Volvo Cars Malaysia are currently having a two-month long promotional period which will end on the 21st of June 2008. Selected aftermarket alloy wheels for the Volvo S40, V50 and XC90 have promotional prices that are between RM2,000 to RM3,000 cheaper than normal.

If you buy a Volvo Navigation System (seems decent as it is based on Garmin GPS products), you will get a Volvo Parking Assistance Camera worth RM1850 for free. The VNS LCD screen displays a rear view feed from the Parking Assistance Camera on the rear of the car, along with virtual lines to act as a guide for the driver to park.

Selected Volvo accessories including bodykits, spoiloers, mouldings and other accessories like front parking assistance, neck cushions, lockable wheel nuts, running boards, rubber or textile mats and others have a 20% discount.

Volvo Car Malaysia has launched the facelifted Volvo XC90 here in Malaysia, probably one of the only 7 seaters around that gets the approval of Jeremy Clarkson, who last I read is about to purchase his third unit soon.

The model offered here in Malaysia is the 2.5T model, and retails for RM349,500 OTR without insurance. Under the hood is a transversely-mounted 2.5 liter inline-5 turbocharged engine producing 210 horsepower and 320Nm of torque.

The new Volvo XC90 is available in four colours - Black Sapphire Metallic, Oyster Grey Pearl, Electric Silver Metallic and Shadow Blue Metallic. The three non-black colours are all-new for the XC90.

Volvo Cars Malaysia President Mr Robert Norrman has indicated that the new XC90 will also be available with a turbodiesel engine soon, if not immediately. The Volvo XC90 D5 uses an all-aluminium inline-5 turbodiesel engine producing 400Nm of torque and 185 horsepower, and is equipped with a 6-speed Geartronic automatic gearbox. The Volvo C30 will also hit our shores soon.

Continue reading for the changes with the facelift in terms of exterior and interior.

Click here to read the rest of Facelifted Volvo XC90 launched in Malaysia!

Two new variants of the Mitsubishi Triton pick-up truck wil be launched by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia sometime in June 2008. Complementing the existing 2.5 liter 4X4 Triton double cab manual and automatic versions will be a 4X2 version of the 2.5 liter double cab model with manual transmission, and a 3.2 liter 4X4 double cab model with an automatic transmission.

The 2.5 liter 4X2 Mitsubishi Triton is estimated to retail at approximately RM60,000, while the 3.2 liter 4X4 automatic has an indicative price of about RM100,000. The exisitng Mitsubishi Triton 2.5 liter 4X4 goes for RM91,782.00 OTR with insurance for the automatic model, and RM86,782.00 for the manual model.

The 3.2 liter engine specifications have not been announced at the moment, but we can expect it to be similiar to the engine specifications of the 3.2 liter turbodiesel Triton in other countries. The inline-4 turbodiesel engine produces 158 horsepower at 3,800rpm, and 347Nm of torque from 2,000rpm.

Those who attended the World Congress on Information Technology 2008 (WCIT 2008) this week may have spotted this display by ePetrol Sdn Bhd. While the company was more friendlier and interested in demoing to Datuks in suits rather than the more plebian-looking visitors such as yours truly, I manage to overhear a demo to one example of a well dressed Datuk-looking person.

The ePetrol petrol kiosk is basically a way to pay for your petrol via the MyKad. You first link your MyKad to your bank account (I assume it can be linked to a credit card as well if needed), then you use your MyKad to pay for petrol at the petrol station. The cash will be deducted from the bank account associated with your MyKad account.

The ePetrol team demonstrated a way that fuel subsidies could be controlled and given to Malaysians only. Basically, the petrol kiosk displays and charges the unsubsidised market price for petrol by default. When an ePetrol-enabled MyKad is inserted, the subsidised price will be available. The receipt shows both the unsubsidised price and the subsidy given.

This is one of the possible implementations that could change the way we fill up our tanks in the future.

Alfa Romeo UK has unveiled a special 500 unit run of the Alfa Romeo Brera called the Alfa Romeo Brera S. The Brera S gets a specially Prodrive-tuned suspension using Eibach coils, Bilstein shocks, and aluminium components. The suspension also lowers the car by 10mm. It also gets lightweight 19 inch wheels inspired from the alloys on the Alfa 8C Competizione, and hollow anti-roll bars.

The engines in the Brera S range put out the same power as the normal Brera, but the other improvements will make the driving experience very different. For one, the weight reduction in various components like the suspension system shaves off between 35kg to 100kg depending on model, with the 260hp 3.2 liter V6 model losing the most weight. The other would be better handling thanks to the Prodrive-developed suspension.

More photos of the Alfa Romeo Brera S after the jump.

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SEAT’s new family car will be launched at the 2008, and it will be based on the outgoing B7 Audi A4, which has just recently been replaced by the new MLP platform based B8 Audi A4. This will mean a longitudinally-mounted engine hanging over the front axle, driving the front wheels or all four wheels. After its unveiling in October, production will start in December, and sales will begin in March 2009.

The new SEAT sedan will only receive minor badge engineering modifications on the front and rear, with the majority of its looks like its proportions, greenhouse, chassis, suspension, doors and glass will be recognisable from the Audi it is based on.

Knowing that many will criticize the new car’s lack of originality, SEAT’s design chief Luc Donckerwolke defends this decision by saying that this is a segment that SEAT is not very established in, and offering by a model that is familiar to consumers, it will leave no room for doubt in terms of quality and reliability.

Based on the sketches released by SEAT (available after the jump), Theophilus Chin wrote in with these artist impressions of how the new SEAT Bolero could look like. A rear shot is also available after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Upcoming SEAT Bolero Artist’s Impression

Subaru has put up a teaser site for the upcoming production Subaru Exiga MPV, and reveals a launch date of the 17th of June 2008.

One of the teaser photos showing a view of the interior from above through a transparent roof reveals that the interior isn’t all that big - it looks somewhat similiar to the Honda Stream, instead of a Honda Odyssey’s fantastic interior space. Doesn’t seem to be much space in the rear for luggage for 7 behind the third row of seats either - so this thing could probably carry 5 people and luggage, or 7 people and luggage for two.

From what we can see from the size and exterior, a 5-seater sedan version could definitely end up as the next generation Subaru Legacy. A shot of the underlying platform shows all-wheel drive and a fully independent suspension design.

View a teaser video and a few more teaser photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Production Subaru Exiga 7-seater MPV coming soon

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Ingress Technologies Sdn Bhd was recently awarded the contract for the supply of 6 modules for a new Perodua model, which includes the reinforcement roof child part, door child part, rocker panel assembly, fuel lid assembly, lower back assembly and under rear sub-assembly. This will make ITSB a Tier-1 supplier.

Supply will start in the third quarter of the financial year ending January 31 2010. As this would mean sometime in the second half of 2009, this news confirms the circa-September 2009 launch date of the new Perodua MPV mentioned recently by Perodua head Datuk Hafiz.

Related Posts:
New Perodua MPV coming in September 2009

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Subaru will be launching the production version of its 2007 Tokyo concept car, the Subaru Exiga. The Subaru Exiga is a 7-seater low-rider MPV that is 4780mm long, 1775mm wide and 1630mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2750mm.

Although many reports the production Exiga to be Impreza-based, the concept version’s wheelbase and dimensions are more similiar to the Camry-based Toyota Mark X Zio (2776mm wheelbase) and the Honda Odyssey (2830mm wheelbase).

In fact, the Exiga may have the next generation Legacy’s platform under its skin; the current fourth generation Legacy has a 2670mm wheelbase, so an increase to about 2750mm sounds logical.

Otherwise, the production Exiga could end up being a smaller car than the concept version if it is based on the Impreza. One thing’s quite likely - parts from the Impreza/Forester parts bin will be used, including the 5-speed Sportshift automatic and the 2.0 liter (or 2.5 liter) turbocharged horizontally opposed engine.

More photos of the Subaru Exiga Concept after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Production Subaru Exiga 7-seater MPV coming soon

Nissan has unveiled details on its upcoming 350Z-replacement: Nissan 370Z at the Nissan 360 press event in Portugal earlier this month. The 370Z will remain a two-seater and will continue the 350Z’s general shape, but will get more muscularly-sculpted body panels to give the car a more aggressive look, using flame surfacing perhaps?

Like you can probably guess from its name, the 370Z will feature the new VQ37VHR engine (shown above) from the Infiniti G37 coupe, producing over 326 horsepower and 366Nm of torque at 5,200rpm. This is 0.1 liter and two turbochargers down from the VR-series engine in the Nissan GT-R, but over 300 horsepower is still a very decent figure. The engine marks the debut of Nissan’s throttle-less VVEL technology.

Autocar also reports that the new car will ride on a new platform that has a shorter wheelbase than the current 350Z, not a big issue since it is a 2-seater, and will likely result in a better driving experience, with the car likely to feel more agile.

The new Nissan 370Z will be unveiled at the 2008 Los Angeles auto show in November.