Dato’ SM Shalahuddin SM Amin, President of Naza Group of Companies and Mr John Ng, MD of Nascar Pte Ltd at the launch of the new Naza Sutera in Singapore on 5 January 2008

The Naza Sutera is now on sale in Singapore for S$41,999. The 1.1 liter compact car is known in Malaysia as the Naza Forza. It is distributed in Singapore by Nascar Pte Ltd, the official distributor of Naza in Singapore. Nascar Pte Ltd is a subsidiary of The J & J Royal Group Pte Ltd, which also distributes Perodua, and TD2000.

The Singaporean specifications list include 14 inch wheels, a 6 speaker sound system with a MP3/CD/AM/FM head unit, and fabric upholstery. It does not have the dual SRS airbags that we have in our market. It also does not have the alloy wheels and fog lamps shown in the photo above.

Its 1.1 liter DOHC engine is mated to a 5-speed manual transmission, with 64 horsepower and 88Nm of torque which peaks over 3,000 to 3,500rpm.

The first 50 customers will get a 42 inch LCD TV.

Related Posts:
Naza Forza 1.1 Manual Short Test Drive Report
2006 Naza Sutera 1.1 Manual

According to German publication Auto Motor und Sport, Volkswagen is seriously considering a factory in Thailand with at least a 100,000 units capacity. Total investment would be about 614 million Euros (RM3 billion), and the site would be somewhere in Samut Prakan.

A firm decision has not been made yet, and there has been previous reports of Indonesia also being considered.

Related Posts:
Volkswagen to build assembly plant in Indonesia
Volkswagen looking at Indonesia instead
Volkswagen Group Malaysia to restructure wholesale operations

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BMW has a new version of their award winning 3.0 liter twin turbodiesel engine equipped with a technology they call BMW BluePerformance. This particular version is emissions-legal for all 50 US states (BIN5, including California), while the normal version is not, as some states have stricter emissions rules than others.

The new BluePerformance 3.0 twin turbodiesel makes 265 horsepower, which is slightly lower than the normal engine’s 286 horses. It achieves the lower emissions through the use of a urea injection system in the exhaust stream. The urea solution is called AdBlue, and is contained in two tanks with a total capacity of 23 liters.

One tank is called the active tank, which measures 6 liters in capacity. The urea is carried from this active tank, which has heated dosage pipes to ensure the urea does not freeze during cold weather. The second tank is a passive tank that acts as a reservoir tank, which replenishes the first tank when needed.

The US debut for is new engine will be in the BMW X5 xDrive35d and the BMW 335d.

Click the above thumbnails to enlarge

I am sure all of you will remember the Persona pre-launch campaign where Proton placed Proton Personas in shopping malls, hidden in boxes with peekholes for you to peek in. To build up excitement for the new Proton Saga, codenamed the Proton BLM, Proton will demonstrate a stage-by-stage build up of the Proton BLM to enable the public to have a sequential view of the process involved in the development of a car.

The stage by stage build up shows the models’ key selling points - its reinforced chassis, fuel-efficient IAFM (integrated air fuel module), strong body structure, and spacious for class interior. These demonstrations will be held during the following times and places:

Cineleisure Mutiara Damansara: 5pm 6th Jan, 8pm 11th Jan, 8pm 17th Jan
Queensbay Mall Penang: 5pm 10th Jan, 5pm 13th Jan, 8pm 17th Jan
Plaza Angsana Johor Baru: 5pm 10th Jan, 5pm 13th Jan, 8pm 17th Jan

I’ll be at Cineleisure Mutiara Damansara on the 6th to snap some photos and maybe take a video. The second part of the pre-launch activity includes a completely built up new Proton BLM in boxes with peek holes drilled into them, similiar to the Proton Persona peekaboo campaign. These boxed up cars will be carried on trailers and will go around the country, including rural areas and townships.

The truck route for the boxed up Proton BLM is available after the jump.

Related Proton BLM Posts:

• Proton BLM: New Proton Saga Teaser Video
• Bookings now open for the new Proton BLM
• New Saga Replacement Proton BLM sighted with minimal disguise on the road
• Proton and the Indian automotive industry
• Black and white Proton BLM spyshot
• New Proton BLM spyshot - this time in turquoise!
• Another rear shot of the Proton BLM
• Is this the new Proton BLM?
• Clearer Proton BLM side profile spyshots
• Proton BLM Artist’s Impression by Maru

Click here to read the rest of Proton BLM Pre-Launch Teaser Campaign

The Bangkok Post has an interesting interview with Thawatchai Jungsanguanpornsuk, who is the managing director of Phranakorn Auto Sales, the Phra Nakorn Automobile Group company which handles the Proton brand in Thailand.

He talks about Proton’s market positioning, pricing, and the future of Proton amidst Thai automotive market developments like the Ecocar project, fuel price hikes and a B-car production surge by Thailand’s ‘big three”.

Click here to read.

These are supposed to be leaked product images of the upcoming successor to the Mazda RX series of rotary coupes - the Mazda RX-9. Under the hood will be the new RENESIS 16X, a 1.6 liter twin rotor engine.

It looks like a much more toned down version of the Mazda Taiki, with the only similiarity remaining being the coupe shape and the rather extraterrestrial-looking front grille.

One more rear shot after the jump.

Related Posts:
Mazda RENESIS 16X Rotary Engine
Mazda Taiki Concept

Click here to read the rest of Is this the upcoming Mazda RX-9?

Time to change our lifestyle - oil has reached for the first time in the history of oil prices an astronomical price of US$100 per barrel, on the 3rd of January 2008. This is still slightly less than an inflation-adjusted (old price in present day values) of US$102.81 a barrel in April 1980. The US$100 per barrel price was an intra-day high - the price finally closed at US$99.62.

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Honda tuning company Mugen has released this Mugen bodykit for the Honda Inspire, which consists of front and rear bumpers, side skirts, grille and a rear deck spoiler. Non-aesthetic improvements include Mugen suspension, brakes as well as a stainless steel exhaust system with dual mufflers.

It looks decent, with the exception of the huge tiang gol spoiler on the rear. Once the new Accord is launched, those who want to slap on this ready Mugen kit may want to omit the spoiler as it doesn’t exactly fit the image of the Accord well.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Honda Inspire for the Japanese market unveiled

Click here to read the rest of MUGEN kit for Honda Inspire (JDM US Accord)

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The Honda Inspire Modulo Touring Concept was showcased at the 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon. Nothing much is known about the concept right now - it’s mostly aesthetics I guess. The bodykit features new front and rear bumpers, side sills, a new grille, new headlamps, clear tail lamps, and new wheels.

The engine under the hood is the 3.5 liter V6 i-VTEC with Variable Cylinder Management as that is the only engine available in the Japanese market - expect some minor performance enhancements via a performance exhaust system.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Honda Inspire for the Japanese market unveiled

Click here to read the rest of Honda Inspire Modulo Touring Concept

Ford Europe has two performance upgrade kits for two of their hot hatches, the Ford Fiesta ST and the Ford Focus ST. The 2.0 liter Duratec in the Ford Fiesta ST gets its power upgraded from 148 to 185 horses, thanks to new ECU software, cylinder heads, a new camshaft and exhaust system.

Imagine this kit in the similiar Duratec engine in our Focus 2.0 - the car’s excellent chassis and suspension would finally get the power it deserves!

The Ford Focus ST gets a kit comprising of an air filter kit, an updated ECU and an exhaust system, bringing up power by 38 horses to a total of 260.

The good news is this kit can be ordered with a new car, but it can also be retrofitted to exhaust Focus ST and Fiesta ST hatches already on the road.