Archive for Cars

In one of my previous posts I mentioned DaimlerChrysler’s efforts to restructure and replan Smarts business model, a company which has not turned a profit in almost 8 years. Casualties of the restructuring operation includes the Smart formore SUV and it was rumoured that the Smart Roadster would also be scrapped after it’s production ended at the end of 2005.

Although Smart will not be producing the Smart Roadster anymore, you will still be able to see it around as DaimlerChrysler has sold the rights and production equipments of the Smart Roadster to a British consortium called Project Kimber. Project Kimber was originally formed to bid for MG, but it lost out in that deal to Nanjing Automobiles.

So the Smart Roadster lives on, though I’m not sure if it will be still called the same name. Maybe Project Kimber will license the name too.

The MINI Cooper S with the John Cooper Works GP Kit will be available for viewing at the Geneva Motor Show. This is a limited edition 2000 unit run which is the most powerful production MINI Cooper in BMW’s stables.

Click here to read the rest of MINI GP Special Production

The car dashboard. You will spend most of your time as a car owner facing it. Many car companies have been trying to revolutionize the way dashboard information is presented to you. Honda has it’s split deck design with 2 levels of meters. Some companies position the dashboard meter cluster in the middle like the Toyota VIOS, Nissan X-Trail and even our Perodua Kancil.

I kind of like Citroen’s approach with the Citroen C6’s dashboard. Nice and compact display shows indicators, RPM, speed, gear shift position and fuel level in digital form, and speed is projected on the windscreen via a heads-up display.

Visionary Vehicles has brought in Chery’s first sedan for the US market - the Chery A520. The Chery A520 is part of the Chery A5 series, with the number 20 indicating a 2.0 liter engine. It is said that it’s based on an extended Volkswagen Golf Mk3 platform, something like an older Seat Toledo.

Click here to read the rest of Chery A520

Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd’s plans for 2006 includes introducing new models - the Nissan Teana luxury sedan and the Nissan Murano luxury crossover SUV. This is part of Edaran Tan Chong Motors’ strategy to increase Nissan’s 5% market share this year, which will be very challenging indeed. Will the Nissan Teana be placed in the market segment above the current Nissan Cefiro or replace it? I’m not sure.

Dealership networks will also be expanded. Current Edaran Tan Chong has 66 branches and 60 dealers. An extra 18 branches and 13 dealers will be added nationwide.

What about the Nissan Latio? It’s being sold in Singapore and I think it would be a good competitors to the budget Japanese family sedan market conquered by the Toyota VIOS and Honda City currently.

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It’s been a good year indeed for UMW Holdings Bhd. Have you seen the Toyota Avanza advertisement with the little boy fully decked out in beach gear but standing sadly outside the house because the family car had no space for him and they left without him? Cars like the Toyota Avanza and the Perodua Myvi which manages to address market needs as well as they did are sure to sell like hot cakes.

Higher sales of Toyota and Perodua vehicles among other industries have helped boost UMW Holdings Bhd’s net profit for the year ended Dec 31 2005 up 67% to RM276 million. Toyota and Perodua vehicle sales went up 36.4% in 2005 to 236,341 units compared to the 173,286 units sold in 2004.

The Naza KIA Academy in Gurun, Kedah is a 20 million ringgit joint-venture investment by Naza KIA Sdn Bhd and Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd. The Naza KIA Academy has a basic technical training centre, management training facilities, an operation service centre and a showroom. It has a hostel with 45 twin-sharing air-conditioned rooms. It’s service centre has a 24-service base, allowing it to service 2,300 vehicles yearly. The academy currently has 15 students, comprising of Naza’s own staff and secondary school leavers and can take a maximum of 40 at a time.

Naza is currently positioning the Naza KIA Academy as a regional training centre for the Asia Pacific region, providing strategic support to KIA Motors Corporation. If plans go well, it will be the 5th overseas training centre for Kia Motors. The other four are in the US, Germany, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

Talks have already begun and a Memorandum of Understanding should be signed in early March 2006. It is hoped that with the Overseas Training Centre status, transfer of technology and expertise could be gained from Kia Motors.

It is hoped that in the long term the academy can hold twinning programmes with local universities. The academy is part of a RM90 million expansion plan which includes an R&D centre, logistics centre, test track and others.

Source: The Edge Daily, Business Times, StarBiz

Many of you remember the Citroen C4 because of it’s funky advertisement showing a Transformers style Citroen C4 robot grooving away to a song. The Citroen C4 is available in hatchback and coupe form, but Citroen has developed a new notchback model for the China market as the Chinese prefer notchbacks rather than hatchbacks or coupes. Shows how important the China market is.

Click here to read the rest of Citroen C-Triomphe based on Citroen C4

A few days ago there were rumours on Proton partnering up with Jinhua Young Man Automobile for it’s maiden entry into the Chinese market.

Yesterday, industry sources were quoted to say Proton would be tieing up with Chery Automotive Co Ltd to produce cars in China. Sources report that Proton Managing Director Syed Zainal Abidin was in China last month and visited Chery’s factory. The source also said the Gen2, Wira and Savvy will be the first cars which Proton would assemble in China for the Chinese market.

Production will begin with a capacity of 50,000 cars a year and it could be increased to 200,000 a year in 3-4 years depending on response and whether Proton has enough models in it’s line-up.

Chery Automobile recently launched it’s first car the Chery A520 in the United States through Visionary Vehicles and is surrounded by a controversial shroud for it’s Chery QQ minicar, which is a completely 100% rip-off of the Chevy Spark, just one of the many acts of vehicle piracy in China.

All rumours from anonymous industry sources so far. Nothing official from Proton.

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The Nissan Murano can be said to be the very first crossover - combining the practicality of the SUV with the sportiness of a coupe. This is Mazda’s offensive at the new North American automobile market’s thirst for crossover SUVs, the Mazda CX-7.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Mazda CX-7 Crossover Production Begins