Paul Tan on the Automotive Industry
Infiniti has revealed the first two teaser images of what it calls a highly advanced, range-extending electric sports car concept, which it will unveil in Geneva next March.
The basis of its creation, Infiniti says, is to extend the potential for high performance, low emission electric cars, but the company isn’t saying anything else beyond that, so looks like it’ll have to wait until it gets closer to the Swiss show for more details on the new offering to come about.
It hasn’t been a good year for Japanese automakers, with the Japanese earthquake earlier in the year and more recently, floods in Thailand disrupting production, schedule and plans. All this has certainly lost them a fair bit of ground in terms of sales and expansion.
Toyota, the world’s number one automaker, looks set to lose the most – the company is set to cede the top spot in global new-vehicle sales in 2011 to the resurgent General Motors, according to reports. Toyota was No. 1 for the past three years, but now looks certain to drop to third place after the Asian disasters forced the company to cut production at home and abroad.
GM’s global sales for the January-September period rose 9% on the year to 6.79 million units, and with sales in Q4 on track to outpace the 2.17 million units recorded in same 2010 period, the US automaker’s full-year total is likely to exceed nine million units. This number would be 20% above the figure for 2009, when the company filed for bankruptcy.
Meanwhile, Volkswagen is expected to advance one spot to second place, with group sales surging 14% on the year to 6.17 million units in the first nine months of 2011. In 2010, Toyota and GM were the only carmakers to achieve more than eight million units sold – VW is positioned to reach that milestone for the first time this year, helped by double-digit sales growth in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific, the reports say.
As for Toyota, its January-September sales slid 9% on the year to 5.77 million units, and with the effects of the Thai floods set to impact the October-December figures, it looks unlikely that Toyota will narrow the gap with GM and VW, which have also enjoyed a head start the world’s largest market, China.
Elsewhere, Hyundai, which surged past Ford in 2010, is on pace to consolidate its position thanks to robust sales in the US, China and other key markets – the company has already upgraded its sales forecast for the full year to at least 6.5 million units, from the 6.33 million units projected, the reports add.
Track days are a luxury for the car enthusiast, especially since there are no smaller (and cheaper) circuits around the Klang Valley, and our only hope is a Formula 1 circuit. A lucky bunch of people recently got to enjoy a track day – these folks are the owners of Renault Sport cars. The event was arranged and sponsored by distributor TC Euro Cars, a subsidiary of Tan Chong Motors.
“People who buy a RM230,000 car with a manual transmission mated to a 250 hp engine are definitely driving enthusiasts; it is with our customers in mind that we felt that what better place to enjoy the full capability of Renault Sport cars than on a Formula 1 track,” said TCEC’s GM, Reza Mutalib.
From what we heard, TCEC is also planning to have a number of exclusive track days in 2012 to further accommodate the growing RS family. We heard about this trackday from a contact who owns a Renault Sport, so we called up TCEC to see whether we could come along for the ride.
Over 60 people showed up at Sepang, the bulk of them owners of the Megane R26, Clio RS and Megane RS250. There were also some who had booked the hot Megane and waiting (im)patiently for their cars to arrive. These soon to be owners had a taste of what their future ride can do on track as they were given demo laps, and from their smiles and expression, not one regretted his decision!
I asked, and apparently the car has been sold out for months. New stocks that are expected to arrive by the end of the month are mostly booked, too. Not that I have the bank balance…
If you haven’t already gathered from our test drive report, we adore the Megane RS 250 for its superb performance (not just speed, but handling and flow) and comfort as a daily driver (unlike say, a Civic Type R). It also amazed me that Renault Sport managed to better the Megane R26 in about every aspect, and the old timer is a cracker, mind you.
Back to the track. Before I drove, I strapped myself in the passenger seat with Denis Lian, who is of course the pro who set the Sepang lap record for the Megane RS 250 at 2 mins 43 secs last year. Denis not only used every ounce of the car’s grip and brakes, but every inch of the track as well – and this is what separates racers from the regular enthusiast. After that we swapped seats for a chance for him to laugh at my skills.
He didn’t (because he’s nice, not because I’m good), but instead gave me pointers as we took on full laps of Sepang. My first full throttle of the day was at the exit of Turn 2 on to the right sweeper and straight before standing (literally) on the brakes for T4. Unlike the R26 and Golf GTI, the Megane RS doesn’t feel as fast as it really is, probably due to the much improved refinement.
But make no mistake, this car is very quick even if it doesn’t kick. We also recently found out that it actually makes much more than the stated 250 hp – click here to read.
Traction out of corners is superb in this LSD equipped car, as I discovered in T4, and one can confidently lean into the following S bends without the fear of Megane throwing you off the road. It will lose traction eventually, but the process is progressive, and you’re likely not to be caught unawares, unless one’s fully drowned in adrenalin, or just plain foolhardy.
Next up was a dab of the brakes before aiming for two apexes in a U. The Megane RS does allow for some degree of roll, which is not a bad thing, as long as it doesn’t get in the way of “work”. The way the suspension “breathes” on the road (as opposed to hopping around) was evident here as I clipped the raised kerbs, without my head hitting the roof or bum shifting in the Recaro.
The final corner before the back straight really brought out the reactive nature of the chassis. This is one FWD car that can dance and flow along, and not just rely solely on grip from the nose. The straights saw me reach about 190 km/h before starting to brake at the 100m mark.
Those four-pot Brembos with 340 mm slotted discs are incredible, to say the least, marrying strong bite and a nice easy to modulate natural feel. 100m isn’t much when one’s hitting 200 km/h, and I’m happy to report that I made the corner with room to spare.
By the way, the Megane RS 250 comes standard with the R.S. Monitor, which displays real-time data (stopwatch with memory function, acceleration timer, g-force meter, turbo pressure, oil temp, torque/power figures) plus the option of five throttle map settings.
Didn’t really have time to play with all that, but I left the g-force meter on, and as you can see, we pulled about 1.2g of lateral acceleration. We achieved the same on the road in our earlier test drive.
Amazing performance on track for a car that’s so usable on the road. With the car and now the track days, these Renault Sport owners have double happiness. As for me, I left the track one part happy, two parts envy!
The fourth-generation Honda CR-V has made its debut – the SUV was unveiled at the Los Angeles Auto Show, and will begin selling in the US on December 15.
The CR-V remains a five-seater, but Honda says the debutant introduces an upscale styling direction, improved interior comfort, a smoother and quieter ride, greater fuel efficiency and added features and functionality over the outgoing model.
Leading the changes are a more efficient engine design with improved horsepower and torque, along with an all-new Real Time All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) with Intelligent Control System. All the North American CR-V variants are powered by a 2.4 litre i-VTEC four-cylinder engine offering 185 hp and 221 Nm of torque, paired with a five-speed automatic transmission.
A new feature called Eco Assist indicates to the driver when the vehicle is being operated in an efficient style via “green” visual cues surrounding the speedometer, and a selectable ECON Mode alters operating characteristics of the vehicle to support an efficient driving style.
Inside, the interior features a roomy new centre console and an overall lower cargo floor height for easy loading and unloading, among others. New to the vehicle is an Easy Fold-Down 60/40 Split Rear Seat, which offers easier access to utilising the cargo area – each side of the rear seat can fold nearly flat into the front of the cargo area using one of the release levers located near the tailgate, or a pull-strap positioned on the seat side.
Tech features include a Bluetooth HandsFreeLink phone interface, a full-colour intelligent Multi-Information Display (i-MID) and a multi-angle rearview camera with guidelines. As a first for Honda, the fourth-gen CR-V includes an SMS text messaging function, which can read received texts from compatible cell phones aloud over the audio system. Another first is the introduction of a Pandora Internet Radio interface3, which works with the vehicle’s audio controls and i-MID.
Safety equipment includes VSA, ABS as well as front-side airbags with a passenger-side Occupant Position Detection System (OPDS) and side-curtain airbags.
For North America, depending on the model (there’s the LX, EX and top-of-the-line EX-L), available kit ranges from a 160 watt, four-speaker audio system to power moonroof and 17-inch alloy wheels to a leather-trimmed interior, automatic dual-zone climate control and a 328 watt seven-speaker audio system.
Porsche has announced the introduction of the Panamera GTS, and the normally-aspirated
4.8 litre V8 that this one wears has 30 PS and 20 Nm more torque compared to the Panamera S and 4S, in this case 430 PS at 6,700 rpm and 520 Nm at 3,500 rpm. Performance figures for the 1,920 kg GTS, equipped with a seven-speed PDK gearbox, are a 0-100 km/h time of 4.5 secs and a 288 km/h top speed.
The car gets distinctive exterior cues inspired by the Turbo – it features the standard front section of the Sport-Design package of the Panamera Turbo, as well as the adaptive four-way rear spoiler from the latter.
It’s also characterised by numerous black exterior styling details – for starters, there’s a high-gloss black exterior package comprised of side window trim, the decorative trim on the rear lid, the headlight washer unit cover, the rear diffuser and the side air outlet panels. Add in black side skirts and matte black tailpipes of the sports exhaust system and it’s a pretty comprehensive blackening process.
A further point of differentiation comes in the form of the Bi-Xenon headlights with black inner bezels. These feature four LED daytime running lights each, and like the Turbo’s, are located in the main headlight. The car also gets an optional Carmine Red shade, available exclusively for it.
Inside, the black interior gets decorative stitching in Carmine Red or GT Silver on the foot mats, top of the dashboard, upper edge of the door, armrest, door trim and centre console, the door closing handle as well as with the seat stitching. And to ensure you know which Panamera you’re driving, the stainless steel front door entry guards feature ‘Panamera GTS’ lettering, and GTS lettering is also shown on the instrument cluster and on the embroidered headrests.
The equipment list includes Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control (PDCC) – in tandem with the electronically-controlled rear axle differential lock and PTV Plus – and adaptive air suspension combined with Porsche Active Suspension Management (PASM).
The Panamera GTS sits 10 mm lower than the other models in the Panamera range, and its damping is designed to be tauter. Elsewhere, the car wears 19-inch Panamera Turbo wheels, 5 mm rear wheel spacers and larger brake discs from the Turbo, recognisable by their red brake callipers.
The standard sports exhaust system comes with larger pipe diameters to reduce back pressure, and features two tuning flaps which expose additional exhaust openings, thereby emitting an even more powerful sound. The flaps are controlled by means of a switch in the centre console, which features a “last mode” function that remembers the last setting and restores it when the engine is started.
Elsewhere, there’s also the Sound Symposer, which directs intake noise into the interior at the push of a button. This is achieved by an acoustic channel picking up the intake vibrations between the throttle valve and air filter – the acoustic channel incorporates a membrane that transmits the vibrations as an engine sound into the A-pillar. A controllable valve located in front of the membrane enables the Sound Symposer to be activated or deactivated by means of the Sport button.
The Honda Fit EV has made its global debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show – the all-electric vehicle, based on the Fit hatchback, offers a 198 km highway driving and a 122 km combined city/highway operating range, based on US EPA city cycle test methods.
The five-seater Fit EV, which will be introduced to US consumers via leasing programs beginning next summer, will be powered by a 20 kWh lithium-ion battery and a 92 kW coaxial high-density electric motor which is derived from the motor used in the FCX Clarity fuel cell electric vehicle.
A 6.6 kW, onboard 32 amp charger allows for convenient recharging of the vehicle; with a 240-volt charger, the Fit EV can fully recharge in as little as three hours. It will feature a 3-mode electric drive system, adapted from the CR-Z Sport Hybrid – the system allows the driver to select between Econ, Normal and Sport modes.
Externally, the Fit EV is identical to the gasoline-powered Fit, though it offers a higher hip point to accommodate the under floor placement of the 20 kWh battery. It will only come in a single, exclusive color, this being Reflection Blue Pearl, and will also have the familiar chrome front fascia similar to other Honda eco-friendly vehicles such as the Insight hybrid
Additionally, the car gets EV badges on the rear hatch and decals on the side of the vehicle to help distinguish it from its gasoline counterpart, and it will wear distinct five-spoke alloy wheels and an aerodynamic rear spoiler. Inside, the seating surfaces are covered with bio-fabric.
Tech features include a standard telematics system that allows the driver to stay connected through a smartphone, PC or interactive remote. Through the Fit EV smartphone and computer applications, the driver can remotely view the vehicle’s state of charge, initiate charging and activate the air-conditioning or heater, to pre-condition the vehicle while connected to the grid, to maximise battery range on start-up.
The mobile application and website also offers the ability to set charging notifications and alerts to optimise charging times based on varying utility rates. The Fit EV will also come equipped with a standard Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System to locate public charging stations and frequently updated traffic information.
Meanwhile, the interactive remote – operable up to 30 metres from the vehicle – allows the driver to monitor the vehicle’s state of charge and cabin temperature, initiate and terminate charging and remotely turn on the air-conditioning via it.
Honda will begin leasing the Fit EV to customers in select California and Oregon markets next summer, and will expand to six East Coast markets in early 2013. The company expects volume at this early stage of production to be approximately 1,100 Fit EV’s over the next three years.
Proton has stated that it is not stopping production of its Satria Neo hatch, despite a report saying that it was set to do so. Proton MD Datuk Seri Syed Zainal Abidin said that the company was shifting the manufacturing of the model to its main plant in Shah Alam, from Tanjung Malim, and that it was rearranging its facilities at Tanjung Malim in order to bring in its new model (in this case the P3-21A Persona replacement set to arrive next year), according to Bernama.
“There is no truth in the report that we are ceasing production at the Tanjung Malim plant and shifting to Shah Alam. People may misinterpret that we are stopping production in Tanjung Malim to “kill the brands produced there,” Syed Zainal said at a press conference yesterday, in response to an earlier news report that the Satria Neo was nearing the end of its production cycle.
He was speaking at a press event to shout the company’s clean sweep of APRC titles this season, and hinted that a special edition Satria Neo to commemorate the APRC victory would be coming about. “Expect some exciting derivative of Neo, perhaps some special edition,” he said, adding that a “yellow Neo” with “some of the DNA of the S2000″ could be coming out in Q1, 2012.
Syed Zainal did however say that the company has decided to discontinue the sale of its Savvy hatchback, which was introduced in June 2005, and was also phasing out the Gen.2 model from the domestic market. “We are shifting the production of Gen.2 and as you know, we are talking to our partners in China and Iran to assemble the model there. We are still in negotiations,” he said.
Suzuki says it is going to build a new assembly plant in Vietnam to meet the country’s growing need for cars, a report says. The company has been building motorcycles and cars in Vietnam since 1996, and its existing plant in the country turned out 3,000 vehicles in 2010.
The new factory, which will cost the company about one billion yen, will be built in a different location and is scheduled to commence operation in 2013. Suzuki says the new plant will have an initial annual production of 5,000 vehicles, though there are plans to increase capacity later.
As hinted earlier, Honda will soon debut a new small 1.6 litre diesel engine, which is currently slated for use in the Honda Civic in Europe. We also expect the same diesel to be installed in Honda models in India, especially the Honda City.
Honda currently has only one diesel engine to slot into its cars – a big 2.2 litre 4-cylinder, an oddity in Europe where pretty much half of the cars of the Civic’s size that are sold come with a smaller diesel of about 1.6 litres in displacement.
Honda needs to push the new Civic hatchback in Europe and expects the new 1.6 litre Honda Civic i-CTDi to account for 65% of Civic sales. A 1.6 litre Civic diesel was offered in the past with a previous generation model, but that Civic diesel used an Isuzu engine.
I think the picture pretty much speaks for itself – a very nice and revealing shot of the new Proton P3-21A sedan that has been making its way around the internet this week. Done in a sporty yellow, we can spot projector headlamps, and a nice sporty bumper with a prominent center air intake and big fog lamp inserts.
There have been a few revisions to the front end of the P3-21A compared to when it was previewed at last year’s KLIMS motorshow as the Proton Tuah concept. We’ve uploaded one picture of the Tuah above for easy comparison. For one, the headlamps have a different internal lens configuration now, and the lower edge of the headlamps now joins the grille. The daytime running lights at the fog lamp area has also been replaced by a regular fog lamp, but it appears that Proton has kept some form of LED daytime running lamp running along the lower edge of the headlamp.
Do you like what you see?
