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Datuk Seri Najib visits Group Lotus HQ in the UK

July 17, 2011 at 3:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lotus

If you’ve been paying attention to the national press, you would know that the Prime Minister was in the UK recently for official visits. He met the Queen, and he also paid a visit to Proton’s sports car maker subsidiary Group Lotus.

He took a tour of the design studio and the production line, and was given an experience around the refurbished Hethel test track in the new Lotus Evora IPS with automatic transmission.

“To be honest, when I first learnt of the future plans for Lotus, I felt a small degree of scepticism due to the level of investment required but now I’m going home as a strong supporter of the turnaround plan. I’d like to categorically say that Group Lotus has the endorsement of the Malaysian Government and Khazanah. With the current plan in place, I can see that the level of professionalism is high, enthusiasm and morale are high too and I have a sense that the business plan is more than achievable. It might be bold and ambitious or even audacious but there is nothing like the motivation that comes from setting such high targets, with this situation you can strive and go the extra mile and achieve what you may not otherwise be able to achieve. I wish Group Lotus all the best, good luck and this definitely won’t be the last time I visit,” said Datuk Seri Najib at the end of his visit.

The Group Lotus turnaround plan has been heavily criticized by many – most have the opinion that it is too big a task that costs too much money to do in too little time. According to Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar, Group Lotus has completed year one of the five year plan and the Lotus Esprit project has made good progress. The plan seems to be evolving with time as well – for example, we recently heard that the Elan has been delayed and the Evora will continue in the line-up.

“Feedback regarding the Elan showed us that it was too close in style and positioning to the Esprit, and so as a consequence we have delayed the delivery of the Elan – delayed not cancelled. This allows us to focus more of our attention on the Evora which I believe has fantastic potential. Another major development that has come about as a consequence of the feedback we received is that we are now developing our own engine to use in our future cars, creating even more the pure Lotus experience,” said Dany Bahar.
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New Skoda compact sedan to be built in China in 2013

July 15, 2011 at 10:39 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Skoda

Automotive News China reports that Skoda will be building a new compact sedan in China in 2013, the fifth Skoda model to be built in the mainland, joining existing models such as the Fabia, the Octavia, the Superb and the Yeti.

We’re expecting the new compact sedan to be a four door sedan based on the Volkswagen Polo Sedan called the Skoda Rapid, with design cues taken from the Skoda Vision D Concept. Shown above is a rendering by Theophilus Chin on what a VW Polo Sedan with a Skoda Vision D face could look like.

Look after the jump to revisit a gallery of the Vision D.

Source
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2011 Toyota Hilux facelift – exterior and interior pix

July 15, 2011 at 9:46 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Here’s the official lowdown on the new Toyota Hilux facelift, which had its world debut recently at the Melbourne motorshow this month. The Hilux facelift for 2011 gets a big redesign at the front, now featuring a bolder and sharper face, pretty much all-new from the A pillar to the front.

The interior gets a new upper dashboard design with a new horizontal centre instrument cluster. The image you see here also features a Toyota Touch 2-DIN 6.1 inch touch screen color LCD head unit.

In Australia, the Hilux is available with a 2.5 litre D-4D engine intercooled engine with a variable geometry turbocharger, making 144 horses at 3,600rpm and 343Nm of torque at 2,000rpm. Although new in Australia, it isn’t a new engine as it has been already available in Thailand as early as 2009. There is also a larger 3.0 litre diesel, which power output remains the same over the pre-facelift model.

Both the 2.5 and 3.0 litre diesels are now Euro 5 compliant, thanks to the addition of a diesel particulate filter.

Look after the jump for the rest of the pix.
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Volvo S80 T5 launched – two versions, RM268k and RM295k

July 15, 2011 at 6:18 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volvo

Volvo Car Malaysia today introduced the Volvo S80 T5, which replaces the S80 2.5T as the flagship model in the country. Two variants of the form are available, these being the S80 T5 Powershift and the T5 Exclusive Powershift.

Both are powered by a four-cylinder 2.0 litre turbocharged mill making 240 hp at 5,500 rpm and 320 Nm of torque at 1,800-5,000 rpm, and the engine – which features direct injection and twin variable camshafts – is mated to a six-speed Powershift transmission.

Performance specs include a 0-100 kph sprint time of 7.7 seconds and a 230 kph top speed. Essentially, this is the same lump as found on the Ford Mondeo EcoBoost, with a higher state of tune (that’s available in other markets).

As befits the suffix (and additional price), the T5 Exclusive gets more in the way of kit and features. There’s Pedestrian Detection as well as new Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake, features that were unavailable in the previous variant.

The T5 Exclusive also features Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC), which activates at speeds above 30 kph to automatically adjust the car’s distance to vehicles ahead. The system is adjustable to five different time intervals to the vehicle ahead.

The variant also has Driver Alert Control and Lane Departure Warning as well as Active Bending Lights and Personal Car Communicator with keyless drive as standard items.

Safety features on both variants include Volvo’s Blind Spot Information System (BLIS) and a host of other acronyms, from ABS, EBD, EBA, SIPS, WHIPS, IDIS and DSTC right into RAB (ready alert brake) and FBS (fading brake support).

Inside, the T5 – which now comes wearing the Dynamic chassis – gets new design features, with the S80 T5′s leather interior being in grey with cross brushed aluminium inlays and the the T5 Exclusive’s in a grey/beige mix, with classic wood decor inlays, the last also to be found on the gearshift and steering wheel.

The car comes with an eight-speaker audio system, and additional features on the T5 Exclusive are a six-CD in-dash changer, Bluetooth connectivity and two rear sockets for headsets.

As for wheels, the S80 T5 runs with 16-inch Oden alloys and 225/55 series tyres, while the T5 Exclusive comes shod with 17-inch Cassini-design wheels and correspondingly-sized 225/50 rubbers. Price-wise, the S80 T5 goes for RM268,000 while the T5 Exclusive is priced at RM295,000, both on-the-road, without insurance.

Gallery after the jump.
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Daimler and Bosch form JV to manufacture electric motors

July 15, 2011 at 5:09 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz

Daimler AG and Robert Bosch GmbH have agreed to join forces to develop and manufacture electric motors for Mercedes-Benz and Smart cars. The 50:50 joint venture company will be called EM-motive GmbH, with headquarters and manufacturing facilities in Hildesheim plus an engineering site located close to the parent companies in the Stuttgart area.

Some 100 employees are expected to start working for EM-motive from the fourth quarter of this year. Production is scheduled to begin in 2012 and the motor will debut in the full electric version of the new-generation Smart ForTwo, which goes on sale early next year. The electric motor will also be sold to interested parties, something Bosch will handle.

“Like lithium-ion batteries, electric motors are key components for our electric vehicles. It is extremely important that competence in this field is maintained in Germany. In joining forces with Bosch, we have now teamed up with a long-standing partner, and are confident that this move will lead to outstanding results,” said Prof. Dr. Herbert Kohler, VP of e-drive & Future Mobility in Group Research & Advanced Engineering and Chief Environmental Officer of Daimler.

This JV is expected to churn out more than 1 million electric motors by 2020.

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Toyota joins Linux Foundation as gold member

July 15, 2011 at 1:20 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Pretty soon, Toyota’s in-car entertainment and communication systems might use the same base operating system kernel as your Android smart phone or the operating system of the server that runs this website.

Toyota Motor Corp has joined the Linux Foundation as a gold member – the first automaker to formally participate in the non-profit organization. A gold member is required to pay an annual fee of US$100,000. This announcement comes soon after a consumer electronics manufacturer joined the foundation as a gold member for the first time – Panasonic Corp.

“Linux gives us the flexibility and technology maturity we require to evolve our In-Vehicle-Infotainment and communications systems to address the expectations of our customers. The Linux Foundation provides us with a neutral forum in which we can collaborate with the world’s leading technology companies on open innovation that accelerates that evolution,” said Kenichi Murata, Project General Manager, Electronics Development Div. 1, Toyota Motor Corp.

Other than Linux being used in Toyota’s in-car computers soon, such is the flexibility of the operating system that Linux can even be used in Toyota’s diagnostic tools at the service center.

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Funny looking Opel Combo van is a rebadged Fiat Doblo

July 15, 2011 at 1:04 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Fiat, International News, Opel


Click to enlarge

These are first official pictures of the next generation Opel Combo, which rivals the Renault Kangoo and Peugeot Partner, among other compact vans. It will replace the current Combo, which has served since 2001. The new Combo is no longer based on the Corsa supermini, but is a rebadged Fiat Doblo, saving costs for both brands.

The panel van version now offers a choice of two wheelbases – 2,755 mm or 3,105 mm – giving an overall vehicle length of 4.39 and 4.74 metres respectively, as well as two roof heights, 1.85 m or 2.10 m. The Combo is also available as a car-van, with five or seven seats and a paneled or glazed body.


Click to enlarge

Van variants can be ordered with one or two optional sliding doors, while the “car” version has both sliding doors as standard and comes with a top-hinged tailgate. An asymmetrical double wing door is also available. An additional rear roof hatch can be installed to transport ladders, for example. With up to 3,800 litres of space in SWB form and 4,600 litres with the LWB, the Combo offers the largest load volume in both classes.

The new Opel Combo is available with six engines: four diesels, one 95 hp 1.4 petrol and a Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) unit. The diesel range comprises 1.3 and 1.6 CDTI motors, each with 90 hp, as well as a 1.6 CDTI with 105 hp. The top performer is the 135 hp 2.0 CDTI. The CDTI engines only need to be serviced every 35,000 km or once a year.

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MINI One coming in August, only 31 units up for sale

July 15, 2011 at 12:34 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

There will be a new MINI variant hitting town soon, and it’s the MINI One, according to MINI Malaysia’s Facebook page. The same post also said that the MINI One will be reaching Malaysia next month (August 2011), and in limited numbers – only 31 units.

We’re guessing that the One in question is the One hatchback. One will be the entry level model of the range, which in Malaysia consists of the Cooper and turbocharged Cooper S. The One is powered by a 1.6-litre NA engine with 98 hp and 153 Nm of torque, 22 hp and 7 Nm less than the Cooper.

Launched in November 2010 here, the facelifted Cooper is priced at RM195,888 while the Cooper S will set you back RM239,888. How much do you think the entry point of MINI ownership will be?

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Flip flop FIA makes U-turn, off-throttle diffuser now allowed

July 15, 2011 at 10:50 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The flip flop bug has hit the FIA, which has now made a U-turn on its decision to ban blown diffusers in Formula 1. This means that the off-throttle blown diffuser is now legal again, after all parties unanimously agreed that the ban should be rescinded.

The issue reached boiling point at the British GP, where concessions (first to Mercedes engines) and counter concessions (Renault engines) caused anger in the paddock. FIA then realised what they’ve gotten themselves into, and rolled back the whole thing “to be fair”. Sounds avoidable if there was proper consultation. Here’s the official explanation:

“The matter was still being discussed because one engine manufacturer (Renault Sport) was reluctant to run with the settings we had imposed and continued to try and convince us that they would require alternative settings in order to maintain their perfect reliability record. At the last minute additional information was provided to us which we felt would be hard to refuse having already made a small concession to another manufacturer (Mercedes Benz).

“However, further discussions on Friday evening and Saturday morning resulted in us deciding that we had conceded too much and, to be fair to the manufacturers who had presented cars in what we considered the correct configuration, we should revert to the specification we had specified in our note to the teams on 20 June. This is how all teams then ran on Saturday and Sunday in Silverstone,” FIA said.

This would not be an issue next season, as teams have agreed to a new exhaust tailpipe position that exits the bodywork much higher up, and no longer in the vicinity of the diffuser. Any aerodynamic benefit will be kept to an absolute minimum as a result.

However, I have a feeling that some clever team will find a loophole and derive some benefit out of the new layout. The others will protest, and we go back to square one :)

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INTERVIEW: We chat with Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International, on Subaru’s plans for Malaysia

July 15, 2011 at 12:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Local News, Subaru

An unexpected and truly surprising piece of news hit us last week, when Fuji Heavy Industries inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tan Chong Group to assemble Subaru vehicles in Malaysia. This website was also first up with the confirmed identity of the compact SUV that will kickstart CKD operations here, which is the production version of the Subaru XV concept.

The concept made its world debut in Shanghai earlier this year, and we understand that the production model will be launched in the first quarter of 2012. This means that it will be just half a year from launch when the first locally assembled XVs roll out of Tan Chong’s Segambut plant in KL.

That’s not all. The local assembly of the XV is part of FHI and Motor Image’s big plans for the region. MI doesn’t have much of a presence in Malaysia at present, but all that is set to change with 18 new outlets planned through 2013, nationwide including East Malaysia. A flagship Subaru Hub is also in the works.

It’s too good not to follow up, so we made the short hop to Singapore to dig more from Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International and Group Chief Executive of Motor Image, the Tan Chong arm handling Subaru in the region. Answers to your burning questions are after the jump, including the drivetrain selected for the CKD XV.
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