Mitsubishi ASX upgraded for 2012 – now with 17-inch alloys and smart key/push-start ignition, RM138k

January 31, 2012 at 12:25 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia has announced the introduction of the upgraded ASX crossover. The 2012 year changes for the vehicle includes new 17-inch alloy wheels and a smart key/push-start ignition system.

Also new to the ASX are auto-retractable side mirrors, and the premium leather seats now feature enhanced comfort and increased lumbar support.

Otherwise, the vehicle continues on as is – the 150 PS 2.0 litre MIVEC mill and six-speed CVT box remains unchanged, as are the rest of the features list, which includes items such as magnesium paddle shifters, coloured LCD multi-info display, 2-DIN touchscreen entertainment system and rear view camera.

The 2012 ASX – which hits the showrooms on February 2 – is available in four colours, these being White Pearl, Mica Black, Red Metallic and Titanium Grey, and is priced at RM138,156 (on the road, exclusive of insurance), complete with a 3-year/100,000 km warranty and two-year maintenance package.

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Reports: Lotus looking for £500m partner, Genii interested

January 31, 2012 at 11:22 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus

Reports coming from the UK say that Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar is looking for financial partners to buy over the sportscar maker from Proton. The Sunday Times news piece suggested that Bahar is not looking for any partner, but one with the ability to fund Lotus’ costly five-year turnaround plan, one with £500 million ready to invest.

The report adds that Genii Capital is interested in the loss-making Proton subsidiary. Genii, which already owns the Lotus F1 team, is said to have been eyeing Group Lotus for some time and is “close to completing due diligence”.

If the report is accurate, we have a willing buyer. But is Proton’s new owner, DRB-Hicom, a willing seller? “Options are open. At this particular moment, I’m open to sell or not to sell Lotus,” DRB-Hicom boss Datuk Seri Mohd Khamil Jamil was quoted as saying.

Proton, owner since 1996, has already poured in a lot of resources into Group Lotus – should they wait for the fruits of the investment or cut their losses?

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Goodies list in conjuction with Federal Territories Day 2012

January 31, 2012 at 10:48 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News

Well, here’s some cheer for those with traffic compounds issued by DBKL before March 1, 2011. In an ad taken in The Star yesterday, the Ministry of Federal Territories has issued a goodies list in conjuction with Federal Territories Day 2012, with a number of freebies, discounts and incentives on the cards.

Among the items for the FT of KL is a flat-rate reduction to RM30 for all traffic compounds issued by DBKL before the aforementioned date. The flat-rate payment is valid for a month, and runs from February 1 until February 28.

Labuan folk, in the meantime, get a 50% discount on all parking compound fines, and that’s good for the entire month of February too. Elsewhere, items include free usage of public and sports facilities, the duration depending on the territory, and for a whole week (Feb 1-7), the usage of all public toilets in KL is free, if that sort of thing matters to you, that is.

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BMW unveils first DTM 2012 livery featuring Castrol EDGE

January 31, 2012 at 9:15 am By Danny Tan Filed Under BMW, Motorsports

Here’s what BMW’s 2012 DTM challenger looks like in full livery. This livery features the green of Castrol EDGE, Castrol’s flagship motor oil, and the blue of Aral Ultimate high-performance fuel. Other visible brands include Bosch, Hankook, Sonax, Dekra and Puma. Suspension makers Sachs and H&R are present, too.

“For many years we have put our faith in high-performance Castrol lubricants, and have celebrated countless successes together on the racetrack. For that reason, everyone here at BMW Motorsport is delighted that we are able to build on this established partnership in the DTM. Castrol EDGE and Aral Ultimate are high-performance brands, which suit our DTM project perfectly,” said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt.

This won’t be the only look for the M3 DTM, though. One of the six BMW entries will run in this Castrol EDGE look, so expect to see the traditional BMW corporate livery of the past 20 years on the other cars.

The driver lineup looks as good, with DTM champion Martin Tomczyk and long-time Mercedes driver Bruno Spengler joining regular factory drivers Andy Priaulx, Augusto Farfus, Joey Hand and Dirk Muller. Schnitzer, RBM and RMG are the three teams.

The German tin top race series flags off at Hockenheim at the end of April.

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Fiat 500L 5-door hatch coming soon, 7-seater on the way!

January 30, 2012 at 4:25 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Fiat, International News

Fiat’s reborn icon is about to grow in size. The popular retro styled 500 will get a five-door hatchback variant called 500L, L for large. Codenamed L-Zero, the supermini sized 500L will make its debut at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show.

Reports say that the 5dr’s front end is similar to the current 500, although the 500L will sit on a widened Punto platform. The 500L will be around 4,150 mm long, which is about 60 mm longer that the current three-door 500 hatch. European sales start in July, followed two months later by a seven-seat version that is around 10 mm longer than the five-seater.

Engine options will most probably include Fiat’s TwinAir turbocharged two-cylinder 900 cc engine (85 hp), a 1.4L petrol with 77 hp or 105 hp, as well as a 1.3L diesel with 75 hp or 95 hp.

The current Fiat Idea small MPV will be discontinued at the end of this year, and the 500L will fill that hole in Fiat’s European range. Continental rivals will include Citroen’s C3 Picasso, Ford’s B-Max and the MINI Countryman. The 500L will be built in Kragujevac, Serbia.

The modern Fiat 500 has been a success for the Italian brand, finding more than 770,000 new homes since 2007. Last year, Fiat sold over 195,000 units of the 500 worldwide, including 26,000 units in North America, a non-traditional market for small cars.

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MotoGP test at Sepang – free viewing from grandstand

January 30, 2012 at 2:18 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Bikes, Local News, Motorsports

Want to catch some MotoGP action for free? Sepang International Circuit will be opening its main grandstand for free viewing of the annual MotoGP pre-season test, to be held from tomorrow (31 January) till Thursday (2 February). This is the first of three official test sessions before the season starts in Qatar on 8 April.

This three-day session will give fans a first glimpse of the new 1,000 cc MotoGP bikes, which replace the 800 cc bikes from this year. For the riders, not only will they have to get to know their new machines, it will also an emotional return to the track that claimed the life of San Carlo Honda Gresini rider Marco Simoncelli last October.

The key factory teams will have unchanged line ups. Casey Stoner will defend his world title alongside Repsol Honda teammate Dani Pedrosa, the Yamaha factory team have Jorge Lorenzo and Ben Spies, while Valentino Rossi and Nicky Hayden will be flying the Ducati flag.

The off-season saw some transfers, including that of Andrea Dovizioso (Yamaha Tech3) and Alvaro Bautista (Honda Gresini). Hector Barbera will now be the sole rider of the Pramac while Karel Abraham will continue with Cardion AB Racing Team. Colin Edwards and Randy de Puniet joined Forward Racing and Aspar Team respectively, where they will ride new CRT-spec machines. A total of 21 riders will form the MotoGP grid this year.

Besides getting to watch the tests for free, those who make their way to Sepang will get to buy special early bird tickets for the 2012 Malaysian MotoGP (21-23 Oct). In addition, for every MotoGP ticket purchased during the test session, fans are entitled to a 50% discount on 2012 Formula 1 Malaysian GP hillstand tickets from as low as RM30.

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Striking workers halt Indonesian production output

January 30, 2012 at 11:52 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News

It’s not just natural disasters that can halt production – over in Indonesia, Honda was one of the many Japanese companies forced to stop output last Friday when more than 10,000 workers demanding better wages blocked a major highway, the Nikkei reports.

Police say the workers took to the streets around industrial areas in Bekasi, some 30 km east of Jakarta, effectively closing a highway connecting Bekasi to the heart of the capital and Jakarta’s main port and international airport.

Virtually all companies located at Sumitomo Corporation’s East Jakarta Industrial Park were forced to idle plants when the strike hit. “Operations at 4,000 to 5,000 companies may have been affected,” a government spokesperson was quoted as saying.

Every year, local administrators in the country set minimum wages for each district and sector, and the West Java government decided this year on a 20-30% wage hike in Bekasi. The Indonesian employers association filed a complaint with an arbitration body, which on Thursday ruled for a review of the raise, sparking the massive protest, the report added.

Although management and labour are expected to keep negotiating, West Java is preparing to appeal to a higher body to revoke the ruling. A protracted dispute will have an impact on the supply chains of Japanese and other Asian manufacturers, many of which use Indonesia as an export hub. For example, the world’s number one manufacturer of optical pickups, Sanyo Electric, has its main factory for the key component, which is used in DVD players and the like, in Indonesia.

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F1: Lotus 2012 challenger to be called E20 – E for Enstone

January 30, 2012 at 11:28 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Formula 1, Lotus, Motorsports

Th Lotus F1 Team, formerly called Lotus Renault GP, has announced that its 2012 challenger will be named E20, a departure from the R tagged chassis names of the Renault team. Officially, the E20 name is to commemorate the 20th F1 chassis designed at the team’s base in Enstone, the team’s HQ since 1992. To be driven by Kimi Raikkonen and Romain Grosjean for 2012, the E20 will be unveiled on 5 February on the team’s website.

“Our naming of the chassis to recognise Enstone’s importance to the team’s evolution highlights our recognition of the contribution of the facility and the personnel who work tirelessly every year to produce the very best car possible. We certainly hope that this is the case with the E20 and we are looking forward to revealing the car to the world and seeing it out on track for the first time,” said team boss Eric Boullier.

“There are a number of technical changes from last year and we have an exciting new driver line-up to extract the maximum from the E20 through the twenty Grands Prix of the 2012 season, including the 500th race for this team through its different incarnations. We hope that the E20 proves to be a performing Enstone design,” the Frenchman added.

Meanwhile, returning world champ Kimi Raikkonen is feeling positive after a two-day test at Valencia last week. It was quite a session for the Finn, as he returned to an F1 car’s cockpit for the first time in over two years.

“It went well today and overall the two days have been helped me a lot. Even though I was using a two year-old car and the Pirelli demo tyres, I learnt about working with the team and the engineers which means I can focus on the new car once we get to Jerez for the first official test. It was great to be driving an F1 car again and from that respect I feel very positive,” he said.

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Honda CR-Z “Label α” – burgundy coloured special edition

January 30, 2012 at 11:01 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

The Honda CR-Z has been rather well received in Malaysia. Launched in November last year, Honda Malaysia targeted to sell 100 units of the RM115k hybrid by the end of 2011, but has received over 300 bookings within a month of the launch.

In December, Honda Malaysia announced the availability of three new colours – Storm Silver Metallic, Milano Red and Crystal Black Pearl. This year will also see HM bring in a CVT version of the CR-Z, now only available with a six-speed manual gearbox. This will further widen the appeal of the hybrid coupe, which is now only considered by enthusiasts and those with an active left leg.

In Japan, those shopping for a CR-Z will have this special edition “Label α” model to choose from. It goes on sale this week and will be available as a limited release until the end of May. Nothing major, just bespoke burgundy pearl metallic finish on the outside with a matching interior color for the seats, door panels plus the stitching on the leather steering wheel and stick shifter.

The “Label α” also gets aluminum sport pedals and alloy wheels, the latter not standard across the range in Japan. Available in both CVT and manual form, it is priced at 2,510,000 yen (or about US$32,150) in Japan.

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Aston Martin V12 Zagato – first production car to debut in Kuwait Concours d’Elegance in February

January 30, 2012 at 10:59 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Aston Martin, Cars, International News

Aston Martin is set to debut the first production V12 Zagato at the third Kuwait Concours d’ Elegance, which runs on February 15-18.

The car, which made its debut in prototype form in May last year at the Villa D’Este Concours in Italy, is being built in strictly limited numbers of up to 150 cars, with the first customer deliveries scheduled in late 2012.

The Zagato, based on the V12 Vantage, features a handcrafted aluminium and carbon-fibre body along with a bespoke interior, and is powered by a 6.0 litre V12 mill offering 510 hp and 570 Nm of torque.

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