Honda has announced it’s next generation VTEC engine, the Advanced VTEC engine (AVTEC) which will make it’s debut in a production car within the next three years. Honda’s new Advanced VTEC (AVTEC) engine combines continuously variable valve lift and timing control with the continuously variable phase control of valve timing to achieve a good combination of better performance, fuel economy, and lower emissions. This is an improvement over the i-VTEC system which has preset changeover settings in valve lift - the new AVTEC system can adjust the valve lift continuously. There is also a variable-length intake manifold to improve intake airflow.

The Advanced VTEC (AVTEC) system allows optimum control over intake valve lift and phase in response to driving conditions for a significant increase in torque across the engine rev range. Under low and medium loads, the valves are set to have low lift and early closure - this reduces pumping losses and subsequently improves fuel economy.

The new AVTEC system will allow for a 13% improvement in fuel economy over the current i-VTEC range of engines. The 13% figure was obtained comparing the current K24A 2.4 liter i-VTEC engine with a new 2.4 liter AVTEC equivalent. Emissions are compliant with US LEV2-ULEV standards and Japanese Low-Emission Vehicles standards with levels 75% lower than 2005 standards.

We all know Dodge doesn’t really have a small car in it’s stables, which explains the Dodge Hornet concept and Chrysler’s on-going search for a partner to build small cars with. But somewhere south of the USA, in Mexico there are small Dodge cars going around the streets - the Dodge Attitude.

Looks familiar to you? You bet. The car is actually a rebadged 2006 Hyundai Accent, one model newer than the Accent that is available on our local shores right now. Dodge also sells a Dodge Atos - you guessed it! - a rebadged Hyundai Atos.

DaimlerChrysler and Hyundai used to have some form of strategic alliance together back in the year 2000 which involved DaimlerChrysler holding a 10% equity in Hyundai. This stake was sold in the year 2004 at a profitable US$912 million. It bought the stake in 2000 for US$428 million. They had a few projects together, even a small car platform but I don’t know what has happened to that now, since Chrysler is looking elsewhere for a small car development program. Another product of the partnership is the World Engine (1.8L to 2.4L), developed under the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, or GEMA - a collaboration between DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi Motors, and Hyundai.

I wonder if someone will try to stuff a Hemi into a Dodge-badged Hyundai Accent.

The next Toyota Corolla-based hatchback that will be sold in the European market will be called the Toyota Auris - a Latin word which means ‘good taste’. Toyota had trademarked the Auris name way back in April 2005, more than a year ago! The sedan models will continue to be called the Toyota Corolla though, but Toyota is of the opinion that the modern refresh of the hatch needs a new name.

The Toyota Auris takes on similiar design cues to the Toyota Yaris hatch, with a pronounced bulgy bonnet, a familiar front grille and bold headlamps. The bumper looks similiar to the design of the facelifted Toyota Vios. Engine options will feature Toyota’s new flagship 1.8 liter unit, as well as a 2.2 liter D4-D turbodiesel.

Related Posts:
More next-gen Toyota Corolla previews
JDM 2007 Toyota Corolla magazine scan

Naza Bikes announced two new product ranges - a new brand of scooters called Scoped, which are badge-engineered scooters by Taiwanese company CPI Motor Company as well as a line of motorcycle lubricants.

Although it’s not clear to me at this point which CPI Motor scooter the new Naza Scoped will be based on, above is a photo of the CPI GTR 150. Naza says the Scoped will have a 4-stroke engine, and the GTR 150 the only 4-stroke unit, while the others are all 2-stroke scooters. For all scooters produced by CPI, click here. Naza plans to launch a second model in collaboration with CPI after the affordable RM3,000 Naza Scoped is launched. Local assembly will begin early 2007.

As for the lubricants, the new Naza NTech series comprise of the fully synthetic 4T SAE 5W/40 API SL/CF NTech 8000 at RM25, the semi synthetic 4T SAE 10W/40 API SL NTech 5000 at RM16 and the mineral 4T SAE 15W/40 API SF NTech 2000 for RM10.

[ 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! ]

It’s been awhile since we’ve seen sightings of the upcoming 2007 Perodua Kancil replacement model - the last was shots of a blue one and a white one somewhere up Genting. Here are a series of 3 spyshots of the Perodua Kancil replacement model being tested in Mines, on the way to Bangi. Thanks to reader Tau. Two other photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) sighted in Mines

We have more details on Group Lotus’ plan to turnaround the company within the next 5 years. Previous details on the plan revealed plans to produce more of it’s own cars, re-engineer third party cars, as well as expand it’s engineering consultancy business. More details about those details at this post.

Further details reveal that the flagship Lotus Esprit will be postponed to a end 2009, making it a 2010 model. Lotus says it needs more time to “insert more Lotus DNA” to ensure global competitiveness. Rumours previously had it that Lotus was to release the Esprit next year. The new Lotus Esprit is expected to be a mid-engine, rear wheel dirve layout and could use a 4.8 liter V8 DOHC unit from BMW, making more than 400 horsepower, which would be a real rocket combined with the Lotus philosophy of performance through weight reduction.

In the meanwhile, Lotus announced it will introduce a new mid-market level model in May 2008, as well as a new 4-seater high-performance model in collaboration with Proton - are we going to see a Proton car being tuned up in the style of the Lotus Carlton? Bernama reports that this model will be based on the Proton Satria Neo. The Lotus line-up currently includes the Elise, the Exige and the Europa.

As part of it’s efforts to cut costs, Group Lotus also announced 200 job cuts in it’s manufacturing workforce. The Hethel plant workforce suffers because of the US market slowdown, which is the company’s biggest market. Rather than calling it downsizing, officials have said it is more of a “right-sizing.”

There are some rumours of Proton selling off Lotus like what it did to MV Agusta, but Proton’s MD Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir was quick to clarify that there are no such plans, not now and not in the future. He was quoted to say “We will make sure that Lotus will work. We must ensure Lotus is a success; there is no other way.”

Related Posts:
Group Lotus 5-year turnaround plan.

Oil prices seems to have settled down at the US$60-65 level, with prices currently standing at US$62 per barrel, slightly up from US$60 per barrel on Wednesday.

The oil price madness began in February this year, where from a level of about US$58, oil prices began to go up till it reached a record price of US$78.40 last month, fueled by tension in Iran and Nigeria as well as other international political issues like nuclear testing conflicts. Oil prices should remain stable between the US$60 to US$65 range, unless Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decides to review output policies and cut supplies, or some other hoo haa happens in the international scene.

So with the extra subsidy that the government has allocated for our petrol subsidies in the recently announced budget, it’s expected that the fuel prices in our country should not go up by a very large margin anytime soon.

Here’s something amusing. A company called GameXtra has actually developed a modification for the Half Life engine called Proton Rally. For those who are in the gaming scene, you would know that the Half Life engine is very flexible. In fact, Proton Rally is likely based on the HL Rally mod.

It features Proton cars like the Waja, GEN2, and Satria Neo. You can buy new parts to soup up your car with the money you get from winning races. It’s never going to be as good as Gran Turismo though, as the Half Life engine was never meant to be used to develop racing games.

More screenshots and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Rally game based on Half Life engine

While the company has been pretty much silent in Malaysia since it’s launch, LMG Auto will be displaying it’s LMG cars at the 2006 Oman Motor Show. Anyone have any news on LMG? For those who are out of the loop, LMG recently launched two new cars in Malaysia - the LMG Tourer and the LMG Trekker. Both are powered by a hybrid combination of a Mitsubishi 2.4 liter SOHC engine combined with a hydrogen injection system that they call Hydroxene, which creates hydrogene from water.

Source

This is the third in the line of the new Kia cee’d based C-segment vehicles that Kia has in store for the European market. Following the 5-door hatch and the 3-door hatch variants, Kia will also introduce the 5-door Kia cee’d Sport Wagon at the 2006 Paris Motor Show later this month.

The Kia cee’d Sport Wagon is a station wagon that measures 4470 mm long, 1490 mm high, and has the same 650 mm wheelbase as it’s other two siblings, the Kia cee’d 5-door hatch and the Kia pro-cee’d sporty 3-door hatch.

Production is expected to start in mid-2007, and full sales across Europe is expected to begin in September 2007, following the 5-door hatch’s introduction in December 2006.