The Suzuki Grand Vitara is now available fully imported from Japan by Suzuki Malaysia at an amazing price of RM109,900, on the road without insurance. Colours available are Bluish Black Pearl, Graphite Grey, Pearl White, Silky Silver, and Azure Grey.

Features include a 2.0 liter DOHC J20A engine that produces 138 horsepower at 5,900rpm and 183Nm of torque at 4,300rpm, mated to a 4-speed automatic gearbox. Brakes are ventilated discs at the front and drums at the rear with anti-lock capabilities.

The Grand Vitara is constructed using a monocoque construction but includes what Suzuki calls a “built in ladder frame” to improve rigidity. This so-called ladder frame is actually additional reinforcement for the body structure comprising of two longitudinal elements running the length of the body, with six cross members and two parallel longitudinal elements running in the outer sills. The suspension system uses the common MacPherson strut setup at the front and a multi-link suspension at the rear.

Other than ABS, Brake Assist and EBD, other safety features include head-impact protection built into all pillars and upper interior surfaces as well as dual SRS airbags for the driver and front passenger. This model uses a 2WD drivetrain.

There are two optional accessories packages that you can add if you like: one is a RM5,000 package that includes leather seats (standard seats are cloth) and V-Kool tinting, and the other is a carnavi Car Navigation System for RM6,888.

Click here to read the rest of Suzuki Grand Vitara for RM109,900

[ LATEST UPDATE: Click here to find out more details on the Toyota Vios that will be available here in Malaysia, straight from the Malaysian press preview launch! ]

Toyota definitely seems to be intent on making sure all of us know the new Toyota Vios is on it’s way to showrooms. If you check out the Toyota Vios teaser page this week, you should have noticed a link to a new microsite: My Design, My Pride.

Think of it as a way to let you see if an airbrush artist specialising in the Toyota Vios could be one of your possible career paths. You are free to use your own imagination and create your own design on a virtual blank outline of the Toyota Vios. Its mostly modifying the car’s paintjob to your liking, not more advanced stuff like bumper modification and adding spoilers and etc. Once you’re done, you can submit it and you can also download your design as a wallpaper. Then you can proceed to do more designs or vote on other people’s submitted designs.

The top 3 designs will win a Panasonic DVD camcorder each, and will be featured in ads taken up in local newspapers, so it’s a shot for you to get the whole nation to look at your designs. Art students: this should be a good chance to add to your portfolio. I’ll be sending in some of my own “attempts” at a design as well, we can share our creations in the Photoshop and Design section of the forum later perhaps?

The Vios outsells all of it’s same segment competitors here, so despite divided public opinion there is much reason for Toyota to be very proud of their B-segment compact sedan. In general, Toyota Vios (and Honda City) owners seem to be quite proud of their cars. For many, it is their first non-national car; a graduation from local makes and finally a step into the world of imports, even though now imported has taken a different meaning and the car comes into Malaysia as a CKD pack.

There are so many Toyota Vios owners who have customised their rides in so many ways - different wheels, different grilles, some with turbokits perhaps? One way of looking at it is that these are each individual owner’s own personal designs. It’s really built into all of us - why else are we so excited whenever Theophilus Chin or Chaku cooks up an artist impression of a newly launched car? I usually just keep it to personalised alloy wheels though.

My guess is that Toyota is trying to connect with that part of us through this whole My Design, My Pride campaign. A very subjective and emotional thing, but refreshing in the world of launch advertising where others usually just harp on features and/or price.

Click to enlarge

There is also something else that reader Ben has sent in: some trucks have been going around the Damansara Heights area carrying white Toyota Vios models. They’ve also been spotted in Kepong and Sri Hartamas. Another reader Richard has spotted them and uploaded some photos here.

Some kind of teaser campaign leading up to the launch (tentatively 4th or 5th of October?). There’s really nothing hidden - it’s obviously the new Vios, just that it’s not a real car, just a white fibreglass model of sorts. It should give you an idea of how the Vios looks like in metal (albeit being an albino version), instead of just photos.

Let’s wait and see what happens the end of next week.

More photos after the jump.

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Click here to read the rest of Toyota Vios pre-launch campaign

This is a community service message ad from Proton (or at least it appears to be) for the upcoming Hari Raya balik kampung season.

Humour always works. Of course, let’s all not just laugh at the video, we have to actually take the advice given too, otherwise it’ll all be in vain! Thanks to Daniel Gomez for sending me the video.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Balik Kampung Community Service Message

BMW Web TV interviews Falko Radomski, Product Manager for the BMW 1-Series, about the new BMW 1-Series Coupe at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show. Anyway, good news - for those who are curious you’ll be able to read about how the 135i drives here on this site sometime in November.

Click here to read the rest of Interview with BMW 1-Series Product Manager

Honda is planning three more hybrid vehicles for the European market to be launched over the next few years. Honda currently offers the Honda Civic hybrid, which was named Germany’s greenest car by transport and environmental organization Verhekrsclub Deutschland. The upcoming hybrid cars are:

• A hybrid version of the next generation Honda Jazz
• A new hybrid vehicle to be positioned below the Honda Civic
• A production version of the Honda Small Hybrid Sports Concept

No timeframe for the launches of these new models was mentioned, so we will just have to wait and see for the moment. These are all relatively small cars in the European market. It’s larger cars like the upcoming European Honda Accord will get a more powerful turbodiesel, putting out more horses than the current 140hp level.

Source

LATEST DELHI 2008 UPDATE: Tata has unveiled the Tata 1-Lakh Car and has named it the Tata Nano. Click here for the latest details on the new Tata Nano.

While countries around the world are competing to see who will play host to the tallest building in the world, something similiar is happening in the automotive industry: with every new small economical car announcement the target price level is being set lower and lower, with the latest being Tata Motors Ltd’s planned US$2,500 (RM8,600) car.

Tata’s head of sourcing for this project E. Balasubramoniam says the new project will redefine the concept of an entry-level car and targets a million of these US$2,500 cars sold annually. Tata is still working on the car and a target launch date is July net year. Bala says the final price must be kept at the US$2,500 level or the business case for the car will collapse.

Previously, sketches have been shown to the media that seemed to resemble a small egg-shaped car with a high roof. These ultra-entry level cars are intended for developing countries and might even find a place in countries like ours - where the cheapest brand new car currently still costs more than RM20,000.

Source

This concept from Proton is called the Proton Satria Gemilang and it was a one-off thing that was commissioned for this year’s Merdeka celebration parade. It looks like a Proton Satria Neo, but underneath it actually lies the chassis of a Proton Waja Chancellor - in fact if you’ve seen the interior the dash and etc remains the same as a Chancellor’s.

I’m not sure where the car has gone to now in the past month after the Merdeka parade, but perhaps it will make an appearance again at the next KL International Motorshow.

DaimlerChrysler Malaysia has put up a teaser site for the new W204 Mercedes Benz C-Class called C-For-Yourself. Apparently some showrooms already have a W204 on display. There is one on display at Cycle’s Mutiara Damansara showroom tonight at 7pm, and it will be on display at Cycle’s showroom on the Federal Highway on Saturday.

Features highlighted on the teaser site include Agility Control which automatically controls the two-mode suspension system, and the 7G-Tronic 7-speed automatic. There is also an optional dynamic handling package which lets you switch between a sporty or comfort suspension setup at a touch of a button. The sporty mode also modifies accelerator response and gear change time.

This should mean the W204 will be launched pretty soon, as from what I hear journalists have already gone on a media preview test drive (I did not get to go but you will be able to read about the car here one way or another somehow )and there have been a few units of the W204 spotted in Glenmerie recently.

I’ve hosted some interesting videos after the jump, but all of them are available at the C-For-Yourself site.

Click here to read the rest of Teaser site for the W204 C-Class in Malaysia

Automobilwoche reports that DaimlerChrysler is considering platform sharing with other manufacturers for the next generation A-Class which is set to debut around 2010 or 2011. This means the current sandwich construction platform will be axed, as it’s expensive construction reduces profitability on the already relatively cheaper model.

The report says that one platform being considered is BMW’s MINI platform, which will help both companies as BMW could do with better economies of scale for the MINI. BMW has already previously mentioned an increased cooperation with Mercedes-Benz is welcome as it would help both carmakers enrepreneurial freedom.

The new A-Class platform will spawn at least 3 models - an A-Class, a B-Class, and another future entry-level model.

Source

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BMW wants to increase cooperation with Mercedes-Benz
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The lucky guys at Autocar UK managed to take a preview ride in the next generation Honda Jazz (called the Honda Fit in Japan) that will be making it’s debut soon at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show late next month. We’ve seen what’s supposed to be Japanese brochures of the Fit earlier, but here are some hard facts about the car:

• The new Jazz is 55mm longer, 20mm wider, and has a 50mm longer wheelbase.
• Fuel tank position has been moved to allow for floor to be lower, resulting in better headroom despite the car not being taller
• Engines are based on the current L-series family and are not new smaller R-series engines, but the VTEC valvetrain has been improved and is now called i-VTEC
• 1.3L engine makes 99hp at 6,000rpm and 133Nm of torque at 4,500rpm
• 1.5L engine makes 118hp at 6,300rpm and 146Nm of torque at 4,800rpm

More details to be revealed when the car is officially unveiled at the motor show, but for the moment read Autocar’s writeup.

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