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Skoda Fabia Greenline achieves 2,006 km on a single tank

May 16, 2011 at 2:58 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Skoda

Economy driving world champion Gerhard Plattner has taken a Skoda Fabia GreenLine from Austria to Denmark and back, a distance of 2,006 km, on just one 45 litre tankful of diesel. The Austrian began his journey on May 10 in Reutte, Austria, and made his way to Bov, Denmark before travelling back, mainly using Germany’s longest motorway, the A 7, for his trip.

The result means the 1.2 litre diesel-powered car achieved a record-low consumption of 2.21 litres per 100 km, a significant jump from the Europe-standardised model’s already frugal consumption of 3.4 l/100 km. The refuelling, as well as Plattner’s whole trip, were supervised by International Police Motor Corporation (IPMC), which also sealed the fuel tank before Plattner set out from Reutte.

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Gazoo Racing Lexus CT makes race debut at Nürburgring

May 16, 2011 at 2:29 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus, Motorsports

The Lexus CT hatchback made its race debut at the legendary Nürburgring circuit over the weekend. Prepped by Toyota’s racing partner Gazoo Racing, the same people responsible for racing the Lexus LFA, the CT competed in the Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy, racing for over six hours on the world’s most demanding circuit and finishing in 108th place from 127 finishers. Almost 200 cars took part.

The Gazoo Racing CT driver line-up features three experienced pilots: Kumi Sato, a female racer who competed in a Lexus IS 250 in 2008; Masahiko Kageyama, who previously supported Toyota’s vehicle development programme; and Minoru Takaki, who is responsible for production vehicle development.

Competing in the SP4 Class, the race car, like the road going CT 200h, features Lexus Hybrid Drive, but with a higher capacity 2.4-litre petrol engine instead of the usual 1.8L unit. The batteries and hybrid system are identical to the road car. Lexus says that the Racing CT requires less fuel and emits less emissions than any petrol or diesel race car.

Racing with a full hybrid car isn’t new to Lexus though – they raced an RX 400h in the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2005.

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Ford and Google to work on making a “smarter” car

May 16, 2011 at 1:16 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ford, Technology

Ford is teaming up with Google in its efforts to further advance ongoing research in predicting driver behaviour, with the aim of helping to optimise vehicle control systems and improve vehicle performance attributes such as fuel or hybrid-electric efficiency.

The blue oval has already been actively carrying out predictive driver behavior research and analysis on its own, but the utilisation of Google’s Prediction API will provide greater computation power, information storage and external data through cloud computing, which will convert historical driving data – the where and when you drive – into useful real-time predictors, such as where a driver is headed at the time of departure.

Ford is looking at this to empower vehicles to offer drivers smart guidance based on learned behaviors and a variety of captured data, and make tomorrow’s vehicles smart enough to independently change how they perform to deliver optimal driveability and fuel efficiency. The company is hoping to use these types of cloud-stored data to enable a vehicle essentially to optimise itself and perform in the best manner determined by a predicted route.

Here’s how it works in a theoretical scenario. After a vehicle owner opts in to use the service, an encrypted driver data usage profile is built based on routes and time of travel. In essence, the system learns key information about how the driver is using the vehicle.

Upon starting the vehicle, Google Prediction will use historical driving behavior to evaluate given the current time of day and location to develop a prediction of the most likely destination and how to optimise driving performance to and from that location. For example, if the driver is heading to work, an optimised powertrain control strategy would be created for the trip.

A predicted route of travel could include an area restricted to electric-only driving, if the vehicle is a hybrid or EV. Therefore, the vehicle could program itself to optimise energy usage over the total distance of the route in order to preserve enough battery power to switch to all-electric mode when traveling within the EV-only zone.

Because of the large amount of computing power necessary to make the predictions and optimisation, an off-board system that connects through the cloud is currently necessary. In any case, it still looks like it’ll be some time before it makes its way into production vehicles.

The company already offers cloud-based services through Ford SYNC, but those services thus far have only been used for infotainment, navigation and real-time traffic purposes to empower the driver. Work is now underway to study the feasibility of incorporating other variables such as driver style and habits into the optimisation process, so vehicle control systems can be optimised further, allowing car and driver to work together for best efficiency.

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Smart Energy Veus home battery – able to power a Prius too

May 16, 2011 at 12:08 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Technology

This in from Japan – Tokyo-based environmental venture Smart Energy has developed a lithium ion rechargeable battery for households called the Veus, which can also be used to power a hybrid vehicle, in this case the Toyota Prius.

According to a report, the company is set to begin selling the Veus (Vital Energy Un-blackout System) batteries from this month, with a goal to sell 100 units a month, or 1,000 by the end of this year. Primary sales deployment will be in the metropolitan area of Tokyo, where electricity shortages are expected this summer.

The Veus batteries – which will be produced by domestic electronics manufacturer CNO Corp on an OEM basis – will be available in two model forms, a 4 kwh model priced at 945,000 yen and a 8 kwh version at 1.89 million yen.

At home, the Veus can be used to store electricity generated from such renewable sources as sunlight. The 8 kwh version is able to power a 1.2 kw air conditioner for six to seven hours on a full charge.

Beyond the home application front, the Veus comes in handy in emergencies – in areas where power lines are severed by earthquakes or other disasters, it can be used for commercial and public purposes such as operating medical equipment at hospitals and running water pumps in condominiums.

And as for automotive applications, the Veus has been designed to fit in the rear of the Prius – working as a backup power source, a fully-charged 8 kwh unit (which weighs 150kg, so it doesn’t sound like a light job!) offers 60-100 km of travel range.

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VW Polo R in the works, to ride on WRC rally car fame

May 16, 2011 at 11:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Volkswagen

Earlier this month, Volkswagen confirmed that it will join the World Rally Championship (WRC) in 2013 and gave a preview of its rally machine. Called the Polo R WRC, the three-door supermini’s body has prominent ‘R’ branding, which is also in the car’s name as well.

While VW has previously shot off the possibility of a hot ‘Polo R’ by its performance division, this latest development hints otherwise. Autocar UK followed up on that and have got some positive response from a VW bigwig.

“You can see how the World Rally Championship programme would increase the probability of an R version of the base model (Polo),” Ulrich Hackenberg, VW Member of the Management Board, Development Division told the mag. Timeframe? “It is with the rally programme, not before it. I can’t give a precise date, but it’s along those lines,” he revealed.

At the reveal, Dr Ulrich also said that “the new Technical Regulations of the WRC are an ideal fit for Volkswagen’s philosophy with respect to the development of production vehicles.” The Polo R WRC will have “near 300 hp” from a 1.6-litre TSI engine that’s turbocharged and direct injected.

So what we know now is that a hot Polo tuned by R GmbH is in the works, but won’t surface till at least 2013. The current hottest Polo is the GTI, which puts out 180 PS and 250 Nm from just 1.4-litres of twincharged TSI engine. To top that, the ‘Polo R’ will need at least Golf GTI levels of power, which should make it one hell of a pocket rocket.

While the R may be a long way from production, we hear that the Polo GTI may be coming to our shores in the near future, not a surprise since VGM did bring in the previous-gen car. No stick shift though; the new Polo GTI is mated exclusively to a 7-speed DSG.

Click here to see a video of the Polo R WRC.

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Alister McRae finishes fourth for Proton in the Rally of Queensland, Chris Atkinson retires from his home event

May 16, 2011 at 10:14 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton, Proton Satria Neo

Alister McRae and co-driver Bill Hayes fended off a series of misfortunes on the third and final day of the Rally of Queensland to salvage a fourth place finish for the factory Proton team. McRae was leading the pack after Leg 1, but mechanical problems means that the Scot is still waiting for his first APRC win.

Starting the day with an eight second advantage over Mitsubishi’s Gaurav Gill, earned after winning three stages on Leg 1, McRae lost the lead when his Satria Neo S2000’s engine began misfiring after a water crossing in one of the day’s seven special stages.

The fightback was dealt a serious blow when he was forced to slow down as a result of a broken drive shaft over 50 km of the last three SS of the rally. No service interval, so they had to nurse the car home.

Despite this disaster, McRae managed to hang on to fourth ahead of a charging Rifat Sungkar, the Indonesian competing in a Mitsubishi Evo 10.

McRae’s teammate Chris Atkinson was hoping for a successful home rally, but it was not to be. After setting a blistering pace to lead the first two opening super special stages on Friday night and winning the first stage on Saturday morning, his run came to an abrupt end on the next stage due to an electrical failure. Rejoining the final day of the rally, the Aussie endured a second electrical failure which truly ended his rally.

This second round of the Asia Pacific Rally Championship was won by British driver Mark Higgins, who finished 16 seconds ahead of Gaurav Gill. Japanese driver Katsuhiko Taguchi was third. Interestingly, Higgins is a three-time British Rally Champion and a stunt driver in the James Bond film Quantum of Solace. With Welsh co-driver Ieuan Thomas, this was his first APRC rally.

The Cusco tuned Neos did better in the 2WD category. Karamjit Singh led a category 1-2 ahead of fellow Neo driver Akira Bamba. They finished 9th and 11th overall in the rally.

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Karamjit’s CUSCO Proton Satria Neo is the fastest 2WD car in Rally of Queensland

May 16, 2011 at 12:37 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports, Proton

Karamjit Singh shows that he might be considered a veteran in the rally scene but he still has what it takes. Piloting a CUSCO-tuned Proton Satria Neo 2WD, he crossed the line to finish first in the overall 2011 APRC 2WD category at this weekend’s Rally of Queensland as well as 1st in the N2 category.

This is one of the fastest and most technical rallies on the APRC calendar. Our main goal was to bring the car home safely and score maximum points. I dedicate this win to all my friends and family who believed in me and assisted me without hesitation”, said Karamjit Singh after the rally.

The closest rival to Karamjit and his co-driver Vivek Ponnusamy was Akira Bamba of Japan, who was 4.5 minutes behind the Flying Sikh. Karamjit placed 9th in the overall race, ahead of some more powerful cars like the Lancer Evo X.

He now has his sights set on the other APRC rounds, with the next race being the Rallye de Nouvelle Caledonie in New Caledonia which will take part from the 17th to 19th June 2011.
[Read more...]

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White Peugeot RCZ snapped on trailer in Putrajaya

May 15, 2011 at 7:27 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

Malaysian Peugeot distributor Nasim is gearing up to launch their latest model the Peugeot RCZ at the Bangsar Shopping Center this week (May 20-22) and reader Shahrul Hamdan has spotted it prior to the launch.

This white unit with black wheels will most probably make its way to the BSC display. I wonder if this one has a manual or an automatic transmission. Nasim has announce pre-launch that both a manual and an automatic transmission will be made available.

The auto transmission is paired with a 1.6 litre turbocharged PSA-BMW Prince engine making 156hp and 240Nm, a similar tune to that found in the Peugeot 308.

The manual version is mated to a more powerful version, making 200 horses and 275Nm of torque. You can click on the images above for hi-res versions.

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Renault Twizy – looking to bowl over the scooter crowd

May 13, 2011 at 8:51 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Renault

Renault has announced the pricing and opened reservations for its electric Twizy, which is due to go on sale at the end of the year in Europe. There are three versions in all, a 5hp model called the Twizy 45 and two 17 hp variants, the Urban and Technic.

The Twizy 45, as its numerical moniker suggests, has a speed capped at 45 kph, which means it can be driven without a licence in certain countries. With pricing starting from 6,990 Euros for the model, its price – in Europe – also means that young drivers will now be able to afford a vehicle that is safer than a two-wheeler.

As for the faster (80 kph) Twizy twins, which happen to be on display at the ongoing Barcelona Motor Show, the tax-paid prices for the Urban and Technic will start from 7,690 Euros and 8,490 Euros respectively, with a monthly tax-paid cost of the battery lease for both versions being 49 Euros.

The four-wheeled Twizy sits two occupants in tandem, one behind the other like on a scooter or a bike, with wraparound bodywork and side deflectors to ensure enjoyable open-air motoring, but protected from the elements.

Renault adds that it offers greater safety compared with a two-wheeled vehicle, thanks to an extensive list of active and passive safety features. It also allows easier parking, with its compact dimensions (it’s 2,337 mm long, 1,191 mm wide and 1,461 mm tall). The Twizy sits on 13-inch wheels, which wear 125×80 front and 145×80 rear rubbers.

The Twizy’s lithium-ion battery fully charges in just 3.5 hours using a domestic electrical supply via a spiral cable stowed behind a flap at the front. Twizy’s low weight (450kg, including the 100kg battery) helps it get an operational range of around 100 km per charge.

Accessories for the vehicle include an all-purpose, 50 litre capacity bag, a Parrot audio kit (including Bluetooth connectivity, plus a USB connector, a jack socket and an Apple connector), rear parking sensors, additional protection against the weather and a range of customisation options such as coloured alloy wheels and decals, stuff that’ll make your ride Twizy to spot. Sorry, couldn’t resist!
[Read more...]

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78 vehicle importers raided, related bank accounts frozen

May 13, 2011 at 7:17 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News

You’ve undoubtedly heard the line about death and the taxman. So, with that do we come to the shenanigans that a number of car importers have purportedly been up to, according to a report by The Star yesterday.

Over the past week, a total of 78 car importing companies have been paid a ‘visit’ by the taxman, in the form of a special task force led by the Inland Revenue Board and made up of the Customs Department, the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission, Bank Negara, the Auditor-General’s Department, Companies Commission of Malaysia and Cyber Security Malaysia.

Besides the companies, the residences of 59 company directors as well as 32 audit firms across the country were also raided, and more than 300 related bank accounts were frozen under the Anti-Money Laundering and Anti-Terrorism Financing Act 2001 (Amlatfa).

The task force was set up to recover undeclared duties, amounting to hundreds of millions of ringgit. The A-G’s Chambers stated there were “strong reasons” to believe that those raided were involved in under-declaring customs duties, tax evasion, misuse of APs (approved permits), as well as falsifying documents, money-laundering and corruption.

Basically, that’s a pretty big shebang of nasty activities intimated to, “activities which present a significant threat to the nation’s economy and reputation,” the A-G said in a statement, and the supervised and coordinated raids are aimed at identifying and collecting undeclared customs duties and tax due to the government. Wonder just how much will be recovered – with there being no escape from the taxman, it should be a whole darn lot.

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