In Malaysia, we get the Kia Rio5 5-door hatchback as the Kia Rio, offered as a CBU unit from Korea. Powered by a 1.4 liter engine, the proposition that the car offers you seems to be a small get-around designed to be small enough to be easy to park, as well as having a frugal engine that won’t hurt your wallet.
Read my test drive report after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Kia Rio 1.4 Test Drive Report
BMW is considering a new 4-door car with a coupe-like roofline, which will allow it to compete in the battlefield of 4-door coupes comprising of the Mercedes Benz CLS, future Audi A7, future Aston Martin Rapide, and future Porsche Panamera.
There are conflicting reports on what the name of the new 4-door coupe would be. Some say it will be known as the 8-Series, with model variants most likely being the 835i, 850i, and the M8. Others say it will be launched as a 6-series when it is time for the BMW 6-Series to receive an all-new model replacement, which will mean the future 6-series will be available in both 2-door and 4-door form.
BMW’s 5-Series Facelift model line-up for the US market will be slightly different than the European line-up previously announced when the 5-Series Facelift was unveiled. In the US, the 2008 BMW 5-Series will come in 528i and 535i forms, an upgrade from the previous 525i and 530i models.
The 2008 BMW 528i features a slightly detuned 3.0 liter inline-6 found in the previous generation 530i, now making 230 horsepower at 6,500rpm. The 2008 BMW 535i features none other than BMW’s award-winning 3.0 liter twin-turbo direct injection engine, making 300 horsepower at 5,800rpm and 406Nm of torque between 1,400rpm to 5,000rpm. The top of the range is the BMW 550i, which uses the same 4.8 liter V8 as it’s predecessor, however the engine now makes 360 horsepower and 488 Nm of torque, up from 350 hp and 475Nm.
BMW’s new fast shifting and locking 6-speed transmission Sport Automatic Transmission that made it’s debut in the E92 BMW 335i Coupe will also be an option for either the BMW 535i and the BMW 550i.
Check out my previous post on the BMW 5-Series facelift for more details on the new facelifted car. For the moment, it’s not known when this new facelifted BMW 5-Series will arrive on Malaysian shores as the bulk of our 5-Series sales are CKD units, so the production lines must be readied.
This is Kia’s new KND-4 Concept SUV which was unveiled today at the Seoul International Motor Show in South Korea. Although just a concept at the moment, this could give us an insight as to how future KIA compact SUVs like the Kia Sportage might look like. It was conceptualised and created at Kia’s Namyang Design Centre.
The Kia KND-4 Concept SUV is done up in Luminous Green, and has a 3-door body. The 3-door SUV bodystyle kind of reminds me of Honda’s old Honda HR-V. It features LED headlights, and flared wheelarches give it a muscular and sporty look. These wheelarches house large 20 inch wheels wrapped with 245/40/R20 low-profile tyres. Further dynamic styling cues include a sweeping C-pillar, a full-width rear screen, and a glasshouse-like cabin profile.
On the interior, you have 4 seats, a norm for coupe-like cars these days. You might call this a coupe-crossover-SUV. Kia has chose IT as the theme for the interior, putting in advanced technology such as AMOLED (Active-Matrix, Organic Light Emitting Diode) displays which are basically an ultra-high contrast, ultra-thin screen, with an ultra-wide viewing angle. There is also Bluetooth connectivity, plus a Blue-ray high-density optical drive, and a built in hard drive for the audio player.
In the engine bay is a 2.2 liter Variable Geometry Turbocharger, driving power to all 4 wheels using Kia’s new Active Torque Transfer (ATT) system system, which works pretty much like any new advanced AWD system, transferring torque to either 4 wheels automatically to suit traction conditions.
More photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Kia KND-4 Concept SUV
This trio of new minicars are part of Chevrolet’s initiative to introduce new minicars because of the recent market shift to a preferance for economical and fuel efficient cars. The cars were designed by GM Daewoo in Incheon, South Korea and were designed with GM’s Global Product Development Process which ensures cars have design elements that can be targetted at any international market, but at the same time responsive to regional needs, whatever that means 
Please have a look at the three cars after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet Concept Cars: Trax, Beat and Groove
Honda will add yet another new variant to the Honda S2000 model range, called the Honda S2000 Club Racer. A prototype version is currently being displayed at the 2007 New York International Auto Show called the Honda S2000 Club Racer Prototype.
It features a new aerodynamically proven full bodykit which reduces lift, plus a quicker steering ratio, wider rear tyres with grippy Bridgestone Potenza RE070 tyres, firmer springs and dampers, and larger stabilizer bars. Additional structural bracing has been added to the storage area previously used to store the soft top. Yes, the Club Racer has no retractable soft top, but instead comes with an aluminium hard top, saving about 40kg when removed. Yes, it is a removable hard top, not one of those new fancy auto folding ones like the one on the new MX5 variant.
The F22 2.2 liter DOHC VTEC engine makes 237 horsepower at 7,800rpm and 220Nm of torque at 6,800rpm, mated to a close-ratio 6-speed gearbox with ratios designed to keep the engine revs within the VTEC powerband. There is also a limited slip differential to help the car perform better around the bends. Strangely for a somewhat track engineered car, it comes with an electric power steering which is seen as some as having less feedback than a conventional hydraulic one.
More photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Honda S2000 Club Racer Prototype
Caterham’s new Superlight R400 is a part of a range that are the successors to the original Lotus Seven by Colin Chapman launched 50 years ago. The 400 in the Superlight R400 refers to it’s massive 400 horsepower per tonne power to weight ratio, thanks to it’s Caterham-tuned Ford Duratec 2.0 liter engine putting out 210 horsepower at 7,800rpm and it’s stripped down 525kg weight. Thanks to this power to weight ratio, those 210 horses take the Superlight R400 from 0 to 100km/h in less than 3.8 seconds! This engine is much more powerful than the K-Series engine used in the previous Superlight. You shift through 6 gear ratios (Caterham’s own design), and power is sent trashing through the rear wheels with a De Dion setup LSD differential.
The new chassis tubes are precision laser-cut and are jig-welded by a Panasonic robot and is an all-new design, tweaked to offer 12% more rigidity, thus increasing grip, feedback, resulting in an increased ability to get faster lap times around the track. The rear suspension has also been improved with 30 changes to the dampers, as well as optimization to the anti-roll bars and road springs.
Check out this video of a Caterham-clone car going around an autocross track. It is not a real Caterham but one of those home-built clones. Nevertheless, a spectacular performance.
More photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Caterham Superlight R400
After it’s more premium sibling, it’s now the Touareg’s turn to be facelifted, and Volkswagen is calling it the Volkswagen Touareg 2 in the US market. The 2008 Volkswagen Touareg 2 features an updated VR6 engine, from 3.2 liters up to 3.6 liters much like the V6 Cayenne’s upgrade. It now makes 280hp, up from 240hp. The V8 FSI makes 350 horsepower, up from 310 horsepower in the previous non-FSI V8, while the top of the range 5.0 liter V10 TDI Twin Turbo now makes 310 horsepower, but what takes the cake is the 750Nm of torque available. No sign of the massive 1000Nm 6.0 liter V12 TDI though, but it is available in another Touareg-platform SUV, the Audi Q7.
There are some nifty new features added to the SUV besides the facelift and “enginelift”. Something new is ABSplus, which innovatively pushes a portion of road material under the temporarily locke dwheels to form a chock. This helps the car stop and can shorten braking distance on loose roadbeds by up to 20 percent. Other brake-related features are rain brake support, which periodically wipes the brakes with the brakepads if the rain wipers are on. There is also a new improved rollover sensor that works with the airbags to activate them faster if a rollover is imminent.
More photos after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Touareg 2 (facelift) launched in US
DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche was “grilled” at a shareholder’s meeting yesterday, for not moving fast enough to dispose of Chrysler, seen as a patient leeching off the profitable German half of the DaimlerChrysler supposed “merger of equals.”
Lawyer Hans-Richard Schmitz represented the shareholders and issued this statement on behalf of the shareholders: “Chrysler is the worst problem in the group. It has been a patient for so many years and a burden for some time. I dont understand why you are so hesitant. The only thing to do is execute a separation. You are underestimating how poisonous this pill can be for your company.”
Besides Schmitz, more shareholders came forward personally to criticize Zetsche during the meeting. “For nine years you have been sitting on this scrap heap called Chrysler. What have you been doing for nine years? Nobody has learned anything. To call this a sale is a euphemism. If you pay for the garbage man to empty the dust bin, then does that mean you have sold something to the garbage man?” said Ekkehard Wenger.
Previously Ekkehard Wenger and another shareholder Leonhard Knoll proposed a name change of the company back to DaimlerBenz because the name Chrysler brought a negative image to the company. DCX’s board responded by saying that was not a valid ground to change the name of the corporation.
Other shareholders have blamed the failed partnership on cultural differences. “Germans care about quality and technical expertise. Americans only want money. They dont care about the craftsmanship of the product. This is an arrangement that must end,” said Georg Nuemeier, also a DCX shareholder. “Ten years should have resulted in a better return. The fact is just that the marriage never worked,” said shareholder Klaus Fiereck.
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It appears that Jeremy Clarkson’s opinion on the Perodua Kelisa like the one shown in this video have caught the attention of the Parliament.
DAP-Tanjong MP Chow Kon Yeow and BN-Ledang MP Hamim Samuri enquired whether Perodua had taken measures to defend against the negative publicity that Jeremy Clarkson’s review had caused. Senator Datuk Abdul Raman Suliman responded that there has been no negative response or complaints on the Kelisa from UK buyers.
I normally appreciate DAP doing what it has to do as the opposition, that is to oppose and question every move and motive of the reigning party, but this is just silly. Everyone knows Jeremy Clarkson is just doing what he does best, entertaining the audience, and it is only his personal opinion, plus he never talked about the quality of the car, just the manner in which it was built - to be a money factory without passion.
Plus, it must be understood that the Kelisa was given that review in the UK market because the UK car-buying market is not controlled by the NAP, thus many other modern and better specced choices are offered at affordable prices. There’s no need to get so defensive.
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