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Lexus at SEMA: Project GS-Five Axis and CT 200h-Five Axis among the nine vehicle Toyota charge

October 28, 2011 at 10:25 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lexus

Lexus is heading to the upcoming SEMA show in Las Vegas in a big way, and among the slew of products it’s bringing along are two projects by tuning house Five Axis, headed by Troy Sumitomo.

The first is an alternative take on the all-new GS F Sport. The Project GS – Five Axis, built around an F Sport GS 350, gets a widebody conversion and is finished in a Glacier White shade, with Slate Gray accents.

Elsewhere, there’s a custom fabricated twin-tailpipe exhaust, an AirRunner TC-5 air suspension and a Stop Tech Big Brake kit featuring six-pot front and four-pot rear calipers. Finally, the flared wheelarches house FIVE:AD S5:F 20-inch alloys wrapped with 245/35 front and 25/30 profile Yokohama Advan Sport rubbers.

The company has also worked its magic on the CT 200h, focusing on maximum fun with a widebody conversion, a JDSU Dark Passage paint finish with custom black accents and a TEIN performance suspension system.

The cabin is just as edgy as the exterior, with seats that have laser etched inserts in UltraSuede, a synthetic microfibre material from EcoDesign and an illuminated headlining, also finished in UltraSuede. The upholstery has been created by California-based specialist Turinmodel.

Rounding things off in this one-off CT 200h are FIVE:AD 19-inch forged wheels wearing 235/40 tyres and a Stop Tech four-piston braking system.

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Bufori debuts in China – first showroom to be in Shanghai

October 27, 2011 at 10:50 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Bufori, Cars, China, International News

Bufori Motor Car has launched the brand in China at the Top Marques Shanghai luxury show, where Bufori MD Gerry Khouri and Chinese superstar Liu Xiaoqing jointly unveiled a La Joya in front of the media and VIPs.

The company also announced the appointment of Bufori China as the exclusive distributor of the marque’s vehicles in the country. The company, which was formed in June this year, is a partnership with Jiaochen Group, which operates numerous automotive dealerships in the Ningbo region.

The first batch of three Buforis – two La Joyas and a MkII – were air-freighted to Shanghai in co-operation with MASkargo two weeks ago, and will be exhibited at the brand’s flagship showroom in Xintiandi, a prestigious district in the centre of pulsating Shanghai, when that opens in December.

Bufori China plans to set up additional dealerships in Beijing, Chengdu and Shenzhen by 2012, and the brand – which expects China to become its biggest market very soon – will also showcase its handmade luxury vehicles at the Beijing International Motor Show in April next year.

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Humanix iSAVE-SC1 e-Tricar – the car, as airbag

October 27, 2011 at 11:22 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Technology


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Okay, so here’s the novel take of the week. According to reports, a venture company in Japan called Humanix will introduce an electric vehicle that wears airbags. On the outside.

The Hiroshima-based company, which utilises research results from Hiroshima University and builds items such as the Cellomics Tip for use in live single cell mass spectometry applications, among others, is now set to introduce the iSAVE-SC1, an electric tricar covered with soft cloth containing shock-absorbing airbags.


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The three-wheel prototype has inflated airbags at the front and rear, and the body is covered with tent cloth. In the event of a collision, air is released from the bags to cushion the impact.

It plans to sell about 100 units of the vehicle, which seats three, from late November to March 2012, at a cost of around 790,000 yen each. The vehicles will be used for monitoring purposes, before mass production begins in April or later next year. The production version should have a complete wrap-around airbagged body as in the sketch, presumably.


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”Think of the car as wearing clothes, which is something found nowhere else in the world,” said Tsutomu Masujima, Humanix president, who is also professor at the university’s graduate school. ”I used to wonder why the surface of a car is made of metal. Through my study of biology, I noticed that living creatures are naturally soft. I began developing the car based on this idea,” he told reporters.

The maximum speed of the iSAVE-SC1 is 50 km/h, and the vehicle can be charged at home via a 100 volt power supply. The company says that vehicle will be cheap to run, at a fifth to a tenth of a gasoline vehicle’s maintenance costs, though no mention was made about the cost of replacement airbags.

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Lexus GS F Sport to be unveiled at SEMA in November

October 26, 2011 at 10:45 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lexus

Lexus is set to unveil the F Sport version of its new GS sedan at the SEMA show in Las Vegas on November 1. The GS F Sport features bolder exterior design elements than its civilian counterpart, and these include a new front bumper design with larger side grilles, as well as a dedicated mesh design for the upper and lower grilles.

At the rear, the F Sport gets a grey metallic finish to the bumper diffuser, and on the GS 450h F Sport there’s an additional chrome moulding on the bumper’s lower section. The package also includes a rear spoiler and – exclusive to the grade – dark metallic finish 19-inch alloy wheels, wearing staggered width rubbers – 235/40 in front, and 265/35 series at the rear.

As for the interior, it gets matching door and seat upholstery finished in a new Garnet (deep red) shade exclusive to the F Sport. Other features include aluminium trim elements, 16-way adjustable F Sport front seats, a black headliner and pillar finish, dimple perforated leather steering wheel and gear knob covers as well as aluminium pedals and scuff plates with the F Sport logo in black.

Performance-wise, all the GS F Sport models are fitted with larger, 356 x 30 mm ventilated front disc brakes, of which the hat section of the braking system’s two-piece rotor is made of aluminium, to reduce weight as well as suppress heat deformation.

The F Sport also gets a retuned front and rear suspension, supported by Adaptive Variable Suspension to maximise body control and steering response. The front and rear shock absorbers have been modified to optimise AVS damping control, and uses low viscosity oil to improve efficiency by reducing friction. The rear shocks have also been inclined further to the rear, and the lower bushings have been made larger and stiffer.

The AVS features two damper setting controls – Normal and Sport S+, the latter for greater body control and precise responses to steering when cornering. Switching to Sport S+ mode automatically increases the difference between inner and outer shock absorber damping.

At the same time, the Variable Gear Ratio Steering automatically reduces the steering gear ratio by about 10% while the electric power steering increases steering assist torque by about 4%, to sharpen handling and optimise steering feel.

As for drive modes, the car has four – Eco, Normal, Sport S and Sport S+. In Sport S mode, engine speed and throttle response are adjusted to give a more engaging driving experience. Switching to Sport S+ combines the enhanced powertrain output of Sport S with co-ordinated control of the GS’s Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management system.

The last includes the AVS and EPS plus, where fitted, the Lexus Dynamic Handling system, Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) and Dynamic Rear Steering (DRS), the trio being seen as standard on the GS 450h F Sport, making it the world’s first hybrid vehicle to feature an integrated four-wheel steering system.

The handling system monitors vehicle speed, steering direction and driver inputs, and calculates the optimum angle for all four wheels. With VGRS at the front and DRS at the rear, the system can independently control front and rear wheel steering angles to greatly improve turn-in response, rear grip, stability and overall agility when cornering.

The DRS monitors vehicle speed and yaw rate, steering angle and speed, and lateral G force to determine the required rear wheel steering input, up to a maximum two degrees – at most speeds below 80 km/h) the front and rear wheels turn in opposite directions, while in certain conditions above that speed, they turn in the same direction.

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Nissan Juke-R – first view of the munch monster

October 26, 2011 at 9:48 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Nissan


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The Nissan Juke-R super crossover bandied about earlier in the month has finally been revealed in the metal – the car made its first public appearance at a Nissan crossover media launch in Malaga, Spain, at the end of the press conference.

The Juke-R of course wears the 3.8 litre twin-turbo V6 from its famous sibling, the GT-R, as well as the latter’s six-speed transaxle, with a modified four-wheel drive GT-R driveline and propshaft linking fore and aft together.

Just two versions of the Juke-R are being created, one in each of left-hand and right-hand drive. The cars are developed by Nissan and built by leading motorsports outfit RML, with input from Nissan Technology Centre for Europe (NTC-E). Testing of the car will begin in November.

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Mazda Takeri – broad hints of the new Mazda6 emerge

October 25, 2011 at 1:53 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda

Mazda has released the first images of its Takeri next-generation midsize sedan concept, which is set to make its global debut at the Tokyo Motor Show. The vehicle, which effectively showcases the design direction the new Mazda6 will take, will feature a full array of SkyActiv tech.

With lines based on the company’s new Kodo design language, the Takeri is said to express “an intuitive sedan identity” and contain “an overwhelming emotional beauty,” aside from of course also being the latest platform to highlight SkyActiv.

It will wear a 2.2 litre SkyActiv-D turbodiesel engine and feature an i-stop idling stop system and Mazda’s first regenerative braking system among its kitbag of tech. The company says that the concept will deliver a balance of vigorous performance and a supremely comfortable ride feel as that desired in a sedan. That’s all the flowery spiel for now; expect more details on the rakish car when Tokyo comes about.

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Saab ends investment deal with Youngman, Pang Da

October 25, 2011 at 12:49 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Saab, Youngman

Swedish Automobile, the company which owns troubled automaker Saab, has said it has ended a 245 million euro investment deal with Chinese companies Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile and Pang Da Automobile, following their offer to buy Saab instead of committing to the original deal to invest in its parent company. according to reports.

Youngman and Pang Da had in July signed a non-binding MoU to take a combined 53.9% stake in Swedish Automobile, but now say circumstances have changed, and they want to purchase shares in Saab.

Swedish Automobile’s CEO Victor Muller said last week that the offer was unacceptable, stating that it would trigger every conceivable change of control clause and that would possibly mean the end of Saab, the reports added. He did not disclose the value of the offer.

The termination of the agreements came after Pang Da and Youngman failed to confirm their commitment to the equity investments and to a second deal over bridge funding, though Swedish Automobile added that discussions between the parties were still ongoing.

Swedish Automobile had at the end of September agreed to sell its Spyker Cars operation to American private equity firm North Street Capital, for US$44 million. North Street’s managing partner Alex Mascioli said last Friday that North Street had the capacity to take over Saab should it wish to do, adding that the brand was an undervalued asset that would survive. “I’m willing to do what I can with my resources for Saab,” he was quoted as saying.

By the looks of it, SA’s future remains well in the air at the moment. The company has been struggling for months in its bid to pay suppliers and employees and resume production at Trollhattan.

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Volkswagen Up! – you can squeeze 16 people into one

October 24, 2011 at 1:04 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Volkswagen

So, how many people can you squeeze into a Volkswagen Up!? Sixteen, it seems, in what is the first try with the 3.54-metre long and 1.64-metre wide car. The folks at Volkswagen Communications recently made the attempt, partly for a giggle and partly to show how small can be big, presumably.

The feat eventually saw 16 people, in this case 15 women and a man, finding their way into the car – two in the boot, one on the dashboard, seven on the rear bench, four on the front seats, and two in the footwells, before the boot lid and doors were shut and the windows were closed.

It’s a bit short of that achieved with the original Beetle. At a car meet in Australia, 17 Beetle friends spontaneously decided to squeeze into the Volkswagen icon. Then, in 2010, 20 people – who obviously had extremely high levels of pain tolerance – raised the bar with a record in Wilmore, Kentucky, which landed them in the Guinness World Records.

Naturally, attempts were also made in the successor model. In January 2001, a record 27 students in the US squeezed their way into a New Beetle. You can expect that some adventurous lot will probably try to better the Up! numbers when it makes its market debut next year. The things people do to pass time, indeed.

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Mitsubishi debuts new 4J10 MIVEC engine in ASX, Lancer

October 21, 2011 at 1:40 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mitsubishi

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has announced a new engine. The ’4J10′ is a lightweight and compact 1.8-litre petrol engine incorporating a new version of the company’s MIVEC variable valve timing system and the latest version of Auto Stop & Go (AS&G) tech.

The new 4J10 engine/AS&G combination will power the Japan-market RVR (ASX to us), Galant Fortis sedan (Lancer) and Galant Fortis Sportback (Lancer Sportback). MMC says that with the 4J10, the three models show 12% improved fuel efficiency in the Japanese 10-15 mode.

MMC says that the new MIVEC system together with improved combustion stability and reduction in piston friction provide better economy without any loss in engine performance over the existing 4B10 MIVEC engine. Used in overseas Lancers and the Proton Inspira 1.8, the 4B10 is a 1.8-litre, inline-4, 16-valve engine. It has DOHC instead of the new engine’s SOHC. Compared to the 4B10, the new 4J10 has just 1kW and 5 Nm less, so it’s a good trade for the 12% better economy.

MMC first applied MIVEC in 1992, and there have been two types so far – in one, the system switches between different valve lifts and valve opening durations according to engine speed, while in the other (as in the 4B10) the system varies the valve opening timing on a continuous basis.

The new MIVEC system in the 4J10 can do what the previous two systems could do “but at the same time, all the time”. This is thanks to a single mechanism that mechanically couples intake valve lift, opening duration and timing, allowing all three parameters to be varied simultaneously and continuously. The result is ideal valve operation control and the reduction of pumping losses.

AS&G is nothing new for MMC – it’s already being used in manual cars for Europe – but this latest version has been tailored for cars running continuously variable transmissions (CVT). The addition of a new control unit means that the new AS&G is integrally controlled along with the engine, CVT, Active Stability Control (ASC) and climate control.

Other changes include the use of a more durable 12V battery and a DC/DC converter. These are to prevent breaks in audio sound and to prevent the sat nav from rebooting when the engine restarts.

These developments are part of the Mitsubishi Motors Environment Initiative Program 2015, which targets 25% reduction in on-road CO2 emission of new vehicles compared to the 2005 global weighted average.

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Chery hits export targets early, Brazil is biggest market

October 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, International News


Other than Proton, who else uses ‘FL’ to mark a facelift? This is the Chery Tiggo FL!

There are so many car brands in China that only a visit to a Chinese motor show will open one’s eyes. But apart from a handful, most of these brands are unknown outside the country, or province. One of the better known ones is Chery, which is also China’s largest passenger vehicle exporter.

Chery seems to have the vision its peers don’t. The Anhui based state owned company exported 122,441 vehicles in the first nine months of 2011, up 80% year-on-year. This surge of exports has allowed the company to achieve its original 2011 target of 122,000 units three months ahead of schedule. For the whole year, Chery expects to ship 180,000 vehicles overseas.

Who’s buying their cars? Exports to emerging markets have been especially strong. Fellow BRIC country Brazil is Chery’s largest export market, followed by Russia and Ukraine. Chery plans to export to Europe after 2015.

They won’t go it alone. According to a German report from last month, Chery Quantum Auto, a 1.5 billion euro joint venture between Chery and Israel Corp, will build three compact models to be sold in China and exported to Europe, reaching the continent next year. The cars, developed by Magna Steyr, will be built at a new factory near Shanghai with an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year, rising eventually to 500k units.

The cars, designed to meet Western standards and expected to cost around RM46,700 to RM63,500, will be sold under a new brand called Qoros. Read our post on that here.

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