Overdrive

Welcome to Overdrive, a program that digs up all sorts of information good and bad about the world of motoring and transport.

I’m David Brown

The times each story appears in the program are noted (mm:ss)

News

• The all-new Kia Sportage (1:41)

• New powertrain for Mazda CX-30 and Mazda3 (2:44)

• Motional and Hyundai Motor Group’s joint robotaxi (3:47)

• Nissan e-POWER is coming to Australia (4:40)

Feature Interviews

• What sort of background would be helpful to become an executive at the major road and transport research organisation in Australia. Jeff Doyle was once a professional footballer but he takes on a role at ARRB because then went on to huge managerial success- We talk about how football and other experiences help develop a focused team work environment. (5:58)

Motoring Minute

• Kia Cerato (19:17)

Quirky Interview

• Brian Smith gives us the low-down on the current transport problems from the holy island at Lindisfarne (20:27)

You can find more information at Driven Media or previous programs are available as podcasts on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ah6JZN8LTYURIfNs1IIBs

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overdrive-cars-transport-and-culture/id1001084679

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So, let’s start with the news

Originally broadcast 5 September 2021

It was T.S. Eliot who said:

Where is the Wisdom we have lost in Knowledge?

Where is the Knowledge we have lost in Information?

The collection of data is very much at the bottom of that list. It may be the first step but it may even be the wrong numbers or full of inaccuracies. Data is not guaranteed to produce the definitive measure of what we are trying to understand until it has been through a process backed by knowledge and wisdom.

It's wonderful to see that ARRB has set up and employed an executive manager for measurement. Jeff Doyle has taken on the newly created role of Executive Director of Measurement. He joins us on the line

Issues covered (timing in the interview is listed in mm:ss)

• The word measurement is important. It's not data and it's not information. Is there more significance in the word measurement? (0:41)

• Is this a position that would not have existed five years ago? Have we progressed in our appreciation need for understanding of good data measurement rather than just numbers? [01:54]

• What's your background? [02:27]

• Professional Footballer [02:29]

• Pen Salesman [03:29]

• Manager [04:16]

• Executive management [04:39]

• Being a footballer is often seen as whether you personally are good or bad. But did you see a start to see there how the role of teamwork became important? [06:49]

• So football is often the replays are all about the goal that's finally scored. But the good management is looking at what built up to that. It's not just the one off. Is it the understanding and the measurement of the build-up that becomes critical? [08:48]

• You've mentioned a couple of times working with the existing structure. Is you position in the style of matrix management; that you're not out there just doing the product, but you're helping other departments within the ARRB to do their product? [12:05]

• Is there room in very tight budgets in the world for technical curiosity, not just funding what we know to exist at the moment? [14:28]

• IN terms of local councils; is it the case of not just giving them numbers or even giving them solutions, but give them guidelines. Perhaps giving numbers where they can play with them and come up with their own ideas and you might give them a package to help them play? [18:01]

• Your CEO Michael Caltabiano has talked about auditing. Not only do you give data so people make decisions, but do you then push hard to say we must measure afterward: not to condemn, but merely find out what worked and what didn't? [21:22]

• There's been a lot of work including the Grattan Institute coming out about the concern that there has been a decline in skills and independence within government departments. Do you think that good measurement is a great way of being able to give thoughtful scientific advice that can empower the need for professionals within organisations, be it government or even private? [22:36]

Navman, started back in 1986 based in Australia and NZ, with a focus, as the name suggests, in providing navigation systems for cars and trucks.

But like most or all things high-tech, more and more things are being developed.

Virtual reality is a purely an imagined experience but augmented reality is where you get some extra information to help you operate and make decisions in your current situation.

Augmented reality is an enhanced version of the real physical world by adding visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli provided by technology.

And the “new”, soon becomes part of the “norm”. There is now a more generic term, dash cam, as people wish to record an incident or things of interest.

These developments help us reflect on how we can use technology to the individual and community benefit.

Wendy Hammond is Navman’s general manager, Australia & NZ (timing in the interviews in mm:ss)

Issues covered

• The company started in Australia and New Zealand. Is there still some workforce here? (1:16)

• Is navigation still an important reason that people buy the system? (1:40)

• Phone directions that are linked to the car infotainment system interrupt directions if a phone call comes in. Can this happen at inappropriate times? (2:19)

• Are customers now looking for and accepting new technological applications? (3:11)

• Dashcam information might help reduce delays from crashes as enough information is collected (3:59)

• More information is now being collected from crashes (3:59)

• You can get cameras facing front and rear (4:33)

• Parking mode: recording when your car has been hit or tampered with (6:07)

• Information for four-wheel-drive and camping activities (7:05)

• Cameras for motorbikes (9:19)

• Carrying hazardous loads (11:04)

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that relishes all sorts of information and experiences in the world of motoring and transport.

I’m David Brown

The times each story appears in the program are noted (mm:ss)

News

1. Genesis GV60 may be the first EV to include wireless battery charging (1:22)

2. Bird launches integration with Google Maps (2:24)

3. Tesla’s robot – more hype than reality? (3:33)

4. New technology making Victoria's roads safer (4:45)

Feature Interview

• Driver distraction: What does an eminent professor say about how we should rate cars. (5:55)

Motoring Minute

• Audi Q5

Interview

• What could be the marketing behind Tesla announcing another ugly vehicle (20:01)

You can find more information at Driven Media or previous programs are available as podcasts on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ah6JZN8LTYURIfNs1IIBs

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overdrive-cars-transport-and-culture/id1001084679

We even list the times each item appears to you can go straight to it

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Fifty years ago, one of the factors that was said to have led to NSW developing a world-renowned adaptive and coordinated traffic control system was that the engineers and technicians who worked on it had an understanding of human behaviour on the roads and that these skills may well have been missing in later reviews which failed to try and update the system.

Commentary on driver distraction is all the rage at the moment but do we understand the underlying behaviour or are we just blaming all those other people who we think cause the problem.

Michael (Mike) Regan is an Emeritus Professor of Human Factors with the University of NSW Research Centre for Integrated Transport Innovation (rCITI) at the University of NSW, Sydney.

Mike’s current research interests include driver distraction and inattention, driver interaction with automated vehicles and human factors in road and traffic engineering

Subjects covered (with a start time in the audio in mm:ss)

• Linking the “hard” and social sciences and his course called “Human Factors in Civil and Transport Engineering. (0:33)

• Systems have to be designed from a human perspective (1:24)

• Predictions of increased distraction nearly 30 years ago – have they come to fruition (2:42)

• Camera analysis in cars – the situation that ultimately causes a crash can be seen building up (4:50)

• Current problems with new car dials and infotainment controls (7:00)

• Use of Voice recognition – it's not so straightforward (8:54)

• People who call up a driver do not know what the situations are that the driver is facing (10:44)

• Sign positing and line marking – is there a good understanding of human factors? (12:42)

• The need for expertise and independence in the public service (17:38)

• Issues with pedestrians crossing the road (19:59)

• The need for consistency with operational controls (41:43)

• Airline industry communication in the cockpit has helped develop a program to help young people know how to act when a passenger (23:27)

• Being blinded by technology (27:35)

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, where we embrace the glories of motoring and transport.

I’m David Brown

The times each story appears in the program are noted (mm:ss)

News

1. Toyota Corolla sales top 50 million across the globe (1:09)

2. Hyundai STARIA: Space age people mover (2:08)

3. Iconic Kombi goes green thanks to an ambitious University conversion project (3:11)

4. 2023 Nissan Z: - The Zs keep coming (4:15)

5. Tesla Cybertruck delayed to 2022 (5:17)

Feature Interview

• Wendy Hammond – from Navman tells us some of the many features that now can be part of our motoring augmented reality (6:23)

Motoring Minute

• Hyundai Sante Fe (19:15)

Interview

• Alan Zurvas and I review the new golf GTi Mark 8 (20:22)

Motoring Minute

• Nissan Pro 4X (27:31)

You can find more information at Driven Media or previous programs are available as podcasts on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ah6JZN8LTYURIfNs1IIBs

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overdrive-cars-transport-and-culture/id1001084679

Our Facebook page OverdriveCity – Driven Media

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Originally broadcast 28 August 2021

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, where we take a sober look at motoring and transport.

I’m David Brown

The times each story appears in the program are noted (mm:ss)

News

1. Niro Hybrid (1:13)

2. The compact Caddy California camper (2:13)

3. News of electric utes – race to ugliness (3:19)

4. International traffic light day (4:23)

Feature Interviews

• Paul Murrell – On the Isuzu ute and the company approach that is paying good dividends (5:39)

• Alan and the 508 (16:23)

Motoring Minute

• Audi RS 5 Sportback (23:42)

Great Drives

• Barry Green takes us on one of his Best Drives – London in a Mini (24:50)

You can find more information at Driven Media or previous programs are available as podcasts on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ah6JZN8LTYURIfNs1IIBs

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overdrive-cars-transport-and-culture/id1001084679

Our Facebook page OverdriveCity – Driven Media

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Our YouTube site https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyx5sv6cgF4URRmNq2JiXg/videos

So, let’s start with the news

Originally broadcast 14 August 2021

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that roams through the world of motoring and transport

I’m David Brown

The times each story appears in the program are noted (mm:ss)

News

• We look at three significant features on the latest car sales figures

• Cars Sales for July 2021 (1:39)

• Toyota Corolla bounces back in July (2:33)

• Isuzu Ute – Only two models but a big impact (3:33)

• Peugeot 508 – A very stylish vehicle (4:34)

Feature Interviews

• Brian and concept cars –We mentioned last week, some of the interesting feedback we’d had on the unusual, perhaps weird, concept cars at the Chicago Motor show. There were some insightful comments and some monosyllabic such as “I hate it”. So this week we talk to Brian Smith on what is the purpose of concept cars – what do the manufacturers want to get out of making vehicles that are not part of the current style, and how do people react. (5:45)

• Barry Green continues reporting on his odyssey of going on great drives in great motor cars in the best places around the world – this time it is the Klausen Pass in Glossglockner Austria (13:50)

Motoring Minute

• Kia Niro EV sport (20:30)

Interview

• And Alan Zurvas and I review the oh so powerful Audi RS 7 (21:41)

Motoring Minute

• Toyota Fortuner (27:58)

You can find more information at Driven Media or previous programs are available as podcasts on

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0ah6JZN8LTYURIfNs1IIBs

iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/overdrive-cars-transport-and-culture/id1001084679

Our Facebook page OverdriveCity – Driven Media

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or

Our YouTube site https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKyx5sv6cgF4URRmNq2JiXg/videos

So, let’s start with the news

Originally broadcast 7 August 2021

COVID has meant that in some cases we have not been able to return the press car that we usually have for a week.

Unfortunately, I have had to keep the Subaru WRX STI for several weeks. Unfortunately for those who were to get it next but great for me.

David Rowley is the national Corporate affairs manager for Subaru Australia and joins us on the line

Subjects covered include:

How much was his decision to go to Subaru influenced by them having the WRX?

How did his children react when he bought one home?

What about his children's friends

Why has the WRX been such a hero car?

When is the next generation coming?

As we mentioned in our news service, the Grattan Institute has just released a report titled Gridlock: removing barriers to policy reform

It was very critical of systemic problems in government including

• The reducing of expertise and independence of the public service,

• Too many ministerial advisers closely tied to political parties

• Lack of control of political donations, campaign finance, lobbying, and post-politics careers.

• And the absence of a federal anti-corruption commission with teeth.

Is there a strong basis for their comments and what should be down about it?

Ken Dobinson was a senior executive in what was then the Department of Main Roads in NSW and he joins us now.