Magnetic Ride Control has its attractions

"When I first started working at HSV, they'd say 'Oh, Channel 7?'" That's how John Clark's career at Holden Special Vehicles began: explaining to friends and relatives that HSV was a new car-modifying concern partly owned by Holden, not the formerly Herald-Sun Victoria-owned TV station.

Two decades on and everyone knows what HSV is and what the company does -- building prized limited production cars based on Holdens.

GM mogul, Bob Lutz visits the place whenever he's in Australia, which is quite a feather in the cap for a company that will produce fewer than 6000 cars over a typical 12-month period, but HSV's promise and prestige are not limited to Australia. Clark is now Chief Engineer for Australia's own 'mouse that roared'.

In person, he's a friendly bloke with a long-standing interest in rallying and -- trusting he won't mind us saying this -- the sort of large stature to prove the Maloo's new SMC tailgate has the mettle (not 'metal') to hold up under a person's weight. This was demonstrated by Clark jumping up and down on the tailgate before the assembled journalists on a recent drive day for the Maloo.

On to serious stuff, our conversation turned to the Magnetic Ride Control suspension that has been introduced to Australia with HSV's E Series range. The system was developed for the Corvette and has been adopted by Cadillac, Ferrari and Audi since.

HSV's use of the new feature is a first in Australia, leading us to ask whether HSV would become a centre of expertise for MRC in RHD and southern hemisphere markets.

Clark acknowledged that this was "virtually" happening already. HSV is partnered with supplier Delphi in a continuous development process for the MRC system. They have their regular meetings and conferences -- and that feedback and input from HSV makes it back to the US for inclusion in the next generation of systems.

Explaining how it all came together, Clark says: "I drove a Corvette with MRC. At that point we were looking at technology for VE. We really wanted to step up to the bar. We were driving the car and then came back and tried to sell it to the Product Group.

"Eventually, I got them to commit to build a VZ with MRC. As soon as that was built people were just amazed...

"It really does suit our cars. People may want a firm ride, but then they may be carrying their wife and three kids on a holiday up to Queensland, so it would just suit that application down to the ground."

So is there a possibility of MRC in Holden's future?

There are precedents. Talk to Clark about Holden's continuing love affair with HSV hand-me-downs (like the twin-piston caliper braking system from HSV VS models that became the norm for the VT Holdens) and he'll tell you: "We get the time and space to show the technology -- you know, like MRC -- and then, to me, the best credit we get is when they (Holden) take it on mainstream."

Holden's premium cars are an obvious target for the adoption of MRC, but the system could eventually filter down to much cheaper cars, as we're currently seeing with stability control programs.

According to Clark, however, it's not necessarily viable for all cars, in its current state.

"There is a risk in these sorts of technologies, if it doesn't suit the platform that it's going into. It did suit Corvette and it did suit Cadillac. Cadillac was similar to (HSV) in the sense of front strut suspension, compared to the Corvette.

"It is very much an evolution. Our cars are quite a major player in the input into that.

"To me...the initial cost of the technology is high and then it starts coming down. [Like stability control programs] That's where the benefit comes to the end customer. When the cost starts to drop down, it becomes [an] opportunity across different ranges of vehicles.

"I can see MRC going that way. At the moment, the big cost of the MRC is actually the fluid. The fluid is very, very expensive. That's where the technology is, I suppose. How do you have an oil-based fluid that can hold a metal particle within it, equally distributed? It's a pretty amazing scenario and then to be able to control it...

"People say 'oh it's going to settle down the bottom of your dampers or something' and I said 'I hope not'.

"It's an interesting kind of technology; being so simple. It's just such a simple way of controlling by the amount of electric current which (varies) the magnetic field to control the fluid. You're not twisting valves, you're not trying to change the spring tension inside a washer inside a hydraulic damper or anything like that."

Elegantly simple perhaps… Though just for the moment, a bit costly for your $14,990 shopping trolleys.