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Chevrolet Cruze to get 5-door hatch variant

June 6, 2009 at 12:57 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, Holden, International News

Holden Cruze

GM’s Australian car company Holden will take charge of the development of a 5-door hatchback version of the Chevrolet Cruze, which would be the replacement for the Chevrolet Optra5 which was sold here in Malaysia. The project will cost AU$600 million and Holden will build it alongside the Cruze sedan at its Elizabeth plant in South Australia from Q3 2010 onwards, and the company also intends to export it.

Holden says it needs a hatchback car as they claim Australia’s largest passenger car segment in terms of volume consists roughly half of hatchbacks. It used to bring the Astra in as an offering but decided to stop because of currency fluctuations.

Holden will use the Cruze platform (of which global platform also underpins the new Astra) and build a hatchback version positioned in a more upmarket position compared to the Cruze sedan. It will have an “European” feel that will lean more towards how the Astra feels rather than the Cruze, thanks to steering and suspension input from Holden.

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Low-res BMW X1 undisguised photos uploaded!

June 5, 2009 at 5:02 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars

BMW X1

BMW probably assumes the BMW X1′s buyers will mostly be younger folks who are very active on the internet so they’re releasing teaser bits of the X1 slowly by slowly on the internet. A whole gallery of camouflaged photos of the X1 snapped at the media preview drive in Spain was released onto the internet a couple of days ago, but the latest is a set of 4 low-res undisguised photos that zoom into specific details of the car. These 4 photos were uploaded onto the X1′s official Facebook page.

The photos show the kidney grille, the badge on the boot, the light bars in the rear tail lamp, and there’s also the angel eye headlamps you see above. You’ll immediately notice some kind of weird square thing in the inner headlamp lense, anyone have any idea what that might be? It was also visible in the headlamps of the X1 in all of the camouflaged photos. Is it some kind of an LED array headlamp or something?

Anyway, it really shouldn’t be hard to imagine what the new X1 will look like, as it will probably be very close to the Concept X1. The new BMW X1 will be the latest compact SUV by BMW and will be about the size of a RAV4, while the next generation X3 will grow larger in size and slot in rightfully between this X1 and the 2nd generation E70 X5.

Look after the jump for the remaining 3 photos.
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Volkswagen Amarok – vee-dub’s new pick-up

June 5, 2009 at 4:10 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Volkswagen

Volkswagen has decided to name its upcoming pickup truck the Volkswagen Amarok. The word Amarok is the Inuktitut name for “wolf”. Inuktitut is the name of the Eskimo-ish Inuit language variants spoken in Canada. Linux users may recognise the name as shared with an open source KDE music player.

In naming the Amarok so, Volkswagen hopes it will emulate the wolf’s personality as the “king of the wilderness and a figure of robustness, endurance, and superiority”, in their own words. At launch time only a double cab version like the Pickup Concept shown above will be launched and it will have Volkswagen TDI engines mated to an all-wheel drive system. A single-cab model will be launched later.

The word Amarok and its association with a Wolf does sound kinda cool, and definitely way cooler than “Taro”, which means a kind of yam and is aso the old name for Volkswagen’s rebadge of the Toyota Hilux.

Look after the jump for more pix of the concept version.

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[Read more...]

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New Hyundai Verna Transform (facelifted Accent)

June 5, 2009 at 2:30 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans

Hyundai Verna Transform

The model that we know as the Hyundai Accent has been updated in Korea and called the Hyundai Verna Transform, a naming scheme that seems to echo the Sonata facelift which was also called a Sonata Transform.

Most of the equipment and engines remain the same and the only other change from the exterior looks seem to be an Eco indicator on the instrumentation panel which lets you know when you are driving economically, a revised dash design and blue backlighting for the dashboard instead of green. Those stuff they put on the grille don’t really look too good on such a narrow grille.

While its sibling Kia’s cars are all very aesthetically pleasing now, it looks like Hyundai still has to work hard on establishing its own corporate design language. It went one direction with the i30 and i20 but everything suddenly changed with the Genesis, and then now we have this. Kia’s design language thanks to Peter Schreyer is very stable with its simple but sleek and dynamic-looking designs and the Schreyer grille identity.

Check out more photos after the jump.
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Nick Heidfeld’s take on the new BMW X5 M

June 2, 2009 at 4:57 am By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Videos

BMW X5 M

BMW F1 driver Nick Heidfeld tells us his opinion of the new BMW X5 M, the M division’s first SUV which was unveiled together with its sleeker sibling the X6 M earlier this year. But of course being an employee it’s nothing but praises for the X5 M, but it’s still a nice watch because there are some footage of the X5 M in action inserted into the clip. That blue looks pretty good. If you need a recap on what the X5 M is all about read my launch story, but here’s a quick recap: twin-scroll twin-turbo V8, 555 horsepower, 680Nm of torque, and 4.7 seconds to 100km/h. Watch the video after the jump.
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VIDEO: Ian Callum on the new Jaguar XJ

June 2, 2009 at 4:23 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Jaguar, Videos

Jaguar XJ

We’re only slightly more than 5 weeks away from the official global unveiling of Jaguar’s new flagship car, the Jaguar XJ. So far we’ve only been able to see a teaser photo snapped from the top of the car, but in this video where Ian Callum talks about his latest baby like a proud new father we get to just barely see the XJ in motion behind a shroud of mist (screencap above), revealing a sleek profile but not much detail at all. Check the interview video out after the jump.

Related Posts:
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New Peugeot 5008 7-seater MPV – first details!

June 2, 2009 at 3:29 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Peugeot

Peugeot 5008

Peugeot has just unveiled a new MPV called the Peugeot 5008, which is based on the 3008‘s technical underpinings but with a larger body to seat up to 7 passengers in a three row 2-3-2 configuration. It is a competitor to other people movers such as the Volkswagen Touran, the Citroen C4 Grand Picasso and the Opel Zafira from the west and the Toyota Wish and Honda Stream from the east.

The new Peugeot 5008 measures 4530mm long and 1640mm tall, with a wheelbase of 2728mm and a drag coefficient of 0.29. Like the 3008, the chassis and suspension is derived from the 308′s, which uses a pseudo-MacPherson-type assembly with a drop link anti-roll bar at the front. The rear is a torsion beam but adapter to adjust to the higher weights that the 5008 will carry.

Peugeot 5008

Once launched, there will be a choice of 6 engines to pick from including 2 petrols and 4 oil burners. The two petrol engines are 1.6 litres in displacement, one normally aspirated with 120bhp and the other turbocharged making 156bhp. Both are Euro 5 compliant.

Peugeot 5008

The diesel engines include two 110hp 1.6 litre HDi FAP engines (one with lower emissions at 135g/km versus 143g/km) and the other two 2.0 litre HDi FAP units producing 150hp and 163hp, with the lower powered version putting out less emissions at 151g/km versus 178g/km. The 150hp version also uses less fuel at 5.8L/100km versus 6.8l/100km. The most economical engine is the 110hp 135g/km 1.6 litre turbodiesel which consumes only 5.2 litres per 100km/

Peugeot 5008

In the interior we see the new classy dashboard design that first debuted on the 3008. The shifter is mounted slightly higher than the rest of the center console running through the area between the front seats. One thing I like about the new French people movers are that the interior has been designed to give a very roomy and airy feeling to the passengers. Just check out that huge 1.69m2 panoramic glass roof!

Peugeot 5008

For the driver’s convenience, there is a heads-up display system for the 5008 wihch displays essential driving information such as the speed, cruise control functions and distance alert. Distance alert is basically a radar located behind the lower front bumper panel which displays the time in seconds between your car and the vehicle in front. It can help inform the driver if he is driving too close to the car in front of him. All of these extra driver assist systems should help this Pug score full marks in the safety assist category on the next round of EuroNCAP tests, like the 3008 managed to do. ESP is also fitted as standard and there are seat belt sensors on all seats.

Peugeot 5008

Elbow width is 1476mm at the front and 1520mm in the second row, which has three individual seats of equal width. Third row elbow width is 1341mm. Peugeot insists the third row are real proper seats that can fit adults and from photos it looks like it’s true, but with the third row up there isn’t much luggage space at the rear, quite similiar to the Exora. The 5008′s middle row can slide back and front over 130mm and can tilt to two positions. The second and third row can fold odwn to create a flat loading area.

Peugeot 5008

There is a rear multimedia system for the 5008′s rear passengers entertainment, which consists of two 7 inch colour screens mounted on the first row headrests. A connection console can accept connections from various equipment including video consoles, game consoles, DVD player etc, and up to two Bluetooth wireless headsets can be hooked up. The two colour screens can display separate video sources.

Nasim Sdn Bhd has proven that it has been able to bring in the latest Peugeot models with very attractive pricing in the past. Will they bring in the 5008 to give Malaysian carbuyers with European tastebuds an alternative product in a segment and price point dominated by the Mazda 5, Toyota Wish and Honda Stream?

Look after the jump for a full hi-res gallery of the new 7-seater Pug!
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Volvo to introduce diesel-electric hybrid in 2012

June 2, 2009 at 2:28 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Volvo

Volvo V70 Hybrid

Volvo and Swedish energy company Vattenfall will be cooperating on producing plug-in diesel-electric hybrid Volvos that combine electric motors with high capacity lithium ion batteries and turbodiesel powertrains by 2012. Volvo will manufacture the cars and Vattenfall will develop the charging systems as well as supply the cars with electricity for plug-in charging.

Three Volvo V70 demonstrator cars will be presented in summer this year by the joint venture. These demo cars will be used to gather information about the wishes and demands that drivers may have on the new technology, to determine their driving habits and to establish how they want to charge their cars.

Volvo V70 Hybrid

Vattenfall will be using these demo cars to test various concepts for high-speed home charging and also for charging stations in public places, where owners pay to charge up the car with electricity instead of refueling it with fossil fuels.

Determining charging behaviour patterns are very important in order to plan and deploy a charging infrastructure that works. Conducting focus groups and verbally finding out what potential drivers may think they want is one thing but real life requirements may change once someone is actually driving a plug-in car, thus these demo cars are actually quite important.

Look after the jump for some shots of the V70 demo car.
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Thai-assembled Toyota Camry Hybrid unveiled!

June 1, 2009 at 6:06 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Toyota

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota have previewed the Toyota Camry Hybrid that will be assembled in Thailand. The Thai-assembled Camry Hybrid will be the first Camry Hybrid to be based on the Aurion-based Camry body. Currently the Camry Hybrid sold in countries such as the US are based on the JDM Camry, which to me looks more funky and sporty, somewhat like an overgrown Altis.

As the Camry sold in Thailand and the rest of the ASEAN region are based on the Australian Toyota Aurion, it only makes sense that Toyota bases the Thai Camry Hybrid on the Aurion body. The Thai assembled Toyota Camry Hybrid features its own front grille and rear tail lamp design as well as a front bumper that looks similiar to the one found on the facelifted Toyota Camry, but with some differences in the fog lamp area.

The Australian-assembled Camry Hybrid will likely continue to be based on the JDM Camry body, as indicated by the Toyota HC-CV Hybrid Camry Concept displayed at the 2009 Melbourne Auto Show.

Toyota Camry Hybrid

Toyota Motor Thailand president Mitsuhiro Sonoda says the Camry Hybrid will be priced quite closely to exiting petrol-powered Camry models in Thailand, predicting a premium of not more than 100,000 Thai baht. This is because the Camry Hybrid is subject to an excise duty of only 10% instead of 35% in Thailand.

Since a top of the line Camry 2.4 can go for over 1.7 million Thai baht (it starts from about 1.5 million for the cheaper 2.4G), the Camry Hybrid would likely be priced at about 1.8 million Thai baht. I don’t think he was referring to the 3.5Q which retails for nearly 3 million Thai Baht.

Toyota Camry Hybrid

The warranty for the Toyota Camry Hybrid will also be extended to 5 years or 150,000km, which is longer than the regular 3 year warranty that you get with Toyota cars there. This is to help ease public acceptance of the relatively new technology which many fear will be expensive to maintain once the warranty period ends. Toyota has also partnered with insurance firms there to offer the same premiums as the regular models despite the Camry hybrid having more expensive parts.

I am not sure whether the Thai Camry Hybrid will share the same hybrid powertrain as the US market Camry with different styling, but under the US car’s hood is the 2.4 litre Atkinson cycle 2AZ-FXE engine producing 147 horsepower at 6,000rpm and 187Nm of torque at 4,400rpm, paired to a 30kW (40 horses) electric motor with 270Nm of torque. These two are combined and send power to the front wheels via an E-CVT transmission. The Thai Camry Hybrid should use something similiar.

Look after the jump for more photos of the Camry Hybrid.
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Honda Jazz S Modulo Limited Edition – 100 units

June 1, 2009 at 12:13 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd is currently offering a 100 unit limited edition Honda Jazz Grade S Modulo Limited Edition, which is essentially the Jazz Grade S with a Modulo kit which consists of a front and rear lip, side skirts, and a tailgate spoiler. It is only available in Cerulean Blue Metallic. According to Honda, the Modulo kit cost approximately RM5,000 but the 100 units are priced at the same price as the normal Jazz S: RM104,800.

With a difference of only RM5k between the Jazz S and V, it’s likely that alot of Jazz customers just opted to pay the extra RM5k for the Jazz V, so this promotion could be intended to help prop up the sales of the S variant to balance out the stock levels.

In case you don’t know, the Jazz S is the lower spec version of the two offered, with the top of the line being the Jazz Grade V. The V has larger wheels (16 inch versus 15 inch on the S) and a black interior instead of a black and blue interior on the V.

For the full list of differences, check out my Honda Jazz launch story, or look after the jump for a closer look at the bodykit parts.
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