Of course he’d need his Storm Trooper backup too.
You know, to do all the dirty work if he gets a flat tyre.
Source (larger image)
Tesla releases teaser of Model S electric sedan
February 16, 2009 at 1:29 am Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Tesla Motors
Click to enlarge
The future of Tesla and its upcoming Tesla Model S sedan is still doubtful, but that doesn’t stop us from getting excited about this new teaser image that the company have released, leading up to the official unveiling scheduled to be held on the 26th of March 2009. The profile shows a 4-door sedan but with sporty proportions, perhaps what an enlarged Mazda RX-8 would look like.
This will be interesting as we’ll get to check out what design language path Tesla is treading down, because its first model the Tesla Roadster has too much influence of its base model in it, the Lotus Elise. The Model S was first referred to as Project WhiteStar, and is expected to have a range of about 386km, with a price tag of US$60k, much cheaper than the Roadster’s US$109k pricetag.
APM: How Fuel Prices Are Calculated in Malaysia
February 15, 2009 at 7:13 pm Filed Under Malaysian Fuel Prices
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry Domestic Trade Division Senior Director Ismail Ahmad has revealed to all how the price of petrol and diesel at the pump is calculated in Malaysia.
The formula used to calculate the price of fuel is called the Automatic Pricing Mechanism (in place since 1983) and its function is to stabilize the price of petrol and diesel in the country to a certain extent, via a variable amount sales tax and subsidy, so the retail price only has to be changed if the difference in price exceeds the threshold of the tax and subsidy, at the discretion of the government.
In the table on the left, you can see that the Cost Of Product is not derived from the price of Crude Oil on the NYMEX, but it is based on the Mean of Platts Singapore (MOPS). The cost is the already refined product, which means the refinery cost are already included and indexed in the MOPS.
You may ask what exactly is the MOPS? Many countries in this region base their fuel prices on the MOPS, including alot of ASEAN countries and even Australia. The index is tracked, assessed and updated by Platts, a McGraw-Hill company in Singapore and is based on the daily average of all trading transactions between buyer and seller of petroleum-based products.
A buyer of a finished (refined) oil product will refer to the MOPS index as a better indicator/benchmark of world prices rather than crude oil prices. The MOPS price typically has a premium over the crude oil prices. This is why the Malaysian government uses MOPS to determine fuel prices rather than NYMEX crude oil prices. Unfortunately it is hard to track MOPS prices as individuals because the data is only available to those who purchase it, unlike the publicly available charts from the NYMEX.
Next up is “Alpha”, which is fixed at 5 sen per litre for petrol and 4 sen per litre for diesel. This is sort of a buffer for the oil companies. If the price of the product that the oil companies buy is higher than the MOPS published price, and the difference is higher than Alpha, the oil company will bear the extra cost, and vice versa.
Operational costs should be self explanatory. They are set at 9.54 sen per litre, 8.98 sen per litre and 8.13 sen per litre for the Peninsular, Sabah and Sarawak respectively. Operational costs cover transport and marketing costs. Then comes where the oil companies make money, which is set at 5 sen per litre for petrol and 2.25 sen per litre for diesel. The stations make more money per litre of petrol – 12.19 sen per litre for petrol and 7 sen per litre for diesel.
Sales tax and subsidies are combined. According to the Sales Tax Act 1972 (this is not something new!), the government CAN collect a maximum sales tax of 58.62 sen per litre for petrol and 19.64 sen per litre for diesel. This comes into effect when the real price of petrol and diesel at the pumps are lower than the fixed retail price. The government can pocket this, or it can revise the fixed fuel price to be lower to remove the difference in price so the savings go into the rakyat’s pocket.
On the other hand, if the fixed retail price is lower than the actual cost of the petrol and diesel at the pumps, the government can pay a subsidy of the same range. Right now the government says it will give a maximum subsidy of 30 sen per litre instead of the maximum allowable subsidy of 58.62 sen per litre, IF NEEDED. This 30 sen maximum subsidy is as part of an improved Automatic Pricing Mechanism, which the Ismail Ahmad says is designed to stabilize fuel retail prices and allow industry players to manage expenditure in a more orderly manner.
Nissan and Chrysler cancel 2 joint car projects
February 15, 2009 at 9:32 am Filed Under Cars, Chrysler, International News, Nissan
Scrapped small car project could have been the Dodge Hornet
Chrysler and Nissan originally planned to expand their current cooperation of marketing the Nissan Versa in South America as the Dodge Trazo with another two cars – another Chrysler-designed Nissan (Japanese)-built small car (dare we say this might be the Dodge Hornet?) and a full-sized Nissan pick-up based on a Chrysler (next gen Nissan Titan). But right now in face of a depressing economy and unfavorable dollar to yen exchange rates, that plan has been put on hold. The Versa project will go on as planned.
Other than the Versa, there are also other third-party sourced small cars sold there, such as the Hyundai Atos and the Hyundai Accent, sold as the Dodge Atos and Dodge Attitude respectively. Word is that the Versa-based Trazo will replace the Attitude as Hyundai has officially entered the Mexican market.
The word is that the cancellation/postponement of the other two vehicle projects have nothing to do with the recent involvement of Fiat in the American company, but it’s just that the projects were a deal done during better times, which unfortunately have ended what feels like a long time ago.
BMW Concept 5-Series GT versus Mercedes-Benz ConceptFASCINATION
February 15, 2009 at 8:37 am Filed Under BMW, Cars, Concept Cars, Mercedes Benz
Is it a coincidence that both arch-rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz chose to showcase their next generation D-segment luxury cars (5-Series and E-Class) in concept form as a coupe-estate-crossover of sorts? They also both feature plush interiors with only 4 seats, but 4 that are dedicated to offering a very high level of comfort.
The only difference is while the ConceptFASCINATION remains just that for now – a concept car, the BMW Concept 5-Series Gran Turismo will actually get a production version, one that BMW says will hit spot on at a certain target group – the aging deep-pocketed customer who finds the traditional 5-Series seating position too sporty and the BMW X6′s seating position too high and imposing.
Given that sometimes these car manufacturers actually emulate each other, especially if they see their competitor’s new niche product gaining commercial success (look at all the new 4-door coupes out there), if the 5-Series GT hits the jackpot, will we see the ConceptFASCINATION design enter production status sometime in the future?
Mazda RX-8 to be renamed RX-9 in next generation, will be joined by new RX-7
February 15, 2009 at 8:17 am Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda
Edmunds Inside Line has an insider scoop story about the future of Mazda’s rotary engine cars. According to their sources, the company is working on a new Mazda RX-7, and a next generation Mazda RX-8 is also in the works but will be called the Mazda RX-9.
What’s wrong with the RX-8 name you ask? Probably nothing, I think the change is being made to bring the naming scheme in line with what they have with the SUVs, the Mazda CX-7 and CX-9. The engine powering these new sports cars will be a production version of the RENESIS 16X, with its displacement upped to 1.6 litres thanks to dual 800cc rotors instead of the current 1.3 litre dual 654cc rotor design. Fuel economy will also be improved by 20%, much needed to help the RENESIS shed its fuel guzzler reputation.
The 16X will also be getting a twin clutch 6-speed transmission, which will finally allow automatic versions of the RX cars to rev as high as their manual counterparts, since a twin clutch transmission’s internals are more similiar to a manual gearbox than a slushbox. The only thing is with the introduction of a twin clutch, will there still be a manual version?
Maxximus G-Force’s 7.0L twin-turbo V8 takes it up to 60mph in 2.1 seconds
February 15, 2009 at 6:44 am Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News
The Maxximus G-Force accelerates from 0 to 60mph (96.6km/h) in just 2.1 seconds. If you want to get to 161km/h, that’s takes just 4.54 seconds, faster than some automatic transmission cars take just to get 1st gear done with and get to 2nd gear.
Braking power is equally impressive – 0 to 161km/h and back to 0 takes 8.86 seconds. Now that beats the Bugatti Veyron’s 0 to 60mph time of 2.46 seconds, and the 0-100-0mph time of 9.9 seconds.
As for top speed, there are no official quotes yet but it will have to beat the SSC Ultimate Aero TT record holder which has touched 257mph (413.6km/h), thanks to its 1,287hp 6.35 litre twin-turbo V8 with 1507Nm of torque.
The Maxximus G-Force’s engine sounds even more massive – a 7.0 litre twin-turbo V8 built by Chevrolet that they claim to be putting out a scary 2,100 horsepower (1,600 at the wheels claimed) thanks to its Turbonetics turbochargers. Since the car is supposed to be lighter than the Ultimate Aero TT, it may just surpass the Aero TT’s top speed and hold the new record for the faster street-legal car around.
The men behind the car are an Indiana businessman financier David McMahan and a race car-driving chauffeur designer, Marlon Kirby. The price for one of these? US$3 million. The car is based on the Ultima GTR 720 but with the engine and gearbox replaced by the new units. And it’s just insane.
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Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen Low-Res Trailer Appears On The Internet!
It’s finally here – the first proper full-length trailer for the eagerly awaited Transformers 2 – Revenge of the Fallen movie! But unfortunately it’s in a very low resolution. This particular version of the trailer was recorded in a cinema with a phone-cam or something, so please enjoy this first after the jump and wait for the high-res version to be released, I’ll post it up here then. The first two related videos we had was a teaser from the Superbowl and another promotional cut by the movie studio for the movie’s sponsor General Motors, who have a multitude of cars featured in the movie including the Chevrolet Camaro, the GMC Topkick, the Chevrolet Volt, the Chevrolet Beat and the Chevrolet Trax.
UPDATE: The official high-res version it out, watch it here.
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Shahrir: ex-refinery prices have not come down so pump prices will not come down
February 15, 2009 at 2:20 am Filed Under Malaysian Fuel Prices
Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Abdul Samad says the ex-refinery prices of petrol and diesel in Malaysia have not dropped in tandem with crude oil prices so there is unlikely for prices at the pump to come down, or go up either. He added that ex-refinery prices are not openly available. Apparently ex-refinery prices used to move together with crude oil prices but now it is no longer the case, but he did not elaborate why it was no longer the case.
2010 Mazda CX-7 facelift: now happier!
February 15, 2009 at 2:02 am Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda
Mazda has given its popular CX-7 a nip and tuck so it has a matching happy smiley face that the Japanese company seems to be giving all of its models. While the huge gaping air intakes in the front bumper might be useful for the powerful 2.3L DISI Turbo version of the SUV with 244hp at 5,000rpm and 350Nm of torque at 2,500rpm, it’s probably overkill for the new 2.5 litre unit that’ll be slotted into this car, first introduced in the new Mazda 6.
The new baseline engine produces 161hp at 6,000rpm and 218Nm of torque at 3,500rpm, obviously tuned to suit an SUV application as the same unit in the Mazda 6 makes 228Nm at a higher 4,000rpm point.
Mazda says other than the obvious aesthetics changes, build quality and NVH levels for the new car has also been improved, while the interior gauges get a new blackout design and a new 3.5 inch STN monochrome and 4.1 inch TFT colour multi-info display at the top of the instrument panel to display driver information. The in-car audio now features Bluetooth for handsfree as well as music streaming. The CX-9′s blind-spot monitoring system is now available on the CX-7 as well.
Look after the jump for a few more shots of the facelifted CX-7.
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