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Mercedes-Benz E63 AMG updated for 2011MY

July 22, 2010 at 10:38 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

Mercedes-Benz have released details of the 2011 E63 AMG, which comes with a few revisions. One of them being the increase of power from the 6.2 litre V8 engine which now produces 11hp more, making it 525hp in total. Which is actually pretty small in the grand scheme of things.

Not that you’d be able to feel the power hike, but I’m sure the fuel efficiency increase of 12 percent will be easier on the wallet. This produces a fuel consumption figure of 12.6 litres for every 100km travelled which has been made possible with a braking recuperation system and the use of an AMG twin-wire arc spray coating process used on the cylinder walls of the engine.

The E63 AMG gets the AMG SPEEDSHIFT MCT 7-speed sports transmission also seen in the SL 63 AMG. Performance figures haven’t changed with the performance saloon propelling itself to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds going on to reach an electronically limited top speed of 250km/h.

The exterior remains the same while the interior will see the use of Artico leather for the dashboard and door panels, whereas the centre console trim around the AMG Drive unit will be finished in black piano lacquer finish, all of which are now available as standard equipment. Currently available in Europe, the E63 AMG will go for 105,791 Euros while the station wagon will go for 108,409 Euros.

You can view more hi res pics after jump.
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Nissan rumoured to build an electric sportscar?

July 22, 2010 at 8:21 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Infiniti, International News, Nissan

The automotive market is now clamouring with automaker trying to pump out electric sportscar such as Audi with their R8 and Mercedes with their SLS AMG. Nissan could be next as sources close to the company revealed the possibility of Nissan producing an electric sportscar.

Nothing else has been confirmed, thus we could see the Japanese company using body structures from its current line-up such as the 370Z. This would be a relatively good choice as it is a lightweight car but unfortunately lacks in size which has to house the unconfirmed amount of batteries.

We have to remember that Nissan would most likely use the platform of the Leaf with an electric motor producing slightly more juice. Thus anything in that size would do this new sports car well. We could also see the use of its premium brand Infiniti and some have been suggesting the use of cars like the hybrid concept Essence seen in 2009.

This could be pure speculation but as the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s Nissan’s CEO Carlos Goshn trying to make Nissan a leader in the automotive industry.


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Honda launching a plug-in hybrid in 2012

July 21, 2010 at 8:30 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Honda have confirmed it will go the way of its top competitor Toyota and launch a plug-in hybrid and a battery electric model for the US and Japanese market. Speaking at a news conference in Japan, CEO Takanobu Ito stated the models will be seen sometime in 2012.

They expect the new plug-in hybrid to go slightly more than 60km on a single litre of petrol making it more fuel efficient than the current Prius according to reports from Nikkei. This is of course a sort of grey area as so far we’re can universally only state mileage claims based on a formula that uses a single source of liquid fuel. The results of a hybrid vehicle can go way off especially if its a plug-in.

Along with the Insight, the company is also looking two other hybrid models for the US market expanding its hybrid line up to around five by 2013 according to the Japanese publication. This is quite a sudden turn of events for Honda, as they have previously been against the development of electric cars focusing mainly on hydrogen fuelled variants due to the fact that batteries were too expensive to be practical. Seems that the only reason they will be selling battery run electric cars is to meet US legal requirements in California.

Toyota was on the same bandwagon of EV sceptics, but have now changed their plans with its partnership with Tesla and the development of a prototype electric vehicle based on the Toyota RAV4 and Lexus RX.

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The Fast and The Furious 5 movie confirmed!

July 21, 2010 at 11:09 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News

Good news for fans of the ever popular Fast & the Furious franchise. They’re making a fifth instalment of the movie that features fast cars and the glitz of the underground racing scene. The movie is reportedly being shot in Puerto Rico and Brazil and may be called ‘Fast Five.’

Returning for the shoot will be the usual bunch of racer boys including Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese, Sung Kang (Han) as well as the introduction of Dwayne Johnson (The Rock). For some reason in my mind, I have a feeling Dwayne Johnson will be playing either a baddie in the form of a lawmaker or a ‘pimp-like’ good guy. Also judging by the line-up, the movie will be a prequel to Tokyo Drift but definitely a sequel to Fast and Furious (4th one) as there is no mention of Michelle Rodriguez.

The franchise is a successful one as you can tell, but obviously not for its engaging dialogue or award-winning acting. It was all about fast cars and even faster women. Up till now there have been an exotic variety of cars featured within all four movies, and we would be hard pressed to select the best, thus I’ll mention a few that stood out in my mind.

First and in no particular order, would be the Dodge Charger seen in the first film, that came to its demise at the end of the first film. Next up is a firm favourite among tuners, which was the Nissan Skyline GT-R a vast in most of the four films. Let us not also forget the beautifully kitted out Mazda RX-7 of Han in the movie Tokyo Drift. Han goes up in a ball of smoke along with his beautiful car.

Other noteworthy cars include the Toyota Supra Turbo which Paul Walker’s character used in most of the first film and the Mitsubishi Eclipse which had a good dose of Nox when and where it was needed. Last but not least was in the Tokyo Drift film, a perfect fusion of east meets west in the form of a 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback with an twin turbo straight six engine from a Nissan Skyline.

Where would you say each car comes if put in a list graded in terms of desirability? Do you think there are other cars that are worth mentioning? Have your say.

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Lotus F1 Fairuz Fauzy confirmed for German FP1

July 21, 2010 at 11:07 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Formula 1, International News, Lotus, Motorsports

Fairuz Fauzy has been confirmed a seat in the Lotus T127 for FP1 (Free Practice session) at this weekend’s German Grand Prix. He was originally meant to just take part in the British, Hungarian, Singapore and Abu Dhabi races but due to technical issues his Silverstone run had to be cut short.

Thus the team have decided to bring his Hungary run forward to Hockenheim where he will be able to gain more experience behind the wheel of the T27 and valuable on-track development.

“It’s an exciting day for all of us in the Lotus Racing team – being able to tell Fairuz he has another Friday run a week before he thought he’d be back in the car is a great way to start the week, and we all know he’ll deliver for us, both on track and in the feedback he’ll provide the team. He’s an inspiration to young drivers around the world, proving that being determined to make your dreams come true can make very exciting things happen!” said team principal Tony Fernandes commenting on the matter.

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Bao Jun – GM, SAIC and Wuling’s new low-cost car brand

July 20, 2010 at 3:57 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, China, General Motors, International News

GM has announced that they will be launching a low-cost brand in China with its joint venture partners SAIC and Wuling. The new brand will be called Bao Jun which means “treasured horse”, will produce passenger cars at an affordable price.

The SAIC-GM-Wuling (SGMW) partnership will try and soak up demand for affordable modes of transport in secondary cities and the outskirts, while big names like VW and even Chevrolet supply the demand for their cars in bigger metropolitan cities.

On the matter of the sales network, GM say that they will build it after the car is launched incorporating existing networks, new distributors and elements of the current structure. Unfortunately the company did not confirm the official release date of the car. Word is that it will be built on GM platforms, specifically the one underpinning the outgoing Chevrolet Lova. The photo below is supposedly a Wuling low cost car first seen in late 2008 but there’s been no more word about the car since.

“Baojun will complement our other brands sold in China including our fastest-growing mainstream nameplate, Chevrolet. It will enable us to better address the increasingly segmented Chinese vehicle market,” said Kevin Wale, President and Managing Director of the GM China Group. “Baojun will become another good example of successful partnership. By combining the best resources that SAIC, GM and SGMW have to offer, we will ensure an outstanding ownership experience for a greater number of consumers,” said Chen Hong, President of SAIC Motor.

SAIC-GM-Wuling started out in 2002 and builds a range of Wuling mini-trucks and minivans as well as the Chevrolet Le Chi mini-car. They have enjoyed record breaking sales of 1,061,213 units becoming the first automaker in China to sell more than 1 million vehicles in a single year.

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Lotus release promotional teaser for new model with ‘all things good in 1975′

July 20, 2010 at 3:48 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under International News, Lotus

Lotus have released a promotional teaser relating to the unveiling of a new model in the upcoming Paris Motor Show.

Stating a few events that happened in 1975, which include David Beckham’s birth, the release of Jaws and Margaret Thatcher as the first female Prime Minister of Britain, they go on to say that this is the same year that the Lotus Esprit was officially launched at the Paris Motor Show.

Hinting towards the fact that the same will happen this year, Lotus is obviously pointing towards the unveiling of its new model. The fact that it’s going to be life changing and immortalised in history has yet to be seen. But for them to make such a claim is enough to make any car fan curious and excited.

Lotus have previously announced that it will be unveiling 5 new models at this year’s show, which some are speculating to be two concept GT’s, an Esprit a roadster and a super car. Nevertheless for anyone to make a firm judgement we would have to just wait till the Paris Motor Show on the 30th of September.

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New Proton prototype mule spotted – what could it be?

July 20, 2010 at 1:37 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Persona R, Spyshots

I feel like we’re in an Episode of X-Files or something here. From these new photos sent in by reader KK Chen it is pretty much confirmed – the Exora that wasn’t really an Exora that we checked out earlier yesterday wasn’t an effect of a ‘squashed’ image. It’s something completely different. Here you can see both a real Exora and the mysterious new prototype vehicle with a mix of Exora sheetmetal covering it side by side.

And here’s a closer look at the mysterious new prototype. Is this the upcoming Persona replacement model built on a variant of the Exora platform (and disguised with Exora sheetmetal) with a multi-link suspension instead of the Exora’s torsion beam?

The Exora’s platform is definitely capable of that, in fact it was one of the features touted during the Exora’s technical briefing when it was first launched. Or is this a completely different vehicle? Whatever it is, this is NOT some kind of ‘Exora coupe’, the Exora sheetmetal and headlamps etc are likely just a disguise.

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ETCM launches 1.6L Nissan Sentra tuned by Impul

July 20, 2010 at 12:54 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

The Nissan Sentra was first unveiled to the world in the year 2000 and for some reason it is still soldiering on in our market, keeping the latest new style headlamp facelift first shown to the world in 2004, even though its ‘replacement’ the Sylphy is already on sale.

First introduced in Malaysia in December 2000, the Sentra has been around for 9 and a half years and by the end of this year it would mark a decade that the Sentra has been sold on our shores. That’s a seriously long time for a non-Malaysian make to be sold here. A normal car typically has a 5 year lifecycle while more upmarket cars like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have 7 year lifecycles. There are currently over 47,000 units of the Sentra on our roads.

The latest ‘update’ to the Sentra is the new Nissan Sentra tuned by Impul, which equips the Sentra with some Impul bits and pieces. You get a complete Impul aerokit which features a new front grille, front and rear bumper lips, side skirts and a rear wing. You also get an Impul sports suspension system which drops the ride height by around 25mm.

At the rear end you get an Impul Blast II Exhaust Muffler which is made of polished stainless steel. The wheels are 16 inch Impul FS-16 alloy wheels with a bronze finish. Of all these Impul components, only the 16 inch wheels are imported from Japan, while the rest are ‘localized’.

Here’s the prices for the Impul Sentra:

  • Impul Sentra 1.6L MT Comfort – RM94,500
  • Impul Sentra 1.6L MT Luxury – RM98,500
  • Impul Sentra 1.6L AT Comfort – RM98,600
  • Impul Sentra 1.6L AT Luxury – RM102,600

These prices are actually quite a margin over a ‘regular’ Sentra. For example a Sentra 1.6L MT Comfort goes for RM86,750 OTR with insurance in Peninsular Malaysia. That’s a RM7,750 premium for all the Impul stuff. But if for some reason you really want a Sentra with an Impul kit it’s cheaper to buy the pre-packaged Impul version than add the bodykit for RM3,000, the grille for RM800, the wheels for RM4,000, the tyres for RM1,200, the wheel nuts for RM250, the suspension for RM2,500, and the exhaust muffler for RM1,800.

But really, we come back to the question of WHY? And how long more do you think the Sentra will soldier on in Malaysia?

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Hyundai unveils Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec with 300hp!

July 19, 2010 at 8:19 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News

Hyundai have released details of a new Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 R-Spec for the US market, which as the name implies houses a 3.8 litre V6 engine capable of producing 306hp and 360Nm of torque. This is mated to a 6-speed close-ratio manual transmission and the car is propelled to 96km/h in just 5.5 seconds.

A world of difference compared to the 2.0T which produces 210hp from its 2.0 litre four cylinder engine. The ‘R-Spec’ equipment level was previously only available on the 2.0T. R-Spec gives the car stiffer front spring rates, limited slip diff, stiffer rear spring rates and unique shock valving which adds to the standard rear stabilizer bars that reduces body roll. In terms of stopping power, Brembo four-piston calipers will be used alongside ventilated front and rear rotors. This will sit on 19-inch wheels with a gunmetal finish.

Inside you will find a new interior which will be seen on both the R-Spec and the 2.0T model. What you’ll find inside is the use of soft touch materials on the door panels, lower instrument panels, steering wheel, glove box and the centre speaker grille.

Apart from that the shift bezel, instrument gauge cluster and dashboard knobs will have a different finish, while the A-pillars will be enveloped with cloth. Revisions were undertaken on the rear coat hooks, trunk deck lid grab handle and multi-information display screen graphics. There will also be appropriate R-Spec badging in the performance model. High-res pictures are available after the jump.
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