I think we have spyshots of all of Proton’s upcoming models now. Reader Kevin Lee has sent in these shots of what most likely is a Waja CPS. Notice the badging on the top left of the boot lid is taped up, and there is a double tailpipe exhaust that gives away it’s sportier intentions. Previously twin tailpipes were only available on the Proton Waja 1.8 with the drive-by-wire Renault engine. One more frontal shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Waja CPS spotted!

These renderings of what Proton’s upcoming base line Saga Replacement Model, or “Proton BLM” could look like were done by reader maru/chaku, who based it on a Proton Savvy modified to be a three box sedan instead of a hatchback. You can click the image to view a larger version.

Previously, regular photoshopped image contributor Theophilus Chin had also whipped up a sedanized Proton Savvy, viewable in the related posts below.

Related Posts:
Proton Savvy Sedan Photoshop

Just as previously promised, the Nissan Latio is now in Edaran Tan Chong Motor showrooms nationwide. The following are the prices for the Nissan Latio sedan and the Nissan Latio Sport hatchback, non-inclusive of insurance.

Nissan Latio 1.6 ST (M) - RM79,900.00
Nissan Latio 1.6 ST (A) - RM85,300.00
Nissan Latio 1.6 ST-L (A) - RM90,300.00
Nissan Latio 1.8 Ti (A) - RM97,100.00
Nissan Latio Sport 1.6 ST-L (A) - RM92,900.00

Too bad the sporty hatchback only comes with the HR16DE 1.6 liter engine, as the 1.8 liter would have been more excited and suited to the car’s sporty appearance. The manual model comes equipped with a 5-speed manual, while the automatic models have 4-speed auto gearboxes. Anyway, only the 1.8 Ti sedan and 1.6 ST-L hatchback model has Nissan’s intelligent key system for keyless entry and start. The 1.8 Ti also has bi-xenon headlamps, with an auto headlights system which turns the headlamps on automatically when it is required.

All variants come with a predominantly beige interior, however the lower end models use tricot seat and door trim, as well as silver trim for the instrument panel and shift knob, while the higher ened ST-L and Ti models use wood trim.

As a quick recap - some performance stats. The 1.6 liter HR16DE-equipped cars make 109PS at 6,000rpm and 153Nm of torque at 4,400rpm. The 1.8 liter MR18DE-equipped cars put out 126 horsepower at 5,200rpm, and 174Nm of torque at 4,800rpm. Both engines have 16 valves, twin cams, and continuously variable valve timing.

Related Posts:
Supercharger kit for Nissan Latio Sport

It seems like today is spyshot day. Spyshots of three new Proton models all at once? We saw what could be the new Saga replacement model or Proton BLM earlier, and the GEN2 Hatchback with CPS too. The next model that we’re anticipating Proton to launch is the new C-Segment sedan that we’ve all been referring to as the Proton GEN2 Sedan, though the lack of badging on the rear does not confirm this until the car is launched.

This white sedan was spotted near the HICOM Proton traffic light by a reader’s friend, who was kind of enough to send it in to me. It’s a pretty high res photo, so you can see some portions that I’ve enlarged after the jump. Do let me know if you want any other section of the photo enlarged, I’ll add it to this post.

One thing that we can observe from the many spyshots that are being captured is all these Proton cars are hitting the road for test drives more and more frequently than before, which means the cars are nearing production… I’m excited. Are you?

Click here to read the rest of New Proton GEN2 Sedan spotted in white

What’s this now? Reader Chris sent in these photos of a new Proton sedan spotted on the North South Expressway. We assume it is a Proton because the Proton GEN2 CPS 1.6 hatchback in the post right before this was travelling along with it, and the trade plates are just one number apart.

It is a sedan, and at first glance I thought it was a Proton GEN2 Sedan on test together with it’s faster, CPS-equipped hatchback siblings. Then I noticed the disguise was a little different on this one, it was much more covered up than the usual GEN2 Sedans we’ve already seen driving around. It was also missing the beesting antenna that was on the earlier Proton GEN2 Sedan spyshots.

It looks smaller - the GEN2 Sedan’s boot is much longer. This looks more like a new B-Segment car, which matches the profile of Proton’s upcoming BLM model replacement for the Proton Saga or Proton Iswara, depending on which generation you want to refer to it as. Some call it a Savvy sedan.

There is another photo of the front after the jump, however nothing much is revealed as the disguise is pretty thick. You do get to see some of the headlamp detail though, but it’s very minimal. Nevertheless, I expect the headlamp design to be stunning as with all the new generation Proton cars.

Thank you very much Chris, for sending these photos in!

Click here to read the rest of Is this the new Proton BLM?

[ UPDATE: The facelifted Proton GEN2 with a new range of Campro IAFM and Campro CPS engines has been launched in Malaysia! Click for more details. ]

[ UPDATE: The facelifted Proton GEN2 with the Campro CPS engine has been unveiled at the 2007 Thailand Motor Expo. Click here for more details and specifications! ]

These black Proton GEN2s with trade plates were spotted on the North South Expressway on what is presumably a test run. Reader Chris managed to snap photos of the cars, and it appears that the badging on the rear of the car does not say the usual stylized Campro wording, but something else that looks like a three letter acronym.

One would immediately assume CPS as what many other people have reported, but if you look carefully it seems to say something like CNP or CMP or something, though it may just be an effect of a low resolution photo and a stylized CPS wording.

UPDATE: I managed to get a higher resolution photo from Chris. A zoomed in view shows that the logo indeed says CPS, but the letter S seems to have some funky styling to it. I’ve traced it rather noob-ly with a white paintbrush… hmm, doesn’t look very good. Nevermind, let’s hope CPS performs better than it’s logo looks.

Check out the related posts below for more images of the new Proton GEN2 facelift, as well as the sedan version of the Proton GEN2.

Related Posts:
Proton GEN2 Facelift Spotted
Proton GEN2 Facelift Rear
Proton GEN2 Sedan computer graphics
Proton GEN2 Sedan spotted!

A long time ago back in December 2005, there was an agreement signed between a Malaysian company and ChangAn Auto Group, based in Chongqing, China to assemble the ChangAn CM8 in Malaysia. It’s been one and a half years since, and I bet that most of us have forgotten about this.

But today, reader Edward sent in these shots of a ChangAn CM8 with a tradeplate spotted in Subang Jaya on Jalan Kewajipan turning out from the Kesas Highway, This could either be a CBU ChangAn CM8, or a locally assembled one. Whichever it is, we could see a competitor to the Toyota Avanza, Suzuki E-RV, and the upcoming Nissan Livina soon, as the ChangAn CM8 would likely fall into that segment and price range.

Just some backgrounder on ChangAn: ChangAn is an automotive group in China whose ventures include ChangAn Ford, ChangAn Ford Mazda Engine, ChangAn Suzuki, and even Jiangling, which most of you would have known by now because of the controversial Jiangling Landwind crash test results.

Two more photos after the jump, and check out the related posts for clearer product shots of the ChangAn CM8.

Related Posts:
ChangAn CM8 to be assembled in Malaysia

Click here to read the rest of ChangAn CM8 spotted in Malaysia!

You could say the most recent Mercedes Benz E-Class model spearheaded Mercedes Benz’s new reputation for bad quality control, something that many international members of the automotive industry have been talking about. A pity though, as my uncle-ish taste (I drive a Perdana don’t I?) is fond of the E’s looks.

The boys at Stuttgart did an amazing rebound recentty though. After years of what some call a humiliatingly low position in the J.D. Power Initial Quality Survey, the recently redesigned Mercedes Benz E-Class has come up tops in the premium mid-sized category of the most recent IQS! The new S-Class also topped the large mid-sized sedan category, but in a tied position with the Audi A8.

“Mercedes-Benz shows dramatic improvement, particularly with its newly-redesigned S-Class, which improves 63 PP100. Overall, Mercedes-Benz improves its nameplate rank by 20 positions—the greatest rank increase of any nameplate in the study. All Mercedes-Benz models in the study improved substantially, and the breadth and speed of these improvements demonstrates the Mercedes-Benz commitment to quality,” said Neal Oddes, director of product research and analysis.

The Mercedes Benz brand itself moved up twenty places up in the rankings for overall model quality. Combined with it’s recent disposal of the bleeding Chrysler group, there’s definitely reason for Stuttgart to be patted on the back.

Source

There is a tussle in the boardroom of Volkswagen AG over the Porsche Cayenne and the Volkswagen Touareg. Porsche is using it’s majority stake shareholding to influence Volkswagen product planning and marketing, especially with it’s joint projects such as the Cayenne-Touareg, two SUVs developed in such close cooperation that alot of people have called the Cayenne merely a dressed up Touareg.

Volkswagen plans to launch an all-new model change Volkswagen Touareg in late 2010, but Porsche wants to launch the Cayenne earlier during the first half of the year. “We aren’t at all pleased with a significantly longer model life for the current Touareg compared to the Cayenne. After all, the vehicles are in competition with one another,” said a high-ranking Volkswagen executive.

“If we can’t come to an agreement at the level of the working teams, the CEOs will have to hammer this out,” said an official of Porsche.

Source

Volkswagen’s new second generation Phaeton will be developed using Audi’s new MLP platform, and will be smaller than it’s stable-mate the Audi A8 in interests of product differentiation. The new Audi A8 will be revealed in August 2009, while the new D2 Phaeton will be out by 2010. The first car to use Audi’s new MLP platform is the new Audi A5/S5.

Source