Gong Xi Fa Cai

Advertisement

Selangor govt’s new fleet powered by UMW Toyota

February 7, 2009 at 10:44 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus, Local News, Toyota

Lexus RX 350

It looks like the Selangor state’s new 15 unit fleet of 2.4 litre Toyota Camrys purchased at RM 130,000 each are not good enough for Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim, as he has declared a new Lexus SUV (according a Bernama report, presumably the Lexus RX 350) as his new official car to be used for official business only.

When asked why he did not use one of the Camrys, Tan Sri told the Bernama reporter that he was more comfortable with the Lexus. He says he only uses it for work (he owns the car but the government pays for its maintenance so he wants to make sure it is for work purposes only), and for personal trips he uses a personal car. Of course, a Lexus RX is nothing compared to what Khalid Ibrahim’s political secretary Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad claims Khir Toyo purchased during his Selangor MB tenure – a Mercedes-Benz S350L.

I feel Tan Sri Khalid should have waited for the new 2009 RX due to be launched in Malaysia this year, then perhaps I can ask him if he finds the new “Remote Touch” system user friendly!

30 Comments      

New Volkswagen models for 2009 in Malaysia

February 7, 2009 at 3:39 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volkswagen

Golf GTI Mk6

Four new Volkswagen models can be expected to hit Malaysian roads this year, and they will all come in the second half of the year. One is a cabriolet version of the popular Volkswagen New Beetle, which commands 25% of Volkswagen Malaysia’s total sales. The top selling unit currently is the Golf GTI at 30% of total sales, and this year we’ll see a replacement model for that car, the Volkswagen Golf GTI Mk6 (shown above). The Golf’s younger sibling will also be making an appearance here and I look forward to seeing more of this particular car on the road – the Volkswagen Scirocco. Lastly, the Passat will get a sexier counterpart in the form of the Volkswagen Passat CC, Volkswagen’s take on the four door coupe body.

Source

27 Comments      


New Kia compact MPV to be showcased at Geneva

February 6, 2009 at 10:23 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Kia, Koreans

Kia Small MPV
Click for enlarged image

Kia will be unveiling a new compact MPV concept at the Geneva Motor Show this March. No details on the car have been unveiled other than the fact that it will have a unique glass roof treatment – this probably translates into panoramic roof. The new MPV is likely going to be an MPV version of the cee’d, much like what the Golf Plus is to the Golf and the Peugeot 3008 to the 308. It is likely to be a new MPV slotted below the Rondo as looking at the side profile of the MPV shown above, the rear overhang is just way too short to accomodate a third row like the Rondo can.

14 Comments      

2009 Honda Accord Mugen 24sc Concept

February 6, 2009 at 9:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Honda

Mugen Accord 24sc Concept

One thing that the European and Japanese Honda line-up have in common is its Accord, they both use the sleeker, sportier and more compact version of the Accord as opposed to the large and more luxurious-looking Accord that we get, which is called the Honda Inspire in Japan. While Europe makes do with a new Type S oil burning Accord (the Type R could come back with this new generation), Japanese tuner Mugen takes the JDM Honda Accord, slaps on a bodykit and a Type-R-esque rear wing and finally supercharges the 2.4 litre DOHC engine. No power figures of the Honda Accord Mugen 24sc Concept have been released but I’d say something around the 300 horsepower range can be expected. Look after the jump for more shots of the supercharged Accord.
[Read more...]

18 Comments      

Euro Honda Accord Type-S: 180 PS turbodiesel

February 6, 2009 at 8:57 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda will be displaying a more powerful version of the oil burning European market Honda Accord at the Geneva Motor Show this March.

The 2.2 litre i-DTEC engine in the Accord Euro turbodiesel has been upgraded with a revised turbo, cylinder head and larger intercooler resulting in a 30 PS peak power upgrade to 180 PS at 4,000rpm and a torque boost of 30Nm up to 380Nm as low as 2,000rpm. This more powerful turbodiesel Accord will be known as the Honda Accord Type S. The manual-only Euro Accord Type S will also get a new set of 18 inch alloy wheels and clear indicator covers to differentiate it from the rest of the Accord range, and most importantly a “Type S” badge.

Both the sedan and estate bodystyles will be available, and two new colours will be available exclusively for the Type S – Premium White Pearl and Basque Red. The car shown above is the regular Euro Accord sedan, as photos of the new Type S have not been released yet.

15 Comments      

Toyota Camry with E60 5-Series M-Sport bodykit

February 6, 2009 at 1:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Toyota

BMW Camry
Click to enlarge

I was tempted to title this story “next generation BMW F10 5-Series spotted in Sunway” but I already pulled something like that before with the BMW Myvi Isetta post sometime last year. It looks like the trend of adapting your car with a bodykit to have E60 5-Series M-Sport front end styling is getting more and more popular. It is already a near-daily sight on Perodua Myvis, but this is the first time I’ve seen it on a Toyota Camry, a far more suitable vehicle as at least it’s of a near similiar size to a 5-Series. It looks like the common saying that Camry buyers want to graduate to an E-Class and Accord buyers the 5-Series is not correct all the time.

58 Comments      

Facelifted Ford Focus now available in Malaysia: 2.0L sedan and hatchback

February 5, 2009 at 5:46 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

Ford Focus

The facelifted Ford Focus is now here in Malaysia as a fully imported unit from Sime Darby Autoconnexxion. Unlike the pre-facelift models offered by Ford, the entire new range consisting of both a 4-door sedan (Focus Ghia) and a 5-door hatchback body (Focus Sport) are powered by the 145 PS 2.0 litre Duratec engine, mated to a 4-speed automatic transmission.

This marks the first new Ford in Malaysia styled with the new “Ford Kinetic Design” style, Ford’s take on a more dynamic look to its cars. Other than a new look for the outside, the door mirrors are also now larger and there are now signal indicators on the side mirrors. The rear track is now wider, which can improve stability and also improve aesthetics.

Ford Focus

The interior is done up in a dark colour, which Ford claims is deliberate to minimize windscreen reflection in the bright countries of South East Asia. The dash center stack illumination lights up in red at night.

Set between the two large binnacled RPM meter and speedometer is a multi-info display LCD which can show time, outside temperature, trip meter, odometer, distance to empty, average speed and average fuel consumption. shame there’s no real time fuel consumption, a feature that has moved down the segments and is even available on the City and the Swift.

Ford Focus

Other creature comforts include a slididing fron armrest (slides forward 80mm), two cupholders with butterfly lids, dual-zone air conditioning including rear air cond vents, a 6-way power adjustable driver’s seat and a premium leather interior. Safety features include ABS brakes and 2 airbags.

The price? RM 112,888 for the 5-door and RM 111,888 for the sedan. Prices are for Peninsular Malaysia, without road tax, insurance and registration.
[Read more...]

67 Comments      

2009 Honda City: first drive impressions review

February 5, 2009 at 4:51 am By Paul Tan Filed Under 2009 Honda City, Cars, Honda, Test Drive Reviews

2009 Honda City

The Japanese B-segment market is indeed a hot one and is dominated by the H and T badges, despite honest efforts by other manufacturers such as Suzuki to make an impact with cars such as the SX4 sedan. The City and the Vios remain the champions of the under RM80k non-national sedan market and are the target of many people who long to break out of what they feel is the curse of Proton ownership, so naturally the launch of the new Honda City this year was very eagerly awaited. The new City is blessed with good looks and now that the launch and fanfare are over, it’s time to take a good look at the car and see if it is indeed as good as it looks.

Read my full driving impressions after the jump.
[Read more...]

360 Comments      

USF1: a new Formula 1 team made in America?

February 4, 2009 at 11:32 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

USF1

Formula One has generally been a very multi-national motorsports event – teams are run like businesses and you sign up the best drivers and parts you can afford. A1 actually differentiated itself from F1 by having country-based teams, although they may like our A1 Team Malaysia be managed by foreigners. The Force India F1 team is one recent “country”-based team, though it looks like it’s only in ownership as the drivers (German Adrian Sutil and Italian Giancarlo Fisichella) and management team are all foreigners.

Here comes another new F1 team – USF1, with the tagline “Made in America”. They plan to use American drivers and American engines and chassis development. They’ve also reportedly signed up for the new Windshear wind tunnel in North Carolina for R&D. The US doesn’t even have their own F1 race (the US GP ended in 2007). Do Americans even like motorsports that aren’t in run a straight line or an oval? :P

Not much else is known about the team, but a few key people are said to be associated – Peter Windsor (uh, a sports commentator), and Ken Anderson. Those who follow F1 news may remember this news piece sometime in mid-2008 about Ken Anderson talking to Honda about setting up an American F1 team. Is this a completely new team, or a repackaged and rebranded Honda F1 Team?

Has Honda finally found a buyer for their F1 team?

33 Comments      

Mitsubishi announces withdrawal from Dakar rally

February 4, 2009 at 9:00 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mitsubishi, Motorsports

Mitsubishi Racing Lancer

It seems that one by one all the Japanese manufacturers are pulling out of motorsports (Honda, Suzuki, Subaru, Kawasaki). The latest casualty is Mitsubishi’s Dakar rally team. Some expected this as Mitsubishi’s luck in the rally took a down turn this year after it won the event 7 times running. It could be the new V6 diesel-based Racing Lancer (shown above), or simply because its opponents got better.

“It is extremely regrettable. I am sorry for our fans. We were a good team too. Since 2004, we continued to participate in the rally even in difficult times by cutting costs. We gained much technologically during this time. It pains me to say we will no longer be able to participate,” said president MMC Osamu Masuko.

According to Mitsubishi, pulling out from the race will cost it some money but in the long run it would be saving money. This decision comes after announcing an expected net loss of 60 billion yen (670 million dollars) for the current financial year to March, attributed to dropping sales and a strengthening Yen.

18 Comments