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New Honda Civic facelift launched in Malaysia!

March 19, 2009 at 3:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Civic Facelift

After its initial launch in March 2006, the Honda Civic has been facelifted in Malaysia. It continues as a locally assembled model from Honda’s Pegoh plant and is available in two variants, the Civic 2.0S and Civic 1.8S.

There are not much changes to the car really, it’s only an aesthetics update. It could be a case of overengineering with the first edition with the aim for it to be so far ahead of its rivals, with not much budget or reason to change left for the facelift. Or a recession “facelift”. There is a new front bumper that is reminiscent of the Civic Type R’s, as well as a new larger grille. The headlamps are now smoked.

Civic Facelift

Minimal changes on the rear, only with a minor change in the tail lamp design where it uses a diamond-shaped design instead of a round one now. The alloy wheels for the 17 inch model have also been updated to the 10-spoke design you see above, and they look quite chrome-ish shiny instead of matte in real life.

Civic FabricOn the interior, only the Civic 1.8 gets updated with a new design for the fabric seats. The colour remains similiar to the outgoing pre-facelift version but there is now a pattern, so no more bathroom towel interior (photo left, click to enlarge).

The Civic is available in Crystal Black Pearl, Alabaster Silver Metallic, Sparkle Gray Pearl and Bold Beige Metallic. As I understand there will be a new shade of blue coming later. As for pricing – RM 129,980.00 OTR with insurance for the Honda Civic 2.0S and RM 114,980.00 OTR with insurance for the Civic 1.8S. Warranty is a total of 3 years or 100,000km and there is also a 6 months or 10,000km free service package. The battery is warrantied for 2 years or 40,000km.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Civic.
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All-electric Lotus Exige by Ecotricity

March 19, 2009 at 11:34 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Lotus

Ecotricity is a British-based wind energy company and to help promote the usage of electric vehicles in the U.K, the company initiated the development process to produce an all electric Lotus Exige about seven months ago. The car which is now in its final stage of development is able to accelerate to the 100 km/h point in about 4 second all the way to a top speed of 225 km/h.

Ecotricity, which has an ultimate goal of seeing only electric cars in the U.K, assembled six highly trained engineers to work on the project. Collectively, all six engineers have worked on the development of the De Lorean, Jaguar XJR15, Corvette ZR1, Lotus Elan as well as the legendary McLaren F1 super car. Ecotricity also encourages electric vehicles to be recharged via its wind power turbine farms, but also revealed that the electric Exige can be recharged via a house hold power outlet.

The modified Lotus Exige now features a 90mm extended chassis, Brushless electric motors from America, a 96 lithium-ion polymer battery pack from Korea and LED turn indicators. The project, which thus far is worth GBP 200,000, will go into its testing stage in a couple weeks. Ecotricity also revealed that by using electric vehicles in a large scale, U.K can cut down oil usage by 25 million tonnes, and total emissions output in the country can be reduced by 12%.

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Porsche reveals five key innovations for its Panamera

March 19, 2009 at 10:54 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Porsche

With the launch of the Porsche Panamera expected to take place at the Shangai Motor Show next month, the Stuttgart-based sports car maker has revealed five key innovations that will debut with the 4 door Panamera. A number of these innovations are things which we are already familiar with, but these features, for the first time will be implemented in the Panamera’s market segment.

First up on the list in the automatic start/stop system in conjunction with an automatic transmission. The start/stop system is coupled with Porsche’s PDK transmission that helps the Panamera to deliver 100 kilometers with 10.8 litres of fuel based on the new European driving cycle. To help improve fuel efficiency, the Panamera also comes with tires that feature minimum roll resistance.

Next up is the adaptive air suspension with additional air volume on demand. Basically, the driver can add more volume into the system on demand, that will then change the characteristics of the Gran Turismo. This system is standard for the Panamera Turbo, and optional for Panamera S and Panamera 4S.

Then, there is also an active aerodynamics system with a 4-way adjustable rear spoiler that moves up when required on the Panamera Turbo. Via its efficient management of control angles and surface geometry geared to driving conditions, the rear spoiler optimizes the Panamera’s aerodynamics, which can then help improve down force at high speeds.

The Panamera is also the first car in its segment that comes with a complete cover on the under-floor that extends to the drivetrain tunnel and rear-end silencers. This feature helps reduce both air resistance and lift forces on the axles, which in practice means lower fuel consumption and higher driving dynamics.

Lastly, the Panamera also features a lightweight construction technology typical of a sports car, that uses advanced production methods and materials. Such materials include all kinds of steel grades, light alloys such as aluminium and magnesium, as well as plastics.

The lightweight doors also feature a load-bearing structure made of laser-treated pressure-cast aluminium, an aluminium outer skin and door window frames made of thin-walled pressure-cast magnesium. This enables the Panamera S, which also features adjustable rear seats to feature an overall weight that is rated at 1,770 kilograms. Continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Tazzari Zero electric vehicle to hit the North American market by 2010

March 19, 2009 at 10:36 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Italian-based Tazzari revealed that it will offer its Zero electric vehicle in North America by 2010, via Verdek-EV, which is a company appointed to represent Tazzari in regions such as North America, Mexico and the Caribbean islands. The Tazzari Zero is a fully electric 2 door super mini that is powered by a 15kW asynchronous AC centrally mounted motor, that is also good for 150Nm of torque. The 542 kilograms electric-mobile is also able to sprint to 100 km/h in just 5 seconds, which is impressive. Top speed is rated at 80 km/h.

With a Li-ion Fe battery pack which takes about 9 hours for a full recharge via a household power outlet, the Zero is capable of delivering 140 kilometers in terms of driving range. The Zero which measures 2884 mm in length, 1550 mm in width and 1400 mm in height, also features four driving modes that include “Race” for performance driving with race like feel, “Rain” for driving in wet conditions, “Standard” for daily use and “Economy” to get the most mileage from a full charge.

The Tazzari Zero is scheduled for its first public appearance at the Bologna International Motor Show in December and Tazzari revealed that in Europe, the Zero will carry price tag which is slightly less than 20,000 Euros. Standard features include 15 inch alloy wheels finished in Anthracite, electronic anti-theft device with remote control and immobilizer, radio stereo RDS with mp3 and CD player, removable venting ultra view sunroof, eco-leather seats, standard battery charger for 9 hours charge time and a 12V outlet for phone recharge and LED tail lights.

Other options include white or black paint finish for the wheels and either a Multifast battery charger or a Superfast battery charger. The Multifast charger can fully recharge the electric car in 6 hours while the latter can recharge the Zero up to 80% in just 50 minutes. Continue reading to view more images.
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Scion to unveil a micro-subcompact concept car in New York

March 19, 2009 at 10:23 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars

Scion has revealed that it will be presenting a micro-subcompact concept car at the upcoming New York Auto Show. The auto brand did not reveal anything else, other than the concept reflects Scion’s youthful image and represents a new segment for the brand aimed toward the growing urbanization trend.

But we are 99.9% sure that Scion is actually talking about a re-badged version of the Toyota iQ micro car for the U.S market. If this is the case, which I am sure it is, expect Scion to fit the new 1.33 litre engine with a dual VVT-i system that is capable of 99HP into the engine bay. The engine can be mated to either a 6 speed manual or a CVT transmission while fuel consumption figure with the manual tranny is rated at 58.9 miles to the gallon, and 55.4 miles to the gallon with the CVT.

To help improve fuel efficiency, the new engine comes with Toyota’s Optimal Drive technology as well as an engine Stop & Start technology. The Toyota iQ was also recently awarded with a 5-star Euro NCAP rating.

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Proton Exora set for 15th April 2009 launch!

March 18, 2009 at 10:49 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Exora - Proton MPV 2009

Proton Exora

Proton’s first 7-seater MPV the Proton Exora will be launched on the 15th of April 2009, if everything goes well. That is very close, less than a month from now!

Proton has pulled many unexpected but welcome and pleasant moves with the launch of this MPV. The first is of course letting a few journalists try the MPV out. Another is actually letting customers who have taken the leap of faith and placed a RM1,000 deposit for the MPV without even seeing it yet, actually see it!

all seats
airbags
seat-folding
aircond color

Yes, a few customers who have placed bookings were invited to Proton’s test track sometime ago for them to sample the MPV that they will soon own. One such customer had a very amusing reason for buying the MPV, as can be read in Business Times interview with some of the buyers:

“I originally wanted to buy a Proton Satria Neo CPS for my wife, who likes driving fast. But to curb her interest for her own good, I decided to get her an Exora. She doesn’t know that I’m buying her the car. If she doesn’t like it, I may have to buy her the Neo CPS,” said T.K. How from Puchong.

Anyway you can check out the rest of the comments here.

Related Posts:
Proton Exora Prototype Test Drive Experience
Proton Exora MPV: Body Control Module and more juicy details
Proton Exora features list teaser scan
Proton Exora MPV meter panel and dashboard textures in high resolution
Proton Exora MPV teaser scans: flat-folding seats
Proton Exora 7-seater MPV interior details revealed

313 Comments      

BMW’s Quandt family is against the Daimler/BMW cross ownership plan

March 18, 2009 at 11:08 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

After reporting that top German auto makers BMW and Daimler are planning to perform a cross ownership a couple of days ago, and both companies may exchange up to 7% of shares among each other, German-based Der Spiegel magazine has now revealed the BMW’s single largest shareholder, the Quandt family which holds 46% of the Munich based auto maker is against such a deal.

As mentioned earlier, the Quandt family is worried that Daimler, which owns the Mercedes Benz brand might end up wanting to take over BMW, just like how it took over Chrysler in the later 1990’s. However, an interview with a BMW executive revealed that the 7% exchange in shares is just a speculation in the first place, and that both companies only have an agreement to share purchasing costs for certain parts.

This means that nothing is concrete, since one is saying a different thing, while the other is saying another. We will just have to play the waiting game. On the different note, BMW has a similar agreement with PSA Peugeot Citroen, where BMW develops the 1.6 litre petrol engine, which is mostly found in the MINI and in return, the PSA Group helps drive down production costs for both companies with its high purchasing power.

The deal is for 1 million engines where BMW keeps 200,000 for itself, while the PSA Peugeot Citroen keeps 800,000. This is why you can find the 1.6 litre engine from the MINI in the recently launched Peugeot 308. BMW is also planning to work together with Fiat to develop new platforms for small sized vehicles, which may spawn the production of the BMW Isetta and the Fiat Topolino.

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Porsche 997 V-RT Edition Turbo

March 18, 2009 at 10:59 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Porsche

Vorsteiner V-RT (Vorsteiner Race Technologies) has revealed a new styling package for the 997 Porsche 911 Carrera. The styling package consists of an aerodynamic body kit as well as a new set of wheels.

The aerodynamic body kit, which is mostly made of carbon fiber features larger front air intakes, a new rear bumper with twin-finned carbon fiber rear diffuser for the quad exhaust and larger side vents to improve airflow, a carbon fiber wing that help improves downforce and a carbon composite engine lid with extra air scoops to channel more air into this 997. Just like the GT2 version, Vorsteiner had to let the front fog lamps lose, to make way for a removable carbon fiber front spoiler.

The new 20-inch V306 wheels feature a twin, 7 spoke design with a centre mesh. These wheels are wrapped with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 sports tires. Please continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Alpina’s works its magic on the BMW 3 Series: D3 Bi-Turbo

March 18, 2009 at 10:38 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars

Alpina, which has been officially categorized as an automobile manufacturer since 1983, has revealed the BMW 3 Series-based D3 Bi-Turbo, after unveiling the 7 Series-based Alpina B7 and the 6 Series-based Alpina B6 GT3 race car at the Geneva Motor Show.

The auto maker has dropped in a 4 cylinder turbo diesel, derived from the BMW 1 Series (123d), which with Alpina’s touch, can now develop 214HP (from 204HP) that can propel the D3 to the 100 km/h mark in 6.9 seconds, all the way up to a top speed of 244 km/h.

Thanks to the diesel engine with twin turbos, torque figure is rated at an impressive 450Nm. Fuel consumption wise, the manual version of the D3 Bi-Turbo returns 52.3 miles to the gallon (overall EU) and produces 143 grams of emissions per kilometer. With the automatic transmission on board, it returns 50.4 miles to the gallon, while releasing 150 grams of emissions per kilometer.

This fuel efficient performance car is sold with the full specifications, leaving a potential buyer to choose between a manual or an automatic tranny as well as exterior colour and interior trim levels. The Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo with a manual transmission goes for GBP 29, 950 which is slightly cheaper than a less powerful 320d M Sport that costs GBP 30, 185. The D3 with the automatic option can be purchased for GBP 31, 585. Continue reading to view one more image.
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Fiat Grande Punto X-Factor: Inspired by the TV Show, and produced for the Dutch market

March 18, 2009 at 10:28 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Fiat

Italian-based auto maker, Fiat which is being linked with BMW to co-develop platforms for small sized vehicles has released the Fiat Grande Punto X-Factor, specially for the Dutch market. And, yes, as the name suggests, its a special model inspired by the hit reality TV show, X-Factor.

X-Factor, as many of you would know is a U.K-based singing contest which has helped bring people like Leona Lewis into the music scene. She is also the voice behind the “A Moment Like This” hit number. Anyway, enough of Leona Lewis and back to the Punto Grande.

With a price tag of 14,595 Euros, the Fiat Grande Punto X-Factor comes with a number of features such as a CD/MP3 radio with 6 speakers and control commands on the steering wheel, air conditioning, alarm with remote control, seat covers with special “Sport” padding, 16 inch alloy whees, rear spoiler and fog lamps. Buyers of this model will also receive free tickets to attend the X-Factor TV show. Imagine a Proton Saga One In A Million.

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