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Another first for Toyota: a rear center airbag!

March 26, 2009 at 4:36 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Technology, Toyota

Toyota Rear Center Airbag

In a car crash we have side airbags for side impacts but in cases where there are two or more passengers in the rear, they can end up hitting each other. Toyota’s solution for this is a new rear-seat center airbag which deploys between the rear passenger seats. It is fitted in a fixed rear-seat center console, and will debut in a production Toyota soon. Another first in the world of airbags for Toyota recently was the Toyota iQ’s rear curtain airbag, necessary because the rear passengers are so near the rear window.

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PDRM’s Lancer Evolution: Helang Lebuhraya Polis

March 26, 2009 at 2:30 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mitsubishi

PDRM Helang Evo
PDRM Helang Evo

Buletin Utama featured the Royal Malaysian Police’s new Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X cars yesterday night. PDRM says the Evos will be used in high-speed car chases, particularly in cases of carjacking, kidnapping and highjacking.

Police personnel assigned to the vehicles have undergone intensive driving classes to ensure they are able to drive the Lancers effectively, said a PDRM source. The cars are equipped with 5-speed manual transmissions instead of the twin clutch version that we are able to buy from Mitsubishi Malaysia. We first saw the cars without decals, but now they have decals and are called “Helang Lebuhraya Polis”.

Check out a clip of the feature after the jump which features the current PM in his last days check out the ride and giving it his thumbs up. Perhaps we may see a unit or a mock-up unit featured in Yusof Haslam’s Gerak Khas eh? ;)
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New Shell Ferrari 1:38 model cars with Touch Steering feature!

March 26, 2009 at 11:50 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ferrari, Local News

Shell Cars

The Shell Ferrari model cars are back again! Shell releases these cars with a new feature every year and last year was the engine sounds of course. This year the cars have abit more intelligence in them.

See the thing is these are Ferraris which are supposed to be able to scream through corners like they’re on rails but the previous cars only go straight like American dragsters! So Shell has solved this – this year the 1:38 scale cars can actually turn!

Shell calls this feature “Touch Steering”. There is a directional button underneath which you can press to store up to 15 different directions. A microchip inside reads these commands and stores them, and controls the front wheels to steer.

Watch how it works:

I think this is quite a good feature, because after all alot of kids are going to play with these cars. A kid can set up his own little race circuit in his living room hall or playroom and then program the car to race through the circuit. This extends the lifespan of the toy before the kid gets bored with it as it opens up a whole new world other than just a toy car going straight into the wall.

Shell also did a TVC featuring Michael Schumacher:

5 cars are offered, which are the 430 Scuderia, FXX Evoluzione, 599 GTB Fiorano, 612 Scaglietti and the 360 GTC. The cars are RM6.90 with a minimum purchase of RM40 of Shell V-Power Racing, or RM8.90 with a minimum purchase of RM40 of Shell Super or Shell Diesel.

The yellow 599 GTB Fiorano and red 430 Scuderia re only available at RM6.90 with the purchase of 4L Shell Helix Ultra or Shell Helix Diesel HX7 or RM8.90 with every purchase of 3L/4L Shell Helix HX5.

There is also a play mat and a display garage set for RM15 and RM60 respectively.

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Hyundai BLUE-WILL Concept set for Seoul debut

March 26, 2009 at 10:06 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Hyundai, Koreans

Hyundai BLUE-WILL

Hyundai’s BLUE-WILL concept is scheduled to be displayed at the 2009 Seoul Motor Show this year, which will start on the 2nd of April 2009. Looks like Hyundai decided to create some kinda 4-door CRX of sorts.

Under the hood is a hybrid powertrain much like the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid, but much more beefed up, since its a concept. The electric motor alone puts out 100kW, or 134 horsepower, and this is addition to a 1.6 litre engine that has gasoline direct injection, which should be good for another 120 horses or so.

Like the Forte LPI Hybrid, power for the electric motor is stored in a Lithium Ion Polymer battery pack neatly bundled with the fuel tank under the rear seat in order to maximise luggage space. The upcoming Elantra LPI Hybrid will also feature a Li-Po battery.

Hyundai has also incorporated dye-sensitized solar cells in the panoramic glass roof to generate power for the batteries.

More details at the Seoul 2009 show, look after the jump for two more photos of the BLUE-WILL (Blue Whale?!).
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Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster Concept

March 26, 2009 at 9:52 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz F-CELL Roadster Concept

First of all, what’s with the bicycle wheels??? Actually this is more like an extreme example of retro-futurism as all the first few cars including Henry Ford’s had wheels that looked like this. In actual fact its a modern reenactment of the Benz Patent Motorwagen. This is Mercedes-Benz’s F-CELL Roadster Concept.

It’s powered by a fuel cell located at the rear producing just 1.2 kilowatts, or 1.6 horsepower. It has a range of 350km and a top speed of 25km/h. Perfect for navigating golf courses in style? Check out more hi-res shots after the jump.
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Kia Forte LPI Hybrid 1.6L unveiled for Korea!

March 25, 2009 at 8:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Kia, Koreans

Kia Forte LPI Hybrid
Click for enlarged image

The Koreans just keep getting better and better. Kia has simultaneously unveiled two things today, its Eco Dynamics green brand and the new Kia Forte LPI Hybrid for the Korean domestic market.

Kia Forte LPI HybridEco Dynamics is Kia’s equivalent to BMW efficient dynamics, Volkswagen bluemotion, Toyota Optimal Drive, and etc. Hyundai has its own called Blue Drive. Vehicles that incorporate hybrid technologies as well as other fuel saving features will wear the Eco Dynamics badge. Kia has already demonstrated its own Idle-Stop-Go system in a Kia c’eed in Europe.

The Kia Forte LPI Hybrid runs on Liquefied Petroleum Gas (used in Korea, we use CNG here in our NGVs) and its 1.6 litre Gamma LPI HEV engine is assisted by an electric motor sandwiched between the engine and the CVT gearbox. Power output is 114 PS and a peak torque of 148Nm. The electric motor draws power from a lithium-polymer battery, which is the first use in a production hybrid car. Li-Po is lighter and more compact compared to NiMH batteries.

Kia claims a fuel efficiency of 17.2 km per litre for the Forte LPI Hybrid, or an estimated 21.5km per litre if the engine used gasoline for combustion instead. As LPG is roughly two thirds the price of petrol in Korea, Kia says the Forte LPI Hybrid would save its owner 980,000 Korean won a year, or RM2,600+ if driven 20,000km a year.

No shots of the interior have been released by Kia PR but the interior uses a Super Vision cluster to display hybrid system data and a navigation display. The Super Vision cluster is essentially Kia’s word for an EL self-illuminating meter panel.

Look after the jump for more photos of the Kia Forte LPI Hybrid!
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VIRAL: MINI Clubman – have you seen that?

March 25, 2009 at 7:25 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Videos

MINI Clubman Viral

BMW’s MINI in their usual quirky spirit have released a new viral video related to the MINI Clubman. There are alot of interesting “stunts” in the video, which shows two dudes cruising on the Autobahn tailing what appears to be two MINI Clubmans driven by potential stunt drivers. It gets interesting from the 50 second mark onwards where we’ll see the people in the video “awaken from the Matrix”, watch the video and you’ll know what I’m talking about!
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The Terrafugia Transition: a car that can fly?

March 25, 2009 at 6:35 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Videos

Terrafugia Transition

Ask alot of adults past middle age what they thought the current millenium would be like and I’m sure some of them would have expected flying cars. That’s not happened yet, we haven’t even gotten past the internal combustion engine properly yet, and car manufacturers are divided between hydrogen and electric.

There has to be a first, and this might be it – the Terrafugia Transition. They don’t call it a flying car though, instead its official definition is a “roadable light sport aircraft”, which means its first and foremost an aircraft.

According to Terrafugia flying it is alot like a regular plane and someone only needs 20 hours of flight time in a Transition-specific course if he starts from scratch. For existing pilots its even easier – just a familiarization training that’s included with the purchase.

Terrafugia Transition

The Terrafugia transition can cruise at 100 knots or over 180km/h. It burns 5 gallons per hour from a 20 gallon fuel tank. On the road, it achieves 30mpg at highway speeds. No top speed has been mentioned so I suspect this is actually quite low although the minimum of highway accepted speeds should be achievable, likely due to conflict of aerodynamics design.

While its wings can be folded and you can park it at your house and even in your garage, You can’t just take off immediately as it isn’t a VTOL aircraft. VTOL means vertical take-off and landing, those that have played Command & Conquer before would be familiar with this – remember the Orca?

Instead, you’ll have to “drive” the Transition to your nearest runway and take off there like a normal plane. It’s front wheel drive, by the way. The cost has not been finalised yet but a rough estimate has been pegged at US$ 194,000!

It recently performed its maiden flight which lasted only 37 seconds before it landed again. “The first flight is great, but first landing is what matters,” said Terrafugia co-founder Anna Mracek Dietrich.

Look after the jump for a few photos of the car/plane.
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Tata Nano officially goes on sale, delivery in July!

March 25, 2009 at 10:50 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Tata, Tata Nano

Tata Nano

The Tata Nano is officially here and on sale! Bear in mind this is the Indian domestic market version and not the larger, more well-equipped version that was showcased as the Tata Nano Europa recently.

The Indian version of the Nano will go on sale from the 1st of April onwards at Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships and other select authorised outlets, available in 3 variants – Standard, CX and LX, with a 24,000km or 18 month warranty. The cheapest one is priced at 1 lakh as promised, but only when it leaves the factory, after that it gets some other costs tagged on including shipping, taxes and registration.

The Tata Nano has its engine mounted at the back, a 624cc 2-cylinder aluminium multi-port fuel injection engine mated to a 4-speed transmission. The engine produces 35 PS at 5,250rpm and 48Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, with a top speed of 105km/h.

Not much power, but the car weighs only 600kg. It can negotiate a maximum of a 30% grade incline. Fuel efficiency is rated at 23.6 km/litre, certified by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) under mandated test conditions – this is said to be the most fuel efficient petrol car in India.

Tata Nano

The Nano measures just 3,100mm long, with a width of 1,500mm and a height of 1,600mm. Tata claims despite it having the smallest exterior footprint of any car in India, it is 21% more spacious than the smallest car available today.

The Standard is very bare, with 3 colour options, single-tone seats and a fold-down rear bench. If you notice, it doesn’t even have side view mirrors. The CX adds 2 more colours, climate control, two-tone seats, a parcel shelf, boost-assisted brakes, and a fold-down rear seat with a nap rest.

The highest grade LX model adds complete fabric seats, central locking, front power windows, body-coloured bumpers and etc, fog lamps, an electronic trip meter, a front console cup holder, a mobile charger point, and a rear spoiler.

There is limited capacity at the moment, as Tata’s Sanand plant is not ready yet in terms of capacity. The State Bank of India will be managing the Nano’s bookings. Application forms will be sold at Rs. 300 from 30,000 locations in 10,000 cities – Tata Motors Passenger Car dealerships, State Bank of India and its branches, its subsidiaries and associates, other preferred financiers, and outlets of Westside, Croma, ‘World of Titan’ and Tata Indicom exclusive stores.

Tata Nano Interior

After one obtains the form, he can either pay the entire booking amount themselves or seek financing of the booking amount. Financing is available from 15 financial institutions, where a Nano can be booked for Rs. 2999.

After 60 days of the closure of bookings, Tata will use a lottery system to allocate the first 100,000 cars to be delivered in phase 1 of the delivery process. Deliveries will start in July 2009.

If you do not get selected for the first phase of delivery, unlike here where your booking fee gets stuck for ages if your car takes a long time to get delivered, customers will be eligible to interest on their booking fees – 8.5% for retention period between one year to two year and 8.75% for a retention period of more than 2 years.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Nano.

Related Posts:
The Tata Nano: how did they manage to make it so cheap?
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Blue Energy Co Ltd: Honda and GS Yuasa JV

March 25, 2009 at 9:07 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda Yuasa

GS Yuasa and Honda have announced the name of their new JV company – Blue Energy Co Ltd. It will be established on the 1st of April 2009 and will focus on the manufacturing, sales and R&D activities for high-performance lithium-ion batteries aimed at hybrid vehicle usage.

Blue Energy will be based in Minami-ku, Kyoto and will have 3 billion yen of capital, with a possible increase of capital and capital surplus to 15 billion yen. The investment will be 51% GS Yuasa and 49% Honda Motor. Its president and CEO will be Masahiko Oshitani from GS Yuasa.

A factory for Blue Energy wlil be built next to GS Yuasa’s existing site in Osadano, Kyoto. Blue Energy’s first manufacturing job will be the GS Yuasa EH6, a lithium ion battery that has already been developed.

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