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Singapore International Arbitration Centre: Proton termination of Goldstar JV contract is valid

February 8, 2010 at 9:06 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Back in late 2008, Proton had engaged in a legal tussle with its ex-partner for the Chinese market. Before Proton went to bed with Youngman for the Europestar range of cars, they actually had a JV with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd to sell Proton cars there. Unfortunately there were hiccups along the way and Goldstar could not obtain the necessary manufacturing licenses.

Proton terminated the JV and naturally Goldstar was not happy. They went to court and the suit ended up being in arbitration in Singapore.

The result of the arbitration process is out:

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Subaru to launch “crossover Impreza” at Geneva

February 8, 2010 at 3:13 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Cars, Subaru

This Subaru Impreza hatchback with off-roader style body cladding is the Impreza XV, which will get its public airing at the Geneva show next month. Subaru describes the XV as having “new crossover styling” which consist of a new front grille and wheel arches, roof rails and a roof spoiler besides the contrasting coloured panels. It will be available with the firm’s famous boxer engines, both in petrol and diesel and Euro 5 compliant. This is the only image released, so we’ll have to wait for a look at the front design.

Subaru’s Geneva stand will also have the good looking Hybrid Tourer Concept (as seen in last year’s Tokyo show) and the kei-car sized Stella plug-in hybrid.

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BMW F10 5-Series First Drive Report

February 8, 2010 at 1:53 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under BMW, Cars, Test Drive Reviews

It’s been only two months since the new F10 5-Series was unveiled and I must say it has quite a huge responsibility to carry. After all, there is a new E-Class in Malaysia now that it must face to continue the fight to try to overtake the E’s dominance in its segment in Malaysia.

The previous E60 5-Series did really well for BMW and is so far the most successful 5-Series to date, although it is its predecessor the E39 that is fondly referred to by some as ‘Car Of The Year Forever’. The E60′s design is a love it or hate it affair. It got even worse when you got inside – the dash design was quite bland. And then there was also that 1st generation iDrive! Just bad! But you gotta give it to the chassis engineers – it did very well in the drive and comfort departments. It’s not just about doing well in both departments but the fact that they could make the car do both well at the same time.

And now we have the all-new 5 which drops the ‘E’ designation in its code name and is now called the F10 (which sounds a lot like the designations used to identify fighter jets). It’s built on a common platform as the F01/F02 7-Series and even the 5-Series GT. We have covered all the latest updates regarding the new 5, right from the launch report to an article that talked specifically about how it was designed.

Now we finally have the all-important test drive report to share with you as we flew all the way to Portugal to have a go in it both on roads and the Estoril circuit!

Read more after the jump.
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BMW 335is Coupe and Cabriolet Hi-Res Gallery

February 8, 2010 at 12:33 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

The new BMW 335is is available in either Coupe and Convertible form and from what it looks like so far it’s a model destined for the North American market only. It’s basically a sportier and more powerful version of the 335i.

That’s not really that much of a bummer, as you can essentially just equip your bog standard 335i here with a tune from BMW Performance that boosts the engine to the same specs as the 335is – 320 horses and 450Nm of torque.

It’s essentially the same output as what you get in the 740i. But this new model has been added in the US at a time where the standard 335i without the “s” at the back will have its N54 twin turbo replaced by the N55 single twin scroll turbo that produces the same output as the outgoing N54 non-s engine.

The highest output factory standard version of the N54B30 so far is the one in the Z4 sDrive35is, which gets 335 horses and 450Nm, with a 50Nm overboost so it can peak at 500Nm depending on conditions. The 335is also have the 50Nm overboost feature.

Look after the jump for hi-res photos from a media test drive that BMW had in Portugal at the Estoril track recently, as well as two videos and a full press release with detailed specs.
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E70 BMW X5 gets the mid-life LCI treatment!

February 7, 2010 at 5:28 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Videos

BMW has updated the second generation E70 X5 with the “LCI” treatment, which basically means a mid-life facelift in BMW speak. LCI stands for Life Cycle Impulse. The X5 gets the typical updates you’d expect from a 2010 BMW – an all-turbo line-up and the ZF 8-speed automatic transmission.

The new E70 X5 range consists of the xDrive35i, the xDrive50i, the xDrive30d and the xDrive40d. Over here in Malaysia the pre-FL X5 is sold with a 3.0 litre normally aspirated inline-6 (3.0is), a 4.8 litre V8 (4.8i) and a 3.0 litre turbodiesel (3.0d). It would be bloody nice if the 3.0is is replaced with the new xDrive35i model – that would be a proper 5-seater version of the scorching X6 xDrive35i that we can see increasingly often around the streets of KL.

The xDrive35i’s N55 engine uses a single turbocharger, but BMW still calls it a TwinPower Turbo, using the excuse that the turbocharger has twin-scroll technology. It makes 306hp at 5,800rpm and 400Nm from as low as 1,200rpm all the way up to 5,000rpm, taking the X5 xDrive35i up to 100km/h in 6.8 seconds while consuming about 10.1 litres per 100km.

The top of the range regular X5 (it’s still lesser than an X5 M)’s 4.4 litre twin-turbo V8 makes 407 horsepower between 5,500 to 6,400rpm and 600Nm of torque from 1,750rpm up to 4,500rpm. 0 to 100km/h takes just 5.5 seconds.

The xDrive30d has the new aluminum crankcase found in the 730Ld (the 3.0d pre-LCI X5 in Malaysia uses the engine preceding this aluminum crankcase model) and makes 245hp at 4,000rpm and 540Nm from as low as 1,750rpm to 3,000rpm.

The new xDrive40d variant is powered by the BMW TwinPower Turbo version of the company’s 3.0 litre turbodiesel engine, ,akin 306hp at 4,400rpm and a massive 600Nm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm. The engine in the xDrive40d uses a smaller turbo to get the engine going and then switches to a larger turbo to handle the upper reaches of the rev range.

Other than the obvious aesthetic changes which include new headlamps that have LED white corona rings instead of the yellow version that’s being phased out from the BMW range, the xDrive50i and the xDrive40d also gets updated suspension settings.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery and a video of the new LCI-ed X5.
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Volkswagen Passat CC Test Drive Review

February 7, 2010 at 5:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Test Drive Reviews, Volkswagen

As motoring journalists, we’re very lucky to have the newest and shiniest cars in town parked in our porch. After awhile, the “immune system” gets build up to a level that only the very captivating will leave a mark.

The Volkswagen Passat CC is one such car because it’s such a beauty. I caught myself looking back everytime I walked away. I unrolled the curtains so I could occasionally look at it while reading the papers. Such was the effect.

Continue reading the report after the jump.
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Toyota Vios facelift teased on UMW Toyota website with estimated pricing

February 7, 2010 at 3:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Toyota

UPDATE: 2010 Toyota Vios facelift launched in Thailand!

UMW Toyota has put up a teaser announcing the coming launch of the facelifted Toyota Vios with the updated grille, tail lamps and etc that we saw earlier.

As expected, UMW Toyota has jacked up the prices of all models. Even the cheapest manual 1.5J has had a price hike, bringing the price now to over RM70k when previously it was priced just under RM70k. Of course, these price hikes could be accompanied with equipment list changes.

  Old Price New Price
Toyota Vios 1.5 TRD Sportivo (AT) RM90,900.00 RM92,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5G (AT) RM85,025.00 RM87,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5E (AT) RM79,425.00 RM81,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5J (AT) RM73,525.00 RM76,990.00
Toyota Vios 1.5J (MT) RM69,825.00 RM71,990.00

The price hike brings the top of the range Vios extremely close to the top of the range Kia Forte 2.0 SX – there’s a price difference of only RM1,000 and the Forte is a C-segment 2.0 litre sedan with a GEMA engine similiar to the one used in the Lancer, while the Vios is a 1.5 litre B-segment. On paper, the only thing the Vios has up on the Forte is a 3-year warranty (and double mileage) versus 2-years for the Kia.

320 Comments      

Ford Focus WRC Edition – 50 units in Switzerland

February 6, 2010 at 1:34 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, International News

The Ford Focus RS is one hot looking hot hatch and Ford of Switzerland has raised the temperature further with this special version called “WRC Edition”. It will be produced in a limited run of 50 units to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Ford’s RS division.

The WRC Edition, which pays tribute to the legendary Escort RS1600 that was launched in 1970, was designed with the help of Swiss fans who participated in a design competition. The winning design’s base is a “Frozen White” paint finish contrasted by black and green stickers and stripes as well as the 19-inch OZ Superturismo GT multispoke alloys in black. As with all special editions, there’s a plaque and this one bears the signatures of Ford WRC drivers Mikko Hirvonen and Jarmo Lehtinen.

No changes under the bonnet, so the 305 bhp 2.5-litre turbocharged inline-five sprints to 100 km/h in under 6 seconds and on to a top speed of 263 km/h. It is priced at 55,900 francs or about 37,950 euros. Check out some of the proposals that didn’t make it after the jump.
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Honda ‘Live Every Litre’ – a social documentary?

February 5, 2010 at 10:12 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda seems to be very into video as a promotional tool. First they had Drive Every Drop, which was pretty much like a travel show. When a host landed in each country or state, he checked the local scene around in a Honda of course.

Now comes Live Every Litre – even the name sounds quite alike to Drive Every Drop. It’s also a show, but the concept is completely different. With Live Every Litre, Honda will put real participants behind the wheel of a Honda CR-Z, and cameras mounted around the car will record the participants’ journey and/or challenges across Europe.

VIDEO: Live Every Litre ‘Trailer’

Participants can do whatever they want. Honda gave a few examples in their press release – “propose to their girlfriend in Paris, take their band to play a charity gig, trace their ancestry to find a long lost relative, drive on a road they’ve always dreamed off.” Reactions, emotions, and experiences will be captured by the cameras.

All the footage will then be edited into a documentary-like film by Swiss filmmaker Claudio Von Planta and his team.

If you want to participate, you can logon to Live Every Litre’s website. I think it’s only fair to assume that you have to actually be in Europe to enter. As of today, you have 43 days left to apply, and they will begin filming in May.

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Carlsson C25 ‘Super GT’ set for Geneva debut

February 5, 2010 at 9:47 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

Carlsson calls this a ‘self-developed’ automobile, but one look and you’ll know it still has a lot of Mercedes-Benz underpinnings. It’s probably a rebodied SL, which Carlsson calls the new Carlsson C25, which will debut at Geneva 2010 this March.

The 6.0 litre twin-turbocharged V12 under the hood of the C25 makes 753 horsepower and an insane 1,150Nm of torque, which will take it from 0 to 100km/h in 3.7 seconds. And 1,150Nm is just the limited figure (likely to preserve the mechanical sanity of drivetrain components) – fully unlocked it has a 1,320Nm peak at 3,750rpm.

Seriously, even in normally aspirated form a 6.0 litre engine would be putting out something close to 600Nm which is already going to give you a huge kick in the butt when you put the pedal to the metal. It’s one of my dreams (and probably any motorheads dreams) to experience acceleration from torque in excess of 1,000Nm one day!

The C25 was designed as a ‘Super GT’. It will go into production, but only 25 units will be made. There’s actually something very interesting about how these 25 units will be distributed. Each owner is promised that he’ll be the only C25 owner in his country! Once you buy a C25 in the USA, no one else can order a C25 and register it in that country. This means it will be offered in a maximum of 25 countries.

Not sure what’s preventing some rich guy from ordering one in some weird country somewhere and importing it to his original country though. Anyone wanna bet if there’ll be one in Malaysia?
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