Chevrolet to offer 2.4 twin-turbo V6 in IndyCar

November 15, 2010 at 1:27 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News, Motorsports

The IndyCar series in the US will be a two-engine affair in 2012 when GM Chevrolet joins Honda as engine suppliers to the series. Chevrolet will be offering a 2.4 litre twin-turbocharged direct injection all-aluminium V6 to the series, powered by E85 ethanol. Honda has been the sole supplier since 2006.

“This engine program will be a showcase for the efficient and powerful engine technologies that parallel new Chevrolet vehicles like the Camaro, all-new Cruze compact and Equinox crossover,” said Chris Perry, head of Chevrolet marketing.

The first team to commit to competing in IndyCar using the new Chevrolet engine is Team Penske. All entrants will be open to use the new Chevrolet engine option.

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Sebastian Vettel becomes 2010 Formula 1 World Champion!

November 14, 2010 at 10:43 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Sebastian Vettel has been crowned the 2010 Formula 1 World Champion after driving a remarkable race at the Abu Dhabi GP. Today’s achievement adds to Red Bull’s 2010 constructor’s title which the team bagged last week in Brazil. The youngest ever World Champion from Germany was the first driver to cross the finish line after starting from pole. His top rival, Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso who could have become champion if he finished in fourth place only managed seventh and lost the title by four points.

The double World Champion spent a lot of time behind Renault’s Vitaly Petrov and failed to overtake the Russian rookie and that pretty much took his championship chances away. Red Bull’s Mark Webber who was also a strong contender for the championship suffered from the same fate and spent the entire duration of the 55-lap race behind Alonso.

Vettel’s first place finish was accompanied by McLaren’s Lewis Hamilton who was closing the gap between himself and Vettel during the final few laps. Third place went to Hamilton’s teammate Jenson Button, champion of 2009. This meant that the podium of the 2010 Abu Dhabi GP at the Yas Marina circuit was made up by the 2008 champion (Hamilton), 2009 champion and of course of the freshly-crowned 2010 champion.

Fourth was taken up Mercedes’ Nico Rosberg while Renault’s Robert Kubica and Vitaly Petrov finished in fifth and sixth places respectively. Alonso crossed the line in seventh ahead of Webber while ninth and tenth spots were taken up by Jaime Alguersuari from Toro Rosso and Felipe Massa from Ferrari.

The best of the new comers is officially Lotus Racing as Heikki Kovalainen finished the race in 17th place ahead Virgin’s Lucas di Grassi. The Hispania duo Bruno Senna and Christian Klien finished in 19th and 20th. Jarno Trulli of Lotus who suffered from various issues including a broken rear wing managed 21st. The were only three retirements of the day and they were Timo Glock of Virgin, Michael Schumacher of Mercedes and finally Vitantonio Liuzzi of Force India.

All drivers had clean starts when the lights went green but Alonso slipped from third to fourth by the first corner. Vettel managed to maintain his lead and stayed up in front, ahead of both the McLaren drivers. Just moments later, within the first lap, Schumacher spun while exiting a corner and Liuzzi crashed straight into him. That caused the one and only Safety Car period of the race.

After the restart the top positions were maintain with Vettel leading the McLaren drivers, Alonso, Webber and Massa. Webber was the first of the top runners to pit after suffering tire issues. His pit stop then prompted Massa and subsequently Alonso’s pit stops. Many say that if Alonso didn’t pit as early as he did, he could have collected his third title. Unfortunately for the Spaniard, he got stuck behind Petrov until the very end of the race as the Russian already performed his pit stop during the Safety Car period earlier. Webber was also in the same train, behind Alonso.

Alonso tried his best to overtake Petrov but the Russian did an excellent job in keeping the title contender at bay. Today was the final race of the season and we will meet again next for the 2011 Bahrain GP on March 13th. Meanwhile expect more news from the high-adrenaline world of Formula 1 as teams perform winter testing with new Pirelli rubber, launch their new contenders and announce their drivers. We will also find out if Lotus Racing will be able to keep the “Team Lotus” designation.

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Vettel scores pole in Abu Dhabi with Alonso in third!

November 13, 2010 at 10:23 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports

Red Bull has carried over its momentum from the Brazilian GP with Sebastian Vettel’s pole in Abu Dhabi under the starry Arabian sky. The German who is also a strong title contender will start tomorrow’s race ahead of Lewis Hamilton from McLaren. Mathematically, Hamilton is still able to become champion this year but it looks quite unlikely for the Brit. Championship leader Fernando Alonso of Ferrari managed to secure the ever-so-important third spot in the dying minutes of the qualifying session.

McLaren’s Jenson Button who is officially out the title hunt is fourth ahead of Mark Webber, who currently lies second second in the table with 238 points, just eight points behind Alonso. The other Ferrari of Felipe Massa’s will start the race from sixth. Williams’ Nico Rosberg, Renault’s Robert Kubica, Mercedes’ Michael Schumacher and Force India’s Adrian Sutil complete the rest of the top ten.

The Lotus drivers managed to finish the session ahead of both the Virgin drivers in the final qualifying of the season. Jarno Trulli and Heikki Kovalainen are in 19th and 20th positions respectively. Timo Glock and Lucas di Grassi are in 21st and 22nd while the two Hispania drivers complete the last row. It’s a must-watch race tomorrow so make you sure you tune in!

You can check out the full results here.

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Telephone interview with Tony Fernandes of Lotus Racing

November 13, 2010 at 5:50 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Formula 1, Motorsports, Videos

With just over a day to go for the final title-deciding race of 2010, we have managed to score an exclusive telephone interview with team principal of Lotus Racing, Tony Fernandes. Although it was a rather short interview, slightly over six minutes to be exact, we managed to ask the airline owner a number of questions including his take on the issue of using the Team Lotus name next year. Fernandes expressed his confidence in keeping the Team Lotus name and said that the acquisition of the name was legitimate. Check out the interview below and do have your say at the comments section.

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Perodua Viva Elite Exclusive Edition – RM42,000

November 13, 2010 at 3:06 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua

The Perodua Viva Elite Exclusive Edition is the latest edition to Perodua’s Viva model line-up. It adds a few new features to the existing Perodua Viva Elite model, which so happens to be the best selling Viva variant so far (41.4% of total Viva sales) since it was launched.

The new Exclusive Edition is available in a new colour – Classy Purple, in addition to two other colours – Midnight Blue and Ivory White.

Other changes include custom colored alloy wheels, new combination leather seats, and Exclusive Edition trim level badging.

The leather seats are made out of smooth leather for the main body, while the darker bits you see above are suede velour leather. The Viva Elite Exclusive Edition is priced at RM42,000 on the road.

Perodua aims to sell 600 units of the Viva Elite Exclusive Edition every month. The car was launched at Perodua’s new Puchong 3S center, which now combines the sales branch and the service center in a single location. The old service center has been moved to the site of the current sales center for better customer convenience and now includes 16 bays with 14 of them having hoists.

Look after the jump for embedded brochures as well as a detailed photo gallery including live, exterior and interior photos.
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Tan Chong to build new 4WD factory in KK, Sabah

November 13, 2010 at 3:01 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Nissan

Tan Chong Motor Holdings Berhad revealed in a filing with Bursa Malaysia on the 12th of November 2010 that it has successfully obtained approval for its Manufacturing License application for a new factory at the Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park in Sabah under its wholly own subsidiary, TC Manufacturing Company (Sabah) Sdn Bhd.

The Manufacturing License allows vehicles with engine capacities of 1,800cc and above, with OTR prices of not less than RM150,000. It allows the manufacturing and assembly of luxury passenger vehicles as well as the manufacturing and assembly of commercial vehicles. According to Tan Chong, TCMC Sabah will be manufacturing/assembling 4WD vehicles at the new Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park plant, to be set up at a cost of RM285 million. The site will sit on 50 acres of land and the factory has a planned annual output of 3,000 units per annum.

It’s not known to us at this point what vehicles will be made at the new plant, perhaps more will be revealed later!

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Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab now in Malaysia

November 12, 2010 at 5:22 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Land Rover, Local News


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The Land Rover Defender is an icon, a true 4X4 great, but have you ever toyed with the idea of owning one? With the introduction of the new Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab pick-up by Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, civilians can now play out their military fantasies for the price of a Honda CR-V.

Assembled at Inokom’s plant in Kulim, Kedah using knocked down packs brought in from the UK, this double cab Defender is priced at RM148,888 for Peninsular Malaysia and RM152,388 for Sabah and Sarawak (OTR excluding insurance).


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While it’s one of the more unusual ways to spend RM150K, this Defender isn’t the usual machine you find in the army barracks. Equipped with “a host of new features designed to make it suitable for work as well as play” this variant sports 16-inch alloy rims instead of steel rims, leather seats, reverse sensors and power windows. A revamp in 2007 means that the cabin now features a new fascia and improved ergonomics, while the robust materials used are scuff-free and able to withstand the harshest conditions.


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The Defender 110 is powered by a 2.4-litre commonrail turbodiesel with 122 hp and 360 Nm of torque. This four-cylinder “Puma” engine from Ford is more modern than the Td5 engine it replaces and is 30% quieter. The gearbox is a six-speed manual with an anti-stall system.

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Michelin auto accessories now available in Malaysia

November 12, 2010 at 5:19 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News

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Now, you don’t have to be content with just having black rubber donuts on your ride if you’re into all things Michelin. An assortment of Michelin auto accessories can now be had – 23 in all from six different categories, to be exact, and the list includes wiper blades, foot pumps, car mats, tyre inflators, digital tyre gauges and air fresheners.

Among the products being introduced is the Electric Tyre Inflator, a portable tyre pump that can fully inflate a flat tyre in four minutes, ideal for sports equipment, bicycles, motorcycles, cars and, if you happen to have one lying about, an inflatable boat.

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Part of a wider collection of lifestyle-related Michelin products, the auto accessories are being brought in by Golden Alliance Lifestyle and are available exclusively at all Michelin dealers and Michelin Tyreplus outlets across the country, and are priced from RM16.50 to RM200.

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Five-door Range Rover Evoque revealed ahead of LA show

November 12, 2010 at 3:24 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Land Rover

This is the five-door version of the Range Rover Evoque, revealed ahead of its LA motor show debut. While the original LRX concept was a three-door “coupe”, translated into the Evoque that was unveiled at the recent Paris show, Land Rover needed this five-door variant to widen appeal and sales to include families.

“While retaining everything that’s great about the Range Rover Evoque coupé, this new 5-Door bodystyle will offer customers even more choice, greater practicality, versatility and flexibility. The launch of the Evoque in 2011 will expand and revitalise the global appeal of the Range Rover marque,” said Land Rover MD Phil Popham.

Although the 5dr gets two extra doors and a more capacious interior, it has not been achieved by enlarging the compact footprint of the 3dr. Overall length and width remain identical, meaning that this car is still 432 mm shorter than a Range Rover Sport. Many of the body panels are also shared, including the aluminium roof pressing, although it’s set 30 mm higher here and the slope to the rear is not so great.

Besides their own doors, rear passengers also benefit from over 50 mm more shoulder room. A full-sized panoramic roof enhances the sensation of space.

Land Rover says that the 5dr Evoque provides the versatility and luggage space of a compact station wagon. The rear seats have 60/40 folding seat squabs and come with ISOFIX mounts. When required, luggage capacity can be expanded to a substantial 1,445 litres.

The engine lineup is shared with the 3dr. Buyers can choose between two updated 2.2L turbodiesels (190 PS or 150 PS) or a new 240 PS, 2.0L Si4 petrol engine. The latter combines direct fuel injection, turbocharging and twin variable valve timing.

Click here to read about the 3dr Evoque and here to see our live gallery from Paris. There are also some HD videos here. Images of the 5dr is after the jump.
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Nissan introduces all-new Serena MPV in Japan

November 12, 2010 at 1:55 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan

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Nissan has launched its fourth-generation Serena ‘minivan’ in Japan, and the vehicle will begin domestic sales at the end of this month. The C26 is a full-model change, replacing the C25 which was in the market from 2003 until this year.

The vehicle features the new MR20DD engine, and the 2.0 litre direct injection block, with twin variable valve timing control, replaces the MR20DE on the outgoing Serena. Output figures for the unit, which is mated to a Xtronic CVT gearbox, are 147 hp at 5,600 rpm and 210 Nm of torque at 4,400 rpm.

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The eight-seater gets a larger cabin than its predecessor, including an interior length that’s 300mm longer than the C25′s. As before, you get a multitude of seating configurations, fourteen in all, and the third row seats, through the help of an innovative link mechanism, sits 175mm lower compared to the ones in the previous Serena, offering the occupants better visibility.

Novelties include an Idling Stop system, which adopts an ECO motor that restarts the engine and also serves as an alternator during deceleration. Pluses offered by the belt-type engine cranking system, where the ECO motor restarts the engine by directly rotating a pulley directly connected to the crank through the belt, are a shorter start time as well as quieter operation, since there’s no starter motor.

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Besides offering improved aerodynamic efficiency (it’s 8% better than the older Serena), the new one has a Zone Body that’s stiffer, yet is more comfy than its predecessor.

Among the many items on the equipment list are VDC, TCS, ABS and EBD plus Brake Assist, Hill Start assist, curtain and side airbags, Isofix mount points, front seat active head restraints and auto light and rain sensors.

Gallery after the jump.
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