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Honda CR-Z is Japan Car of the Year, Polo is best import

November 10, 2010 at 2:31 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Volkswagen

Honda’s CR-Z is the 2010-2011 Japan Car of the Year! The hybrid coupe was announced the best of the year by the 60 strong Executive Committee comprising Japanese motoring journalists at the Waseda University Memorial Hall. It looks as if to get near the prize, the car has to be a hybrid – the Toyota Prius edged out Honda’s Insight in last year’s contest.

The jury appreciated the CR-Z’s hybrid tech and its fun to drive character. The Import Car of the Year award goes to the Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI, which the judges described as having a “high quality interior and exterior” plus “good fuel economy and powertrain” (translation by Google). The supermini was also praised for having “no compromise on safety equipment”. This win completes a hat-trick for the Mk V Polo, which has already scooped up European and World COTY awards this year.

A special award goes out to the Peugeot RCZ, which is the “future balance of innovative design and driving pleasure” according to the jury.

“We are very proud that the CR-Z has been selected from the strong contenders of new models as the Car of the Year Japan 2010–2011. This award shows that the public has accepted Honda’s aspiration to supply exceptional environmental performance in a fun-to-drive hybrid car at an affordable price, as well as Honda’s desire to spread the joy of owning and driving a car.

“We also believe that this award for the CR-Z reflects the true value of the combined efforts of our business partners and the many others who supported CR-Z development and production. Going forward, Honda intends to bring more joy to an even larger number of customers,” said Honda’s President and CEO, Takanobu Ito.

We’re looking forward to welcome the Honda CR-Z with Malaysian Hospitality, especially with the current favourable tax exemption for hybrids!

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Best Range Extender EV award for Proton Exora Hybrid at RAC Future Car Challenge, UK

November 8, 2010 at 3:58 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

The Proton Exora Hybrid won the “Best Range Extender EV” award at the Royal Automobile Club (RAC) Future Car Challenge event held in London this week, beating rivals such as the Chevrolet Volt. It managed to travel for about 4 hours on just 2.2 litres of petrol thanks to the majority of the energy probably being provided by the on board batteries – that’s how an extended range EV works.

More than 60 eco-friendly vehicles including 53 cars embarked on a 60 mile challenge in a bid to see which one used the lowest amount of energy possible. The 60 vehicles consisted of cars, light commercial vehicles and motorcycles powered by various different systems such as range extender systems, mild hybrids, full hybrids, and pure EVs. There are three categories of engines – EV, Hybrid (HEV), and Internal Combustion Engines limited to emissions of up to 110g/km fueled by any legal means.

The route took them from Madeira Drive in East Sussex up to Pall Mall in central London. The challenge’s Technical Panel is made out of 6 auto industry members – Ben Cussons, Chairman (The Royal Automobile Club Motoring Committee); Richard Parry-Jones (Industry); Steve Cropley (Autocar); John Wood (President, Institution of Mechanical Engineers); John Hilton (Flybrid Systems), Dr Ricardo Martinez-Botas (Imperial College London) and David Bizley (RAC Motoring Services).

There are a total of 12 category winners plus one overall winner per vehicle type. The overall best car entry was the Volkswagen Golf BlueMotion. Other than the Exora, Proton had also entered a fully electric Proton Saga EV. The Saga EV was driven by an engineer from Frazer-Nash, a company assisting Proton with the development of hybrid technologies.

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Here’s the full list of award recipients embedded below. Seems all the class-based awards were for “Most Economic & Environment Friendly” in class, while at the bottom you’ll find the overall “Best” awards listed:

Related Post:
Is this a Proton Exora Hybrid demo vehicle?

202 Comments      


BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept to spawn production sports car in 2013!

November 5, 2010 at 7:44 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Concept Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

It’s official – the 2+2 seater BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept hybrid sports car will go into series production. The concept was powered by a 1.5 litre inline-3 turbodiesel engine, a synchronous hybrid motor at the front axle and a full hybrid engine at the rear axle to produce a total output of 328 horsepower, taking the Vision EfficientDynamics Concept up to 100km/h in a rapid 4.8 seconds.

The car’s lithium polymer battery packs allows it to run on battery power alone for up to 50km and can be charged to full capacity in about 2 and a half hours via a conventional power socket. Otherwise, the diesel engine’s fuel tank is 24 litres in size, which is said to be able to boost range up to a maximum of 700km, of course I’m assuming if all that is done is hard driving, range will be significantly less.

I wonder what series the production version will be called, or perhaps it will just be called the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics? How much will it cost? The car will roll out in 2013, about 3 years from now.
[Read more...]

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SEMA Honda CR-Z Hybrid R Concept is turbocharged!

November 4, 2010 at 3:05 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

I think all of us can agree that the 2011 Honda CR-Z Hybrid R Concept that Honda Performance Development is showcasing at this year’s SEMA is probably what the Honda CR-Z should have been instead of the anaemic 122 horsepower 1.5 litre production car.

The CR-Z Hybrid R Concept bolts a turbocharger onto the 1.5 litre engine, with the IMA motor assist system upgraded to one of a higher capacity as well. The result is 200 horsepower and about 238Nm of torque, which puts it around the same kind of output as a Civic Type R. Are we looking at the future of the Civic Type R?

As it is, the high revving normally aspirated 2.0 litre engine is being forced out of many first world markets as it is unable to keep up with increasingly difficult emission requirements. The CR-Z Hybrid R Concept uses two popular alternatives to pure normally aspirated power – turbocharging as well as hybrid motor assist. Honda has barely dabbled with a turbocharger in these modern days – it’s sole turbo engine is a 2.3 litre i-VTEC Turbo installed in an Acura SUV.

Honda has also added a performance clutch and a limited slip differential, as well as a ‘circuit tuned’ suspension, uprated brakes and a bodykit which promises better aerodynamics. Honda will be racing two CR-Z Hybrid R Concepts at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race in December, which will be a good proving ground for the abilities and reliability of the system.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the Honda.
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Honda Civic Hybrid is RM21K cheaper now at RM108,980!

November 1, 2010 at 6:31 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Malaysia Budget 2011

Hybrid cars are becoming very attractive propositions thanks to the Government’s decision to fully waive excise and import duty, as announced in the 2011 Budget. UMW Toyota has already slashed the Toyota Prius’ price tag to RM139,900 from the previous RM175,000, and it’s Honda’s turn to reveal the new price of its Civic Hybrid. The green Civic is now priced at RM108,980 OTR with insurance, which is RM21,000 cheaper than before.

This means that the imported from Japan Civic Hybrid will be the most affordable Civic variant in Malaysia, undercutting the RM114,980 1.8S model, which is locally assembled by the way. The new price for East Malaysia is RM1,000 more than on the Peninsular, while Langkawi and Labuan buyers can have the car at RM100,980. It’s still cheaper in those duty free islands as they are exempted from a 10% sales tax.

“As the pioneer in introducing the hybrid technology to the Malaysian market, we are pleased with the government’s decision to allow full exemption of import duty and excise duty as announced in the recent Budget 2011. The move will make hybrid vehicles more accessible for environmentally conscious Malaysians. These exemptions are certainly timely as Honda is looking into expanding its hybrid vehicle line-up in Malaysia,” said Honda Malaysia President and COO, Rohime Shafie.

There you have it! Should be the Honda Insight, or perhaps even the CR-Z at a later date!

351 Comments      

New Toyota Prius lowered price – RM139,900

October 28, 2010 at 11:07 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Malaysia Budget 2011, Toyota

The Toyota Prius will be priced at RM139,900 in the Peninsular Malaysia and RM141,500 in Sabah and Sarawak effective today. This is a drop of about RM35,000 in Peninsular Malaysia from the previous price of RM175,000.

That’s how much that remaining half-price excise duty means – RM35,000. Our prices are still higher than Langkawi’s prices as we still have 10% sales tax despite import duties and excise duties being 0% now. Just to recap – when the Budget 2011 was announced, the Malaysian government lowered the duties for hybrid vehicles below 2,000cc of displacement to 0% for both excise and import duty. Previously, the government gave 100% exemption of import duty but only 50% exemption for excise duty.

It looks like our estimation of the new Toyota Prius pricing after the complete removal of excise duties by the government was pretty much spot on after all. We estimated a price of around RM140,149.30 with a tax savings of about RM34,850.70. We calculated that based on the Langkawi price of RM127,408.45 and adding 10% sales tax. So we can assume that UMW Toyota is transferring 100% of the benefits of the tax break to the consumers.

New Toyota Prius

Next up would be the Honda Civic Hybrid – an announcement from Honda Malaysia should be coming soon before the end of the year. Our pricing estimation for the Honda Civic Hybrid was RM111,078, a drop of about RM18,902 from the current price of RM129,980.

At the new price of RM139,900, the Toyota Prius really starts becoming very tempting. The new price is also below RM150k so it becomes more favorable in terms of claiming capital allowances – that should start driving up sales for the Prius as a company car as well.

We tried the Prius (watch our real life road test review on Driven or our Japanese closed track test drive on this blog) and found that it could give significantly lower fuel consumption without the driver consciously trying hard to save fuel – that’s what a good hybrid should be doing, not forcing you to mind your throttle to the point that it becomes distracting and unenjoyable.

232 Comments      

Nissan introduces the Fuga Hybrid sedan in Japan

October 27, 2010 at 6:04 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Nissan

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Nissan has launched what is essentially its first mass-market hybrid vehicle in Japan. The Fuga Hybrid sedan will begin selling domestically on November 2, with a target sales figure of 200 units a month, and the car is slated to make its way to the US early next year, where it will be known as the Infiniti M.

The company has marketed a hybrid previously in the US, but the Altima hybrid came equipped with a Toyota hybrid system. This one features Nissan’s one-motor, two-clutch parallel hybrid system called Intelligent Dual Clutch Control. A HM34 high-response electric motor (offering 50kW of power and a maximum torque of 270Nm) and high-output, quick charge/discharge lithium-ion battery works with with an updated version of the 3.5 litre VQ35HR V6 block, with an electronic seven-speed hybrid transmission with manual shift mode in tow.

Nissan says the electric motor driving range for the Fuga Hybrid has been expanded for high-speed driving, operating up to over 100kph on a level highway, and that the car offers a fuel economy of 19km/l (in 10-15 mode).

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Features and specs include the use of double-piston shock absorbers, 18-inch chrome-finish alloys, an electro-hydraulic power steering and an electric-driven Intelligent Brake system, with regenerative braking also to be had. The car is available in seven body colours, including a new shade called Eternal Snow White, which is a special titanium metallic color with Scratch Shield.

A host of three-letter acronyms are peppered in to the mix too – Intelligent Control Assist (Distance Control Assist), Intelligent Cruise Control, FCW (Forward Collision Warning), LDP (Lane Departure Prevention)/LDW (Lane Departure Warning) and VDC (Vehicle Dynamic Control including TCS).

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The Fuga Hybrid also features an opposite direction driving warning system that gives the driver audio and visual warnings when the vehicle detects that it is going in the opposite direction on highways, based on the vehicle driving information (vehicle speed, GPS location, map information in the car navigation system), which is a world’s first, says the company.

High-res photo gallery after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Look, no wires – it’s wireless charging for your EV!

October 25, 2010 at 10:48 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

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Imagine charging your EV at home without the need to plug it into anything. That’s precisely what Delphi Automotive and wireless energy transfer technology provider, WiTriCity, is seeking to offer – the two companies are working on developing a range of automatic wireless charging products for electric vehicles.

The wireless charging system would involve no plugs or charging cords. Drivers would simply park their electric vehicle over a wireless energy source that sits on the garage floor or embedded in a paved parking spot. The system will automatically transfer power to the battery charger that’s on the vehicle.

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WiTricity’s patented wireless energy transfer technology, invented by a team of MIT physicists four years ago, makes use of highly resonant magnetic coupling, offering a transfer of over 3,300 watts – enough to fully charge an electric car at the same rate as most residential plug-in chargers. The system can efficiently transfer power over significantly larger distances and allow more parking-related vehicle misalignment than inductive systems.

Wireless charging technology will of course need to co-exist with plug-in charging solutions, the company states, so that electric vehicle drivers have the ability to charge their vehicle with something like Delphi’s portable electric charger – which fits into any standard AC outlet – when they’re away from their wireless charging source.

35 Comments      

Nissan Leaf production gets underway in Japan

October 22, 2010 at 2:52 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Nissan

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Nissan has started production of its Leaf electric vehicle in Japan – the vehicle, which will go on sale domestically as well as the US in December, has begun rolling out from the company’s Oppama Plant, which also assembles models such as the Juke and Cube.

Part of the assembly line has been modified to mount battery modules at the stage of production where fuel tanks are traditionally installed, and motors and inverters are mounted at the point where engines are installed in gasoline-powered vehicles.

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The Leaf’s lithium-ion battery modules are manufactured in Zama, Japan at Automotive Energy Supply Corporation, which is Nissan and NEC joint-venture company. The battery module, which contains four battery cells, is made in Zama and then shipped to Oppama, where 48 of them are assembled into the electric car’s battery pack.

Oppama, which will have an annual production capacity of 50,000 Leafs, will serve as the blueprint plant for subsequent production of the Leaf elsewhere. The car will also be built in the US at Smyrna, Tennessee, beginning late 2012 and in Nissan’s Sunderland facility in England in early 2013.

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Toyota Prius MPV to debut early next year

October 20, 2010 at 10:49 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Toyota

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Toyota will be introducing the next extension of its Prius family, a MPV-sized offering, at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit next January.

There are no details about the vehicle, the second to wear the Prius badge, save a teaser video called Prius Puzzle, showing the MPV’s profile in a billboard in Malibu, California, mostly hidden by the current ZVW30 Prius.

Given the scope increase, the longer-wheelbase Prius MPV should easily be a seven-seater. It and a planned third Prius model, which will be smaller than the existing third-gen version, are slated to enter the US market in two years time.

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