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Alfa Romeo Brera Italia Independent

December 11, 2009 at 4:03 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Alfa Romeo, Cars, International News

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Alfa Romeos are stylish things, and the brand possesses a somewhat exotic image among mass market manufacturers. Perhaps it’s the Italian heritage, or the usually sexy design of its cars, but many of us do have a craving for these Alfas, even if our wallets disapprove. And to further cement its high fashion image, Alfa has collaborated with fashion house Italia Independent for a special edition Brera that’s limited to 900 units.

According to the maker of “personal belongings” the Italia Independent concept is “an eye for detail and the continuous search for quality with a distinctive style”. Our detailed eye spots out “titanium” paint, 18-inch turbine-style dark alloys and red brake calipers hiding inside, plus an aluminum fuel cap with the Alfa logo. The cabin is full of carbonfibre, black leather and red stitching, and a smattering of Italia Independent logos. Not sure if this is nicer than the red leather with gunmetal grey trim Brera that you can view at Auto ConneXion showrooms.

The standard Brera with 2.2 JTS engine sold in Malaysia is poor value for money at RM308,888, and it doesn’t need the VW Scirocco (more power, faster, more space) to point that out – Alfa’s own 159 saloon, which shares the coupe’s engine, Selespeed gearbox and nice dash design goes for RM188,888! I prefer the saloon too in terms of driving – it has better ride quality and feels more light footed.

Check out more pics of the Brera Italia Independent after the jump.

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Ward’s 10 Best Engines – America embrace diesels

December 11, 2009 at 8:56 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News

vw tdiLong before the International Engine of the Year awards came to prominance, I remember one engine honouring award – Ward’s 10 Best Engines. This US based annual award is organised by Ward’s Automotive Group, a provider of auto industry news, data and analysis.

Back in the 1990s, Nissan’s VQ V6 engine was a serial favourite – in fact various incarnations of the VQ powerplant has been on Ward’s list since its inception in 1994, but its 14-year run ended in 2008.

In the 2010 list are two diesels (BMW’s M57 twin-turbo and Volkswagen’s 2.0-litre TDI), proof that American’s are warming up to the black stuff Europeans are in love with. The Toyota Prius’s 1.8-litre Hybrid Synergy Drive and Ford’s hybrid powerplant from the US-market Escape are also included. The VW Group was further represented by two TFSI engines (2.0-litre and 3.0-litre), as used in the Audi A4 and S4. Hyundai’s big 4.6-litre V8 was also honoured.

Six editors from Ward’s tested 34 vehicles from 13 makers, scoring each engine on horsepower, torque, refinement, technical relevance and comparative data. To be eligible, engines must be available in a regular-production US spec model priced no more than $54,000, a price cap indexed to the average cost of a new vehicle.

See the full list of winners after the jump!

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CPT’s RegEnBoost system – how it works?

December 10, 2009 at 9:23 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Technology

VTESRemember CPT’s VTES electric supercharger? It was installed onto a 1.2 litre turbo engine to complement the turbo and results were pretty impressive. The VTES has been positioned as a motor assist system similar to the Honda IMA system.

In the Honda IMA system, an electric motor positioned between the combustion engine and the gearbox provides a boost of power when needed. The VTES electric supercharger is presumably lighter than an electric motor and can provide a similar boost of torque at low engine RPMs as it is able to kick in really fast – 0 to 700,000rpm in less than a third of a second. Like the electric motor, VTES is also powered by battery.

The VTES component is already being trialed as a piece of the puzzle in various systems currently being designed by automotive parts companies. Ricardo is currently using the VTES in a project they’ve christened HyBoost. But CPT has a little project of its own and VTES works as part of a system called RegEnBoost.

RegEnBoost combines three devices developed by CPT – the VTES electric supercharger, a liquid-cooled integrated starter generator (start-stop system) called SpeedStart, and a turbo-generator called TIGERS. TIGERS is somewhat like a turbocharger except it isn’t. It uses exhaust gas to generate electricity instead of providing boost, so it’s more of a dynamo in a way.

The three devices are integrated into a system which also incorporates a DC to DC converter and a lead acid battery optimised for fast energy storage and release. This same system also provides the regular 12V needed by the car’s electrical systems, but also delivers short bursts of power to the 2kW VTES supercharger when extra acceleration is needed. It also powers the SpeedStart starter when the engine is needed to restart. Conversely, SpeedStart can recharge the battery during deceleration. So the battery can be charged by two sources – SpeedStart and the TIGERS exhaust generator.

CPT claims that a 1.0 litre car with RegEnBoost can emit less than 100g/km of CO2 on average yet offer the same performance and in-gear acceleration of a 2.0 litre normally aspirated engine when needed – translated into horsepower and torque that’s about 130 to 150 horses and about 200Nm of torque, pretty decent from a 1.0 litre engine. CPT says RegEnBoost can easily be scaled up to support engines of up to 3.5 litres.

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Toyota compact car for India to debut at Delhi

December 10, 2009 at 9:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Toyota

Toyota LogoIndia is a place where you can sell cheap and cheerful mini cars with completely insane volumes, and everyone wants to cash in. The current market leader is Suzuki but more companies have announced that they have a compact car for India in the works.

Tune in to the New Delhi auto show coverage come 5th January 2010 to find out what Toyota has in store for India. The Japanese company revealed today that they will be unveiling a new compact car “concept” designed for the Indian market in January next year, alongside 13 other concept and production cars including the facelifted Prado, facelifted Fortuner, Innova, i-REAL, Fine-S, etc.

This is not new news to us. We previously heard back in October this year that Toyota and Daihatsu are working on a new small car that can be sold for less than US$11,000 (RM37,268) in emerging economies like India and Brazil. That is certainly possible, considering in our very own market the Toyota/Daihatsu-linked Perodua Viva BX is sold for RM25,300, a good amount lower than the threshold price set by Toyota/Daihatsu.

I won’t be surprised if the concept car will have loads of Daihatsu genes in it, after all it is Daihatsu which are the small car specialists in the Toyota group, and tight Japanese roads have given them loads of practise on how to really optimise space and NVT in a tiny car.

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Lighting upgrade for the Mk6 Golf GTI

December 10, 2009 at 8:25 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

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Click each image above to view enlarged versions

It would be a tad bit disappointing if the only thing that the Golf R had over the GTI in terms of looks were the different bumpers. The good thing is that’s not true – the Golf R has upgrade headlamps and tail lamps.

The new tail lamps are smoked and has outward curving lines going through them – you can see what I mean in the photos above. Each “angle” consists of 11 LEDs, and they border a centre LED dot. There are a total of 48 LEDs in this design. Being lit with LED, they respond faster to activation and can light up about 0.2 seconds faster than a conventional lightbulb, which is equivalent to 5.6 meters of braking distance when you are at a speed of 100km/h.

On the front end you get bi-xenon headlamps with dynamic cornering lights, which turn according to your steering angle. They also adapt according to your car’s speed, for example up to 35km/h the lane boundary on the driver’s side is illuminated brighter.

The good news for buyers of the Mk6 Golf GTI here in Malaysia is that these new headlamps and tail lamp can be ordered as an optional upgrade for your car. Volkswagen Malaysia has confirmed that they are able to bring it in, and upon order an estimated delivery time would be in about three months, though if you’re lucky it could possibly be sooner. No Malaysian prices yet but in Europe, the headlamps will cost you 1,295 Euros and the tail lamps will cost you 350 Euros.

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Lotus Omnivore 2-stroke HCCI engine – details

December 10, 2009 at 7:02 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lotus, Technology

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You remember the Lotus Omnivore project don’t you? We first heard word of this project back in August 2008 and Lotus exhibited a concept engine at the Geneva show earlier this year. It’s basically a monoblock (integrated block and head) engine that runs on a two-stroke operating cycle that Lotus says is more suited to flex-fuel operations than conventional 4-stroke engines.

There is a whole load of tech packed into the Omnivore. Other than being unusually 2-stroke in a world of 4-stroke car engines, its got variable compression ratio, direct fuel injection, and the ability to run on HCCI mode, which is basically diesel-like sparkless ignition, except that it isn’t a diesel engine.

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“The automotive industry, including Lotus Engineering, has quite rightly advocated engine downsizing for four-stroke engines. This is as a result of the dominance of the four-stroke cycle in the automotive world and its generation of throttling losses at part-load, where vehicles run most of the time,” says Jamie Turner, Lotus Engineering chief engineer of powertrain research.

“The two-stroke cycle, conversely, does not suffer from significant throttling losses and in many ways is a more natural fit for automotive use. With the thermodynamic disadvantages of throttling losses removed, the two-stroke engine is free to be sized according to its improved part-load fuel consumption. Downsizing therefore isn’t vital and, due to the improved light-load efficiency and emissions performance we see with Omnivore, this technology approach and ‘upsizing’ could permit a more efficient engine,” adds Turner.

Look after the jump for a 6 page detailed technical description of the Omnivore.
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New Mercedes-Benz ML 350 AMG Sports Edition

December 10, 2009 at 6:02 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mercedes Benz

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The ML 350 is now available with an AMG Sports Edition package here in Malaysia, which adds AMG front and rear aprons, AMG twin oval exhaust tailpipes, aluminum running boards, and 21 inch alloy wheels to enhance the exterior looks. The last AMG Sports Edition model that we got here was specified on the W211 E 280, and you can read a test drive review of that one in our reviews section.

As expected from the 350 in its model name (though this is not always true with both Mercedes-Benz and BMW these days), the ML 350 is powered by a 3.5 litre V6 engine, producing 272 horsepower and 350Nm of torque. Peak torque is achieved at just 2,400rpm and goes up to 5,000rpm, which is pretty impressive. But the ML is a heavy car after all so 0 to 100km/h takes 8.4 seconds, which is not super fast but qualified to be called zippy at the very least.

The V6 engine is mated to a 7G-TRONIC seven-speed automatic transmission which can drop multiple gears without having to go through gears sequentially, This means 7th gear straight to 4th gear is possible if required. You can swap cogs manually with steering wheel paddle shifters. The suspension system uses AIRMATIC, which means you can set your suspension variables and ride height to whatever you like or simply leave it in automatic mode.

On the interior, you get 8 airbags, a COMAND APS in-car entertainment and telematics system which includes GPS navigation data. All data including 4GB of music can be stored on a 40GB hard drive. The system also has a DVD changer, Bluetooth hands-free connectivity and has a USB interface to connect to a USB thumb drive, USB portable media player or an iPod. You can “talk” to the COMAND APS system via LINGUATONIC, a speech recognition feature.

The ML 350 AMG Sports Package retails for RM555,888, which at that kind of price segment is a really small premium over the regular ML 350′s RM548,888 price tag.
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New Honda CB Twister unveiled in India

December 10, 2009 at 4:34 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Bikes

Honda CB Twister

Honda’s Indian operations have just launched the new Honda CB Twister in India, a 110cc 4-stroke air-cooled motorcycle which will be sold at about 42,000 Rupee, which translates to about RM3,063. 110cc motorcycles account for about half of total motorcycle sales in India, and India is expectedly the world’s second largest motorcycle market behind China. Honda sells nearly a million motorcycles each year in India alone, and the new CB Twister is expected to account for 220,000 units a year.
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Dacia Duster – a cheap and economical 4WD

December 10, 2009 at 2:15 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Dacia, International News

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The new Dacia Duster is an econo-4WD, probably designed on the same platform as the Logan, Sandero, Logan Van, Logan MCV and Logan pick-up. It will be manufactured in Romania for the European, Turkish and Maghreb markets, and will eventually be available in worldwide markets as either a Renault or a Dacia. When we talk about worldwide, it isn’t worldwide in the sense that you’ll see it in ASEAN – countries mention to offer the Duster eventually include South America, Russia, the Middle East and Africa.

Three engines are available – two of them turbodiesels making 85hp and 105hp. The petrol engine is a 1.6 litre unit making 110hp. The 4WD system is optional, so you only buy it if you need it, otherwise you can just opt for a 2 wheel driven version, which combined with a turbodiesel engine will emit less than 140g/km of CO2. The 4X4 versions don’t do so bad either, putting out less than 150g/km of CO2.

The 4X4 system has three modes – AUTO, LOCK and 4X2. I believe the last mode is self-explanatory. AUTO means the front to rear axle torque split is varied on the fly. By default the AUTO mode only drives the front wheels and only transfers power to the rear axle when it is needed. LOCK mode forces a 50:50 split, designed for low speed low grip conditions.

The Duster is quite small, being just slightly wider than a Kia Sportage but shorter. We used to have an economical 4WD like this in our country. It was called the Perodua Kembara, but that has since been replaced by the rather expensive Perodua Nautica. Now that void is pretty much empty save for the CKD Chery Tiggo, but I’ve yet to see one on the road. Perhaps TC Euro Cars could bring this baby in as a Renault.

Look after the jump for more pix of the Duster.
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Charge your EV to 80% in half an hour?

December 10, 2009 at 1:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Mitsubishi

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We are so used to checking 0 to 100 numbers when we look at car specs, but when electric cars start penetrating the market in a bigger way, we might be looking at another kind of 0 to 100 number – 100 percent that is. How long will it take for a certain car to get a full charge on the battery?

Mitsubishi’s i-MiEV can get from 0 to 80 in just 30 minutes with a new quick charger supplied by the Tokyo Electric Power Company. The quick charger uses a 3-phase 400V input (Japan uses 110V power) and outputs a 50kW DC output. The maximum DC out is 500V and 100A. The quick charger measures about 2 meters tall by 1 meter wide and 80cm deep.

Such chargers can be implemented at highway rest stops for electric cars to do longer journeys in Malaysia. For shorter journeys, you can drive to work and back or perhaps just give your car a little charge at the office, but then of course there is the issue of our parking lots not having charging bays. Without a way to charge (as in $$$) people to charge their cars, EV charging will be centered mostly at home for quite some time.

Would you be able to accept an EV for daily use if you can charge it up to 80% capacity in half an hour? In the whole Malaysian context I feel it would be a little hard for me to accept an EV as my sole car at the moment. Even the cheapest car here in Malaysia still requires a loan of a few years to afford to buy, and an EV is just not versatile enough for me to commit a few years of car loan to buy one. Things are probably different in Europe where buying a car does not take that huge of a strain on your monthly income and you can have one city vehicle while keeping another long distance wagon or something.

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