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UK traffic offenders to face on the spot fines by the police

May 27, 2011 at 6:47 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News

In a bid to clamp down on reckless driving, the British government has given the police power to issue on the spot fines, instead of cases going through the courts. Motorists will be slapped with fines of between £80 and £100 for various traffic offences, including using mobile phones while driving.

Transport Secretary Philip Hammond (not Richard) said the strategy aimed to target persistently dangerous drivers. He told MPs: “We need to rebalance road safety enforcement away from a narrow focus on camera-enforced speed policing, to address the wider range of behaviours that create risk on the roads. Where road users commit serious, deliberate and repeated offences we aim to increase the effectiveness of enforcement for this minority.”

The Department of Transport (DoT) says that this is to punish the most reckless drivers, rather than penalising those who make genuine mistakes. Besides fines, disqualified drivers will have to undergo training and possibly retake tests to reclaim their license. The courts will also be encouraged to make the most of their powers to seize vehicles for very serious offences. New drivers or those who commit less serious crimes will be sent for extra training.

“The strategy will focus on cracking down on the really reckless drivers through more efficient enforcement. By giving the police the tools to deal with those who present the greatest danger to others we can make our roads even safer. While seeking to do everything possible to tackle the most dangerous drivers, the strategy will also help the responsible majority to improve their driving,” DoT said.

According to DoT, convictions for offences related to bad driving fell from 125,000 in 1985 to 28,900 in 2006, suggesting that many cases are going unpunished.

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Lotus vs Lotus naming row verdict will be out today!

May 27, 2011 at 2:58 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, International News, Lotus

Finally. The name battle between Proton subsidiary Group Lotus and Tony Fernandes’ Team Lotus will be settled after a long wrangle. The British High Court decision on the Lotus naming row will be revealed Friday afternoon (UK time) by Justice Peter Smith in London, as announced by the High Court of Justice Chancery Division.

The case was first heard back in March, but Judge Smith has spent the past months deliberating on his verdict, besides taking a break during the Easter holidays. The Group Lotus PLC & anr v 1Malaysia Racing Team SDN BHD & ors Pt Hd case verdict will rule whether Team Lotus will be allowed to use the Lotus name in Formula 1, and also whether the team (then called Lotus Racing) was in breach of the original licensing deal it had with carmaker Lotus.

While the case was in court, Team Lotus went out to purchase Caterham, the maker of the iconic Seven, which started life as a Lotus. Considered by many as a “back up plan” should Tony and friends lose in the court case, they’ve even found a potential title sponsor and registered domain names for the rebranded team. Read all about that here and here.

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Dacia Duster ‘No Limit’ poised to tackle Pikes Peak

May 27, 2011 at 12:55 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Dacia, International News, Motorsports

Dacia is set to take on Pikes Peak – the company will enter the tough cookie international hill climb in Colorado on June 26 with a purpose-built 850 hp Duster ‘No Limit’ prototype, driven by three-time Trophée Andros champion Jean-Philippe Dayraut.

The Duster has certainly been in the thick of motorsports action in the short time its has been around, taking part in competitions like France’s Trophée Andros ice-racing series with Alain Prost (two runner-up titles) and the Rallye Aïcha des Gazelles, in which it mustered second and third placing this year.

Now, the brand has Pikes Peak in its sights, and it’s hoping the No Limit Duster will help it achieve glory. The one-off vehicle is built by Tork Engineering – which is in charge of the design, production, assembly, development of the car – and Sodemo, which is responsible for the engine part of the equation, in association with Renault Sport Technologies.

The 850 hp mill built by Sodemo is based on the Nissan VR 38 DETT 3.8 litre V6 block, as found in the GT-R, but has been tuned for the demands brought about by the high altitude event, which starts at 2,860 metres and finishes at 4,300 metres.

The engine is mated to a sequential six-speed Sadev box specially developed to cope with so much power, while at the same time ensuring quick, precise gearshifts, and the glass-fibre outer skin on the Duster also gets an advanced aerodynamics package specifically developed for the job – that’s one wicked, monstrous wing!

The Duster ‘No Limit’ meets specific regulations of the competition’s Unlimited class, which sets no upper limit on the size or power output of the engine – there’s no minimum weight, any tyres may be used and there are no restrictions concerning either the transmission system or aerodynamics.
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Chinese automakers actively hunting for foreign talent

May 27, 2011 at 12:03 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News

They’re not only snapping up foreign brands, but the Chinese are out to get bright foreign talent as well. It has been reported that two state-owned Chinese automakers started recruiting talent in Germany last week to satisfy their expanding operations. They are BAIC and Dongfeng.

BAIC said that Han Yonggui, president of Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp, led a delegation to Germany on May 19. The team organised job fairs in cities such as Stuttgart, Munich and Aachen to recruit 60 to 100 engineers and engineering students.

The other company, Dongfeng Motor Group Co. held an event Friday in the home city of BMW to recruit ethnic Chinese engineers working in Germany. Led by Dongfeng’s passenger vehicle unit chief, Li Shaozhu, the drive attracted more than 50 ethnic Chinese engineers, according to the company.

This is the first time they’ve gone hunting in Germany, but companies like BAIC and Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) have organised similar events in Detroit, USA before. Besides their JV business with foreign brands, BAIC, Dongfeng and SAIC have launched their own brands and models, and are aggressively pursuing growth.

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2011 Ford Fiesta introduced in China

May 27, 2011 at 12:01 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, China, Ford, International News

Two years after the Ford Fiesta made its debut in China, Changan Ford has launched the upgraded 2011 Fiesta, with changes including a more refined interior, additional tech/features and new colours, as well as a new name – the sedan variant now comes with a ‘Fengchao’ suffix. Meanwhile, the hatchback in Sport+ form also joins the lineup.

Added to the exterior shade palette are two vivid new colours, called Blush and Colorado Red, and changes to the interior include the inclusion of a USB port and rear speakers to model variants, a sunroof option as well as new trim colours combinations – there’s a choice of different coloured centre console covers, as the photo suggests.

The new Fiesta Sport+ hatchback joins the range in China, which is now made up of 10 variant models in sedan and hatch form, wearing a Mazda-derived 1.5 litre Duratec engine and automatic transmission.

The car comes with an exclusive coffee-coloured interior, and features redesigned 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels, a leather-covered steering wheel and projector headlamps, among others things.

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Jaguar-LR to build four-cylinder engine plant in India

May 27, 2011 at 10:57 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, India, International News, Jaguar, Land Rover

Tata owned Jaguar Land Rover is planning a new £400 million engine plant in India, sources told Autocar India. Apparently, the plant will be a “carbon copy” of a facility JLR has already announced for for the UK, which is believed to be in Wolverhampton. It’s possible that the Indian plant will be in Pune, a city that will also host a previously announced Land Rover assembly plant.

The Indian plant will make four-cylinder engines that are modular in design and up to 2.0 litres in capacity, according to sources. This fits in with JLR’s intention to replace the relatively expensive four-cylinder diesel and petrol engines it buys from previous owner Ford. The V6 and V8 engines they use will continue to be made by Ford in Bridgend and Dagenham for the time being.

It won’t be so soon though, as work on the Indian plant will only start after the UK plant. But when both new factories are up and running, they can churn out up to 500,000 units a year, enough to supply assembly in China, which was announced by CEO Carl Peter-Forster mid last year.

Jaguar Land Rover is doing pretty well under Tata ownership. They have just announced the biggest-ever profit in British automotive history with after-tax earnings of £1.043 billion for the recent financial year. This is few fold more than the £300 million previous record posted in the 2007, JLR’s last full year under Ford custody. Vehicle sales in China and India have made this possible – sales rocketed by 33% and 61% respectively.

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Tan Chong introduces the Nissan Navara 4X4 King Cab

May 26, 2011 at 5:20 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan


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Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) today announced the arrival of the Nissan Navara King Cab 4X4. The King Cab bodystyle is common in Thailand, but this is the first of such trucks introduced in Malaysia.

The King Cab has four doors, but unlike in double cabs, the shorter rear ones here are “suicide doors” that open 90 degrees. There are no pillars to obstruct the opening. The room behind the front seats are for non-human cargo.

Also, compared to the Navara Double Cab, the shorter cab gives the King Cab a longer cargo bed. To be exact, it’s 1,840 mm vs 1,480 mm, or 360 mm longer.


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Like the Navara 4X4 Double Cab M/T, the King Cab is powered by the YD25DDTi 2.5L engine with 174 PS and 403 Nm of torque, not the lower powered 144 PS/356 Nm engine from the Navara Calibre 4X2. It’s paired to a six-speed manual gearbox.

The 4WD system has ‘Shift on the Fly’ function that allows for switching from 2WD to 4WD on the move.


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The Navara King Cab is available in four colours, namely Tungsten Silver, Twilight Grey, Brilliant White and Supreme Black. The on-the-road price (including insurance) for Peninsular Malaysia is RM 82,800 and the warranty is for three years or 100,000 km, whichever comes first.

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Daihatsu to intensify focus on Indonesia as part of growth

May 26, 2011 at 4:39 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Daihatsu, International News

Daihatsu is set to make Indonesia an integral part of its business expansion globally, according to a report in the Nikkei. The Japanese small car specialist, which posted a record 103.4 billion yen operating profit for the fiscal year ending March, is already very much a leading marque in Indonesia, but is looking at the country to provide a springboard for further growth elsewhere.

Away from its domestic market, Indonesia is Daihatsu’s largest overseas production and sales base, and the country also serves as its export hub to emerging markets. In 2010, the company’s Indonesian arm posted an operating profit of 33.8 billion yen, effectively triple the 11.3 billion yen it earned in 2009. This figure is good enough to account for 30% of its overall total operating profit, something not to be sneezed at.

In all, it sold 123,400 vehicles in the country last year, up 48% from 2009, adding up to an overall market share of 15.5%. Daihatsu’s parent, Toyota, has around 40% of Indonesia’s vehicle market share, and combined the brands have well over half of the share of the Indonesian market.

Now, Daihatsu is set – with the help of Toyota – to increase production in the country. It is set to spend around 20 billion yen to build a new factory, beginning in August, in the suburbs of Jakarta – when the plant is ready in 2013, it will offer an annual production capacity of 100,000 vehicles, adding to the company’s existing annual capacity of 280,000 cars there.

The new factory is expected to assemble a low-price compact of around a 1.0 litre engine displacement for the Indonesian market. The company says the vehicle will be the cheapest compact ever made by the Toyota group and will also be supplied to Toyota for sale under a different model name. Besides domestic sales, it plans to export the model to other Southeast Asean markets and elsewhere in a bid to expand its presence in Asia.

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BMW Malaysia launch K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL bikes

May 26, 2011 at 3:58 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Bikes, BMW Motorrad, Local News


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BMW Group Malaysia introduced two new Motorrad models today – the K 1600 GT and K 1600 GTL. These two touring bikes feature the most compact inline six cylinder engines for serial production motorcycles to date.

The engine in question is a 1,649 cc inline six pushing 160 hp at 7,750 rpm and 175 Nm of torque at 5,250 rpm, with 70% of the latter available from 1,500 rpm. The four-stroke unit has two overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder. Top speed is “over 200 km/h”. At a constant speed of 90 km/h, fuel consumption is rated at 4.5 litres per 100 km; at 120 km/h it’s 5.7 litres per 100 km.

Weighing in at only 102.6 kg, the engine by far the lightest serially produced inline six over 1,000 cc in the bike world. The K 1600 GT weighs in at 319 kg and the GTL at 348 kg.

The rider has Rain, Road and Dynamic modes to choose from. There’s also the unique Electronic Suspension Adjustment II system, which allows the rider to adapt not only the rebound damping properties of the front and rear spring struts, but also the spring rest of the rear spring strut and spring rate, and thus the “hardness” of the bike’s overall suspension.

These two tourers are very well equipped. Cruise control, adaptive xenon headlamps (with angel eyes!), an on-board computer and a 5.7-inch TFT colour display are among the kit supplied. The latter displays the BMW Motorrad Navigator IV system if one opts for it.

The GTL variant has different seating and ergonomics from the GT. Its single-section, dual level seat together with the rider footrests are positioned further forward and lower, and the handlebars reach further backwards for a more relaxed riding posture.

The GT is priced at RM158k and the GTL RM168k OTR excluding insurance. Gallery after the jump.
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Proton Saga FL 1.6 Executive now available – RM46,549

May 26, 2011 at 12:27 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

The new Proton Saga FL 1.6 Executive has been announced by Proton today, carrying a price tag of RM46,549 in Peninsular Malaysia, a small premium over the previously range-topping 1.3 litre Executive model’s RM43,298 price tag.

This should be good news for those who have been asking for a high spec 1.6 litre Campro IAFM engined Proton Saga, as previously the 1.6 litre engine was only available for the B-Line in the pre-FL Saga model. This new Proton Saga FL 1.6 Executive is only available with a 4-speed automatic transmission and in a solid white color only.

Other differentiators for the 1.6 litre variant externally are new alloy wheels and the decorative body sticker that you see running across the shoulder line of the car. On the interior, Proton has added dark chrome finishing on the air conditioning outlets, the center panel, the door inner handle, and the steering wheel ring. Safety wise, the Saga FL 1.6 Executive comes with dual airbags for the driver and front passenger.

“The 1.6L Saga should provide car buyers, especially those from the younger generation of purchasers and car owners with an even more attractive, affordable, cost-effective and powerful alternative,” said Proton’s managing director Datuk Seri Haji Syed Zainal Abidin.

Proton currently sells an average of 6,700 units of the Saga every month. Proton expects the new 1.6L Executive variant to contribute an average of 300 units a month.

They are targeting to sell a total of 83,000 units of the Saga (and a total of 173,000 Protons) during the 2011/2012 financial year.

UPDATE: New pix added to photo gallery after the jump.
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