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Skoda Superb and Skoda Octavia VRS in Bermaz Glenmarie

August 18, 2010 at 5:09 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Skoda

It appears that Berjaya Group’s Skoda sales division have brought in some units of the Skoda Superb and Skoda Octavia VRS and they are on display at Bermaz Glenmarie. Readers Kamil and Shamsir both sent in photos of the two cars today. Apparently the Octavia VRS was quoted to be priced at RM188,888, which makes it the cheapest way you can get Volkswagen’s 2.0 TSI engine in a car with a boot right now. No details on the Skoda Superb, but we do have a huge detailed photo gallery of the two cars which you can find after the jump. You can also see the Superb’s TwinDoor in action.
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New Powerkit by Porsche boosts Panamera Turbo figures

August 18, 2010 at 1:13 pm By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

Porsche is offering what they call a Porsche Panamera Personalisation Programme with a Powerkit and a Sport Design Package for their big four-door. The former is for all Panameras, but the Powerkit is reserved for the Panamera Turbo.

With the Powerkit, which consists of two new turbochargers with titanium aluminium turbine wheels and a revised ECU, the Turbo gains 40 horses to make 540 hp. Torque is raised by 50 Nm to 750 Nm. The Powerkit includes the Sport Chrono Package, and it allows for overboost to 800 Nm. Acceleration figures have dropped by a tenth to 3.9 seconds in Sport Plus mode, while top speed is up by 2 km/h to 305 km/h. Despite the performance upgrade, fuel consumption stands at 11.5L/100 km.

For all Panameras, the Sport Design Package includes aero bits such as body coloured front end with widened black air intake grilles, separate side skirts and a body coloured rear underbody apron with diffuser. Completing the package will be new 20-inch multi-spoke alloys in GT silver metallic, black or the body colour.

The Powerkit will be launched in November, while the Sport Design Package will be available in October. Both are US market options that can be retrofitted to current cars. More pics after the jump.
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Schumacher: Mercedes GP car not functioning in harmony

August 18, 2010 at 12:39 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz, Motorsports

The 2010 Formula 1 season is fast entering its final stages and it’s obvious by now that Michael Schumacher’s dream comeback hasn’t materialised. The seven-time champ is finding it hard to enter Q3 on Saturdays and has only 38 points to his name, less than half of what teammate Nico Rosberg has amassed. Never mind seeing him do that famous leap again, Schumi on the podium is a shock result today.

The 41-year old says that the MGP W01 car is the problem. “The teamwork, with the engineers and with Nico Rosberg is going very well. The car we currently have is almost a ‘survivor’ from last year, which had already been shaped, moulded and developed for us and we as drivers have had to make compromises accordingly.

“The fact is that the car is not functioning in harmony, neither with the tyres nor with the drivers and obviously we must invest all the time we have in ensuring this is not the case next year,” he said in an interview with sponsor DVAG.

However, the German is positive that things will be different next year. “The fact is that I feel comfortable in the situation and I believe that we are moving in the right direction to ensure that next year we will be real contenders,” he remarked.

The next F1 race will be the Belgian GP at Spa-Francorchamps next weekend (27-29 Aug).

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Saab to debut 9-4X crossover at LA show in November

August 18, 2010 at 11:30 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Saab

The Saab 9-4X first made its motor show rounds in 2008 as the 9-4X Biopower Concept. Now that the Swedish marque is alive and kicking under new ownership, it’s ready to debut the production version of the mid-sized crossover. Venue and time? The LA Auto Show in November, as revealed by the show organiser’s Twitter page.

The cleanly designed 9-4X will be built in GM’s plant in Mexico alongside platform buddy Cadillac SRX and should hit showrooms by the first quarter of next year, which is in line with the brand masterplan by Spyker.

Powertrains should be similar to the new 9-5′s – a 220 bhp 2.0-litre turbo four-pot and a 300 bhp 2.8-litre V6 for the Aero. Six-speed manual and auto gearboxes are available from Saab and the 9-4X should come with Trollhättan’s XWD system.

The crossover segment is really booming in the US. Ford, whose good looking Edge has sold 400,000 units in four years, says that the sector has expanded by 220% since 2006. The Blue Oval expects a further 20% growth this year as Americans jump into smaller and more efficient vehicles.

More pictures of the 9-4X Biopower Concept after the jump.
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New Mercedes-Benz CLS official brochure leaked!

August 18, 2010 at 10:40 am By Jacob Alexander Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

Up till now, all we’ve seen of the upcoming Mercedes Benz CLS were renderings and maybe spy shots. All that has changed as the official form of the CLS has been revealed to the world via leaked brochures.

As you can see, the exterior still features the coupe-like design with styling cues from the Shooting Break Concept, which was first previewed in April. The interior will use a four-seat format (full length centre console acts like a spine in the cabin) and the dash layout looks to be quite similar to the Shooting Break’s too, down to the identical steering wheel.

Details are yet to be revealed, but the CLS should be sitting on W212 E-Class mechanics. Engines that have been speculated for use include a 301 bhp 3.5-litre direct-injected V6 (CLS 350 CGI) and a new twin-turbo 429 bhp 4.6-litre V8 (CLS 550 CGI). 350 CDI and 250 CDI models are expected as well, just not for our market. The AMG version will surely have the 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 that Merc has been putting in the latest AMG cars, with a Performance Pack to further boost output.

More details as they come our way. Till then, have a closer look at the gallery after the jump.

Source
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Nick Heidfeld leaves Mercedes GP to be Pirelli test driver

August 18, 2010 at 2:49 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz, Motorsports

Mercedes GP Petronas has released Nick Heidfeld from his contract as the team’s Reserve Driver so that the German can take up the position of official test driver for Pirelli. The Italian tyremaker takes over from Bridgestone as the sole tyre supplier for F1 starting next season. Nick will assist Pirelli’s development work on the tyre compounds for 2011.

“It was clear from the beginning of our cooperation that Mercedes GP Petronas would release Nick from his obligations as soon as a promising opportunity as an active F1 driver developed. This is now the case and there could be no more experienced and knowledgeable driver in the cockpit to steer the tyre development for next season,” said Norbert Haug, Vice-President of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport.

“It would be great to see Nick in a competitive car in next year’s championship and I am sure his leading role in the new tyre development, in addition to his skills, puts Nick in a good position for the remaining seats in 2011,” Haug wished. The team has no plans to appoint a new reserve driver, a company spokesman said.

In his new job, Heidfeld will drive a Toyota TF109 from last year. Pirelli’s Motorsport Director Paul Hembery explained that using the Toyota chassis enables them to test in a modern F1 car without benefiting any existing team. “The Toyota was the perfect solution, as it is a contemporary racing machine with proven speed and reliability but without links to any of the manufacturers currently competing in F1,” he said.

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Latest Mitsubishi Pajero 4X4 spotted in Shah Alam

August 17, 2010 at 10:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mitsubishi
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This black real proper Mitsubishi Pajero (not the Pajero Sport) was spotted by Jack, a friend of mine. It had trade plates but didn’t have any form of disguise on it. Before you dismiss this as just another grey imported Pajero out for a test drive, notice that this particular black car that’s in focus is parked between in the middle of a whole row of other Mitsubishi vehicles including another Pajero with some kind of cream paintjob, a Grandis, and a Lancer. So it’s likely that this is going to be a future Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia offering.

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Maruti Suzuki’s Indian market share dips below 50%, launches A-Star auto and CNG range as response

August 17, 2010 at 3:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, India, Suzuki

Maruti Suzuki saw India’s potential long before it became small car central, and is the undisputed market leader in the country of 1.18 billion people. However, homegrown brands and big players like Hyundai are beginning to chip at Maruti’s market share, which has fallen below 50% for the first time ever. It sold 282,488 units from April-July 2010, which is 47.68% of the total market. This is down from 53.13% (440,069 units) achieved in the same period last year.

The downward trend might be reversed come next quarter. This is because the company has boosted its large lineup with a CNG range and the A-Star automatic. Named after the 2008 concept, the latter is what we know as the Suzuki Alto (Alto name is reserved for the fifth-gen Alto, India’s most popular car). Previously only available in manual form, the A-Star auto pairs a 4-speed auto ‘box to the 60 bhp/90 Nm K-series engine. It’s essentially identical to our RM49,888 Alto GLX – so it’s surprising that we got an Indian made car a week earlier than India itself.

Maruti also just introduced compressed natural gas (CNG) tech featuring “intelligent-Gas Port Injection” or i-GPI on five popular models – SX4, Eeco, WagonR, Estilo and Alto. Maruti says that i-GPI cars are safer and offer more power than retrofitted CNG vehicles. All i-GPI cars go through the same quality checks, processes and systems as any car manufactured at Maruti Suzuki plants and get full warranty plus official after sales back up. The CNG cars are about RM3,000 costlier than the normal versions.

i-GPI is a Dual ECU tech that delivers accurate amounts of gas to the engine via separate injectors for each cylinder. Metered CNG quantity is injected into the engine through gas ports, controlled by a dedicated ECU. Each i-GPI model goes through 200,000 km real world tests in addition to over 3,000 hours of bench tests.

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Proton starts “Professorship Program” with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia to inculcate research culture

August 17, 2010 at 1:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

Proton and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) today signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to explore “strategic initiatives” in engineering and technology. The MoU was signed by Proton MD Dato’ Syed Zainal Abidin and UTM Vice Chancellor Professor Dato’ Ir Dr. Zaini b. Ujang at Proton’s Centre of Excellence. It was witnessed by Proton adviser Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad.

The first initiative involves the assignment of a professor from UTM to Proton on a full time basis for two years. It’s hoped that this input will strengthen the research capabilities of Proton. The professor will also be directly involved in the development of new Proton models. Proton is allocating RM500,000 to run activities in the first year of the Proton-UTM Professorship Program.

On UTM’s side, the uni has committed to invest RM1 million to enhance its research initiatives further through collaboration with renowned universities like Cambridge, MIT and Meiji University. The target is to boost efforts in Intellectual Property (IP) development in the form of patent, copyright and industrial design. UTM targets to generate ten IPs a year.

“To be at par with other international car makers, Proton cannot merely depend on the achievements it has accomplished after 25 years. Proton must now expedite its initiative to further strengthen its human capital especially in the fields of engineering and technical expertise. This includes the knowledge advancement in new skills such as green technology, development of cars using alternative fuel and skills using local software and hardware. The link with UTM will facilitate efforts towards this end,” Proton Chairman Dato’ Sri Mohd. Nadzmi said.

“The industry-university collaboration provides many benefits to both parties. For Proton, it will inculcate the research culture within the organisation and as for UTM it will strengthen the university as the leading ‘Research University’ in Malaysia,” Dato’ Syed Zainal added.

In the recent Perodua Eco-Challenge 2010 – a fuel efficiency competition between institutions of higher learning – our local uni undergrads showed off lots of ingenuity and skill to shave off fuel consumption from their Vivas. UTM’s entry was a Viva with Myvi wheels/tyres for optimum handling stability.

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South Africa strike to go on this week, exports crippled

August 17, 2010 at 10:36 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News

The South African auto workers strike that started last week shows no signs of abating, as talks between the Automobile Manufacturers Employers Organization (AMEO) and the powerful National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) over the weekend failed.

The union’s “simple demands” include a one year-agreement, a 15% across-the-board wage increase, short time/lay-off payment at 100%, labour brokers to be scrapped, eight hour work days from Monday to Friday, Saturday work to be paid at 1 1/2 rates, and double pay on Sundays and public holidays.

NUMSA’s 15% wage increase is well above South Africa’s inflation rate, which was 4.2% in July. AMEO offered a 7% increase in the first year and a rise equal to consumer price inflation in the remaining two years. This was rejected by the strikers, which will continue to disrupt production.

Should AMEO set a trend by giving in to the “extortion”? South Africa’s auto industry is the biggest manufacturing exporter in the country, accounting for about 6% of the nation’s GDP, but production and exports have been crippled by NUMSA’s strike.

AMEO spokesman Harry Gazendam said: “If you cannot service the market, then labels source from other places because, remember, there is spare capacity due to the recession. Once you lose those export markets, it’s very hard to get them back,” he warned. South Africa produces 3000 cars a day, half of which were for export. “None of those vehicles has been built since last Wednesday,” he said.

Toyota SA echoes that view. “What worries us is the damage to our image. We are assessed on quality, cost, productivity and, of course, stability of supply. A strike like this puts us in a very bad light,” said spokesman Leo Kok. He added that Toyota factories in different countries were competing with each other for contracts and this black mark could harm future business. “We bid against other manufacturing plants. When it’s fresh in the memory, it does affect the bidding.”

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