Click to enlarge
Subaru has given the Australian market Subaru Impreza WRX a new nose that uses a wire mesh grille instead of the chrome-is thing that’s on the Impreza WRX in other markets including Japan. You can be pretty sure that Impreza owners in other markets will be finding ways to import this new grille so that they can give their own Rexes a more aggressive look.
Click to enlarge
Set to debut at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, this is Mitsubishi’s Concept-cX. It is what Mitsubishi calls an accessible, affordable, sustainable and realistic solution to today’s pressing issues.
Not only satisfying the public’s crave for sporty crossovers, it is also green as it uses a next generation 1.8 liter Clean Diesel engine mated to an automated manual transmission - perhaps the Twin Clutch SST? Even the interior trim is environmentally friendly, using “Green Plastics”, a proprietary plant-based resin technology.
The Concept-cX will also serve as a preview of Mitsubishi’s next generation family of powertains to first debut in 2009, which will include turbodiesel engines that feature variable geometry diffuser turbochargers… which I think is the same a Variable Geometry Turbocharger.
Perodua is currently having a promotion for civil servants which will allow them to buy a Viva through Bank Rakyat hire purchase financing and enjoy 100% financing for a 10 year loan period. It also signed a memorandum of understanding with Takaful Ikhlas Sdn Bhd to provide personal insurance protection coverage for civil servants. Perodua expects to sell 10,000 units of the Perodua Viva through this scheme.
Jakarta’s Investor Daily reported that Volkswagen will be building an assembly plant in Indonesia next year to assemble a small car with an engine size of less than 1.5 liters as well as a van. The newspaper reported this citing an Indonesian industry ministry director general Budhi Dharmadi, but could not contact Volkswagen officials for comments. I wonder if this is true - and if it is - how will affect the Proton-Volkswagen talks?
It’s been a while since we’ve read of any real concrete news on the Proton-Volkswagen deal, but Proton has not been sitting on their asses waiting for something to happen. From what I’ve been told, new product development continues as usual, and there has been some significant milestones happening in the past few weeks with Proton that we can be proud of.
For one, the recent Chinese Europestar GEN2 rebadge deal is set to bring in billions of ringgit in revenue for Proton, with RM937 million in revenue and RM102 million in royalties set to be generated in the next 20 months with the 30,000 GEN2 CBU units.
The sweetest part of the Chinese deal would be the licensing deal to supply the Campro engine platform in CKD form to Youngman Automobile Group for local assembly in China. The deal is expected to rack up 150,000 units over the next 6 years, and considering royalty payments for parts localisation in China as well as importing parts straight from Malaysia - the deal is expected to be worth a few billion ringgit.
This means better economies of scale for both Proton and it’s vendors, something that Proton and basically any car manufacturer really really needs.
Money is also generated through Lotus Engineering, which will be providing design and engineering consultancy to Youngman for their other new Europestar cars that will be based on the GEN2 platform and Campro engine. This is expected to come up to RM195 million.
Proton managing director Datuk Syed Zainal Abidin says this is much like what Mitsubishi did for Proton when Proton first started out. Now Proton is playing the role of Mitsubishi to Youngman’s Europestar.
Efforts are also in place to expand Proton’s Indonesian dealer network. Proton expects to have 10 dealers in the country by the end of the 2008 financial year and sell 4,700 cars in Indonesia by the end of the 2008 financial year. Proton has also had an order for 5,000 Proton Waja taxis in Iran - something that would likely throw American company GM out of the question when it comes to a partner.
With this new Europestar deal, more export deals in progress, as well as the impending upcoming Proton New Sedan due to be launched on the 15th of August 2007, Proton believes the worst is now over, and is expected to return to profit by the end of the current financial year - March 21st 2008.
Click to enlarge
Just flipped through the newspapers today and saw an advertisement announcing the impending arrival of the 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer. It advertises the car’s 155 PS (152 horsepower) DOHC MIVEC aluminium engine, RISE body, 4-wheel independant suspension, INVECS-III CVT with paddle shifters, and 18 inch alloy wheels!
Now that’s seriously huge, even the Civic 2.0 with the recent wheel update has 17 inchers. Tyre costs may be an issue to some as such large tyres are expensive, but they do look good aesthetically. There will most probably be two models and the lower spec model would probably have smaller wheels.
Anyway with this advertisement, we can confirm that we’re getting a CVT transmission with paddle shifters with the new Lancer, as well as the higher power output of the two engine tunes available, the lower rating is probably for California only. And since they’re taking up ads now, the launch must be very soon.
UPDATE: If any of you are wondering what a RISE body is, it’s basically Mitsubishi’s new body frame design technique that improves collision safety performance. RISE stands for Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution, and it was first introduced in the 1996 Mitsubishi Galant. As every car is different, how Mitsubishi implements RISE standards differs from car to car. In the 2007 Lancer, the RISE body consists of a highly rigid structure which makes use of 590Mpa high strength and 980Mpa ultra high strength steel. Torsional rigidity has been increased by 56 percent, and bending rigidity is up by 50 percent compared to the previous Lancer.
Related Posts:
Two more Mitsubishi Lancers spotted on the road
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer - The new 4B11 Engine
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer spotted on the LDP!
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer in Malaysia - Q3 2007?
New 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer specs and photos revealed
Reader Kevin Lee managed to snap these three photos of a group of 2007 Mitsubishi Lancers on the way to Tanjung Malim. Black and red, two sporty colours that with no doubt would be two of the most popular colours for the Lancer once it is launched here. These two units come with some form of bodykit - rear spoiler, front and rear lips, and side skirts. Like before, badging is taped up.
Look at the other two photos after the jump.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of Two more Mitsubishi Lancers spotted on the road
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer - The new 4B11 Engine
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer spotted on the LDP!
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer in Malaysia - Q3 2007?
New 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer specs and photos revealed
Since the new 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer is coming soon, I decided to dig up some details on the new GEMA engine under the hood. The previous Lancer that is on sale on our market now uses the all-familiar 1.6 liter 4G18 engine, similar to the one that we used to find under the hood of our Proton Waja, with one of the few minor difference is that the Waja uses a 4-speed auto while the Lancer uses a CVT.
The new 2007 Lancer has it’s engine upped to 2.0 liter, putting it head to head with the Civic 2.0. The new GEMA engine is a joint venture project between DaimlerChrysler, Hyundai and Mitsubishi. Hyundai has yet to use the GEMA engine in any of it’s cars, while DaimlerChrysler’s now-sold-off Chrysler used it as it’s flagship 2.0-2.4 liter.
The GEMA engine is called the 4B1x series in Mitsubishi terms, and the 2.0 liter model that we will see in the 2008 Lancer is the 4B11, with the Lancer Evolution getting the 4B11T. It is probably the first time a non-Sirius engine has been used in a Lancer Evolution. All Evolutions, from the Evo I to the Evo IX used some variant of the Sirius 4G63T, with the latest in the Evo IX getting MIVEC variable valve timing.
The 4B11 is a 4-cylinder DOHC engine with MIVEC variable valve timing on both intake and exhaust valves, making it somewhat equivalent to Toyota’s Dual VVT-i. In it’s US market application, it makes 152 horsepower at 6,000rpm (143 horsepower in California because of higher emission regulations) and 198Nm of torque at 4,250rpm, with 176Nm available from 2,500rpm. The 4B11 uses a new aluminium cylinder block as well as an aluminium cylinder head. A timing chain is used instead of a timing belt.
While most engines are usually either bore-biased (rev-happy) or stroke-biased (better torque), the new 4B11 is a “square” engine - it has a bore and stroke that both measure 86mm, giving a good balance of rev-happiness and good torque. It uses as compression ratio of 10.0:1, but can still use RON92 (87 AKI) fuel.
The MIVEC system uses valve overlap to reduce pumping losses under normal conditions, but under high engine speed conditions where maximum power is needed, intake valve closing time is retarded to allow for larger air volume. In a similar high load condition but at low engine speeds, intake valve closing is advanced instead, ensuring sufficient air volume, but exhaust valve opening is retarded to provide a higher expansion ratio and improved efficiency.
To ensure stable idling, valve overlap is eliminated during idle conditions. As previously mentioned, this version of MIVEC can adjust both intake and exhaust valves independently for maximum flexibility in valve control.
Mitsubishi has employed a 4-point inertial axis system with cylindrical hydraulic engine mounts on the left and right sides to help reduce engine vibration, ensuring smooth and quiet operation. On the right side mount where the engine is, a lightweight, high-rigidity squeeze-cast aluminium bracket helps reduce engine noise under acceleration. On the left side where the transmission is, a similar lightweight, high-rigidity plate bracket made of steel helps reduce gear noise. For the front and rear engine mounts, a custom-tuned insulator helps control both idle vibration and acceleration shock.
The engine can be mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a CVT transmission with 6 virtual gears that are selectable using paddle shifts on the steering wheel. Mitsubishi picked 6 gears (in reality because they are unlimited to pick from, you could have 50 CVT virtual gears if you wanted) because it offered the best balance of ease of use, sporty driving, and flexible performance.
The 5-speed manual is an improvement over the old 5-speed transmission - the third and fourth gears now use double-cone synchronisers for smoother shifting and a new honing process was used to reduce noise. The gear ratios have also been adjusted to suit the torque curve of the new engine.
The CVT transmission’s ratio range is from 2.349 to 0.394, with infinite variations in between, which gives wider ratios than the previous 4-speed auto that had a ratio spread of 2.842 to 0.712. A much higher achievable overdrive ensures good fuel economy and lower engine speed for highway cruising. The INVECS-III software in the CVT customises shift patterns on the fly to match the acceleration and brake patterns of the driver. If you select the L mode, the INVECS-III software shifts to allow for more engine braking if the car has to go down slopes.
Something alot of people miss when switching from conventional fixed ratio gearing to CVTs is the lurching feel when you floor the pedal from a stand still. The way a CVT-equipped car starts may be interpreted as sluggish by our minds - this is known as the rubber band effect. INVECS-III can simulate this lurching that the driver expects.
Anyway, this engine looks like a very modern engine with a gearbox combination that promises to be great for both city and highway driving. You’ve got ample amounts of torque from a low 2,500rpm for a comfortable city drive, plus a CVT to keep the revs at the sweet spot. You’ve got a good low maximum overdrive ratio of 0.394 for good highway fuel economy and a relaxed low engine speed cruise. Finally, for whenever you feel like driving spiritedly, there are the paddle shifters.
On paper, the Lancer’s drivetrain sounds good. An invite for the launch, Mitsubishi Malaysia? 
UPDATE: Look at two videos after the jump explaining some technical details on the 4B11 as well as it’s matching INVECS-III CVT gearbox, thanks to reader Rikeys.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer: The New 4B11 Engine
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer spotted on the LDP!
2007 Mitsubishi Lancer in Malaysia - Q3 2007?
New 2007 Mitsubishi Lancer specs and photos revealed
The third generation of the BMW M3, this time based on the E46 model series coupé, made its debut in the year 2000. And once again, the third edition of this world-famous sports car from Munich excelled from the start through even more performance, more dynamism and even more unique design, clearly setting this special model apart from the other versions of the BMW 3 Series.
From the very beginning, the first tests published by motor journals clearly proved that the BMW M3 is a particularly powerful sports coupé of the highest calibre, with truly unparalleled performance.
Read more of the final part of this special 3-part piece on the history of the BMW M3 by the BMW Group Press Club after the jump.
Related Posts: Click here to read the rest of The History of the BMW M3 - E46 M3
The History of the BMW M3 Part 1 - E30 M3
The History of the BMW M3 Part 2 - E36 M3
Click to enlarge
Reader Chaku has updated his new Proton Sedan artist’s impressions as some of you have requested variations of his previous impression with different bootlid spoilers. Well, here they are - complete with modified rear tail lights similar to the aftermarket LED tail lights available in the market. Look at all variations after the jump. Click here to read the rest of More artist impressions of the new Proton Sedan
