Archive for International News

The new BMW X1 must be a very important car for BMW as for the first time ever with BMW press packs, I was having trouble handling the amount of photos they released! They released over 150 photos of a brown and a white X1 and the total file size for the hi-res pix was over 1,5GB, which I had to download then resize down to about 150MB before uploading.

The X1 measures 4454mm in length, 1798mm wide (2006mm with mirrors included), and 1545mm tall with a 2760mm wheelbase. In comparison, the X3 measures 4570mm long, with a 2795mm wheelbase. So it’s definitely a smaller vehicle, but the wheelbase is quite similiar to the current E90 sedan.

It’s also the first BMW SUV to come with a rear wheel drive version as well as xDrive. The most economical version is the X1 sDrive18d with rear wheel drive, putting out only 136g/km of CO2 and using only a measly 5.2 liters per 100km, equivalent to 54.3 UK mpg. The following are the various X1 variants:

As you can see the European range is mostly diesel-centric, with the sole petrol engine being the 3.0 liter inline-6, tuned to make 258 horses, hence the “28i” rating instead of “30i” which usually puts out about 272 horses in their latest incarnations. The rest are diesel, and ditching the weight and losses of xDrive reduces fuel consumption by about 0.1L per 100km with the 20d and 18d models. All manual models come with auto start-stop and a gearshift indicator.

The interior features a 40:20:40 split backrest at the rear which can extend the 420 liter cargo area up to 490 liters if you set the backrest angle to something more vertical, or if you just drop them down, storage goes up to 1,350 liters. The rest of the interior is a typical BMW and you don’t get some of the more modern interior bits such as the shift by wire gear knob and the Black Panel multi-info LCD, but you do get the new hard disk based iDrive system.

Look after the jump for a full press release, some videos, and a full photo gallery of the new BMW X1.

Click here to read the rest of New BMW X1 compact SUV officially unveiled!

At first, the figure was said to be about US$47 million, but the latest is a whopping US$140 million! It’s heartbreaking I know but yes, we’re talking about Volkswagen’s investment in Indonesia to build an assembly plant there that will first only have CKD assembly and paint shops, but will later become a full fledged manufacturing plant complete with stamping and the whole works, if all goes well!

Indonesia’s Investment Coordinating Board head Muhammad Lutfi has revealed that US$140 million will be invested over the next 2 years on the 50,000 Touran a year factory, and the Indonesian government will support them with tax incentives.

Lutfi added that MPV manufacturing in Indonesia is on average 30% cheaper than any other ASEAN countries because of government incentives. Toyota and Honda also makes their MPVs there (remember the Toyota IMV project?), with the latest being the Honda Freed, which is being assembled at Honda’s plant in Karawang.

More and more automotive companies may be looking at Indonesia soon. Four Chinese brands have entered Indonesia in the last 2 years - Chery, Foton, Great Wall and Geely. Their economy is forecasted to grow 4% this year, and they are said to be the 3rd fastest growing economy in Asia after China and India. It’s also the world’s fourth-largest country by population.

Indonesian citizen earnings are slowly rising to point where a majority can abandon their motorcycles for cars, and proof of that is in the increasing gridlock problem in Jakarta. The buses and taxis share the same jam and there is no MRT. The first will only begin construction in 2011 and operational by 2016.

You can also look at P.T. Astra International’s stock prices and earnings - they are a large automobile conglomerate in Indonesia and have partnerships with Toyota, Daihatsu, BMW, Peugeot, Nissan Diesel, Isuzu, and Honda.

Previously a Volkswagen spokesperson said their Indonesian vehicle assembly plant is a first step towards Volkswagen’s long term ASEAN market development. Volkswagen can also use their Indonesian plant to supply CKD kits or complete vehicles to Japan, thanks to the Japan-Indonesia Economic Partnership Agreement.

Source

The Mazda Premacy receives a small update in the Japanese market. What you get are new 17 inch dark grey alloy wheels, seat and door trim for the 20Z model. The 20CS model gets a new fuel economy gauge and a refreshed center panel. It’s a really small update really, but as the Premacy (known as the Mazda 5 in our market) was just facelifted in 2007 after its 2004 introduction any other exterior changes are not to be expected until a full model change arrives perhaps next year.

Click for enlarged image

Here are the full details of the rear wheel drive Gallardo we saw earlier this week. The new rear wheel drive version of the Gallardo will be limited to 250 units only, and has been christened the Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni. Now you probably get what LP 550-2 means - 550 PS and 2 driven wheels, but what about the VB?

Valentino Balboni is actually a test driver who has helped shape many legends such as the Lamborghini Miura from the 60s to the current Gallardo and Murcielago. He was hired personally by Lamborghini’s founder in 1967 but he is retired now after 40 years with Lamborghini. Feedback from Balboni guides Lamborghini engineers to finetune their car to become a car with qualities that Balboni refers to as “the precision of a race car with the reliability of a good friend”.

The LP550-2 is not a mere regular Gallardo with the all-wheel drive system removed. The car now weighs 1,380kg dry and goes from 0 to 100km/h in 3.9 seconds, thanks to its 550 PS 5.2 liter V10. Various settings like springs, dampers, stabilisers, aerodynamics and even the tyres had to be modified for rear wheel drive. The 45% LSD rear axle was also redeveloped, and the e-gear automated manual transmission has also been recalibrated. The ESP’s CORSA (race) program now permits greater drift angles, something that you really must have with rear wheel drive!

Look after the jump for the previously showcased 4 photos.

Click here to read the rest of New Lamborghini Gallardo LP 550-2 Valentino Balboni: 250 units with rear wheel drive!

Mercedes-Benz has just released a couple of more photos of their Concept BlueZERO, which many say is most likely a preview of what the next generation B-Class will look like.

But like the name indicates, the BlueZERO is not just a showcase of future production models. The 4220 x 1890 x 1590mm vehicle uses a sandwich floor construction, much like the current A-Class and B-Class, but it’s been modified a little to accomodate electric drive. There are three versions of the Concept BlueZERO but with one commonality, all are front wheel drive with an electric motor at the front axle.

With the BlueZERO E-CELL, two lithium ion battery packs (liquid cooled 35kWh capacity battery) are placed in the sandwich floor behind the electric motor. The other two variants are the BlueZERO F-CELL which is fuel-cell-powered with a battery and hydrogen tank in the sandwich floor.

Finally there is the E-CELL PLUS which is a range extender electric car, with some form of combustion engine used to recharge the batteries, like the Chevy Volt. Right now the proposed combustion engine is an inline-3 turbocharged petrol engine from the smart fortwo, producing 50kW.

Anyway check out the full gallery after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Photos: Mercedes-Benz Concept BlueZERO

Peugeot has unveiled facelifted looks for the entire 207 range - this extends from the hatchback to the wagon and finally the 207 CC, the only 207 on sale here in Malaysia so far. On the outside, the 207 facelift gets a redesigned front which Peugeot says has been made look softer. There are also more chrome detailing. Alot of the black strips around the car are now body-coloured. The hatchback and CC models get new LED tail lamps.

On the inside its more of trim and detailing changes, and a new instrument panel design that’s said to be more modern and visually appealing, and a new gear change indicator for manual transmissions, but unfortunately the initial batch of press images that they’ve released doesn’t include pix of the updated interior. A new in-car entertainment system called Peugeot Connect USB with Bluetooth, remote controlled window operation, and a one-touch direction indicator are also some of the new features introduced.

Look after the jump for the first batch of 5 images of the various 207 bodystyles. This gallery will be updated later with new photos as they are released.

Click here to read the rest of Peugeot 207 facelift to hit stores in August

The 2010 model year BMW 7-Series will have a few list of changes to the model line-up. I’m sure you can guess some of them already since we already looked at the M-Sport kit and the potential for a twin-turbo diesel engine to be added to the line-up, but here are the full official details.

First of all will be the addition of the 740d to the line-up, complementing the 730d. The 740d is also a 3.0 liter engine but unlike the one in the 730d, it features two turbochargers, differently sizes but complementing each other. The 740d’s engine makes 306 horsepower and 600Nm of torque, making it the second most torquey 7-Series around, smack between the 760Li’s 750Nm and the 750Li’s 580Nm. 0 to 100km/h takes only 6.3 seconds.

Next up is an option for a BluePerformance system to be fitted to the 730d. BluePerformance makes the car comply with Euro6, which is expected to be adopted in 2014. The regular diesel particulates filter and the oxidation catalyst is supplemented by an NOx storage catalyst. This brings down emissions to 178g/km of CO2.

The 3.0 liter single turbodiesel engine has also had some mild refinement, boosting economy up to 41.5mpg for the F01 and 40.9mpg on the F02, and emissions down to 178g/km for F01 and 180g/km for F02. This is a 7.3% reduction in emissions and nearly 6% improvement in fuel efficiency. As a result, the 730d drops into the band I vehicle excise duty tier.

On 7-Series cars equipped with EfficientDynamics brake energy regeneration, there will be a new graphic display (a blue arrow) next to the fuel consumption indicator in the lower half of the rev counter which tells the driver when electric power is being generated during braking/engine overrun.

The 750i and 750Li powered by the 4.4 liter twin-turbo V8 engine will receive xDrive, BMW’s intelligent all-wheel drive system. This is in line with alot of manufacturers such as even Lexus adding all-wheel drive to their flagship limos. The Russians will love it. xDrive splits power between the front and rear axle 40:60 on a straight road, but up to 80% can go to the rear axle in a bend.

Lastly is the new M-Sport package you see above. It includes the new front and rear bumper with chrome trim, an illuminated M entry trim and high-gloss shadowline trim on the side profile (such as the windows). There will be an exclusive paintjob called Carbon Black Metallic. Wheels are 19 inch in size by default, with optional 20 inch units.

On the interior you get sports seats, an M steering wheel, an M footrest, Anthracite BMW Individual roof lining (V12 models get Alcantara material), and the traditional aluminium interior trim, except the V12 models which get wood. This kit is available on all models.

Look after the jump for a few hi-res photos.

Click here to read the rest of F01/F02 BMW 7-Series gets updated with new 740d, xDrive and M-Sport kit!

The US Government has loaned US$ 5.9 billion to Ford, for the development of fuel-saving technologies including hybrid-electric systems, alternative-fuel power plants, direct-injection as well as other developments that are related to help reduce fuel consumption such as dual clutch transmissions, vehicle weight reduction and aerodynamic efficiency.

On that note, Ford has revealed more information about its electric car programs. First on the list, is a ‘pure battery electric’, or (BEV) Transit Connect commercial van that would be introduced next year. Ford will be working hand in hand with Smith Electric U.S on the development of the electric Transit.

Next on the list is something that is more interesting, which is the production of a BEV Focus. The emissions-free Focus would be co-developed with Magna, and can hit the streets by 2011. Both the BEV Transit Connect and BEC Focus are expected to deliver up to anywhere between 160 and 257 kilometers in terms of driving range.

Ford’s CEO Alan Mulally revealed, “This green partnership between Ford and the U.S. Government will help accelerate the development of advanced technologies for even better fuel efficiency and emissions. Ford is absolutely committed to fuel economy leadership with every new model we introduce. In fact, we plan to invest nearly $14 billion in advanced technology vehicles in the next seven years.”

FoMoCo will also work on plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEV) as well as “next generation” hybrid electric vehicles (HEV). Both the PHEV and the HEV could be introduced by 2012.

Dongfeng has commissioned Detroit Electric to jointly research, develop, market and sell Electric Vehicles in China using Detroit Electric’s electric drive systems.

The Chinese company will provide the cars, and Detroit Electric will provide the propulsion, similiar to the arrangement that DE has with Proton. But the DE-Proton deal involves rebadging the Persona and GEN2 under the Detroit Electric brand, but for Dongfeng, the two companies will study and explore the market entry strategy under the Dongfeng and Detroit Electric brand.

The two companies are also discussing the possibility of forming a joint venture company to manufacture, assemble, produce and supply the electric drive technology in China to the Dongfeng Group and other vehicle manufacturers that want to buy the technology.

Dongfeng does Kia, Nissan, PSA Peugeot Citroen and Honda in China, but they have been recently focusing on developing their own brand too. They recently launched a sedan based on the old Citroen ZX chassis called the Dongfeng Aeolus Fengshen, shown above.

Honda has updated the Stream MPV for its mid-life facelift, or Minor Model Change as Honda usually calls it. Like before, two different powerplants are offered in Japan - a 140 PS 1.8 liter SOHC i-VTEC and a 150 PS 2.0 liter SOHC i-VTEC engine, both from the R-series of engines.

With the pre-facelift model you had the RSZ, a model that had sportier looks. With this minor model change Honda has added another variant called the Honda Stream RST, which joins the Stream RSZ and Stream X up to a total of 3 variants.

Other than different exterior looks, the RST also uses red instead of blue backlighting for the instrumentation panel.

These variants are further broken down into front wheel drive and 4WD variants. The 2.0L front wheel drive models get a CVT while the rest use a 5-speed automatic. With the Stream only just getting updated to the RSZ model here in Malaysia, this minor model change could take some time before arriving on our shores officially via Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Naza might bring it in first.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the new Stream.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Stream RST facelift unveiled in Japan!