Peugeot scores 1-2 at Spa 1000 km, its fifth win in a row

May 9, 2011 at 2:24 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Motorsports, Peugeot

The Turkish GP that Seb Vettel won without breaking sweat wasn’t the only race happening over the weekend. Over in Belgium, Peugeot won the Spa-Francorchamps 1000 km race for the fifth consecutive time. Spa is part of the Le Mans Series and is seen as a warm up for the Le Mans 24 hours, which will happen in June.

Despite a poor qualifying, Alexander Wurz, Marc Gené and Anthony Davidson took the chequered flag in car 7, beating sister car 8 (Franck Montagny, Stéphane Sarrazin, Nicolas Minassian) and the No.3 Audi R18 TDI of Capello, Kristensen and McNish.

“The test day at Le Mans in April was a real working session for us, we completed our programme without paying any attention to our rivals. It was the same thing here during free practice. Our aim for the Spa race was very much the same: prepare for Le Mans, but here there was also a sporting stake.

“This result is a boost for the confidence of the team, but our confidence is contained and reasoned, because the gaps are small. Le Mans will still be a difficult and complicated race,” said Bruno Famin, Technical Director.

One thing is for sure, the R18s from Ingolstadt will be raring for a fight back come the real thing in June, so get set for another round of France vs Germany!

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Red Bull 1-2 in Turkey as Vettel turns pole into victory

May 8, 2011 at 10:21 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

This shouldn’t really come as a surprise. Sebastian Vettel has yet again emerged victorious, this time at the Turkish Grand Prix. The reigning World Champion was the first to cross the finish line after starting the 58-lap race from pole position. Teammate Mark Webber finished in second making it a 1-2 for Red Bull. Third place went to a well-deserved Fernando Alonso, giving Ferrari its first podium of the season.

Lewis Hamilton, winner of the previous race managed fourth ahead of Nico Rosberg who started from third place. It was a rather difficult race for the Mercedes GP driver, as he failed to bring forward his qualifying performance into the race. Teammate Michael Schumacher only managed a miserable 12th, after suffering from a broken wing earlier in the race. Jenson Button crossed the line in sixth, followed by Nick Heidfeld, Vitaly Petrov, Sebastien Buemi and finally Kamui Kobayashi who makes up the top ten.

Malaysia’s Team Lotus only managed 18th and 19th, ahead of Virgin’s Jerome d’Ambrosio and the Hispania drivers. Only two drivers failed to finish today’s race: Paul di Resta from Force India and Timo Glock who did not even make the start.

It was generally a clean start for the pack as Rosberg managed to jump Webber into second while Vettel stormed away in first place. Schumacher was the first to suffer a major setback during the race as he was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop for a new wing after coming into contact with Petrov. Meanwhile, up front Webber managed to reclaim second place as Rosberg started to slip back.

Just two laps later Rosberg became victim to Alonso, handing over third place to the Spaniard. By Lap 7 it was Webber who was second behind Vettel, with Alonso in third and Rosberg in fourth. This was followed by Hamilton, Button, Massa, Petrov, Heidfeld and finally Barrichello.

On Lap 10, both Massa and Hamilton pitted at the same time and after their respective stops, both cars were almost side by side heading towards to the pit exit, but Massa had to slip behind Hamilton as the Brit was almost half a car’s length ahead. Another highlight worth commenting on is Massa’s battle with Rosberg for 4th place at about Lap 21. The next lap Massa made a successful move and Button who was closely behind also made use of the opportunity and managed to pass Rosberg, pushing the German down to sixth.

Alonso who started the race from fifth place managed to overtake second place Webber on Lap 29. At the time Hamilton was fourth, followed by Petrov, Massa, Button, Rosberg, Heidfeld and Buemi in tenth place. With seven laps remaining, Webber who was still running third managed to reclaim second place from Alonso. By the time the checkered flag was drawn, Vettel was the first to cross the line with Webber behind in second, making it a 1-2 finish for Red Bull with Alonso filling the final podium position.

In the Driver’s Championship, Vettel is way ahead with 93 points as Hamilton lies second with 59 points. Webber is third with 55 points, followed by Button and Alonso with 46 and 41 points respectively. Constructor’s wise, today’s 1-2 finish puts Red Bull in a very strong position with a massive 148 points. McLaren is second with 105 points and Ferrari is third with 65 points. The Formula 1 fraternity will gather for the Spanish Grand Prix in a fortnight’s time.

To view the full results, please go here.

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Naza and GE sign MOU for strategic collaboration

May 8, 2011 at 10:49 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Naza

Naza and General Electric have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore potential collaboration in Malaysia in three areas – opportunities in the electric vehicle (EV) sector, the implementation of sustainable property development and opportunities in the healthcare services field.

The MOU was inked by Zakaria Ismail, group corporate affairs director of the Naza Group and Stuart Dean, CEO of GE Asean, at a signing ceremony on Friday evening. Also present at the ceremony was John G. Rice, vice chairman of GE, president/CEO of GE Global Growth and Operations, as well as Hamid Ismail, special project director, Naza Group.

Nothing concrete has been yet determined in the automotive-related sector, but the venture is hoping to explore the creation of a platform that combines both parties’ expertise to support EV development in the country, across the spectrum from infrastructure to technology applications.

The collaboration will entail joint-lobbying and education to raise public and government awareness, while engaging in further opportunities such as utilising GE battery technologies in Naza’s electric vehicle manufacturing line, and running electric vehicle pilot tests in several cities across Malaysia. Undoubtedly, we’ll be hearing more about developments as things progress, though when it will all start to come about remains to be seen.

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Vettel on pole for the fourth consecutive time this season!

May 7, 2011 at 8:34 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Sebastian Vettel has sealed yet another pole position, this time for tomorrow’s Turkish Grand Prix. This makes it the fourth consecutive pole this season for the German. The reigning World Champion from Red Bull will start the first European race of the season ahead of teammate Mark Webber and fellow German, Nico Rosberg from the Mercedes GP Petronas team.

The McLaren of Lewis Hamilton, winner of the previous race secured fourth place while Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso is behind, but ahead of Jenson Button in the other McLaren. Lotus Renault’s Vitaly Petrov made seventh place while Michael Schumacher settled with eighth after showing good performance during practice.

The final two top ten positions were taken up by Nick Heidfeld in the Lotus Renault and Felipe Massa in the scarlet Prancing Horse. Further down the grid we have both Team Lotus drivers in 18th and 19th, right behind the Toro Rossos.

Eighteenth place man Heikki Kovalainen set a time of 01:28.780 which was about 1.2 seconds slower than Jaime Alguersuari’s time in 17th. Drivers from Virgin and Hispania filled up the remaining positions behind with Kamui Kobayashi in 24th and last, after failing to set a single lap time.

You can check out the full results here.

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Permits mandatory for all car repossessors from June 1

May 7, 2011 at 12:58 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News

According to a Bernama report, all car repossessors appointed by banks will have to obtain valid permits. These will be issued by the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry (KPDNKK), as provided for under the Hire Purchase Act 1967 (Amendment 2010).

“The permit costs only RM20 for two years and RM20 for renewal for another two years,” said Sarawak KPDNKK director Wan Ahmad Uzir Wan Sulaiman.

Car repossessors need to abide by the regulation and cannot use force against buyers, he said, adding that applicants must be Malaysian citizens over 21 years-old and will be screened by police to ensure that they have never been involved in crimes.

Under the amendment, repossessing will need a court order, if the buyer has paid installments more than 75% of the price of vehicle. Those who fail to comply face a RM25,000 fine or three years’ jail or RM50,000 or five years’ jail for the second offence, the report added.

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BMW Motorrad Ride with Pride Campaign – duo on 20,000 km ride across Asia to raise funds and create awareness

May 6, 2011 at 8:56 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Bikes, BMW Motorrad

A couple of adventure-seeking philanthropists recently traversed Malaysia on BMW Motorrad F 800 GS motorcycles as part of a 20,000 km journey across the Asia-Pacific for a worthy cause.

Morgan Parker and Alan Ng completed the Malaysian-leg of their Wheel2Wheel motorcycle enduro-adventure in aid of the Women’s Aid Organization (WAO), a non-government body set up to prevent violence and discrimination against women.

The duo’s Wheel2Wheel independent non-profit project, which kicked off on March 1, aims to raise funds and awareness of grassroots-level charitable organisations by visiting them as part of the journey, involving 10 charities in 10 countries over 100 days. The project has so far raised USD $180,000 through campaigns over Facebook and Twitter.

Parker and Ng started their travels from Hong Kong before heading across China, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and now Malaysia. The next stop is Indonesia, followed by Timor Leste and finally, Parker’s hometown of Brisbane, Australia.

The duo paid a visit to the Auto Bavaria BMW Motorrad dealership in Glenmarie on their custom-fitted F800 GS motorcycles after a four-day riding tour of Malaysia, having travelled over 1,200 km of highways and local trunk roads. The duo was greeted by an entourage from the Malaysian BMW Motorrad Owners Club, before embarking on a short ride to Genting Highlands with stopovers at Batu Caves and the Ulu Yam Lake.

“The journey so far has been quite an interesting challenge with much of the terrain posing difficulties as well as spectacular beauty at the same time. However, the cause has made it all worth it as we have managed to see first hand, the work of the organisations such as the Women’s Aid Organisation in making a difference in the countries they operate in,” Parker said.

He added that the duo have made many friends along their journey. “There’s just something about BMW Motorrad owners, their motorcycles and the spirit of adventure. Throughout my journey, I had the privilege of riding along side a few BMW Motorrad owners as they too journeyed across the terrain.”

All the footage of the Asia-Pacific voyage will be compiled into a special Wheel2Wheel 10-part television series, which will be broadcast on the National Geographic Channel in the second half of 2011. If you’d like to know more about the charitable initiative, find out here.

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VIDEO: Peugeot EX1 Concept on the Nordschleife

May 6, 2011 at 8:32 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Peugeot

Check it out… on-board video recordings of the Peugeot EX1 Concept electric car lapping the Nurburgring Nordschleife, and breaking the Green Hell’s record for an electric car at the same time. I bet you’re really curious on how it sounds like, because I certainly was, looking as to how we might be facing a future where electric motors will eventually play a part in motor racing, first as part of hybrid cars, and then perhaps solely driven by EV motors.

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Amcorp Auto opens 3S Volkswagen centre in Jalan Ipoh

May 6, 2011 at 7:35 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volkswagen

Another Volkswagen dealership has been launched – Amcorp Auto opened its first 3S Volkswagen centre in Jalan Ipoh today; the opening marks the first venture of the Amcorp Group into the automotive retailing market.

The centre, which features 5,000 sq ft of showroom space and includes a specially-designated air-conditioned delivery room, meets all current Volkswagen corporate image standards and is located on a spacious stand-alone plot in the heart of KL.

With a further 8,000 sq ft of service area as well as a fully covered 7,500 sq ft of storage space for new vehicles, the centre certainly isn’t lacking in acreage.

The opening of the centre paves the way for greater involvement for the group in the automotive arena. “The investment by Amcorp into the automotive retail market does not end with this 3S centre in Jalan Ipoh, as there could be greater participation or larger investments in the industry by the company in the future,” said Tan Sri Azman Hashim, chairman of Amcorp Group. Volkswagen Jalan Ipoh can be contacted at 03–6259 6669.

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INTERVIEW: Casey Hyun, Creative Design Manager at Hyundai Motor Company and designer of the Sonata YF

May 6, 2011 at 3:47 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Hyundai, Koreans

In the previous part of this story, we looked at how Hyundai has moved on to the next phase of its evolution. Instead of focusing on just undercutting rivals on price and matching them on reliability, the Korean carmaker is now pushing tech and design in a move to make its cars desirable. This approach can already be seen on new “Fluidic Sculpture” models like the Sonata and Tucson.

The company’s fresh “New Thinking, New Possibilities” motto carries the idea of “Modern Premium”, which believes that the new premium isn’t always the most expensive or feature laden. Like the Apple iPhone 4 and Starbucks coffee, they’re desirable, but also relatively accessible. And one of the main pillars of MP is design.

Who better to talk about design than the designer himself? Here, we have a chat with Casey Hyun, Creative Design Manager at Hyundai and also the lead designer of the Sonata YF. What does he do? Which car design does he admire the most?

Continue reading after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Chinese carmakers joining forces to develop car software

May 6, 2011 at 12:25 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, China, International News

A case of united we stand, with a hint of nationalism as well, by the looks of it. The Nikkei reports that in a bid to reduce its industry’s dependence on foreign manufacturers for key components and software, Chinese automakers are joining forces to develop the necessary digital technology for vehicles.

The report says that Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), China FAW Group, Changan Automobile Group and Chery Automobile have banded together with a software maker affiliated with the state-run China Electronics Technology Group to form an organisation to build and commercialise automotive technology.

Elsewhere, Changan, FAW and Chery are also collaborating separately with local firms and universities in Chongqing, Jilin Province and Anhui Province respectively, in a bid to ramp up the development process.

In terms of engines and transmissions, Chinese carmakers are already shifting towards domestic suppliers to provide the necessary, but for items such as semiconductors and engine control software, they’re still reliant on foreign imports and technology, which is what they’re hoping to address. Along the way, all this also means growth for Chinese companies in the auto parts business.

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