Editor’sletter
ALEX INWOODThe way we were
Flick back toWheelsissues from
the 1960s and you’ll notice
the collar-and-tie dress code
was a little more formal than
today, and the clipboards seem
a quaint touch. But already
the scope of road testing was
being pushed. Legend says
former editor Bill Tuckey (who
is credited with inventing the
comparison test) used to drop
an egg out the window before
he bashed the brake pedal to
record stopping distances.
He’d even throw Bon Ami
cleaning powder on the
windscreen to test the swept
area of the wipers.I DON’T KNOW ABOUT YOU, BUT I CAN PINPOINT THE EXACT MOMENT I REALISED WHAT I WANTED
TO DO WITH MY LIFE. I WAS IN MY EARLY TEENS, MY PIMPLY FACE BURIED IN THE LATEST ISSUE
OF WHEELS AS OUR FAMILY COMMODORE BOMBED ALONG THE HAY PLAIN. READING WHEELSON
OUR ANNUAL FAMILY ROAD TRIP WAS A TRADITION AND, HAVING JUST DEVOURED THE FRONT
SECTION, I TURNED THE PAGE TO FIND MY FUTURE LAID OUT BEFORE ME.
was quickly adopted by international titles Autocar
and Car & Driver, who still use it today.
In isolation, all this might seem pointless or even
a little old-fashioned, but it’s this attention to detail
that sets a Wheels test apart. And in an age of paid
content where bloggers and ‘influencers’ are gaining
a foothold (you can read more on this in the Insider
column on p30) the need for thorough independent
testing and expert analysis is greater than ever.
I’m confident no other Australian outlet goes to
such exhaustive lengths to road test cars as Wheels
does. Am I getting a little preachy? Possibly, but
the reason Wheels goes to such extremes is to serve
you, our readers. As fun as this job is, every staffer
knows that testing cars is a serious business. Our
opinions and verdicts don’t only decide if a newmodel is successful or not, but are used to help
thousands of people through the process of buying
a new car.
Which is why Peter Robinson is about to descend
on the Wheels office to deliver a road-testing
masterclass to our rapidly expanding editorial team.
Through a full day of lectures, Peter will educate
the next generation of road-testing talent to ensure
that, just as we’ve been doing for more than 60
years, Wheels continues to deliver a definitive and
thoroughly considered verdict on every car we test.It was a road test of the 996-gen 911 GT2 and
Peter Robinson was at the wheel, his face serious
and beard resplendent as he pushed the latest
turbocharged animal from Stuttgart to the limit,
its winged red rump seeming to just edge into
oversteer as he flung it into a tight right-hander
somewhere in Europe.
“That,” I thought to myself, “is what I have to do.”
I’d been reading Wheels for years and, as wellas using it as a monthly dose of escapism, I knew
it provided the best independent opinion and
analysis from writers like Robbo, Phil Scott, Angus
MacKenzie and John Carey.
But there was something else. Something different
in the way they wrote about cars. Something less
tangible that set aWheelsroad test apart.
Fast forward a decade or so and, as a freshly
minted (and still pimply) Wheels staffer, I was about
to get my first taste of that unique ingredient. Still
slightly awestruck at landing my dream job, I was
sent on a comparison test in my very first week.
I was there to glean as much as I could from the
experienced road testers, and hopefully, not to make
a total mess of it.
What I wasn’t prepared for was the methodical
precision with which a Wheels road test is
conducted. Naively I thought we’d all drive the cars,
have some lunch, talk a bit, and then decide the
winner. Job done. The reality was far more complex.
It was still fun, but I quickly learned that a Wheels
road test follows a strictly enforced procedure – one
cultivated from decades of experience and handed
down through the generations.
Today’s road test starts even before a wheel is
turned. Tyre pressures are checked, tyre details
are recorded, and every car is brimmed with fuel
to ensure accurate real-world figures at the test’s
completion. Even details like steering turns lock-to-
lock are written down, because experience says the
numbers recorded in the press pack might be wrong.
The list goes on, and every box has to be ticked.
Wheels even set the global agenda by introducing
‘four-ups’ in the mid-1970s – a process where every
car is driven back-to-back on the same challenging
piece of tarmac, in the same conditions, at the same
speed with four passengers on board. This method
I’m confi dent no other Australian outlet goes to
such exhaustive lengths to test cars as Wheels does
@wheelsaustralia 9
CAREER
ADVICE
MANUAL