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No forced merger between Proton and Perodua, says G’ovt

January 25, 2011 at 7:27 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua, Proton

Despite having signalled the need for a merger in the automotive industry – essentially between Proton and Perodua – sometime back, the government will not force both companies to merge, according to Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, the Minister of International Trade and Industry.

In a Bernama report, Mustapa told reporters today that any solution or proposal would have to be agreed to by both stakeholders, saying that the government cannot force the companies to make a decision, given the long spectrum involved.

“At one end is loose cooperation and at the other, a merger, which has yet to be decided,” the Minister said today, adding that “it’s a major collaboration and cooperation between Proton and Perodua and not a straightforward process.”

He said that the government would encourage and have talks with both companies, adding that in reality, it made sense for the two companies to collaborate and make the automotive industry competitive.

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Porsche 911 Black Edition – only 1,911 units to be made

January 25, 2011 at 6:23 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Porsche

Porsche has announced a 911 variant called the Black Edition, and this one is limited to just 1,911 examples globally, available in both Carrera Coupe and Cabriolet guise.

The 911 Black Edition is painted in plain black as standard, with Basalt Black metallic available as an option. For the cabriolet, the electric-folding hood is trimmed in black cloth. Other exterior highlights include 19-inch 911 Turbo II forged alloy wheels, and black-finished, four-piston aluminium monobloc fixed callipers.

There’s also black lettering on the stainless steel door entry guards to identify the version, and the interior continues with the theme – the leather is in black, as is the instrument cluster, though contrast is provided by aluminium-look paint, which adorns the decorative fascia strip, gear lever and air vents. A badge located on the glove compartment lid signifies the limited production variant.

Standard fitment includes a Bose surround sound system, specially coordinated with the interior, and in the Carrera coupe comprises 13 loudspeakers including an active subwoofer and central speaker as well as a seven channel digital amplifier; the cabriolet gets one less speaker, at 12.

The Black Edition is powered by a 3.6 litre flat-six pot, offering 345 hp at 6,500 rpm, and coupled to a six-speed gearbox, has a top speed of 289 kph in both body versions, with a 0-100 kph sprint time of 4.9 seconds for the coupe and 5.1 seconds for the cabriolet. With the PDK double-clutch seven-speed gearbox in attendance, this time drops to 4.7 seconds for the coupe and 4.9 seconds for the cabrio.

As is the case, add-on options abound – there’s the Sport Chrono Plus package, Porsche Ceramic Composite Brakes (PCCB) and Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM) to be had, amogn other things, to get the Black even well, blacker.

Gallery after the jump.
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Team Lotus to start 2011 Formula 1 season as Team Lotus – High Court sets date of UK trial for March 21

January 25, 2011 at 5:28 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Well, it looks like March 21 will be the day that the naming row over Lotus goes into full trial. In a summary judgment application hearing at the High Court in London yesterday, the judge rejected Group Lotus’ application to prevent the case from going to a full trial.

At the hearing, Justice Peter Smith also felt that it was in everyone’s best interests to bring the hearing date for the full trial forward earlier, instead of allowing the situation to continue to simmer until sometime near the end of the year.

Fixing the date of the beginning of the trial at March 21, which is after the season opener in Bahrain, Justice Smith nonetheless urged both parties to attempt to settle the issue amicably before then.

Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes was of course delighted by the initial outcome of the case. “Very very happy over the judgment today. And extremely happy that full trial brought forward to March 21. The good do always eventually win,” he wrote on his Twitter feed.

“Today’s case is Group’s desperate attempt to use their one-way unlawful termination of license agreement of Lotus Racing. Saying One Malaysia can’t use Lotus. Part of post-termination clauses. So nothing changes on Team Lotus,” Fernandes stated in another Twitter post.

So, while the “Battle of the Lotuses” continues to run, one thing’s for sure right now – there’ll be Group Lotus’ Lotus-Renault GP and Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus on the starting grid for the 2011 F1 season.

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Volkswagen Golf Mk7 based on MQB system due late 2012

January 25, 2011 at 1:38 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Doesn’t feel like the Mk6 Golf has been around for very long, after all the Golf TSI was just launched in Malaysia, bringing the entry price point into Golf ownership and the whole Volkswagen downsized turbocharged twin-clutch experience lower for us heavily taxed folks. But Volkswagen is already planning the 7th-generation Golf, and it’s set to be launched sometime in late 2012 or early 2013.

Volkswagen will retire its collection of different-sized front engine, front-wheel-drive platforms (PQ25, PQ35, and PQ46) for a new set of components called the MQB platform, which is German for Modular Transverse Matrix (Modularer Querbaukasten). MQB allows Volkswagen to design various different transverse front engine front wheel drive vehicles using the same component matrix, picked and mixed in a Lego-like fashion.

MQB also has a ‘sister platform’ called MLB (Modularer Langsbaukasten or Modular Longitudinal Matrix)) which is used in Volkswagen Group cars with longitudinal engines, like the Audi A4 and Q5.

The Mk7 Golf will likely have interior space improvements as MQB is reportedly significantly more space-efficient compared to the PQ range of platforms, and it should also line Volkswagen’s coffers more handsomely than the Mk5 and the Mk6 thanks to MQB cars on average being 20% cheaper to produce by design.

The space gained can also be used to fit the extra components needed for a hybrid version of the Golf. Word is that the Mk7 Golf will bring the Golf’s wheelbase up from the Mk5 and Mk6′s 2,578mm to around 2,630mm.

It seems there’s already one MQB-based vehicle out there – the new Volkswagen Sharan launched in the first half of 2010. The platform is quite versatile, being able to be used for a big “XL-sized” Sharan as well as a compact “M-sized” Golf.

Renderings by Theophilus Chin.

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Fiat Freemont based on Dodge Journey unveiled!

January 24, 2011 at 11:19 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Fiat, International News

This is yet another new Fiat-Chrysler collaboration – the Fiat Freemont is a tough-looking crossover 7-seater vehicle for the European market, based on the Dodge Journey but with an updated fascia and tighter suspension settings to suit European driver preferences.

The Dodge Journey that this Fiat Freemont was based on was just unveiled in November last year at the LA auto show. The Fiat Freemont will make its public debut at the Geneva show this year. The Freemont will replace the Fiat Ulysee, and frankly it really looks so much more appealing than the PSA-Fiat collaboration Eurovan-derived Fiat Ulysee.

The people mover will be front wheel drive, and will initially be offered in Europe with two variations of Fiat’s 2.0 litre MultiJet diesel making 140 horses and 170 horses respectively. A 3.6 litre Chrysler Pentastar petrol V6 will be offered later with all-wheel drive.

The Freemont will be imported into Europe from the Toluca Car Assembly plant in Mexico, where both the Freemont and the Journey is built.

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New Kia Picanto – some more photos and details

January 24, 2011 at 6:47 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Kia, Koreans


Click to enlarge

While Kia is obviously keeping mum on most of the details about its new Picanto hatchback, which will make its premiere at the Geneva Motor Show in March, a couple of new photos of the A-segment hatch – including one of the interior – as well as a few more details, have come about.

As mentioned previously, three versions of the 1.0 litre, three-cylinder Kappa engine, in gasoline, flex fuel and bi-fuel form and a single 1.2 litre four-cylinder gasoline Kappa block will be available for the car, and power outputs will range from 69 hp to 85 hp, with maximum torque between 94 and 121 Nm.


Click to enlarge

The bi-fuel 1.0 litre pot will generate 80 hp and 94 Nm of torque. The engines will be mated to a choice of five-speed manual or four-speed automatic transmissions, depending on market.

The new car, which is longer and larger than the previous model, promises not only more passenger comfort and 27% increased cargo space, but will also feature numerous ‘large car’ comfort/safety features such as LED daytime running lights, button-start with smart key, grip-type outside door handles and six or seven airbags, depending on region.

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The 46th Victorian Hot Rod Show – gleaming metal aplenty

January 24, 2011 at 1:01 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News

Something different to mix it up in here. Caught the 46th Victorian Hot Rod Show – which ran Jan 21-23 – while in Melbourne over the weekend, and while only 45 minutes or so was managed at the exhibition (only got there an hour before closing, on Sat night), it proved a rather compelling three quarters of an hour.

The show, housed at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton Gardens, is Australia’s longest running hot rod event, and for the 46th edition there were around 300 hot rods, custom cars and bikes on display within and around the venue.

Undoubtedly, the displays and sights would have been largely alien to many Malaysian motorheads, which you could argue are a rather parochial lot, being quite skewed towards the modern, but anoraks would have had a field day.

Indeed, the culture is simply roaring in Oz, and some of the machines on show were just downright fantastic pieces of craft – passion for the rides aplenty in evidence, with oodles of heritage as well as an impressive knowledge of the history on call, for sure. With plenty of good old-fashioned V8 growl on tap (and such lovely sounds, really), you wouldn’t have done well driving up in a Prius to this one.

Besides the machines, there were also trade displays – scale model cars on sale, litreally towering in their magnitude, as well as memorabilia from an age many of those at the show would have considered the golden era of the automobile. For yours truly, the retro Mopar t-shirts bagged were awesome enough, given the time managed.

A gallery of exhibition photos after the jump (and you’ll excuse the patchy quality at times – they were taken with the camera off a Google Nexus One!)
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The Harley-Davidson Blackline – a Softail for the young

January 24, 2011 at 11:52 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Bikes, Harley-Davidson, International News


Click to enlarge

It’s stripped to the core, this one is. Harley-Davidson has introduced the new Blackline motorcycle in its Dark Custom lineup, effectively a Softail symbolising defiance, designed for younger riders with that bit of a rebel streak in them.

With an internally counter-balanced Twin Cam 96B V-Twin engine rigid-mounted within the frame, the styling spotlight shines on the Big Twin engine dressed in black and silver, with machined highlights reminiscent of the Big Twins of the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s.

The engine – matched to a six-Speed Cruise Drive transmission – is capped off by a fuel tank shaved smooth and low, and the rider hugs the frame on the lowest two-up seat ever offered by Harley-Davidson.

Instrumentation is compact and tucked, and there’s just enough shine to make the black parts look blacker. The chopped fender, narrow, split drag handlebar, and slammed speedometer contribute to the lean and linear nature of the bike that gives the Blackline its name.

The Softail chassis utilises rear suspension control provided by coil-over shock absorbers mounted horizontally along the frame rails below the powertrain, out of sight. So, while the swingarm section replicates the lines of a vintage hardtail frame, the suspension performance and handling on this one are thoroughly modern.

Other styling cues include a blacked-out horseshoe oil tank recalling the original on the 1936 ELsmooth, black rims on profile laced aluminium wheels with black anodised rims hearkening back to the 1930s and a chopped rear fender made famous by post-WWII riders, bobbed high-and-tight. The bike rides on 21 x 2.15 inch front and 16 x 3 inch rear wheels, with Dunlop D402 MH90-21 front and MU85B16 rear rubbers.

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Volvo Car Malaysia hoping to get you hopping with joy

January 24, 2011 at 11:51 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volvo

Now, if you’ve been eyeing getting yourself a Swede ride this year, well, Volvo Car Malaysia is ushering in the lunar new year with some festive deals involving rather attractive monthly repayments, ones that’ll have you beaming like Thumper, what with the Year of the Rabbit just around the corner.

Until March 31, it’s all syrupy where the S40 2.0 Powershift, V50 2.0 Powershift and the S80 2.5 Turbo is concerned, with the deals – which are available through all Volvo dealerships – bagging monthly installments starting as low as RM1,690 for the S40, RM1,897 for the V50 and as RM2,830 for the top-of-the-range S80. So, doe hop along to check out these meaty bunnies at the rabbitry.

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Euro 4M petrol and diesel to be announced in Malaysia before year end, B5 biodiesel in June?

January 24, 2011 at 3:22 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Fuel Prices

Fuel-Wallet GaugePlatts has some interesting information on what’s happening with the proposed implementation of Euro 4M fuel standards for both petrol and diesel in Malaysia.

Last we heard, Euro 4M was supposed to be implemented this year, but in reality the phrase “implemented” doesn’t necessarily mean we’re going to be fueling our 320d and Focus TDCI at the pump with much cleaner diesel this year.

According to a Platts newspiece last week quoting a Malaysian government official, a draft proposal for Euro 4M compliant petrol and diesel is expected to be ready for cabinet approval by Q2 2011, following a discussion in November last year on what exactly Euro 4M specifications should be.

You may be wondering what the M in Euro 4M or even the current Euro 2M standards mean. There’s no official definition that I can find on what exactly the letter M stands for but what we know for sure is that Euro 2M and Euro 4M are localized versions of the Euro 2 and Euro 4 specifications. The specifications are definitely not 100% the same. I’m sure all of us are wondering what this implies.


You see the 320d everywhere these days – BMW has done well with diesel advocacy

Sometime last year, we attended a technical briefing by Caltex on their Techron fuel and a Chevron Senior Product Engineering Specialist was there – Mr Greg Engeler. According to Mr Engeler, every country in this region with the exception of Hong Kong has modified the specifications of the Euro spec fuel they are selling in their countries.

Malaysian climate, temperature and environment is different from Europe, so if Euro specifications are followed to the dot, it would be a waste of money refining the fuel to those specs. Instead, what the policymakers have done here in consultation with the fuel companies is pick and choose certain ‘enablers’ from the full Euro specs, such as sulphur content. According to Mr Engeler, it made sense for Hong Kong to just use Euro spec fuel as they do not have any refineries. This fact has helped Hong Kong be the first country in Asia to introduce ultra low sulphur diesel with 50ppm of sulphur content back in 2000.

But still, the Platts story has some other facts – allegedly the oil industry has proposed a 3.5% limit (down from the current 5%) for benzene content in petrol for the new standard, despite Euro specs calling for 1% benzene content since Euro 3. It seems that refining petrol down to 1% maximum benzene content is too costly. Benzene is also an anti-knock agent and it would be easier for the oil companies to engineer the petrol to have a good octane rating with the help of more benzene content instead of other methods and ingredients.


The Euro 2M diesel has brought awesome cars like the Ford Focus TDCI into Malaysia!

The Platts report also alleges that the proposed Euro 4M standards are silent on other specs such as aromatics and olefins for petrol and cetane number for diesel. Apparently the Euro 4M standard was proposed by Malaysia’s Department of Environment under the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, and defining those figures fall outside the jurisdiction of the department. Who sets the remaining specifications?

But this may not be a cause for concern at all as the same story says the government intends 100% for Euro 4M to approach a similar quality to Euro 4 fuels. The all important “sulphur content” enabler in the proposed Euro 4M standards has been specified to be 50ppm in both petrol and diesel, which is in line with Euro 4 standards. The current Euro 2M standards call for 500ppm, the same as Euro 2. Euro 5 has brought the limit even lower to 10ppm.

If and when Euro 4M is officially announced possibly by the end of this year, the oil companies will be given a 5 year grace period to implement the new fuel at the pumps, as apparently they can only start work on the refineries once the government has announced something solid. If this is the case, who knows when the first Euro 4M fuels will appear at the pump. It could take up to until 2012/2013 or up to 2016, worst case scenario!

Something else that we – or rather diesel vehicle owners – will have to watch out for is the introduction of B5 biodiesel mix at the pumps. B5 is essentially 95% regular diesel and 5% palm oil biodiesel. Last we heard from Caltex, the date for this implementation is June 2011. According to Caltex’s Mr Engeler, all diesel engines should theoretically be able to run B5 without issues. It’s only the higher biodiesel mixes which need reengineering.


Fuel economy such as this is no drama for turbodiesels even in a large sedan like a Merc E-Class – with the introduction of better diesel, hopefully more Malaysians will embrace cars like the Ford Focus TDCI and the BMW 320d/520d/730Ld

Biodiesel also tends to wax and thicken in cold climates but none of that is a problem in Malaysia. He did say that in reality, B0 (pure diesel) produces less NOX emissions compared to B5 although other types of emissions are typically lower, and B5 also tends to foam more. B5 also technically has less energy content compared to pure diesel but I don’t think the difference is one that is very noticeable.

In Malaysia, Sime Darby plantation have already started using their own blend of biodiesel called Bio-N (pronounced “Beyond”) in their upstream operation vehicles since March 2008. Bio-N started off as B5 but in some locations, Sime Darby are using blends of up to B10, which uses 10% palm biodiesel. In total, Sime Darby uses about 100 metric tons of pure biodiesel every year to blend with regular diesel into Bio-N for its upstream vehicles.

If you look after the jump, you’ll find an embedded PDF document released by the government of Australia on its position on biodiesel blends such as B5 up to even B20, which is generally the accepted limit before diesel engines and fuel systems start to get wonky. It’s a very good read.

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