Archive for International News

In order to pack enough components and space into such a small little thing, Toyota’s new premium small car the Toyota iQ warranted an all-new platform with many newly designed components.

Some packaging innovations used in the new Toyota iQ includes a relocated differential moved to the front side of the engine to allow the front wheels to be moved further forward, a new steering rack that is mounted high on the firewall, a new wiper motor and mechanism to allow for the new steering rack, a book-thin flat fuel tank located under the rear passenger’s feet, a compact yet powerful climate control unit, ultrathin seatbacks to create more space, and repositioned engine ancillaries around the suspension for a turning radius of 3.9 meters. Because the rear passenger is so close to the rear of the car, there are even rear windshield airbags.

The iQ will have a production volume of only 100,000 units a year which is not enough to recover the R&D costs, so a few more cars based on the Toyota iQ platform is expected to arrive soon. One is a small SUV - likely to be a Cross-iQ, and others would include a compact 7-seater as well as a car to replace the Toyota Yaris.

It seems that the Toyota iQ is actually a challenge to Toyota’s R&D team to rethink how they usually design a vehicle platform, and then use the space-maximizing innovations and platform to create more normal sized cars that offer class-leading interior space. Imagine, perhaps two generations from now we will get an iQ-based Toyota Vios B-segment sedan that offers C-segment interior space.

And it will all be because of the Toyota iQ.

Fiat is quite obviously trying to position the Fiat Fioriono Qubo as a happening lifestyle MPV as evident from the hot babes and the bright colours in this set of photos.

Based on the Fiat Panda platform, the Fiorino is a joint venture program between Fiat and PSA Peugeot Citroen and as a result of that, it is also sold as the Peugeot Bipper and the Citroen Nemo. The series was originally launched as commercial vans but as Renault did with their Kangoo, this new passenger version comes soon after.

A few engine options are available ranging from a 73hp 1.4 liter 8 valve mated to a 5-speed manual (Fiat recommends this for CNG conversions), to a 75hp 1.3 liter Multijet engine mated to either a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed automated manual.

It is available either has a 7-seater or a 5-seater. Look after the jump for more photos of the Fiorino Qubo and its accompanying babes.

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Lamborghini has released two teaser images of a mystery car that’s set to be unveiled at the 2008 Paris Motor Show.

There’s not much we know about the car - we don’t even know if it is a pure concept car or a production car or a concept car that is previewing a production car. All we know is it has delicious bits of carbon fiber all over the place and the design theme stays true to the futuristic tone set by the Reventon.

More will be revealed at the Paris motor show but for the moment you can click the image on the left to see a larger version with more detail.

Volkswagen is stepping up efforts to find a production base in South East Asia and will send a team of 20 people led by the VW group’s head of overseas manufacturing Christof Spathelf to ASEAN countries to look for suitable locations for its production base, or possibly multiple production bases.

The scenario could be either base or bases because according to sources, Vee-Dub’s top executives are having internal debates on whether to pick one single factory that can produce between 120,000 to 150,000 cars a year, or choose several bases - up to 5 factories in 5 countries to assemble CKD kits. VW group production head Jochem Heizmann said the ASEAN market is very varied from country to country - Thailand is a strong market for pickups while Malaysia is a strong passenger car market.

Because of this scenario, there may just still be hope for CKD Volkswagen cars here in Malaysia. One thing’s for sure - Volkswagen wants to try to enter without substantial investments so we may see some form of JV at least in terms of production capacity sharing with the owner of an existing plant.

Volkswagen predicts the ASEAN market countries will collectively hold a sales potential of 3 million new cars per year by 2018 from 1.7 million in 2007. ASEAN is considered a “gap in the map” that has to be filled in Volkswagen’s plans along with Russia and India.

Source

So you’ve got the moolah and want to make a green statement. Other than rigging up your large bungalow’s roof with plenty of solar panels, how else can you show how much you’re into the whole save the environment movement? Your car of course. The Prius is too plebian and the LS600h is too Japanese. Here comes the boys at Stuttgart to the rescue with the Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid.

The Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid is based on the S350 but adds an electric motor and also the first application of a lithium ion battery in a production car, for a combined NEDC fuel consumption of 7.9 liters per 100km (up by 2.2 liters per 100km compared to the S350) and emissions of 190g/km.

Because of the high-voltage electric components that have been added to the car, Mercedes-Benz engineers have added what they call a “7-stage safety concept” to the car. 1) All wiring is colour coded and marked with safety instructions. 2) Comprehensive contact protection via insulation and newly developed dedicated connectors. 3) Battery is enclosed in high-strength steel housing. Battery cells are bedded in a special gel to dampen any knocks. Battery has a blow-off vent, a rupture disc and a separate cooling circuit. Battery conditions are continuously monitored for safety. 4) Separation of battery terminals, individual safety-wiring for all high-voltage components. In event of malfunction, the entire high-voltaage system is switched off. 5) Active discharging of high-voltage system when ignition is off. 5) During accident, high-voltage system is quickly switched off within fractions of a second. 7) Continuous monitoring for short circuits.

The 3.5 liter V6 from the S350 now runs on the Atkinson cycle and is tuned to produce 279 horsepower (via a new cylinder head, different pistons and a modified camshaft and cam control) and is aided by an electric motor rated for 20 horsepower and a starting torque of 160Nm. Combined torque output for the petrol engine and electric motor is 385Nm, the equivalent of a conservatively-tuned 4.0 liter engine, so you could say the S400 deserves its badge.

Unlike other petrol-electric hybrids which typically use a CVT transmission, the S400 BlueHybrid uses the 7G-TRONIC seven speed automatic transmission. The electric motor also functions as a device for brake energy regeneration for the lithium ion battery, and a starter for the combustion engine, allowing start-stop ability for further fuel savings. The start-stop function is switched off in Reverse gear to prevent it from repeatedly turning on and off during maneuvers such as parking.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the S400 BioHybrid.

Click here to read the rest of Mercedes-Benz S400 BlueHybrid officially unveiled!

Saab will be displaying an open top version of the Saab 9-X BioHybrid Concept unveiled earlier this year called the Saab 9-X Air Concept.

The Paris 2008 concept car will be powered by what is most probably GM’s future “non-Volt” hybrid powertrain combination - a 1.4 liter engine that supports E85 flex-fuel mated to a 6-speed twin clutch transmission and assisted by an electric motor powered by lithium ion batteries.

The existence of both a hatchback and open top version of the Saab 9-X concept cars point to the upcoming Saab 9-1 car emulating the likes of the Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series in terms of model offering.

Look after the jump for a hi-res gallery of the concept car.

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Peugeot will be displaying the Peugeot Prologue Concept on its home turf at the 2008 Paris Motor Show. It pretty much looks like a conventional 5-door hatchback although it appears to be higher and larger than the likes of the Peugeot 308.

It seems that Peugeot will be releasing a production MPV called the Peugeot 3008 built on the 308 platform soon and the Prologue previews the 3008’s styling cues. It doesn’t look like it will sit 7 or even 6 so this may be a 5-seater MPV in the style of the Citroen C4 Picasso (as opposed to the C4 Grand Picasso).

Not much details have been revealed but under the hood is a petrol-electric hybrid system that produces a joint peak output of 200 horsepower. Is this the 1.6 liter turbocharged BMW-Prince engine mated to an electric motor? CO2 output is 109g/km on the combined cycle or 0g/km in fully electric mode.

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More photos and details of the new Chevrolet Volt have been revealed and this time there are also photos of the interior, and no GM staff blocking our views of the new production hybrid car by General Motors. The Volt was unveiled on GM’s 100th anniversary.

Unlike other hybrid vehicles which use either the petrol or electric engine to move the car, or some hybrids like Honda’s IMA which uses the petrol all the time with no electric-only mode and uses the electric motor only for assist, the Chevrolet Volt runs on the electric motor at all times. The electric motor produces 150 horsepower and 370Nm of torque and gets power from a 16-kWh lithium ion battery (220 lithium ion cells) which is recharged via brake energy regeneration or the internal combustion engine.

The combustion engine (powered by gasoline or E85) only kicks in to charge the battery and because that is its only function it can be tuned to be extremely efficient at this, working best only at a certain RPM range required to drive a dynamo and charge the battery. GM calls this type of hybrid an E-REV or Extended-Range Electric Vehicle.

When you are parked at home, the battery can also be charged via a standard household plug with 120V (8 hours) or 240V (less than 3 hours) output. Charging times are of course less if the battery has not been fully depleted. Based on American electricity tariffs at time of publishing, the Volt uses 80 US cents per day (or 10 US cents per kWh) to charge up for 65km per day of driving. According to GM, running a Chevrolet Volt and charging it daily will use less electricity annually than an average home’s refrigerator and freezer.

The interior features an LCD instrument display and a 7 inch touch screen vehicle information display. All climate and entertainment controls are also touch screen-style with an optional nav system that can use the onboard hard drive for map in additional to music storage, so the Volt’s interior matches its “futuristic” powertrain.

Lastly, here are some figures. The Volt’s wheelbase at 2,685mm is slightly shorter than the Mitsubishi Lancer and Honda Civic at 2,700m. It’s 4404mm long, 1798mm wide and 1430mm tall. It has a 301 liter boot. It rides on 17 inch forged aluminium wheels which are wrapped with specially developed low rolling resistance tyres.

If you think the Volt will mark a turn in GM’s financial records for the next 100 years, think again. GM’s COO Fritz Henderson said that GM is likely to lose money with every Chevrolet Volt sold. In fact, according to Henderson he’s never seen a situation where GM made money with a “generation 1 technology”. GM’s vice chairman Bob Lutz says there is still hope for profit as a huge conservative chunk of figures have been attributed to battery warranty claim costs and if there are not many claims the project could turn a profit.

The Volt will only go on sale in November 2010 (and China in 2011) but 100 production Volts will be built in 2009 for internal test fleets and media test drives. The Chevrolet Volt will be built on the same platform as the upcoming Chevrolet Cruze.

Look after the jump for more photos and videos of the Chevy Volt.

Click here to read the rest of New official details on the Chevrolet Volt

BMW North America’s CEO Jim O’Donnell has confirmed the existence of a turbocharged four-cylinder gasoline engine project for BMW cars.

BMW is already using a turbocharged inline-4 for its MINI brand, and has a turbocharged four cylinder diesel (320d), a twin turbocharged four cylinder diesel (123d), a new smooth-revving turbodiesel six (facelifted 330d and F01 730d), a twin turbocharged six cylinder diesel (330d), a twin turbo six cylinder (335i), and a twin turbocharged 4.4 liter V8.

Adding a powerful turbocharged or twin turbocharged inline-4 engine will complete this line-up of new turbocharged engines and if it ends up in the 1-Series will make the car a true spiritual successor to what the original BMW 3-Series was like. The new engine could also replace some of the smaller displacement N52 engines like the 2.5 liter in 523i and 525i states of tune. But will a fast BMW really feel the same without the lovely engine sound of an inline-6 or a V8?

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Porsche has released a teaser image of the upcoming four door Porsche Panamera GT cruiser. It doesn’t reveal much except a side profile of the front of the car.

I think we’ve pretty much expected the front end of the car to look like this already given how Porsche is “committed” to its traditional design cues. We also see some nice double 5 spoke wheels and big brakes with a red caliper hiding behind it.

More teasers will be unveiled by Porsche soon, leading up to the Panamera’s official unveiling.