Our government should take a leaf out of this book - a new bill has been filed in Miami for new laws to be applied to motorcyclists - crazy antics will result in a 10 year license revocation and a mandatory stay in prison.

“This guy did a wheelie. It’s unbelievable. These motorcycles passed us like we were standing still. They’re just blatantly riding in excessive speeds, putting themselves and other motorists in danger. It’s just too much,” said Miami state representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera when he witnessed the Miami rempits for himself.

Once the bill is passed, it should be in effect next year.

Source

Hicom-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd unveiled the Chevrolet Captiva’s Malaysian line-up yesterday, and although exact prices have not been determined yet, we now at least know a price range as well as spec levels of the different variants. It’s a sexy SUV with an appealing design that reminds me somewhat of a smaller Audi Q7.

The Chevrolet Captiva (essentially a Daewoo Winstorm) will come in four flavours on our local soil - a 2WD petrol, a 2WD diesel, a 4WD petrol and a 4WD diesel. The petrol option will be a 2.4 liter 4-cylinder iron block E-TEC II engine putting out a relatively low (for it’s displacement) 136 horsepower at 5,000rpm, and a decent 220Nm of torque at a surprisingly low 2,200rpm. This engine was definitely tuned to make all of its grunt at low RPMs, good for an SUV. The diesel option is a 2.0 liter turbocharged unit with Bosch direct injection making 150hp at 4,000rpm and 320Nm of torque at 2,000rpm.

Both engines are mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission with Tiptronic. For the 2WD models the power goes to the wheels via the front wheels, while in 4WD versions the system runs mostly with the front wheels, but sends torque to the rear wheels as needed up to a 50:50 split. The 7-seater Chevrolet Captiva uses a monocoque chassis (long wheelbase GM Theta platform) and rides on a MacPherson strut setup on the front and a multilink suspension at the rear, so comfort and handling should exceed competing SUVs that use a ladder frame chassis and rear coil spring setup.

It will be priced from RM138,000 for the cheapest 2WD petrol variant to RM155,000 for the most expensive 4WD diesel variant, which will include premium safety features such as ESP stability control, and Descent Control.

Two launches in one year by the new Hicom-Chevrolet joint venture - what’s next? Perhaps the Asian-market Chevrolet Colorado (a rebadged Isuzu D-MAX)?

More photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Chevrolet Captiva unveiled in Malaysia

Some of you who follow the development of the automotive industry through foreign sites may remember a photo of an Audi R8 burned to the ground on the Nurburgring sometime earlier this year. Now, Quattro GmbH director Wener Frowein reveals what happened in an interview with Dutch news site Nieuws.nl:

The burned Audi R8 was a prototype of the Audi RS8, the high performance version of the Audi R8 - not like the car isn’t already a scorcher to begin with. In the engine bay was a 580 PS twin-turbocharged V10 from the Audi RS6. Because of the mid-engine layout, the monster twin-blown V10 had cooling problems - this resulted in a total of 3 prototypes sharing the same fiery fate.

Hat tip to Geert Pick for the pointer.

Source, Translated

Dr Syed Ali Tawfik al-Attas, director-general of Institut Kefahaman Islam Malaysia feels insulted because the whole Islamic car plan.

I quote him, “A car is not the right place for the Quran, neither is a cars rear windshield the right place to display verses from the Quran.”

Read the column titled “Just what is an Islamic car?” to find out more.

Related Posts:
Proton to develop Islamic cars

Talks between Daimler and Fiat on a possible platform-sharing venture have ended with no positive results. It seems that during the talks, Daimler found out that a platform-sharing cooperation with Fiat would not be as cost-advantageous as expected because Fiat produces its small models more expensively than Daimler can already do with its A-class (shown above) and B-class.

Daimler is still in talks with BMW as previously reported, and if that does not go through it will go ahead to develop new entry-level models on its own. Mercedes-Benz has a new cost saving program called CORE and the next generation A-class and B-class will be cheaper to make than the current generation even without the savings gained from platform-sharing. But of course, more savings would definitely be a bonus.

Mercedes Benz Cars wants to make a decision on whether to go for platform-sharing or develop on its own by the end of 2007. They are also talking to Japanese manufacturers about joint usage of 4-cylinder gasoline and diesel engines - this probably means the end of the M266.

Related Posts:
MINI platform for next generation A-Class?

It’s been several months since it was simultaneously launched with its Hybrid cousin, and finally, the media got their hands on the Honda Civic Type-R. It’s been so difficult simply because the car has been selling itself, with the initial shipment snapped up immediately, and the 5 car monthly allocation causing a waiting list of over 8 months.

Those who’ve been fuming as they await their unit to appear on their driveways will be pleased to know that a bumper shipment of 25 units will be landing in January, but by then, it’s likely that the waiting list will not be shorter at all.

For those who’ve yet to place an order on the RM199,800 (OTR) performance car, then Shannon Teoh’s report on the media track day might be helpful.

For those who have, you have his apologies for making you wait a bit longer as two units were seconded for the event on Nov 13. However, you’ll discover after the jump, that you have none of his pity for being able to afford such a car in the first place.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Civic Type-R Track Experience

Click to enlarge

A slew of next generation Mitsubishi models is on the way, set to bring the whole model range of Mitsubishi cars up to date with current times and current design language. First up is a Lancer Ralliart to slot between the usual plain vanilla Lancer sedan and the top of the range Lancer Evolution X.

The Lancer Ralliart’s four pot 2.0 liter turbocharged engine will put out 260 horsepower and will feature all-wheel drive hardware, though not the latest and greatest version in the Evo X, but the previous generation system from the Evolution IX.

The Lancer Ralliart will also be the top of the line model for the upcoming 5-door hatch version of the Mitsubishi Lancer, which you can expect to be strongly based on the Mitsubishi Sportback Concept, one of the first few Mitsubishi concept cars to feature the latest Lancer’s design language.

An electric version of the Mitsubishi i is also in the works, though I doubt it would use the advanced in-wheel motors of the Mitsubishi i MIEV. A replacement for the Mitsubishi Pajero iO (also called the Shogun Pinin) is also in the works, based on the Mitsubishi Concept-cX. Last but not least, the Mitsubishi Galant will receive a full model change in 2010 or 2011, to be based on the Mitsubishi Concept-ZT.

Source

While reading the NST sometime last week, I spotted this column by Rehman Rashid, on the breakdown of the Proton and Volkswagen talks. It was a very pro-Proton column, but there was this one paragraph…

And then there’s India, home of Mahindra, Maruti, Bajaj and the Ambassador - and a 300 million-strong middle class with fewer than 15 cars per 1,000 people and 10,000km of new toll roads being built. It’s easy to imagine rebadged Perdanas, Gen.2s and Personas in New Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. Volkswagen or GM can’t build a car for under RM20,000 to match any of them.

Sadly, neither can Proton… not in it’s current state and not for a long time. And neither can many Indian manufacturers! While it’s true that Volkswagen and GM are having troubles building a cheap car at those kind of prices (perhaps why Volkswagen was interested in any kind of tie-up with us at all to begin with, some say Volkswagen wanted the upcoming New Proton Saga to be its new cheapest car positioned under the Volkswagen Fox), I don’t think the Perdana, the GEN2 and the Persona can be produced and sold in India for under RM20,000 either. One only needs to look at the prices of those cars in our local market to know.

So let’s jump back to reality abit shall we? Everyone who cares about the automotive industry, or has a responsibility to say something about the national concern of the week has commented on the Proton-Volkswagen talks, and all of them - including the big man Syed Zainal himself - have been saying China and India are integral parts of Proton’s turn-around plans.

Proton has already made some in-roads in the Chinese market - a rebadging deal with Jinhua Youngman. An interview with Syed Zainal in StarBiz reveals how that deal came about - Jinhua Youngman (a Chinese coach and truck maker) originally went to Lotus and asked them to design a car for them. It was suggested that Jinhua do a badge engineering deal with Proton instead, since the cars were already there. It seems Jinhua Youngman has already managed 1,500 bookings before the car is launched.

But India is a market in which Proton does not have a presence in yet. Is India a perfect match for Proton and the models it has? Rather than just imagine… let’s take an analytical look at the situation in the Indian market.

INDIA: Current Industry Sales Figures and Growth Potential

India has only 12 motor vehicles per 1000 persons, whereas China has 10 and Malaysia has a staggering 641! That makes us the 3rd most saturated country in the world behind the United States (765) and Luxembourg (686). In comparison, Japan has 543 and the United Kingdom has 426. [1]

Admittedly, the term “motor vehicles” also include two wheelers and not just passenger cars, but this is also the case for India. For Financial Year 06-07, 77% of India’s total industry volume comprised of two-wheelers. The remaining comprised of 1,076,408 passenger cars (14%), 220,199 utility vehicles and 83,091 MPVs. This is a huge amount of vehicles, and the 14% figure only stands to grow as many Indians slowly graduate from two wheelers to cars.

The potential is huge considering as India’s GDP goes up, the market for motor vehicles will increase tremendously. According to Global Economics Paper No. 99 by Goldman Sachs [4], China’s GDP would be exceeded Germany by this year, and Japan by 2015 while India would do the same by 2020 and 2030 respectively. Emerging markets that are considered “old news” in the automotive industry include Brazil, Russia and China. These markets are expected to decline in growth from 2015 onwards, while India is expected to continue showing stable growth. [Source]

INDIA: Penetration Potential and Government Policies

The Indian automotive industry is seen to be “friendlier” as compared to the China. According to a Japanese analyst source, many Japanese vendors are now looking for an “India Plan”. More and more are turning away from China because of cases like the much publicized GM vs SAIC legal case over the Chery QQ, allegedly a clone of the Chevrolet Spark.

The Indian government also has initiatives like the National Highways Development Project (NHDP), and has committed RM 274 billion to the NHDP under the 11th Five-Year Plan. Malaysian companies like UEM and IJM are already in India, working on these highways, roads and flyovers. A clear sign that India is serious about improving its country’s transportation.

Of course, the highways are no use without motor vehicles, and for that India has a clear “Automotive Mission Plan” that covers the years 2006 to 2016. This plan was prepared by the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises of the Government of India and outlines automotive industry investments of up to US$40 billion (RM 135 bilion) over the 10 years. The plan also focuses on exprts, with a 25-point plan. While obviously requiring more consistency and notice period before changes are made (manufacturers are asking for a minimum of 2 years before and major alterations are made), the plan gives investors a lot of confidence. There will not likely be any sudden random changes in policies, something that are unfortunately getting familiar with.

From a Malaysian perspective, the legal system could possibly be easier to understand as Malaysia and India were both former British colonies and are still Commonwealth members. Communication would also be easier, in English if the Malaysian/Indian accents dont distort discussions and negotiations. Lastly, as is Japan, Australia and New Zealand, India is a right-hand-drive country whereas China is LHD. This means less re-engineering cost for the new market.

INDIA: The Big Players

Sales Matrix - Indian Passenger Cars for August 2007

Source: Autocar India, October 2007

Above are the sales charts for the Indian passenger car market in August 2007 alone. As you can see, Maruti Suzuki India dominates the Indian market with their Suzuki-badged cars, and the Maruti-Suzuki M800 is just about the only car that is priced under RM20,000 (Rs 2.16 lakh is about RM18,500). Yet it is not the top selling model, which shows that the Indian market is maturing - the 1983 Suzuki M800 is OLD and no one wants to be stuck with a stone age car. They want something fairly modern, and stylish even, but being economical in terms of both fuel consumption and initial purchase cost plays a huge factor.

What Is The Ideal Indian Car?

Like I said, fuel economy and initial purchase cost are huge factors for the current Indian car buyer. Petrol in India costs 49.49 rupees (RM4.07) per liter, and diesel costs 32.45 rupees (RM2.78) per liter. As evident from the top 10 sales list, except for number 9 and 10 which is an MPV and a 4X4 respectively, India needs small cars. It would also be ideal if the car had a diesel powertrain, especially if you want to introduce a larger sedan-bodied model. A diesel variant is a must have if Proton were to enter the Indian market, and from what I hear there are certain Proton prototypes with third party-sourced turbodiesel units already. Manual transmission is a must as Indian motorists seem to want to save every single drop of fuel they can.

The Best Way To Enter India

The obvious way is to tie-up with a company that already has a nationwide sales and service network in India, and a gap in the company’s product line-up which allows Proton models to be slotted in. This will provide Proton a quick entry into India.

Maruti Suzuki is out as they have their own brand to run. Tata may be a good choice, but their mainstay is commercial vehicles, although their Tata 1-lakh car and 2008 Indicar/Indigo plans are interesting, as is their relationship with Fiat. Backtracking to the bit about car prices, 1-lakh rupees is about RM8,563.00, but now it seems the car might end up being 1.25 lakh instead (RM10,700). Both Hyundai and Suzuki are also working on similiar projects. Anyway, Tata has 11 variants of the Tata Indica alone, not including the Indigo, so there is definitely no room for Proton in the Tata stable.

Mahindra looks to be a perfect choice. Yes, they have a relationship with Renault to sell the Renault Logan in India, but many who’ve seen the vehicle says it feels too cheap and is put together too cheaply - this is not really in tune with maturing Indian customer tastes. The Logan’s launch in India also did not go as well as expected - not enough ready stock at launch, too high of a booking deposit, slow production, expensive diesel option, and limited variants. [Source]

Business Times reported back in April 2006 that Proton was in talks with Mahindra. In more recent news, Syed Zainal reveals in the StarBiz centerspread interview that Proton is now talking with a company that is currently in the tractors and 4X4 segment but wants to get into passenger cars. I strongly believe this could be Mahindra. Syed Zainal says the deal will be similiar to the Jinhua/Europestar deal - this could mean rebadging instead of the Proton brand being introduced there.

Where Will The Cars Come From?

CKD assembly in India is the best way to go about it because of tax/duty concerns, and the Indian partner would have a manufacturing, logistics, vendor network and system already in place. A combination of various duties - Excise, Customs, and VAT - could hike up the price of a CBU car imported into India by 60% to 100%, but for CKD pack imports it is generally about 10% only. [Source] But it’s worthwhile to note that India is currently on observer status in ASEAN [Source] - there could be a possibility of India moving to establish Free Trade Agreements with key ASEAN countries in the next few years - it already has an FTA with Thailand.

India has had an installed manufacturing capacity of 1.75 million cars annually since the year 2005, but the Total Industry Volume has not reached that amount yet, so there is plenty of capacity to locally assemble Proton cars there.

The Perfect Proton for India

Syed Zainal mentions in the StarBiz interview that Proton will be offering the BLM, the GEN.2 and the Savvy to the Indian partner. He says with the right product offerings, a car company in the Indian market could snag an estimated combined sales volume of about 200,000 units a year for 2 to 3 cars, which should be possible if one of cars gets onto the top 10 list (refer August 2007 sales table above).

India divides passenger cars into different segments, from A1 to A6. There are four Lower A2 segment cars on the top 10 list - the Suzuki Zen Estilo, the Suzuki Alto, the Suzuki Wagon R and the Hyundai Santro. India defines a Lower A2 segment car as a car between 3490mm and 3650mm in length. Then there is the Upper A2 segment which measures between 3650mm to 4000mm long - represented on the top 10 list by the Tata Indica and the Suzuki Swift. Longer than the Upper A2 segment is the Lower A3 segment, which measures between 4000mm to 4200mm and includes cars like the Ford Ikon and the Tata Indigo, but none of them are on the top 10 best seller list.

By just looking at the types of cars that are on the list, you know you need an excellent Lower A2 or Upper A2 segment contender. Proton has two cars that could fit into what India considers an A2 segment car - the Proton Savvy (3710mm) and the upcoming Proton BLM, which could fall in either the Upper A2 or Lower A3 segments.

If the BLM follows the Persona’s foot steps, it will end up being a rather decent car. I believe if the kinks are ironed out of the Campro’s strange torque curve (through the variable intake module perhaps?), the BLM and a Campro-equipped Savvy could be better cars than cars like the Hyundai Santro (we know this car as the Atos here in Malaysia). Proton has cars with modern styling and up to date interiors. What we don’t have right now is a diesel - one of the lasts bit of the ideal recipe.

Small hatchbacks in India are preferred and retain value better compared to three-box sedan cars. One reason could be because sedans in India are more expensive compared to hatchbacks on initial cost - the opposite of what’s happening in Malaysia and around the world where hatchbacks are seen as a sporty lifestyle choice and command a higher price - just look at the Honda City vs the Honda Jazz here in Malaysia. The other factor is the fact that a smaller hatchback is simply preferred in the very busy streets of Indian towns. A hatch simply takes up less street real estate and parking space.

But this doesn’t mean a small sedan will not work in India. For a case study, we can have a look at the Suzuki Esteem 1.3L, which is about 4095mm x 1575mm x 1395mm in dimension. According to the little guesswork I did which I demonstrated below, the Proton BLM should be nearly equal to the Suzuki Esteem in length - an estimated 3975mm to 4050mm length - (to make up for the angle in the photo) so it could either be an Upper A2 car or a Lower A3 car.

You can try doing your own guess-timation calculation on how long the BLM is - the pixel values above will not tally if you measure the image because I did it with a larger image then resized it down to fit this site. Plus the image is actually taken at an angle so it would not be accurate. I assumed the BLM would use the Savvy’s platform and not an extended one, so the same wheelbase would apply.

It could be that the Suzuki Esteem is not doing that well in India because it appears to be an old workhorse, and is not so palatable compared to the newer Wagon R, Zen Estilo and other “newer” models. The BLM will offer a “fresher” Lower A3 sedan choice.

So to answer the question - what is the perfect Proton for India? In this case, the answer would be the Savvy and the BLM, and priority should be to get the cars locally assembled in India as fast as possible.

But the danger with this could be having the Proton or Proton-badged marque be associated with cheap cars forever - a problem that Maruti Suzuki is facing right now. Competitors like Honda and Toyota took a different approach - enter with the more expensive models to build the brand, then move downmarket with cheaper offerings.

Price point is also something to ponder about - assuming the BLM is RM32,000 here in Malaysia, that would translate to about 3.7 lakh rupees. Seems pricey considering most of the models on the top 10 list start from under 3.0 lakh rupees. But then again as I’ve mentioned before it is normal for sedans to have a premium over hatches in India.

Last but not least, with the possibility of India-ASEAN FTA’s being put into place in the not-too-distant future, it would be very good if Proton develops vendors for specific items in India, to cater to regional or global (if I could be so bold as to use that word) Proton production. It would meet the spirit of the CEPT where countries agree to lower import duties while exchanging a roughly equal value volume of components. An added bonus, to take a page from what the Japanese manufacturers like Toyota and Honda are doing, is to use these ‘roots’ in each country to show evidence to the government that the manufacturer is not just there to make a quick buck but has developed local vendors and is serious in creating export opportunities for the host country and/or state.

A wishlist for India-bound Protons: models must have retractable electric wing mirrors because of the danger of two wheelers accidentally clipping the wing mirrors off. The wing mirror mount should also allow for the mirror to detach easily when forced to break without damaging the car body. Ideally the car body could employ a similiar material to the Nissan X-Trail’s fenders which are dent-proof when it comes to little bumps and knocks. This material could be used in key body parts like fenders, like on the X-Trail. Again, something to cope with the huge amount of two-wheelers there. That way Proton (or Mahindra perhaps, if a rebadging deal is done) can claim the new car is designed for Indian roads.

And of course most importantly, a diesel engine.

SOURCES:
[1]: http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/tra_mot_veh-transportation-motor-vehicles
[2]: http://www.cybersteering.com
[3]: http://www.siamindia.com/scripts/custom-duty.aspx
[4]: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/insight/research/reports/report6.html
[5] http://www.indiaenews.com/business/20060706/13939.htm / Wikipedia: NHDP
[6]: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5049398.stm

This is the sedan version of Hyundai’s two new RWD cars, the Hyundai Genesis Sedan. Hyundai has taken care to give the car a decent 53:47 weight distribution, and claim the body structure is more rigid than a 5-Series. We’ll see how this translates to actual road dynamics when the final production version is out, but on paper it looks decent.

Under the hood is a 4.6 liter V8 engine from the new Tau family, putting out more than 300 horsepower. This engine was originally also destined for the Genesis Coupe but somehow in the end for some reason their product planning decided not to put a V8 in the concept coupe.

More photos and a video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai Genesis Sedan Concept

After 10 years of being one of the most popular light commercial vehicles around (2,300,000 sold), Renault has launched the second generation Renault Kangoo, and it is bigger now as it is now based on the C-segment Renault Scenic platform. At 4210mm long, it is 180mm longer than its predecessor, with a wheelbase of 2700mm.

Under the Kangoo’s hood you will find one of three different engines - a 1.5 liter dCi turbodiesel, a 90 horsepower 1.6 liter 8 valve petrol and a 105 horsepower 1.6 liter 16-valve petrol. The 1.5 liter dCi turbodiesel comes in 4 different stages of tune - a 70hp, a 85hp, a 105hp and finally a 105hp with a DPF filter.

On the interior, you have 5 seats with air distributed evenly for both front and rear passengers thanks to air outlets at each passenger’s feet. Storage space for “glove compartments” alone is a massive 77 liters, including aircraft-style storage compartments for the rear passengers. Boot space starts at 660 liters but can be increased to a maximum of 2800 liters with both the 60:40 split fold rear bench and front passenger seat folded down. This allows a maximum item length of 2.5 meters. Rear bench is a true 3-person bench with 118mm more elbow room than the first gen Kangoo. Legroom is also best in its class at 210mm, 43mm more than the Kangoo.

Suspension is a typical MacPherson strut at the front and a space-saving torsion beam with coil springs, and a 15.1mm anti-roll bar. It uses a variable power steering to help with city maneuvering. Safety features include Bosch 8.0 ABS with Electronic Brake Variator, ESP, USC (under-steering control system), ASR (traction control), and MSR (torque movement regulation). ASR allows the vehicle to launch easily on slippery surfaces, and MSR prevents the wheels from locking during deceleration on slippery surfaces.

Renault quotes realistic loading figures for the Kangoo as it is very important for a typical Kangoo buyer’s purchasing decision. Here’s the deal: the boot has a maximum loading capacity of 660 liters (1312 liters with luggage restraint net). If you fold the rear bench down flat and fill it up to the front seat backrest, you get 1500 liters. Set up the luggage restraint net to enable loading up to the ceiling and you have 2600 liters. Fold down the front passenger seat and this increases to 2800 liters (with luggage restraint net).

The most economical Kangoo is of course the 70 horsepower dCi version, using only 5.2 liters per 100km. It also promises to be a pleasant drive, with the torque of a typical 2.0 liter engine - 185Nm - available from as low as 1,750rpm. The top of the line dCi makes 105 horsepower at 4,000rpm and 240Nm of torque at 2,000 and features modern diesel technology like a common rail injection system with 1,600 bar injection pressure, piezo-electric injectors and a variable geometry turbocharger. This gives a combined cycle fuel consumption of 5.5 liters per 100km, not that much more than the 70 horsepower version.

Two more Kangoo engine variants are expected to be launched by Q2 2008 - an E85 1.6 liter 16V engine and a B30 (biodiesel) 85 horsepower 1.5 dCi.

More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Renault unveils second generation Renault Kangoo