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Volkswagen reinvents the teh tarik hook

December 10, 2009 at 1:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

snakey
Click for enlarge image

The funny-looking little gizmo you see above is called the “Snakey” and it is sold by the Volkswagen Accessories division. Volkswagen says the Snakey will help keep your car organized so you won’t have to chuck your coat or bag on the seats or something like that.

All you have to do is remove your headrest and slide Snakey onto the headrest struts. Then refit your headrest. Snakey is made of expandable and resilient material and is good for up to 2kg of weight. No worries – if Volkswagen ever takes over Proton, you won’t have to wonder if future Proton models will continue coming with teh tarik hooks!

The idea for this product was born out of the design forum that Volkswagen Accessories regularly organises in collaboration with the design faculty of the Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences.Young design students get a chance to demonstrate their creativity, to get thinking about automotive-specific subjects and problems and to transform these thoughts and possible solutions into concrete product ideas.

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eRUF Stormster – not what people usually have in mind when you talk about EVs

December 10, 2009 at 1:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Porsche

eruf-stormster

The big green monster you see above is the eRUF Stormster grun (German for Green), a Porsche Cayenne powered by a Siemens electric motor and lithium ion batteries from Li-Tec. You can get it either with the “grun” body above or a standard Cayenne body.

It’s not going to be scorchingly fast though – because of the massive 2,670kg weight, the 270kW (367hp) electric motor can only take the Stormster up to 100km/h in 10 seconds. That’s just quite sad – for a car to start feeling reasonably fast it has to breach the 8 second mark. The baseline Cayenne with the 3.6 litre V6 can do the sprint in 7.5 seconds. I guess that’s the price to pay for zero emissions.

Other battery and motor related vital stats include a 200km range and a top speed of 150km/h.

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Goodyear develops Biolsoprene biomass tyre

December 10, 2009 at 12:29 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars

goodyear-concept-tyre-leftThe tyre you see on the left is a ‘concept tyre’ that Goodyear made using BioIsoprene technology. BioIsoprene basically replaces a petrochemically-produced ingredient in the manufacturing of synthetic rubber with renewable biomass, hence this is a ‘greener’ tyre.

It was developed in collaboration with Genencor, a division of Danisco. Danisco is a company that specializes in bio and food solutions like enzymes and etc, and its Genencor division specializes in industrial biotech such as this new way of making synthetic rubber. Danisco has a factory site in Penang.

“Goodyear’s first concept tire manufactured with BioIsoprene shows the enormous progress we have made in using a bio-based alternative to the petroleum-derived raw material isoprene in our production process,” says Jesse Roeck, Director, Global Materials Science at Goodyear. “The development of BioIsoprene could help us reduce industry impact on the environment by applying renewable raw materials in the supply chain and making Goodyear less dependent on oil-derived products.” 

You can look after the jump to check out a video on Biolsoprene and what it exactly is.
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Proton and LG developing electric cars

December 10, 2009 at 10:57 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

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This piece of news actually appeared on the MITI website in August this year – it reveals that Proton is currently working with South Korean company LG on Proton electric cars (not sure where Detroit Electric have gone). We’re talking about pure electric vehicles with zero emissions, driven by an electric motor powered by a battery.

According to the report, the electric drive module can be recharged from a regular household electricity socket and can go about 200km on a single charge. The report also speculates that with advancement in battery technology, future ranges can be expected in around the 600km range.

Proton has worked with LG on various projects in the past. LG CNS has worked on various areas in the Proton Savvy, Proton Saga and Proton Exora project in the past. I think we can safely say that Proton-LG projects generally produce results that can make their way into production so we can probably see the fruits of this project on our roads sometime in the future.

We currently don’t have the infrastructure to support medium to long distance electric car journeys in our country. With ranges of 200km, you can only travel within the city and back to your home at night to recharge your vehicle. For longer distances such as inter-state journeys where you have to spend your next night in a place that is not your home, it may be hard to find somewhere to charge your car.

Sure, you can plug your car into any wall socket but then there is also a question of finding somewhere to park which has a wall socket, and how do we work out how much to pay and to whom to pay for the electricity used?

So for now I think we might see hybrid Protons first, before electric Protons are sold in this country. Proton is currently working with Lotus for hybrid car development, and a few units of hybrid Proton Exora MPVs are currently on test in the UK and are due to be shipped to Malaysia for further testing within the next quarter. As for Proton electric cars, we’ve seen an electric Saga concept before.

It is good that Proton is expediting electric car development now instead of waiting for our local infrastructure to be developed. After all, EVs are already in use in countries like the UK and Proton must think like a global manufacturer which has the world as its market, not just Malaysia. And it looks like it is doing just that, with the development of these electric vehicles.

Related Posts:
Proton previews the Proton Saga EV concept
Detroit Electric to sell electric Persona and GEN2
Detroit Electric FAQ: a backgrounder on electric cars
Detroit Electric to sign RM1.2 billion agreement with Proton
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VIDEOS: Porsche Panamera Propaganda Galore!

December 9, 2009 at 11:24 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Porsche, Videos

Porsche Panamera

Be prepared for a whole load of Porsche propaganda to be released by the folks at Zuffenhausen (er, or should I say Leipzig in this case) over the next few months, largely centered around the new Panamera and how it is ‘part of the family’. These videos must be for those who say a Panamera isn’t really a real Porsche, and these folks usually have the same opinion of the Cayenne. What’s your take on this? In the meantime, enjoy three videos after the jump.
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Mysterious clay model in Proton R&D video

December 9, 2009 at 7:23 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Videos

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The clay model you see above was captured from a Proton R&D video clip posted onto Youtube by a user. You’ll be able to see the clay model around the 41 second mark. I’ve no idea what it’s supposed to be, but anything that just might be a preview of a future Proton model is always intriguing. It could also only be some kind of old design study that’ll never see the light of day ;) But back to reality – it actually kinda looks like a GEN2/Persona, with unfinished headlamps, so it could be a half way done clay model on the way to becoming a GEN2/Persona. Anyway it’s a nice photo for those who wanna check out the facilities that Proton have for car development. You can watch the video after the jump.
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Hungry Volkswagen adds Suzuki to its stable!

December 9, 2009 at 6:19 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

maruti suzuki a star

The tale of the hungry giant called Volkswagen continues! Days after acquiring majority stake in Porsche, Wolfsburg has announced the purchase of 19.9% of Suzuki for US$2.5 billion. The deal, which is billed as “a comprehensive partnership” will also see the Japanese manufacturer invest up to half of the sum received into buying VW shares. This cross buying arrangement sounds similar to the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Both companies will establish a cooperative relationship while respecting each other’s independence as a stand-alone entity, says VW.

“In terms of product portfolio, global distribution and manufacturing capacities, VW and Suzuki ideally complement each other. The strengths of each company make for a perfect fit in exploiting their respective advantages as well as rising to the challenge of the global market. Both parties are focused on achieving synergies in the areas of rapidly growing emerging markets as well as in the development and manufacturing of innovative and environmentally friendly compact cars,” the press statement reads.

Volkswagen Up! Lite

This partnership has real potential to upgrade the standard of motoring in developing markets. Think about it; Suzuki is a small car expert and VW is among the best in making efficient, frugal and clean drivetrains, and the merger of these qualities could bring about a revolution greater than the Tata Nano.

Conveniently, Suzuki is the market leader in India with its Maruti brand and VW is deep rooted and hugely successful in China, so both sides have something great to offer the other. We reckon that the fruits of this marriage will be really sweet – how about a Maruti up! or a next gen Swift Sport with a 1.4 TSI engine?

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Hyundai posts record sales in Australia

December 9, 2009 at 12:41 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Hyundai, International News, Koreans

hyundai-sonata-yf

Hyundai has recorded over 60,000 vehicle sales in Australia so far this year, an all time record for the brand Down Under. But more significantly, this was achieved in a declining overall market that’s down 9.3% (YTD Nov 2009 vs YTD Nov 2008). Up till November 2009, the Korean marque posted eleven consecutive months of year-on-year growth and an overall increase in sales of 41.6%.

Globally, Hyundai’s sales is up by 9.6% (YTD Nov). The company’s latest model, the YF Sonata, is off to a good start – it sold 17,464 units in South Korea, making it the best selling domestic model last month. Looks like the prejudice against Korean carmakers is fast subsiding, everywhere but in Malaysia!

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Renault-Nissan to set up battery plant in Portugal

December 9, 2009 at 11:45 am By Danny Tan Filed Under International News, Nissan, Renault

nissan-leaf-1

Renault-Nissan’s electric car battery production site will be in Portugal. The new plant, which will manufacture lithium-ion batteries for the Alliance’s upcoming electric cars, will be located at the Renault CACIA industrial complex in Aveiro, 250km north of Lisbon. Nissan will be forking out €160 million for the project. Construction will start next year with production commencing in 2012. Projected annual capacity is 50,000 units.

The host country will work with Renault-Nissan to implement a zero emission mobility program from 2010. In this plan, the latter will supply its electric vehicles from January 2011, while the Portuguese government will set up a network of 1,300 recharging stations across the country over two years.

The Renault-Nissan Alliance – the world’s third largest automotive group by volume – is postinioning itself as a leader in the electric vehicle movement. Starting with the Nissan LEAF in late 2010, it has already announced plans for seven EVs to be mass marketed under Renault, Nissan and Infiniti brands. In addition to Portugal, the Alliance has also confirmed battery production locations in France, Japan, USA and UK.

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Wimmer RS 386bhp Mk6 Golf GTI – how much is too much?

December 8, 2009 at 10:35 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

wimmer-rs-gti

German tuner Wimmer RS has unveiled this 386bhp Mk6 Volkswagen Golf GTI, which it describes as a “weapon”. By adding a new turbo and intercooler, tweaks to the intake, exhaust and manifold, a modified fuel pump and opening up the TSI engine for major surgery (new injection valves, piston rod, ECU update), the Solingen based outfit also managed to massage 455Nm of torque from the GTI’s EA888 motor, which in stock form produces 207bhp (210PS) and 280Nm of torque.

We certainly agree with the weapon description – Wimmer RS’s innocent looking GTI could potentially wipe out not only other sports cars, but its driver as well! The standard GTI is already a very fast car with urgent acceleration and we can’t imagine how the tuner can channel those newfound horses to the tarmac, through the front wheels. Max speed is now 267km/h (from 240km/h) but amazingly there’s no mention of uprated brakes! Of lesser consequence is a height adjustable coilover suspension set and Motec Antares wheels wrapped with Dunlop Sport Maxx GT rubber.

How much is too much? When your car is harder to tame than a rodeo bull! We’re trying to get a test unit of the Mk6 Golf GTI (in standard form, of course) so stay tuned for a test drive report!

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