Independent automotive warranty specialist Warranty Direct conducted a car reliability study covering more than 450,000 vehicles from 33 manufacturers in the USA and UK, and Mazda came out tops - with almost 92% of Mazda cars surveyed between 3 and 9 years old suffering no mechanical failure of any type.

Mazda’s failure rate was 8.04 per cent of all vehicles aged between three and nine years old. It’s Ford brother Land Rover scored 44.21 percent failure rates, which is ironic considering 4WD vehicles are supposed to be more hardy? Honda comes in at second place, close on Mazda’s trail at 8.90 percent, while Toyota is at third place with 15.78!

Of course, this survey does not reflect the likelihood of mechanical failures of new cars by these manufacturers as they cover old cars between 3 to 9 years old. But you may find this table useful if you want to purchase a second hand car.

Table after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Warranty Direct Reliability League Table 2007

BMW explains why it’s manual transmission E60 BMW M5’s DSC stability control cannot be disabled. The issue is with the huge amount of power and torque that the engine outputs - it causes excessive axle tramp.

What is axle tramp exactly? Axle tramp is when a wheel moves up and down very very violently, with such force that it actually leaves the ground - like a car hopping. A problem with putting power down to the wheels, worse than torque steer. It is caused by the axle rotating slightly with the wheels then springing back repeatedly.

With the 7-speed SMG III-equipped E60 BMW M5, BMW could fine tune the operation of clutch plates to combat axle tramp during crazy tyre burning starts even with DSC off, but this was just not possible with a pure manual gearbox with a pedal-operated clutch. BMW’s solution - leave DSC permanently on but offer a mode that is less intervening called M Dynamic. Which makes me wonder, why not somehow set up the engine to limit torque delivery in the first gear, so that traction control can be fully off in all the other gears? Did BMW’s engineers miss something here?

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E60 BMW M5 now with manual transmission

After being teased with a photo of a weird exhaust pipe configuration, the Lexus IS-F was finally unveiled early this month at the NAIAS 2007. To be frank, I don’t fancy it’s looks at all. In an attempt to make the IS look intimidating, the end result is a kit that is too aftermarket for my tastes, plus there is no manual option, and Lexus seems to have skimped on the photography for these press photos, one of the photos is really out of focus. The car was stationary, how does one mess up the focus on a stationary object?

Anyway, on to the car. It’s powered by a new 5.0 liter direct-injected normally aspirated V8 engine, which is estimated to produce over 400hp and have twisting action power of more than 475Nm. These figures are estimated because the Lexus IS-F is a future vehicle and specs have not been finalized yet. The engine will be mated Lexus’ 8-speed automatic transmission which will offer manual shifting via paddle shifters, but no pure no-nonsense manual transmission. However, the auto has been tuned for a sporty experience, with throttle blips on downshifts. Being rear wheel drive gives it some saving grace. Wheels are 19″ BBS wheels with 225/40R19 (19×8) tyres at the front, and 255/35R19 (19×9) size for the rear.

Taking into account torque, horsepower and vehicle weight, Lexus estimates the Lexus IS-F at under 4.9 seconds for the 0-100km/h acceleration run. For reeling all 400 horses in, Lexus specced the car with large diameter cross-drilled discs - 14.2 inches at the front and 13.6 inches at the rear, with six piston calipers for the front and twin piston for the rear. Suspension is of a double wishbone design at the front, with multi-link at the rear. Other nifty specs include engine-oil and transmission-fluid coolers, as well as a cylinder head-scavenging oil pump for high G-force driving.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Lexus IS-F: Performance Lexus Sedan

Following the government’s reduction of excise duties for cars above 3,000cc, car manufacturers have begun revising their prices for big displacement cars in order to offer more competitive prices. Lexus has revised the price of it’s flagship car, the Lexus LS460L to RM777,448 for private registration, a drop of RM64,985 from the previous price of RM842,433. For company registration, the new price is RM796,000, a drop of RM65,000 from RM861,000 previously. These prices are OTR without insurance.

No changes for the lovely Lexus GS300 though, as it’s 3.0 liter engine’s displacement is 2,994cc, just slightly lower than the 3,000cc displacement which enjoyed a reduced rate. However, this also means it already has lower taxes anyway, being in a lower tax band to begin with.

Read my previous post on the two Lexus cars being initially offered here.

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Lexus Malaysia: Lexus LS460L and Lexus GS300

Proton shares dipped 40 sen to RM7.35 after the government denied any conclusion to the Proton-Volkswagen talks. Before the rumour reported by XinHua Finance, share prices was RM6.85, then it surged 90 sen to RM7.75, more than 13 percent higher. Although the final share price was not as high as it was as it’s peak during the rumour, Proton shareholders still benefited from a higher than before price, an increase of 50 sen per share.

In other Proton news, Proton Holdings Bhd has made a move to acquire the remaining 49 percent of shares in it’s Indonesian unit, PT Proton Tracoma from Tracoma Holdings Bhd. The stake transfer benefited both parties as Proton wanted more control over the Indonesian company and Tracoma wanted to streamline it’s business. The transaction will complete by Q2 2007 and will involve RM35.5 million. PT Proton Tracoma reported a net loss of RM5.41 million for the financial period of between April 1 to Dec 31 2006. Also, PT Proton Tracoma has liabilities owed to non-trade creditors and provision of taxation of about RM8.77 million ringgit.

The rumoured announcement date is February 8 2007, that’s another 8 days more. Let’s wait and see if what XinHua Finance reported is true.

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The new 2007 Mazda6 Facelift was launched late last year by Cycle and Carriage Bintang Berhad at its 3S showroom at Lot 9 today, beside the Federal Highway. This facelifted Mazda6 features 785 engineering changes that accompanies the expected exterior and interior cosmetic changes, making this more than a refreshing exercise to keep the car looking up to date since its launch in 2003. In fact, some have said that despite interior similarities, the pre-facelift and post-facelift model are two completely different animals when it comes to the driving experience.

Read my test drive report after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mazda 6 2.0 and 2.3 Test Drive Review

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and PSA Peugeot Citroën signed an agreement regarding the supply of turbodiesel engines by the French manufacturer to it’s Japanese partner. PSA Peugeot Citroën will supply it’s 2.2 liter common rail direct injection particulate filter turbodiesel engine to Mitsubishi.

PSA Peugoet Citroen has adapted the engine to be installed in it’s two SUVs based on the Mitsubishi Outlander platform - the Peugeot 4007 and the Citroen C-Crosser SUV, and Mitsubishi will be using the engine for it’s own Mitsubishi Outlander from mid-2007 onwards. The common rail direct injection turbodiesel makes 156 bhp and 380Nm of torque, and is biodiesel ready. Biodiesel fuel up to a 30% mixture can be used without any modification to the engine.

If anything happens between Proton and PSA Peugeot Citroen, I hope it somehow involves turbodiesels as it is somewhat essential for the European market.

Naza has exported it’s first batch of Naza Sutera and Naza 206 Bestari cars destined for the international market on the 26th of January 2007. A small shipment ceremony was conducted at Port klang. The first batch is destined for Nepal, for it’s Nepalese dealer Alpine Motors Co., Ltd, of which has it’s own finance company, Union Finance Ltd, which leases and provides loan facilities through Union Money Transfer Co. Ltd. Alpine Motors, which will have 2 showrooms in Nepal and is also the first automotive retailer in Nepal to have credit card facilities.

Like Alpine Motors, all Nazas distributors will undergo training programmes for both Sales & Service in Malaysia at Nazas training facilities in Gurun. There is a comprehensive aftersales support system in place, including warranty & spare parts backup. The Sutera and 206 Bestari is also destined for Bangladesh, Mauritius, Pakistan, Nepal & Madagascar.

According to Tan Sri Nasimuddin, due to production constraints and local demand, the first phase of Naza’s exports will be to smaller markets like Bangladesh, Mauritius, Pakistan, Nepal & Madagascar. Export efforts will be stepped up once Naza’s Bertam Plant is completed in 2008 with the introduction of new models.

Naza Wheels Sdn Bhd and Nasim Sdn Bhd, both companies under the Naza Group unveiled the Mazda 3 1.6 (A) sedan Naza Edition and the limited edition Peugeot 206XT 1.6 (A) Naza Edition imported direct from France. The cars are done up by NZ Galaxy Sdn Bhd, a company that envisions to provide personalize vehicles for the masses at affordable prices, from what I see, something like a car styling company.

The Mazda 3 1.6 (A) sedan Naza Edition goes for RM113,993 and comes with a NZ Galaxy bodykit, rims, a leather interior, tinted glass, rear tail finisher, special emblem and global positioning system with Malaysian and Singaporean maps. As for the Peugeot 206XT 1.6 (A) Naza Edition, it too has a new bodykit, a leather interior, crystal clear head lights, tail pipe finisher and the GPS system. Only 10 cars are available for sale at RM85,000.

XinHua Finance (XFN Asia) says an industry source informed it that Volkswagen AG has signed an agreement to buy a substantial stake in the manufacturing arm of Malaysia’s Proton Holdings Bhd. The stake involved is the rumoured 51%, and an announcement is expected to be made on Feb 8. This syndicated news report caused Proton shares to surge 90 sen to close at a price of RM7.75, more than 13 percent higher. This proves to be an instant win for shareholders like the EPF which recently increased it’s stakeholding in the national car manufacturer.

In response to this, Proton issued a statement saying it could not confirm this report and it was purely a shareholder’s matter. It said to wait for the government’s announcement before the end of Q1 2007. The PM also spoke regarding this issue, saying he did not want to comment as the matter was still under negotation.