First of all, thanks to Mat Kamil Awang for the pointer to these documents. The source for the data I am going to use in this article is from a Japanese site hosting presentations from the 4th Asian Petroleum Technology Symposium. This particular presentation is entitled “Clean Fuels for A Clean Malaysian Environment”, by Harlina Firdaus Marzuki and Fazil Mat Isa of PETRONAS Research & Scientific Services.

This is heavy reading but insightful, so bewarned! Continued after the jump…

Click here to read the rest of Analyzing fuel quality in Malaysia - 3 out of 6 already Euro II compliant for petrol!

More updates on the potential break-up of American-German automotive giant DaimlerChrysler. DaimlerChrysler recently announced it might sell off the Chrysler group, viewed by some as going back on it’s word for commitment in making the partnership work. DaimlerChrysler issued a statement to the media today saying it’s future strategy for Chrysler’s could only be decided in weeks or months.

Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda has decided to shed some light on the matter, whatever light he is able to shed without implicating himself legally of course. The full unedited email is available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Chrysler CEO Tom LaSorda’s email to employees

Another new variant to the 2nd gen MINI range will be unveiled at Geneva 2007, this time an oil-burner: the 2007 MINI Cooper D. This turbodiesel MINI is Cooper badged, so drivers can expect a nice, spirited drive, albeit with a lower redline to trash the engine to. The previous turbodiesel MINI was labelled a One D, but with this 2nd generation body it moves up the segment as a Cooper D. Fuel consumption is about 3.6 liters for every 100km travelled.

The 1.6 liter turbodiesel engine makes 110hp at 4,000rpm and 240Nm of torque that peaks between 1,750rpm and 2,000rpm. Overboost can be activated, giving the engine 260Nm, an increase of 20Nm, at 2,000rpm. This torque matches the figures in the new 2nd gen MINI Cooper S, which is very nice indeed. The turbocharger features variable turbine geometry, and the engine uses second generation common rail injection technology that provides for multiple injections for each operating cycle. In terms of transmission, a 6-speed manual is provided as standard equipment.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 MINI Cooper D - diesel MINI moves up!

One more addition to the new second generation R56 MINI family - the 2007 MINI One, which will make it’s debut at Geneva 2007 next month. The MINI One is the entry-level model into the range, sporting a 1.4 liter normally aspirated engine derived from the 1.6 liter normally aspirated engine in the MINI Cooper. The 1.4 liter engine from the new Prince family jointly developed with PSA Peugeot Citroen promises at least a zippy feel to the MINI One: 95hp at 6,000rpm and 140Nm of torque at 4,000rpm. The engine features Valvetronic fully variable valve timing control, which also eliminates the use of a throttle butterfly, helping with the pumping losses that happens when a partly open throttle butterfly blocks the air intake path.

0-100km/h is done in 10.9 seconds, hardly astounding, but if you want performance go for the MINI Cooper or MINI Cooper S. The MINI One has a fuel efficiency of 4.74 liters per 100km travelled, an efficiency increase of about 15 percent over the outgoing MINI One which was discontinued at the end of last year.

Gearbox is a 6-speed manual, with two overdrive gears with the 6th one designed with an especially long ratio for optimum fuel economy even at high cruising speeds. There’s also a 6-speed auto transmission available, with the option of manual shifting either via the gear lever or paddle shifts mounted on the steering wheel. A Sports button activates faster gearshifts in the automatic gearbox - for the manual you just have to do your clutch foot work faster!

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 MINI One to make 2007 Geneva debut

I remember some time in the past, a group of friends and I were discussing about BMW and it’s turbodiesel technology. We were saying that while BMW has put alot of work into turbodiesels, it still would not have treated diesel technology at the same par as petrol engines until they put a turbodiesel into the Z4 and the 6-series.

Well, if insider news are to be taken seriously, then turbodiesel is now half-way there in BMW’s eyes. Together with the upcoming imminent facelift of the BMW 6-series, BMW is said to be launching a new variant to complement the existing 630i, 650i and M6 - a BMW 635d with the same award winning 3.0 liter twin turbocharged straight-six turbodiesel engine which made it’s world debut in the BMW 535d. With 272hp at 4,000rpm and 560Nm of torque from as low as 2,000rpm under the 535d’s hood, it pushes the mid-sized luxury sedan from 0-100km/h in 6.5 seconds, so expect similar performance statistics for the BMW 635d.

Skoda has released a new special edition of the Skoda Fabia vRS, featuring individually numbered black leather seats, sporty red callipers and Race Blue metallic paint – the only colour available and the first time its been offered on Fabia.

Only 1,000 units of this special edition will be available. The number you want on the leather seats can be chosen, it is not a running series, but once someone has taken a number you can’t have it, it’s a first come first serve thing.

The special Fabia vRS gains a few extra specs over the normal Fabia vRS - cruise control, ‘sunset glass and a six-disc CD changer. All of this carries a premium of about 600 pounds over the standard Skoda Fabia vRS.

The special edition Skoda Fabia vRS is powered by the same engine as the standard vRS - a 1.9 liter TDI engine with 130hp and 310Nm of torque. 0-100km/h is achievable in 9.5 seconds, hardly qualifying it as a hot hatch, but as with the new amazing diesels, it only uses 3.6 liter of fuel per 100km on the extra urban cycle. This is somewhat like an end-of-life special edition before the new batch of Fabias are released this May, with a new vRS based on the new Fabia due in 2008.

Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear compares the Chrysler 300C SRT8 to the E60 BMW M5. Not a bad comparison I would say, as the Chrysler 300C was based on a previous version of the Mercedes Benz E-Class, now called the Chrysler LX platform. The SRT-8 version features a 6.1 liter Hemi V8 engine making 425hp at 6,200rpm and 569Nm of torque at 4,800rpm. This is the same engine used in most SRT-8 versions, including Dodge and Jeep vehicles.

It’s interesting how the two companies chose to engineer the top of the line performance versions of their mid-sized luxury sedans. The BMW M5 proves to be a real driver’s car - but what about the 300C SRT-8?

Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of E60 BMW M5 vs Chrysler 300C SRT8 Video

Ever since DaimlerChrysler announced that the sale of Chrysler and it’s brands (Dodge, Jeep) to another party is now an option, there has been plenty of rumours, supposed insider news as well as speculation on who the new buyer would be.

Seen as a forefront to the Chrysler purchase is General Motors, who analysts think would purchase Chrysler as a defensive move against import marques like Toyota. Analysts think purchasing Chrysler would give GM a US$9 billion value in terms of product line-up, operating efficiencies including reduced R&D and advertising costs. Stock market analysts are mixed over the issue, with John Murphy of Merrill Lynch rating GM shares as a buy, while Jon Rogers, a New York-based analyst at Citigroup Investment Research rated them as a sell. DaimlerChrysler shares remain unrated.

Some think Hyundai may be a good match for Chrysler, and Hyundai has already worked with Chrysler before on certain projects including the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance project along with an accompanying platform, as well as rebadging Hyundais as Dodge cars in Mexico. Hyundai needs more plants in the US, something Chrysler has. Hyundai currently only has one plant in the US. Hyundai needs a V8, Chrysler has the Hemi. Chrysler used to own a 10.5% stake in Hyundai. Hyundai is good at small cars, Chrysler is not - Chrysler’s good at big cars, Hyundai isn’t.

Other speculated potential suitors are the Nissan and Renault alliance, as well as SAIC and Chery of China. Chrysler and Chery already have an agreement for Chery to assist Chrysler in building small compact cars, something that Chery does best. Foreign automakers like Toyota, Hyundai and the Chinese makes are cited as one of the reasons GM would buy Chrysler, as having a foreign Korean or Chinese marque gain access to Chrysler’s extensive dealer network would be a problem - the American companies already have problems fending off the Japanese.

Anyway, whether GM takes up Chrysler or not, they are already in some form of joint venture talks now, as General Motors might give Chrysler access to it’s GMT900 platform large-SUV, something that Chrysler does not have an equivalent in it’s line-up.

Related Posts:
DaimlerChrysler might drop Chrysler Group

Maserati’s sexy new Maserati GranTurismo coupe will be showcased to the public at the upcoming 2007 Geneva International Motor Show. The high performance GT sports car sports a 4.2 liter V8 with 405 horsepower, and a weight distribution of 49:51 front to rear. This unveiling follows the tradition of the Maserati GranTurismo, of which it’s first edition called the Maserati A6 was unveiled to the public at Geneva in 1947. 58 units were produced back then.

More photos after the jump. Click each photo for an enlarged 800 width version.

Click here to read the rest of New Maserati GranTurismo styled by Pininfarina

As promised in the previous post, here are photos of a higher performance S-line version of the Audi A5 Coupe - the Audi S5 Coupe. It gets a more aggressive bumper as well as a more pronounced grille with more pronounced vertical chrome grilles as well as the S-line badge to the left of the Audi quad ring logo. The alloy wheel design is also different. Am I the only one who thinks the Audi A5 looks better than the S5? The overly aggressive look somehow doesn’t go with the sleek coupe profile. To match it’s aggressive looks, the Audi S5 Coupe will likely come with Audi’s wonderful 4.2 liter naturally aspirated high revving V8.

You judge for yourself: more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi S5 Coupe Press Photos Leaked