Overdrive

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, where we take a populous approach to cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

News

1. Cupra: A New Car Brand Coming to Australia (1:27)

2. NEXO: Hyundai’s hydrogen fuel-cell first (2:23)

3. The all-new Renault Captur - the Light SUV leader in Europe returns to Australia (3:23)

4. XPeng releases first data from long-distance highway AD expedition (4:30)

Interview

Paul Murrell gives us the background on Volkswagen’s new brand destined for the Australia market (5:46)

Motoring Minute

Toyota Yaris GR (11:56)

Interview

Alan Zurvas has a run down on the latest Tesla model 3 (13:04)

Motoring Minute

Kia Stonic (20:31)

Interview

And Doug Spencer Roy and I discuss the value and impact of sculpture on the side of motor ways (21:35)

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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Originally broadcast 3 April 2021

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, where we experiment with ideas and activities to do with cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

News

1. FCAI’s first report on emission levels from vehicle brands in Australia (1:43)

2. Hyundai Motor reveals additional design details of STARIA (2:43)

3. Make Overs for Peugeot 3008 and 5008 SUVs (3:45)

4. Volume production of local electric trucks. (4:52)

Interview

Alan Zurvas has been for a spin in 5 different Audi’s around the Phillip Island Race track including the top of the range sports car the R8. (6:01)

Alan and I also have a quick chat about some new Peugeots. (14:08)

Governments become the centre of Buzz words

We look at the wording of a NSW government ad for a critical traffic management position and ask “Have we lost all sense of technology in a sea of buzz words” (17:09)

Interview

Having had such a sustained period of rain on the east coast, Rob Fraser reports on his experience with a large pothole and a blown tyre. (19:42)

What the rain tells us about low profile tyres

The incongruity of a low profile tyre and a large pothole is discussed (28:05)

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 https://www.facebook.com/OverdriveCityDrivenMedia/?modal=admin_todo_tour

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

Originally broadcast 27 March 2021

Will Hagan has been broadcasting on motoring and motor racing for more than half a century.

When I was arranging to talk to International race and rally champion Rauno Aaltonen Will was the ideal person to get some back ground information.

Will is, of course more than happy to talk on a range of subjects and in this short interview that goes for over an hour he covered many subjects in his exuberant style.

Subjects covered include:

• The beginning of his broadcasting career (0:42)

• His step father sold Minis (3:32)

• Early history of minis racing in Australia (3:53)

• Isigonis and the design of the early Minis (9:43)

• In the 1960s Japanese car makers began competing in the Bathurst race to show their reliability (15:44)

• Meeting Rauno Aaltonen and doing his anti-terrorist driving course (25:06)

• Porsche’s in Australia – the Germans were used to being allowed to use public road for taking race cars to meetings. As did Jack Brabham (27:15)

• Rauno and Bob Holden’s efforts at winning Bathurst (33:55)

When car companies have a sedan and a hatchback, they're often very similar, certainly at the front and the sedan is often just a fairly pedestrian sort of vehicle at the back. Now, it's just been driving some of the Hyundai’s i30s a very successful little car in the small car category, along with things like Corollas.

Now, the hatchback, it's been in here for a few years, looks fine and went well. But then, as I was about to swap to the sedan, and it looked just so different.

Why?

Bill Thomas is the general manager of Hyundai’s public relations.

Subjects covered include:

• The sedan and hatch are different models altogether (0:52)

• The design style for the sedan “sensuous sportiness”

• The evolution of sedan style (3:21)

• What is the split between sedans and hatchbacks (5:03)

• The dashboard in the sedan is digital – how are the customers responding (7:33)

• Being upfront about what the automatic emergency braking will and will not do (8:23)

He had a good run he was 97 years old.

He did his research but his stock in trade was his unbounded enthusiasm. He was a motor racing fan first and not a self-promoting expert.

Australian motoring journalist David Berthon knew him well. David joins us with his reminisces.

Subjects covered include:

• David met Murray because of a boom scare at a historical event being opened by Prince Charles (0:44)

• When Murray came to Australia for the Adelaide Grand Prix, David arranged for him to go to Sydney and make some other presentations.

• Murray’s experience in advertising (4:03)

• Murray’s self-deprecating humour (6:34)

• Why Murray helped make formula 1 such a great sport at that time rather than now (8:53)

• Murray’s father was a famous motorbike racing rider. (11:33)

• Working with other commentators. A major function for the 1985 Adelaide Grand Prix. Murray behaved impeccably while a disheveled James Hunt chased women. (13:23)

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program that seeks simplicity amongst the complexities when talking about cars and transport.

I’m David Brown

News

1. Kia reveals design philosophy behind first electric vehicle (1:37)

2. Genesis tackles the large SUV market with the QV80 (3:03)

3. Toyota focus on hybrid for facelifted Camry (4:08)

4. Death of Murray Walker (5:13)

Interview

Hyundai have a hatchback and sedan version of the i30 small/medium brand but they are very different vehicles. Bill Thomas from Hyundai tells us why and what it means for the market. (6:19)

Motoring Minute

• Audi S5 Coupe (13:40)

Interview

Respected Australia motoring journalist David Berthon, talks of his friendship with the late Murray Walker who has just passed away aged 97. (14:57)

Motoring Minute

• VE Touareg R Line (21:56)

Interview

And finally, we get some enthusiastic reminisces from Motorsport commentator Will Hagon about racing minis and the characters who drove them. (23:02)

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 and Instagram page "overdrivecity"https://www.facebook.com/OverdriveCityDrivenMedia/?modal=admin_todo_tour

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

Originally broadcast 20 March 2021

The Women's World Cup of the Year award has just been announced. The judging panel was 50 women motoring journalists from around the world tow were from Australia, Liz Swanton and Nadine Armstrong. We recorded this chat with Nadine.

Issues covered include:

• The things Nadine looks at as the Consumer Editor for carsales.com.au (Time location in the interview - 0:13)

• Issues with owning a motor car are becoming more and more complex and varied (1:07)

• Ways to help us remember doing basic maintenance such as checking the pressure in your tyres (1:53)

• Her early experiences including owning motorbikes (one was a Harley!) (2:53)

• How are road test evolving (4:14)

• Women’s World Car of the Year – the choices were similar to what men would make this year but that may evolve (5:15)

• Examples of cars that were “made for women” in the past and what might it be in the future (8:33)

• How hard was it to break into motoring journalism (11:14)

• The differences in how people are looking at cars and making decisions (14:59)

Hello and welcome to Overdrive, a program about cars and transport

I’m David Brown

News

1. Land Rover Women’s world car of the year (1:34)

2. Maserati on track with women - Maria Teresa de Filippis history of audacity (2:54)

3. Nissan is developing an engine for road cars that could reach 50% thermal efficiency (3:58)

4. Infrastructure Australia adds a record number of new investment opportunities to support COVID-19 recovery (4:56)

Interview

Nadine Armstrong who was one of two Australians on the judging panel of the WWCOTY. We have a chat about her thinking and approach to this award. (6:15)

Car ads for cars aimed at women

We reflect on how some car companies have advertised to women (3:15)

Interviews

Paul Murrell tells us about the new electric Porsche whose name is likely to be mispronounced (18:28)

And in two final interviews we talk to Brian Smith on how we let vehicle access including garbage trucks dominate our urban street design (22:55)

And finally we get some enthusiastic reminisces from Motorsport commentator Will Hagon about racing minis and the characters who drove them.

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 https://www.facebook.com/OverdriveCityDrivenMedia/?modal=admin_todo_tour

or

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

Originally broadcast 13 March 2021

Michael Caltabiano is the Chief Executive Officer of ARRB, the preeminent road research organisation in Australia. He has been a politician but he also has a degree and experience in engineering.

Whenever I have visited ARRB, Michael has always chatted while showing me around the laboratories. We never sit in an office or meeting room.

I wanted to talk to someone in his organisation about what makes a good road and the technical reasons why there can be problems and how does that affect users.

I think his eyes lit up. This was a subject that he himself had a passion for and an extensive understanding of the issues so, consequently he was more than happy to have the chat.

Subjects he covers include:

• Moving away from just technology to a bigger focus on consumer behaviour

• Big data has to be about understanding behaviour change

• Not just designing roads for 40 years but researching the “Perpetual Road” where the foundation stays for the foreseeable future but you may change the surface periodically.

• Why urban roads are smooth (and expensive) but rural roads have coarser payments but are cheaper to build.

• Concrete roads are now out of favour

• The health industry has shown that it is usually better to identify if there is a problem before the external symptoms are very apparent. Measuring the condition of the road is important before potholes develop. Use of lasers and other technologies to measure the condition of the road.

• The use of digital mapping is a great way of combining data from a range of sources to better understand the complexity and interaction between different factors to identify the best solutions.

• We need to have good data especially with high powered analysis such as Artificial Intelligence.

• From Sydney to the north there was, quite some years ago, what was once considered the longest crack in a road. Michael was there at the time.

• ARRB has a great input to world best research and is contributing to international considerations of world’s best practice.

Hello and welcome to Overdrive a program that samples as much as it can of the experiences of cars and transport

I’m David Brown

News

1. Car Sale Figures for February 2021 – MG a big winner (1:35)

2. Car Sales show the value of a new models (2:34)

3. Car sales: the growth of small SUVs (2:35)

4. Mitsubishi’s zero-star ANCAP crash test rating (4:33)

Three interviews

1. The New Nissan Navara with Rob Fraser (5:38)

2. Report on a recent Auction Sale of classic cars – how much would you pay for a 1977 Honda Accord (12:25)

3. Should you buy a small Toyota car or their SUV (15:45)

4. The debate over the Mitsubishi van scoring a zero- safety rating (21:56)

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 https://www.facebook.com/OverdriveCityDrivenMedia/?modal=admin_todo_tour

or

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

Originally broadcast 6 March 2021