Although Mitsubishi has denied any future joint venture plans with Proton, it’s CEO Osamu Masuko said on Tuesday that it would still be open to forming technology-based alliances with Malaysia’s national carmaker. However he said Proton had not made such a request.

Currently Mitsubishi is already providing parts for a total of 70,000 Proton cars yearly. The Proton Gen2 which uses the Campro engine is not entirely Mitsubishi-free as it still uses a Mitsubishi gearbox.

In other news, Edaran Otomobil Nasional believes Proton can still resolve any uncertainly over its relationship with Volkswagen AG. A tech alliance should still be possible. 2.0 turbocharged FSI Satria Replacement Model anyone? Hehe.

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I previously posted on the Prodrive P2 Concept back in mid-December last year. What we had before are only concept drawings, but these are photos of the proper 2-seater sports car, which went from concept to a fully working model in just 9 months. Stunning development time!

Click here to read the rest of Prodrive P2

Chevrolet’s first compact SUV with a diesel option has been unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show. The Captiva was based on the Chevy/Daewoo S3X concept SUV shown back in 2004.

Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet Captiva unveiled at Geneva Motor Show

Sorry for not having much text posts lately, but here’s another video post. This time using Google Video, hopefully loading performance will be better. I believe Google should have better network infrastructure than YouTube.

The title explains it all, the ultimate showdown between the 4WD turbocharged rally sedan kings!

Click here to read the rest of Top Gear Video: Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution vs Subaru Impreza WRX

Another Top Gear feature demonstrating why supercars belong in the track only and not in the streets. Navigating out of a carpark is an absolute nightmare, which is why jockey parking exists! Video is after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Supercars in daily driving

Well, not exactly a real joyride but more of a virtual one. For those that haven’t sat in a hot turbocharged car before, this is the awesome aural stimulation you’ll get in a spin around the track. Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Joyride around the track in a turbocharged car

At first glance, the new Mitsubishi Colt CZC coupe-cabriolet reminded me alot of the Peugeot 206CC. Coupe and cabriolet all in one car. The Colt CZC coupe-cabriolet was jointly engineered by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Mitsubishi Design Europe and Pininfarina S.p.A.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Mitsubishi Colt CZC coupe cabriolet

Here’s the latest computer graphic imagery of the BMW X6. Can see that it’s gained a “Bangle butt”, a common design characteristic of all the new Chris Bangle designed BMWs. The BMW X6 is supposed to be a cross-over SUV and coupe type of vehicle. The chassis itself has already been through testing stages at Germany’s Nurburgring.

For more on the BMW X6, check out my previous posts:

BMW X6 Concept Art
BMW enters the crossover SUV market

Associated Press via Yahoo News reports that the Malaysian Appeals Court upheld a High Court order against Richard Fong Khee Choong to take down a personal website he set up in October 2002 about his Perodua Kelisa.

Perodua sued Richard Fong for defamation and the court ordered Fong to shut down the website pending resolution of the defamation suit.

Does this mean we can’t complain about our cars anymore without having to fear lawsuits from the car manufacturers? This is outrageous. It makes me wonder, I could be next just in case any car manufacturer with deep pockets decides it doesn’t like my site. What constitutes defamation in this context?

I’ll end this blog post with a quote from United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.

Update: More details. It was not just bashing the Kelisa. Richard apparently posted on a Geocities website a statement accusing Perodua of bribery to get ISO 9000 certification from the United Kingdom Vehicle Certification Agency.

Read more about the case at Yahoo News.

The Naza Group, which just announced that it will complete it’s RM200 million Gurun plant expansion in March, will file for public listing this year.

Naza also plans to spend RM800 million this year on expansion and marketing. Tan Sri S.M. Nasimuddin Amin also said Naza would launch a new sedan model this March.

Naza shares anyone?

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