VIDEO: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Preview

May 18, 2009 at 11:04 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Mercedes Benz, Videos

Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG

Mercedes-Benz is really letting alot of information on the new SLS AMG out to the public even before the full production car is unveiled or launched. We’ve previously seen sketches, self-snapped “spyshots” and even full blown undisguised interior images, but now here’s over 15 minutes of footage of the SLS AMG on all aspects including the disguised SLS tearing up some roads and some snowy areas, the AMG V8 engine assembly, and so much more. Check the video out after the jump together with the previously released images of the SLS AMG. You can even see the Gullwing doors in action in the video.
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2010 Audi A8 to get November debut?

May 18, 2009 at 1:19 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Videos

Audi A8

An all-new Audi A8 is set to be unveiled in November this year for the 2010 model year, something that I am quite eagerly awaiting to see, as most car manufacturers put most of their best stuff in their flagship models.

The current A8 has been soldiering on since 2003 and a full model change is quite timely with German luxo-marque’s typical 7 year model lifecycles. The S-Class received a mid-life facelift this year and Munich’s offering got an all-new model change last year, with the flagship just announced, chock full of 12 cylinders, 2 turbochargers and 8 forward ratios.

It’ll be interesting to see what the flagship motor of the Audi A8 will be this time – in the last installment it was the massive 6.0 litre W12, putting out 443 PS and 580Nm, taking the monster up to 100km/h in just 5.1 seconds. I won’t be surprised if the flagship is a diesel this time!

Look after the jump to check our a previously posted trailer of the movie Transporter 3, which features the Audi A8 that we will be soon saying goodbye to.
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Audi Q5 in Malaysia: RM299k to RM325k!

May 18, 2009 at 9:22 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Audi, Cars, Local News

Audi Q5

The new Audi Q5 is here in Malaysia, available in two models – the regular version priced at RM299,000 or the S-Line priced at RM325,000, both prices without insurance. Both models come with the very nice 2.0 litre TFSI engine with Valvelift putting out 211 horses and 350Nm of torque between 1,500 to 4,200rpm, and is mated to a 7-speed S-Tronic twin clutch transmission.

The S-Line package includes an S-Line exterior bodykit, Milano leather for the front seats and black headlining. On top of that you can also spec some other niceties including a B&O sound system for RM6k, a panoramic glass roof for RM10k and an electrical tailgate for RM6.5k. This should mean a fully loaded up Q5 should cost you RM347.5k!

Audi Q5

Although there are plenty of platform sharing going on between Volkswagen and Audi and the Q7 has many technical and platform similiarities to the Cayenne and the Touareg, the Q5 is no rebadged Tiguan. The Q5 is more of a SUV-ized Audi A4 and uses the A4′s MLP architecture, which means a longitudinal engine layout instead of the Tiguan’s transverse engine layout.

Also, the Tiguan’s transverse edition of the engine puts out less power and torque – only 200 horses and 280Nm over 1,700 to 5,000rpm. The Tiguan also uses a regular torque converter 6-speed auto, while this Q5 has a DSG.

Audi Q5

Its competitors in Malaysia is the new Land Rover Freelander 2 which goes for RM272k with a 2.2 litre turbodiesel engine, the Tiguan 2.0 TFSI which goes for about RM250k, the X3 which goes for RM320k (this model has even disappeared from bmw.com.my) and the RAV4 which comes in the cheapest at RM204k. Internationally there is also the Mercedes-Benz GLK but Malaysia will not see this model offered officially as Stuttgart has decided to build it in left hand drive only.

Look after the jump for a full gallery and video of the Q5.
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Toyota Urban Cruiser photographed next to a Toyota Land Cruiser, see the family resemblance?

May 18, 2009 at 8:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Toyota Urban Cruiser

The world’s motoring press yawned when Toyota unveiled the new Toyota Urban Cruiser for the European market. The Urban Cruiser was supposed to help fill in the gap after the Toyota RAV4 grew larger.

Many expected a new model but all we got was a rehash of the Toyota ist and the Scion xD with a slightly higher ride height. And the thing is it shares half its name with the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser, a true blue offroading machine. But I suppose the word Urban changes the word completely. Here’s a new set of 3 photos of the new Urban Cruiser snapped next to its Land Cruiser big brother.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

Various engines are available with the Toyota Urban Cruiser, including that new 1.33 litre Dual VVT-i unit that also features start-stop technology and puts out 129g/km. There is also a 130g/km 1.4 litre D4-D turbodiesel putting out 89 horsepower, and this particular engine is exclusively available only with all-wheel drive.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

The AWD system is called Active Torque Control can vary torque distribution from 100:0 up to 50:50 between the front and rear, so it actually runs in front wheel drive most of the time whenever the additional rear traction is not needed. This is done via an electronically controlled coupling located in front of the rear differential. There is also a LOCK button to force 50:50 mode.

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50 new Toyota Prius for the British Army

May 18, 2009 at 8:46 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Toyota

Army Toyota Prius

A total of 50 second generation Toyota Prius (not the latest one that’s just launched) will be joining the service in the UK this year! It’s not going to be in the battlefield of course, but will join the British Army’s White Fleet’s fleet of 6,600 admin cars in efforts to meet a government target that all cars procured between 2007 and 2011 produce less than 130 g/km of CO2.

The 50 units of the Prius which puts out 104g/km of CO2 will replace 50 units of the Vauxhall Vectra, which produces nearly 50% more of the emissions at 154g/km.

“Our vehicles are constantly being changed over because they have reached a certain mileage or a certain life. When we change our vehicles we are looking for value for money but also having in mind those targets the Government has set us on sustainable operations. Taking delivery of this fleet of hybrid vehicles, whose carbon emissions are below the 2011 targets set to us at HQ Land Forces by the Government, means we are ahead of schedule in terms of what the White Fleet produces,” said White Fleet’s Director of Infrastructure Mark Armstrong.

It’s quite interesting looking at a government walking the talk. When they hike up emissions taxes and this and that to force their citizens and residents to be less damaging to the environment, they do the same to set an example.

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13 year old boy pilots Prodrive Impreza to victory

May 18, 2009 at 8:40 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Motorsports

Subaru

This 13 year old Indonesian boy is being called the “next Lewis Hamilton of the WRC”. Sean Galael won the first two rounds of the KFC Junior Rally Sprint in Indonesia in a Prodrive Impreza Group N rally car with the same specifications as one used in the Production World Rally Championship.

Subaru

Sean was also in the co-driver’s seat last year in the Indonesian Rally Championship with Prodrive’s own works test driver, Dave Maslen, and former Australian rally champion, Cody Crocker. This year, he will once again be the co-driver for the Serge Motorsport Prodrive Impreza N14 in the Indonesian series.

That’s quite impressive really. What were you doing when you were 13? But Sean’s involvement is not that huge a surprise really as he has it in his blood – his father Ricardo is also a rally driver and won the Indonesian Championship in 2006.

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Lexus Remote Touch: a Japanese take on the in-car user interface

May 18, 2009 at 8:34 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus

Lexus Remote Touch

Lexus now have their own iDrive-like device. BMW debuted iDrive with a rotary knob and other car manufacturers followed suit with a similiar knob.

Lexus started off with a touch-screen system, which you can see in the LS and GS sold locally right now but with the new RX, Lexus chose a system they call “Remote Touch control” which looks rather similiar to a Nintendo Wii’s nunchuk.

Lexus Remote Touch

The little controlled knob works very similiar to the Wii’s nunchuk as well, just nudge it around to control the screen’s mouse pointer. The system also “pulls” the mouse pointer to an icon if it passes close to it.

Look after the jump for more shots of the actual Lexus Remote Touch as found in the new third generation RX.
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Lexus RX 450h features heads-up display

May 15, 2009 at 3:09 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus

Lexus HUD

The latest generation Lexus RX450h now features a heads-up display which can present vehicle speed, navigation arrow view directions, audio information and warning messages from various systems like the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) systems.

In the UK market, it is standard equipment on the RX450h SE-L Premium, and it’s display position and lighting intensity can be adjusted according to ambient light via controls near the steering wheel. The Lexus HUD system uses white as the colour for the HUD display, a colour that is rarely used because of its tendency to blend with the exterior background. Lexus went around this by using high intensity LEDs. They then tested it out on the snow-covered roads of Hokkaido.

They probably insisted on having it white to maintain a consistent look with the rest of the instrument lighting, which is white. As far as I know there is no HUD on the RX offered in Malaysia, which is the RX350 model.

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The Elektrobay electric car charging station!

May 15, 2009 at 2:03 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Elektrobay

One main issue with electric cars is charging on the go, where can you charge your vehicle and be properly billed for it if you want to charge it away from your home? This problem also applies to people who live in condos. A British company called Elektromotive hopes to solve this with their EBConnect system, together with their Elektrobay prototype.

The Elektrobay is a fully operational charging station that is said to be compatible with all plug-in electric and hybrid cars. The Elektrobay’s power sockets are located under a secure weatherproof door. While charging is in progress the door is locked shut with only a small hole for the power cord to hang out of it, to prevent interference. It puts out 240V and 13A in the UK or 230V and 16A in Europe, but tere is also a 3-phase “fast charge” prototype in the works which supplies 32A in effort to reduce charging times.

The charging bay then communicates with a billing server with EBConnect, which manages 2-way data exchange of electricity usage and billing data via GSM networks. The system allows the user to pay via various methods such as a prepaid Elektrobay keyfob, or automatically added to the user’s household electricity bill, or even via SMS messaging, and automatic registration number recognition.

The first Elektrobay was installed back in 2006 in London, and the total amount of Elektrobay stations now stands at 100 around the city. Another 40 will be added in cities and shopping malls around UK. Elektromotive also supplies the Elektrobay to Holland, Sweden, Germany and Ireland.

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Skoda Yeti production car rolls out of factory

May 15, 2009 at 1:19 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Skoda

Skoda Yeti

The first Skoda Yeti production car rolled off Skoda’s Czech Republic plant earlier this week, and according to them it marks Skoda’s entry into the “crossover” segment.

In case you were wondering what a “Yeti” is, it’s not a made-up name. It’s what people call the legendary abominable snowman in the Himalayan region where the creature is said to live. But back to this Yeti. The Yeti is another one of Skoda engineers unique creations from the Volkswagen Group parts bin. Another example is the Roomster.

Skoda Yeti

It may have tough looks but it’s not very big though, with a wheelbase of only 2,578mm, which indicates its likely to be using the PQ35 Golf platform. It’s 4,233mm long, 1,793mm wide and 1,691mm tall. On the interior it features a rear seat system called Varioflex which essentially allows you to extend boot space up to 1,760 litres.

Under the hood are a few engines such as a 1.8 litre TSI engine and a 2.0 TDI engine. The Yeti is also equipped with a 4X4 system with a 4th generation Haldex clutch system for those that intend to take it on rough roads, and it also has a 180mm ground clearance to help with that.

Look after the jump for pix and a video of the Yeti.
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