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General Motors opens new diesel engine plant in Thailand

September 11, 2011 at 3:36 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, General Motors, International News

General Motors has officially opened a new diesel plant in Rayong, Thailand. The new plant which is worth $200 million and is the company’s first diesel factory in region will be the first in the world to produce the new line of Duramax 4-pot oil burners that will be first installed in the Colorado pickup.

These Duramax engines are made up by a 2.5 litre as well as a 2.8 litre variant featuring overhead cams, force-induction and aluminum cylinder heads. General Motors confirmed that the plant is able to churn out 120,000 engines per year and these engines will used for vehicles manufactured in the country and in other markets.

The 54,275 square meter plant will have up to 500 employees by the end of the year and houses various state-of-the-art computers and laser-guided equipments. It is also dust-free and features an in-house climate control system to ensure the best possible environment for engine production. Furthermore, the plant uses a lighting system that consumes 40% less energy compared to conventional systems.

General Motors also revealed that it is expected to source Thai-built components that is worth $94 million for the engine production by 2012. The opening of the new plant comes after the company announced plans to invest up to $150 million in the revival of its Bekasi manufacturing facility in Indonesia which will output a new line of people movers for other Southeast Asian markets.

Since the Chevrolet Colorado was brought up in this article, it is worth to point out that the pickup is expected to make its local debut sometime in December 2011 following a recent announcement by Naza Quest CEO Datuk Maruan Mohd Said.

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Tony Fernandes to rename Team Lotus to Caterham F1?

September 11, 2011 at 12:40 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

The Formula 1 fraternity is currently at the 2011 Italian GP in Monza and this congregation has churned out an interesting rumor about the Tony Fernandes-led Team Lotus. According to James Allen’s website, a middle ground has been reached between Tony Fernandes and Proton-owned Group Lotus over the naming conflict.

Apparently Fernandes has agreed to give up the Team Lotus name and is currently applying to use the name Caterham F1 Team via the FIA and FOM. As you would know, Caterham was recently added to Fernandes’ umbrella along with the Queens Park Rangers football club.

According to the website, this will also trickle down to the GP2 team with the name of Caterham Team Air Asia. You can safely expect Fernandes to use the Caterham brand in all of his motorsport endeavors and perhaps you might see a Formula 1-inspired road car by Caterham too.

With the new name, it is said that the yellow-green colour combo will be retained, minus the Lotus badge of course. This would definitely make Group Lotus boss Dany Bahar a very happy man who would be able to rename Lotus Renault to Team Lotus in the future.

You might wonder how all of these came about. James Allen revealed that the deal was part of the MAS-Air Asia partnership that was struck recently. Apparently, ending the Lotus fiasco was part of the government’s end of the partnership requirement which makes sense.

Regarding the issue of renaming the chassis, Fernandes should be able to do it as long as he receives a unanimous agreement by the competing teams. There is also news that Team Lotus will be relocated to Leafield in Oxford, away from Norfolk where it calls home at the moment. Leafield houses a former TWR facility which could be used by the squad.

It is also said that the team is currently expanding its man power. In my perspective, this is a very sensible move if there is any truth behind the rumor in the first place. It would put the naming conflict which started last season to a peaceful end and confusion over two Lotus brands in Formula 1 will come to a stop as well.

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New images of Frankfurt-bound Eterniti Hemera released

September 11, 2011 at 9:50 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

Here are the first studio images of the new Eterniti Hemera, set to make its public debut at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show this week. From the images, it pretty much looks like a reskinned widebody Cayenne. British automaker Eterniti Motors claims the Hemera is the world’s first “super SUV”, and while we don’t have the technical specs yet, Eterniti Motors says the Hemera will feature a limousine-like rear cabin, including twin electric reclining seats, iPads and a drinks chiller.

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Renew your car’s road tax and insurance without hassle with AmBank AutoXpress

September 9, 2011 at 5:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Advertorial, Cars

Is your Road Tax and insurance due for renewal soon? I know Harve Singh just had to renew his road tax – he had to drive all the way to Mid Valley to pass a cheque to the agent because the online service that he knew of at that time did not support company road tax renewals. He also had to sign a form to allow the agent to retrieve the car grant from the financing bank as it was still under a hire purchase loan.

If only Harve knew of a better way – he could have tried out AmBank AutoXpress, which saves you the hassle of queuing up at the Post Office or JPJ to renew your Road Tax and visiting your financier and insurer to renew your Motor Insurance. With AmBank AutoXpress, there is no need to present your original Registration Card and the No Claim Discount (NCD) transfer for Motor Insurance renewal is hassle free. More importantly, your Road Tax sticker will be delivered within 24 hours (via PosLaju).

To enjoy the service, simply call 03-2178 8400 at your convenience from 8.45am till 5.45pm, Monday to Thursday, and 8.45am till 4.45pm on Friday. This service is currently only available in Peninsular Malaysia.

For your convenience, you can choose to pay via any of the following modes:

  • Credit Card
  • InterBank Loan Repayment (IBLR)
  • Cash Deposit Machines
  • InterBank GIRO via Internet Banking or Mobile Banking

There is also an additional privilege for AmBank Credit Card holders – cardmembers will enjoy 0% Easy Payment Plan (EPP) when the payment is charged to their AmBank Credit Card.

AmBank AutoXpress customers stand to receive attractive gifts for renewals made between 1st July and 30th September 2011. Every 50th road tax renewed via AutoXpress will be rewarded with a RM100 petrol voucher, and every 75th road tax renewed via AutoXpress will be rewarded with a FREE AmDrive Care coverage. That’s not all. The first 600 Cardmembers who charge their Motor Insurance premium to AmBank Credit Card will be entitled to a Cash Rebate.

So just dial 03-21788400 or visit the AmBank AutoXpress website now.

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A fitting sendoff: 260 hp Honda Civic Type R Mugen 2.2

September 9, 2011 at 4:46 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Here’s a fitting sendoff to both the current Honda Civic hatchback and the famed K20 2.0-litre petrol engine – the Honda Civic Type R Mugen 2.2. Developed by Northampton UK based Mugen Euro, the most extreme version of the FN2 Civic has increased bore and stroke to make 2,156 cc, hence the 2.2 in the name.

From that, Mugen Euro have coaxed out 20 extra horses over the Civic Type R Mugen that came out last year. The final tally is 260 hp and peak torque of 240 Nm at 6,000 rpm. Besides that, the car gets Mugen sports suspension, brakes and bodykit.

A teaser image of the next gen Civic hatchback is already out ahead of its debut in Frankfurt, and this will be the last of the FN2s. The K20 engine, which powers the only two complete road cars produced by Mugen (FD2 Civic Mugen RR saloon and FN2 Civic Type R Mugen), has ceased production in Japan.

“Environmental pressures mean naturally aspirated engines are rapidly being superseded by other engine architectures and technologies. We may never see the like of the K20 in a mainstream production car again, so it felt only fitting we mark the occasion with this special 2.2 version of the Honda Civic Type R,” said Hiro Toyoda, VP of Mugen Euro.

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Perodua Myvi SE 1.5 open for bookings from 12 Sept – four variants available in manual and automatic transmission!

September 9, 2011 at 12:33 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua

Perodua has officially announced that the Myvi SE 1.5 will be open for bookings from 12 September 2011, which is next Monday. The range topping “Lagi Power, Lagi Best” Myvi will be available at all 178 Perodua showrooms nationwide from 15 September 2011. Prices will be announced on the launch day.

Wait, what happened to the “Myvi Extreme” name revealed by the pics we posted yesterday, you ask. Well, Perodua says that a total of four variants will be available, so perhaps “Extreme” is one of them. What we know for now is that there will be a “Multimedia” variant available, and the Myvi SE will come in both manual and automatic forms.

Choose from five colours, one of which is the “Majestic Yellow” shown here. Another is black, and white is almost certain to be included.

“We are very encouraged by the feedback from our existing and potential customers who want a Myvi with a bigger engine capacity. This new 1.5 Myvi “Lagi Power, Lagi Best” is currently exclusive to the Malaysian market,” Perodua MD Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh said.

“The new 1.5 Myvi is aimed at the young and urban executives who want a model which is sporty and premium. We anticipate that the new 1.5 Myvi will contribute to about half of the monthly 8,000 units Myvi sales,” he added.

The P2 boss also said that all Perodua showrooms will stay open “until very late at night” during the first few days after the launch, in anticipation of big crowds.

Since June, Perodua has received a total of 34,000 bookings for the new Myvi 1.3, and has delivered 18,000 units to date. The Myvi has overtaken the Proton Saga to again be Malaysia’s best selling car (according to MAA data, click here to view), a place that it has occupied for a long time.

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Volkswagen.Das Auto.Show 2011 happens this weekend at the Bukit Jalil Stadium carpark – admission is free!

September 9, 2011 at 4:04 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Local News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen Group Malaysia is looking forward to being a bigger player in the Malaysian market, and will soon have some locally assembled models to fight alongside the brand’s fully imported variants.

The CKD models, starting with the Passat, will be more competitively priced, and are sure to increase volumes significantly. The brand offensive starts now, and VGM is using the Volkswagen.Das Auto.Show 2011 to convince Malaysians that VW is the “people’s car” for us.

Located at the carpark of the National Stadium at Bukit Jalil, the Das Auto.Show is a big budget showcase for VW’s cars and tech. Comprising a “Mega Dome” and the “Caterpillar Dome”, the temporary white structures are clearly visible from the main road. There’s also a giant banner hung on the stadium to tell everyone why they’ve been sitting in a jam.

We attended the preview session for VIPs and the media yesterday night, and came away impressed at the scale of this “roadshow”. As far as I remember, never before have Malaysia seen such an elaborate and expensive showcase of this scale, and yesterday’s audience were wowed by the show. It felt more like a VW Group major motor show preview night than a local event, and it was obvious that VGM went all out to impress.

The Mega Dome (42m diameter, 21m tall) is laid out auditorium style, with an elevated ring that will see 12 moving cars circle 360 degrees around you. A backdrop is projected on the walls of the dome for a virtual reality effect, and there’s a huge VW logo on top of the igloo like structure.

VGM says that it’s the largest full dome projection system of its kind in the world. Cars such as the new Beetle, Golf and Passat Variant, Passat Sedan, Polo Sedan, Amarok, CrossTouran, Pheaton and Scirocco R were shown and explained here.

The connecting Caterpillar Dome on the other hand, is a 100m long curve shaped like the creature. Held up by air and free of columns, it houses the models that VGM currently sells such as the Eos, Golf GTI and TSI, Touareg and Polo. There’s also a huge F&B area with merchandise booths.

“The show gives the audience an in-depth understanding of why the Volkswagen brand appeals to drivers in more than 150 countries. The show explains Volkswagen’s vision that motivates trust amongst consumers, representing German engineering and reliability,” said Ricky Tay, VGM’s MD.

The best thing for the public is that admission is free. The Volkswagen.Das Auto.Show 2011 will be open to public this weekend (10-11 Sept) from 10am till 10pm. What can you expect to see there? Check out our live gallery and video after the jump!
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My Proton Makeover – Work in Progress pics of 1992 Saga

September 8, 2011 at 4:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton


UPDATE: Saga will be handed back to Fadly next week – stay tuned for the reveal!

The ‘My Proton Makeover’ contest, which is part of the national carmaker’s 1Perayaan Proton programme, kickstarted last month with the first project car, Fadly Hisham Roplay’s 1992 Saga. Fadly’s WCP 3145 came with a nice heart warming story, which won him the makeover ala Overhaulin’.

Playing the role of the famous Foose and friends are the boys from R3, Proton’s motorsports division headed by top drifter Tengku Djan Ley. His 19-year-old Saga will be in R3′s workshop for four weeks for a complete “tip to toe rework, inside out.”

Here are some pics of the work in progress, taken from Proton’s Facebook page. It shows Fadly’s Saga being stripped to the bone, and R3 working on the old body, which must have collected some rust by now. His Megavalve also gets a new paint job and new parts. The final pic shows a nice R3 rim with a similar design to that on the R3 Satria Neo.

Fadly is a lucky guy, and as a fellow owner of the last batch 1992 Saga Megavalve, I really envy him! View the pics after the jump.
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Harvinder and Julie explore Johor’s breathtaking Pulau Rawa in the season finale of Travel Safe and Save with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA!

September 8, 2011 at 2:56 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Travel Safe and Save

Welcome to the season finale of the Travel Safe and Safe with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA travel series. After bringing you nine exciting episodes, with each exploring various off-the-beaten tracks in Malaysia, allow us present to you Episode 10 which puts Johor’s beautiful Pulau Rawa on the centre stage.

This time around, it was you guys who selected Pulau Rawa as the final destination of the series :) The voting was done on the PETRONAS Brands Facebook page and other competing locations included Kuala Kubu Baru and Tasik Chini.

The duo travelled down to Mersing, Johor with the Hyundai Sonata and before setting off to the island via boat, they first made a stop at the rather classic Sri Mersing Cafe. Upon arrival at the island, the travelers discover various interesting features of Pulau Rawa including white sandy beach along with crystal clear water.

Want to find out more? All you need to do is to watch Episode 10 and you will be mesmerized by the beauty of Rulau Rawa. We hope that we have helped you discover various hidden treasures Malaysia has to offer with Travel Safe and Save with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA :) To catch up on all of our previous episodes, just click right here.

Continue reading for more information on the locations and to view an image gallery.
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Frankfurt preview: Jaguar C-X16 Concept, 911 here I come!

September 8, 2011 at 2:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Jaguar

This is the smaller sports car that has been missing in the Jaguar range, one that’s designed to take on the new Porsche 911 as a proper driver’s sports car. To debut in concept form in Frankfurt next week, the Jaguar C-X16 Concept is a sexy looking thing, a strict RWD two seater with 50:50 weight distribution and a hybrid. It’s a sure thing that Porsche engineers will be snooping around Jaguar’s stand at the IAA!

Billed as a “bold statement of Jaguar’s future design and technological intent”, the 4.4-metre long C-X16 is front engined and rear driven. It has lightweight aluminium bodywork sitting on the next-generation aluminium XK platform, and 50:50 weight distribution. With all those ingredients, and Jaguar’s reputation, there’s no way the production C-X16 will emerge as anything less than a great handling car. We’ll have to wait till late next year for that.

Under the hood is a supercharged all-alloy V6 engine producing 380 PS and 450 Nm of torque from 3.0-litres. This all-new quad-cam engine is a modular development of Jaguar’s AJ-V8 powerplant.

Supplementing it is an electric motor producing 70 kW (equivalent to 95 PS) and 235 Nm, available to the driver at the push of a steering-wheel boost button. Available for up to 10 seconds, this is inspired by the KERS system used in Formula 1. Besides “push to pass”, the electric motor also enables the C-X16 to perform as a zero emissions electric car at speeds of up to 80 km/h on low throttle openings.

The motor draws power from a 1.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack mounted behind the seats. It is predominantly charged through a rear axle electro-hydraulic brake energy regeneration system. The battery is cooled by chilled coolant from the climate-control system, the compressor for which is electrical rather than engine-driven for better efficiency.

The engine is paired to an eight-speed transmission with Stop/Start, recently launched in the XF. Utilising a Twin Solenoid Starter, the system shut down the engine in just 300 milliseconds after the car has come to rest, restarting it in the time it takes the driver’s foot to travel from the brake to the accelerator. First time mated to a supercharged engine, says Jaguar.

Figures? 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds, a limited top speed of 300 km/h and in-gear acceleration of just 2.1 seconds between 80 and 120 km/h. The hybrid system helps reduce CO2 emissions to 165 g/km and 14.5 km/l economy on the combined cycle. Yummy!

Gallery after the jump.
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