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Subaru Palm Challenge: Weather not being kind, only 58 contestants remain, three Malaysians still standing!

October 31, 2011 at 4:48 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Subaru

We’re in Singapore to cheer on Team Malaysia as they take on the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge 2011, also known as the Subaru Palm Challenge. This is the grand finals of the annual event – to read more on what it’s all about, read our opening post from yesterday here.

The weather hasn’t been kind, and the skies above Lion City is finally clearing after few hours of heavy rain. Last night was a critical period, and the 124 still standing contestants from our last update have been more than halved to 58 people as of now. 340 have given up. Some were reported to have been hallucinating!

Of the 58, three of them – Tan Hong Sheng, Saw Sen Chiew and Tan Chuan Kok – are Malaysians. The Filipinos have taken over from Thailand as the best regional team with five still standing. Four Thais are still in it, while Indonesia and Vietnam have two each. Besides the car, there are prizes for a “Country Winner” and an “Asian Winner” for the longest lasting non Singaporean.


L-R: Cheryl Desiree Chan, Su-Anne Tan and Kuek Zi Yi of the Subaru Stunt Driving Team

While the palmers were testing their endurance at Ngee Ann City, we were at the Singapore Turf Club to sample some Subaru cars via the usual emergency brake and lane change tests.

We were supplied with Impreza 1.5 AWD sedans and the most beautiful driving instructors this writer has ever seen. Meet from left to right, model/host/DJ Cheryl Desiree Chan, hot mum Su-Anne Tan and national inline skater Kuek Zi Yi, members of the Subaru Stunt Driving Team. Ladies that look good and can kick your behind in driving – we need more of them around :)

Unfortunately, they didn’t get to show us much, and the planned autokhana challenge for the media had to be called off due to heavy downpour. A real downer, since I was just getting all warmed up. Oh well!

Stay tuned for updates!

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MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge 2011: Half of 10 Malaysians are out, five palms are still on the cars

October 30, 2011 at 11:45 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Subaru

We’re in Singapore for the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge 2011, more commonly known as the ‘Subaru Palm Challenge’. This is the grand finals of the annual event, where the longest lasting palm on the car drives home a Subaru. As usual, the event is being held at Ngee Ann City or Takashimaya along Orchard Road.

Last month, Motor Image had a Malaysian leg of the palm challenge at Pavilion KL, where 57 contestants vied for 10 places in the Singapore finals. They’re here now, competing with 310 Singaporeans and 80 others from Cambodia, China, Macau, Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.

Our contingent of Richard Law, Mohd Fadhlly, Yoon Kok Leong, Tan Chuan Kok, Amier Amzar, Jonathan David William, Chan Hon Ki, Hubert Koh, Saw Sen Chiew, and Tan Hong Sheng started the challenge 1pm yesterday, but unfortunately, five have dropped out after nearly one and a half days in the sun and rain.

As of now, there are 124 contestants still in the running. Of the regional contingents, the Thais are showing true grit – 9 are still in the game. The Philippines are close behind with 8 and Vietnam has 7 still standing. Besides the car, on offer are cash prizes for a “Country Winner” and an “Asian Winner” – the latter for the longest lasting non Singaporean. Will the Malaysians defy the odds to outlast the rest?

Unlike the heats in KL, there are no challenges here, one simply needs to outlast the others to win. It’s not just physical strength, but mental power counts a lot too, if not more. The weather hasn’t been too kind as well, I was told by the crew that it alternated between heat and rain yesterday.

Contestants are entitled to a 5-minute break once every six hours, at 1pm, 7pm, 1am and 7am each day. They will need to do all their business in these short breaks – pee in your pants and you’re out, for instance. Only in the 7pm break that one family member is allowed to enter the arena to offer some moral support. Otherwise, it’s a long, smelly and lonely journey out there.

Last year, 45-year-old Singaporean Aloysius Lim lasted 75 hours and 17 minutes, but the ultimate record belongs to George Lee from 2008. He palmed the car for an astonishing 81 hours and 32 minutes to win the duel. How far will this year’s ‘palmers’ go? Stay tuned!

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Frankfurt: Production Subaru XV debuts – CKD next year!

September 14, 2011 at 2:44 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, International News, Subaru


UPDATE: Live images from Frankfurt added after the jump

This is the production version of the Subaru XV that made its debut at IAA Frankfurt. It’s also the model that Fuji Heavy Industries (FHI) will assemble in Malaysia for ASEAN, to be done at Tan Chong’s Segambut plant in KL.

Production will start in October 2012 at 5,000 units per year, to be divided between Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. More about that and Subaru’s plans for Malaysia in our interview with Glenn Tan, CEO of Motor Image.

Let’s take a closer look. It appears that the production XV is pretty much the same car as the bright green coloured concept car that debut at this year’s Shanghai show. Subaru calls the exterior design concept “Protren”, derived from “professional tool” and “trendy design”.

The C-segment crossover wears Subaru’s new grille with the hexagonal design, flanked by headlamps inspired by the eyes of a hawk. The rear gets a diffuser style rear bumper with a central lamp. Unusually, it’s painted n body colour. Speaking of that, the “Tangerine Orange Pearl” we see here is the XV’s signature colour.

The XV is a raised hatchback with subtle body cladding and generous ground clearance for that tough look. It was a conscious decision to not put full body cladding around the car as before to “enhance the sensation of dynamism and comfort”. The aluminum wheels on the showcar look rather unique with their silver spokes and black surrounds. No roof rack, but I’m sure we’ll be getting it here.

For the first time in 21 years, Subaru has developed a new engine, codenamed “FB”, to replace the long-serving “EJ” engine. In Europe, Subaru offers a new 1.6-litre petrol boxer (replaces the old 1.5), a 2.0L boxer tuned for grunt in low to mid engine speeds, and a 2.0 Boxer Diesel.

We will get a 2.0L engine, from the new gen, and not the one presently in service in the Impreza and Legacy. It will be paired to Subaru’s new Lineartronic CVT gearbox. The brand’s famous Symmetrical AWD system is of course present in the XV.

Inside, the XV is standard Subaru, which means it’s not the most funky or modern, but inoffensive, clearly laid out and easy to use. The centre stack gets brushed aluminium trim and a 4.3-inch colour multi function display with Eco-driving display at the top; the latter comes with the High Grade version, no colour for Standard. The dials (red for Standard, white for High Grade) do a full sweep at start up.

Subaru wants to highlight the XV’s easy entry and exit. They’ve not only made the door openings larger, but also raised the angle at the top of the front door sash, thereby providing more space between the sash top and body.

The distance between the floor and the top of the side sill has also been reduced, meaning that occupants do not have to stretch their legs as widely as before when getting in and out.

Gallery after the jump.
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Frankfurt: Subaru presents the BRZ Prologue coupe

September 13, 2011 at 11:49 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Concept Cars, International News, Subaru


UPDATE: Live photos have been added to the gallery.

Subaru has unveiled its own version of Toyota’s FT-86 at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Called the BRZ Prologue, it was unveiled in a somewhat unfinished guise with a see-through body showing off the coupe’s internals. The company calls it the “SUBARU BRZ PROLOGUE – BOXER Sports Car Architecture II”

The BRZ features a rear-wheel-drive layout and is fitted with a normally-aspirated 2.0 litre Boxer engine which is exclusively developed for the coupe. The engine features a revised bore and stroke setting and also features Toyota’s direct injection and port injection technology which is commonly known as D-4S.

Subaru promises that the BRZ will offer “Pure Handling Delight” and confirmed that production is expected to start in spring 2012. Subaru also revealed the dimensions of the vehicle which includes a 2,570mm wheelbase. The vehicle is 4,200mm long, 1,770mm wide and 1,270mm high.

Continue reading to view more high-res photos of the vehicle.
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Subaru Palm Challenge: 10 winners head to the Lion City!

September 12, 2011 at 11:31 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Subaru

Many would have heard off the Subaru Palm Challenge before, an annual contest that sees contestants trying to “outpalm” each other by having their hand on a Subaru for as long as possible. Not just a physical challenge, but a severe mental one as well, the contest shows how far one will go to win a car.

Last year, 45-year-old Singaporean Aloysius Lim lasted 75 hours and 17 minutes before driving away an Impreza WRX 2.5L Sedan as reward.

The Malaysian leg of the Subaru Palm Challenge 2011 happened over the weekend at Pavilion KL, where 57 contestants vied for 10 places on a plane to Singapore for the finals. There, they will compete with 310 Singaporeans and 80 others from across Asia to win a Subaru Impreza 2.0R. The finals will happen on October 29 in the Lion City.

The contest started at 10am outside Pavilion, where the 57 placed their right palm on an allocated space on the two Impreza Sedans parked there. They were subjected to various “tortures” to eliminate the weak from the strong, and to find the strongest willed of them all.

Among the challenges were standing with the left leg raised, doing the same with the left hand raised vertically and while holding a bottle and holding a ping pong ball with spoon in mouth. The stakes were upped when they were required to hold two bottles with their left hand raised vertically. They were also made to dance and sing!

Finally, after 10 hours 29 minutes in the rain and heat, Richard Law, Mohd Fadhlly, Yoon Kok Leong, Tan Chuan Kok, Amier Amzar, Jonathan David William, Chan Hon Ki, Hubert Koh, Saw Sen Chiew, and Tan Hong Sheng outlasted the rest to be the 10 finalists.


Needless to say, these ladies weren’t there for the palm-off, but for a model contest!

For their efforts, each took home a Toshiba LCD TV and an all expense paid trip to Singapore for the finals. Besides the car, the finals will offer cash prizes for a “Country Winner” and an “Asian Winner” – the latter for the longest lasting non Singaporean.

Piece of cake? Join next year! Pics from the event, as posted on the I Love Subaru FB page, are after the jump.
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Subaru at Frankfurt 2011: XV and concept BRZ Prologue

September 1, 2011 at 3:06 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Subaru

Subaru will be exhibiting two cars at the 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, the production version of the Subaru XV crossover (which will be locally assembled in Malaysia), and an enhanced version of the Subaru BRZ called the Subaru BRZ Prologue.

In case you’re not aware, BRZ is the name Subaru gave its version of the jointly developed Toyota FT-86 sports car. It will be powered by a new 2.0 litre Subaru direct injection boxer engine developed specifically for the BRZ and the FT-86.

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Subaru names its version of the FT-86 the BRZ

August 23, 2011 at 12:14 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru

Subaru has finally announced the name for its pending rear-wheel drive sports car, known so far as the 0846, and the company’s version of the Toyota FT-86 project will be known as the BRZ. A BRZ Prologue technology concept will be showcased at next month’s Frankfurt Motor Show.

The name is derived from the letter B in Boxer engine, R in rear-wheel drive, and Z in the word Zenith. Subaru says the name embodies ultimate passion for the new vehicle and confidence in its distinctive constellation trademark as well as its prize bull, the horizontally opposed Boxer engine. The BRZ is set to be built at the revamped Oizumi plant, alongside the Toyota variant. More on the car when Frankfurt comes.

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ASEAN bound production Subaru XV to debut at Frankfurt

August 11, 2011 at 1:33 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru

Last month, news of Subaru setting up CKD operations in Malaysia surfaced, making our country the hub for a model that will be also exported to Thailand and Indonesia. The following day, we confirmed that the model in question is the XV, which appeared at the Shanghai show earlier this year as a concept.

Now, Fuji Heavy Industries has announced that it will exhibit the production Subaru XV at the Frankfurt show next month. The show unit will be a European spec car.

Billed as a “compact SUV”, the XV is a high riding hatchback with macho 4X4 style body armour, not unlike VW’s Cross models. But it’s not all show; it’s a Subaru, so the XV will come with the brand’s Symmetrical AWD system.

We predict that the production car won’t look too different from the concept car, which appears very production ready. Take away the obvious showcar details such as the fancy touch screen centre console and the dash looks set to go, too.

Instead of just speculating, we hopped over to Singapore for a chat with Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International and Group Chief Executive of Motor Image, the Tan Chong arm handling Subaru in the region. In our exclusive interview, Glenn revealed details on our XV and shared Motor Image’s plans for Malaysia. Click here to view the post.

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Subaru to revamp Oizumi plant – boxer engine production to grow 160% by 2015, and Toyota FT-86 to be built here

July 19, 2011 at 1:02 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Subaru, Toyota

Fuji Heavy Industries, the maker of Subaru cars, has announced that it is refurbishing its Oizumi plant in Gunma Prefecture, Japan with a view to expansion of building capacity and a switching of product manufacturing lines. It is set to spend around 40 billion yen to do so.

The company is set to withdraw from its mini-car development and production, and will switch over to building larger vehicles. From next year, through an OEM agreement, it will begin buying minicars from Toyota group member Daihatsu and selling them as Subarus.

The plant at Gunma, which currently has a build capacity of 80,000 vehicles a year, will be upgraded and output will be almost doubled to around 150,000 units annually. Oizumi will be primarily responsible for building the new sports cars planned and designed by Toyota and developed by Fuji Heavy, namely the Toyota FT-86 and Subaru 0846, which is set to begin sales as early as spring next year, reports say.

Though the lineup is as yet unfinalised, the plant is also set to build other models in the Subaru lineup, such as the Legacy, the Impreza and the Forester, to fully utilise production capacity.

Elsewhere, the company is aiming to increase its production capacity for its boxer engine by 160% to 820,000 units a year by fiscal 2015, the reports add. It will start changing production lines for its older engines with lines for the new third-generation, horizontally opposed four-cylinder boxer, which debuted in the Forester last October and is available in 2.0 and 2.5 litre displacements.

With the intention to sell 900,000 vehicles worldwide in 2015, the company has determined that a substantial increase in engine build output is needed to match those numbers. Subaru is also looking at doubling its build capacity for its CVT transmissions to between 700,000 and 800,000 units.

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INTERVIEW: We chat with Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International, on Subaru’s plans for Malaysia

July 15, 2011 at 12:48 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Local News, Subaru

An unexpected and truly surprising piece of news hit us last week, when Fuji Heavy Industries inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Tan Chong Group to assemble Subaru vehicles in Malaysia. This website was also first up with the confirmed identity of the compact SUV that will kickstart CKD operations here, which is the production version of the Subaru XV concept.

The concept made its world debut in Shanghai earlier this year, and we understand that the production model will be launched in the first quarter of 2012. This means that it will be just half a year from launch when the first locally assembled XVs roll out of Tan Chong’s Segambut plant in KL.

That’s not all. The local assembly of the XV is part of FHI and Motor Image’s big plans for the region. MI doesn’t have much of a presence in Malaysia at present, but all that is set to change with 18 new outlets planned through 2013, nationwide including East Malaysia. A flagship Subaru Hub is also in the works.

It’s too good not to follow up, so we made the short hop to Singapore to dig more from Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International and Group Chief Executive of Motor Image, the Tan Chong arm handling Subaru in the region. Answers to your burning questions are after the jump, including the drivetrain selected for the CKD XV.
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