Gong Xi Fa Cai

Advertisement

Watch Travel Safe & Save with Petronas Primax 95 Xtra and win a Garmin Nuvi GPS navigator

July 19, 2011 at 2:48 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Travel Safe and Save

EPISODE 1:

EPISODE 2:

When on the road a GPS will always come in handy. Fancy a Garmin Nuvi 1250 GPS device to help you navigate to your road trip destination during the weekend?

All you have to do is watch Travel Safe & Save with Petronas Primax 95 Xtra Episode 1 (Penang) and Episode 2 (Tanjung Sepat), answer a few simple questions correctly and fill in a slogan to get a chance to win a Garmin Nuvi 1250 GPS unit.

We have a total of THREE Garmin Nuvi 1250s to give away! Hurry, contest ends 27th July 2011. To win this week’s prize, answer the following questions in the CONTEST FORM.

What are you waiting for, submit your answers now!

Look after the jump for the terms and conditions of the contest.
[Read more...]

2 Comments      

Next gen Honda CR-V caught testing – is it a seven-seater?

July 19, 2011 at 2:12 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News, Spyshots

The current Honda CR-V has been with us since 2006, and it’s time for a new generation. The new CR-V in question has been spotted undergoing hot weather testing in Death Valley USA. The scarily named valley in the Mojave Desert is one of the hottest and driest places on earth, and a favourite location for car manufacturers looking to put their cars to test.

These spy shots show dark-coloured mules sporting full front disguise and plenty of black tape around the D-pillar and the rear lights – basically all the areas that make the current car unique. The uncovered side glass area looks similar to today’s CR-V, but previous sightings have shown an upturn on the bottom line to meet the top line, a bit like the Accord Coupe.

Crucially, the rear section looks a little more chunky that the current car – could there be a third row of seats hiding behind? Some in our office also noticed a lower roof line, but this is hard to tell without a control car.

The addition of third row seats is of course just speculation, since the current Nissan X-Trail sports a similar type of growth over the previous model, but remains a five seater. Do you think Honda should go the seven-seater way the CR-V, or keep the current layout?

Reports from the US claim that production of the new CR-V will start in America late this year. View the rest of the spyshots after the jump.
[Read more...]

35 Comments      


Subaru to revamp Oizumi plant – boxer engine production to grow 160% by 2015, and Toyota FT-86 to be built here

July 19, 2011 at 1:02 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru, Toyota

Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, has announced that it is refurbishing its Oizumi plant in Gunma Prefecture, Japan with a view to expansion of building capacity and a switching of product manufacturing lines. It is set to spend around 40 billion yen to do so.

The company is set to withdraw from its mini-car development and production, and will switch over to building larger vehicles. From next year, through an OEM agreement, it will begin buying minicars from Toyota group member Daihatsu and selling them as Subarus.

The plant at Gunma, which currently has a build capacity of 80,000 vehicles a year, will be upgraded and output will be almost doubled to around 150,000 units annually. Oizumi will be primarily responsible for building the new sports cars planned and designed by Toyota and developed by Fuji Heavy, namely the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru 0846, which is set to begin sales as early as spring next year, reports say.

Though the lineup is as yet unfinalised, the plant is also set to build other models in the Subaru lineup, such as the Legacy, the Impreza and the Forester, to fully utilise production capacity.

Elsewhere, the company is aiming to increase its production capacity for its boxer engine by 160% to 820,000 units a year by fiscal 2015, the reports add. It will start changing production lines for its older engines with lines for the new third-generation, horizontally opposed four-cylinder boxer, which debuted in the Forester last October and is available in 2.0 and 2.5 litre displacements.

With the intention to sell 900,000 vehicles worldwide in 2015, the company has determined that a substantial increase in engine build output is needed to match those numbers. Subaru is also looking at doubling its build capacity for its CVT transmissions to between 700,000 and 800,000 units.

15 Comments      

Rolls-Royce Ghost Extended Wheelbase coming in 2012

July 19, 2011 at 12:51 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Rolls Royce

There’s a new Rolls-Royce variant coming to town, and its the Ghost Extended Wheelbase (EWB) that was launched at Auto Shanghai earlier this year. RR personnel say that a year end launch in Malaysia is planned, with the first units expected to reach customers in Q1 2012. Production of the Ghost EWB starts this September in Goodwood, England.

As its name suggests, the Ghost EWB features an elongated wheelbase for more rear legroom and a revised standard spec sheet. The distance between the wheels has been stretched by 170 mm compared to the standard Ghost, resulting in minimum rear kneeroom (distance between the back of the front seat in its rearmost position and the front of the rear seat squab) increasing from 160 to 330 mm. It’s a substantial increase, as the pics below show.

The standard equipment list has been boosted to now include a panoramic sunroof, rear entertainment system and lamb’s wool carpets (the latter feels truly lovely), all previously on the options list. There are new alloys and slimmer wing mirrors, too.

Despite all that and the bigger body, we’re told that the weight increase in just 35 kilos. By the way, the Ghost is powered by a twin-turbo V12 with 563 hp and 780 Nm of torque.

In China, the EWB is about 20% costlier than the standard Ghost. In Singapore, where the Ghost is tagged at $998k, the EWB is expected to carry a price of $1.2 million.

In Malaysia, the standard Ghost is priced from RM2.6 million, so you do the +20% math. Bear in mind that some options on the SWB is standard on the EWB, though.

We previewed the car when it made a pit stop in Singapore. Gallery of live snaps after the jump.
[Read more...]

11 Comments      

Warisan TC Holdings inks deal with Beiqi Foton to assemble and distribute new range of light duty pickups

July 19, 2011 at 12:06 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News

Warisan TC Holdings is set to expand its light commercial vehicles product range in the country, a report says. The company, through its 70%-owned subsidiary, Kereta Komersil Seladang, filed an announcement with Bursa Malaysia yesterday that it has been given sole and exclusive rights by Chinese automaker Beiqi Foton Motor to be the assembler and distributor of the latter’s light duty commercial vehicles (pick up) in Malaysia.

This follows on a deal signed earlier in the year between Angka-Tan Motor, a wholly-owned Warisan TC subsidiary, and Beiqi Foton, for the former to assemble and distribute bus chassis and related products in Malaysia. The report adds that in March, the introduction of three Beiqi Foton Aumark light trucks were announced – rebranded as Bison, the 4.5-tonne light trucks are assembled at Tan Chong Motor’s plant in Segambut, KL.

No details were mentioned about the light duty pick-ups that will be heading this way, but a check on the automaker’s lineup say these are quite likely to be the Forland and Ollin 3-tonne models. The Chinese automaker also has a double cab pickup truck called the Sap, though this doesn’t quite fit the descriptive bill.

8 Comments      

Proton Exora with CVT and turbo slated for 2012 UK launch, there’s a diesel version planned for 2014 as well!

July 19, 2011 at 10:08 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Exora - Proton MPV 2009

Back in June, we posted spyshots of a Proton Exora mule testing a new drivetrain combination – CFE Campro turbocharged engine with CVT gearbox – so we know that such a car is coming, but not when. Proton also tested the same combo with ESP in snow as well. Some clues have now emerged (hat tip to reader Jerry & Mega), and they’re from the UK!

The UK public probably first saw the Proton Exora when an electrified version entered the RAC Future Car Challenge held in London in late 2010, where it managed to travel for about 4 hours on just 2.2 litres of petrol thanks to the majority of the energy probably being provided by the on board batteries.

1
3
2

And then we got an email from reader Dan, sending in some photos of a Proton Exora CPS spotted at the local Proton dealer in Bacton Suffolk.

Earlier this month, Autocar UK had their first drive of the Exora MC, powered by the usual Campro CPS engine. The review wasn’t glowing, which is expected when you take into account their standard of motoring, but the writer still called the Exora “a simple, inoffensive and comfortable MPV, offering plenty of kit and space for seven”. They tested a Malaysian spec car.

The story revealed that the Exora will be Proton UK’s fifth model when it arrives in 2012, and that “the engine will be turbocharged and paired with a CVT ’box instead.” Assuming that this UK launch will happen in Q1 2012, we’re expecting a Malaysian launch before that, which makes the end of this year, or early 2012, a possible time.

The next line of the article read: “A diesel variant will follow in 2014″. Now, isn’t a diesel powered Exora an interesting proposition? No more labouring, just let the torque do the job. And the boost in fuel economy will make it a great people’s MPV. It can’t come soon enough!

108 Comments      

BMW M3 DTM Concept unveiled – looking towards 2012

July 18, 2011 at 8:10 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News, Motorsports


Click to enlarge

BMW has lifted the covers off its M3 DTM Concept Car, which offers an initial impression of what the M3 DTM racer will look like when it lines up at the start of the 2012 season.


Click to enlarge

While the looks of the car will most likely change considerably up to its first race, the basic technical specs are pretty much set – among these, 480 hp with air restriction as per regulations from its 4.0 litre V8, which is mated to a sequential six-speed gearbox. Elsewhere, performance specs include a 0-100 kph time of about three seconds and an approximate 300 kph top speed.


Click to enlarge

There’s still a fair amount of work to be done on the car before it becomes the finished article. “Getting a new racing programme up and running is a bit like doing a jigsaw. New pieces are added almost every day, and we must put them together to create the big picture,” new BMW Motorsports director Jens Marquardt said. With the successful roll-out of the car comes a full test programme out on track next, as the development of the M3 DTM continues.


Click to enlarge

Three teams will be competing in the DTM for BMW next year, these being BMW Team Schnitzer, BMW Team RBM and BMW Team RMG. The exact allocation of drivers to the three teams will be made at a later date, though BMW Motorsport did announce Andy Priaulx and Augusto Farfus as the first two names of the driver lineup at the car’s unveiling.

12 Comments      

Suzuki unhappy with Volkswagen’s attitude in partnership

July 18, 2011 at 5:44 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Suzuki, Volkswagen

According to a report, Suzuki isn’t very pleased with Volkswagen’s attitude in the partnership the two companies formed at the end of 2009. The tie-up was planned to give Wolfsburg an inside track into Suzuki’s small-car technology, and for Suzuki to access VW’s hybrid and a host of next-gen tech that it had no means financially to develop on its own.

Suzuki’s CEO Osamu Suzuki had insisted back then that the alliance would be formed on an equal basis, limiting VW’s stake in the Japanese automaker to 19.9% and stating it would pay the equivalent value to buy VW’s shares.

Now, cracks in the relationship have come about. Reuters reports that the Japanese automaker isn’t chuffed by its German partner’s claim that it could wield great influence over Suzuki’s management, something that was stated in VW’s annual report to shareholders, no less.

Suzuki’s executive vice-president Yasuhito Harayama told reporters in Japan just who is in charge of Suzuki’s relations with VW. “It was made very clear when we tied up with Volkswagen that we did not want to become consolidated, and that we would remain independent,” he said.

“We feel we need to return to the starting point, including over the ownership ratio. The understanding that we are independent companies, and equal partners, is the absolute prerequisite in pursuing any specific cooperation.”

Harayama added that Suzuki will continue to pursue operational relationships with a wide range of companies, while holding back on any projects with VW until the two parties are able to reaffirm their initial understanding. “Right now, there is no specific joint development project going on with Volkswagen,” he stated.

Last month, Suzuki announced a deal to buy 1.6 litre diesel engines from Fiat, a deal that the company says proves it can do without VW.

Update: Further reports coming about say that Volkswagen, in response to Harayama’s comments, has said it would not encroach on Suzuki’s autonomy.

“Volkswagen and Suzuki are and will remain two independent companies. No increase of Volkswagen’s Suzuki stake has been agreed upon,” Hans Demant, who is in charge of the alliance at VW, told Reuters through comments provided by his spokesman,

The rift isn’t that trivial sounding. As an analyst puts it, “Japanese managers do not readily criticise publicly, so the fact that in this case they have shows that there really is a problem.”
Whether it means the end of a long-term working partnership between the two companies remains to be seen.

25 Comments      

GALLERY: BMW 1-Series Urban Line and Sport Line

July 18, 2011 at 1:19 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

BMW has released a massive photo archive of the new BMW 1-Series from their international press event in Berlin. No, we weren’t there to check out the car in person but we can all check out the uploaded gallery together.

Both the Urban Line and Sport Line are featured, which has slight differences in both the exterior and interior. No pics of the version with the M-Sport bodykit though, which I personally feel looks the best. Anyway enjoy the gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

21 Comments      

MINI One – limited edition 31 units to debut in early August 2011 – more details unveiled!

July 18, 2011 at 1:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

The MINI Malaysia Facebook page has unveiled another teaser image for the upcoming limited edition MINI One. The following are the details that we can gather from the image:

  • It advertises monthly repayments of only RM1,111 per month from BMW Credit, but we suspect this may be the lowest tier of a step up financing program as that amount for even a 9 year loan is under RM120k, which is an improbable price tag for a MINI in Malaysia.
  • Only 31 units available.
  • Two choices of colours – Chilli Red and Pepper White.
  • We also know that the Mini One uses a detuned version of the normally aspirated 1.6 litre engine in the MINI Cooper – 98 horsepower at 6,000rpm, 153Nm at 3,000rpm.
  • The image above shows what looks like steel wheels… they can’t be serious?!?!

Whether it is something intentional or not, this limited edition has all the signs that it’s dedicated to celebrate this year’s Hari Merdeka.

The car is only available in red and white – two dominant colours on the Malaysian flag, it’s to be launched in our month of independence in August, and it’s limited to 31 units which represents the 31st of August, our independence day. And who can ignore the MINI One name and the RM1,111 installment amount which refers to 1Malaysia?

30 Comments