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Ford Fiesta Movement Malaysia Mission Two – win RM250 Top Shop vouchers this Friday

May 12, 2010 at 9:41 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

If you’ve been following the social media scene you would have heard of the Ford Fiesta Movement. The Fiesta Movement started in the US with 100 ‘agents’. They each spent six months behind the wheel of a European Fiesta. They shared their experiences and completed monthly missions to show you what the Ford Fiesta was all about (months and months before it would be available in the U.S.). You can visit the Fiesta Movement Chapter 1 website to find out more about all the missions that the ‘agents’ did.

Sime Darby Auto ConneXion is having their very own Fiesta Movement here in Malaysia to announce the arrival of the Ford Fiesta sometime in Q3 2010. ‘Agents’ here in Malaysia can participate in a series of ‘Missions’ on the Ford Fiesta Malaysia Facebook Fan Page and win giveaways. In Mission One, the agents had to pose with the Fiesta at the car’s 1 Utama preview showcase and upload their photo onto the Facebook fan page.

Mission Two has just started. The Ford Fiesta will be at a series of locations around Malaysia. Ford will be organizing a flash mob there. What an ‘agent’ has to do is basically just visit the flash mob and just record a video of themselves there with the Ford Fiesta Flash Mobbers. You can either be in the same frame with them or perhaps join in the fun. Then you have to upload your video onto the Ford Fiesta Malaysia Facebook Fan Page and get your friends to ‘Like’ the video.

The entries with the most Likes win and there is no limit to the number of times you can participate, so you can join every scene and upload a video. The top three Liked videos for each scene will win RM250 worth of Topshop vouchers while the next 20 will get a pair of GSC movie tickets. Here’s the first two scenes, both of which will happen this Friday the 14th of May:

  • 12:30 PM to 1:00 PM – Menara Millennium Bukit Damansara – in front of the building
  • 5:30 PM to 6:00 PM – Bukit Bintang, Bangunan Yayasan Selangor traffic junction

CLICK – Ford Fiesta Malaysia Facebook Fan Page
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Audi A1 production starts in Belgium, prices revealed

May 12, 2010 at 9:31 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi has officially started taking orders for the new Audi A1 after a much anticipated wait. According to Audi AG, orders looks like they will surpass production levels this year, meaning certain customer would have to wait for their bundle of joy.

Audi’s Brussels plant will be producing 50,000 units of the A1 from now till end 2010 while 80,000 units will be delivered to customers next year. The company expect to eventually make 100,000 units annually by 2012.

For 15,800 euros you get the 86 hp 1.2 TFSI which has excellent fuel economy of 5.1L/100 km while only producing 118 g/km of CO2. The other engine variants available would be the 1.6 TDI that produces 105 hp while retailing at 18,800 euros. This particular model uses only 3.9L/100 km, saving you on fuel in the long run. The 1.4 TFSI produces 122 hp and will sell for 19,900 euros and has a fuel economy of 5.2L/100 km. This while only producing 119 g/km of CO2 emissions.

There’s no doubt that the Audi A1 will carry a premium price compared to its competitors, one of them being the MINI which starts of at around 13,000 euros. While space is a luxury in the backseat of the MINI, the A1 is 200 mm longer than it. The other contender would be the Alfa Romeo MiTo which comes in at just under 15,000 Euros for the 1.4-litre 95 hp version.

Click here for live images of the A1 from the Geneva show and a huge official gallery.

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Renault Megane dCi 110 DPF now available with 6-speed twin clutch transmission

May 12, 2010 at 9:02 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Renault

The Renault Megane range now comes with a 6-speed dual clutch transmission! But before you get all excited and assume the new Megane RS will be hitting our streets with twin clutch goodness, relax, because the new twin clutch Renault Efficient Dual Clutch (EDC) gearbox will be available only with the diesel dCi 110 DPF engine.

The EDC transmission weighs about 82kg including its twin mass damping flywheel. It needs about 1.7 litres of lubrication which leads me to believe it is probably a dry clutch transmission like Volkswagen’s 7-speed DSG instead of wet clutch like Volkswagen’s 6-speed DSG. The odd gears are handled by one clutch while the other clutch handles the even gears and the reverse gear. The transmission also has a manual shift mode.

The transmission is able to drop fuel consumption and CO2 emissions of an equivalent torque converter automatic model by up to 17%, or 30g/km of CO2 emissions. This will allow a few models (namely the Megane Coupe, Megane Estate, Megane CC, Scenic and Grand Scenic – the last two are considered to be part of the Megane range) to be able to be badged “Renault eco2″, which will make them the first automatic transmission Renaults to qualify.

In addition, CO2 emissions will be low enough (114g/km) in the Megane Hatch, Coupe and Estate to get a 500 Euro “eco-bonus” subsidy from the French government.

Look after the jump for a video demo of the Renault EDC.
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Bell & Ross BR03-92 Instrument Phantom Infiniti

May 12, 2010 at 8:28 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Infiniti, International News

Infiniti has worked with Bell & Ross to produce this special 100 unit Limited Edition BR03-92 Instrument Phantom Infiniti wristwatch. You can only buy them at Infiniti Centres in Europe so American customers will be out of luck, unless they grab one through the grey market or buy one while on holiday in Europe.

The watch was launched in commemoration of the new Infiniti FX Limited Edition crossover, which like the watch has only 100 units available. Purchase of the watch is not restricted to Infiniti FX Limited Edition owners though. Anyone with £2,809.97 (RM13.3k) to cough up can buy one.

Look after the jump for the “specs” of the watch.
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Volkswagen Passat CC, Alfa Romeo 159 and more on Driven’s 5th episode!

May 11, 2010 at 8:43 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Local News

5 weeks have passed since local auto review television show Driven made its season premiere and the team has showcased various four-wheeled beauties such as the Ford Mondeo, Toyota Prius, Mercedes E-Class, the Kia Forte and more. Both the Proton Exora and the Perodua Alza were also reviewed in the show’s first ever shootout.

Apart from auto reviews Driven also featured other informative motoring-related stories such as the benefits of a modern diesel engine, quick engine service tips and more. On episode 5 which aired last Sunday the team featured its first ever superbike review. The bike in question was the super-quick 193hp S1000RR from BMW which was tested at the Sepang International Circuit.

Jumping back to four wheels the show’s leading man Sharizan drove the Volkswagen Passat CC and showed that the sexier version of the Passat has presence, something pretty important for a vehicle of its type. The show’s Insider talked about latest automotive technologies that help motorists save fuel. Such fuel consumption-enhancing goodies include direct injection, force induction and more.

The highlight of the episode was the review of the sharp-looking Alfa Romeo 159. The review was done in a rather entertaining fashion, with an Italian flare to be exact. The 159 received positive remarks overall but the Alfa’s Selespeed automated manual proved to be a rather jerky transmission to use. Driven also launched Week 5 of The Double Barrel Hunt which allows participants to take part online via www.driven.com.my.

All you need to do is to make an RM30 purchase at any BHPetrol station, receive a slip and log on to Driven.com.my and count the number of times BHPetrol’s Double Barrel nozzle appears on episode 5 by watching the online video of the episode. Top five winners will receive attractive goodies from BHPetrol, Nokia, V-KOOL, Ultra Glass Coating Neo and more.

Driven merchandise is also up for grabs. More importantly the winner from each week of the 10-week long contest will be invited to the Driven Track Day on June 25th. Winners will be given rides in an actual race car around the Sepang circuit. Log on to Driven.com.my to catch up on the episodes and to join The Double Barrel Hunt. You can also post your comments and feedback there too!

Driven airs every Sunday 10.30pm on 8TV and is brought to you by BHPetrol.

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BMW and Mercedes selling “value for money” cars in India

May 11, 2010 at 5:25 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under BMW, International News, Mercedes Benz

German premium marques BMW and Mercedes-Benz have uncovered a unique tactic for the Indian market – selling “stripped out” variants and going down the “value for money” route. Bizarre? Read on.

Unlike in Europe, premium badge customers in India have very little say in customising their rides and choosing options. So it’s high spec at a high price, like in Malaysia. When BMW and Mercedes brought in variants of the 3-Series and C-Class without extras such as leather, sunroof, parking sensors, electric seats and high end audio systems, it was for the car rental market and no advertising was done. But word got around and private customers started to ask for these affordable premium cars, so this isn’t the ingenious marketing solution that it looks like but more of a fluke!

Marketed as “Corporate Edition”, the reduction of a few lakh rupees opens BMW/Merc ownership to customers that are shopping for high-spec versions of cars such as the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Skoda Superb and Nissan Teana. The bare Beemer goes for Rs23.95 lakh, Rs3 lakhs (about US$6,600) cheaper than the standard car. Expect to pay around Rs26.27 lakh for the base C-Class, which makes it a whopping Rs6.22 lakh (about US$14,000) cheaper than the high end version.

Stats from BMW confirm that in the three months since they started selling the 175 bhp/350 Nm 320d CE models, 305 units have found buyers, which is within expectations. Mercedes joined the base model party in April. Premium badged cars without much toys are actually quite common in Europe, where buyers get more freedom in choosing options. Do you think such variants will work in Malaysia?

Source

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GALLERY: More Renault Megane CC beauty shots released!

May 11, 2010 at 4:18 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Renault

In conjunction with the start of European sales this month, Renault has released a huge gallery of beauty shots featuring the new Megane CC, the coupe-convertible variant of Renault’s third-generation C-segment entrant.

Launched at the Geneva show earlier this year, the new CC takes after the new family look of the Megane III, which is a bit too fussy for these eyes. And while it’s not as deliberately angular as its predecessor (which is sold in Malaysia by TC Euro Cars), the profile is familiar, which also means that the CC’s bum looks big from certain angles.

The highlight of this car, like the one before it, has got to be the folding glass roof, which is now 10% larger and is the biggest in the class. The roof opens in 21 seconds. Manufactured by Karmann, the 110 kg roof module is designed and made in Germany before being shipped to Douai, France, where the CC is put together alongside the Scenic/Grand Scenic.

Lots of work have gone into making the Megane CC’s body as stiff as possible, and the suspension compensates for the additional 160 kg weight over the hatchback. Renault says that static and dynamic torsional stiffness has been improved by 80% and 30% respectively over the previous generation Renault Megane II CC.

Petrol engines include a 110 bhp/151 Nm 1.6 (six-speed manual), a 140 bhp/195 Nm 2.0 (Nissan designed CVT) and a turbocharged 1.4 TCe engine. The latter is a properly downsized unit that combines 130 bhp, 190 Nm and combined fuel consumption of just 13.7 km/l. It’s only available with a six-speed manual.

Gallery and complete information is after the jump.
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BMW’s N52 versus N53 – what are we missing?

May 11, 2010 at 1:59 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

BMW LogoNot all BMW 6-potters are the same. There are a total of four N5x engines in active use right now – the normally aspirated N52 and N53 as well as the turbocharged N54 and the N55. During European drive programs, the normally aspirated 6-potters that journalists get to try now are usually equipped with the N53 (from 08 plate onwards if I am not mistaken), which is a newer engine.

The new N53 comes in two displacements – 2.5 litres and 3.0 litres. One major difference with the N52 is that it comes with High Pressure Injection, which is basically direct injection. But the N53 does not have Valvetronic because there is not enough space in the cylinder head to implement both direct injection and Valvetronic. BMW has since solved this problem of course – in the N55 TwinPower Turbo they managed to put both Valvetronic and direct injection in that engine.

The N53B25U0 can make 190 horses at 6,100rpm and 240Nm of torque between 3,500 to 5,000rpm. The mid-range engine is the N53B30U0 which can produce 218 horses at 6,100rpm, and 270Nm of torque between 2,400 to 4,200rpm which is rather low by 3.0 litre standards, but the “U0″ 3.0 litre engine is detuned (used in ’25i’ products) and meant to compete with competitor products of a lower displacement/power output. The ‘proper’ 3.0 litre engine is the N53B30O0 which does the full 272 horses at 6,700rpm and 320Nm of torque from 2,750rpm to 3,000rpm.

Our recently launched F10 5-Series 523i comes with the N52 engine instead of the N53 engine. Power is 204 horses and 250Nm of torque, which is equivalent to the tune found in the Z4 sDrive23i. This is up from what the E60 523i had, but lower than what the 2.5 litre engine is actually capable of, so a little remapping trick in the future should be able to unleash those horses. The engine is older but I wouldn’t say it’s outdated as it is still in use in a few countries, not just our “ASEAN” country. USA and Australia still continues to use the N52 for the same reason that we use the N52 – high sulphur content in our gasoline. Yes, the sulphur issue is not just with our diesel.

According to BMW, they are able to introduce the N54 and N55 with direct injection here because the forced induction changes the combustion flame in a way that allows the injectors to be okay with the sulphur content here, but that’s as technical an explanation as I could get so far. It’s also because of the inability to offer direct injection here that we are stuck with the weak 156hp N46B20 engine in the 320i, when other markets have moved on to N43B20 with 170 horsepower and 210Nm of torque thanks to its direct injection system.

Personally I feel that the N52 sounds smoother and silkier than the N53, which sounds a little more growly and rough, likely because of the direct injectors. However the N53 feels punchier at the low end. Both have Double VANOS but the N53 has traded Valvetronic for direct injection, while the N52 has Valvetronic. If our F10 523i had come with an N53 engine instead of an N52, we would be looking at 204 horsepower at 6,100rpm and 270Nm of torque between 1,500 to 4,250rpm, which is a higher torque number over a much much wider RPM band, but N53 applications of the 523i carries a 3.0 litre engine displacement which would mean a significantly higher road tax in Malaysia.

Those are the facts that I have to share so far – if you know anything else about the N52 and the N53 please do share your knowledge in the comments area.

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Peugeot scores satisfying one-two finish in topsy turvy Le Mans rehearsal, Audi finished third at Spa

May 11, 2010 at 12:29 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Motorsports, Peugeot

The 1,000 km endurance race at Spa-Francorchamps over the weekend is the most important warm up for teams preparing for Le Mans (12-13 June), with front runners Audi and Peugeot both calling the event a “full dress rehearsal”. If so, the Germans might not want to follow the script for the main showdown, as their French rivals stormed to a one-two finish at Spa.

The trio of Sébastien Bourdais, Pedro Lamy and Simon Pagenaud topped the podium ahead of teammates Franck Montagny and Stéphane Sarrazin in the sister 908 HDi FAP. Audi’s Dindo Capello, Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish was third. The No.1 Peugeot of Anthony Davidson, Marc Gene, Alex Wurz came home fourth, ahead of Timo Bernhard, Romain Dumas and Mike Rockenfeller in their Audi R15 Plus. The Spa victory capped a great run up for Team Peugeot, as it was their fourth straight one-two finish.

The weekend got off to a great start for Peugeot with Bourdais putting the No.3 908 on pole. But on race day, first corner drama saw teammate Lamy drop down to ninth. The race was then interrupted by a number of safety car interventions, and the ensuing chaos saw Audi take the lead. When the race resumed, Peugeot upped its pace and chased down the lead Audi, only for the race to be interrupted again when an electricity power-cut affected the region and forced organisers to suspend the race.

With power restored, the race got underway again and the Peugeot drivers resumed their chase. Sébastien Bourdais, then had a good fight with Capello before taking the lead on Lap 71. The ex-F1 driver then handed over to Simon Pagenaud who defended his advantage despite a rain shower an hour before the finish. He took the risk of staying out on medium-compound tyres while the Audis opted for intermediates. The gamble paid off, and the No3 car went on to win by more than a minute. Peugeot has now gone unbeaten at Spa since 2007.

Sarrazin also stayed out on slicks in the No.2 Peugeot, although he did eventually switch to softer tyres, passing the Audi just two laps from the end. The No.1 could have made it a clean sweep for Peugeot but for an off track excursion by Marc Gené 30 minutes from the end of the race.

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