Top 10 automotive myths

When you're at a party and you hear some 'expert' holding forth about the automotive industry beware.

Plenty of folks sound authoritative and knowledgeable, but just as often they're recounting a semi-digested idea heard across a crowded room 20 years ago — from someone who spent three weeks working as an apprentice mechanic back in the 1950s.

We're not always good at processing new information, and the complex and fast-moving automotive industry is highly susceptible to misunderstanding.

As an aid to help you sort out the quality info from an expert's baseless opinion, here's our list of the 10 most common misconceptions.

Indeed they don't. As a consequence, the road toll is down, pollution has been reduced, cost of ownership is lower... and yet performance is better, comfort is enhanced at every conceivable level and cars just downright last longer. Oh, and they're cheaper!

Because manufacturing plants in developing nations use robots programmed and built in developing nations. Right? Is our expert being robotist?

Party ‘experts’ claim we're being gouged, based on comparing with ‘the same’ car in the USA, but ask them whether they've added in all the taxes payable in the USA. Did they make allowance for extra equipment in the Australian car? What about the massively different sales volumes? Or the different levels of pay in each country for low-paid workers.

Try this for an experiment: Work out how many years it would take to pay off a loan for each car, based on the minimum wage in each country. Then ask the expert whether he will lead the way, volunteering to have his wage slashed to bring down the prices of imported cars in Australia?

Let's ask the expert whether he understands the difference between mass production and cottage-industry modifying. Is he aware that a left-hand drive vehicle has to be partly disassembled – by hand – before it can be converted? What's the scope of the work? It's more than just swapping the steering column over to the other side of the car. What about the pedals and pedal box as well, plus the rods/pistons/cables and wiring on the other side of the firewall? The dash will need to be removed and cut/remoulded or replaced with one suitable for RHD. New wiring and connectors are required for the instrument binnacle’s new location too. Electric window switches have to be transferred as well, and the infotainment system may need to be modified for RHD also. What about the gearshift plinth and centre console? The handbrake? Airbags? Headlight adjustment?

Fitting equipment mandated by ADR (Australian Design Rules) also adds to the cost.

How long would it take to dismantle all this and then reassemble? What would the RHD-specific parts cost? How long is the wait for them? All this has to be done by hand, not on an automated production line.

Australian Design Rules (ADRs) provided a safety net for buyers in the days when imported vehicles didn't even offer the basic protection of anti-intrusion bars for driver and passengers. ADRs are steadily being harmonised with European and Asian design regulations, but ADRs aren't adopting European regs wholesale. In Europe, diesel engines are facing inevitable bans, which won't suit SUV and light commercial vehicle buyers in Australia. The market here, rightly or wrongly, isn't ready for that level of environmental commitment.

Experts complain when the published, official ADR-approved fuel consumption figures don't match what they achieve from a car in real life. But people simply don’t drive their car in an environment that closely matches the combined-cycle test most often cited. It's simple to figure out. Live in the country? Compare your car's real-world consumption with its 'extra-urban' test figure. If you live within 20km of a major city, the urban figure is likely closer to your own driving experience.

And all rear-wheel drives are exciting? A current Honda Civic Type R will leave a BMW 320i trailing in its wake within 50 metres. That's straight-line performance, but pretty much any sporting-inclined front-wheel drive will see off a Chrysler 300 as soon as the road changes direction. It's not just the Chrysler either, or the bog-standard Infiniti and Lexus models. A good hot hatch will give a Toyota 86/Subaru BRZ sports car a run for its money.

Define 'SUV'. If SUV means Land Rover Defender to the person making the case, sure, Defenders are not inherently stable in the same fashion as most passenger cars. But a Range Rover Sport or a Jaguar F-PACE will stun the experts with its capable and engaging dynamic behaviour.

And it's not just prestige SUVs that can outshine some passenger cars. Hyundai's Tucson is quite effective carving up the corners – without threatening to fall on its side. The same holds true for Mazda CX-5, Ford Escape and Nissan Qashqai.

Really? Modern automatics are frequently faster at shifting gear than even the very best driver. A large-displacement car with an automatic is usually faster in a straight line than the same car with a manual box. And if experts argue that there's more control to be had with a manual transmission, they just haven't learned how to use the automatic properly.

Prices are on the way down and will continue to fall over time. The Mitsubishi i-MIEV cost $48,800 back in 2012. Renault has introduced its Zoe in Australia priced at $42,470 (for fleets) and Hyundai's electric Ioniq is planned to arrive in Australia shortly priced at around $43,000. Both the Hyundai and the Renault are more practical and car-like than the diminutive i-MIEV. Six years on, better cars are arriving in the market, costing less.