Renault has unveiled the coupe version of its third generation Renault Laguna at the 61st Festival International du Film de Cannes, or better known to us at the Cannes Film Festival. A few engines are available - the same as the sedan and estate’s range, but with a coupe body the highlight will be the relatively high powered V6 engines.

The petrol V6 engine puts out 240 horsepower and 330Nm of torque from 3.5 liters of normally aspirated displacement, while the V6 dCi engine produces 235 horsepower but so much more torque at 450Nm.

Both engines are mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission. The 2.0 liter petrol and 2.0 liter DCi turbodiesel inline-4 engines are also available.

Despite being a 2-door, the execution of the coupe body on this Laguna doesn’t seem as sleek as some 4-door cars such as the Jaguar XF. The roofline bulges out a tad too high, but who knows, the car may look better in real life. The Laguna Coupe has a wheelbase of 2690mm, a height of 1400mm, a width of 1830mm and a length of 4640mm.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Renault Laguna Coupe: Details and Photos

Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop revealed last week that the new scheme for subsidised fuel will be revealed in a few month’s time by the Prime Minister, and will benefit low to middle-income earners, with the rich having to pay more together with all the higher tax brackets that they are already paying.

The Cabinet Committee on Inflation will be meeting tomorrow to discuss various measures on how to solve the problem of increasing fuel subsidy costs, which according to current calculations, will amount to RM45 billion this year based on an oil price of US$120 per barrel.

Indonesia is tackling the situation by providing cash relief directly to the poor - an amount of US$1.5 billion in total. On the 24th of May 2008, Indonesia raised the prices of fuel products by up to nearly 30%.

Under the cash relief scheme, US$10 will be given every month over the next 1 and a half years to 19 million families, hardly enough to compensate for the rise of the fuel itself and the domino effect it will have on other products like food.

Source 1, Source 2

The government may introduce on-peak and off-peak toll rates for the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong (LDP) to ease congestion, according to Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed. Ironically, most of the traffic jams on the LDP are caused by the toll plaza itself, and made worse by Smart Tag systems that never work as they should.

Datuk Mohd Zin says that the lower off-peak toll rates may encourage motorists to travel during off-peak periods, spreading out the traffic load of the highway across more time periods. You could either wake up earlier and save on the toll charges on the way to work, or leave the office later to save on the toll charges on the way home, or you could wake up earlier and leave the office later and save on toll charges on both ways.

Another solution would be to “realign the highway”, which would involve expensive land acquisitions and construction costs.

The Works Minister also revealed that the government has paid a total of over 630 million ringgit so far since the year 1999 in toll subsidies for the LDP, despite it being such a traffic nightmare. I am pretty sure the prices of land and houses in Puchong and nearby areas are affected by the LDP as well.

I have heard of someone whose apartment in Puchong’s value depreciated, while others have had their property appreciate only a small amount or remain stagnant in value.

This is another example of the government asking the rakyat to “ubah gaya hidup” (change our lifestyles) when it does not know how to get around problems that the rakyat faces. Rather than a real solution to the LDP woes, we are encouraged to go to work and go home at awkward hours.

Source

Reader CT mailed in these photos of a Toyota Vios J that he managed to snap, which indicates that a barebones Toyota Vios with a manual transmission is due to be launched quite soon.

The Toyota Vios J-spec trim level features steel wheels (hubcaps are likely to be added on the final production model) and does not have foglamps on the front bumper. Taking a look in the interior (photo after the jump), you will find a dark interior colour scheme and a single DIN CD player rather than an integrated unit.

There doesn’t seem to be any SRS Airbag logo on the steering wheel shown in the photo of the interior, so we can assume for now that the J-spec model will not have airbags. Let’s hope ABS stays.

Look after the jump for another 3 photos.

Click here to read the rest of Toyota Vios J with manual transmission spotted!

These photos show what seems to be a white Perodua Myvi SE with an all-new bodykit. The new look seems more feminine rather than the current Myvi’s unisex look (like the Suzuki Swift’s sister?), but this could just be an effect of the angle of the photo.

There also seems to be new colours for the Myvi, including yellow for the SE and two new colours for the standard Myvi - a lighter shade of orange and a new light blue shade. The new pastel-like colours look quite refreshing, and is a good addition to the range as I think we are all bored of the endless almost monotonous amounts of Myvis on our roads now, thanks to the car’s success.

On the interior, we can see that certain models have had their integrated stereo system replaced with a 2-DIN slot, filled with a 2-DIN player that is likely MP3 capable as a USB slot for thumbdrives or other USB-capable MP3 players can be seen.

There is also a shot of a dashboard which shows a new design for the meter cluster.

It’s about time for a mid-life facelift of the Perodua Myvi anyway, since it has been 3 years since the B-segment Perodua was launched in 2005. This means that a facelift for the Indonesian Daihatsu Sirion is on the way as well, as the Indonesian car is built by Perodua, uses Myvi styling and is brought in from Malaysia.

This has got to be the most bizarre attempt at a viral video that an automaker has ever come up with. Kia’s seemingly completely random video featuring tennis personality Rafael Nadal and the Kia pro_cee’d 3-door hatchback first shows Nadal playing a tennis match against an alien. Which seems normal enough.

Then the alien sprouts multiple hands, sending a barrage of tennis balls across the court to Nadal, followed by a football. The tennis match suddenly becomes a football match. Suddenly four mini-Nadals come out of Nadal, they do a little “dance” and proceed with a Voltron-ish transformation sequence. Nadal then puts his fists into the mouths and his feet into the butts of the mini-Nadals, and “joins” with them.

UPDATE: Kia has updated the video with a version that shows the mini-Nadal Voltron “shoes” hold on to his feet rather than Nadal wearing them like shoes. I’ve updated the video in good faith to reflect the new version at the request of Kia Motors.

After defeating the alien by kicking a football through it and into the goal, Nadal then transforms into a Kia pro_cee’d, which drives away.

Don’t believe it? Watch the video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Kia’s bizarre Nadal versus Alien video

Volkswagen has unveiled a “road-going” concept version of the race-prepared Volkswagen Scirocco entering in the Nurburging 24-hour race this weekend. The concept Scirocco is called the Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Concept, and is powered by a 300 horsepower version of Volkswagen’s 2.0 liter TFSI engine.

All 300 horses are sent to the Scirocco GT24’s front wheels via a 6-speed twin clutch gearbox with uprated clutches, revised gear ratios, and a lightened flywheel. The GT24 also has an LSD differential lock. Overall weight has dropped to 1120kg, down 178kg from the production Scirocco.

The new Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 is 227mm longer and 61mm wider than the standard road-going Scirocco. Ride height is also 75mm lower thanks to lowered adjustable race dampers. Brakes are large 362mm discs with 6-piston calipers, peeking out from behind large 18 inch lightweight racing wheels.

On the interior, the driver and front passenger sits snug in lightweight Recaro bucket seats equipped with five-point racing harnesses. The interior also has a rollcage, a unique flat-bottomed steering wheel, an electronic display, and a fire extinguisher. Looks like despite this being a “road-going” version, its still pretty much ready for the track.

Two more images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen Scirocco GT24 Concept

Subaru has unveiled a front and rear shot of their new World Rally Championship car based on the latest generation Subaru Impreza hatchback, Subaru’s first rally-going hatchback in ages. The new Subaru Impreza WRC2008 features a 2.0 liter boxer turbo engine producing about 300 horsepower. It will be driven in the championship by Chris Atkinson and Petter Solberg.

Notice that the new Subaru rally car loses the livery featuring many yellow stars that we’ve come to expect on every Subaru rally car. The new livery is based on a blue and silver design instead.

One more front shot after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Subaru Impreza WRC2008 Rally Car

An Agent Provocateur - French for inciting agent - is a member of the police force who goes undercover and provokes a suspect to commit and illegal act so that evidence can be easily obtained. It is also the name of a British lingerie brand, which came up with this concept special edition Mini Clubman, which will be auctioned on Ebay for charity between the 5th of June 2008 to the 15th of June 2008.

Continue reading for more photos of the Mini Clubman Agent Provocateur.

Click here to read the rest of MINI Clubman: Agent Provocateur Special Edition

Naza Brabus Motor Sdn Bhd enjoyed brisk sales when its first batch of 15 units of the Brabus S B7 arrived on our local shores from Germany earlier this year. A second batch of 15 units is now here in Malaysia.

The Brabus S B7 is essentially a Brabus-tuned version of the Mercedes-Benz S350 SEL, which is sold locally for RM828,888 for the locally assembled CKD version and RM978,888 for the fully imported CBU version.

The Brabus S B7 adds a Brabus bodykit which includes a front bumper with fog lamps, illuminated side skirts, rear bumper, sports exhaust, Brabus 19 inch Monoblock S wheels, and a Brabus tune-up kit for the engine which increases horsepower to 307 horsepower, up from the standard 272.

It retails for RM888,888 fully imported from Germany with a 1 year warranty.