Proton seems to be a hot item right now. News is that Volkswagen now wants 50% plus 1 share stake in Proton Holdings Bhd, and wants management control. This would make it the majority shareholder of Proton if the deal goes through. Khazanah Nasional owns 42.7% of Proton and is the current majority stakeholder.

Volkswagen is not the only car manufacturer with eyes on Proton. It’s reported that Hyundai is also interested in using Proton assembly plants, but details are still sketchy at the moment.

My oh my. This is getting interesting. First 30% was too much, even sparking calls for public debate. Now it’s 50% plus 1 share. This deal could cost Volkswagen AG roughly 2.75 billion ringgit for 50%+1 shares at RM10 per share if everything goes through.

Source: Dow Jones, AFP

Carbon fibre is a black fabric weave held together by a transparent resin and weighs one-third to one-fifth the weight of similiar-strength steel. Carbon fibre has had it’s place for a long time in applications such as aerospace and automotive but it is becoming increasingly popular in other fields as well.

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Now this is some seriously crazy stuff. This Toyota MR2 has been fitted with a turbine propelsion system. No, not turbo turbines but jet turbines! Thrust is powered by twin GE T-58 turbines, coupled with 4 fuel tanks, power steering, power brakes and a whole lot of security features like fire supression and roll-over protection.

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Rafidah says she is too hurt to reply. But the cabinet wants to hear her side of the story. The ball is in her court. Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says she might be asked to respond in one of the Cabinet’s weekly meetings.

Tun Dr. Mahathir is reported to be very “sad”, “disappointed”, and “frustrated” over the issue.

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Fuel prices went up again, effected 12:00AM 31st July 2005. Petrol is up 10 cents, diesel up 20 cents and Liquified Petroleum Gas is up 5 cents.

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The piece of news was about something else, but I noticed something strange…

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I remember the previous Focus was launched back in 1999. It won a grand total of 78 automotive awards and was brought into Malaysia by Ford Malaysia in CBU form. I first saw the hot hatch outside my secondary school and it was serious drool material. Looked really good.

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Here’s an interview with Toyota’s technical director of engines on the 2006 V8 engine which the team tested recently.

The engine is expected to produce about 730-760 horsepower which is about 80% of the best V10 engines of the 2005 series. The engine will rev higher than the V10s currently.

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Volkswagen and Proton are still in talks and it could end up with Volkswagen AG buying as much as 30% stake in Proton, or nothing at all.

Volkswagen and Khazanah Nasional officials met at the Proton Holdings Bhd HQ yesterday to discuss the matter.

Proton officials said that if there is no decision within a few days talk would be called off.

The deal is said to be involve MYR1.65 billion exchanging hands if it goes through. That translates to about RM10 per share. Proton shares were worth RM9.25 on the market on Thursday.

It’s said that the terms of the sale will involve Volkswagen AG gaining management control of the company.

Foreign CEO anyone?

Source: The Star, Yahoo News

This will be a two-part installment, where first I will talk about the previous incarnations of these sports cars, and later I will introduce to you the new versions coming up soon.

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