Advertisement

Toyota Urban Cruiser photographed next to a Toyota Land Cruiser, see the family resemblance?

May 18, 2009 at 8:59 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

Toyota Urban Cruiser

The world’s motoring press yawned when Toyota unveiled the new Toyota Urban Cruiser for the European market. The Urban Cruiser was supposed to help fill in the gap after the Toyota RAV4 grew larger.

Many expected a new model but all we got was a rehash of the Toyota ist and the Scion xD with a slightly higher ride height. And the thing is it shares half its name with the mighty Toyota Land Cruiser, a true blue offroading machine. But I suppose the word Urban changes the word completely. Here’s a new set of 3 photos of the new Urban Cruiser snapped next to its Land Cruiser big brother.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

Various engines are available with the Toyota Urban Cruiser, including that new 1.33 litre Dual VVT-i unit that also features start-stop technology and puts out 129g/km. There is also a 130g/km 1.4 litre D4-D turbodiesel putting out 89 horsepower, and this particular engine is exclusively available only with all-wheel drive.

Toyota Urban Cruiser

The AWD system is called Active Torque Control can vary torque distribution from 100:0 up to 50:50 between the front and rear, so it actually runs in front wheel drive most of the time whenever the additional rear traction is not needed. This is done via an electronically controlled coupling located in front of the rear differential. There is also a LOCK button to force 50:50 mode.

33 Comments      

50 new Toyota Prius for the British Army

May 18, 2009 at 8:46 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News, Toyota

Army Toyota Prius

A total of 50 second generation Toyota Prius (not the latest one that’s just launched) will be joining the service in the UK this year! It’s not going to be in the battlefield of course, but will join the British Army’s White Fleet’s fleet of 6,600 admin cars in efforts to meet a government target that all cars procured between 2007 and 2011 produce less than 130 g/km of CO2.

The 50 units of the Prius which puts out 104g/km of CO2 will replace 50 units of the Vauxhall Vectra, which produces nearly 50% more of the emissions at 154g/km.

“Our vehicles are constantly being changed over because they have reached a certain mileage or a certain life. When we change our vehicles we are looking for value for money but also having in mind those targets the Government has set us on sustainable operations. Taking delivery of this fleet of hybrid vehicles, whose carbon emissions are below the 2011 targets set to us at HQ Land Forces by the Government, means we are ahead of schedule in terms of what the White Fleet produces,” said White Fleet’s Director of Infrastructure Mark Armstrong.

It’s quite interesting looking at a government walking the talk. When they hike up emissions taxes and this and that to force their citizens and residents to be less damaging to the environment, they do the same to set an example.

12 Comments      


13 year old boy pilots Prodrive Impreza to victory

May 18, 2009 at 8:40 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Motorsports

Subaru

This 13 year old Indonesian boy is being called the “next Lewis Hamilton of the WRC”. Sean Galael won the first two rounds of the KFC Junior Rally Sprint in Indonesia in a Prodrive Impreza Group N rally car with the same specifications as one used in the Production World Rally Championship.

Subaru

Sean was also in the co-driver’s seat last year in the Indonesian Rally Championship with Prodrive’s own works test driver, Dave Maslen, and former Australian rally champion, Cody Crocker. This year, he will once again be the co-driver for the Serge Motorsport Prodrive Impreza N14 in the Indonesian series.

That’s quite impressive really. What were you doing when you were 13? But Sean’s involvement is not that huge a surprise really as he has it in his blood – his father Ricardo is also a rally driver and won the Indonesian Championship in 2006.

48 Comments      

Lexus Remote Touch: a Japanese take on the in-car user interface

May 18, 2009 at 8:34 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus

Lexus Remote Touch

Lexus now have their own iDrive-like device. BMW debuted iDrive with a rotary knob and other car manufacturers followed suit with a similiar knob.

Lexus started off with a touch-screen system, which you can see in the LS and GS sold locally right now but with the new RX, Lexus chose a system they call “Remote Touch control” which looks rather similiar to a Nintendo Wii’s nunchuk.

Lexus Remote Touch

The little controlled knob works very similiar to the Wii’s nunchuk as well, just nudge it around to control the screen’s mouse pointer. The system also “pulls” the mouse pointer to an icon if it passes close to it.

Look after the jump for more shots of the actual Lexus Remote Touch as found in the new third generation RX.
[Read more...]

18 Comments      

Lexus RX 450h features heads-up display

May 15, 2009 at 3:09 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Lexus

Lexus HUD

The latest generation Lexus RX450h now features a heads-up display which can present vehicle speed, navigation arrow view directions, audio information and warning messages from various systems like the Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) and Pre-Crash Safety (PCS) systems.

In the UK market, it is standard equipment on the RX450h SE-L Premium, and it’s display position and lighting intensity can be adjusted according to ambient light via controls near the steering wheel. The Lexus HUD system uses white as the colour for the HUD display, a colour that is rarely used because of its tendency to blend with the exterior background. Lexus went around this by using high intensity LEDs. They then tested it out on the snow-covered roads of Hokkaido.

They probably insisted on having it white to maintain a consistent look with the rest of the instrument lighting, which is white. As far as I know there is no HUD on the RX offered in Malaysia, which is the RX350 model.

37 Comments      

The Elektrobay electric car charging station!

May 15, 2009 at 2:03 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel

Elektrobay

One main issue with electric cars is charging on the go, where can you charge your vehicle and be properly billed for it if you want to charge it away from your home? This problem also applies to people who live in condos. A British company called Elektromotive hopes to solve this with their EBConnect system, together with their Elektrobay prototype.

The Elektrobay is a fully operational charging station that is said to be compatible with all plug-in electric and hybrid cars. The Elektrobay’s power sockets are located under a secure weatherproof door. While charging is in progress the door is locked shut with only a small hole for the power cord to hang out of it, to prevent interference. It puts out 240V and 13A in the UK or 230V and 16A in Europe, but tere is also a 3-phase “fast charge” prototype in the works which supplies 32A in effort to reduce charging times.

The charging bay then communicates with a billing server with EBConnect, which manages 2-way data exchange of electricity usage and billing data via GSM networks. The system allows the user to pay via various methods such as a prepaid Elektrobay keyfob, or automatically added to the user’s household electricity bill, or even via SMS messaging, and automatic registration number recognition.

The first Elektrobay was installed back in 2006 in London, and the total amount of Elektrobay stations now stands at 100 around the city. Another 40 will be added in cities and shopping malls around UK. Elektromotive also supplies the Elektrobay to Holland, Sweden, Germany and Ireland.

19 Comments      

Skoda Yeti production car rolls out of factory

May 15, 2009 at 1:19 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Skoda

Skoda Yeti

The first Skoda Yeti production car rolled off Skoda’s Czech Republic plant earlier this week, and according to them it marks Skoda’s entry into the “crossover” segment.

In case you were wondering what a “Yeti” is, it’s not a made-up name. It’s what people call the legendary abominable snowman in the Himalayan region where the creature is said to live. But back to this Yeti. The Yeti is another one of Skoda engineers unique creations from the Volkswagen Group parts bin. Another example is the Roomster.

Skoda Yeti

It may have tough looks but it’s not very big though, with a wheelbase of only 2,578mm, which indicates its likely to be using the PQ35 Golf platform. It’s 4,233mm long, 1,793mm wide and 1,691mm tall. On the interior it features a rear seat system called Varioflex which essentially allows you to extend boot space up to 1,760 litres.

Under the hood are a few engines such as a 1.8 litre TSI engine and a 2.0 TDI engine. The Yeti is also equipped with a 4X4 system with a 4th generation Haldex clutch system for those that intend to take it on rough roads, and it also has a 180mm ground clearance to help with that.

Look after the jump for pix and a video of the Yeti.
[Read more...]

25 Comments      

Peugeot Lion Save Package Promotion for the Peugeot 407 and 308 VTi

May 14, 2009 at 5:52 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

Peugeot 308 VTi

Malaysian Peugeot distributors Nasim Sdn Bhd is currently having a promotion for the Peugeot 407 and the Peugeot 308 VTi (the 1.6 litre normally aspirated baseline model, shown above) called the Peugeot Lion Save Package where buyers will get a 70% markdown on their respective scheduled service maintenance charges for the first 60,000 km or 36 months, whichever comes first. Nasim will also be providing free V-Kool vouchers for the Peugeot 407 and free Solar Gard vouchers for the 308 VTi. The promotion runs from tomorrow until the 15th of June 2009, a period of 1 month.

26 Comments      

Can Proton cars run RON95 octane fuel?

May 14, 2009 at 4:18 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton

ProtonI sent a query to Proton when the RON95 introduction was officially confirmed on whether their engines would be compatible with the new fuel. From what I understand from reading some comments on this site and on other forums apparently there are some Proton manuals that call for RON97 fuel to be used. So I think it’s best to get an official answer from the manufacturer.

Proton’s powertrain department have tested all of their engines including the Mitsubishi models and have stated that all Proton cars can run on RON95, despite what they’ve stated in their manuals (why???). This includes the old carburetor cars, the Renault engines, and the new Campro CPS engine.

There is only one issue. They acknowledge some of the old carburetor cars may experience knocking depending on the condition of the engine and needs to go into the Proton service center to adjust the engine’s ignition timing.

This happens to carburetor engines because a carburetor cannot inject fuel as accurately as a fuel injection system, thus sometimes the air-fuel mixture is too rich. All the unburned fuel results in lots of carbon deposits, which change the shape of the combustion chamber and causes pre-mature ignition, which results in engine knock. Any high mileage engine may also have the risk of carbon deposit build up.

So if you have an old Wira or Satria with a carburetor, you are at a higher risk of engine knocking if you use RON95, if you didn’t have it already with RON97 of course. Any other high mileage car is also at a risk because of carbon build-up that can happen over time, even with a fuel injection system. For those that are a little adventurous, RON95 is now available at the Petronas stations in Precinct 9 Putrajaya so you can go try it out.

And of course, saying your cars can run on a certain fuel octane grade without knocking is one thing, but it’s another to say it would run at the same level of performance and fuel economy because of the ignition timing adjustments, whether manual or automatic.

If you would like to learn more about what RON really is, read the related link.

Related Post:
What is RON (Research Octane Number)?

105 Comments      

1,000 bookings for Tesla Model S sedan!

May 14, 2009 at 2:50 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, Tesla Motors

Tesla Model S

Tesla Motors has revealed that it has garnered a total of 1,000 bookings for its second model, the Tesla Model S. Tesla calls it a 4-door electric sedan with 5+2 seating – that’s something new! 3 rows in a sedan, with the +2 referring to child seats hidden somewhere way at the rear somehow I guess.

To make a booking you have to place a US$5,000 booking fee that is refundable but that means US$5 million in Tesla’s hands right now. The base model will cost US$49,900 after a tax credit because of the car’s zero emissions. The tax credit is quite substantial at US$7,500.

Tesla claims a 300 mile (480km) range (160 miles for the baseline model and another 230 mile model) and a recharge time of 45 minutes from a special external 480V QuickCharger line, or several hours (overnight) with a regular electrical outlet between 120V to 240V.

Tesla Model S

The company also claims the car’s floor-installed battery packs can be swapped out in less than the time it takes to fill a full tank of petrol, so in the future you could actually go to “battery stations” and swap out your batteries for a freshly fully charged new set instead of stopping and waiting for a full charge.

0 to 100km/h takes only 5.6 seconds which is pretty rapid for a sedan, and power goes to the rear wheels via a single speed transmission, but there are plans for the future for all-wheel drive models. For the US market the cars will naturally be left hand drive but right hand drive models will also be available later.

Look after the jump for a video and photo gallery!
[Read more...]

32 Comments