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Scion iQ Concept with widebody kit at NYIAS 09

April 12, 2009 at 6:39 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Scion, Videos

Scion iQ

The Toyota iQ will be making it onto American shores in the form of a Scion. A concept version of the Scion-badged car was shown at the New York International Auto Show 2009 this week. But it was no regular iQ – it was slapped on a bodykit penned by a Californian company called Five Axis, giving it an aggressive wide-body look. But looks are all the aggression the 3+1 seater is going to get as under the hood is only a 93 horsepower 1.3 litre VVT-i engine driving the front wheels. But it does get TEIN Super Street coilovers and 18 inch wheels wrapped with Yokohama S.drive tyres.
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New Mazdaspeed 3 for the US market unveiled!

April 12, 2009 at 5:46 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda

Mazdaspeed 3

The hot hatch version of the facelifted smiley Mazda 3 has been unveiled at the NYIAS, joining the many many other cars that have been unveiled there by other manufacturers. While Ford chose to go with Volvo inline-5 engines for the hot hatch versions of the technically similiar Focus, Mazda developed their own turbocharged 2.3 litre direct injection online-4 engine for the Mazda 3 and Mazda 6.

The new Mazdaspeed 3 (also called the Mazda 3 MPS) comes in the 5-door body, and its engine puts out 263 horses at 5,500rpm and 380Nm of torque at 3,000rpm, not quite up there with the ultra-quick spooling ability of Volkswagen and BMW turbo engines but somehow only the European marques seem to be able to achieve that.

Mazdaspeed 3

The 6-speed transmission’s gear ratios (gear 2 to 5) have also been revised to be slightly taller to take advantage of all 380 Newton meters of torque. There is a torque management system which tries to rein in the torque steer based on which gear the car is in and the steering angle.

It’s got a Mazdaspeed bodykit of course. and 18 inch alloys based on the RX-8 design. The interior also has Mazdaspeed logos here and there with a predominantly black-based theme, and there is also an LED turbo boost gauge between the instrument panel gauges.

Look after the jump for a full high-res gallery!
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BMW X6 M to function as MotoGP 2009 safety car

April 12, 2009 at 4:43 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars
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One of the earliest ways for a Middle Eastern customer to see a BMW X6 M in action in person is at the MotoGP 2009 leg in Qatar, which happens right now during this weekend. It’s done up in a nice traditional M paint job which includes white paint and blue and BMW M stripes.

The BMW X6 M will function as a safety car alongside its sibling the BMW M6. The fact that they paired these two cars together further implies BMW marketing’s want to position this is a bona fide coupe, or a
Sports Activity Coupe to be precise.

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Mitsubishi Outlander GT Prototype has a new face and adds a mind-blowing… 10 horsepower?!

April 12, 2009 at 4:30 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Mitsubishi

Now which car do you think Mitsubishi is going to splice the Lancer GT’s nose on next. The Triton? The Colt has not been spared, despite it being a nice-looking tall-ish B-segment hatch originally. Now it’s a weird mini-me of the Lancer. The latest model to get the GT treatment is the Outlander.

Other than the new front end, the Outlander GT also gets new side mirrors. It has an aluminium polished roof panel that hepls lower the car’s center of gravity. it has been lowered slightly via a shorter and stiffer suspension system, and fitted with 19 inch OZ RAcing wheels hiding large Brembo discs and calipers behind them.

The little instrument panel between the two meter pods has been upgraded to a 3.5″ QVGA colour display. Mitsubishi is also using the vehicle to showcase its FUSE Handsfree Media Gateway, which features a Bluetooth handsfree with phonebook management and A2DP audio system, voice recognition, and a 40GB hard drive for Navteq GPS navigation data.

The SUV’s 3.0 litre SOHC MIVEC V6 engine has been upgraded from 220hp to 230hp, with the peak torque remaining the same but coming in earlier in the rev range. This is thanks to different camshaft timing and compression ratio. It is mated to a 6-speed auto with Idle Neutral Logic, which means it shifts to neutral automatically when you stop.

The all-wheel drive system has been upgrade to S-AWC, which features 3 selectable modes: “Normal”, “Snow” and “Traction”. This adjusts the power delivery according to various input data including throttle input, wheel speed, engine output, steering angle, gear selection, acceleration and yaw rate, and the data coming from the stability control sensors. Look after the jump for full gallery of the new shark-nosed Outlander.
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2010 Subaru Outback makes appearance at NYIAS

April 12, 2009 at 12:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru, Videos

2010 Subaru Outback

Probably part of the reason why the new Legacy looks so bad is likely because they designed it as an Outback first, then converted it to a sedan, or at least that’s how it looks like to me. The front as you’ve previously seen is rather fat and tall and made worse by the upward curving headlamps but it looks fine on a vehicle that’s meant to have a tall stance like the Outback.

Having said that, Subaru is still definitely abit lost in the design department here. While the Legacy had cues from the Lexus GS and the Accord, the Outback ends up looking like a Hyundai Santa Fe. This has been ongoing ever since the “flying vagina” grille of the previous generation Impreza and the pre-facelift Subaru Tribeca, which they promptly “fixed” in the facelift. Some people think any coverage is good coverage, so is any unique design a good design to Subaru?

2010 Subaru Outback

The Outback is a wagon version of the Legacy but has a 8.7 inch ground clearance for some minor offroading, together with its Symmetrical All-Wheel Drive capabilities. It has a swing-out roof rail, said to be the first vehicle in its segment to have one. Despite being bigger with a longer wheelbase its actually shorter than the outgoing model thanks to reduced overhangs.

The engine options are largely the same as the Legacy – a 170hp 2.5i mated to a 6-speed manual or the Lineartronic CVT, and a 256hp 3.6 litre boxer-6 engine mated to a 5-speed automatic. The boxer-6 car uses a planetary gear-type center differential with electronically controlled continuously variable hydraulic transfer clutch to divide engine power 45:55, adjustable in response to driving conditions. No 2.5 GT for this American model.

Look after the jump for more pix of the Outback.
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1000loveMINI Plant Oxford trip winners announced!

April 12, 2009 at 9:48 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

Chandrsekaran Ramasamy
1,000th customer Chandrsekaran A/L Ramasamy with his new MINI

Remember the 1000loveMINI contest? The 998th, 999th and 1000th MINI customer in Malaysia won a visit to the MINI Plant Oxford in the UK, and a limited edition MINI roof art for their car by Munkao, inspired from an Iban shield. The basic design is the same but the colour will be customised according to the choice of the winning customer’s MINIs.

The other part of the contest involved existing MINI customers and a photography challenge. One had to take a photo with her MINI and send it in with a photo caption. The winner was Khor Pee Lynn from Penang, whose slogan was I love my MINI because… it’s my love at first sight”. She will also get to join the 3 other winners to Plant Oxford.

There are a lot more photos here, check it out.

Related Posts:
MINI Production Triangle and Plant Oxford tour
MINI Collection Fashion Show

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Hyundai Nuvis Concept unveiled at NYIAS 2009

April 12, 2009 at 9:16 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Hyundai, Koreans

Hyundai Nuvis

This is the new Hyundai Nuvis, likely a preview of what’s coming up in the compact MPV segment for Hyundai. Perhaps we are looking at an early preview of the next generation Hyundai Matrix, or whatever they decide to call it.

Hyundai says its styling mimics the interplay of natural, fluid elements with more rigid surfaces and structures to create the illusion of constant motion. Hyundai’s designers studied the way water splits across and flows around the hull and sides of a boat, creating a wake, or the way wind shapes a snowdrift or flurries through trees.

And of course with it being a concept car you just have to top it off with outrageously large wheels – 22 inches in this case. To me somehow it reminded me of a scaled down Toyota Venza.

Hyundai Nuvis

Under the hood is Hyundai’s Hybrid Blue Drive system, which combines its 2.4 litre Theta II engine with a 30kW and 205Nm electric motor, mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. There is also a start-stop ignition system, and regenerative braking, features that are pretty much standard on any hybrid these days. The 270V batteries for the hybrid motor are of the compact lithium polymer type.

Interestingly Hyundai aims to be the number 1 brand in the US in terms of fuel economy by the year 2015, which is only 6 years from now. This means some fantastically efficient engines combined with lightweight construction.

Will Hyundai be able to pull it off?
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BMW developing powerful tri-turbo diesel engine?

April 11, 2009 at 4:30 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Rumours

BMW X5 M

The fact that there is now an SUV in the BMW M line-up opens a door to a whole lot of new possibilities, including the potential of a high performance M diesel SUV or a high performance diesel version of the X5/X6 that’s as powerful as M cars but without the badge, if they want to keep that last remaining bits of exclusivity.

After all, even though the Cayenne Diesel has specs that are abit of a bore, the most powerful Audi Q7 is the Audi Q7 V12 TDI.

The latest rumours to hit the web is the development of a tri-turbo diesel for this high performance diesel BMW X5 which could produce 354 horsepower and nearly 800Nm of torque. BMW’s star diesel powerplant right now is the all-aluminium N57B30 which makes 245 PS and 540Nm of torque.

Its most powerful diesel is a V8 from the E65/E66 745d, making 329 hp and 750Nm of torque. The tri-turbo diesel could slot above the 730d as an upmarket diesel model in the new F01/F02 7-Series. But all of these figures are still short of the Q7 V12′s 500 PS and collosal 1000Nm.

Tri-turbo engines are not new, though I’m not sure if any made it to production there are companies who have showcased concept engines. One of the more recent examples that also so happens to be a diesel is the concept Mercedes-Benz SLK320 CDI Tri-Turbo which had a V6 diesel engine with 2 small turbos that connected to 1 large turbo. It made 286hp and 628Nm of torque. It never went into production because engineers said it was too expensive.

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New BMW X3 xDrive18d: a “greener” SUV

April 11, 2009 at 1:30 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

BMW X3 xDrive18d

The BMW X3 gets a new economical green variant called the BMW X3 xDrive18d, equipped with a 2.0 litre inline-4 turbodiesel producing 143 horsepower and 350Nm of torque. It is slotted under the xDrive20d.

2008′s World Green Car of the Year also had a 18d designation, as it was about this time last year that the 118d was announced WGCOTY 2008. Let’s compare the 118d to the X3 xDrive18d in terms of emissions.

BMW X3 xDrive18d

The BMW 118d emits just 119g/km. The X3 model puts out a fair bit more pollution at 165g/km of CO2 – that’s the difference a heavy SUV body and all-wheel drive will make.

But it’s still less polluting than the X3 xDrive25i that is sold here in Malaysia, that one puts out 228g/km of CO2 and is only EU4 compliant while the diesel models comply with EU5. Look after the jump for more images of the new xDrive18d.
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Acura ZDX: a Japanese take on the BMW X6

April 10, 2009 at 10:48 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Concept Cars

Acura ZDX

Honda has its own “Z car” now, as Acura have unveiled its X6 competitor at the New York International Auto Show and have decided to call it the Acura ZDX. This is a “prototype” of the production version which will go on sale beginning fall this year.

The ZDX is similiar in size to the X6, measuring 4887mm by 1994mm by 1570mm (LxWxH) compared to the X6′s 4877mm by 1983mm by 1690mm, however the X6 has a much longer wheelbase at 2933mm versus the ZDX’s 2748mm.

Acura ZDX

“From the very first sketch of the ZDX, I wanted to create an emotional vehicle that challenged conventional thinking of what a sports coupe should be. My goal was to create a strikingly beautiful exterior, and use that attraction to help draw you into the rich interior,” said ZDX exterior designer Michelle Christensen, which I feel in reality could have been something more like “My bosses told us to rip off the BMW X6.” It’s a four door but the rear door handles are hidden near the window to help create a more coupe-like profile, since coupes are supposed to be 2-doors after all!

The Acura ZDX will be powered by an unnamed V6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission, sending power to all four wheels via Honda’s Super Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD). The V6 will likely be a variation of the large 3.7 litre, not sure what has happened to the development of the inline-4 2.3L i-VTEC Turbo!

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