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Buick Excelle GT revealed – it’s an Opel Astra sedan!

June 8, 2010 at 3:13 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Buick, Cars, China, International News


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This sedan version of the latest Opel Astra has made its debut in China as the Buick Excelle GT, following the debut of the five-door hatchback Astra (Excelle XT) at the Guangzhou Motor Show late last year. Buick is a very strong brand in China, a marque that people aspire to own, which explains why GM is using it to market the Astra in China. Before this, the Buick Excelle name was given to the car we know as the Chevrolet Optra.

The Excelle sedan managed the transformation from hatchback to booted car quite well, and looks sleek enough to sit on the same table as bigger brother Buick Regal (Opel Insignia) without getting embarrassed. The front end gets a large waterfall grille with lots of chrome, which is a Buick trademark. The side profile of the car reminds me of a Nissan Sylphy, but with more sculpturing and angle for the glasshouse.

Of all the Euro C-segment hatchbacks, the Astra is the biggest of the lot; for the sedan, its wheelbase is lengthened by 70 mm to make 2,685 mm, which competes well with rivals like the Honda Civic and Nissan Sylphy at 2,700 mm.

Like in the the hatchback, the top line engine here is a turbocharged 1.6-litre four-cylinder with 181 bhp and 235 Nm of torque available from 1,980 rpm to 5,400 rpm. An overboost function raises max twist to 266 Nm for five seconds under full throttle. The milder option is a normally aspirated 1.8-litre with 138 bhp. A six-speed auto is standard. The 1.8L engine and six speeder should be the same combo used in the Chevrolet Cruze, which we hear will be launched in Malaysia this week. The Cruze also sits on the same modern Delta II platform of the Excelle/Astra.

Shanghai GM, which will start selling the Excelle GT on June 23, hasn’t released a full photo set, but a Chinese website managed to snap the car completely uncovered. Gallery is after the jump.
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BYD set up European HQ in Germany, sales start next year

June 8, 2010 at 2:09 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under BYD, Cars, China, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Chinese battery and automaker BYD will set up its European headquarters in Germany, saying that the decision now depends on “finding the right property and place” and will likely be made before the end of the year, according to Henry Li, GM of BYD’s export division.

Backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, the Shenzhen based company wants to be the first Chinese company to sell electric and hybrid cars in Western Europe, and is aiming for cities that subsidise eco cars. The push will start next year with models such as the E6 electric car, a Honda Odyssey sized five seater that uses two electric motors for a 330 km range before it needs to recharge.

Other cars in the pipeline include the F3DM plug-in hybrid sedan, which looks like a Corolla Altis from the front and a Honda City from the rear. BYD could eventually design and build cars in Europe, the company revealed.

Back home, BYD has a partnership with Daimler to produce electric vehicles. It has invested $88 million in the 50:50 partnership that will create a new brand of EVs for Chinese market, now the world’s largest.

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Red Bull extends Mark Webber’s contract for 2011

June 8, 2010 at 11:18 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Amidst all the talk about in-house war, comes news that Mark Webber, who will be free to leave at the end of this season, has officially extended his contract with Red Bull Racing for the 2011 season. Only for a year though, as it seems that both the team and driver are happy with the current arrangement.

“At this stage of my career, I’m happy to take one year at a time,” said Webber in a statement. “The decision to extend for a further year was a mutual one; it’s widely known that I’m not interested in hanging around in Formula 1 just for the sake of it,” the 34-year old Aussie added. With this, he will be again partnering Sebastian Vettel next year, the teammate who collided with him at the Turkish GP.

Team boss Christian Horner is happy with the Webber’s performance. “The decision to retain Mark was very straightforward. He is an important member of our team and is currently in the best form of his career, as the current leader of the drivers’ championship. The team is extremely happy that the driver pairing of Mark and Sebastian will remain unchanged for a third season in 2011.”

Now that Webber and Vettel are staying put, it means that there will be two seats less in the F1 game of musical chairs. Before Mark signed, his destination and the man to replace him at Red Bull was much speculated. Webber leads the championship by five points heading to this weekend’s Canadian GP.

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Taiwan’s Luxgen7 SUV offers plenty of gadgets and luxury

June 8, 2010 at 10:30 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News

Here are more details of Taiwanese brand Luxgen’s second model, the Luxgen7 SUV. A big SUV that has the same footprint as a Porsche Cayenne (4.8m long, 1.93m wide) but taller, the Luxgen SUV has plenty of presence, if not beauty. The fussy front design could have been inspired by the Peugeot 3008 – with the same elements in the same position!

Curiously, the press release makes no mention of the engine, so we presume that under the hood is the 175 bhp/255 Nm 2.2-litre MEFI Turbo engine from their earlier car, the Luxgen7 MPV. The Aisin sourced transmission is a “10-mode” 5-speed automatic with tiptronic. This is combined with the SUV’s 3-mode 4WD system, which shuffles torque between axles on-demand.

Inside you’ll get premium leather seats, airline style head restraints with ventilation, electronic massage, lumbar support, Clarion audio system and JBL speakers. Most noteworthy is the anti-theft driver seat which slides and leans itself to the front to rest against the steering wheel when the driver locks the car, making it harder for thieves. There’s also a powered tailgate.

Also included is a Think+ on-board computer system (developed by HTC) which offers video, audio entertainment, telecommunication, GPS, personal safety and visual assistance systems. The latter consists of Eagle View+ (a 360 degree surveillance system), Side View+ (blind spot monitoring system), lane departure warning and night vision. Safety equipment such as dual airbags, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist are standard. Side and curtain airbags and ESP are optional.

Prices start from NTD 838,000 (RM86,000) to NTD 1,148,000 (RM118,000) in Taiwan. High res images after the jump.
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Renault Latitude unveiled – based on Samsung SM5

June 8, 2010 at 12:32 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Renault

The new Renault Latitude is an interesting new sedan from Renault just unveiled today, and is part of a new range of Renaults that I personally consider as slotting in between the very low end Dacias and the regular Euro Renaults such as the Megane.

The Latitude joins the previously unveiled Fluence as a series of new cars that aren’t too cheap but at the same time is able to offer the kind of things that markets outside the typical Eurozone appreciate.

The car itself is based on the latest generation Renault-Samsung SM5 that was just unveiled end of last year, much like now the Fluence was based on a smaller Renault-Samsung product. The design is a little plain but still manages to be sleek at the same time.

It’s based on the Laguna III chassis and measures 4,890mm long by 1,830 mm wide and 1,490 mm tall.

There are some equipment to suit it being a D-segment car such as bi-Xenon adaptive directional headlamps, fragrance diffuser air conditioning, triple-zone air conditioning, a driver’s seat with massage functions, premium audio from Bose, and etc, but the full specs list haven’t been released yet. The Latitude is undoubtedly a lower cost car compared to the Laguna and will go on sale in markets such as Russia, Asia, Africa, Turkey, Gulf, Australia and Mexico. An Euro version of the car will be showcased at Paris 2010.

Renault is currently a real niche player in Malaysia, mainly selling its range of fun to drive Renault Sport cars, other than the Kangoo of course. The Renault Sport cars are joined by the Koleos SUV and the Laguna Coupe but even these don’t really sell in high volume, probably because of the high prices.

Tan Chong seems like the play safe kind of company to me so I don’t expect them to try to charge into the volume market where cars like the Fluence and this new Latitude can come into action in the C-segment and D-segment respectively. Which is a pity as they look like decent cars. The Fluence is the largest car in its class, beating the Civic in wheelbase.

Look after the jump for more photos of the new Renault Latitude. Renault have yet to release any interior photos of the car as of yet but I suspect it’ll be quite close to the Samsung SM5 so I’ve added a gallery of that car as well.
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Classic Peugeot display at Peugeot 3008 Launch

June 7, 2010 at 10:41 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Peugeot

Nasim added a nice touch to its Peugeot 3008 launch today by having a small classic Peugeot showcase outside comprising of a maroon Peugeot 504, a white Peugeot 403, a nice yellow Peugeot 204 cabriolet, a Peugeot 505 estate (which is a 7 seater by the way), and finally a nice black Peugeot 205 GTi 1.6 hot hatch.

Look after the jump for a photo gallery of the classic Pugs.
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Peugeot 3008 launched in Malaysia – RM143,888!

June 7, 2010 at 6:54 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

READ: Peugeot 3008 Test Drive Review

The Peugeot 3008 crossover, or SUV, as Peugeot prefers to call it in Malaysia, was launched hours ago in Kuala Lumpur. With big ads all over the papers today, all that was left a secret was the price, and it has been revealed that the 3008 will cost RM143,888 on the road inclusive of insurance. Pearl white is a RM1,500 cost option. That’s lower than the previously indicated RM150K ballpark price and undercuts the Honda CR-V by about RM6,000.

That sum will buy you a long list of equipment. The 3008 is five-star Euro NCAP rated and it comes with six airbags, ESP, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist. The two star features that will wow showroom visitors are the huge panoramic glass roof and Head Up Display (HUD). There’s also Dynamic Roll Control which helps combat body roll.

Drivetrain wise, the 3008 is powered by the THP 156 engine from the Prince family of direct injection four-cylinder engines. The twin-scroll turbocharged unit pushes out 156 bhp and 240 Nm and is paired to a new six-speed automatic gearbox with Tiptronic. Power goes solely to the front wheels. Other goodies include leather, 17-inch alloys and an electronic handbrake.

We’ve already driven the 3008, and if you missed our test drive report, click here to read it and view the gallery.

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Sydney cops use Alfa MiTo patrol car to “attract attention”

June 7, 2010 at 3:17 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Alfa Romeo, Cars, International News


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The Sydney Police Force in Australia has taken delivery of its latest patrol car, the Alfa Romeo MiTo. Alfa’s chic baby isn’t the first interesting car to be driven by the coppers from Down Under however; past desirable police cars include the Holden HSV GTO, Fiat 500, Lotus Exige, Chrysler 300C and Alfa Romeo GT.

But isn’t the MiTo a little too tame and dainty to chase down big Aussie muscle? Before you imagine a fashionable, petite lady chasing down a burly beer guzzling guy down the street, the Alfa’s role in the Force isn’t to pursue, but to advocate, although with 155 bhp/230 Nm from its 1.4-litre turbo, it shouldn’t do too badly when duty calls.

“When it comes to visibility, the MiTo has proven to be an exceptional car, attracting attention and interest like no other car, with its primary role as providing a talking point from which we can discuss road safety,” Chief Superintendent Bradley Shepherd explained.

“We see this as practical and highly cost effective way that we can play our role in a safer community for everyone. Our cars assist the Police in making contact with a wide range of people so they can discuss and offer help with road safety and crime prevention, as well as providing the practical assistance of transport. We believe that this is a very positive role that we can play in the community,” said Andrei Zaitzev, GM of Alfa Romeo Australia.

One more photo after the jump.
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VIDEO: Mercedes Benz SLS AMG GT3 race car

June 7, 2010 at 3:11 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Mercedes Benz, Motorsports, Videos

The release of the new gull-winged SLS has now spawned the GT3 version of the car. Built to FIA GT3 regulations, the new offering has been modified to produce a track ready car that is available to the general public to purchase, if you so happen to be interested in running a GT3 car in a race.

The GT3 car will still maintain the same AMG 6.3-litre V8 engine that produces 571 bhp. It is already sort of race-ready since it features dry sump lubrication which will prevent oil starvation and make sure all parts of the engine continue to be lubricated well during hard cornering.

You can catch a glimpse of the SLS AMG GT3 at popular 24-hour races such as in Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium, and on the Nürburgring in Germany. Anyone interested in owning one of these monstrous beauties can start ordering them in Autumn 2010, with delivery expected just before the 2011 race season.

You can also watch the SLS AMG GT3 prowl around what seems to be its garage in an almost silent burble.
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Injured Valentino Rossi keen to join Ferrari as third driver

June 7, 2010 at 2:47 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Ferrari, Formula 1, Motorsports

When speed is in your blood, it doesn’t matter what machinery you’re on, even if going fast on two wheels isn’t quite the same as doing it on four. Valentino Rossi, the undisputed king of MotoGP is one such person. He regularly tests Ferrari F1 cars, posting times that aren’t far away from what the guys who make a living from F1 do.

And because of that, he has always been linked with a possible switch of sport to F1, and more specifically, the Scuderia. However, the MotoGP man was recently quoted as saying that he would not want to be one of the two main drivers in Ferrari’s line up, which goes hand in hand with Ferrari’s push to have three car entries on the F1 grid.

“To have a strong team like Yamaha’s (in MotoGP), Ferrari should hire Sebastian Vettel alongside Alonso, I would like to explore the possibility of a third car for myself,” Rossi told Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport.

Over the Italian GP weekend at Mugello, Rossi crashed during practice and suffered a fractured leg. The Doctor had four screws inserted into his leg in the first operation and he will undergo a second operation today. It will be some time before he gets on a bike again, or a Formula 1 car.

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