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New Kia Optima to make New York debut in April!

February 22, 2010 at 11:21 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Kia, Koreans

The next generation Kia Optima, known as the Magentis in some markets, will make its world debut at the New York Auto Show, which opens on 2nd April.

Based on the design sketch, we can see that Kia has ditched the distinctly three-box, uninspiring looks of the current car for a sleeker and sexier design. Of course, the actual car will be toned down from this, but we expect a looker based on Kia’s recent track record. The Korean brand promises “bold, athletic and sporty visual energy” for its D-segment challenger.

Little else is known for now, but Kia has revealed that the new Optima is longer, lower and wider than the car it replaces, and features a “significantly longer wheelbase”. For reference, the current car measures 4,800 mm long, 1,805 mm wide and 1,480 mm tall, with a 2,720 mm wheelbase.

The Optima will go on sale in the USA late this year, while European sales will start in spring 2011. More images after the jump!
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Mitsubishi RVR crossover launched in Japan!

February 22, 2010 at 10:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Mitsubishi

This is Mitsubishi’s new RVR crossover, which has been launched in Japan. The European version, to be called ASX, will make its debut at the Geneva show, as reported earlier. The five seater slots below the Outlander in Mitsubishi’s SUV family and comes with a 1.8-litre MIVEC engined (codenamed 4B10) which is a sibling of the GEMA World Engine unit found in our Lancer.

The RVR’s DOHC 16v unit makes 137 bhp and 172 Nm of torque at 4,200 rpm, and is paired to a CVT ‘box with six “ratios” controlled by shift paddles. Claimed fuel consumption, according to the Japanese 10-15 mode, is 15.2 km/l for the 2WD model and 15.0 km/l for the 4WD variant.

The RVR’s length, width and height of 4,295 mm, 1,770 mm and 1,615 mm respectively means its dimensions closely mirrors that of the Nissan Qashqai, which was recently given a facelift. The RVR’s wheelbase measures 2,670 mm, which is pretty long considering that the larger Honda CR-V has a 2,620 mm wheelbase.

In terms of looks, the RVR pictured here gets the Lancer’s shark nose but it isn’t fully blacked out like the ASX image we saw before. Inside, the RVR gets a very simple looking dashboard, and Lancer owners will be familiar with many of the elements.

Gallery after the jump.
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Infiniti adds first ever diesel engine to its Euro range

February 22, 2010 at 9:33 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Infiniti, International News

Infiniti, Nissan’s luxury marque, is a young brand in the European scene, and is currently still in the process of creating brand awareness and starting up operations. Infiniti’s current Euro range consists of its crossovers and the G family of cars, but to make proper inroads in Europe, one needs a diesel, and for a brand which counts America and the Middle East as main markets, Infiniti has none, until now.

Calling it “phase two of the quiet assault on the European luxury car market” Infiniti has developed a 3.0-litre V6 diesel, the first in the brand’s 20 year history. It will initially be available in both the EX and FX crossovers and the M large sedan, which will make its debut this year. “Although we did investigate the possibility of adapting an existing large capacity diesel for Infiniti, we quickly established that nothing on the market met our exacting requirements,” said Jim Wright, VP of Infiniti Europe.

Designated V9X, the new V6 diesel is built in France and will also be used in Renault and Nissan cars. The direct injection Euro 5 engine produces 235 bhp and class-leading torque output of 550 Nm. As a comparison, BMW’s 3.0d engine makes 245 bhp and 540 Nm. Peak torque is achieved from 1,750 rpm all the way to 2,500 rpm, while as much as 500 Nm is available from just 1,500 rpm. Infiniti says that idle speed is exceptionally low at 650 rpm “with none of the NVH usually associated with a diesel”. It will be paired to a seven-speed auto standard on both crossovers.

Interestingly, Infiniti did not use aluminium or cast iron for the engine block, but Compacted Graphite Iron. CGI is said to offer all the benefits of cast iron and more – it has higher levels of stiffness and noise absorption – but without the weight penalty. And while CGI is heavier than a pure aluminium block, Infiniti says there is no need to add stiffening ribs or extra sound deadening material so the weight gain is comparatively modest. The V9X has the lowest vibrations of all benchmarked engines, according to the Renault-Nissan Alliance.

To adapt the EX and FX to the diesel engine, they get new front subframes, different front bumper designs to enhance air flow as well as redesigned sheet metal within the engine bay to house additional radiators.

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Details on May 1st new fuel subsidy system to be revealed in March 2010

February 22, 2010 at 7:38 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Local News, Malaysian Fuel Prices

Fuel Wallet GaugeThis is the silver lining in a dark cloud. According to Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, we will know the details of the new fuel subsidy mechanism in March 2010, ahead of the system’s expected implementation date in May 2010.

Although most of us dread the thought of having to pay more for fuel soon (and with more hassle as well), at least now we will have a one to two month head start to planning our finances instead of only knowing at the very last minute.

Datuk Seri Ismail declined to provide any details (in an interview with NST), but he did say that it would make people happy. I am hoping that this could indicate a fair system that would not trouble the low to middle class income earners. Let’s hope the government has not been out of touch with the reality of things on the streets in formulating this new subsidy system, otherwise it will indeed be a bitter year of the tiger for us.

What we know so far is that foreigners (even those who consider Malaysia their home and work here with local and not typical expat level of salary) would definitely not get any subsidies because they will not hold the MyKad, which is said to be a key element in how the system works. Your MyKad will identify you (a newspaper report has even cited you need a thumbprint scan like at the airport with your passport or with your MyKad at the bank) and how much of subsidies you are eligible to get.

The system is said to be managed by Maybank, the first time this has been revealed in the newspapers, though I’ve heard rumors of this for months. A pilot project to test out the system will go live sometime in end March or perhaps April – a rather short test time for a large scale nationwide roll-out of a new system!

You could get between 200 to 300 litres of subsidies per month depending on various factors such as socio-economic and the dreaded engine capacity factor. The threshold is said to be 2,000cc – and I would be able to get pass this number if not for the 2.5 litre old E30 which I purchased for just over RM10k recently. This probably means zero subsidy for me. Company cars are said to be not eligible for the subsidy. Once you run out of subsidised litres per month, you will have to pay full price, which is expected to be RM2.10 per litre for RON95.

Even for those who qualify for the litre amount of subsidies that they need every month, they will not likely to continue paying the RM1.80 per litre for RON95 and RM2.05 per litre for RON97 we are paying right now. Sin Chew Daily reports that the government is expected to announce a new subsidized price of RM1.90 per litre for RON95 and RM1.80 per litre for Euro 2M diesel. Nothing was said about RON97, so that can either be a very good thing or a very bad thing! But I have a feeling there will not be any ‘subsidised’ option for RON97. If unsubsidised RON95 is RM2.10 per litre, unsubsidised RON97 might touch RM2.50 per litre!

Whatever it is, we’ll know the full details next month, if the minister keeps true to his word, and hopefully we’ll be happy. The March announcement date may coincide with a ‘registration exercise’ as mentioned in newspaper reports previously.
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Audi RS5 brochure images leaked!

February 22, 2010 at 2:03 am By Danny Tan Filed Under 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Audi, Cars

A hot RS version of Audi’s sleek A5 coupe has been rumoured for long, and now we can confirm its existance and possible debut at next month’s Geneva show, thanks to these leaked brochure images.

Not much is known technically, but some parties have said that the RS5 will be powered by a naturally aspirated 4.2-litre V8 with around 450bhp and 450 Nm.

From these images, we can see that the RS5′s redline is set at about 8200 rpm, so we’re looking at a high revving screamer here. Also gathered from the brochure is the lack of a manual option; Audi’s S-tronic auto transmission is pictured here. Options will include three types of front seats and four wheel designs. But no flat bottomed steering wheel?

This blog will be in Geneva to cover one of the main events in the motor show calendar, so stay tuned for live pictures and info, should the RS5 make a blazing debut in Switzerland. More images after the jump!
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Trulli slowest for Lotus on final Jerez test day

February 21, 2010 at 11:47 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The Formula 1 circus has just wrapped its official test sessions at the Jerez circuit in Spain. On Lotus Racing’s first official outing reserve driver Fairuz Fauzy settled for 11th place with 1:31.848. The only driver who was slower than that time was Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock. The next day the steering wheel was handed over to Heikki Kovalainen. The Finn only managed to complete 30 laps before crashing out after exiting Turn 2 and 3.

No parts where available at the time so the team had to concentrate on other aspects of the car which did not require driving. Luckily for the team parts arrived in time for the team’s third official test day. Kovalainen managed 1:33.554 which put him in 12th, slowest of all. The former McLaren driver also revealed that the Lotus Cosworth T127 car is suffering from downforce issues.

“I think the main issue is the downforce. We have not been able to develop the aero package as we should have. We had five months to build the car and everything’s been a bit conservative. Before they started to design the car, they had no information about the engine, so cooling and everything is quite conservative,” said Kovalainen. He also added that the team should be able to rectify the issue.

On the final day of testing in Spain Jarno Trulli stepped in. The Italian clocked in a total of 141 laps, the most Lotus Racing has accomplished since it started the tests in Jerez. The lap time dropped to 1:23.470 but that was the slowest time of the day and it was almost five seconds behind the fastest time set by Jenson Button in his McLaren.

All Formula 1 teams (the ones that have launched their cars that is) are still in the testing phase and cars should be improved further. The teams will now head to the Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona to continue testing on February 25th.

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BMW Performance kits for the BMW X6

February 20, 2010 at 5:50 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

The many BMW X6 owners here in Malaysia have something new to look forward to this year – new aesthetics and performance accessories from BMW Performance available for retrofit on their cars.

The aesthetics upgrade called the BMW Performance Aerodynamics Kit features a new front bumper, side sill, and an insert for the rear bumper. Optional are a rear spoiler, rear fins finished in matte black and a front grid finished in high-gloss black. The side view is enhanced by huge 21 inch BMW Performance light-alloy wheels with a Y-spoke design done in a twin-tone finish – a glossy outside surface and Ferric Grey paintwork between the rims.

BMW claims each wheel is about 1.5kg lighter than a conventional wheel of the same size thanks to special production methods. The wheels exact size s are 10Jx21 at the front with 285/35R21 tyros and 11.5Jx21 at the rear with 325/30R21 tyres. That’s bloody wide – its front wheels are wider than my 5-er’s 265 rear wheels! Finally, you can equip a sports exhaust system which features chrome-plated tailpipes which are lighter, reduce exhaust backpressure and offer a sportier sound.

The Performance Power Kit is available for the two petrol-powered versions of the X6. The xDrive35i engine’s output is increased from 306hp/400Nm up to 326hp/450Nm, which is equivalent to the Power Kit upgrade that we’ve seen on other models that are equipped with the N54 twin turbo engine. The xDrive50i model gets its 4.4 litre V8′s twin turbo engine boosted up by 41hp and 50Nm so post-upgrade it makes 448hp and 650Nm of torque. These power increases boost 0 to 100km/h acceleration time for both models by approximately 0.2 seconds.
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Citroen DS3 Racing limited to 1000 units

February 20, 2010 at 5:12 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Citroën, International News

Here’s a hotter version of the Citroen DS3 that the French company will debut at the Geneva show in early March, limited to just 1,000 production units. The car is rather unimaginatively called the Citroen DS3 Racing and gets its 1.6 litre BMW-PSA Prince engine boosted up to 200 horsepower, up from the original 156hp unit installed in the stock DS3. Torque gets upped to 275Nm from 240Nm.

Citroen achieved the 200 horses with remapping the turbo and ECU control, “modified and optimized powertrain components” (oh such detail) and installed a special tail pipe and exhaust muffler. To cope with the extra power, brakes have been upgraded to 4-pot calipers at the front and all four wheels get new discs, including drilled discs for the rear.

The steering has also had some updates to be more “precise” and to suit the new larger tyros. The suspension gets stiffer springs, adapted front and rear shocks to handle the increased power, front and rear track gets widened by 30mm, and the car gets lowered by 15mm. Finally, the ESP programming has been updated to suit the new components.
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Italdesign teases Proton Hybrid Concept – Day 2

February 20, 2010 at 4:08 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton EMAS Concept

Italdesign will put up one different photo of the new Proton Hybrid Concept that they will be jointly exhibiting at the Geneva Motorshow from the 2nd to 14th of March 2010. Today’s teaser image is quite obviously the projector headlamps for the car. What I really want to see is how the back of the concept car looks like – so far none of the teasers or even the initial full image have revealed this. We might just have to wait until Geneva to find out. Read our previous stories on the Proton Hybrid Concept to find out more about it.

Related Posts:
New teaser pix for Geneva 2010 Proton Concept
More details on Proton’s Geneva 2010 Concept Car
Photo of new Proton concept appears online!
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SUV styled Volkswagen CrossPolo makes debut

February 20, 2010 at 2:55 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

After the debut of the Polo GTI, here comes the CrossPolo, the pseudo SUV version of Volkswagen’s supermini. Like its predecessor (which was sold in Malaysia) the CrossPolo does not have any off-road ability, but comes with trendy SUV style body cladding, stone guards and roof rails, which works to liven up the smart but safe looks of the standard car. Only available as a five-door, the CrossPolo sits higher by 15 mm.

Six engine options include a 69 bhp 1.2-litre, 84 bhp 1.4-litre and a 104 bhp 1.2 TSI from the petrol family, while the diesel front comprises a 1.6-litre trio of 74 bhp, 89 bhp and 104 bhp TDI motors. The CrossPolo is available with a standard 6-speed manual while the 7-speed DSG transmission is optional. Domestic sales will start in May followed by the rest of Europe. Gallery is after the jump.

Related Post:
Volkswagen CrossPolo 1.6 Test Drive Review
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