[ UPDATE: The Perodua Viva has been launched! Click here for full details on specifications and pricing, as well as many clear photos of both exterior and interior! ]

Perodua has been really quiet lately, reveling in the massive success of the Perodua Myvi. Not much news of new cars from them, which is understandable as Myvi sales might be cannibalised. But now there’s something to look forward to. Perodua has announced a replacement for both the Perodua Kancil and the Perodua Kelisa will be released in the first half of 2007, beginning from March 2007 onwards.

UMW Holdings Bhd group chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin said both models will be kept, and would maintain their current engine capacities of 660cc and 850cc for the Kancil segment and 1000cc for the Kelisa segment. Perodua’s current Kelisa also includes a lower spec 850cc model. Production of Kancil and Kelisa would be phased out gradually after the replacement model was introduced. UMW Holdings Bhd controls about 38% of Perodua.

The Perodua Kancil and Perodua Kelisa contribute a total of 4,000 units a month sales to Perodua, second to it’s best-selling model Perodua Myvi which has a total sales figure of 7,000 units a month.

Recently Perodua showcased it’s XX06 Concept Car at the KL International Motor Show 2006. It looks like a modified Daihatsu Mira. Check out the related posts below for spyshots of what could be the new Perodua vehicle to replace the Kancil and Kelisa.

Related Posts:
Perodua Viva to launch in May 2007
Perodua Viva Photos on Forum
Perodua Viva to be unveiled mid-2007
New Daihatsu Mira launched in Japan
Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) sighted in Mines
Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) spotted!
Kancil and Kelisa Replacements in first half 2007 (Perodua Viva)
Upcoming Perodua Kelisa replacement?
Could this be a Kancil Replacement Model?
New Perodua Kancil / Kelisa coming down our alley?

Source

I had the opportunity to test drive the 2006 Honda Civic 1.8S and the 2006 Honda Civic 2.0S on a nice Saturday morning thanks to Jeremy and Shannon from the New Straits Times lifestyle section. This is part two of a three part series. Click here to read part 1.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Test Drive - Part 2

The Edge Daily reports that the Satria Replacement Model will be launched this Friday, on the 16th of June 2006, confirming many of our speculations on the actual launch date of our national automobile manufacturer’s long-awaited three-door Satria hatchback replacment.

I am sure most of you have seen the leaked product pages from Proton Edar’s site. Come back to this blog on Friday evening for a full review of the car specifications including a track test drive experience.

Volvo’s Multi-Fuel is basically a Volvo V70 equipped with a prototype 2.0 liter 5-cylinder turbo-charged engine that can accept five different fuels - hythane, biomethane, natural gas, bioethanol E85 and petrol. It was introduced at the Michelin Challenge Bibendum 2006, and achieves high performance on any of the 5 fuels.

Click here to read the rest of Volvo Multi-Fuel V70 Car

Ever wonder how the Smart ForTwo would fare in a car accident? Sure the car looks small and fragile, but apparently it has good passenger protection because of it’s Safety Cell unibody. An independant German team did an experiment, orchestrating a simple head-on collision between a Smart ForTwo and a Mercedes Benz S-Class to see what would happen. What I really want to see though is a collision between a Smart ForTwo and an SUV. Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Smart ForTwo Crash Test

The Audi A7, like it’s name, is a model positioned between the Audi A6 and the Audi A8. It is a direct contender for the Mercedes Benz CLS Coupe, part of a new wave of 4-door “coupes”, which are basically normal sedans with a sporty coupe-like rooflike.

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Audi A7 Coupe - New CLS Contender

The Alfa Romeo Diva Concept was revealed at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. The Alfa Romeo Diva Concept was developed in a joint effort beween Fiat Auto’s R&D arm Elasis, the Alfa Romeo style center and the Espera design school. It was built to celebrate the Espera design school’s 10th anniversary.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Alfa Romeo Diva Concept

Mitsubishi’s last hand of cards in the US is it’s latest facelifted Mitsubishi Outlander SUV which goes on sale this fall. If it does not do well, Mitsubishi might have to pull out of the US market.

Mitsubishi’s fate in the US hangs on the hopes that it’s newly redesigned Outlander, Lancer and other vehicles sell well. Sales for Mitsubishi in the US were 123,995 units in 2005, down from 345,111 in 2002. That is a huge drop. Every product development dollar counts now. Sales are already down 16% this year. Hopefully the numbers will be boosted again when the Outlander SUV goes on sale. Mitsubishi has a good image as a four wheel drive vehicle manufacturer globally, especially with the hugely successful Pajero model. It hopes to re-establish it’s SUV image in the USA.

Mitsubishi dealers in the US have cited lack of advertising as one of the problems which contributed to dropping sales figures. “We have some of the finest automobiles in the U.S., such as the Eclipse and Eclipse Spyder, but nobody knows about them. I don’t think they have enough funds to spend in the U.S. As a franchise, we’re not moving and shaking,” says Bill Seidie who has a Mitsubishi dealership in Miami.

I had the opportunity to test drive the 2006 Honda Civic 1.8S and the 2006 Honda Civic 2.0S on a nice Saturday morning thanks to Jeremy and Shannon from the New Straits Times lifestyle section. I will attempt to chronicle my test drive experiences here, which involved a long highway drive to a “top secret” test drive location somewhere near Genting Highlands, traffic jams, town driving, twisty bends and curves, overtaking, as well as bumpy road conditions. That should pretty much cover everything you could possibly want to do with this car, save for taking it to a track day. This is part one of a three part series.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Civic Test Drive - Part 1

GM Daewoo has launched it’s first Sports Utility Vehicle, the Daewoo Winstorm. Most of you may recognise this beautiful SUV as the Chevrolet Captiva. The 7-seater small SUV comes with a 2-liter 150 horsepower turbodiesel engine. The Daewoo Winstorm’s development took 2.5 years, and will be manufactured in Korea. It was first shown as the Chevrolet S3X Concept.

Analysts say this is a bad move for Daewoo as surging gasoline prices have dented SUV sales around the world. The Korean government is also moving to increase taxes for SUVs, which are currently not as high as passanger cars because SUVs were classified as commercial vehicles. On the other hand, some other analysts are of the opinion that the model will achieve success because the rising oil prices have hurt medium and large sized SUVs, not small ones.

The Daewoo Winstorm will also be available under the Chevrolet badge as the Chevrolet Captiva. Models under the Opel, Vauxhall and Saturn badges are also planned. All will be built in Korea. Other than the 150hp 2.0 turbodiesel, there are also news of a 133hp 2.4 liter and a 225hp 3.2 V6 petrol models.

DRB-HICOM’s unit Hicomobil distributes Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia, and does not have an SUV in it’s line-up. It is possible that the Chevrolet Captiva might end up on our local shores.