus catalogue. Launching the world’s most efficient luxury hybrid SUV, Lexus declared that it “is almost guilt-free lifestyle transport”.The new RX 450h (available from July 13) sets fuel economy and efficiency figures closer to that of some small four-cylinder hatchbacks yet has lively-enough performance.The petrol-electric hybrid officially consumes 6.4 litres of petrol per 100km (combined city/highway cycle) while emitting 150grams of CO2 – an emissions figure not achieved by any other luxury SUV in Australia.Lexus claims a couple of world firsts, including the first production Atkinson Cycle V6 hybrid engine, and suggests the RX 450h’s combined output of 220kW from the petrol/electric system makes it the most powerful luxury hybrid SUV.The RX 450h is also the first hybrid vehicle to be exempt from the Federal Government’s Luxury Car Tax (because its fuel economy is below the required 7.0L/100km). This saves more than $4000, meaning it can go on to the market starting at $89,900.Lexus pioneered hybrid technology at the premium end of the SUV market when it launched the RX 400h in Australia in 2006.Lexus now has four hybrids in its range, clearly banking on the technology as the way forward.Lexus Chief Executive, John Roca makes no bones about his company’s intentions. “With RX 450h we have diesel competitors firmly in our sights, and with Lexus’ unique blend of power, efficiency, practicality and pricing, we are certain that RX will remain our top selling model.” The Lexus goal is to have hybrid alternatives in all of its models.The new hybrid, which replaces the first-gen RX 400h, is a step up in efficiency, technology and refinement. The quality, is, as you’d expect, unquestioned.The new 3.5 V6 petrol engine, exclusive to the hybrid, produces 183kW/317Nm. The hybrid system has three separate motor/generatorsRegenerative braking at all four wheels helps achieve the excellent fuel economy numbers.The Hybrid Drive in the RX 450h has a compound set of planetary gears and the two sets of gears combine to perform three roles. One set acts as a motor-speed reduction device for the electric drive motor, and the other as a power-split device, dividing petrol engine power between the generator and the front wheels.Collectively, they act as an electronically controlled continuously variable transmission (E-CVT).The electronically controlled CVT smoothly adjusts the speed of the engine, generator and drive motor when the vehicle is accelerating or decelerating.Engine power can be transmitted to the front axle via the mechanical path and the electrical path, or a mixture of both.Some of the engine’s power output is transmitted to the electric motor, via the generator, as supplementary power for vehicle acceleration.A second 50kW AC permanent magnet motor powers the rear wheels during take-off and acceleration.As well as propelling the vehicle, the Lexus Hybrid Drive allows for energy-saving regenerative braking on both the front and rear axles.The Lexus Hybrid Drive transmission acts as an E-CVT that can freely vary the petrol engine’s revolutions.RX 450h’s generator fulfils a secondary role as the starter for the petrol engine.The 3.5 petrol engine sits 16mm lower than the old RX’s 3.3 and gives a lower centre of gravity and therefore improved stability and handling. The RX 450h changes direction easier, with reduced body roll.Our 300km urban and rural test drive also revealed the new car’s ride qualities have moved to a new level.This drive, by the way, gave us an overall real-world fuel economy of 8.1litres/100km, a handy figure considering the RX’s 2200kg weight and the mix of roads and conditions.The RX line-up, a popular choice among yummy mummies everywhere, is also offered here with a 204kW petrol V6 starting from $81,900.Like the all-petrol version, the all-new RX 450h hybrid alternative comes in three spec levels – Prestige, Sports and Luxury.All are bastions of safety with a class leading 10 airbags, Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) stability system and a raft of active and passive safety features.As an issue, battery cost seems to have gone off the radar lately. Still Lexus says it has halved the price of hybrid batteries over the years. And in any case Lexus has not had a single battery failure in any car in Australia.Lexus Australia expects the $107,900 450h Sports Luxury model to be the big seller initially, when early adopters do their thing. But the Prestige and Sports should dominate sales patterns in the longer term. Expectations are of 60 450h sales each month.

Maybe it’s not quite the automotive equivalent of Ali vs Frazier, but the showdown between the Toyota Prius and Honda Insight hybrids nevertheless is the talk of Japan right now.

Honda stole a huge march by launching the Insight early and for a rock bottom price, starting at just A$24,532, prompting Toyota hurriedly to slash the opening bell on the new Prius in response, down to just A$26,623.Toyota dealers were less than overjoyed by that news, as a big slice of their profits then went bye bye, however first indications are that Toyota is comprehensively winning the hybrid war, on all fronts.The new Prius topped the sales charts in Japan in May, its first month on sale, with 10,915 units, demoting the Insight down to third (8183 units). Meantime, out on the road, the new shape Prius also clearly King Bee.Toyota’s made a big fuss of the third gen 1.8-litre Prius scoring a record 2.6 L/100 kms in Japan’s 10.15 mode fuel cycle, while the 1.3-litre Insight manages “only” 3.3 L/100 kms.Car Graphic, Japan’s premier car magazine (and a stickler for accuracy) has now twin tested the cars and you might not be surprised to learn that out in the real world, those test bed eco numbers are nowhere to be found…Over a demanding 700 kms drive, covering urban and city roads, mountain passes, test track and steady 100 km/h expressway cruising, the Prius out gunned the Insight on all fronts.The Toyota had a best fuel score of 3.9 L/100 kms (Honda 4.3 L/100 kms) and end of run average of 5.4 L./100 kms, to the Insight’s 6.1 L/100 kms.The Prius is also quicker for 0-100 kms, needing 11.7 secs while the Insight came in with 12.5 secs. True, the Prius ask is higher but the overall package is in another league to the Insight, so the extra cash is worth it, CG reckons.Now that examples of the new Prius are under evaluation at Honda’s Tochigi R&D centre in Japan, the word is that an early ‘improvement programme’ for the Insight is now going to be rushed through…