This is the latest of spyshots of the upcoming BMW X6 - BMW’s crossover SUV that’s alot similiar to the likes of the Nissan Murano. This shot is from an Auto Express set of spyshots, but what’s interesting is another photo which shows that the rear only has two seats, making this a 2+2 or 4-seater, truly reflecting the sporty image it wants to portray.

The above photo is quite a clear photo showing the rear three quarter profile of the new Nissan Latio Sedan to be introduced in the Malaysian market soon by Edaran Tan Chong Motor. This photo was snapped in Genting Highlands once again by reader Din. The Nissan Latio Sedan inherits the typical strange side profile that comes with every sedan that is based on a car originally designed as a hatchback, and check out that Bangle-style bootlid!

Related Posts:
Nissan Latio Sedan spotted on Jalan Kepong
Nissan Latio sedan and the Nissan Latio Sport hatchback spotted in Genting

Click to enlarge

Here’s another piece of work by Theophilus Chin, this time a Perodua Myvi has had it’s rear doors chopped off for a 3-door tall hatchback look, ala the Getz 3-door.

Here’s what he did to the Myvi:

1. Lowered roof
2. Reshape side window
3. Wider front door
4. Reposition rear lights
5. Black piece between front and rear wheels
6. Black B-pillar
7. Reshape rear hatch (less upright)
8. Bigger and wider wheels

This blog will be intermittently inaccessible until a server move has been completed tomorrow night. The new current dedicated server has been experiencing connectivity hiccups thanks to a certain monopoly’s total incompetence at maintaining hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of ringgit worth of network equipment.

The server will be moving to a datacenter run by an infinitely more competent team tomorrow night, so bear with the lack of updates and difficulty to access until the move is complete. The media and video server remains at Jaring, which is run pretty well, despite being plagued by connectivity problems between their side and Streamyx occasionally, but I’m sure you can guess whose fault is that.

The results of the World Car Of The Year 2007 awards have been announced, and the winner is the Lexus LS460! The LS is available on our local shores in long wheelbase form - the Lexus LS460L. The other two top contenders for the award was the new second generation Audi TT and the new second generation MINI Cooper/Cooper S. The other contenders in the top ten finalists were the Audi Q7, Citroen C4 Picasso, Citroen C6, Fiat Grande Punto, Jaguar XK, Mercedes CL-class, and the Suzuki SX4/Fiat Sedici.

To be eligible for the overall World Car of the Year title, cars must be on sale in 2006 on at least two continents. The awards are conducted by automotive journalists from all over the world. This year there were no Malaysian jurors on the list. There was a Malaysian juror on the list back in 2005 - Daniel Fernandez, managing editor of Asian Auto Magazine. There are three other supplementary awards - World Design of the Year won by the Audi TT, World Performance Car won by the Audi RS4, and World Green Car won by the BMW Hydrogen 7.

I’ve been wondering about one thing for quite sometime now. Why isn’t Mercedes Benz putting the M266 into more of it’s cars? Where does the engine come from? Is it a Mercedes Benz development used solely in vehicles like the A-class and B-class or is it shared with other cars like Chryslers? As far as I know, Chrysler inline-4 engines use the GEMA engine (4B11) found in Mitsubishi, Hyundai and Chrysler cars.

The M266 comes in a few displacements, but one of the most notable ones is the M266 Turbo (M266.980), found in the Mercedes Benz B200 Turbo. Unlike Mercedes Benz’s other inline-4, the M271 Kompressor which uses a supercharger, the M266 Turbo uses a turbocharger. It is mounted transversely and is mated to either a 6-speed manual or an AUTOTRONIC CVT gearbox, sending power to the front wheels. It uses a BorgWarner K03 turbocharger. The M271 is a longitudinal rear wheel drive design.

Here is a comparison table between the M266 and the M271. The M271 specs used in this comparison is of the W204 C200K specifications. The M271 comes in different specs like different boost levels, which result in different performance statistics. Note that the W204 C200K’s M271 is not the most powerful M271 around, with factory tuning of course - the W203’s C230K has a slightly higher power output (192hp).

Based on the comparison table above, which engine looks like the better performer to you? I’m not sure why Mercedes Benz has two inline-4 engines. It should just pick one and stick to it, economies of scale are better that way.

Maybe the M266 could be adapted to rear wheel drive, or the M271 could be adapted to front wheel drive, though I think the former is easier, plus the M266 is a newer engine anyway and its performance looks better to me. However some might be turned off by the 8-valve SOHC valvetrain design, but then again what does that matter when the performance results are there? Power peaks earlier in the rev range, and torque has a wider spread and kicks in lower and stronger.

DaimlerChrysler is currently using three different inline-4 engines in it’s cars, the GEMA 4B11 engine, the M266 and M271. There is no place in the world’s automotive industry for inefficiency. Everyone is sharing components - a recent example would be BMW and Peugeot sharing a common engine with different configurations for the MINI Cooper and a few Peugeot models.

These are just my thoughts - if anyone knows these two engines in further technical depth and know why both need to exist, please do share in the comments for the benefit of all motorheads!

Here is a promotional video released by Subaru for the upcoming 2008 Subaru Impreza Version 10. It’s pretty slow paced, probably their aim was letting you see how the car looks like in motion rather than showing you it’s performance. Video after jump.

Click here to read the rest of Subaru Impreza Version 10 Promo Video

While Kia have been making some amazing progress with their vehicle design thanks to it’s new European-based design team, not much can be said about big brother Hyundai’s new designs. This Hyundai HND-3 Veloster Concept seems to be inspired from design cues with many of the cars already out there on the market, with the most obvious being Honda’s REMIX Concept.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai HND-3 Veloster Concept

A few weeks back, lucky NST journalist Shannon Teoh took the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 out for a test drive review, and I got to have a taste of the car as well as be the photographer for the test drive. I can’t say much about the car as I only got to drive it a little around Cyberjaya and back to NST in Bangsar, but it’s safe to say it was everything I expected it to be and more.

I found myself saying under my breath, “I can’t believe this is 6th gear” - and the reason for it being said under my breath was because I did not want to interrupt the moments where I was feeling that amazing amount of torque - all 400Nm of it.

That is the same amount of torque as the new E92 BMW M3. While the Evo 9 introduces MIVEC variable valve timing to the venerable 4G63 series and is supposed to smoothen out the torque curve and increase low-end power, there is still a mad surge of power and the intoxicating sound of a large turbine spinning furiously when you enter the boost range which begins a tad below 4,000rpm.

It was very hard to believe that this is a performance car, as the Lancer Evolution 9 had everything you need to be a practical family sedan - 5 seats, 4 doors, a nice big boot. What else could you ask for? However, it was hard justifying the thought of me ever buying one if I could afford it, as for a sedan that costs a tad over RM280,000, the interior sure did not feel premium.

For example, even the air conditioning was a manual knob controlled unit, and the audio system was very basic. Plus, just try maneuvering the Evo 9 in tight parking spaces. You’ll discover that for some reason the car has a really bad turning circle, ensuring that multiple three point turns will be one of your most frequent maneuvers in this car.

But then again, that’s just me. I am very particular about my car interior ambiance, and the Evo 9 is just not for me. It might be the car for you though, if you had RM284,872 to plonk down for one of the most exciting cars you can buy on Malaysian roads. BTW, there is no standard warranty for this car - a 1-year warranty is optional!

For now, have a look at more photos after the jump. You can click most of the images in this post to view an enlarged version.

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 Short Write-up

Volkswagen under Martin Winterkorn’s leadership is currently developing two low-end car platforms in parallel. One is being developed in Brazil, and following the lead of the low cost Renault/Dacia Logan, would be sold first in Brazil and eventually in all emerging markets like India and China. The other is being designed in Germany. Both cars are targetted at an entry price point of 7,000 Euros. As a comparison, the Proton Savvy in the UK is priced at £5,995, or 8,804 Euros, so the new Volkswagens would be priced even cheaper than a Savvy!

Something like this could definitely be used as an Iswara Replacement Model if Proton ever chooses to develop a car based on a Volkswagen platform, however sources through the grape vines have indicated that the Iswara Replacement Model is already being developed without external technology and platform sourcing, and prototypes have already been shown to Malaysian journalists.