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Motor insurance rates to be gradually revised

January 9, 2012 at 5:47 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News

Effective January 16, the motor tariff premium rates in the country are set to be revised on a gradual basis, according to a Bernama report. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), which issued a statement on the matter, said that the revision will be the first to be carried out in over three decades, adding that the premium adjustment was to be in a small amount and implemented over a period of four years.

For example, third-party cover on motorcycles of 110 cc will experience a premium increase of between RM1 to RM3.50 per year over the next four years. For a private car of 1,400 cc, the premium adjustment will be between RM6 to RM34 per year over the same period.

As for commercial vehicles such as outstation taxis and buses, the impact of the premium adjustment on the passengers will be minimal, at less than 10 sen per passenger per trip.

The tariff revision is part of the New Motor Cover Framework, which addresses the structural issues within the motor insurance and takaful sector. The framework also involves an immediate implementation of critical measures to enhance efficiency in claims settlement.

The central bank said that the adjustment in the tariff is to be reviewed periodically in order to ensure that the adjusted premium rates continue to be reflective of the claims experience, and assured that the implication on the public and businesses will be marginal.

It stated that the current tariffs, which have not been revised for more than 30 years, have been a major source of difficulties faced by the public in recent years – while premiums have not been adjusted, there has been a significant increase in the level of car ownership to about 19 million to date, and with it, a corresponding accident rate and claims. The enhancements will significantly reduce the average claims settlement period to six to 18 months from the present one to five years.

The framework will pave the way for the detariffing of motor insurance premiums in 2016, in which premium rates will be further differentiated in accordance to the risk profile of individual vehicles and fairer to vehicle owners, as those with good claims experience will enjoy much better premium rates than those with a higher risk profile, BNM added.

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Toyota Prius c arriving soon – teased on UMW Toyota site

January 9, 2012 at 2:46 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Local News, Toyota

Toyota’s Prius c hybrid is arriving in Malaysia soon. The hybrid was unveiled in production model form at last year’s Tokyo Motor Show and was introduced into the Japanese market – in its Aqua domestic version form – in Dec, so its impending arrival here is pretty rapid, by any measure.

We earlier had the brochure to work on (the resolution isn’t great because it’s from Facebook, so the image has been descaled), but have now updated the story accordingly; the UMW Toyota website already has details on the car, as well as an estimated pricing – RM103,990, which will be welcome news for those looking at a cheaper alternative to the more upmarket Prius. At this price point, it’s looking very much competitively priced against the Honda Insight.

The Prius c wears a 1NZ-FXE 1.5 litre Atkinson cycle mill, which has 73 PS at 4,800 rpm and 111 Nm at 3,600-4,400 rpm for numbers, and it works alongside an electric motor/Ni-Mh battery combination offering 61 PS and 169 Nm, together offering a combined 101 PS output. The system is mated to an E-CVT drivetrain.

Features include halogen projector headlamps, front fog lamps, fabric seats, cruise control, a 3.5-inch full colour multi-information display and a 2-DIN head unit with USB and iPod compatibility. Other features on the Prius c include a four-spoke urethane steering wheel with tilt and telescoping adjustment, power retractable sideview mirrors and electric power steering.

Brakes are front discs and rear drums, and the car sits on 15-inch wheels with 185/60 series rubbers. On the safety front, there are seven airbags (front, front side, curtain and driver knee) as standard, as well as VSC, traction control, EBD and brake assist

Five colours are available for the car, these being Silver Metallic, Black Mica, Citrus Orange Mica Metallic, Super Red V and Lime White Pearl CS, the last shade adding RM800 to the total price.

On the options list is a DVD-AVN package, which consists of a 2-DIN audio unit with colour touchscreen, navigation system and reverse camera, and this one goes for RM2,990.

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Daimler-Nissan joint engine production in US begins 2014

January 9, 2012 at 1:21 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Mercedes Benz, Nissan

Nissan and Daimler are to begin production of Mercedes-Benz four-cylinder petrol engines in the US from 2014, according to reports. The engines will be built at the Japanese automaker’s powertrain factory in Decherd, Tennessee.

The companies are planning for a production capacity of 250,000 engines per year at the plant, with the mills set to be used in Mercedes-Benz cars as well as in Nissan’s Infiniti vehicles.

The Renault-Nissan alliance collectively holds a 3.1% stake in Daimler, and the German luxury car maker has an equivalent stake in each of its two alliance partners. The cooperation agreement signed last year between the three companies will see the development of small vehicles and engines, which will bring about cost synergy benefits.

In September last year, Nissan and Daimler had announced that Infiniti is to start production of a new compact car based on Mercedes-Benz technology in 2014; Renault is also looking into using Mercedes-Benz modules as well as it goes along.

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Cadillac ATS, compact luxury sedan targets the Germans

January 9, 2012 at 12:27 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cadillac, Cars, International News

This is the new Cadillac ATS, the GM luxury brand’s compact premium sedan challenger to the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes C-Class. To debut at the Detroit motor show, it will go on sale this summer in the US.

Targeting “spirited drivers”, the rear wheel drive ATS had Nürburgring as one of its key testing grounds, along with additional roads, racetracks and laboratories around the globe. “Designed with quick, nimble and fun-to-drive dynamics, ATS expands Cadillac’s portfolio into a crucial global segment. More than just another new entry, the ATS aims to change the status quo of the European-dominated segment,” said Don Butler, VP of marketing for Cadillac.

In the driving department, Caddy dangles nearly 50/50 weight balance, its first five-link independent rear suspension, multi-link double-pivot MacPherson-strut front suspension with direct-acting stabiliser bar, driver-adjustable FE3 sport suspension with Magnetic Ride Control, underbody aerodynamic shields, electric variable-effort steering gear from ZF, four-channel ABS with available Brembo brakes and AWD as an option.

Engine wise, there are two four-cylinders and a V6, including an all-new 2.0L turbo four-pot rated at 270 hp/353 Nm and Cadillac’s 3.6L V6 with 318 hp/362 Nm. A diesel is in the works. The ATS will offer both six-speed manual and automatic transmission options. An aluminum hood, magnesium engine mount brackets and even lightweight, natural-fiber door trim panels, are among the weight saving measures.

ATS comes with CUE, which stands for Cadillac User Experience. CUE pairs entertainment and information data from up to 10 Bluetooth-enabled mobile devices, USBs, SD cards and MP3 players with a vehicle infotainment system that reduces complexity through customised info, voice commands and fewer buttons and larger icons. Caddy says that most of today’s luxury cars have around 20 buttons controlling the radio and entertainment functions. CUE has only four.

Cadillac has been using this Art & Science design language for quite awhile now, and while it’s a new model, the ATS doesn’t appear very fresh, for me at least. The sporty slant sounds good, though.

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Dodge Dart, American ‘Alfa Giulietta Sedan’ looking good

January 9, 2012 at 9:15 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Dodge, International News

Previously teased, now fully released – this is the all new 2013 Dodge Dart, the American brand’s C-segment sedan to take on the likes of the Corolla, Civic, Cruze and Elantra. To be officially unveiled at the upcoming Detroit show, the Dodge Dart shares underpinnings with the sexy Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Fiat owns both brands.

The 2013 Dart is the first Chrysler Group vehicle based on Fiat architecture. Not just plug and play, but the Giulietta’s platform has been lengthened and widened to deliver segment-leading cabin space, according to Dodge.

The “Compact U.S. Wide” architecture underpinning the Dart comprises of 68% high-strength steel, a figure said to be segment leading. The outer skin is quite outstanding, too, featuring Dodge’s trademark split-crosshair grille and full-width LED “racetrack” tail lamps.

Inside the cabin, one can see a similar “racetrack” theme on the dash, which has a centre stack angled towards the driver, old BMW style. All displays are colourful and hi-res, and there’s a cool storage area under the front passenger seat base.

There will be three engine options at launch, a 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged unit or two “Tigershark” mills – a 2.0L and a 2.4L MultiAir.

Three transmission choices will be available, a manual, a Fiat-sourced six-speed dual-clutch transmission and at a later date, a nine-speed automatic gearbox by ZF. The latter is supposed to boost fuel economy by 10 to 16% over the DCT, which is very impressive. By the way, there’s no typo, it’s NINE speed!

The Dodge Dart will be built at Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois. This local boy with Italian blood poses some hard questions at the Asians dominating the show – it has the tech and looks to challenge, that’s for sure.

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Chevrolet MPV Concept unveiled at Delhi Auto Expo 2012

January 7, 2012 at 12:21 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, India

General Motors India unveiled the Chevrolet MPV Concept at the 11th Auto Expo in New Delhi this week. The MPV Concept is a joint venture project between GM and SAIC, engineered for the B-segment MPV market in India and developed for emerging markets, which pretty much means it is a low cost Toyota Avanza/Nissan Grand Livina competitor.

GM’s India Technical Center worked with Lotus Engineering for about a year and a half to tune the chassis. The body and chassis uses high strength and ultra high strength steel for chassis stiffness and safety. It can seat ether 7 or 8 people in a flexi-seating setup.


Live photos by MotorBeam.com

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Auto Bavaria Sg. Besi teams up with Leica for a special event this weekend!

January 7, 2012 at 8:31 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Advertorial, BMW, Cars, Local News

Something special will be going on this weekend at the Auto Bavaria Sg. Besi branch! Leica, the famous German optics company that has been established since 1913 will be teaming up with the BMW authorized dealer for a unique showroom experience.

The event which is open to public will showcase a special Leica studio whereby visitors can get their photographs taken with a BMW, and get it printed on the spot. These photographs will be taken with Leica’s top of the line cameras which can cost approximately RM120,000.

Not only that, there will also be special promotions for selected BMW models, for both new and pre-registered units in conjunction with the Chinese New Year celebrations. Another interesting thing to note is that the latest 520i and 528i M Sport models will be on display and available for test drive as well.

Both of these models are powered by BMW’s 2.0 liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. For more information, please call 03-9223 3200.

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BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept on display at Ingress Auto’s showroom until January 9

January 6, 2012 at 7:48 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

If you’ve been keen to see what the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept looks like in the flesh, here’s your chance to do so over the weekend, if you happen to be in the Klang Valley, that is.

The car – which was featured in Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol – is on display at BMW dealership Ingress Auto’s showroom from today until Monday, January 9. Unfortunately, you won’t get to see the car on the move, for it’s just a full-sized static model, but the display is still an impressive sight. Head on over to Ingress, which is located in Sungai Penchala, or call 03-7721 2288 for details.

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Proton-GM talks confirmed, at preliminary stages now

January 6, 2012 at 4:22 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton


National carmaker Proton has confirmed news reports that it is in talks with Detroit-based General Motors (GM). Replying to a query from Bursa Malaysia, Proton said that talks are only at a preliminary stage and there’s nothing to announce for now.

“The Board of Directors of Proton Holdings Berhad wishes to inform that talks with GM are only at a preliminary stage and as such warrants no announcement at this point in time. Should there be further developments that warrant an announcement, the Company hereby undertakes to make necessary disclosure in accordance with the relevant requirements,” Proton told the stock exchange.

People started talking about it last week, when The Edge reported that Proton was in talks to sell 40% to 50% stake in its underused Tanjung Malim plant to GM for between RM700 million to RM800 million. Sources quoted by the report said that if the deal goes through, GM could potentially invest RM300 million worth of equipment in the facility.

Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, when confirming his bid for Khazanah’s shares in Proton, added fuel: “There is some truth in the report. However, GM has all along been interested in Proton even when I was the head during the 1990s,” he said.

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Tata Safari Storme – updated SUV debuts in New Delhi

January 6, 2012 at 1:40 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Tata


Click to enlarge.

Tata has unveiled the Safari Storme at the Auto Expo 2012 in India. The new-generation SUV’s exterior has been reworked, with a new front grille, side cladding, new projector headlamps and all-new rear looks heading the list.

Elswhere, the bonnet has also been given a restyling job to include a ‘power bulge’ to lend the Storme a sportier look, and the spare tyre has been relocated to under the vehicle. Other fresh items include new pull-type door handles and side footsteps, as well as newly-designed roof-rails, side cladding and a new tailgate trim, replete with an ergonomically-designed grab handle.

The Safari Storme is powered by a 2.2 litre DiCOR diesel with a Variable Geometry Turbo, and has 140 PS at 4,000 rpm and 320 Nm at 1,700-2,700 rpm for numbers, with a five-speed G-76 Mark II manual transmission in attendance. There’s electronic shift-on-the-fly (ESOF), enabling switching from 2WD to 4WD mode while on the move, and the Storme offers a generous 200 mm of ground clearance, handy for those off-road moments.

Tata has dressed up the Safari Storme’s cabin with the inclusion of beige seats matched with a leather-wrapped steering wheel, chrome highlighted gear knob, wood-accented dashboard and door trim, a new instrument cluster, chrome-lined speaker grilles and inside door handles.

Other interior kit includes tilt-adjustable steering, dual air-conditioning with a separate integrated roof mounted blower for rear passengers and integrated 12V-gadget charging points across all three rows of seating.

Safety-wise, there’s four-channel ABS with EBD, dual front airbags, disc brakes throughout and an Inertia Switch, which automatically cuts off the fuel supply to the engine, unlocks all the doors and switches on the hazard warning light in the event of a crash.

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