[ UPDATE: The talks have finally ended in a no go. Click here for latest update. ]

I have no idea where Singapore’s Straits Times got it’s information from, but Volkswagen spokesman Andreas Meurer says Volkswagen is still in talks with Proton on a possible strategic tie-up, and there will be a high-level meeting in the near future. So now we know the talks are still on, however since the 31st March 2007 deadline will no longer be kept, we do not have any date to count down to. Just have to sit patiently and wait. I knew there was something fishy about that Singaporean report.

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Related Posts:
Yakcop: Government will miss 31 March deadline for Proton tie-up
Volkswagen drops tie-up plans with Proton?
Volkswagen to introduce new sedans once Proton deal is finalised

BMW owners in Perak can now service their BMW cars at Tian Siang Premium Auto’s new 4S (Sales, Service, Systems and Spare parts) centre in Ipoh. The Ipoh dealership has a total built up area of 1,560 sq m and is located long the prime location of Jalan Kuala Kangsar in Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman.

The 4S centre includes a sales office, both new car and used car showrooms, lifestyle and accessories display area, meeting and discussion rooms, a service reception area, a parts sales reception area, and a service workshop with eight fully equipped bays. No Fast Lane service though.

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop said the government would not be able to meet the 31st March 2007 deadline of tomorrow for naming Proton’s strategic tie-up partner, as the government was still evaluating options.

However he did not comment on reports that Volkswagen had scrapped plans for a tie-up with Proton that was reported by the Straits Times this morning.

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Tiff Needell of Fifth Gear puts two supercar engineering marvels to the test - while they’re amazing on the track, how does it perform on real roads? What about maintenance costs? Let’s find out what it really takes to own a supercar like the F1 or the Enzo. Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Fifth Gear McLaren F1 vs Enzo Ferrari

The latest AMG tuned-up version of the luxurious CL Coupe has been unveiled at the 2007 New York Auto Show. Powered by a 6.0 liter AMG-engineered V12 bi-turbo engine, the CL65 AMG puts out a nice 612 horsepower between 4,800rpm and 5,100rpm, as well as 1000Nm of torque between 2,000rpm to 4,000rpm, making the engine seem like a really beefy but low-revving unit. This engine is mated to a 5-speed AMG Speedshift gearbox, as the engine’s massive torque is just too much for the 7G-Tronic 7-speed to handle.

Aesthetically, the CL65AMG features an AMG bodykit, 20 inch AMG forged wheels wrapped with 255/35/ZR20 tyres up front and 275/35/ZR20 tyres at the rear, as well as an AMG interior. Handling is improved via an AMG sports suspension featuring Active Body Control. Active Body Control counteracts body roll via an adjustable suspension strut, similiar to Porsche’s Porsche Dynamic Chassis Control and BMW’s Dynamic Drive. The center console has an S/C/M button which changes transmission, accelerator response and suspension spring/damper settings.

The car stops to a halt via an AMG brakesystem featuring new double-frame sliding calipers. 100km/h to a complete stop takes 35.6 meters.

Check out more photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes Benz CL65 AMG Revealed!

Porsche is planning a smaller SUV that will join the existing market filled up with the BMW X3 and the future Audi Q5, Infiniti EX35 and Volkswagen Tiguan, according to German magazine AutoZeitung. The new smaller Porsche SUV would likely share the same platform as the Q5/Tiguan, and carry over the Cayenne’s V6 and V8 engines. Let’s hope Porsche’s styling department can execute a small SUV styling better than it’s done with a large SUV. The Cayenne isn’t really the best looking SUV around.

It’s strange how we’ve come to accept that more and more sports car manufacturers are going all out to develop SUVs. I wonder why Land Rover, Hummer or Jeep hasn’t decided to build a high performance sports car.

[UPDATE: The Honda Civic Type R Sedan has been launched in Malaysia. Click here for details.]

The sedan version of Honda’s new Honda Civic Type R will go on sale in Japan beginning today, Friday March 30th 2007. Key features include the high performance high revving K20A 2.0 liter normally aspirated engine found in the Europrean Civic Type R hatch mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, a torque-sensitive helical LSD, large 18 inch wheels providing a peek at the huge 17 inch disc brakes with 4-pot Brembo calipers behind them, as well as a sporty bodykit. The bodykit includes a new bonnet design with a more prominent dome. Suspension has also been tuned for sporty performance and features thicker stabilizer bars.

Interior enhancements over the normal sedan include a new black color scheme, bucket seats exclusively designed for the Civic Type R Sedan, a new dash featuring i-VTEC engine revolution indicator alerts, a small-diameter leather-wrapped oval steering wheel, an aluminum ball-type shift knob, a short stroke sports shift linkage, metal sports-type pedals and footrest, and a button-type engine starter.

In this edition, the K20A revs all the way up to 8,000rpm with an output of 225 PS, and churns out a peak of 215Nm of torque at 6,100rpm. Throttle activation is via drive-by-wire, and the intake and exhaust manifolds are tuned for high revolution engine output. The 6-speed gearbox ratios are perfectly matched to the rev range and torque curve, as can be seen from the gear position, revolution and torque curve chart after the jump. It also sports a highly rigid aluminum transmission case and a baffle plate to mitigate oil starvation during high speed cornering.

Check out more photos and interesting graphs after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Honda Civic Type R Sedan Details

This is breaking news. The Straits Times Singapore has reported Volkswagen has scrapped it’s plans for a tie-up with Proton.

According to Reuters, Volkswagen told Khazanah Nasional that it’s strategies have changed, and a production plant in the South East Asian region is no longer priority at this point of time. Instead, focus has been shifted to the Russian and Indian markets.

Proton shares dropped 7% since this news reached the ears of investors. Apparently Singapore Straits Times got hold of this information via an exclusive interview with an unnamed government official with insider news on the deal. There are still no official announcements anywhere, and both Khazanah and Proton have no comments.

For the moment, Singaporean newspaper Straits Times is the only one with this piece of news, and they are only quoting unnamed sources. It makes me wonder why the Straits Times can be allowed to publish such a story without any identifiable sources. Why would a Malaysian government official give information to Singaporeans?

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This is Infiniti’s EX Concept, a new crossover SUV that’s one segment smaller than the larger FX SUV, taking on the likes of the BMW X3 and the upcoming Audi Q5. It will be displayed at the NYIAS 2007. The EX Concept is most likely to go into production as an EX35, using either a VQ35DE or a VQ35HR engine, though the prior makes more sense to me, since the VQ35DE engine has more torque than it’s HQ sibling, thus being more suitable for an SUV application.

While still a concept at the moment, Infiniti says the EX is 95% ready. Plus some of the features on the concept will not make it into production, for example a liquid crystal glass roof that can change from a transparent state to a more translucent appearance.

Something new is the Lane Departure Prevention (LDP) system, which is an evolution of Infiniti’s existing production Lane Departure Warning System. This further enhances the warning system by actually stopping the sleepy driver from accidentally moving out of his lane rather than just warning him. Brakes are applied individually to begin a yaw movement back into the intended lane.

One more rear view shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Infiniti EX Concept: future Infiniti EX35

Perhaps we can stop counting down to 31st of March 2007 now. Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak says talks with possible foreign partners for Proton might not conclude by the end of March deadline previously set, contradicting Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop’s previous statement earlier this week that the deadline would be met.

Najib’s reasoning was that no one had presented anything regarding the deal to the Cabinet committee headed by himself. He added that it does not matter if it is missed.

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