Motor Trader eMag August 2017

AUG
2017
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CARMAGEDDON: FOCUSING ON AUTOMOTIVE EVOLUTION
OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF
THE MOTOR TRADES ASSOCIATION
OF QUEENSLAND
MEMBERS CLASSIC:
FORD/SHELBY GT500SE
SUPER SNAKE 'ELEANOR'
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Contents
Official Publication of the Motor Trades
Association of Queensland
Search for
MTA Queensland
HEAD OFFICE
Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113
P.O. Box 4530, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113
Tel: 07 3237 8777
Fax: 07 3844 4488
Toll Free: 1800 177 951
Email: publications@mtaq.com.au
Website: www.mtaq.com.au
EDITOR
Jonathan Nash
ART DIRECTOR
Marco Ilinic
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS
Ted Kowalski
Paul Murray
POLICY
Kellie Dewar, General Manager MTA Queensland
ADVERTISING ENQUIRIES
Email: publications@mtaq.com.au
EDITORIAL
Editorial submissions are welcomed but cannot be
guaranteed placement. For more information
email the Editor at publications@mtaq.com.au
SUBSCRIPTION RATES (including GST)
Subscribing to the Motor Trader e-magazine is free.
Click here to subscribe
MOTOR TRADER PUBLISHING POLICY
Motor Trader is the official publication of the Motor Trades Association of Queensland.
The role of Motor Trader is to inform members of current issues and legislation
affecting the industry. As such it can be regarded as the business magazine for the
Queensland motor industry. The role of Motor Trader is not to be in competition with
the technical magazines already on the market. It will advise of new vehicles being
released and of the latest technology incorporated into them; it will advise of latest
technology affecting members in each of the MTA Queensland Divisions; it will keep
members abreast of the latest in motor industry training and industrial affairs; and
it will keep members informed of the latest technical aids available through MTA
Queensland Member Services, which will assist members in staying ahead of the
technological revolution presently being encountered within the motor industry.
The publisher reserves the right to omit or alter any advertisement and the
advertiser agrees to indemnify the publisher for all damages or liabilities
arising from the published material.
MTA QUEENSLAND ABN: 74 028 933 848
CORPORATE PARTNERS
20170554
MTA Queensland and MTA Institute
actively promotes our four social
media platforms and encourages all
our members and MTA Institute clients
to connect with us via these channels.
Simply search “MTA Queensland.”
10
10
02 From the editor
04 From the desk of the CEO
06 Policy/Viewpoint
08 MTA Q&A
BEN ATKINSON FROM SEVEN82MOTORS
Feature
16 CARMAGEDDON: FOCUSING ON
AUTOMOTIVE EVOLUTION
28 Members Classic
SHELBY’S VENOMOUS MUSTANG: FORD/
CARROLL SHELBY GT500SE SUPER SNAKE
30 16
Each social media platform contains different
information and this is a terrific way to stay on top of
industry news, upcoming events, MTA Institute courses
and the latest benefits for Association members.
We see our social media platforms as an additional
important communication method, alongside Motor
Trader and Member Bulletin emails.
50
MEMBERS ESSENTIALS
50 Concept Corner
WORTH THE W8: BMW CONCEPT 8
16
16
19
28
37 Training GM's Professional
Circle perspective
38 Professional Circle training
41 Member matters
47 Member profiles
48 Industrial relations
August 2017 Motor Trader | 1

From the editor
JONATHAN NASH
EDITOR
HELLO AND WELCOME
to the August 2017 edition of
Motor Trader.
This is only the second edition of
our e-magazine and feedback on this
innovative way of delivering you more
features, more news, video content,
and a hyperlink system that allows
you to immedately click through to
the websites of members, government
departments and advertisers, has been
really positive.
Our cover story in this edition
focuses on the Carmageddon - Leading
the Way symposium held at MTA
Queensland's HQ, the Sir Jack Brabham
Automotive Centre of Excellence,
on 12 July.
The second in a series of conferences
designed to highlight the massive
changes coming to our industry
through technological advances,
Carmageddon - Leading the Way had
a focus on digital disruption and the
digital economy. There were some
fantastic guest speakers who gave
tremendous insight into where the
technology is heading and what it
means not just for the automotive
industry, but for all industries.
While the technologial advances
will cause disruption to the industry
as we know it, MTA Queensland has
stated for some time that there will
be extraordinary opportunities for
those who adapt to that disruption.
And Carmageddon - Leading the Way
confirmed that assertion. Presentations
that highlighted innovative business
ideas and concepts; the infrastructure
being put into place by companies such
as Telstra; and the startup businesses
that are already taking advantage of the
connected, digital and sharing economy
were, frankly, inspirational.
I encourage everybody to keep one
eye on MTA Queensland's YouTube
channel - a highlight package video of
the event will be uploaded soon.
In the meantime, you can flick
through to pages 16-19 for a wrap-up of
Carmageddon - Leading the Way.
In our MTA Q&A feature this
month, we chat to Ben Atkinson from
SEVEN82MOTORS on the Gold Coast.
For the petrolheads amongst us, Ben
seems to have the perfect job. He
travels the world in search of classic
vehicles to buy and sell, and his
workshop restores amd customises
some truly astonishing and unique
vehicles for clients with a taste for the
extraordinary. Go to pages 8-12 to see
what Ben and his team can do.
In our Member's Classic feature
this month we return to the Sunshine
Coast and catch up once more with
Iain Kippen, owner of Bissell's Paint
& Panel in Noosa. Motor Trader
was there a couple of month's ago,
checking out Iain's Shelby Cobra, but
we couldn't wait to return and find out
all we could about the quite stunning
Shelby Mustang GT500SE Super Snake
'Eleanor' we spied in his workshop.
Named after the unique car from
the film Gone in 60 Seconds, Iain's
'Eleanor' is one of only a handful of
Shelby-licensed 'Eleanor' Mustangs in
the world. It's an incredibly beautiful
700hp beast and you can check it out on
pages 28-31.
In our Training section this month
we have a couple of great success
stories. The first follows Jamahl Byrne,
the MTAQ Apprentice of the Year for
2016, who worked with Supercars outfit
Team Vortex at the Townsville 400 last
month. It was a wonderful experience
for the young technician and you can
find out more about it on pages 38-39.
The second success story also comes
out of North Queensland. This time
it concerns Sharine Milne, owner of
R.H.D. Classic Supplies & Services.
Sharine and her team were winners in
the Small Employer of the Year category
for the North Queensland region at the
recent Queensland Training Awards.
Having been a finalist in the previous
four years, it was a brilliant result for
Sharine. Find out more on page 43.
There is plenty more going on inside
the e-mag, of course, and I hope you
enjoy this edition of Motor Trader. If you
want to get in touch to let me know of
any news you'd like to share; or have a
classic bike, car or truck that we could
feature in Member's Classic then please
email me.
Cheers!
Jonathan Nash, Editor
jonathann@mtaq.com.au
2 | Motor Trader August 2017

As a special business offer for
MTAQ members, you can
have access to a payment
terminal that can do more
than take payments.
The Commonwealth Bank has developed a new EFTPOS
tablet called Albert that accepts card payments and also runs
apps. To help keep your business moving, Commonwealth
Bank has a special offer for MTAQ members. Just open a
new Commonwealth Bank Business Transaction Account
by 31st December 2017 and link it to your existing or new
Commonwealth Bank merchant facility.
$
0
monthly account fee on a Business
Transaction Account – $10 monthly
account fee waiver #
To take advantage of this offer contact MTAQ
on 1800 177 951.
Important Information: Offer available to referrals made via MTAQ between 01/07/2017 and 31/12/2017. #To maintain the fee waiver, you must retain the required products, otherwise
the offer may be withdrawn. Offer includes the monthly account maintenance fee of currently $10 on the Business Transaction Account linked to the merchant facility. Please refer to
terms and conditions. This offer may be extended beyond the specified end date at the discretion of the Commonwealth Bank. Interest rates and fees are subject to change. Full conditions
of use will be included in our Letter of Offer. Applications for finance subject to the Bank’s normal leading criteria. MTAQ may receive a fee from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia for
each successful referral. Referral Fees are not payable on referrals from existing relationship managed Commonwealth Bank customers. This has been prepared without considering your
objectives, financial situation or needs, so you should consider its appropriateness to your circumstances before you act on it. Terms and conditions are available from commbank.com.au.
Some of the apps shown require individual development. Commonwealth Bank of Australia ABN 48 123 123 124. Australian credit licence 234945.

From the desk of the CEO
BRETT DALE
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER MTA QUEENSLAND
A
CHALLENGE FACED BY
all peak bodies is to be in
the vanguard of change and
provide leadership to membership
on the commercial, technical, digital
and regulatory evolutions occurring
that will enable them to adjust their
business models to be sustainable into
the future. Here at MTA Queensland,
we are doing this by building on the
success of last financial year’s focus on
governance, expanding commercial
interests, and the strategic restructure
and industry re-alignments which
included the emerging digital and
technological innovations.
As Group Chief Executive,
I’m determined to capitalise on
the benefits of these significant
gains to provide the members with
a competitive advantage in their
operations. Key to this is maintaining
the leadership and momentum on
digital disruption and emerging
technologies which, according to
expert presenters at Carmageddon –
Leading the Way, will impact business
by 2020 with the major rollout and
effect by 2022. In the context of a
timeframe, it is closer than we realise!
INNOVATION HUB
The July Motor Trader highlighted
the launch of the MTA Queensland
Innovation Hub in space specially
designed for the purpose in the Sir
Jack Brabham Automotive Centre
of Excellence. This Innovation Hub
is the first in the state to be geared
solely at the automotive industry and
designed to cultivate a community of
entrepreneurial minds that can
come together, collaborate and
develop ideas into viable business
propositions for the automotive
value chain.
To gather ideas for the Hub, I visited
the Advance Queensland innovation
precinct at Fortitude Valley. It brings
together Queensland startups,
incubators, investors and mentors
under the one roof. In addition, I had
several face-to-face meetings and
teleconferences with startup operators
who had enterprises suitable for our
automotive Hub. I’m pleased with the
interest from startups in locating to
the MTA Queensland Hub.
One of the outcomes from
Carmageddon – Leading the Way was
the commitment from three startups
to locate at the Hub, joining 3D
Space Labs. They are C2S (Contact to
Sales), sponsored by the Queensland
Government to bring the product
from Brazil to Australia. It assists sales
performance through an innovative
mobile/web solution by tracking every
lead from phone calls, walk-ins and
internet messages into one place to
increase sales. Already some members
are working with C2S. TheCarTest
from Melbourne) is an automotive
marketplace that provides new car
buyers with access to trusted mobility
advisors. Buyers can select from a
short list of cars they would ‘love’
for a 3-7 day ‘try before you buy’
experience. The third is a Sydney
startup with innovative software that
assists business, consumers and the
motorists with parking. It is in the
process of relocating to the Hub. I’ll
have more to say about this startup in
September’s From the desk of the CEO.
Lex van Cooten, Immerse Academy
“ THE FEEDBACK FROM
CARMAGEDDON –
LEADING THE WAY WAS
OVERWHELMINGLY
POSITIVE - ESPECIALLY
FROM SOCIAL MEDIA.”
4 | Motor Trader August 2017

CARMAGEDDON – LEADING THE WAY
The feedback from Carmageddon –
Leading the Way was overwhelmingly
positive - especially from social media.
In all, there were 144 Carmageddonrelated
tweets with a total audience
reach of 21,000. 19 people directly
interacted - that is posting tweets,
replying with questions etc. One of
these was the Canadian Parliamentary
Secretary for Innovation, Science and
Economic Development – an advisor
to the Canadian Prime Minister
who has a 3,200 following. One of
our Carmageddon presenters on
Innovation and Intellectual Property
Law, Professor Matthew Rimmer, has a
13,300 following. There were 13 uses of
the hashtag #CarmageddonMTAQ.
In all there were some 70 persons who
watched the live-streamed symposium.
ADVOCACY
As Deputy Group Chief Executive
Kellie Dewar says in Viewpoint,
we place strong emphasis on advocacy,
services and benefits that help
members with their operations.
One special advocacy event is a
dinner with the Reserve Bank Board
and senior members of the Brisbane
community to which I’ve been invited.
In conversations at the dinner,
I’ll represent the views of members
and contribute to discussions from the
perspective of the automotive value
chain. As Kellie intimates in Viewpoint,
we met with Queensland Senator
James McGrath to discuss deregulation
and red tape reduction. We briefed
the Senator on the Association’s role
in preparing members for the digital
and technological transformations
and the impacts on their businesses.
Additionally, we stressed that
Government decision-making on
automated motor vehicles and the
emerging technologies and associated
regulations must be responsive,
flexible and support business and
consumers.
In the near term, members may
see a new set of wheels gracing the
Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre
of Excellence. No, not motor vehicle
wheels! These will be bicycle wheels!
“ OVER RECENT WEEKS,
I’VE BEEN MEETING
WITH BUSINESS
REPRESENTATIVES AND
DISTRIBUTORS FROM
THE BICYCLE INDUSTRY.
THEY ARE KEEN FOR
MTA QUEENSLAND
TO BE THEIR PEAK
INDUSTRY BODY.”
Over recent weeks, I’ve been meeting
with business representatives and
distributors from the bicycle industry.
They are keen for MTA Queensland to
be their peak industry body.
Whilst the decision ultimately rests
with the MTA Queensland board,
there are compatible synergies with
such an arrangement. In training terms,
it would align with the national skills
agenda as the bicycle sector sits within
the automotive training package.
There are about 900 bicycle retailers
and distributors in Queensland.
As indicated in previous From the
desk of the CEO, the MTA Queensland
has a seat on the Automotive Industry
Reference Committee (IRC). Recently,
I participated in the PwC’s Strategic
IRC to determine and review priorities
for the automotive sector.
To ensure collaborative stakeholder
relations, I liaised with the national
Australian Automotive Dealer
Association (AADA) Chair Terry
Keating and the Chief Executive Office
David Blackall. With the automotive
sector in transition to an import-only
industry, there were issues to be
discussed as well as other domestic
matters. Recently, I attended the
national meeting of the Federated
Chamber of Automotive Industries,
AADA National and the Motor Trades
Association of Australia members to
progress key industry issues. One of
these was the Industry Agreement
on Access to Service and Repair
Information, the effectiveness of which
is being reviewed by the Australian
Competition and Consumer
Commission in its current wideranging
Retail Car Industry Study.
It is due for completion this year.
AND THE LAST THING
MTA Queensland, as a peak
industry body, other than its
constitutional obligations to members,
has a duty to be a good corporate
citizen. On behalf of the Association
I’ve met with Queensland Overseas
Foundation (QOF) representatives to
indicate that MTA Queensland will
support an overseas scholarship for a
successful graduate technician who
will bring the learnings back
to Australia.
The QOF Inc. is a voluntary,
non-profit organisation. It provides
young people with the opportunity to
broaden horizons and improve their
career prospects by working overseas.
It was established in 1976, and is
sponsored by industry and supported
by the Queensland Government.
It operates through a Board representing
a range of industries and expertise.
Applications are currently open
and will close on 17 October 2017.
Interviews will be held in November
2017. Applicants will be notified by
the outcome of their application by
December 2017. The Award ceremony
will be in Brisbane in March 2018.
The scholarship funds travel-related
expenses and provides a settling in
allowance, worth up to $7500.
For eligibility details and the selection
criteria see the website: qof.org.au.
Additionally, details are on the
MTA Queensland website.
My schedule for the coming weeks
is crowded. Although it means busy,
it is busyness that spins from the
momentum of growing and supporting
the membership and securing new
commercial and other opportunities
to advance the Association. I’ll
continue the liaisons with startup
operators for compatibility with the
Innovation Hub.
Until May, as Henry Ford, the
industrialist and the founder of the
Ford motor company said, ‘execute
ideas with enthusiasm . . . as it is the
bottom of all progress’.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 5

Policy/Viewpoint
KELLIE DEWAR
DEPUTY GROUP CHIEF EXECUTIVE
GENERAL MANAGER MEMBER SERVICES
WHILST INTRODUCING
THE presenters at the recent
Carmageddon - Leading
the Way symposium on digital and
technological change, my mind shifted
to the leadership invested in services
and benefits to help members with
business costs. A constant theme
common at each of MTA Queensland’s
divisional meetings is the ‘cost of
doing business’. Our response is to
advocate these views to government,
agencies and work with corporate
partners on benefits to assist members
with their business endeavours.
In July’s Viewpoint, I drew attention
to our leadership in establishing a
corporate partnership with Gambit
Solutions which acts as a vendor
neutral broker specialising in
procuring electricity and gas rates
on behalf of groups and businesses.
Under the arrangement, some
members have achieved significant
power cost savings. The latest report
to me indicates that, increasingly,
members with diverse energy needs
are contacting Gambit Solutions to
discuss their power requirements
and costs, and have achieved savings.
Additionally, we’ve been discussing
the provision of a similar scheme for
printing outlays for members. Initial
consultations indicate that there can
be substantial printing savings. I’ll
have more to say about this initiative
in next month’s Viewpoint.
Similarly, corporate partner
OurAuto has an offer for members on
its Scan-Tool, with savings in upfront
costs coupled with special purchasing
arrangements. The OurAuto Scan-Tool
is an automotive fault diagnostic tool
based on the android system. It is
software-enabled, and provides autodetection;
top range health reports
and has regular monthly updates.
Members interested in the Scan-Tool
can go to OurAuto’s details are on our
member’s benefit’s web page.
At the invitation of Senator James
McGrath, Group Chief Executive
Officer Dr Brett Dale and I met
with him to confer on red tape and
economic regulation. In particular,
the Senator was keen to discuss
practical and achievable suggestions
for regulatory reform. We were pleased
to do so as it provided an advocacy
opportunity on issues important
to members. One of these was to
detail MTA Queensland’s leadership
on the digital and technological
transformations through the
Carmageddon symposiums.
We stressed the need for harmonisation
of regulations across all jurisdictions
in the context of new generation of
technology being introduced such
as plug-in electric and autonomous
vehicles and associated infrastructure.
We highlighted member’s
frustration and time consumed
with the Australian Taxation Office’s
(ATO) regulatory and compliance
requirements. We did acknowledge
the ATO’s simplification of the tax and
superannuation reporting obligations
through Single Touch Payroll,
myDeductions, and Superstream
but on-going reforms was needed.
On the issue of unfair dismissals
under the Fair Work Act, we advised
the Senator that this was an issue for
members both in time and cost.
We advocated that the process should
be streamlined. We proposed that
unfair dismissal claims, where a
jurisdictional objective is made on the
basis that the dismissal complied with
the Small Business Code, should be
dealt with in the first instance by the
Small Business and Family Enterprise
Ombudsman (SB&FEO). This would
require the SB&FEO to be delegated
the responsibility for unfair dispute
mediation. This discussion was well
received. The feedback provided will
contribute to ideas that ultimately
will incentivise State and Territory
Government to work with the
Commonwealth to cut red tape.
The Federal budget included $300
million for this purpose.
Here at MTA Queensland, I’ve noted
the considerable increase in domestic
parcel post costs and it appears so
have small/medium enterprises
(SMEs) which provide online shopping
to customers. It seems Australia Post
provides volume discounts to big
customers which send large amounts
of parcel mail. This disadvantages
SMEs and is a barrier to competition.
6 | Motor Trader August 2017

“ THE FUEL PRICE
BOARDS REGULATION
WILL TAKE EFFECT
FROM 1 JANUARY
2018 - TO ALLOW TIME
FOR FUEL RETAILERS TO
MAKE THE NECESSARY
ADJUSTMENTS TO
BOWSERS AND PRICE
BOARDS TO COMPLY
WITH THE REGULATIONS.”
I note that the SB&FEO is considering
options to level the playing field for
small businesses to compete fairly
with big business when sending/
posting goods in Australia.
Members would have received
July’s Tax and Super bulletin which
includes the ATO’s target areas that
it will focus on in tax returns.
It is on the website, if you missed it.
Additionally, notification has been
received that the Federal Government
will introduce a Bill into Parliament
that will ensure an individual’s salary
sacrifice contributions do not reduce
their employer’s superannuation
guarantee obligation. Essentially, it
is to improve employer’s compliance
with their superannuation guarantee
obligations. In 2015-16, employers paid
over $89 billion in superannuation
contributions for their employees.
To re-emphasise some previous
good news, the corporate tax rate
for businesses with an aggregated
turnover threshold of $10 million is
now 27.5 per cent - the lowest it’s been
since 1940. And don’t forget the instant
asset write-off has been extended by
12 months - the continuation of which
we sought in our 2017 pre-budget
submission to the Australian Treasury.
DIVISIONAL NEWS
Each of MTA Queensland’s
eleven divisions is attending to its
constitutional requirements with
scheduled annual general meetings,
report preparation and election of
office bearers. Nominations for office
bearers - Chairman, Vice Chairman
and Secretary for the Divisions of
Automotive Remarketing, Engine
Re-Conditioners, Service Stations,
Rental Vehicles and Auto Parts
Recyclers - opened on 26 July with
mid-day, 9 August as the closing
date. The ballot of election bearers is
under the auspices of the Queensland
Electoral Commission.
ADVOCACY
Office of Fair Trading (OFT)
personnel have been moving office,
hence some delay in our scheduled
meetings, but with their move
complete, liaison has recommenced.
For a pleasant change, OFT officers
came to the Sir Jack Brabham
Automotive Centre of Excellence.
Brett and I warmly welcomed them
and we had a comprehensive agenda
on matters important to members.
These included the ongoing issue of
motor dealers requiring a secondhand
dealer’s licence to sell all-terrain
vehicles, which includes used farm
vehicles and used competition or
adult/child trail bikes that have not
been registered for use. The OFT
advised that whilst the regulatory
requirement is ‘black and white’,
a relaxed compliance approach to
the regulatory requirement will apply
whilst we continue discussions on the
subject. We are appreciative of the
friendly consultations.
The long-term agenda item of fuel
price boards has now been resolved.
The fuel price boards’ regulation will
take effect from 1 January 2018 - to
allow time for fuel retailers to make
the necessary adjustments to bowsers
and price boards to comply with the
regulations. I draw members’ attention
to the OFT’s Executive Director Brian
Bauer’s feature article in this Motor
Trader edition reminding motor
dealers to ensure that their current
and prospective employees are
appropriately licensed or registered.
We can provide all your training
requirements for Sales and Dealers
licenses for your business.
Recently, members will have
observed the news stories that
‘Australia’s popular cars face the
carbon axe’ with the government
considering hardline carbon-emission
rules. The Federal Government, on
being asked about the possibility of
a carbon tax, immediately ruled it
out. The basis of the news stories was
a Department of Infrastructure and
Transport consultation paper which
proposed this and other options.
It was disappointing that the paper
was the subject of comment before all
the options could be considered by
all stakeholders. We would have liked
to have continued the conversation
on measures to reduce vehicle
emissions and fuel efficiency. We have
been active participants by way of
submissions which included new fuel
efficiency standards for light vehicles
(draft Regulation Impact Statement
(RIS); tighter noxious emissions
standards for light and heavy vehicles
(RIS); and improved fuel quality
standards.
PRESIDENTS BALL
I undertook not to mention
the President’s Ball until August!
Members, there are only three Motor
Trader editions left to remind you
that MTA Queensland’s social and
celebratory highlight is on Saturday,
28 October 2017 at the Brisbane
Hilton Hotel. I urge you to reserve
your tickets! Again, it will be a night
of fun with the talented Shane
Jacobson as master of ceremonies and
a celebration of achievement with
awards to industry champions and
the apprentice of year.
FINALLY
As a practice, I monitor the new
motor vehicle sales. In May and June
2017, in seasonally adjusted
terms, sales broke through the elusive
20,000 benchmark (20,742 June 2017
and 20,121 May 2017) for the first time
since March 2016 (20,388).
Over the last 10 years, the highest
number of sales in a single month was
in November 2012 with 20,858.
Until September, take care and
stay safe.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 7

CLICK TO
VISIT THE
SEVEN82MOTORS
WEBSITE
MTA
Q A&
To many a motoring enthusiast, Ben Atkinson
has the dream job. Through his Gold Coast-based
business, SEVEN82MOTORS, it’s a job that sees him
travel the world in search of classic vehicles; buy, sell
and restore incredible classic cars; and customise
some truly astonishing and unique vehicles for
clients with a taste for the extraordinary.
8 | Motor Trader August 2017

Built by SEVEN82MOTORS mechanic Adrian Woodley,
this stunning, customised 1968 Chevy Camaro placed in the top 20 at Summernats.
This custom 1961 VW Karmann Ghia (above) and the 1969 Ford Cobra (below) are both available to the discerning buyer.
Ben Atkinson in the showroom of SEVEN82MOTORS. While all the vehicles in the showroom are for sale,
this stunning XC Cobra has already been sold and will soon be on its way to a buyer in Melbourne.
TUCKED AWAY ON the outskirts of the Gold Coast,
in a couple of ordinary-looking industrial units, is a
place that would make many a petrolhead drool.
For it’s here, in this unassuming place, that Ben
Atkinson and his team at SEVEN82MOTORS are weaving
their rather special kind of motoring magic.
Unit one is the workshop, the place where skilled
technicians are busy restoring, customising and building
stunning vehicles. Unit two is the sales showroom - a
treasure trove of classic cars and trucks that Ben has found
on scouting trips abroad and across Australia, or have been
handed to him by clients looking for his help to sell their
piece of motoring history.
No matter where you look, there's something special
staring back at you. There’s an XC Cobra, an XY Fairmont,
a 1956 Pontiac Catalina, a 1961 custom VW Karmann Ghia
and, amongst many others, an eye-catching orange and white
1968 Chevy Camaro. Built by SEVEN82MOTORS’ mechanic
Adrian Woodley, the Camaro has its bonnet up to reveal a
glistening 510ci big block twin-turbo motor that wouldn’t
look out of place in the sculpture wing of a posh museum.
It really is a thing of beauty.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 9

This is the domain of Ben and his small crew of talented
techs – Chris Langtry, Adrian Woodley and Shaun Wallace –
who, over the past 12 years, and along with others who have
come and gone, have sold, built, customised and restored
hundreds of cars and helped SEVEN82MOTORS build a
reputation so solid it has 33,000 followers on Facebook (yes,
you read that right, 33,000), and a long list of 5-star reviews so
impressive you wonder if Ben’s been writing them himself.
Motor Trader went to meet Ben to find out the secret to
his success, how it all began, and where things are headed.
What products and services does SEVEN82MOTORS provide?
“We buy, sell and consign ‘50s ‘60s and ‘70s Australian
and American classic, lowrider and muscle cars, and sell
Australia-wide and internationally,” says Ben.
It's a short statement for a business that puts in a
remarkable amount of effort to satisfy customers looking
for that dream car. On the buying and selling side of things,
Ben used to travel to the U.S. every three months on trips to find
cars to sell through the business or to fulfil customer orders -
actually buying his own van in L.A. ready for him to jump into
when a three or four-week scouting trip was underway.
At the moment, the trips abroad are a little less frequent,
a legacy of the fluctuating fortunes of the Australian dollar,
but the deal remains the same - if you're looking for a classic
car, Ben will find it.
"With the dollar changing it has closed the margin, and I
am actually finding better cars around Australia" he says.
"I use a CRM system to log details and match people up with
cars, so you can register your interest and when I get one,
you get notified."
As for the workshop side of the business, well, that's a
humming hive of design, welding, modifications, fabricating,
customising . . . everything that is required to create unique
and exclusive four-wheel masterpieces.
"We do mechanical work from basic modifications
to ground up builds but we aren’t like other mechanical
shops - shops where you pull off brake pads and call Repco
for parts,” says Ben. “I’ll give you an example. There’s a truck
in the showroom that we built for a client. He contacted
me, said he wanted a pick-up truck, gave me all the specs of
what he wanted and I found one he liked in east L.A.
“We imported that original truck, a 1951 Chevy, and it
had a standard chassis; a six-cylinder, four-speed manual;
an I-beam front end and so on. We gutted it, made a custom
chassis from an HQ one-tonner, took a six-litre engine from
a smashed police car, supercharged it and put in a 6-speed
auto. We then put in a 12-bolt rear, four-link and full air-ride
suspension, re-trimmed the interior and converted it to righthand
drive. We then used the dash from another right-hand
drive truck and hid the new gauges behind it - the truck has a
computer-operated self-levelling kit, Bluetooth and GPS but
that is all hidden behind a factory dash which folds down.
"So what we have now is a truck that looks original but
underneath it is an absolute weapon. That is the sort of work
we can do.”
So, who is buying these remarkable machines? Classic cars,
and certainly cars that are restored or customised, don’t come
cheap. Is it older people then? People with a bit of experience
and money behind them? Not necessarily, says Ben.
“You couldn’t pick it,” he says. “I deal with people in their
20s through to death’s door! I don’t have too many ‘suit and
tie’ customers – they’re probably doing Audis or Ferraris – so
we would be more ‘blue-collar’ if we were to call it anything.
But you can’t really narrow it down to anything specific."
How was the business established?
SEVEN82MOTORS has an enviable reputation for
delivering very cool, quality vehicles and has more than a
decade of success behind it. But every successful business
starts somewhere and, as with many people in automotive,
it was a childhood passion for cars that would see Ben
become involved in the industry.
A love of the XB Ford coupes – fuelled by an XB owned by
his father – would eventually see Ben and a friend establish,
in 2004, a business selling classic American and Australian
cars. From there, things evolved quickly.
“Not long after that, I connected with my birth father who
was a motor dealer in Brisbane,” says Ben. “I went to work
for him for about a year before coming back down to the
Gold Coast to open a shop alongside a mate who was doing
metal fabrication. I began importing classic cars again and
it didn’t take long until we outgrew that space and I moved
to Unit 7, 82 Ferry Road. That was the first shed that I got on
Below: This 1951 Chevy pick-up is wonderfully high-tech custom build. While it might look original,
underneath that beautiful old-style exterior is, says Ben, 'an absolute weapon'.
The SEVEN82MOTORS team: Shaun Wallace, Chris Langtry, Ben Atkinson and Adrian Woodley.
10 | Motor Trader August 2017

The SEVEN82MOTORS workshop churns out spectular restorations and custom builds.
my own and was the place where I really backed myself.
“At the end of the road was a tyre shop that also did
mechanical work. Chris was working there and he used to
come and stick his head in my shop all the time. One day,
I was getting a roadworthy done and Chris was doing the
job. I knew that their shop was struggling so I let him know
that if he was looking for work he could come and do one
day a week with me. He started doing that and when I
moved to these premises in 2007, he came out with me full
time. We’ve grown from there.”
Who are your staff?
Ben is keen to emphasise how important his team is to
SEVEN82MOTORS. Not just employees, they bring skills,
passion and personality to their work and are a crucial
component of the business's success.
“I have the best team,” says Ben. “Chris oversees it all,
Adrian is a mad fabricator and a really good all-rounder and
Shaun is a great mechanic.
“This is my business and I get lumped with all the bills,
but Chris is as much part of it as I am. We have a cool
friendship and business relationship, he is the smartest
dude I have ever met and together we work really well.
I do all the business, marketing, branding and promotional
stuff, and he builds the coolest stuff in the world. He’s
a hotrodder, a member of the TAC (Technical Advisory
Committee), a hot rod inspector, and he has his roadworthy
licence and is training for engineering codes.
“In fact, some time ago he was crucial in getting airbag
suspension legalised in Queensland. At the time, I had a
Cadillac that was air-bagged and a client said he wanted to
own it but wanted it to be street legal.
"So we worked with Qld Transport and an engineer named
Tim Bartrop and over about seven months Chris kept doing
what had to be done until we proved that we could make
air-ride suspension safe and they couldn't say no. It
eventually became a mod-plateable code.
“As for Adrian, as I said, he is a mad fabricator, a really
good all-rounder, and is our custom guy who makes
everything look really pretty. He built the twin-turbo
Camaro in our showroom and that's how we found him. He
had built it in his garage, took it to Summernats, got top 20,
and it became a Street Machine cover car. We got onto him
and said he should come and work with us and he did – he
packed up, sold his house in Canberra, and moved up here.
“Together, Chris and Adrian are a special combination
– they can build anything and make it functional, practical
and look really dope!
“As for Shaun, he is a great mechanic and can do
whatever you give him and do it on his own, do it well and
without the need for guidance. All my boys are clever and
there is not much we can’t do.”
While the SEVEN82MOTORS team is elite, Ben does keep
an eye out for gifted technicians who might work with them.
To get a job here though, you need to have something special.
“What do I look for? Hot rodders,” says Ben. “We don’t
just swap parts here - we have to make it, and it all has to
work, and it has to be engineerable and roadworthy.
“Unfortunately, I am not in a position to educate
everyone – I need people who can bring skills to my table.
I’m happy for it to be a two-way street and you’ll learn a lot
while you’re here, but I don’t need general mechanics.”
To what can you attribute your success?
So after more than a decade running SEVEN82MOTORS,
what is the reason for Ben's success?
“Commitment and passion,” he says. “It’s a rollercoaster.
We are so affected by the dollar that every year is different but
I’m pretty good at adapting to change and am a believer in
taking time to look at what’s working and stopping what isn’t.
It’s similar in the workshop in that we are selective in what
we do. I like to use the ‘John West theory’ - that it’s the cars
we reject that makes us better. If someone comes here and
wants a purple and yellow hot rod with weird stuff on it, then
we don’t build it. Even if they have all the money in the world,
if they are not building something cool, we won’t do it.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 11

Above: Ben with son Luke and the XB coupe originally owned by Ben's father.
More than 20 years after his dad sold the car, Ben tracked it down, bought
it back and is now converting it into a standout showcar.
Inset: A family snap of the XB in its original form.
“I could have 10 mechanics but then
we’d be in a spot where we have to build
the stupid purple and yellow hot rod
just to keep them busy,” he adds with a
laugh. “We’ve got a neat little balance
here where I am able to find the right
cars to have on the showroom floor and
the right cars to build. And that’s my sweet spot.”
Of all the cars you’ve bought and sold, restored and customised,
is there one that stands out for you?
“I used to muck around with XA and XB Coupes,” says
Ben. “My dad had one from new when I was kid and I
remember he came home without it one day. I hated that!
I was a young fella and I loved that car, so when I was old
enough to get a car of my own, that is what I wanted –
though I could only afford the four-door!
“Anyway, I decided a little while back that I wanted to
see if I could get dad’s original car. He had become ill but
was able to tell me a lot about it including the number plate
which, at the time, I didn't know because in the three photos
I had of the XB, the plate was obscured!
“I wrote down all the information he gave me and ended
up getting in contact with a lady in the transport department.
I discovered that although it had not been registered for 12
years, that number plate was still attached to an XB coupe.
So I wrote a letter to her to explain what I was trying to do
and another letter for her to forward to the last registered
owner. Never thinking anything would come of this, I bought
another coupe and dad and I began restoring that. We were
about halfway through when one day the phone rings and a
guy says: ‘I think I’ve got your dad’s car in my shed.’
“I bought the car, removed the car that dad and I had
been working on, and then gave him the book from his
original XB to read. When he worked out that we had his
car back, it was pretty special.
“When dad passed away, we pulled it down and began
turning it into a show car. We’re still working on it but that
is my favourite car.”
What does the future hold for SEVEN82MOTORS?
“Everything in our showroom is for sale,” says Ben.
“We have exported to Indonesia, Europe, New Zealand,
America and China. And that is something I would like to
expand on. We’ve got the facility, we know what we’re doing,
and our cars are cheap compared to the rest of the world.
"I am also a dreamer and at any given point I have a ton
of stuff in my head!” he adds. We have some
things planned that will blow your mind!”
There’s also the possibility of a slot on
our TV screens thanks to some U.S. network
interest. Though mindful of the pitfalls
associated with TV, it’s a project with
potential.
“It’s one those things,” he says. “There’s a
gazillion more chances that it will go nowhere than somewhere
but I am a bit of a dreamer and it would be silly not to have a
crack at it.”
What do you do with your spare time, if you have any?
“It’s funny, but I live in a kind of reverse-land,” he says with a
laugh. “Everybody else does their daily grind during the week
and then cruise cars on Sundays. I cruise cars six days a week
and hang with my family on the Sunday. That’s my reality - spend
Sunday with my family and do mum and dad stuff.”
Which brings us to our final question. Ben has two young
children – Luke, aged 12, and Milly, aged 9. Luke helps out
around the shop on occasion so is there a chance that a second
generation of the family will be involved in the business? Is he
interested in getting stuck in?
“You’d think that would be the case,” says Ben, “But kids only
know the environment they grow up in and probably don’t get
how unique this is. 90 per cent of the time, Luke probably just
sees it as work. For instance, we might be in the middle of a
conversation when my phone rings and I have to go and answer
it – that’s what he sees, not ‘my dad’s selling a rad car’. However,
he does come in to help keep the cars and the shop clean, and
take videos and photos which he edits for me.
“There’s nothing I’d love more than for him to want to come
and hang with me for the rest of my life, but he is his own person.”
Whether Luke joins his dad in the business or not,
Ben is happy with his lot. And why not? Doing something you
have a passion for is surely the goal for everyone.
“This is my world and I’m lucky to live in it,” he says. “It’s cool
to come here, have a beer and look out of the window and see
what we have made – that means something to me.
““And I’m so proud of the boys. They make such cool stuff and
I hope that when people look back at the Australian car scene,
we will have left our mark.
“I was going through my phone the other day and looking at all
my photos and realised we have put hundreds of cars on the street
over the years. It is nice to look back and reflect on that.
"At the end of the day, we keep growing and keep getting
better and smarter and that’s all you can hope to do and be,
isn’t it?"
12 | Motor Trader August 2017

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MTAQ weekly bulletin
NEW MTAQ WEEKLY
INDUSTRY BULLETIN TO
START THIS MONTH
MTA QUEENSLAND HAS
listened to members and
clients and we are making BIG
changes to the way we communicate.
The feedback ranges from MTA
Queensland communicating ‘too
much’ to ‘not receiving anything at all’.
To address these concerns, from
August 2017, you will receive ONE
Weekly Industry Bulletin.
This will replace all the variations
of Member Bulletins we have sent in
the past. You will no longer receive ad
hoc Bulletins covering MTA Institute
Courses, IR, Tax & Super News,
Automotive News Update, Special
Member Bulletins etc., throughout the
course of each week.
Instead, we will provide only one
communication each week, on the
same day and at the same time.
The Bulletin will be sent at 11am
every Thursday, beginning 3 rd
August (except public holidays where
it will be the next business day).
Let us know if you don’t receive it!
On occasion, there may be a need
to issue a Member Notice, but this will
only happen when we need to send
time-critical information, that cannot
be left for the next Weekly Industry
Bulletin.
The new Weekly Industry
Bulletin will contain summaries of
the information you need to know and
links to our website, which is where
the detailed information will
be located.
It will include:
• MTA Queensland and Industry News
• MTA Institute Courses
• Events
• IR, Tax & Super News
• MTA Institute Training News
• Divisional News
• Shop & Member Discounts
“ THE NEW WEEKLY
INDUSTRY BULLETIN WILL
CONTAIN SUMMARIES OF
THE INFORMATION YOU
NEED TO KNOW AND
LINKS TO OUR WEBSITE,
WHICH IS WHERE THE
DETAILED INFORMATION
WILL BE LOCATED.”
• Member Resources
• Media Releases & Submissions
• Board News
• Jobs Board
• MTAQ Racing Team
• Motor Trader E-Magazine
• Corporate Partners
The Motor Trader E-Magazine
does have a separate subscription
list and will be issued independently
at the beginning of each month as
well as being included in the Weekly
Industry Bulletin.
Some information (eg: Industrial
Relations information) is found in
the Member Only area and you will
need login details to access. You will
receive an email about logging in
and your password. Please call 3237
8777 if you have any trouble with
your login.
Important: Unsubscribing
from this Weekly Industry Bulletin
means you will no longer receive
any communications from us in
relation to many of the resources
and information your membership
entitles you to.
14 | Motor Trader August 2017

Planning for
a super future
Matthew Webster, 45 has a long way to go
before he hangs up his hat, but is easily able
to picture his retirement years.
He plans to grey nomad it around
Australia in a caravan with his wife, once
he convinces her that it will be a lot
more fun than she expects.
Matt has spent his career in the motor
trades and is well on the way to ensuring
he has enough super to be able to see
the nation in comfort. He started an
apprenticeship in 1986 at the age of 16
and now works in an automotive training
role in NSW.
He became an MTAA Super member
when it was first established in 1989.
“I’m really happy I’ve been with MTAA
Super. It’s the industry super fund for my
trade and has been supporting careers in
the automotive industry for over 25 years.”
“I’m still a long way off retirement but I
do think about what I will do when I stop
working and how I will support myself
and my family.”
Matt, like many Australians is not alone
in his concern about life after work. We
can now expect to spend more time in
retirement than any previous generation,
thanks to changing work patterns and
increased life expectancy.
Leeanne Turner, CEO of MTAA Super
mentions “As people start drawing
closer to the 60-mark, they begin to
think more seriously about what they
would like to do in their retirement and
how they will be able to finance it. With
people living longer, weak interest rates
and stricter rules around the age pension,
these concerns have come to the
forefront like never before.”
Leeanne shares, “The key is to take
advantage of the compounding nature
of superannuation. Super gives the
opportunity not just to grow one’s
employer and voluntary contributions
but to grow the investment returns on
these contributions as well.”
“Small amounts can go a long way.
Making extra contributions as little as
$25 per week early in your career can
result in thousands of dollars over a
30+ year working life.”
“Extra super contributions can be
particularly important for people in casual
or part time employment as well as those
who’ve needed to take career breaks to
raise a family or care for sick or elderly
relatives.”
With increasing life expectancy, many
Australians could be in retirement for
over 25 years and may well need to look
at ways to boost their super such as salary
sacrifice contributions and personal
contributions.
Give your super a boost!
For ways to give your super a boost
while you’re still working visit
mtaasuper.com.au/take-control.
1300 362 415
mtaasuper.com.au/take-control
This article is issued by Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited (ABN 14 008 650 628, AFSL 238 718) of Level 3, 39 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600, Trustee
of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited has ownership interests in Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd
and Members Equity Bank Limited. The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your specific needs or personal situation. You should assess your financial
position and personal objectives before making any decision based on this information. We also recommend that you seek advice from a licensed financial adviser. The MTAA Super Product
Disclosure Statement (PDS), an important document containing all the information you need to make a decision about MTAA Super, can be obtained by calling MTAA Super on 1300 362 415
or visiting mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks. You should consider the PDS in making a decision.

CARMAGEDDON: FOCUSING ON AUTOMOTIVE EVOLUTION
ON 12 JULY, MTA Queensland held the second of
its Carmageddon symposiums.
Once more bringing together leaders in
innovation from the business and academic
worlds, Carmageddon – Leading the Way, as the second
symposium was called, had a focus on the digital world
and the disruption, and opportunities, it will bring to the
automotive industry. Presentations from guest speakers
included looking at where the next business opportunities
may lie; exploring the possibilities of the digital economy;
the way technology in the form of virtual reality can be
used to support business growth; the innovation within
communications and even intellectual property law.
Attended by more than 70 guests, the day included
demonstrations of new technology in the Carmageddon
'Landing Zone', with exhibitors presenting a wide range of
16 | Motor Trader August 2017

More than 70 people from industry attended Carmageddon and were able to examine products from Landing Zone exhibitors including Immerse Enterprise, who demonstrated Virtual Reality technology, Milwaukee Tools and Axalta Coating Systems
new products – from workshop equipment to software
to virtual reality hardware.
In his opening address, Dr Brett Dale, MTA Queensland
Group CEO, recognised that although the level of
technological disruption may make for a difficult transition
for the industry, the opportunities are vast and the time
was right to consider them.
“As far as opportunity and innovation goes
for industry, we can see that where we are now
as a society, as a nation, as an industry, is really
exciting," he said.
“We have, for many years, been leaders in
technology, with our manufacturers at the
forefront of producing and delivering tech that
meets the needs and wants of motorists and
business. No matter what sector we work in,
we have been able to manage and make the
most of that technology.
“With this new level of disruption, we must
respond again. If we don’t react responsibly to
the level of disruption that is coming, there is
a risk of not being successful. However, if we contemplate
these changes now, become agile and responsive to new
opportunities and think about these changes as real
potential for business, Australia will be back in the market
and competing globally for the first time in a long time.”
SOME OF THE possibilities offered by new technology
were revealed by the first guest speaker,
Professor Marek Kowalkiewicz, Head of PwC
Chair in Digital Economy, QUT. Professor
Kowalkiewicz began his presentation by
considering the changes that have occured in
the recent past.
“There has been a change in the way we
live, work and think in the past few years," he
said. "Imagine, for example, 20 years ago, if
you wanted to book a place somewhere in the
middle of nowhere in Norway. It would have
been tricky to do. These days you know exactly
what to do - you go online and within five
minutes you can find a place.
“In work, a lot of online businesses were started in a
bedroom and continue in a bedroom simply because there
is no need to create large offices or move to large locations
– a lot of digital businesses are independent from physical
requirements.
Dr Brett Dale, MTA Queensland Group CEO
Professor Marek Kowalkiewicz,
Head of PwC Chair in Digital Economy, QUT
“And there has been a change in the way we think. There
are a lot of people who are starting to ignore brands and
focus instead on trust. They trust 5-star ratings given to
people they don’t know BY people they don’t know! Trust is
the new currency.”
These changes affect the wider economy but the impact
on automotive will also be stark. Traditional jobs may
disappear with new, as yet unidentified,
roles set to replace them and organisations
will have to examine how they do business.
The shift from 'the age of automation
to the age of digitisation’, as Professor
Kowalkiewicz called it, meant analysisdriven
corporations that looked to the
past to predict the future and which
concentrated on economies of scale and
cost efficiencies, were displaying too
narrow a focus.
“It is very important for us to look
around, not only inside our industry, but
outside, to see what trends and technologies
are there and think about how they could apply to our
industry or organisations,” he said.
So, what are these trends and technologies? The
range of them highlighted by Professor Kowalkiewicz
was eye-opening and included, amongst others, mass
personalisation, new channels of interaction, local
manufacturing using 3D printing technology and the zerocost
expectation of customers.
One example of zero-cost expectation is
GPS systems. The Professor pointed out that
just a few years ago, these systems were being
bought for a few hundred dollars with maps
that had to be updated regularly, at a cost.
Today, with smartphones, that is a service
you get, and expect to get, for free.
Looking forward, Professor Kowalkiewicz
said insurance might be a sector where
zero-cost expectation could take hold. He
theorised that rather than pay for a year’s
worth of insurance on a car that spends most
of its time in a parking space, someone with a connected car
could be insured ‘by the journey’ and, perhaps, not even have
to pay for that.
“We did some work for the Motor Accident Insurance
Commission some time ago and saw the emergence of
zero-cost expectation,” he said. “For instance, if I am
August 2017 Motor Trader | 17

going shopping, perhaps I can get the shopping centre to
pay for the insurance for my trip. That way, they will get me
to come to them rather than a competitor.”
Another very interesting area discussed by Professor
Kowalkiewicz was the participation of companies such
as Google in the self-driving car business. He showed guests
an image of a young woman driving a car who was, at the
same time, trying to talk on her hand-held phone while
sipping a coffee.
While most Carmageddon guests assumed the woman was
being unnecesarily distracted by the coffee and the phone,
the Professor asked whether it was, in fact, fthe car that was
the distraction - distracting the young woman
from enjoying her coffee and making her phone
call. With self-driving cars, that distraction
is removed, allowing the 'driver' to enjoy the
journey as they desire. This scenario, suggested
the Professor, might be part of the explaination
as to why Google was getting into the selfdriving
car business.
“Is Google building self-driving cars to
compete with Tesla and GM, or do they have
a different reason?” he asked. “I do genuinely
think this (self-driving cars) is the ‘mobile
phone’ of the future.
"A mobile phone is a platform for
communication and there are service providers who use
David Naylor, Business Development
Executive, Telstra
the phone’s screen to communicate with me and offer their
services. If we are going to spend time in self-driving cars,
then it will be whoever owns the screen inside the car who
will own the relationship with us and be able to sell us
services."
Whatever the reason behind tech companies getting
involved with self-driving cars, it would appear the cars will
be much more than a way to get from point A to point B.
DURING HIS PRESENTATION, David
Naylor, Business Development Executive
for Telstra, showed that the communications
giant was already moving in some of the areas
highlighted by Professor Kowalkiewicz
Mr Naylor said the company had carried out
surveys with customers regarding connected
vehicles in an effort to understand what Telstra
could do to enhance customer experience.
There were some interesting answers.
“People want their car to be safe, they want
to have control of their car and be able to do
different things with it,” he said. “Safety was
something people expected but did not expect
to pay for. Only 3 per cent of people said they would pay
extra money for extra safety features that came with having
a connected vehicle.”
Having different services available in the car, however,
was deemed as very valuable, as was the possibility that a
connected car, through a variety of ways, could help them
with the total cost of ownership. ‘Making life easier’ was also
important to respondents.
“That could be as simple as having the ability to tell your
car what your next trip is before you get in," said Mr Naylor.
Making life easier, and having different services available
in a connected car are priorites for Telstra.
Lex van Cooten, Immerse Academy
"We do believe that the next platform for commerce is
the car," said Mr Naylor.
In the future, he said that Telstra expects everything to
be connected – home, car, everything - and that this would
give the company the ability to pull data from a wide range
of sources, connect it all together and enhance the customer
experience.
“We have a platform that allows us to not just take the
data from cars but also from a whole range of connected
services," said Mr Naylor. "For example, we can now overlay
the positions of mobile phones we have out there – and
we have about 65 per cent of the market – on to a map and
get very high-quality data about traffic
flows that we can feed back into real-time
navigation. That’s one example of how we
are pulling in data from a range of services."
Understanding that the development of
connected cars, and systems that can utilise
them in this way, is good for all, Mr Naylor
said that the platform was being developed
for business.
“We understand that this needs to be
an ecosystem that enables lots of different
businesses to get data from cars, or data from
other services, to then provide an experience
back to the people driving the cars. We have
made this an open system-based platform, so we can work
with people who want to use it.
“I liken it to us being a big shopping centre," he added.
"The shopping centre is owned by someone, like a Westfield,
and they provide all the services so that you can go and set
up your shop or business there. That is what we are trying to
do – build a platform where business can come to us and set
up in the way they want around the use of the the data and
system features.”
Other areas Telstra are looking at in terms of connected
cars are roadside services - where a
mechanical business can monitor the health
of a customer's car and warn them of any
issues - and pay-as-you-drive insurance
services and registration, meaning that
you pay only when the car is being used. A
connected vehicle could also, should
CLICK TO VISIT
THE IMMERSE
ENTERPRISE
WEBSITE
it be involved in an accident,
alert the police, next of kin and
insurance company, all on its own.
The mind boggles at what is
just around the corner. It will be
remarkable. And that is not all.
WHILE CONNECTED CARS
can talk to each other, and the services delivered
to these vehicles will be incredible, what about buying
the car itself ? At the moment, you still must travel to a
dealership, find a salesperson, talk about the car you
want, the features you want, the colour you want and,
of course, the price. All that could well change thanks to
Virtual Reality.
Lex van Cooten, from VR content creation and training
company Immerse Enterprise, delivered a presentation on
VR technology that might just prove to be a game changer
for dealerships. Working in conjunction with Hyundai
18 | Motor Trader August 2017

and the Llewellyn Dealership Group, Mr van Cooten and
his team created a 360-degree video of the new Hyundai
i30 being driven in Sydney, as well as a virtual Hyundai
showroom. The purpose? To see just what could be done
with this most science fiction of technologies.
“Basically, we placed the user within the 360-degree video
allowing us to take them on a test drive on the streets of
Sydney,” said Mr van Cooten. “The showroom project we
did allows a potential customer to experience the car, and
the dealer to showcase its latest features, simply by putting
them in virtual reality.”
Using VR in this way for test drives and showcasing
features has many benefits, not least in assisting potential
customers who have difficulty in getting to a traditional
showroom - for example, a busy parent or someone with a
disability. VR offers a solution.
“With VR, you can get your customer to experience
your product from wherever they are – be it at their home
or a shopping centre. And that was something we were
exploring with Llewellyn," said Mr van Cooten. "What
happens when somebody can go for a test drive while they
are out grabbing their groceries in a shopping centre? Do
you, in fact, need the amount of real estate dedicated to a
car dealership when people can go for a test drive in their
local shopping mall?”
From the demonstration of an entire vehicle catalogue
range, to helping manufacturers test the usability of a car, to
examining how people interact with the design of a vehicle's
interior, VR can be tailored to just about any use and it is
already being utilised by the industry in a variety of ways.
And with some seriously heavy-hitting companies
backing the technology - including Oculus (owned by
Facebook), Microsoft, Google and Samsung - Virtual Reality
is much more likely to become a part of our everyday lives
over the next few years.
FOR MTA QUEENSLAND, the state’s industry peak body,
the Carmageddon events allow the Association to focus
on automotive evolution and highlight that its vision of
supporting the industry reaches far into the future.
“We remain committed to doing what is totally relevant
to support the ability to transform an existing business into
a business that is ready for new technology, or that helps
the development of great ideas and their application to
industry,” said Dr Dale.
“We know that 70-80 per cent of existing jobs will change
or disappear over the next few years and through the MTA
Institute we are committed to staying in that space and
advising bodies that regulate occupations to ensure they
align with emerging technologies.
“We also know that the competitiveness of business is
going to be linked to human traits, and through initiatives
such as our innovation hub, along with a collaborative spirit,
we will support the human potential to turn ideas into
outcomes. We have resources here – lawyers, marketers,
IT specialists - that small and medium businesses may not
have. Collaboration is key for success in the future.
“It’s a different world to the one we are used to operating
in but it has huge opportunities if we work together. I think
as far as automotive goes, it is an exciting time to be in
that space and we are looking forward to working with the
industry more closely to ensure success.”
ANTHONY KUHLMANN AND BINDI TROUNG
FROM COMMONWEALTH BANK
PRESENTERS ANTHONY KUHLMANN and Bindi Troung
took first place in the CBA’s largest innovation
competition, Intrapreneur, and delivered a
presentation on the Commonwealth Bank
Innovation lab, the pace of change, and
‘mega’ trends.
The CBA has three innovation labs across the
world –Sydney, Hong Kong and London –and they
were, said the duo, an opportunity to harvest ideas
within the business.
“The main purpose of these labs is to create an
ecosystem that allows us to conduct R&D for new
concepts - new business ideas and technology for
CBA and its clients,” said Mr Kuhlmann.
The pair also highlighted that consumers
are more demanding than ever before, require
more for less, and demand not only a faster and
seamless user experience, but also the use of
ethical sources in business as well as corporate
governance transparency.
As for trends, looking forward to 2030 Ms Troung said that China and India will
Anthony Kuhlmann
Bindi Troungn
account for 25 per cent of global GDP; 60 per cent of the world’s population will live
in cities; and in some countries, people will have better access to mobile phones
than to electricity, clean water or even a bank account.
PROFESSOR MATTHEW RIMMER, QUT IP AND
INNOVATION LAW PROGRAM.
PROFESSOR RIMMER HIGHLIGHTED the interest
of his team of researchers into a range of areas
affecting the car industry - from international trade
law and trade agreements to work on intellectual
property, including copyright law, trademark law
and patent law. Having worked on media and
communications law, Professor Rimmer also noted
that privacy, data protection and confidentiality, is
Professor Matthew Rimmer
a key issue with the emergence of connected cars.
While discussing Innovation law, and how
those laws deal with new and emerging disruptive technologies, Professor Rimmer
also noted that Australia had not been good at commercialising its intellectual
property and that the federal government was considering the redesign of
intellectual property laws in Australia.
CHRISTIAN SCHAEFER, FOUNDER OF CARHOOD
AND THECARTEST
Christian Schaefer
A BUSINESSMAN attuned
to opportunities in
automotive and the
sharing economy, in 2014
Mr Schaefer founded Carhood -
CLICK TO VISIT
THECARTEST
WEBSITE
a business that facilitates the renting of your vehicle
when you leave it at one of the company’s airport
locations (they have a presence in five states across
Australia). Mr Schaefer also founded TheCarTest
– a venture that ‘is about understanding the
consumer and how they buy new cars’. During his presentation, Mr Schaefer
discussed how the next generation of car buyers ‘have an expectation of the retail
experience that it is all about their needs and wants’. TheCarTest confronts that
reality and offers an on-demand concierge vehicle test driving service - delivering a
consumer’s shortlist of cars to their home or office for an extended ‘try before you
buy’ test drive experience ranging from 3-7 days.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 19

MTAQ Racing Team
MTAQ RACING TEAM
SET FOR NATIONAL
EXCEL RUMBLE
CLICK TO FIND
OUT MORE
ABOUT
MTAQ RACING
AFTER A NEARLY two-month
wait, the MTAQ Racing Team
hits the track once more on the
weekend of August 4-6 to take part in
the Federal Tyres Invitational Excel
Cup at Queensland Raceway.
Part of the Shannons Nationals
series event, the Invitational is not
an official round of the Queensland
Hyundai Excel X3 Series, but will
nevertheless be a serious challenge
with top-level competition.
“This the first time Excels have been
invited to compete at a national-level
race meeting,” said David Wood, MTAQ
Racing Team’s driver. “It is effectively
an audition for a rumoured four-event
Australian Excel Championship in
2018 and will serve as a full, dress
rehearsal for the Excel Nationals event
in November.
“The opposition will be fierce,” he
added. “Along with our regular CAMS
Queensland Championship rivals,
we also will come up against visitors
from other Excel championships.
It will feature the 2017 Hyundai
National champion; the 2014, ‘15 and
‘16 Queensland Champions; the 2017
Queensland championship leader; and
“ IT’S A STAR-STUDDED
FIELD OF 32 CARS
WITH THE BEST IN THE
BUSINESS ALL TURNING
UP AND WILL BE A REAL
STERN TEST OF HOW
FAR WE HAVE COME.”
the top six cars from the Track Attack
Excel series as well as young guns from
interstate that run at the front in NSW
and Victoria. It’s a star-studded field of
32 cars with the best in the business all
turning up and will be a real stern test
of how far we have come.”
The MTAQ team has not been idle
in the run-up to the weekend’s meeting
with plenty of work going in to improve
the car after the first Queensland
championship meeting at Morgan Park
Raceway ended with a respectable
mid-table finish.
“The focus since that first event
has been on improving the car and
bringing it closer to the front-running
pace,” said David. “The first issue to
address was the deficiency in engine
power. We recently ran the car on a
dyno for the first time and the initial
numbers were a long way off the
benchmark - which explained a lot!
“With some tuning and tweaking,
we have been able to find a 15 per
cent gain in power and torque which
brings us up to the sort of numbers, we
believe, of the front-running cars. This
was on the back of a revised exhaust
system, revised fuel system, heavily
revised air intake, and playing with
settings to see what the car likes and
where it makes power.
“We have also changed some
suspension components to help
balance the handling, and revised the
suspension geometry and settings. We
did find a problem with the front end
after Morgan Park, so have addressed
that and have adjusted the gearbox.
“All in all, I am expecting the car to
be much improved at the next event.
Our aim is to run inside the top 10,
which sounds like a modest goal but
with the quality of the opposition even
that will be tough. Having said that,
we will be trying very hard and I am
confident that if the car is on song, we
will be in the mix.”
20 | Motor Trader March 2017

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Auto news
VOLVO TO GO ELECTRIC AS
FRANCE & UK PUT BRAKES
ON PETROL POWER
VOLVO CARS ANNOUNCED
at the beginning of July that
every Volvo it launches from
2019 will have an electric motor. The
announcement marks the end of the
company’s production of cars that
have only an internal combustion
engine (ICE), places electrification
at the core of its future business and
represents one of the most significant
moves by any car maker to embrace
electrification.
“This is about the customer,” said
Håkan Samuelsson, President and
Chief Executive of Volvo Cars. “People
increasingly demand electrified
cars, and we want to respond to
our customers’ current and future
needs. You can now pick and choose
whichever electrified Volvo you wish.”
The company says it will introduce
a portfolio of electrified cars across its
model range, embracing fully electric,
and hybrid, cars.
It will launch five fully electric cars
between 2019 and 2021, three of which
will be Volvo models and two of which
will be high-performance electrified cars
from Polestar, Volvo Cars’ performance
car arm. Full details of these models will
be announced at a later date. These five
cars will be supplemented by a range of
petrol and diesel plug-in hybrid and
mild-hybrid 48-volt options on all
models, representing one of the broadest
electrified car offerings of any car maker.
This means that there will in
future be no Volvo cars without an
electric motor, as pure ICE cars are
gradually phased out and replaced
by ICE cars that are enhanced with
electrified options.
“This announcement marks the
end of the solely combustion enginepowered
car,” said Mr Samuelsson.
“Volvo Cars has stated that it plans to
have sold a total of 1million electrified
cars by 2025. When we said it, we
meant it. This is how we are going to
do it.”
WATCH THE VIDEO: VOLVO COMMITTING TO ELECTRIFICATION
22 | Motor Trader August 2017

The company says the
announcement underlines its
commitment to ‘minimising its
environmental impact and making
the cities of the future cleaner’ while
it is also focused on reducing the
carbon emissions of both its products
as well as its operations. It aims to
have climate-neutral manufacturing
operations by 2025.
Hot on the heels of Volvo’s
announcement, actually just 24 hours
later, came another industry-rattling
statement, this time from the French
government. In a wide-ranging speech
regarding his nation’s commitment
to battling climate change, Ecology
Minister Nicolas Hulot announced that
France would ban the sale of petrol
and diesel-powered vehicles by 2040.
On July 26 the UK followed suit,
with Environment Minister Michael
Gove and Transport Minister Chris
Grayling unveiling a plan to end
the sale of all new petrol and diesel
cars by 2040, and make nearly every
car and van on UK roads emissionfree
by 2050, in an effort to tackle
air pollution. The plan involves
investment in vehicle development
and public transport and makes up
part of a comprehensive Clean Air
Strategy to be published next year.
“We are determined to deliver a
green revolution in transport and
reduce pollution in our towns and
cities,” said Grayling in a statement.
“We are taking bold action and
want nearly every car and van on UK
roads to be zero emission by 2050
which is why we’ve committed to
investing more than £600m ($990m) in
the development, manufacture and use
of ultra-low emission vehicles by 2020.
“Today we commit £100m ($165m)
towards new low emission buses and
retrofitting older buses with cleaner
engines.
“We are also putting forward
proposals for
van drivers to
have the right
to use heavier
vehicles if they
are electric or
gas-powered,
making it easier
for businesses to
opt for cleaner
commercial
vehicles.”
The
announcements
by the French
and UK
governments
have spurred
debate on the
subject of the
practicality of
the plans and
their cost. In the
UK, for example,
it has been
reported that the
expected surge
in electrical
demand as
people move to
electric vehicles
could only be
met with the
construction of more power stations.
And what type of power station would
they be? Nuclear? Coal-fired?
Whatever the answer, the
momentum towards an all-electric
future, or at least a future with a mix
of all-electric and hybrid technology,
seems unstoppable.
Members
first, always.
For over 25 years we’ve built our name
as the leading industry fund for the
automotive industry.
We exist solely to benefit you.
Whether you’re paying your
team’s super, or building your own,
we have the tools, resources and
people to help you make financial
decisions that work for you.
To find out how we can support you,
call us or visit our website today.
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Trustee of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). The information provided is of a
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You should consider the PDS in making a decision.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 23

Auto news
MERCEDES-BENZ X-CLASS
GETS LAUNCH DATE
WATCH THE VIDEO: THE MERCEDES X-CLASS
MERCEDES-BENZ VANS
ANNOUNCED the new X-Class
ute will launch in Europe in
November 2017 with Australia and
South Africa to follow early in 2018.
The company says the X-Class
The world’s largest multi-manufacturer accident repair
database is now available in Australia and New Zealand.
New local content
An extensive research program
developing escribe for the
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With $3.5M being invested,
new vehicles are added
every month, significantly
increasing market
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In addition to repair methods, escribe supplies times and
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Value for money
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Help and support available via dedicated web based Help Centre
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has been specifically developed for
the changing requirements of the
ute market in mind. The demand for
midsize utes with typical passenger
car characteristics and comfort
features has been steadily on the rise
for years. At the
same time, the
number of utes
for private use is
increasing. They
are no longer
viewed purely as
'workhorses'.
There are
three design
and equipment
variants to choose
from as well
as four or sixcylinder
engines,
rear-wheel drive
and engageable
or permanent
all-wheel drive, a
six-speed manual
transmission and
a seven-speed
automatic
transmission.
It consists of
a ladder-type
frame, rear multilink
solid axle,
front independent
wheel suspension
and coil springs on both axles.
Built on this platform, the X-Class
will be available in three model
variants to suit different lifestyles
and work environments: the X-Class
PURE for rugged, functional use – the
‘workhorse’; the X-Class PROGRESSIVE
rugged ute with extra styling and
comfort functions; and the X-Class
POWER which sports a high-end design
and equipment line - a ‘lifestyle’ vehicle.
“The high level of interest and
anticipation in the lead up to revealing
the new X-Class has been a reflection
of just how engrained dual cab utes
are in both the Australian and New
Zealand culture,” said Diane Tarr,
Managing Director Mercedes-Benz
Vans Australia and New Zealand.
“The fact is we love utes and we are
showing a desire to incorporate this
type of vehicle into our lives in more
ways than we did in the past. Not just
for work, but also increasingly for
private use.
“The new X-Class finds the perfect
balance between the stylish design
expected of a Mercedes-Benz and
the uncompromising robustness
and functionality demanded of the
category. As a result, with the X-Class,
we can effectively provide a solution for
trade and fleet customers, and we will
find out just how far this category can
evolve for private customers who need
the vehicle to support their lifestyle.”
24 | Motor Trader August 2017

AUSTRALIA'S AUTMOTIVE
INDUSTRY POSTS JUNE
MONTHLY SALES RECORD
AUSTRALIA’S NEW MOTOR vehicle sales
achieved a record sales result for June,
according to the motor industry’s statistical
service VFACTS.
134,171 vehicles were sold in June –
an increase of 4.4 per cent on the 128,569
vehicles sold in the same month last year.
Sales of Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) were
up by 11.7 per cent over June 2016, and light
commercials by 12.2 per cent. Passenger
vehicle sales were down by 5.9 per cent
compared with the same month last year.
The Federal Chamber of Automotive
Industries (FCAI) noted that demand was,
in the main, driven by the business sector
with sales to businesses for passenger cars
increasing by 5.7 per cent and demand for SUVs
and light commercials up by 16.6 per cent.
The most significant June volume growth
was in the medium SUV segment (5,402 sales,
up by 32.6 per cent), upper large SUV (+20.8
per cent), and pick-up/cab-chassis 4X4 light
commercials (+16.7 per cent). Passenger
vehicle segments which lifted during June
were sports cars (+38.2 per cent) and people
movers (+15.4 per cent).
All the states and territories, except
Western Australia, produced sales increases
with Queensland posting a +5.5 per cent rise.
Toyota remained the industry leader with
a market share of 18.3 per cent, followed by
Mazda (9.3 per cent), Hyundai (9.1 per cent).
Holden and Mitsubishi both had a 6.9 per cent
market share.
The Toyota Hilux remained the country’s
top-selling vehicle with 5,461 sales.
TESLA DELIVERS
FIRST MODEL 3
TESLA HAS PRESENTED the
first of its Model 3 production
cars to buyers. 30 of the sleek
all-electric machines were handed
over to new owners by CEO Elon Musk
at a major event held at the company's
Fremont, California factory on 28 July.
However, though the event was a
celebration, Musk also talked about
the huge task the company faces in
fulfilling orders for the car. Tesla's
first effort at an affordable, mass
production car, the Model 3 was made
available to order in March 2016 and
had received nearly 400,000 orders in
less than a month.
"We are
going to be in
production hell
. . . for maybe six
months, maybe
longer," said
Musk. "We are
building these
cars as fast as
we can."
He added
that the
company
had an intial
production target of 5000 cars a week
going up to 10,000 a week by the end
of next year. Anybody ordering the
car today would, Musk said, likely be
waiting until the end of 2018
for delivery.
There two variants of the Model
3 are the Standard and the Long
Range. The Standard, at $US35,000
($AU43,600) will have a range of
350kms, while the Long Range,
priced at $US44,000 ($AU54,800) will
travel 500kms. Both are quick, doing
0-100km.h in under six seconds and
topping out at over 200km/h.
WATCH THE VIDEO: THE TESLA MODEL 3
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August 2017 Motor Trader | 25

Auto news
NEXT-GEN COMMODORE
VXR REVEALED
HOLDEN HAS REVEALED
the range-topping VXR variant
of the next-generation
Holden Commodore.
The model boasts a 3.6-litre
V6 engine pumping out 235kW
(315hp) paired with a 9-speed
transmission and adaptive all-wheel
drive system with torque vectoring
technology and a twin-clutch rear
differential.
Brembo front brakes and a sports
set-up allow drivers to switch between
driving modes. Driver-adjustable
settings include Continuous Damping
Control (CDC), steering, transmission
and the adaptive AWD system.
The next-generation Commodore
VXR also adds sports styling with
bespoke 20-inch alloy wheels,
larger rear spoiler, front and rear
sports fascias and premium VXR
sill plates.
Other highlights include adaptive
LED Matrix headlights, heated and
ventilated leather performance front
seats and a wealth of cutting-edge
driver assistance technology.
The next-generation Commodore
VXR will be on sale alongside the rest
of the sedan range, Sportwagon and
Tourer body styles, in early 2018.
WATCH THE VIDEO: THE NEXT-GENERATION COMMODORE
NEXT-GENERATION COMMODORE
VXR KEY HIGHLIGHTS
Performance credentials
• 3.6-litre V6 engine
• 9-speed automatic transmission
with paddle shifter select
• Adaptive AWD with torque
vectoring
• Hi-per strut suspension
• Three driver-select modes for
engaging drive experience;
Sports inspired styling
• Front and rear sports fascias
• Unique VXR rear lip spoiler
• 20-inch alloy wheels
• Unique VXR sports performance
front seats
• Heated and ventilated leather
front seats
Cutting-edge driver assistance systems
and technology
• Next-generation Adaptive LED
Matrix headlights
• 360 degree camera
• Autonomous Emergency Braking
(with pedestrian protection)
• Adaptive Cruise Control
• Lane Departure Warning
• Lane Keep Assist
• Forward Collision Alert
• Side Blind-Zone Alert
• Rear Cross-Traffic Alert
• Head Up Display
26 | Motor Trader August 2017

CBC AUTOMOTIVE SOLUTIONS
NTN-CBC (AUSTRALIA) PTY. LTD.
AUTOMOTIVE FOCUSED BEARING COMPANY
Since its modest beginnings as an Automotivefocused
bearing company, CBC Australia
continues to expand and deliver quality brands
through its vast operations network.
CBC’s extensive product range is second
to none, working closely with major
manufacturers to deliver products that in
most cases are the OEM or equivalent.
Our partnerships with major global OEM
manufacturers, ensures our automotive data
is constantly being updated and our electronic
in-house catalogue and parts identification
system has no rivals in the industry.
Our Automotive offering ranges from all
types of ball and roller bearings, needle
bearings, all types of seals and materials,
automotive drive belts and hoses, idlers,
hydraulic tensioners, constant velocity
joints as well as bearings to suit high
performance applications such as turbo and
superchargers. Coupled with this are CBC’s
OEM QUALITY IN-HOUSE
ASSEMBLED AUTOMOTIVE KITS
extensive ranges of ancillary products like
Loctite adhesives, CRC lubricants, rod ends,
silicones, hose clamps, circlips and plastics.
Our in-house manufactured range of
automotive kits covers everything from
Wheel, Timing Belt, Gearbox and Differential
to swivel hub kits for off-road applications.
Established in 1954, CBC Australia is
committed to providing customers with the
highest quality product and services, and
supports this with the largest amount of
inventory in the country across its network.
CBC offers specialist technical advice,
delivery and a 24/7 after hour service.
CBC is also part of the INENCO group of
companies, 100% privately Australian owned
with a footprint of over 160 locations, 1400
employees in Australia, New Zealand, South
East Asia and recently opening an additional
two major distribution centres in Melbourne
and Sydney.

Shellby's
VENOMOUS
MUSTANG
IT’S PROBABLY NOT stretching the truth much to say that
anyone who loves cars has a soft spot for the Ford Mustang.
Millions of Mustangs, in all their various guises, have
been bought since it first appeared in the mid-1960s and
along with names such as Beetle, Mini, E-type and perhaps a
handful of others, the pony car is as iconic as a car can be.
And yet, as special as a classic Mustang – say a ’65 Shelby
GT or a ’71 Mach 1 – may be, there are other models out
there that are just so blisteringly cool they make your jaw
drop and your eyes tear up.
Like this one. You may recognise it.
It’s an ‘Eleanor’ – a name bestowed upon it not by
the pin-striped executives or design nerds at Ford, but
by a film company which, in 2000, made a fairly decent
remake of a fairly decent action movie called Gone In 60
Seconds. The film, for those of you who don’t know, revolved
around a car thief tasked to steal a bunch of high-end
vehicles, one of which, in the 2000 film, was a ’67 Shelby
Mustang GT500 Super Snake that he named ‘Eleanor’. It
was worthy of the character’s devotion – a quite stunning,
beefed-up fastback with an engine that could drown out a
thunderstorm. However, in the real world, no such car had
28 | Motor Trader August 2017

MAKE: FORD / CARROLL SHELBY
MODEL: GT500SE SUPER SNAKE
ENGINE: 427 FE, SUPERCHARGED
ALUMINIUM BIG BLOCK
RACE ENGINE
OWNER: IAIN KIPPEN
OWNED SINCE: 2012
GONE IN 60 SECONDS - OFFICIAL ® TRAILER
ever been manufactured. It was a figment of the filmmaker’s
imagination. But as is the way of things sometimes, what
was once myth became reality. The movie was a success and
‘Eleanor’ was clearly the star. Cue petrolheads everywhere
clamouring to get their hands on one.
A year later, in 2001, Carroll Shelby delivered. Already
a legend amongst fans
of Ford and the wider
motoring community
thanks to
cars such as the Cobra
and the high-performance
Mustangs he developed
throughout the ‘60s,
Shelby agreed to allow
the official, licensed
production of 70
‘Eleanors’ – GT500 Super
Snakes that would look near-identical to the movie car.
This continuation production car would have to meet
some pretty stringent stipulations mind you. It would have to
be based on an original 1967 big-block GT500 Mustang and
be upgraded and fitted only with Shelby original or approved
parts and components.
As it turned out, while 70 cars were licensed to be built,
only 43 were ever completed and officially entered on the
Shelby Register, making an already desirable and rare car
even more so. And, rather amazingly, two of these
Iain Kippen
August 2017 Motor Trader | 29

thunderous and beautiful machines have their home in
Queensland.
This one is owned by classic car aficionado, and owner
of Bissell’s Paint and Panel in Noosaville, Iain Kippen who,
you may remember, is also the owner of the continuation
Shelby Cobra we were lucky enough to report on a couple
of editions back.
This GT500SE Super Snake is, perhaps, the crown
jewel in Iain’s collection of cars – a genuine Hollywood
superstar and supercharged behemoth that churns out
770bhp at the flywheel. And yet it was not a car that, at first,
he had any thoughts of buying.
“I found the car through licensed builder Queensland
Musclecar in Noosa,” says Iain. “I was actually looking for a
’69 Boss to restore but while I was there I saw their Eleanor.
I asked about it and I assumed I wouldn’t be able to get one
but they told me they had one build left.
“As it turns out, their Eleanor and mine are, I believe,
the only right-hand drive models ever built.”
While the right-hand drive nature of his car makes it
especially rare, it is what has gone into making the Super
Snake that makes it extraordinary.
“It had to be an original ‘67 big-block GT500 Mustang,”
says Iain. “It has an aluminium 427FE racing big block
and from there it had has been up-specced with Shelbyapproved
components including coilover suspension, disc
brakes, a Tremec T5 gearbox, a Torson differential and a
host of other features including a Vortech supercharger.”
For the build, the mechanical work was carried out by
Queensland Musclecar while Iain completed the bodywork
restoration at Bissell’s Paint & Panel. It was a tough and long
job, and one to which he added a personal touch.
30 | Motor Trader June 2017

“A full restoration of the body was required,” he says.
“I purchased the car in 2012 and finished it only a few months
ago. It has been something of a side project and restorations
do take a long time. Thousands of hours were put into it with
900 hours just in getting the body prepped for paint.
“Talking of the paint, while the colour would normally
be pepperpot grey with black stripes, that grey was, I think,
quite muddy and not one I particularly liked. So I went with a
gunmetal grey that didn’t look quite so dirty and added silver
stripes. I preferred that and I do think it is an improvement.”
It certainly is a wonderful-looking vehicle, and its rarity
and value means Iain will be treating it with kid gloves,
keeping his investment in as pristine condition as can be.
He has, of course, taken it for a spin since its completion,
and it is, he claims, a brilliant drive.
“I drive it a couple of times a week and I will continue
to drive it regularly for the next few months before I put
it away,” he says. “With more than 700bhp, it is extremely
powerful, but with all the modern components – suspension,
brakes, power steering and so on – it is amazingly easy to drive.”
Easy to drive, beautiful to look at, rare as hen’s teeth and
powerful enough to put the wind up anyone driving the
latest techno-wonder from Europe.
It’s enough to make your jaw drop and your eyes tear up.
!
DO YOU HAVE A PRIDE AND JOY IN THE
GARAGETHAT YOU WOULD LOVE TO SEE IN
THE PAGES OF MOTOR TRADER?
Contact Jonathan Nash at jonathann@mtaq.com.au and
let’s see if we can share your classic with other members.
June 2017 Motor Trader | 31

News
MTAQ CONNECTS
WITH THE FANS AT
IPSWICH SUPERSPRINT
IT HAS BEEN a busy month for
MTA Queensland on the motor
racing scene. At the beginning of
the month, the 2016 Apprentice of
the Year, Jamahl Byrne, was in the pit
garage at the Townsville 400 working
with the Team Vortex crew and Craig
Lowndes (see page 38 & 39); the last
few weeks has seen the MTAQ Racing
Team work hard to prep the Excel race
car for the big meeting
at Queensland Raceway
this weekend (see page
20) and, at the end of July,
and also at Queensland
Raceway, the Association
attended the SuperSprint
event of the Supercars
Championship.
Area Managers Andrew
Bear and John Robinson
manned the MTA
Queensland booth across
the weekend, fielding
questions from the public
about the Association as
well as enquiries about
automotive training, and
the duo brought with them
a couple of extra items
that caught the interest
of the race goers. The first was the
MTAQ Racing Team car which, even
in the presence of the thundering V8
supercars, garnered plenty of interest
from race enthusiasts. The second was
a video game racing simulator, and
there were plenty of petrolheads eager
to try their hand at the wheel in an
effort to set the fastest time.
Attending events such as the
The racing simulator and MTAQ Racing Team car attracted plenty of attention.
Supersprint is a great way for MTA
Queensland to engage and connect
with the motoring public and the
industry, and the Association’s booth
received plenty of visitors.
“The traffic was heavy throughout
the weekend and there was plenty of
interest from the public keen to find
out what MTA Queensland is and
what we do,” said John. “On the Friday,
MTA Queensland Area Managers John Robinson and Andrew Bear flank Aynslee Bell,
an administration assistant with MTAQ and track marshal for Supercars events
32 | Motor Trader August 2017

Shane van Gisbergen pushing
his Supercar hard at the
Ipswich SuperSprint
John Robinson on track at Queensland Raceway
when the schools brought classes of
kids through, it got very busy indeed.
Our racing simulator certainly got well
used and there were lots of discussions
with the youngsters about training
and careers in the industry.”
Attending the event also allowed
John and Andrew to reconnect with
representatives of Triple Eight Race
Engineering and their sponsor, and
MTA Queensland corporate partner,
MTAA Super. MTA Queensland’s
relationship with the championshipwinning
Triple Eight outfit has seen
several MTA Institute apprentices
receive the opportunity of a lifetime
to work with them at a number of
Supercars events.
“The relationship with Triple Eight
and MTAA Super has delivered some
tremendous opportunities for our
apprentices,” said John. “And it is a
relationship that continues to develop
and strengthen. Together with the
number of enquiries we received
across the weekend regarding training
and membership, it proves how
valuable it is to have a presence at big
and nationally important events such
as this.”
MTA QUEENSLAND SPONSORS WILLOWBANK DRAG STRIP
MTA QUEENSLAND WILL now have a long-standing presence at the Ipswich
Motorsport Complex. A stone’s throw away from the Queensland Raceway
‘paperclip’ track is Willowbank Raceway, and the wall of the famous drag
strip will now carry the MTA Queensland colours and branding.
Willowbank Raceway holds dozens of events throughout the year, from
drag racing to swap meets to car shows, and the 12-month sponsorship
deal means the Association will be front and centre and under the gaze of
thousands of motoring and speed enthusiasts throughout the year.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 33

News
MTAQ JOINS THOUSANDS
OF FANS AT RACQ
MOTORFEST
THE MTA QUEENSLAND
participated in one of the year’s
biggest gatherings of motoring fans
in June, joining hundreds of exhibitors
and thousands of visitors at Eagle Farm
Racecourse in Brisbane for the 2017 edition
of the RACQ Motorfest.
More than 450 vintage, classic, electric
and prestige vehicles were on show, with
the event this year celebrating and focusing
on the iconic Holden brand and marking
the 50th anniversary of the Camaro.
MTA Queensland joined in the fun by
bringing along the MTAQ Racing Team’s
Hyundai Excel. The race car garnered quite
a bit of interest from visitors, many of whom
were motor racing fans curious to find out
more about the Excel X3 racing series and,
perhaps, pondering whether to have a crack
on the track next year after discovering the
very reasonable cost of taking part.
WATCH THE VIDEO: A STROLL AROUND MOTORFEST
34 | Motor Trader August 2017

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Representing the legal interests of
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Philp Lawyers is the MTAQ’s law firm
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RTO No. 31529
Can you afford
not to be in
the circle?
1
2
3
4
5
Advocacy
MTA Queensland actively engages with state and federal
governments on automotive industry issues, ensuring members
have a voice as the industry continues to evolve.
Services
MTAQ membership gives you access to a range of services, including
technical information, industrial relations advice, promotional material,
discounted services from corporate partners and much more.
Training
The MTA Institute delivers world-class automotive training at your
workshop, at the Institute’s state-of-the-art facility, or a combination
of both. It’s the right training, in the right place, in the right way.
Support
MTAQ members receive advice and support across a range of issues.
From legal advice to business support, from highlighting industry issues
to facilitating networking events, the MTAQ is here to support you.
Innovation
Carmageddon events and our Innovation Hub mean that you have
access to cutting-edge information and business solutions
connected to the automotive digital revolution.
Save with our Corporate Partners
Capricorn makes it easier for its members buy parts, earn reward points
and share in the benefits of being a member of the largest and oldest
automotive parts buying cooperatives in Australasia.
The Commonwealth Bank offers members some of the lowest EFTPOS
charges in the country. Members have saved thousands with CBA.
Dun and Bradstreet is the nation’s foremost credit control and debt
collection agency. Members are eligible for substantial
savings on annual subscriptions.
Gambit Solutions is a vendor-neutral broker specialising
in procuring better electricity and gas rates on behalf of
large groups, businesses and home owners.
Guard Insurance Brokers specialises in insurance and risk management
solutions and offers dedicated service to MTAQ
members at market leading rates.
MTAA Superannuation is the industry’s superfund. Our superannuation
partner has over 200,000 members who enjoy excellent service and returns.
OurAuto Tech-Centre is a repair information service offering technical
information on more than 90 per cent of passenger vehicles on our roads.
Available to MTAQ members at a 20 per cent discount.
OurAuto Digital specialises in online marketing solutions that
are tailored to your business, including website design, online
marketing, and website hosting.
Safety Help provides the automotive industry with a service dedicated to
making your business complaint properly and professionally.
C o r p o r a t e P a r t n e r s
MTA Queensland | Sir Jack Brabham Automotive Centre of Excellence
Address Freeway Office Park, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113
Training +61 7 3722 3000 Fax +61 7 3844 4488 Email info@mtaq.com.au Website www.mtaq.com.au
Postal PO Box 4530 Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia 4113
36 | Motor Trader August 2017
Search for
MTA Queensland
20150315

MEMBERS
MEMBERS
ESSENTIALS
ESSENTIALS
Contents
37 Training GM's
Professional Circle
perspective
38 Professional Circle
training
41 Member matters
47 Member profiles
CALLIDE VALLEY MOWER SERVICE & BILOELA SUZUKI
ROSS HARRIS MECHANICAL REPAIRS
48 Industrial Relations
Training GM's
Professional Circle perspective
PAUL KULPA
GENERAL MANAGER MTA INSTITUTE
BLINK AND YOU’LL miss it . . .
that’s what 2017 feels like so far!
We have come to the end
of the financial year and are making
our way towards the end of the 2017.
However, before I get too far ahead
of myself, I usually take the time to
look at the number of students we’ve
helped throughout the financial year.
Overall, the number of automotive
apprentices (light vehicle, heavy
vehicle, auto electrical, collision repair
and refinishing, motorcycle,
etc.) has decreased in
Queensland from 5,027
(June 2016) to 4,951
(June 2017). This is
an overall decrease
of 1.6 per cent.
In fact, over
the last 5 years,
the total pool
of automotive
apprentices and
trainees in-training
throughout Australia has
declined by 16.8 per cent. This
is an alarming stat. However, it’s not
surprising given the reduction in
the number of apprentices entering
the industry every year. I’ve heard
the reasons for this - from the poor
quality of available candidates to
the problems with attraction and
retention.
The MTA Institute has, and always
will, endeavour to work on these
issues to enable access to better
quality candidates and promote the
“
. . . THE MTA INSTITUTE
HAS INCREASED ITS
APPRENTICES ‘IN
TRAINING’ FROM 1,537
(JUNE 2016) TO 1,575
(JUNE 2017) - A 2.5 PER
CENT INCREASE. ”
automotive industry as a fantastic
and rewarding career choice.
In fact, the MTA Institute has
increased its apprentices ‘in training’
from 1,537 (June 2016) to 1,575 (June
2017) - a 2.5 per cent increase.
We have worked hard over the last
12 months to not only support the
apprentices through their training,
but also to work with employers to
make ‘the system’ easier to navigate.
We know it’s tough enough to keep
the business going without any added
distractions, and our trainers and
administration team have worked
hard to support employers with
apprentices to keep things moving
along without any disturbance.
Now, whilst we cannot
control the number of
employers putting on
apprentices - nor
apprentices
leaving due
to unforeseen
circumstance -
I just wanted
to highlight that
we give every
effort to make the
apprenticeship system as
simple as possible for employers
and as rewarding as possible for
apprentices to make it work for all
parties involved. We want employers
not to have to make a decision about
who should do their apprenticeship
training, but rather know that to get
the training done right, and without
any hassles, all you have to do is
choose MTA Institute.
As always, if you need any further
information, please do not hesitate to contact
us at: training@mtai.edu.au
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
August 2017 Motor Trader | 37

M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
Professional Circle training
JAMAHL TAKES A TRIP
INTO THE FAST LANE WITH
SUPERCARS’ TEAM VORTEX
Jamahl Byrne in the Team Vortex garage at the Townsville 400
IT HAS BEEN a big few months
for Jamahl Byrne, the 21-year-old
technician with Hansen Ford and
Mareeba Toyota in Mareeba, near
Cairns, who won the prestigious MTA
Queensland Apprentice of the Year
Award for 2016.
Part of the prize for winning the
Apprentice of the Year accolade was
the opportunity to work with the
Triple Eight Race Engineering Team
Vortex at the Townsville round of
the Supercars Championship. That
opportunity was organised by team
sponsor, and MTA Queensland
corporate partner, MTAA Super, and
on the weekend of July 7-9, at the
Watpac Townsville 400, the young
technician and motorsport fanatic
did indeed get to work with the
elite Team Vortex crew who
keep Craig Lowndes’ Holden
supercar primed and ready
to race.
It was, said Jamahl, a
“
CLICK TO
VISIT THE
HANSEN FORD
WEBSITE
. . . TO WALK INTO THAT
GARAGE AND TO BE
SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER
WITH CRAIG LOWNDES . . .
IT WAS AMAZING.”
fantastic experience.
“It was certainly eye-opening.
And it was surreal walking into the
garage for the first time,” he said.
“I have followed motorsport all my life.
It’s my dad’s passion too and we spent
a lot of time following V8 Supercars,
so to walk into that garage and to
be shoulder-to-shoulder with Craig
Lowndes . . . it was amazing.
“We had our meals in the catering
tent and at various times I was
sitting with Jamie Whincup,
Shane Van Gisbergen and,
of course, Craig Lowndes.
It was pretty amazing to sit
there, have a conversation
with him and know I was talking
to one of the most famous people
in Australia.”
Meeting the greats of the sport was
only part of what made the weekend
so memorable, of course. For a young
technician who loves racing, working
with one of motorsport’s elite pit crews
was pretty special – and pretty busy.
“It was quite hectic,” said Jamahl.
“On the first day, I was helping a lot
with tyres and getting the sets ready
for the weekend. They had seven
standard sets of tyres, plus two wet
sets, plus a set they had from the race
prior. So, there were about 10 sets
of tyres and we had to get those set
up and ready to go. I worked quite
a lot with the tyres – grabbing them
whenever there was a set-up change,
scraping the rubber off, measuring
the depth to make sure they were still
usable and so on. I was also tasked
with inserting the fan into the front
bumper during stops and set-up
38 | Motor Trader August 2017

Working with the team that keeps Craig Lowndes' Holden on the track was, said Jamahl, a phenomnal experience
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
changes and, of course, completing a
lot of apprentice-type duties such as
cleaning the car and the workshop.”
While being a tradesman and
working in the industry is, obviously,
excellent preparation for a move into
motorsport, there is a level of intensity
within the sport that you just won’t find
in a normal workshop. For instance,
while being quick and efficient at
your job is always important, in a
motorsport setting that expectation is
taken to a whole new level.
“The prior work I have done does
line up a fair bit, of course,” said Jamahl.
“However, a Supercar is designed
to come apart and go back together
again very quickly, so although the
principles may be the same, the speed
at which things are done, and have to
be done thanks to time constraints, is
very different. That is why everything
is so organised, efficient and ready to
go for when the car comes back into
the garage. For example, to change a
set of rear shock absorbers, the team
were given just two minutes! Everyone
is under the pump when it comes to
changes and stops.”
Jamahl has been a motorsport fan
since he was a kid, and working at the
top of the sport has been a dream for
a long time. The Townsville Supercar
“ MOST PEOPLE IN
REGIONAL AND RURAL
TOWNS DON’T REALLY
GET THE OPPORTUNITY
TO DO THIS SORT OF
THING SO IT WAS SPECIAL
AND A GREAT LEARNING
EXPERIENCE.”
event allowed him not only to get a
taste of what working in the ‘fast lane’
is all about, but gave him the chance
to learn from the best and know that
achieving that career goal is not just
wishful thinking.
“The team were very
accommodating,” he said. “A lot
of them worked in dealerships at
some point in their career so they
understood what was going through
my head and how the transition into
motorsport works. They really were
great in helping me, in talking to me
and showing me what to do, and I did
speak to one of the crew who
gave me a few pointers on how
to get into the sport. One of
the most crucial things is
actually being able to get
CLICK TO VISIT
THE MAREEBA
TOYOTA
WEBSITE
your foot in the door and that is what
this weekend allowed me to do.
“Most people in regional and rural
towns don’t really get the opportunity
to do this sort of thing so it was special
and a great learning experience. I can’t
thank MTA Queensland and MTAA
Super enough for giving me
this opportunity.”
For the moment, Jamahl is back
to work with Hansen Ford and
Mareeba Toyota and is as focused
as ever on achieving his goals there.
However, there will always be the aim
of one day working once again in elite
motorsport.
“I’ll work at continually improving,”
he said. “I’m not quite at the top as
a Ford and Toyota technician yet
and I will work hard to become as
highly qualified as I can for those
manufacturers. After that, I do
plan to move into other aspects of
automotive, perhaps auto electrical.
“One day there may be the option
to move into motorsport. That will
always be the dream and working with
Triple Eight at Townsville can
only be a positive on my CV!”
MTA Queensland looks
forward to seeing where
Jamahl’s career will take
him.
August 2017 Motor Trader | 39

Right training.
Right place.
Right way.
RTO No: 31529
MTA INSTITUTE
COURSES
3 DAY AIR
CONDITIONING
COURSE
9 – 11 August 2017
4 – 6 October 2017
8.30am-4.30pm
Click for more information.
PAINTLESS DENT
REPAIR COURSE (PDR)
INTRODUCTORY
23 – 24 September 2017
9:00am – 4:00pm
(two day weekend course)
Click for more information.
ADVANCED
23, 24, 25, 26 & 27 October 2017
9am - 4pm
(five day course)
Click for more information.
HYBRID ELECTRIC
VEHICLE COURSE
INTRODUCTORY
5 September 2017
6pm – 9pm
Click for more information.
ADVANCED
10, 17, 24, 31 October 2017
6 - 9pm (over four evenings)
Click for more information.
MIG WELDING
FUNDAMENTALS COURSE
6 September 2017
8:30am - 12:30pm
Click for more information.
COMMON RAIL DIESEL
INJECTION COURSE
INTRODUCTORY
19 September 2017
6 - 9pm
Click for more information.
All Courses are held at the MTA Institute
Address Freeway Office Park, Building 8, 2728 Logan Road, Eight Mile Plains, Qld 4113
Enquiries to: courses@mtai.edu.au Website www.mtai.edu.au
Search for
MTA Queensland
Free guest Wifi at MTA Institute
20170554

Member matters
MTAQ MEMBERS IN POLE
POSITION FOR EVENING
WITH SUPERCAR LEGEND
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
Craig Lowndes and Adam Silver
MTA QUEENSLAND
MEMBERS, and
apprentices of MTA
Institute, were treated to a close
encounter with motorsport
legend Craig Lowndes in
the run-up to last month’s
Watpac Townsville 400. On the
Wednesday evening before the
weekend’s race meeting, in an
event organised by Lowndes’
Team Vortex sponsor MTAA
Super, the supercar great met with
around 20 apprentices, managers and
employers from the Townsville area
to talk about his career, his life as a
supercar driver, the future of the sport
and a host of other subjects.
In attendance on the evening was
Adam Silver, Service Manager at
Townsville’s Tony Ireland Holden
dealership. Accompanied
by one of his first-year
apprentices, Adam said
Lowndes’ presentation was
very inspirational.
“He talked about his past,
present and potential future;
outlined what engineers do and
what the future of the sport might be;
and really delved into how the cars are
set up for races and their mechanical
and aerodynamic fundamentals,”
said Adam. “He didn’t shy away from
CLICK TO VISIT
TONY IRELAND
HOLDEN'S
WEBSITE
anything and was really approachable.
“It really was very interesting,
especially from an apprentice’s point
of view. He talked about things that
they don’t necessarily see or think
about during their training and shared
a lot of knowledge. For instance, he
mentioned that supercars leave a lot
of rubber on the track – which
is something the team must
consider when subsequently
adjusting and setting up the
car. My first-year apprentice
didn’t realise something like
that – an issue that seems so
small - can be so significant,
and by the end of the evening he
had a lot of questions!”
While Lowndes presented to, and
fielded questions from, the group
throughout the evening, he would
later mingle with guests, taking the
time to catch up with and
chat about a range of subjects
with individual attendees.
“He had more than enough
time for everybody,” said
Adam. “For example, once
he discovered who I was and
where I worked he spent quite
a bit of time with me talking
about the town, the local auto
industry, our business and so
on. He was really interested in
Townsville, its economy and
the industry here, and that was
terrific.”
A motorsport fan – and a
participant in the sport to boot -
Adam said that meeting, listening to
and chatting to Lowndes had been
an opportunity not to be missed.
“I’m actually a Japanese import
fan and have owned and built a
couple of Skylines for track work,”
he said. “But I am also a fan of
Holden and Lowndes. He has been
around for as long as I’ve been
watching the sport and, for me,
the heart and soul of Supercars is
Holden. So, to be able to attend this
event was great. You’d be daft not to
take these opportunities when they
come along and I made sure that,
irrespective of what was going on,
we had time set aside for this. And it
was well worth it.”
August 2017 Motor Trader | 41

MTA Queensland presents the
2017
PRESIDENT’S BALL
A D V A N C I N G I N D U S T R Y
The signature event for
Queensland’s Automotive Industry
Hosted by the extraordinarily entertaining Shane Jacobson
and featuring special guest speaker Craig Lowndes OAM
of Team Vortex, the evening includes a three-course dinner
and beverages, live band, auctions and pre-dinner
drinks – all included in the ticket price.
A highlight on the night is the announcement of the
winners for various prestigious Awards.
Date: Saturday 28 October 2017
Time: 6:00pm to 11:00pm
Dress: Black-tie / Formal
Venue: Hilton Brisbane
RSVP: COB Friday 13 October 2017
Tickets: online at www.stickytickets.com.au
Contact Us: info@mtaq.com.au

Members matters
MTAQ MEMBER WINS
QUEENSLAND TRAINING
AWARD
R.H.D. CLASSIC SUPPLIES &
Services - a motorcycle services,
parts and accessories business
based in Townsville - has won the top
prize in the Small Employer of the Year
category for the North Queensland
region at the Queensland Training
Awards (QTA). The award was
presented to R.H.D. owner Sharine
Milne by Yvette D’Ath, Queensland’s
Minister for Training and Skills, at
a special event held at the Mercure
resort in Townsville on 14 July.
It could be argued that the
accolade has been a long time coming
- this year is the fifth in succession
that R.H.D has been a finalist in the
category. Not surprisingly, Sharine
was delighted when her business was
announced as the winner.
“After five years of being a finalist,
I definitely had a cheesy grin on my
face when the award was announced,”
she said with a laugh. “But you
probably can’t print exactly what I
said when our name was called out!”
The Small Employer of the Year
accolade is well-deserved recognition
for the R.H.D team. Since Sharine
took over the business five years
ago, she has put a tremendous focus
on training and working with the
community. That focus includes
offering training to school-based
apprentices and pre-vocational
students; work experience to those
looking to get into the industry;
fundraising for, and sponsorship
of, local groups; and assistance to
sufferers of Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) and injured or ill
ex-military service personnel.
After being a finalist for the
preceding four years, Sharine isn’t
sure exactly why this year they
would be successful.
“To be honest, I don’t really know.
Sharine Milne (right) with Queensland Minister for Traing and Skills Yvette D'Ath and MTA Queensland's Andrew O'Hearn
“ WE ARE VERY PROUD
TO BE THE RECIPIENT
OF THE QTA REGIONAL
AWARD AND WE HAVE IT
SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO
OUR MTA QUEENSLAND
COMMUNITY AWARD IN
A PRIME POSITION IN
OUR WORKSHOP.”
Maybe I just answered their questions
better this year!” she said. “As the
business grows, that does give us the
opportunity to do a bit more each year.
However, whatever that extra thing is,
we will always offer the other programs
we have established over the years.”
As a former finalist in TAFE’s
Pre-Vocational Student of the
Year competition, as well as being
the national Ulysses Motorcycle
Apprentice of the Year winner in
2004, Sharine’s attention on training
and the community comes as no
surprise - it was the reason that R.H.D
was recognised with the 2016 MTA
Queensland Community Award.
While there is great pride in
winning that and the regional award,
there is now the little matter of the
QTA state-wide award – an award
for which R.H.D. automatically
became a finalist following their
regional victory – the winner of
which will be announced at a gala
dinner at the Brisbane Convention
and Entertainment Centre in
September.
“We are very proud to be the
recipient of the QTA regional award
and we have it sitting right next to
our MTA Queensland Community
Award in a prime position in our
workshop,” said Sharine. “As for the
QTA state-wide award, I wouldn’t
say I was ‘confident’ about winning
exactly. I know what our little shop
does but anybody who is a regional
finalist or state finalist is a winner.
“I certainly already feel like a
winner - though I would, of course,
love to win the state award too! That
would be fantastic. However, win
or lose, that won’t change the fact
that training and upgrading our own
skills is what we are all about.”
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
August 2017 Motor Trader | 43

MTAQ are a Charity Partner of Youngcare and our staff show support
by wearing casual clothes on Friday and donating gold coins.
Please join us and donate to this life-changing organisation!

From the Office of Fair Trading
IMPORTANCE OF
EMPLOYEE LICENCE
CHECKS
CLICK TO VISIT
THE OFFICE OF
FAIR TRADING
WEBSITE
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
By Brian Bauer, Executive Director,
Office of Fair Trading
THE OFFICE OF Fair Trading
(OFT) is reminding motor
dealers to check their current
and prospective employees are
appropriately licensed or registered.
Motor dealer principals are
responsible for ensuring their staff are
appropriately licensed, and remain
appropriately licensed at all times,
to perform the duties they were
employed to carry out.
It is good practice to regularly
check existing staff members’
credentials against the licensing
register on the OFT website, to ensure
all staff still hold the required licence
or salesperson certificate.
OFT has recently taken action
against a number of principal
licensees and unlicensed persons
in other regulated industries.
In some of these instances, employees
had faked or doctored their
credentials to deceive their employer.
A PERSON EMPLOYING
AN UNLICENSED
MOTOR DEALER
OR UNREGISTERED
SALESPERSON, EVEN
UNKNOWINGLY, IS
BREACHING THEIR LEGAL
OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE
MOTOR DEALERS AND
CHATTEL AUCTIONEERS
ACT 2014 AND MAY BE
FINED UP TO $25,230.
Independently verifying an employee
or prospective employee’s licensed
status is therefore an important
step for motor dealers to take to
protect themselves.
A person employing an unlicensed
motor dealer or unregistered
salesperson, even unknowingly, is
breaching their legal obligations
under the Motor Dealers and Chattel
Auctioneers Act 2014 and may be
fined up to $25,230.
Unlicensed or unregistered
salespeople put the integrity of
the motor dealer industry at risk
and encroach on the business of
legitimate dealers, especially if they
are not appropriately trained, or have
been deemed not a suitable person to
hold a licence.
To complete an online check, go to the
OFT website at www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading.
Members of the motor dealer industry are
also encouraged to ‘dob in a backyarder’
to the OFT by contacting 13 QGOV (13 74 68)
or by making a formal complaint at
www.qld.gov.au/fairtrading
November 2016 Motor Trader | 45

LOOKING FOR WORK?
Check out MTA Queensland’s Job Board
for all the latest opportunities in the
automotive industry.
Visit www.mtaq.com.au today

Member profiles
Callide Valley Mower Service & Biloela Suzuki
Location: Biloela
Type of business: Sales & service of
mowers, motorcycles and power
equipment
Number of employees: 3
Trading since: July 2016 under
current ownership (Business
established nearly 40 years ago)
MTAQ member since: 2016
How did you hear about the Motor Trades
Association of Queensland? (MTAQ)
Through the acquisition process of the
business.
How has being an MTAQ member
benefited your business?
Discounted merchant fees through
Commonwealth Bank.
What has been your proudest business
achievement
to date?
The positive feedback from our
customers.
What is the best thing about working in
your industry?
Access to products and customer
interaction.
What is the best piece of business advice
you have ever given or been given?
Listen to everything and apply
what is relevant.
What would you say to someone thinking
about joining MTAQ?
Why wouldn’t you?
M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
Ross Harris Mechanical Repairs
Location: Tully, FNQ
Type of business: Mechanical
repairer
Number of employees: 5
Trading since: 1974
MTAQ member since: 1996
How did you hear about the Motor Trades
Association of Queensland? (MTAQ)
From other businesses in the
industry.
How has being an MTAQ member benefited
your business?
A great deal. Through servicing and
technical information, industrial
relations advice and much more.
What has been your proudest business
achievement to date?
Building our new workshop.
What is the best thing about working in
your industry?
The people! Our staff and our
customers.
What is the best piece of business advice
you have ever given or been given?
Look after your staff and they’ll look
after your customers.
What would you say to someone thinking
about joining MTAQ?
Do it, definitely. It is invaluable in
many areas.
November 2016 Motor Trader | 47

M E M B E R S E S S E N T I A L S
Industrial relations
PAUL MURRAY
INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS OFFICER
Dismissal on
Medical Grounds
DISMISSING AN EMPLOYEE who
has been absent with a long-term
illness can be a difficult process.
Small businesses in particular
can find it difficult to manage
without an employee for a
protracted period. However, it
is important to be aware of the
steps that must be followed. The
two main risks for an employer
are general protections claims
under the Fair Work Act, and
claims under State or Federal
Anti-Discrimination legislation.
GENERAL PROTECTIONS
The Fair Work Act prohibits a
dismissal for what it calls “temporary
absence from work” due to an illness
or injury. To count as a temporary
absence the employee must provide
a medical certificate or other suitable
evidence; the absence can’t have
gone longer than three months in
any twelve; and they can’t have been
on paid leave (or WorkCover) for the
period of absence. Employees on
WorkCover can’t be dismissed because
of their injury in the first twelve
months of their absence.
“ AS WITH ALL
DISMISSALS, THERE MUST
BE A VALID REASON, AND
THE EMPLOYEE MUST BE
GIVEN DUE PROCESS.”
However, even when an absence
doesn’t meet the definition of a
“temporary absence”, a dismissal
could still be a breach of the general
protections provisions. The Federal
Circuit Court recently ruled that
dismissing an employee after a
ten month absence was a breach
of the Commonwealth Disability
Discrimination Act and therefore
also of the Fair Work general
protections provisions.
DISCRIMINATION
As with all dismissals, there must
be a valid reason, and the employee
must be given due process. Illness or
incapacity of itself isn’t enough to be
a valid reason. The employee must be
incapable of performing the genuine
occupational requirements of their
role without special arrangements
that would impose an unjustifiable
hardship on the employer. Due
process requires the employer to
act on solid, up-to-date medical
evidence, and to give the employee
an opportunity to respond.
Members who find
themselves facing
these issues should
contact the IR
Department of
the MTAQ for
assistance.
CLICK FOR
MORE ON
INDUSTRIAL
RELATIONS
MTA QUEENSLAND WELCOMES THE FOLLOWING NEW MEMBERS
Business Name Principal/s Address Email Division
Blue Ribbon Motors Leisa Stallard 393-401 Warwick Road, YAMANTO Q 4305 leisa@blueribbonmotors.com.au AADA
BP Workshop Wellington Point Neil Topatigh 402-406 Main Road, WELLINGTON POINT Q 4160 office@bpworkshopwp.com.au AED
Caltex Redcliffe Clayton Tronc Cnr Anzac Avenue and Victoria Avenue, REDCLIFFE Q 4020 clayton@claydeb.com.au SSCSAQ
Coastline BMW Neil Harper 770 Nicklin Way, CURRIMUNDI Q 4551 neil.harper@coastlinebmw.com.au AADA
Diesel Spec Mechanical Repairs Justin Voigt 59 Andrew Street, ROCKLEA Q 4106 dieselspecmechanical@gmail.com AED
Fraser Coast Motor Centre Andrew Holman 37 Torquay Road, HERVEY BAY Q 4655 andrewh@fcmc.com.au AADA
Frenchy's Mechanical Repairs Glen Frencham 59 Andrew St, ROCKLEA Q 4106 glenfrencham@bigpond.com AED
The Garage Miami Nathan Brookes 18 Pacific Avenue, MIAMI Q 4220 nathan@the-garage.com.au TUDQ
Lockyer Valley Ford and Mitsubishi Ian Gregory O'Brien 67 Crescent Street, GATTON Q 4343 iano@lockyervalleytoyota.com.au AADA
Mazcare Kevin Potts 2/15 Dollis St, ROCKLEA Q 4106 kevin@mazcare.com.au AED
Nationwide Auto Wholesale John Kirby 960 Lytton Rd, MURARRIE Q 4172 admin@nationwideautos.com.au ARD
Norship Engineering John Taifalos 11 Liberty Street, PORTSMITH Q 4870 john.taifalos@norship.com.au ERAQ
Northside Autocar Paul HuckelUnit 2, 45 Queens Road, EVERTON HILLS Q 4053 northsideautocar@hotmail.com AED
Precise Automotive Services Michael Love 21 Ferrier Road, NARANGBA Q 4504 Preciseauto2@outlook.com AED
Prestige and Performance Michael Weber 25 Morley Street, COORPAROO Q 4151 mike@prestigeandperformance.com.au AED
SEVEN82MOTORS Ben Atkinson 3/132 S hpencer Road, NERANG Q 4211 ben@seven82motors.com.au AADA
Ultra Tune Moorooka Jeremy Peterson 123 Muriel Avenue, MOOROOKA Q 4105 moorooka@ultratune.com.au AED
48 | Motor Trader August 2017

Industry insight
11 WAYS BUSINESS
OWNERS COULD GET
BETTER FINANCIAL ADVICE
THE ACCOUNTING
PROFESSION has traditionally
focused attention on the tax and
compliance side of business. Some
accountants are offering day to day
financial management advice, but
they are few and far between. Most
practising accountants have never
worked in a commercial situation i.e.
been responsible for the profitability
and cash flow management for a
business (apart from their own), so
how well does that equip them to give
advice (in ‘plain English’) to SMEs?
What SMEs need is someone who
can really roll their sleeves up and get
into the nitty gritty with them. When I
say nitty gritty I mean:
1. Working out the true cost of a
product/service, so the business
owner knows what price to charge
to ensure a profit, how much room
for manoeuvre on discounting and
competitive pricing.
2. Understanding all the overheads of
a business and including them in a
budget, so they can be monitored
monthly to ensure they don’t get out
of hand and eat up all the profits.
3. Working out the best finance
options for a business. Every
business is different and therefore
has different finance needs. Some
have equipment that can be leased
or hired, some have high profit
margins and therefore can absorb
high finance costs, whereas some
have low margins and need to be
very careful that finance costs
don’t eat up all their profit.
4. Driving management of the
internal factors affecting cash
flow management e.g. Accounts
Receivables, Accounts Payables,
Stock/WIP, Taxes, Loans etc.
5. Setting KPIs (both leading and
“ WHAT SMEs NEED IS
SOMEONE WHO CAN
REALLY ROLL THEIR
SLEEVES UP AND GET
INTO THE NITTY GRITTY
WITH THEM.”
lagging) to ensure targets are met.
For example, if a business owner
knows their sales conversion rate
is say 50%, they need to ensure
they are generating twice the
number of sales leads to achieve
their sales target.
6. Ensuring SME owners can read
and understand the financial
reports and what story they are
telling about the performance
of their business. For example,
looking at just dollar results
is not as useful as looking at
reports containing percentages.
Percentages make it easier to see
how things are going relative to
the sales figure, which may be
going up and down each month.
7. Helping SMEs to analyse feasibility
of new ideas. What may sound like
a fantastic opportunity, may not
create much extra profit on the
bottom line if not structured and
priced right.
8. Helping SMEs to systemise their
business, so they can occasionally
take leave from it and create more
business value by making it more
easily transferrable to new owners.
9. Helping SME owners to pay
themselves properly and
structuring pay/dividends, so they
are sustainable for the business
and tax effective.
10. Acting as a ‘sounding board’ and
trusted advisor to listen and
answer any questions a business
owner has about the financial
impact of decisions.
11. Providing all of the above in a
cost-effective way and ensuring a
high ‘value proposition’ to SMEs so
the benefit they gain far outweighs
the cost of the service provided.
To learn more, visit www.CFOonCall.com.au
November 2016 Motor Trader | 49

Concept corner
BMW Concept 8
WORTH THE W8
REVEALED IN MAY at the
Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este
in Italy, this is the BMW Concept
8 Series – a concept that is, BMW says, a
taster of the forthcoming 8 Series Coupe
which is slated for launch in 2018.
The word is that the production car
may well look a lot like this sleek and
elegant machine, and if that is the case
we’re in for a real treat.
There are certainly the familiar
BMW design cues (there’s more than
a whiff of the i8 hybrid supercar here)
but the concept’s wide stance, large
side air intakes in the front apron, and
low, highly-sculpted tail with stretchout
rear lights give it a striking and
powerful appearance.
Inside is, as you might expect,
pretty special, with top quality
materials - including carbon fibre
and hand-polished aluminium –
complementing the high-tech control
interface and screens that are a feature
of a modern car. And while the interior
may look a little sparse compared to
some of the jam-packed, aeroplanelike
consoles of some recent vehicles,
we’ll bet the Concept 8 isn’t missing
any of the whiz-bang gadgetry that
deep-pocketed customers will expect.
An M8 production model is also
planned and a heavily-camouflaged
version of that model has already
popped up at the Nürburgring in
Germany to churn through a couple
of laps. Development is also underway
on a race-car spec version – the BMW
M8 GTE.
The 8 Series should be another
brilliant piece of kit from BMW and
the company certainly seems pretty
confident in it.
“The BMW Concept 8 Series is our
take on a full-blooded high-end driving
machine,” said Adrian van Hooydonk,
Senior Vice President BMW Group
Design. “It is a luxurious sports car
which embodies both unadulterated
dynamics and modern luxury like
arguably no other. For me, it’s a slice of
pure automotive fascination.”
Can’t wait to see them on the road.
50 | Motor Trader August 2017

August 2017 Motor Trader | 51

Investment matters
MARKET WRAP
GLOBAL EQUITY MARKETS
hit all-time highs in June,
although they did give back
some gains towards the end of the
month. This was in response to a
sell-off in bonds, with several central
banks indicating the possibility of
decreased stimulus measures. The
big political news for the month was
the election result in the UK, which
saw the ruling Conservative Party
lose its majority.
The domestic market provided a
small return for the month with the
S&P/ASX 200 Accumulation Index
up 0.17%. The best performing sector
for June was Health Care and the worst
performer Energy. Banks continued to
be under scrutiny, with South Australia
announcing it would introduce its own
state-based bank levy on the five major
banks (including Macquarie), just six
weeks after the Federal government
announced a bank levy that aims to
raise $6.2 billion.
Overall the S&P/ASX 200
Accumulation Index finished the
2017 financial year up strongly at
14.09%. The major drivers of the
market were a rebound from a Brexit
selloff late last year before improving
economic data, and Trump policies
that drove expectations in a pick up
of inflation. This resulted in a strong
rotation in market leadership from
growth stocks to value stocks. The
market then consolidated across the
first half of 2017, before softening as
the domestic economy showed some
signs of weakness for the consumer,
and the Federal bank levy impacted
the bank sector.
The domestic economy remains
mixed. The consumer, and consumerexposed
companies, had a difficult two
months in March and April, most likely
because of the poor weather, multiple
THE ECONOMIC
OUTLOOK APPEARS
REASONABLY ROBUST.
VALUATIONS ARE
FAIR AND, AS A
CONSEQUENCE, THE
OUTLOOK FOR THE
MARKET APPEARS
REASONABLE.
public holidays and higher electricity
and mortgage costs. Consumer
confidence remains soft and
household debt is high. In addition,
we expect housing prices to at least
moderate, which creates some risks
for the domestic economy. However,
business confidence is strong, we are
seeing a pick up in mining activity,
travel remains strong, export sectors
like agriculture and tourism are
performing well, and infrastructure
projects are accelerating.
The political environment remains
a long-term concern. The last 10 years
have seen slow economic growth
resulting in underemployment for
the young but educated, while low
interest rates have driven up
housing prices, locking them out
of asset markets. This is creating
a ripe economic environment
for populists and we are seeing
surprising political outcomes as
a result—Brexit, Trump, Corbyn,
Sanders. Many of the economic
policy solutions of populists
are inflationary (infrastructure
spending, tax cuts) and others
are anti-globalisation (anti-trade).
This creates risks for long-term
growth rates.
The economic outlook appears
reasonably robust. Valuations are
fair and, as a consequence, the outlook
for the market appears reasonable.
A range of uncertainties overhangs
the markets, particularly the political
environment. The overwhelming issue
though is the effect that the improving
economic environment will have on
inflation in the next year.
Low interest rates have been a
critical driver of markets, and a major
shift in this regard could cause some
destabilisation and a rotation in
leading companies in the market.
DISCLAIMER
This document has been prepared by DNR Capital Pty Ltd,
AFS Representative - 294844 of DNR AFSL Pty Ltd ABN 39
118 946 400, AFSL 301658. It is general information only
and is not intended to be a recommendation to invest in
any product or financial service mentioned above. Whilst
DNR Capital has used its best endeavours to ensure the
information within this document is accurate it cannot be
relied upon in any way and recipients must make their
own enquiries concerning the accuracy of the information
within. The general information in this document has been
prepared without reference to any recipients objectives,
financial situation or needs. Before making any financial
investment decisions we recommend recipients obtain legal
and taxation advice appropriate to their particular needs.
Investment in a DNR Capital managed account can only be
made on completion of all the required documentation.
52 | Motor Trader August 2017

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06/17
2017 Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards
Medium Fund
of the year
The Conexus Financial Superannuation Awards are determined using proprietary methodologies. Awards were issued March 9, 2017 and are solely statements of opinion
and do not represent recommendations to purchase, hold, or sell any securities or make any other investment decisions. Ratings are subject to change. This document is
issued by Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited (ABN 14 008 650 628, AFSL 238 718) of Level 3, 39 Brisbane Avenue Barton ACT 2600,
Trustee of the MTAA Superannuation Fund (ABN 74 559 365 913). Motor Trades Association of Australia Superannuation Fund Pty. Limited has ownership interests in
Industry Super Holdings Pty Ltd and Members Equity Bank Limited. The information provided is of a general nature and does not take into account your specific needs
or personal situation. You should assess your financial position and personal objectives before making any decision based on this information. We also recommend that
you seek advice from a licensed financial adviser. The MTAA Super Product Disclosure Statement (PDS), an important document containing all the information you need
to make a decision about MTAA Super, can be obtained by calling MTAA Super on 1300 362 415 or visiting mtaasuper.com.au/handbooks. You should consider the PDS
in making a decision.