Iran Khodro Runna set for mid-2011 domestic market entry

January 31, 2011 at 9:43 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News

Well, nearly two years after it was announced, it looks like Iranian assembler Iran Khodro, or IKCO, will have its first Runna sedans reaching domestic customers in the middle of this year.

The Runna is essentially a Peugeot 206 sedan, and is yet another of the company’s domestically-made offerings, slated as a national car. Word back then was that the car would ship with a few engine choices, all built by IKCO, and based on PSA blocks – a 95 hp 1.4 litre pot, as well as a 108 hp 1.6 litre and a 1.7 litre CNG-based unit.

IKCO does quite a bit of Pug stuff for the domestic market – there’s also the Samand, which is based on the 405 sedan, as well as the 206 hatch and the 207i hatch among the number of cars in its lineup. Strangely enough, it also has the 206 sedan – in SD guise – in its lineup. When first announced, IKCO planned to build 150,000 Runnas a year at full production – undoubtedly, that company should still be standing by those figures, unless something radical has come about.

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Mercedes GP Petronas releases rendering of MGP W02

January 31, 2011 at 9:34 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Mercedes Benz, Motorsports

The Mercedes GP team, which is of course sponsored by Malaysia’s Petronas, has released the first image of its 2011 car. This rendering is of the MGP W02 that will be driven by Michael Schumacher and Nico Rosberg for the coming Formula 1 season. The new Silver Arrow will be unveiled tomorrow at Valencia when the team starts testing, so there won’t be a grand launch this year.

We’ve also put the outgoing MGP W01 car here for you to spot the difference. Body wise, the most obvious change is the higher nose of the W02 than last year’s car – the rest we’ll find out later. The livery has also gone through some change as well – Petronas gets more prominence than before – their logotype is now in white over green as opposed to black over body colour. This can be seen on the front wing, sidepods and rear wing.

The sponsor list looks to be unchanged, but of course the Bridgestone logo makes way for a Pirelli one. The Japanese tyre maker has left F1 and its place as sole tyre supplier has been taken by Pirelli.

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Aston Martin’s “True Power Should Be Shared” mini series featuring the Aston Martin Rapide

January 30, 2011 at 5:56 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Aston Martin, Cars

Here’s something to spend your Sunday night doing in case you don’t have any plans – all three episodes of “True Power Should Be Shared” (as well as a ‘Making Of’ clip), a mini web series produced by Aston Martin mainly to showcase the Aston Martin Rapide more than anything else. But I personally don’t feel anything out there has been able to match up to the standards that The Hire has set for short films by an automaker.

It could be all we’re going to get in the near future in terms of an Aston Martin in a movie-like setting as something tells me we’re not going to see James Bond drive an Aston Martin in the next installment of the movie, looking at how the last movie only featured an Aston Martin for awhile and then moved on to pimp various Ford Motor Company cars, as Ford had just disposed of its Aston Martin ownership at that time. Thankfully it does seem like Aston Martin independent of Ford is interested in sponsoring the James Bond franchise, as the DBS is featured in the new Blood Stone game.

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Selespeed retired, Alfa MiTo first to get dual-clutch TCT

January 29, 2011 at 8:37 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Alfa Romeo, Cars, International News

Designed to offer the best of both manual and automatic worlds, the Selespeed robotized manual transmission by Alfa Romeo wasn’t as perfect as it could have been. The Magneti Marelli developed gearbox, which made its debut in the Alfa 156 back in 1999, is clunky when left in D and requires some footwork for seamless progress in manual, although it can be quite fun in the right mood. VW’s introduction of the double-clutch DSG left Selespeed with nowhere to hide.

Well, Alfa Romeo has finally pensioned off the Selespeed, replacing it with a 6-speed dry twin clutch gearbox called the TCT. The compact MiTo will be the first to get TCT, which will be partnered with the 1.4 TB MultiAir 135 bhp petrol engine with Start&Stop. Now available in RHD in the UK, the TCT MiTo does 13.7 km/l over an urban cycle, 128 g/km of CO2 and 8.2 seconds from 0-100 km/h, compared to the manual’s 13.5 km/l, 129 g/km and 8.4 seconds.

Developed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies, TCT can modify the speed of gear shift, manage torque delivery (on low grip roads for instance), operate completely automatically or as a manual sequential gearbox, and adopt a usage profile which focuses on reducing fuel consumption.

The TCT is also a compact unit, and more efficient because it’s of the dry type, which means that the clutches aren’t bathed in oil, which introduce viscous friction. The 7-speed DSG on the VW Polo and Golf TSI are also dry clutch ‘boxes, and they’re typically suited to lower torque applications.

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Honda’s facelifted Euro Accord to be unveiled in Geneva

January 29, 2011 at 12:58 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News


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Honda will be debuting its facelifted European Accord sedan and Tourer models at the Geneva Motor Show. Both forms will feature a number of minor changes – besides revised exterior styling and detail changes inside the car, engines have been tweaked to offer better emissions and economy, and ride and handling aspects have been improved.

Exterior revisions include small but noticeable changes to the headlights – with the previously amber indicators now in a clear finish – and bumpers. Bi-xenon units, featuring Active Cornering Lights, come as standard on higher-end variants of the form.

The bi-xenon-equipped cars will also feature a High Beam Support system. A CMOS camera fitted to the windscreen in the area of the rear view mirror helps detects oncoming headlights or taillights of a vehicle in front and automatically dips the headlights onto their normal setting if they are on high-beam.

Meanwhile, the grille has been subtly remodelled, and the cooling duct and fog light recesses on all models have been re-profiled, tapered to offer a more aggressive line.


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On the sedan, the rear lamps have been subtly enhanced, and a light chrome garnish gets pasted above the rear licence plate; on what’s called the Type S grade models, this garnish is finished in dark chrome. Three new colours join the lineup, these being Alabaster Silver, Graphite Lustre and Celestial Blue Pearl.

Inside, the changes are again subtle, with new seat materials and door linings leading the way. The Type S models get half leather seats in a dark grey finish and black headlining to further distinguish them. Elsewhere, the metal-look finish interior trim now comes in a darker hue, and the footwells are now illuminated blue when the headlights are on, with Type S’ being red.

Mechanically, low friction wheel bearings and reduced rolling resistance tyres have been introduced, as have underbody aerodynamic aids, including a larger front air dam, underfloor and a rear subframe cover.


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Internal revisions to reduce frictional losses are the order of the day for the automatic transmission (which also features re-optimised ratios) and the 150 hp 2.2 litre i-DTEC diesel engine, which of course brings about improved fuel economy and emissions.

Improvements are also to be had with NVH levels, with the adoption of higher density foam in the under bonnet/dashboard areas and revised underfloor noise insulation among the suite of noise reduction techniques.

As for ride and handling, the dual-mode dampers have been refined to offer improvement in both high speed stability for highway driving and a significant improvement in ride quality, even over poor road surfaces.

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Volkswagen Race Touareg 3 Qatar – a street-legal concept

January 28, 2011 at 11:37 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Volkswagen

Here’s something that’s bound to get Dakar followers going. Volkswagen has put out a concept study of its Race Touareg 3 – which won the recent 2011 Dakar – at the Qatar Motor Show, alongside the flashy Touareg Gold Edition.

It’s not quite the same car, naturally. The street-legal variant’s two-metre wide body has been slightly modified for road use, and the race car’s 16-inch wheels are replaced with new BBS 18-inch units, finished in a gold shade.

The 305 hp all-wheel drive vehicle does the 0-100 kph sprint in less than six seconds, and features – in case you can’t identify it by its shape – a “Race Touareg” signature pasted along the vehicle’s sides. Like the Gold Edition, the RT 3 Qatar’s exterior is finished in a shade called Magic Morning.

The interior in this one has of course been completely redesigned (all that has remained unmodified is the safety cage) to offer easy controls and good ergonomics. VW’s designers created an interior in so-called ‘Stealth look,’ reminiscent of the aircraft of the same name.

In tribute to the Dakar Rally, the Dakar victories are etched in the anodised aluminium of the centre console, right next to the ‘Race Touareg’ signature. Other interior features include Recaro racing bucket seats – with Nubuk seat side supports and perforated Nappa leather centre seat panels – and trim elements dressed in matt carbon, as well as a Serpentino Grey Metallic finish for the roll cage.

Gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Deadline extended for express bus operators to move from Bukit Jalil to the Southern Integrated Terminal

January 28, 2011 at 7:17 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News, Public Transport

According to a statement issued today by the Land Public Transport Commission, the deadline for all express bus operators – serving destinations south of Kuala Lumpur – to relocate to the Southern Integrated Terminal in Bandar Tasik Selatan, KL will be extended to March 1.

The decision to extend the deadline was made by the Government to give the express bus operators more time to relocate from the Bukit Jalil Temporary Bus Terminal to the new six-storey terminal. The extension is also to avoid the public getting confused during the heavy travel demand period around Chinese New Year.

The extension of the deadline will also to enable new ticket counters to be constructed in the terminal, to enable bus operators with their own ticketing system to sell their tickets at the terminal.

The Government has also set up an Operational Readiness Task Force, which is headed by the LPTC. The task force is to ensure the smooth migration of express bus operators to the SIT by the new deadline.

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Volvo V60 Plug-In Hybrid to debut in Geneva

January 28, 2011 at 2:04 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Volvo

Volvo will unveil its V60 Plug-in Hybrid at the Geneva Motor Show in March, and says that the debutant is virtually production-ready. Developed in close cooperation with Swedish energy supplier Vattenfall, the vehicle is set to make its market debut in 2012.

The company adds that it will be the first manufacturer to go on the market with a hybrid featuring a turbodiesel pot driving the front wheels and an electric powertrain drivng the rear.

A D5 five-cylinder 2.4 litre turbodiesel, offering 215 hp and a maximum torque of 440 Nm, works the front rubbers of the V60 Plug-In Hybrid, while at the back zip is provided by an Electric Rear Axle Drive (ERAD) system, in the form of an 52 kW electric motor and 12 kW lithium-ion battery pack combination.

The sports wagon, which will ship with a six-speed automatic transmission, will be able to go for up to 50 km on pure electricity.

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Mazda to build Premacy variant for Nissan in Japan

January 28, 2011 at 1:27 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda, Nissan

Mazda and Nissan have announced an agreement to expand the scope of Mazda’s original equipment manufacturing (OEM) supply to Nissan – as part of this new accord, Mazda will begin supplying its Premacy MPV to Nissan from May this year.

Mazda will supply a clearly differentiated version of the Premacy – which is of course known as the Mazda5 outside Japan – to Nissan for sale in Japan. It’s certainly not new territory for Nissan; the company’s OEM business involves cross-platform sharing with a large number of automakers across the globe.

The two companies have already been collaborating under an existing mutual OEM agreement – Mazda provides the Bongo Van/Truck to Nissan, which is sold as the Nissan Vanette, while Nissan supplies the AD/AD Expert to Mazda, which Mazda sells as the Familia Van.

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Volkswagen Touareg Gold Edition – 24-carat shimmer

January 28, 2011 at 1:02 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

So you have money. Lots of money. You want to dress your SUV up, but think shiny plastic or carbon-fibre bits are downright el cheapo. Bling? Surely, but with far more class, more exuberance, more glitter.

Well, how about the Touareg Gold Edition then? Volskwagen have come up with a concept study of the SUV, dressing up select bits with the shiny stuff, plated in 24-carat, no less. The vehicle made its debut in Qatar, surely as good a place as any to do so.

On the outside, the glitter goes on custom-designed 22-inch wheels, roof rails, protective guard strips and window frames, mirror caps and parts of the air intake frame, the ‘Touareg V8′ badge and boot sill trim.

Inside, the 24-carat treatment continues with the car’s accents and switches, providing the cabin with lots of suitable distraction. Plenty of craftsmanship to be found in the Walnut Burr accents, with their genuine gold marquetry crafted into an ornamental pattern.

The interior gets a mixture of Nappa leather seats – and Alcantara roofliner – in a shade called Luna and natural brown leather for the dashboard, with contrasting seams for the latter in a Magnolia shade. The Gold Edition’s exterior is finished in what is called Magic Morning.

VW haven’t mucked around with the mechanicals on this one, so it’s pretty practical (!), but you’ve definitely got to be careful where you park it, for sure, not to mention worrying about attracting the wrong kind of attention as you merrily drive along.

All that glitters after the jump.
[Read more...]

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