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New vehicle sales in Thailand down by 67.5% in November

December 22, 2011 at 10:16 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News

Reports indicate that new vehicle sales in Thailand dropped 67.5% in November from the same period a year earlier, the result of supply shortages brought about by the suspension of production due to the recent flood crisis.

While total sales volume for the year was 739,506 units, a figure that is up by 4.6% compared to the year before, new vehicle sales in November totalled only 25,664 units. Toyota remained the market leader, with a 15.8% share of total new vehicles sold during the month, while Mitsubishi Motors came in second with a 13.9% share.

Passenger car sales in Thailand, meanwhile, fell 62.1% on year to 12,746 units, with Honda taking a 22.2% share for the lead, and Nissan a close second with a market share of 21.1%. Elsewhere, the reports add that sales of commercial vehicles, including that of one-tonne pick-up trucks, slumped 71.5% to 12,918 units. Leader Mitsubishi had 24.9% of the market, while Isuzu was second with 20.1%.

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Audi A1 quattro: 256 hp and 350 Nm, only 333 units

December 21, 2011 at 11:48 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Audi, Cars, International News

Audi has announced the arrival of the range-topping A1 model called the A1 quattro. Just 333 examples of the form will be built in 2012, and all will be left-hand drive units.

The vehicle is powered by a 2.0 TFSI mill offering 256 hp at 6,000 rpm and 350 Nm of torque available between 2,500 and 4,500 rpm, which is of course delivered to all four wheels. Performance figures include a 0-100 km/h time of 5.7 seconds and a 245 km/h top speed.

The 2.0 TFSI delivers its power to the quattro permanent all-wheel drive system via a six-speed manual transmission, which features an electronically controlled, hydraulically actuated multi-plate clutch whose package of plates rotates in an oil bath. There’s an electronic differential lock in the mix, of course.

The car’s chassis has been adapted to the dynamics of the drivetrain, and is much more tautly tuned than that of the production model. The front suspension is a McPherson construction, while a four-link axle is used at the rear, and the electrohydraulic power steering on the car features a direct 14.8:1 steering ratio.

The Audi A1 quattro rides on 18-inch cast alloy wheels, finished in Glacier White, wrapped with 225/35 series tyres. Elsewhere, the internally vented 312 mm diameter front brake discs are clamped by black calipers.

The car is available only in Glacier White metallic, with a high-gloss black roof, some dashes of red and a two-colour rear wing providing contrast. Decent amount of tint to be found too – the rear windows are blackened, as are the LED rear lights. The exhaust system terminates in two polished dual tailpipes on the left and the right, adding yet more flair to the equation.

Inside, black is the thematic shade, with the seats and door armrests covered in Silk Nappa leather, with contrasting red seams. The S sport seats up front have pronounced bolsters, integrated head restraints and a quattro badge on the backrest covers.

Elsewhere, the lower section of the centre console is in high-gloss black, while the footrest and the pedal caps are in brushed stainless steel. Red seams frame the floor mats, and the door sill trims bear A1 quattro badges.

As for the instrument cluster, unique cues include white needles, a red tachometer and a quattro logo. Meanwhile, the multifunction flat-bottom sport steering wheel is wrapped in leather, again with contrasting red stitching and it also sports the car’s serial number.

There’s also plenty of other mod cons, including xenon plus headlights, high-beam assistant, adaptive brake lights, LED interior lighting package, light and rain sensor, automatically dimming interior mirror, rear parking system, automatic air conditioning, alarm system, storage package, convenience key and cruise control.

Rounding things off are a Bose sound system with 14 speakers and 465 watts of power, and the woofers in the doors are indirectly lit with light guide LEDs.

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My Proton Makeover – Sashideran gets his reworked Wira

December 21, 2011 at 7:03 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

The folks at Proton have certainly been busy this past week, with the launch of the turbocharged Exora Bold undoubtedly taking all the focus and time. So much so, the handover of the second vehicle that underwent the My Proton Makeover programme came and went quietly. Unlike the first one, there was no press event to shout the return of Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s 17-year-old Proton Wira back to him, which took place last Wednesday.

We’d asked for photos of the occasion, but amidst all the Exora Bold-related flurry of activity, they never arrived. But not to worry – we’ve managed to get some photos of the handover, courtesy of Proton’s Facebook page.

We caught the car in its final stages of prep the week before, and to recap, the original white of the car has been replaced with a metallic blue shade, which Proton motorsports division head honcho Tengku Djan Ley says was chosen to best complement the matte silver wheels picked for the car.

There’s a new rear wing, which the car never had, and the front bumper has a lip taken from a Satria, and highlighted in silver. The Wira also features a lowered ride, courtesy of a new APM suspension specified by the R3 boys. The car had a brown interior, but after the rework is now in black, with leather featuring prominently, on the dashboard, seats and door cards, highlighted by blue stitching.

The Wira gets a Momo steering wheel, and the centre console panel, instrument panel trim and new gearshift console cover (taken from the Satria GTI) is finished in the same shade as the external colour. From the photo of the alloy wheel, it looks like the idea of changing the 1.5′s rear drums to discs didn’t come to be.

We’re sure that Sashideran must have been absolutely chuffed to get back NAK 59, his ‘darling Wira’ all spruced up. So, on to the next makeover recipient, which should be announced soon enough. Stay tuned!

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Welch Motorsport to expand to running two NGTC Protons in 2012 BTCC – current BTCC Persona goes on display

December 21, 2011 at 1:16 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Malaysian Makes, Motorsports, Proton

Welch Motorsports, which ran a Proton Persona built to Next Generation Touring Car series specifications in the second half of the 2011 Dunlop MSA British Touring Car Championship, is set to expand its presence in the championship to two NGTC-regulation Protons for the full 2012 race season.

The 2011 car began participation just after the mid-season break, debuting at Snetterton, driven by Daniel Welch, the son of team principal John Welch. It’s the second NGTC car to compete with the TOCA engine, which is built by Swindon Engines – the NGTC-spec “unbranded” turbo direct injection electronic throttle engine has a 2.0 litre displacement and makes over 300 horses, with the option for an overboost as well.

The current Proton Persona BTCC car has in the meantime gone on display in the UK at Surrey-based West End Garage’s showroom in Woking. As the supplying Proton dealer for Welch Motorsport, WEG will have the BTCC vehicle on show for a bit, and has sent us some photos of the car on display.

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Saab suspends warranty coverage on its US vehicles

December 21, 2011 at 11:51 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Saab

The not-so-pleasant news continues. Saab Automobile, which declared voluntary bankruptcy on Monday, has suspended warranty coverage on all of its vehicles in North America, according to a report. The suspension came into effect the same day the company’s bankruptcy petition was approved by a Swedish court.

Effective December 19, “warranty coverage is suspended indefinitely for all new Saab vehicles sold. During this period, the warranty booklet must be removed from the owner information packet,” Saab Cars North America said in a statement to Automotive News, which carried the report.

The suspension covers new-car warranties as well as powertrain and emission warranties, parts warranty (including safety belts and airbags) and items such as towing, goodwill and recalls/campaigns, among others. All new 2011 Saab models were last covered by a 4-year, 50,000-mile warranty that included roadside assistance, and no charge scheduled maintenance for three years or 36,000 miles.

The Swedish automaker also told its North American dealers that new vehicles must be sold “as is.” According to a Saab spokesperson, the company now has less than 3,000 light vehicles in its US inventory.

General Motors, which owned Saab from 1989 and handled Saab sales and covered warranties until February 2010, has however stated that it will honour warranties on all models sold when it owned the Swedish company.

“In the event Saab cannot or will not fulfill its obligations to administer the warranty programs with its US and Canadian dealers through Saab Cars North America or otherwise, GM will take necessary steps to ensure that remaining warranty obligations on Saab vehicles marketed by GM in the United States and Canada will be honoured,” GM said in a statement.

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Proton P3-21A spotted again undergoing road-testing

December 20, 2011 at 1:37 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Spyshots

While the hot news and attention is undoubtedly on Proton’s star of the moment, the turbocharged Exora Bold, work continues on as usual for the Proton boys in road-going evaluation of the upcoming P3-21A.

The car has been spotted a number of times, notably back in August and most recently doing a high speed test run on the Karak earlier in the month. The mules were on the road again yesterday in the Klang Valley, clad as usual, and reader Abid took some shots to add to the growing image inventory of the car.

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Castrol EDGE Car Club Contest – 3 Car Clubs triumph!

December 20, 2011 at 1:22 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Advertorial, Cars, Local News

The Castrol EDGE Car Club Contest in conjunction with the launch of the new Castrol EDGE engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™ has finally come to a close following three successful phases of the Castrol EDGE “Experience the Strongest” campaign. The car club-specific contest which started off with a simple photo submission and progressed to a review submission based on the Performance Drive event has officially ended as My Mazda Club, Lancer GT Club and the NISMO Club emerged victorious.

A total of five car clubs took part in the Performance Drive finals which also saw Yaacob Yahaya, Nazaruddin Muhammad and Khairul Izwan, all from the NISMO Club fill up the three podium positions in the Gymkhana Challenge. During the drive event which included windy routes around the Klang Valley, all ten participants got to experience the new Castrol EDGE engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™, which is the company’s strongest and most advanced performance oil in their respective cars.

All three winning car clubs walked home with two cartons of the new Castrol EDGE engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™, with each carton containing six packs of the engine lubricant. The key to Castrol EDGE’s strength is the new Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™. It is a new dynamic system in Castrol EDGE that actively strengthens the oil designed to continuously respond and adapt to the engine’s every need under various conditions. This new formulation minimizes metal-to-metal contact hence maximizes engine performance.

This year proved to be a successful year for Castrol EDGE with the Castrol EDGE “Experience Nurburgring” Challenge which took place in March this year and with the launch of the new Castrol EDGE lubricant engineered with Titanium Fluid Strength Technology™. 2012 will prove to be another exciting year for motoring enthusiasts and the local car clubs :) So stay tuned! Meanwhile, have a safe year-end holiday. You can view the winning reviews via the links below:

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Plenty of experience gained for BHPetrol Racing Team in Macau, at the CIK-FIA Asia Pacific Championships

December 20, 2011 at 1:05 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News, Motorsports

Some karting-related news. The BHPetrol Racing Team had a pretty successful foray at the CIK-FIA Asia Pacific Championships at Kartodromo De Coloane in Macau two weekends back, with Tan Weiron – who made his debut in the KF1 category – finishing a commendable 8th out of the world-class 15-driver grid, and 13-year-old Daim Hishamuddin finishing third in the Formula 125 Junior Open race in the last round of the 2011 Asian Open Karting Championship (AKOC).

“It has been a good and bad weekend at my first ever KF1 experience. We didn’t have any testing and we came right into this race, and it is tough to be competing at the top of the field without any experience. Still, it has been an interesting weekend racing against very good drivers. I have lots more to learn in the years to come and I would like to compete in more KF1 races to gain more exposure,” Weiron said about his inaugural KF1 race experience.

Team principal Rodney Francis Magness of BHPetrol Racing Team said the outing was a good experience for the team, as it was its first time competing in KF1. “Everything went better than expected and Weiron’s best lap time was just two-tenths off the fastest guy on the track. Considering Weiron has zero experience in this category, it was a praiseworthy performance against top factory teams and their drivers, especially on the super soft Bridgestone tyres,” he said.

“As for Daim, he has indeed been having a lot of bad luck this year in the AKOC, but he still managed to produce some good results with a steady progression into the Junior category. It is a good sign that he’s learning and maturing as he races more and more,” Magness added. The team said its plans and driver lineup for the 2012 season are to be announced soon.

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Lexus concept – another teaser shot of Detroit debutant

December 20, 2011 at 12:30 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lexus


Click to enlarge.

Last week, the new Detroit-bound Lexus concept was teased through a front partial. Now, a second image has come about, this time of the interior. Plenty of leather, wood and aluminium, by the looks of it.

The vehicle, which will make its debut at the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in January, is designed by Calty, the company’s design studio in Newport Beach, California, and is said to showcase the new design direction embraced by the brand. Just how radical that is, we’ll find out on January 9.

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Saab says goodbye after 64 years – Swedish automaker declared bankrupt after Youngman rescue attempt fails

December 20, 2011 at 11:59 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Saab

It’s curtains for Saab Automobile after 64 years in the business, as the last-ditch rescue plan by Chinese investor Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile fell through, the attempt blocked by former owner and key licence holder General Motors. The Swedish automaker, which hasn’t made any vehicles since April, filed for voluntary bankruptcy yesterday, and a court approved the bankruptcy request, reports say.

“After having received the recent position of GM on the contemplated transaction with Saab Automobile, Youngman informed Saab Automobile that the funding to continue and complete the reorganisation of Saab Automobile could not be concluded,” Saab’s owner Swedish Automobile said in a statement.

“The Board of Saab Automobile subsequently decided that the company without further funding will be insolvent and that filing bankruptcy is in the best interests of its creditors,” and Swedish Automobile “does not expect to realise any value from its shares,” the statement added. Two receivers have been appointed to run the company.

“There are parties out there that have expressed an interest to pursue a possible acquisition of Saab from bankruptcy,” Swedish Automobile CEO Victor Muller told reporters,. He said that it was now up to receivers appointed to oversee the bankruptcy process to judge such offers, the reports add.

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