Ford Focus gets new features – TDCi sedan joins lineup

November 16, 2010 at 11:55 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Ford, Local News

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Improvements are always a neat thing, and if you get additional features without having to pay a sen more, well, all the better. Such is the case with the Ford Focus here – the car get some minor enhancements, available across the range, without any change to the price.

The changes and add-ons are minimal, so it’s not a facelift (in any case, the C307 has already had its mid-life upgrade), though the front bumper has been reworked, with revised fog lamp housings the main giveaway.

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The top lip of the grille is also now body coloured (it was in chrome before), and the car now comes wearing a new wheel design – the five-spoke Y-pattern borrows its shape from the alloys seen on the Mondeo.

Elsewhere, the Focus now comes with auto rain sensing wipers as well as auto headlamps, auto dimming rear view mirror as well as a dimmer switch for the instrument cluster to complete that which is new on the Focus, which continues to be priced at RM112,888 and RM111,888 for the petrol hatch and sedan respectively, on the road without insurance.

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Meanwhile, a new variant joins the local Foci lineup, this being the TDCi sedan. Everything that’s on the TDCi hatch is to be found here, and the price is identical too – RM128,888 on the road, with insurance. And yes, both the diesels feature the above mentioned refinements.

Gallery after the jump.
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Mitsubishi: No other models to be shared with Proton

November 16, 2010 at 11:14 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Mitsubishi, Proton

Since word got out that Proton’s latest Inspira is based on the current Mitsubishi Lancer, and that there were going to be minimal exterior and drivetrain changes between the two, there has been a fear among some that more current Mitsubishi models will go down the same route. Well, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) has confirmed that none of the other cars it sells, including the Lancer Sportback and ASX, will be shared with Proton.

“Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia wishes to state that other than the Lancer, no other Mitsubishi models currently distributed by Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM), including its recently launched vehicles – the all-new Lancer Sportback (October) and the ASX compact crossover (November) will be based on this technical collaboration in the future,” said Tetsuya Oda, CEO of MMM.

On the Inspira, Oda san had this to say: “While the Inspira is modeled after the Mitsubishi Lancer, it differs in a number of ways – with both having its own unique traits, allowing each respective vehicle to differentiate itself in the marketplace. Each brand also caters to a different group of customer segments with a different set of driving desires and expectations.”

By the way, MMM will continue to sell the CBU Lancer. Read the full statement from the MMM boss after the jump.
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Honda ends domestic sales of the Civic, new car in 2011

November 16, 2010 at 10:43 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

Honda Motor Co will end domestic sales of its Civic sedan as soon as existing stock runs out, according to prominent media group Nikkei. This is in preparation for a “fully updated model” that’s due to be launched next year. The automaker will continue to sell the four-door Civic worldwide though, as the C-segment sedan is still doing well elsewhere.

Nikkei adds that Honda had at first planned to keep the Civic Hybrid on the market, but decided to stop Japanese sales of all Civic models due to weak demand for sedans of that size. In October, Honda sold only 182 Civics and 270 Civic Hybrids in Japan.

This isn’t surprising at all. Back in August, we posted about Honda moving the 8th gen Civic sedan from its car line up page to the Archives section in its Japan website, listing its lifespan as 2007/09 to 2010/08. The Civic Hybrid wasn’t included in that move. Looks like the much awaited 9th gen Civic is really coming soon, although it’ll take awhile for it to reach here after its domestic unveil.

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Skirt wearing Richard Branson to work on AirAsia X Kuala Lumpur-London route, seat bidding proceeds go to charity

November 15, 2010 at 6:40 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Any publicity is good publicity, something perhaps both Richard Branson of Virgin and Tony Fernandes of AirAsia subscribe to. We all know about the battle of the newcomers between the two airline cum Formula 1 team chiefs, where the loser will don a stewardess outfit of the rival airline and serve passengers onboard. Lotus Racing has finished ahead of Virgin in the 2010 season, which means the Englishman will have the honour.

In the midst of celebrations last night in Abu Dhabi, Lotus Racing chief Fernandes passed Branson an AirAsia uniform and pinned a stewardess’ badge on the Virgin Racing boss. The two men then agreed how the bet would be settled.

“There has been a fantastic spirit of competition between us and Virgin Racing all season and one of the first people to come and congratulate us on the pitwall was Richard. We have had this great bet running all season and now it’s time for Richard to start preparing himself for some hard work and the likely pain of a pair of high heels!

“We agreed last night that we will run an online charity auction for the seats on our Kuala Lumpur – London route to raise money for a charity of Richard’s choice and give fans of both teams the chance to be on the flight. The date of the flight will be announced very soon and the aim is to raise as much money as we can for a good cause so the discomfort Richard will go through is worth as much as it possibly can be!” revealed Fernandes.

More details on the date of the flight and how to enter the charity auction to bid for a seat will be announced soon. Stay tuned!

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Paul Weller designed MINI Cooper up for charity auction

November 15, 2010 at 2:59 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

Following his headline performance at MINI’s 50th Birthday extravaganza at Silverstone last year, mod rock legend Paul Weller has collaborated with the BMW owned brand to create a one off car which will be sold in a live global online auction. All proceeds from this one month auction will go to charities Nordoff Robins (music therapy services) and War Child, which helps kids living in war zones.

Weller’s inspiration for the design – featuring pink and brown stripes with a single silver line running up the bonnet and over the roof – came from the colours of a Ben Sherman shirt he designed for the clothing brand some years ago.

“I’ve always loved and driven MINIs so when I was given the opportunity to design a bespoke Cooper I wanted to create something that reflected the mood and colours associated with the Mod era, which was also the classic Mini’s hey day. I’d already expressed these colours in a shirt I designed for Ben Sherman a few years ago, so it made sense to me to continue the theme using a MINI Cooper as a palate,” said Weller, also known as the The Modfather.

Weller’s MINI is a 2009 Cooper with 17” Crown Spoke alloys, black leather, Bluetooth, front heated seats, and Chili Pack. Bidding started on 11 November at www.paulwellerminiauction.com. The car is on display in MINI’s flagship showroom on Park Lane, London for the duration of the auction. Images after the jump.
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French daily: Renault to sell 25% of F1 team to Proton?

November 15, 2010 at 11:45 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports, Proton, Renault

According to Paris daily Le Figaro, French carmaker Renault is about to sell its remaining 25% stake in the Renault F1 Team to national carmaker Proton, and that the deal will be formalised this Wednesday, citing unidentified people close to the matter. Renault has already sold 75% of the team to Genii Capital Partners last year.

Proton’s wholly owned subsidiary Group Lotus will be the team’s sponsor, and will pour about 30 million euros ($41 million) annually over five years into the team, the report said, adding that the team’s new name may be Lotus-Renault as the French automaker will continue supplying engines. Renault engines will also power champions Red Bull Racing and Lotus Racing next season.

Rumours of a “Lotus-Renault” surfaced earlier this month. When questioned, Renault CEO Carlos Ghosn not only did not deny the rumour, but hinted strongly at the possibility of a name change for the F1 team. Click here to read what he said.

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Fernandes: We brought honour, pride to the Lotus name

November 15, 2010 at 11:14 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Virgin Racing and HRT could not better 12th in Abu Dhabi, which means that Heikki Kovalainen’s 12th place finish in Suzuka clinched 10th place for Lotus Racing in the constructors’ championship. But team boss Tony Fernandes has more than just TV money to be happy about. He told Autosport:

“There are three things I am really happy about. One is that we have got tenth in the constructors’ championship. Two, which is probably just as important as tenth is that we have built a great team. Paddy McNally was saying to me that truckies are coming to talk to me and I know all their names, and I said that was our culture – everyone counts,” he said.

“But the third aspect which I can finally say, and I have resisted from saying it all these months, is that Colin Chapman would have been very proud of what we have achieved. We are the only team that really had to come up from scratch – in the same way that Colin Chapman built his team.

“We didn’t have a big budget, we didn’t have huge sponsors, we didn’t have a team like Vijay (Mallya, of Force India) who bought an outfit, or other people who have bought teams. We didn’t have an F3 team to back us up like Dallara or Manor, we had to build everything from scratch and it was me, Mike Gascoyne, Harry Nuttall, Silvi (Schaumloeffel) and a dog, who walked into Hingham. It was a place I had never been to in my life and I can say today that I am really, really proud,” he beamed.

“I can say that wherever he is he would have been proud after 16 years of us bringing the Lotus name back. Many people have talked about it, but we did it. And I am thrilled that we were able to do it and do it with style. This is the first time I have said it, but I am confident to say that we have brought honour and pride to the Lotus name,” the AirAsia boss added.

Our man Harvinder Singh spoke to the Lotus Racing boss in a telephone interview before the season finale. Click here to play it.

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First image of Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet!

November 15, 2010 at 2:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Nissan

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet

This is the very first official photo of the 2011 Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet, set to debut at the 2010 Los Angeles Auto Show. This image was released on Nissan’s Facebook page.

The two-door drop top Murano doesn’t look too bad, and I suppose there is a market for this in the US especially, there are many sunnier states where they absolutely love their convertibles and of course Americans love their SUVs – combining both could either be brilliant or a travesty, and so far the result of the transition to 2-doors and no roof doesn’t look too bad. It’s probably going to look worse with the soft top roof up though.

Full details to come soon as Nissan releases more info.

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GM’s Baojun brand for China to be launched this month

November 15, 2010 at 2:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet

General Motors will be launching a new sub-brand in China under its SAIC-GM-Wuling Automotive Co joint venture later this month, and it will be called Baojun. The Baojun brand will be positioned under the Chevrolet brand in China and it will offer various low end vehicles including passenger cars, SUVs and minivans.

“The Baojun will be a full range of products that is targeting the low end of the segment. We will compete against the Geelys, the Cherys and the BYDs with the Baojun brand,” said GM China chief Kevin Wale. He did not comment on the price range for the Baojun brand cars.

The car you see above is apparently one of Baojun’s offerings – it doesn’t look bad at all! It’s supposed to be called the Baojun 630 and is built on the Buick Excelle platform with a wheelbase of 2,600mm, which makes it sort of like a small C-segment or large B-segment car with a shorter wheelbase than the Cruze’s 2685mm.

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First season mission accomplished for Lotus Racing

November 15, 2010 at 1:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Even as Red Bull and Sebastian Vettel celebrate their mighty achievements in Abu Dhabi, Lotus Racing will leave the track happy as the Malaysian owned team has secured its primary goal for the season – tenth place and the best of the new teams. Heikki Kovalainen finished the Abu Dhabi GP in 17th place while Jarno Trulli’s race came to an three laps before the end after his rear wing fell off.

“I am completely relieved, completely ecstatic, completely happy and completely vindicated in making the decision to go into F1. What we have achieved today is what dreams are made of. To complete 19 races after having just five months to build a car and finish in tenth in style is something that is truly magical. It shows you that even in the modern age where money and power counts for so much, there is a chance for ambition and dreams to shine,” said Team Principal Tony Fernandes.

“2010 is a year that we can be proud of. We brought Lotus back into F1 after many had talked about it, but we did it. I can confidently say that everyone associated with the Lotus history can be very proud of what we have done this year. This is the first chapter of a long career ahead and we will create our own future, destiny and history from here.

“I am thankful to all the incredibly special staff we have in Hingham, Malaysia and here in Abu Dhabi for what they have done this year and my abiding memory of 2010 comes from one of our engineers, who told me he had achieved higher grid positions with other teams, but never with a team that feels as special as this. To all the Lotus fans thank you so much for your support – we could not have done it without you. I am thrilled that Lotus Racing has opened up F1 to everyone out there, and we cannot wait to see you next year,” the AirAsia boss added.

Remember the bet? Now it’s time to see Sir Richard Branson in that sexy red stewardess outfit!

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