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Volkswagen Group dominate World Car Awards

April 5, 2010 at 5:53 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News, Volkswagen


The Volkswagen Group went home happiest at the recent 2010 World Car Awards. The main World Car of the Year gong went to the Volkswagen Polo, VW’s Bluemotion eco banner took home the World Green Car award and Audi’s R8 V10 was deemed the best performance car. The only award VAG didn’t win was the World Car Design of the Year, which went to the Chevrolet Camaro.

59 automotive journalists from 25 countries around the globe played jury, and they chose VW’s B-segment supermini over 29 other nominees. Announced in the New York’s Jacob Javits Center, the annual WCOTY awards recognise the year’s most outstanding vehicles based on merit, value, safety, environmental impact, significance, and emotional appeal.


Meanwhile, VW’s BlueMotion brand consisting of the Golf, Passat and Polo, got the green car nod over finalists Honda Insight and the Toyota Prius. “It is not necessary to add an electric motor and a heavy battery pack to achieve class-leading efficiency. Based on Volkswagen’s common rail diesel engines, the BlueMotion models are among the most fuel-efficient vehicles on the market. In fact, the Passat BlueMotion can travel just about 1,000 miles on one tank of fuel in the European cycle. As far as internal combustion engines go today, these models are the ultimate you can get,” the jurors explained.

For the World Performance Car title, the Ferrari California and Porsche 911 GT3 were the front runners alongside eventual winner Audi R8 V10. Previous winners were the Nissan GT-R in 2009, the Audi R8 in 2008, the Audi RS4 in 2007 and the Porsche Cayman S in 2006.

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Mazda 2 launched: sedan and hatchback, RM80K to RM85K!

April 5, 2010 at 3:44 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mazda

The Mazda 2 was launched hours ago at Prima Merdu’s third and latest showroom in Bandar Puteri Puchong. Available in two bodystyles – five-door hatchback and four-door sedan – the supermini is imported CBU from Thailand. It rolls off the Auto Alliance plant in Rayong, which will also supply us with the upcoming Ford Fiesta.

The B-segment Mazda is powered by a 1.5-litre MZR engine producing 103 bhp at 6,000 rpm and 135 Nm of torque at 4,000 rpm, figures that are slightly shy of the similar sized engines from the Vios and City. The DOHC 16v unit with Sequential Valve Timing (SV-T) is paired to a four-speed automatic; I was personally hoping for a manual version, which is available both in Thailand and Singapore, but no such luck for us.

You can choose between the standard V Grade and the sporty R Grade for both bodystyles. While both grades come with the same MacPherson strut front and torsion beam rear suspension, the R Grade suspension gets “Sport Tuning”. Front brakes are ventilated discs while rears are drums. The 2′s steering system is of the EPS variety. Opt for the R Grade and your Mazda 2 will roll on low profile 195/45 R16 rubber while the V Grade does with 185/55 R15 tyres.

Dimensions wise, Mazda’s little hatchback appears very petite. Width is identical with the Toyota Yaris and Honda Jazz down to the mm (1,695) and the 3,922 mm length is only 2 mm longer than the Jazz. However, the reason behind its svelte looks is the low roofline – the 2′s height of 1,478 mm is 47 mm less than the Jazz’s. While the hatch looks cute and pert, the same can’t be said of the sedan; that protruding boot just spoils the proportions. Its overall length of 4,263 mm is a substantial 132 mm shorter than the Honda City’s. Wheelbase is 2,490 mm for both variants.

What we can say for sure, for now, is that if you have tall family members or friends, this car is definitely not for you. My not too tall 175 cm frame managed to fit in with only two fingers widths of headroom to space to spare.

Equipment wise, the Mazda 2 comes with a leather wrapped steering with audio switches, split folding rear seats, ABS and two airbags. The sedan does not get the hatch’s ISOFIX child seat anchors and only the R Grade hatchback gets a bodykit. Prices are as follows (on the road, with insurance):

  • Mazda 2 Sedan V Grade RM79,859.50
  • Mazda 2 Sedan R Grade RM82,937.50
  • Mazda 2 Hatchback V Grade RM82,111.50
  • Mazda 2 Hatchback R Grade RM85,189.50

Pictures from the launch are after the jump.
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2010 Petronas Malaysian Grand Prix – High-Res gallery!

April 5, 2010 at 3:21 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The build up to the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix ended with Red Bull’s 1-2 victory. The team enjoyed a very productive weekend at Sepang and signs of the team’s pure pace was already evident with Webber’s pole and Vettel’s third place on Saturday’s qualifying.

The only competition both the Red Bulls had yesterday was with each other when Vettel managed to take over the lead from Webber at turn 1 on the opening lap. The duo then raced away leaving the rest of the pack behind. Although it was not a good day for Malaysia’s Lotus Racing with a retirement and a last place finish, the Petronas-backed Mercedes team bagged its first podium finish of the season with Nico Rosberg’s third place.

The weather was a surprise as it did not rain at all. Nevertheless it was still an interesting race with more overtaking moves compared to the season-opening Bahrain event. Among others, there was Lewis Hamilton’s charge from the back of the field and his on track squabble with Vitaly Petrov. Hamilton was also battling with Adrian Sutil at the closing stages of the race. Then there was a battle among Jenson Button, Felipe Massa and Fernando Alonso. Massa managed to pass Button but Alonso failed as his car suffered from a blown engine.

Standings wise, Felipe Massa in now the leader in the Driver’s Championship with 39 points. Both Vettel and Alonso are in second and third with 37 points each. Button and Rosberg are close behind, sharing 35 points. Sixth and seventh places are filled up by Hamilton and Kubica with 31 and 30 points respectively. This means the top seven are separated by just nine points. Ferrari is still ahead with 76 points in the Constructor’s Championship. McLaren and Red Bull are behind with 66 and 61 points.

Continue reading to view an image gallery.
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Nissan Leaf to be produced in Japan, UK and US

April 5, 2010 at 12:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Nissan

Nissan has released a couple of new videos and photos of the new Nissan Leaf in conjunction with the Leaf’s launch. European market production will begin in 2013 at Nissan’s UK Sunderland plant. The Sunderland plant has received a total investment of over 420 million British Pounds for the production of the Leaf and its batteries. The UK government has given Nissan a business investment grant of 20.7 million British Pounds.

Two other locations will build the Leaf – Japan and the USA. The Japanese production center will be located at Oppama while the American plant will be in Tennessee. The Oppama plant will start up first later this year followed by the American plant in 2012 and finally the Sunderland plant in 2013.

Nissan calls the Leaf the world’s first affordable, mass produced zero emission car. It’s basically a 5-seater C-segment 5-door hatchback built on a dedicated EV platform and powered by a 80kW electric motor. With a rapid charger it can get up to 80% battery capacity. Its battery packs will take it up to 160km of ‘real world range’, and top speed isn’t too bad either at just over 140km/h.

Look after the jump for some photos and videos of the Leaf.
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Disappointing Sepang weekend for Lotus Racing

April 5, 2010 at 9:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Lotus Racing has had the best start of the three new teams joining the 2010 Formula 1 season before Sepang – both cars were classified in Bahrain, Heikki finished 13th in Australia – but the “homecoming” Malaysian GP was a disappointment for the team as Heikki Kovalainen wasn’t classified as a finisher and Jarno Trulli came in 17th and last. Expectations were higher than normal – the combination of the results so far, the “home race” factor and the relatively good qualifying session where Heikki made it to Q2, a first for the team – saw to that.

The Finn who started in 15th place had a tricky race. Off the grid, his T127 was caught in a tussle with Virgin’s Lucas Di Grassi which caused a left rear puncture, leading to a quick pit stop on lap 12. He had to pit again 20 laps in with a hydraulics issue but was wheeled out again after a quick fix to gain more track time and give the fans something to cheer for. He completed 46 laps, 10 laps less than the leading 11 cars.

“We made a good start, but then on the second lap I was hit by Glock, which made me spin, and from then on my race was compromised. Despite that I got the car home to the end and that shows our focus on reliability has been worth the effort,” Trulli said of his race.

“The beauty of sport is that you have highs and lows, and after the high of yesterday, with Heikki in Q2, it was a bit of a low today. Jarno had some handling problems due to damaged bodywork at the rear, and did a great job to bring the car home. With Heikki, he had some very high temperatures which we managed to fix in the pit, and as soon as he was out again he was very competitive, took the car to the flag, and really showed what the car was capable of. So it was disappointing, but at least we managed to get two cars to the flag. We’ve learned a lot and are looking to move on and be on good form for China,” said Mike Gascoyne, Chief Technical Officer.

Team Principal Tony Fernandes felt the same. “It was good to get two finishes; obviously we’re unhappy with the position, but as we’ve always said it’s a major achievement just to finish. And we did – as you could see later Heikki’s car had good pace, so that’s encouraging. We take a lot away from this weekend, and we’ll take everything we have learned with us to China, and from Barcelona, as we’ve always said, we’ll be looking to build on the very solid start to the season. I’m proud of the effort the whole team put in today in tough, hot conditions, and we’re here to fight another day.”

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Sebastian Vettel finally does it and wins in Malaysia!

April 4, 2010 at 5:35 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Today is a very good day for Red Bull as the Renault-powered team scored a 1-2 victory at the surprisingly dry Malaysian GP. The 1-2 victory was led by Sebastian Vettel who started the race from third spot on the grid. Pole sitter and teammate Mark Webber crossed the line in second after losing the lead at the first turn on Lap 1.

The duo were at a league of their own through out the entire race and the final podium position went to Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg awarding the team it’s first podium finish after starting from second place. Podium finisher at the Australian GP a week ago, Robert Kubica from Renault managed fourth place. Force India has done it again with Adrian Sutil’s fifth place. Hamilton made excellent progress through out the race as the Brit started from 20th position.

Seventh place went to Felipe Massa who was the only Ferrari to cross the finish line. Massa is now leading the Driver’s Championship with 39 points ahead of Vettel and Alonso. Reigning World Champion Jenson Button finished in eight place. He nearly lost his eight place after receiving pressure from Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso during the final stages of the race. Unfortunately for the Alonso, his scarlet Ferrari suffered from a mechanical issue, most probably an engine failure which forced the Spaniard to retire.

Ninth place went Toro Rosso’s Jaime Alguersuari while Nico Hulkenberg from Williams filled up the tenth spot. The 56-lap race was a dry affair which was rather surprising, again proving that anything can happen at the Malaysian GP. First corner on Lap 1 was pretty much trouble-free without any drama. Both the Red Bulls pretty much sealed the top two and Nico Rosberg was running in third.

Both the McLarens and Ferraris had good starts but it was Lewis Hamilton who made the best progress. The Brit was steaming ahead through the field and entertained viewers with his battle for 9th place with Renault’s Vitaly Petrov. The Russian gave Hamilton a good fight for a couple of laps. Hamilton finally overtook Petrov but was given a warning as the 2008 champion weaved 4 times on the main straight while slipstreaming the Renault.

It was a disappointing day for Schumacher fans as the 7 times World Champion retired on Lap 10 from eight place. Apparently his car’s rear left wheel nut came off and there was no drive as well. Both the Ferraris and Lewis Hamiton were the last ones to pit. Jenson Button who won the Australian GP was being attacked by the Massa at the final stages of the race and Massa managed to pass the McLaren driver for seventh. Meanwhile, Hamilton was trying his best to make a move on Adrian Sutil’s car which is also powered by a Mercedes powerplant. This battle was for fifth place and Sutil managed to keep himself ahead till the end.

Following Massa’s pass on Button, it was Alonso’s turn and the former World Champion looked good for a pass but his car failed on him with about two laps remaining. A number of cars failed to finish the race while Pedro de la Rosa did not even start the race due to engine problems. Drivers including Timo Glock of Virgin, Kamui Kobayashi of Sauber, Vitantonio Liuzzi of Force India and Vitaly Petrov failed to make it to the finish line.

It wasn’t a good day for Lotus Racing at the team’s home race as well. Heikki Kovalainen had an accident with Virgin’s Di Grassi. As a result, the Finn suffered from a puncture and had to pit. But he had more problems and had to pit again. A couple of laps later Lotus sent him out although he was already six laps down. With six laps remaining Jarno Trulli suffered from some problems and was running last.

Both Kovalainen and Trulli were classified as 18th and 17th respectively, behind the Hispania drivers. Karun Chandhok was 15th while Bruno Senna was 16th. Formula 1 now heads up north for the Chinese GP which happens on April 18th. Overall the Malaysian GP wasn’t all that boring but it would have been nicer if it rained.

Please click here to view the full results.

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The Honda Freed – a CBU MPV from Indonesia

April 4, 2010 at 2:02 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda

Indonesia is definitely the land flowing with milk and honey for when it comes to car companies selling MPVs there, but of course being a developing country just like ours, their market is actually pretty sensitive to pricing. The Avanza and its larger sibling the Kijang are king in Indonesia. Nissan have challenged the Avanza with the Grand Livina but Indonesian roads remain filled with primarily Avanzas – the sheer amount of the Toyota Avanza and its Daihatsu-badged cousin Xenia is mind-boggling.

The latest compact MPV to hit the Indonesian market is the Freed. It is not the first time Honda has built an MPV in this segment as it previously also had the Mobilio and Mobilio Spike. But the Freed is the first MPV to be officially sold outside of Japan. It will be built in Indonesia and exported to the region. As a part of a preview prior to the Freed’s launch in Malaysia later this month, Honda Malaysia decided to take a small group of media to Indonesia to visit the PT Honda Prospect Motor plant where the Freed is built.

The Freed is currently the only MPV being built at PT Honda Prospect Motor as the company has stopped making the Stream there. As a result, even our Malaysian market Honda Stream has switched from being a CBU from Indonesia to a CBU from Japan. The Honda assembly plant is located in Karawang, which is just outside Jakarta. Honda Motor Co owns 51% of the company while its Indonesian partner PT Prospect Motor owns the other 49%. The 7 year old plant can produce 40,000 unit of bodies a year on 2 shifts and 160,000 unit of engines a year on 3 shifts. The plant exports cylinder heads and engine blocks as well as some body parts such as engine hoods, roofs, floors, and etc.

The Honda Freed that rolls out of the PT Honda Prospect Motor plant contains at least 40% ASEAN content including body panels and most of the engine, although a lot of the parts also remain Japan-sourced. Thus in the context of the Freed the plant can still probably be considered mostly an assembly plant although it does manufacturer certain parts. But in today’s world with parts coming from all around the world especially from within economic regions, it’s hard to find a plant that builds everything within the country.

The Freed is built with a combination of robots and manual labor. Robots take care of the work that require precision and consistency such as welding the body together and even things like applying sealant around certain parts of the car like the windscreen.

The human assembly workers are used for assembly work that aren’t as repetitious as welding a body and also other assembly work such as fitting the radio into the dashboard. Different specs of the Freed for different countries may use different radios (this is just an example) so these work are done by humans.

The workers also perform final QC work such as running their hands over the body surface to find inconsistencies in metal and other fittings. A Freed that has been completely assembled will go through a series of final QC checks including a water test which ensures all the seals work properly and there will not be any leakages into the car. Although the workers are mostly Indonesian, the system is designed and monitored by Honda engineers. Trust me, with cars being so full of electronics these days, water getting into places where it’s not supposed to go can be a real wallet-breaking affair. It happened to my E39!

The plant also has ‘green’ activities in line with Honda’s global eco stance. Among the programs ongoing at the Karawang plant are the implementation of ISO 14001, CO2 control, air emissions monitoring, and a hazardous waste management program. For example, rejected water from the plant’s RO water process is used to water the garden. The many water conservation systems implemented in the plant have resulted in a water savings of 77% before they were implemented.

Look after the jump for more photos from the plant and stay tuned for a brief impression short test drive report of the Freed coming up next.
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Mark Webber scores pole in a very wet qualifying for the Malaysian GP

April 3, 2010 at 5:37 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Mark Webber has come out on top after a very wet qualifying session for tomorrow’s Malaysian GP. Rain ‘blessed’ the session right from the beginning and things were even more difficult because the weather was constantly changing.

Changing track conditions during qualifying will usually mean mixed up final grid positions and this was evident today as both Ferraris and the McLaren of Lewis Hamilton failed to make it into Q2. Jenson Button officially made it into Q2 but was unable to take part in it and had to settle for 17th. The reigning World Champion spun his McLaren and parked it on the gravel trap. Virgin’s Lucas Di Grassi, Hispania’s Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok as well as Lotus Racing’s Jarno Trulli also failed to make the cut.

However both Heikki Kovalainen from Lotus and Timo Glock from Virgin made it into Q2. Renault’s Robert Kubica was fastest followed by Sauber’s Pedro de la Rosa and Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel. Vitaly Petrov of Renault, de la Rosa, Sebastien Buemi and Jaime Alguersuari of Toro Rosso, Kovalainen, Glock and Button were casualties of Q2.

Vettel set the fastest time ahead of Kubica and Sutil in Q2. Red Bull’s Mark Webber as well as both the Mercedes drivers made it into Q3 as well. Just moments after the initiation of Q3, the session was red flagged as the conditions were considered dangerous. Nevertheless as conditions improved the session resumed, although it was still raining.

With about 7 minutes remaining the top ten raced to set their lap times. Webber managed to clinch pole position and shares the front row with Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg. This is the team’s best qualifying result this season. Vettel will start from third ahead of Sutil and Williams’ Nico Hulkenberg. The rest of the top ten was made up by Kubica, Barrichello, Schumacher, Kobayashi and Vitantonio Liuzzi from Force India.

Expect a very dramatic race tomorrow as rain is expected. Quicker cars including both the Ferraris and McLarens are expected to fight their way through the field which should be a spectacle to watch. We did see a red flag today but lets hope we won’t see any tomorrow!

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The Dok-Ing XD Concept – a Croatian EV

April 3, 2010 at 1:02 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

What is the country Croatia famous for? Certainly not cars. But it might soon join the list of countries that have a native car brand. Dok-Ing is a company that produces stuff like de-mining robot vehicles used by the US army in the Iraq and Afghan wars. Now they are aiming to get into the electric car business.

The Dok-Ing XD was displayed at the 2010 Geneva show earlier this year. It’s a small and cute 3-seater (McLaren F1 style) that looks rather like a Mitsubishi i and a Toyota iQ blended together. The name XD has rather peculiar origins. X comes from the shape of the car’s tail lamps (kinda looks like a plaster) while D is the initial of the company’s name.

It is only 2.8 meters long, with an interior height and width of 1.6 meters by 1.7 meters respectively. The 80kW (106hp) EV motor with 360Nm of torque takes it from 0 to 100km/h in 7.7 seconds which is actually rather fast for these city vehicle type of EVs which normally clock in at over 10 seconds. Anything below 8 seconds starts to feel quite sporty.

The lithium-iron-phosphate battery can be charged up to 80% in 6 hours on 230V power. Taking it up to 100% capacity will add another 2 hours. Maximum range is estimated at between 200 to 250km. There is certainly some awareness on vehicle safety as Dok-Ing says the two passenger seats are fully equipped with ISOFIX points. The car also has what Dok-Ing calls “360 degree” airbags – I’m just going to assume there are a few that cover enough angles.

“Ever since I was young I had this idea, to produce a car. Now I realised we have the know-how and we did it. I wasn’t motivated by profit, it was more like a game, to prove I can actually do it,” Dok-Ing’s owner Vjekoslav Majetic told Reuters. The initial costs are around 30,000 euros due to battery costs and etc but the company is hoping that once in mass production, the car can be priced at less than 20,000 euros.
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Lewis Hamilton dominated Friday practice at Sepang

April 2, 2010 at 11:40 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Lewis Hamilton and his ‘chrome’ McLaren finished both free practice sessions on top, in preparation for this Sunday’s race at the Sepang International Circuit. In the first session the 2008 World Champion set a lap time of 1:34.921 which positioned him in front of the Mercedes of Nico Rosberg.

Hamilton’s teammate, fellow Brit Jenson Button finished the session in third position ahead of Michael Schumacher. The German who was part of the Petronas Pit Pulse demonstration had problems with brakes during the session but managed to recover.

Robert Kubica, podium finisher at the Australian GP settled for fifth place for Renault. He was closely followed by Red Bull’s Mark Webber, Force India’s Adrian Sutil, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso, Red Bull’s Sebastian Vettel as well as Sebastien Buemi from Toro Rosso who rounded off the top ten.

Lotus Racing is still proving that it is the team to beat among the new comers with Jarno Trulli’s 19th position, although the team still has a lot to do before it can challenge older and more established teams. He was a about 1.2 seconds quicker than Virgin Racing’s Timo Glock. Lucas Di Grassi finished 21st fastest while Lotus’ third driver Fairuz Fauzy managed 22nd. The Hispania duo of Bruno Senna and Karun Chandhok filled the final two spots.

Hamilton was still the fastest driver during the second session ahead of Vettel and Rosberg. Button was fourth followed by 7 times World Champion Michael Schumacher. Kubica, Alonso, Buemi, Petrov and Sutil made up the rest of the top ten. Webber had to settle with 20th position as his Red Bull suffered from an engine problem.

This allowed both Lotus drivers including Trulli and Kovalainen to finish in 18th and 19th places respectively. Fairuz Fauzy handed the steering wheel back to Kovalainen and later revealed to BBC that he may score a race drive sometime this season although there is no official confirmation on this. Both Virgin drivers along with both Hispania men finished in the final four.

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