Anyone who buys the Honda City, the Honda Jazz or the Honda Odyssey from now until the 31st of May 2008 will enjoy a low interest rate of 2.18%.
Honda Odyssey buyers will also get a free portable DVD player with an intergrated LCD screen worth RM1,498, and Honda Jazz buyers will get a free iPod Touch with 8GB storage capacity worth RM1,399. This is of course, while stocks last.
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Hicom-Chevrolet Sdn Bhd unveiled three cars today – the Chevrolet Aveo notchback sedan, the facelifted Chevrolet Optra Magnum sedan and the facelifted Chevrolet Optra Magnum Estate. Continue reading about the cars after the jump. Click here to read the rest of Hicom-Chevrolet launches Chevrolet Optra Magnum sedan and estate, Chevrolet Aveo notchback
UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd has issued a statement regarding the recent power window recall campaign in the US and clarified that its local models are not affected by the recall.
As previously reported, the models affected are the Toyota Matrix and GM’s Pontiac Vibe based on the Matrix. The affected part is a glass bolt on the driver and front passenger side door, which might loosen and cause an abnormal rattling sound.
Perhaps some customers have called up UMW Toyota Motor with questions expressing concern regarding this recall, so UMW Toyota Motor has decided to respond with a press release. It’s actually interesting to observe recall activity worldwide as we can observe the activities of different car manufacturers around the world and how they handle the recalls. It will at the very least raise our expectations on how our homegrown manufacturers should behave.
But we should not confuse international recalls with local models and spread rumours around as many of the parts that go into cars are localised according to region, so a part that is defective in one region could and should be perfectly fine in another.
Business Times reports quoting sources that there are currently four runners in the race for the Tata franchise in Malaysia, currently held by DRB-HICOM’s Scott & English (M) Sdn Bhd. The current franchise agreement will expire in May 2008, and DRB-HICOM holders themselves have expressed that letting the franchise go is one of the options being considered pending results from an internal evaluation.
The interested parties are: 1) DRB-HICOM of course, this would mean they would keep the franchise, 2) the owners of Brooklands Motors Sdn Bhd (Citroen) and Competitive Supreme Sdn Bhd (Ssangyong), 3) Sime Darby Berhad (BMW, Hyundai, Inokom, Alfa Romeo, Land Rover) and 4) Naza.
If Naza gets a hold of the Tata franchise, it will be able to sell the Tata Nano here, probably positioned lower than the Naza Forza. Sime Darby will already have a relationship with Tata through its Land Rover distributorship here as Land Rover has just recently been bought over by Tata.
Related Posts:
Tata Nano archive at this blog
The Tata Indica Silhouette concept car is unlike what you’d expect an Indica to be. This is not a budget city car with a tiny engine, but rather a track monster powered by a 3.5 liter V6 mounted at the rear of the car, powering the rear wheels as well. This setup instantly reminds us of the Renault Clio V6, but this isn’t exactly a production road car, so think of it more of similiar to the Golf GTI W12-650.
The 3.5 liter V6 engine (a race-ready version of the Renault-Nissan VQ engine) produces 330 PS at 7.000rpm and sends the 850kg Tata Indica Silhouette barrelling down the roads up to the 100km/h mark in just 4.5 seconds, up to a top speed of 270km/h. The engine is mated to a 6-speed sequential gearbox.
The 2-seater car is built on a space frame steel chassis made with aeronautical steel and uses the engine as a stress member. The car uses an adjustable progressive rate pneumatic suspension system. For track duties, it has a data logging system and a high-accuracy GPS unit.
So in reality this isn’t exactly an Indica adapted to fit a V6 in the rear, but a space frame and an engine with a shell made to look like an Indica put on top of it, much like R3’s rear wheel drive Waja.
The Ajanta group in India currently produces electric scooters and bikes under the Oreva brand, but in the works is a new electric car which Ajanta aims to price at Rs 85,000, or 0.85 lakh Indian rupees.
Production of an electric car is not difficult for us as the technology is almost similar and 70 per cent of its parts can be produced in-house, giving us an edge over the vehicle’s pricing,” said Ajanta group director Jaysukh Patel.
The company’s R&D department is currently studying both the feasibility of an electric car under Indian motoring conditions, as well as other electric cars. THe TImes of India’s sources say Ajanta has purchased as many as 8 different electric cars from different manufacturers for study.
Toyota has launched a limited 500 unit run of the UK market Toyota Hilux Invincible. The special edition features a unique look and a more powerful engine.
The Hilux’s 3.0 liter D4-D common rail turbodiesel engine in the standard model is fitted with a Toyota Motorsports diesel engine performance kit, increasing maximum horsepower to 194 hp and a very nice 430Nm of torque from 1,600rpm all the way up to 3,200rpm, up from 343Nm. 0 to 100km/h takes 10.5 seconds, a massive improvement from the standard truck’s 13 seconds.
In the interior, the special edition Hilux gets two-tone leather heated seats. Other unique bits of equipment include special 15 inch alloys and a stainless steel mesh grille.
While our motoring-related laws remain relatively stagnant (road tax calculated based on engine displacement in this age of engine downsizing with turbocharging, for example), the US has been actively shaping its laws to suit current automotive trends.
The latest is a new bill requiring the minimum sound level for vehicles sold in the US – yes, minimum and not maximum. Loud cars isn’t the issue here, but more of silent cars in this age of hybrid and electric vehicles that are barely audible.
The concern are blind pedestrians, who depend heavily on the sound of traffic and may not be able to hear these silent vehicles, thus being put into danger. This new bill is expected to come into effect in 2010.
It’s official – the autobahn now has a speed limit! Well, just one 60km stretch of it anyway. A 60km stretch of the legendary unrestricted German motorway that goes through the northern city of Bremen in Germany now has a 120km/h speed limit.
“This is a good day for traffic safety and we are also sending a signal about protecting the environment and climate. Our goal is to introduce a general speed limit on motorways in the whole of Germany together with other states,” said Bremen’s environment minister Reinhard Loske.
Related Posts:
What is the autobahn?
Environmentalists want autobahn to be limited
TV Poll: More than half of Germans want autobahn speed limit imposed
Ken Gushi’s car for the Formula Drift championship in the US is an interesting one. The Scion tC is based on a transverse engine front wheel drive platform, but all-wheel drive derivatives are also available.
For drifting, rear wheel drive is necessary of course. The availability of all-wheel drive on the platform makes it relatively easier for a rear wheel drive adaptation. The transverse engine layout has been dumped for a 3S-GE Beams engine mounted longtitudinally. The 3S-GE is turbocharged with a HKS GT3037 turbine, and managed with a Blitz Dual SBC boost controller and an AEM engine management system.
More photos of the car after the jump. Click here to read the rest of RS*R Scion tC: turbocharged with rear wheel drive!
