CONFIRMED: Peugeot 408 to be finally launched next week

May 15, 2012 at 5:16 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

Nasim Sdn Bhd has announced that it will finally launch the Peugeot 408 next week. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as groups of unmasked units of 408 were caught on camera last week.

From the pics, we noticed two variants – a Turbo and a 2.0 NA – and Nasim has confirmed that the C-segment sedan will indeed be available in two variants, “with one variant fitted with an enhanced fuel-efficient engine that produces the most power in its segment.” Nasim also claims class-leading cabin space and 562 litres of boot volume.

“The Peugeot 408 is locally-assembled at Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) in Gurun, Kedah and is ready to be launched for both the Malaysian and regional markets.

“We are targeting to produce 60,000 units of the 408 over a five-year period beginning 2012 and we plan to export 60% of that total to markets in the region,” said SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the Naza Group.

He also revealed that Nasim hosted Peugeot distributors from Australia, Thailand, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Philippines and Bangladesh last week for a test drive event.

Datuk Samson Anand George, COO of Nasim, said the 408 will contribute significantly to the company’s sales target of 9,300 units this year, which will represent a 72% jump from 2011 figures.

Click here to view live shots of the locally-assembled Peugeot 408. The studio pics seen here are from the official Peugeot Malaysia Facebook page, so we presume that they accurately reflect the Malaysian spec car.

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Hyundai i30, besieged by primates, goes ape for 10 hours

May 15, 2012 at 2:56 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News

You’ve met Gorilla Glass. Now, meet Baboon Car.

Yes, it was definitely a case of monkeying around when the clever folk at Hyundai UK decided to put the new i30 up to a very different type of wear and tear challenge – in the first endurance test of its kind in the UK by a car manufacturer, cheeky safari park baboons were let loose on the hatchback.

Baboons from Knowsley Safari Park on the outskirts of Liverpool were the volunteers, chosen for their well-known love of tearing park visitors’ cars apart – Wayne Rooney will certainly remember them well; his vehicle was subject to their scrutiny when he visited the Merseyside attraction last year.

An i30 was parked in the baboon enclosure, and was immediately besieged by dozens of the park’s primates. The monkeys simulated the punishment a typical family might subject a car to: jumping up and down on seats, pushing and prodding buttons and opening and closing storage bins.

They even checked the durability of cupholders with plastic drinking beakers. Meanwhile, other baboons tested the fabric of seats by eating their lunch in the car, and some played with their toys in the i30’s sizeable boot.

Outside, the paintwork was smeared and scraped, but the hard-wearing paint protected the car from significant scratches and chips.

Ten hours later, playtime was called to an end, and the car – specially-designed for families and their ‘little monkeys’ in the back – emerged virtually unscathed. Seems the extra strong materials used to build the interior, easy wipe plastics and tough fittings held up to the abuse.

“For a baboon, to have a car to play with for a whole day is manna from heaven,” said David Ross, the GM at Knowsley. “I’ve seen thousands of cars pass through this enclosure, get mobbed by monkeys, and none have lasted the distance as well as this Hyundai.”

“These baboons are incredibly inquisitive. If you put them on any car they will scour it for the weak points and find any faults. At one point there were 40 monkeys in the car, pushing it to its limits – that’s ten times the size of the average human family.”

Well, now that the baboon car has come about, I wonder if any other manufacturer will attempt to ape the feat. Maybe use some lions? Elephants? Have a whale of a time?

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Chevrolet Trax – small SUV to join the fold in Paris

May 15, 2012 at 1:54 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Chevrolet, International News


Click to enlarge.

Chevrolet is set to add a new small sport utility vehicle to its model lineup later this year. Called the Trax, the SUV will make its debut at the Paris Motor Show in September.

The company hasn’t divulged any specific details about the muscular-looking offering, beyond saying that it’ll offer a generous cargo space and feature an interior executed to standards usually found in more expensive vehicles.

The five-seater will be a global offering, and will be sold in more than 140 markets globally, with market debuts set to begin next year. More on the Trax as it gets closer to Paris, undoubtedly.

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Mazda to set up production facility in Vladivostok, Russia

May 15, 2012 at 1:02 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, International News, Mazda

Mazda recently announced that it had signed an agreement with OJSC Sollers to establish a joint venture manufacturing company in Russia. Sollers is one of the leading automotive companies in Russia. The JV company will locate its production facility in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far Eastern Federal District, and operations will begin in fall this year.

The facility will be used for the assembly of Mazda’s new CX-5 SUV (which you’ll hear more about shortly), the next generation Mazda6 and a Sollers vehicle, all for the Russian market. Production capacity will be 50,000 units per year, with the aim of increasing it to 70,000 units per year.

The automotive market in Russia has made a strong recovery since the financial crisis of 2009. In the 2011 calendar year, demand for new cars increased by about 40% from 2010 to 2.65 million units, making it the second largest market in Europe after Germany. Demand is expected to grow to around three million units in 2015.

In Mazda’s fiscal year 2011 (April 2011 to March 2012), the Hiroshima-based carmaker sold 43,561 units in Russia, a 50.2% increase.

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DRIVEN: Proton Prevé Turbo CVT and IAFM Manual tested

May 15, 2012 at 8:58 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Preve, Test Drive Reviews

I’ve had a go at the Proton Prevé, finally. After hearing so much about it from my colleagues (raves and rants, but more of the former) who attended the preview drive, and seeing the latest Proton in the metal at the launch, a drive event to Cherating in THE car of the moment was not to be missed!

The media drive was divided into two groups, and I drove the Prevé on the return leg from the East Coast to KL. Two variants out of three were brought to the event – the range-topping Preve 1.6 CFE (turbo engine and CVT gearbox) and the entry level 1.6 Manual, powered by the Campro IAFM+ engine.

Continue reading after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Toyota Estima MPV gets a new facelift for 2012

May 15, 2012 at 1:43 am By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars, Toyota

The Toyota Estima has been given a facelift for 2012, about three years after the last update which saw Toyota giving it a minor revision to the shape of the headlamps.

For the 2012 facelift, the Estima’s front end has been given a new aggressive look, with a lot of angular detailing on the front bumper, and a front grille design that now follows the bottom edge of the headlamp.

There are not many changes at the rear of the car – the Estima continues to have a sleek silhouette, giving it a sportier look as opposed to the huge boxy “VIP style” look that its bigger brother the Alphard carries. There are new alloy wheel designs, a revised set of exterior colours (total of 6), and Toyota also says they’ve improved the interior tirm and textures.

Engine options also continue to be the same – either a 2.4 litre four cylinder 2AZ-FE making 170 PS and 224Nm mated to a CVT gearbox, or a top of the line 280 PS 344Nm 3.5 litre V6 engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

Various gadgets that were already on the pre-facelift Estima continue with the new model, such as the Lane-Keep Assist (LKA) system which detects the lane markers on the road and takes control of the electric power steering to keep the car on course, and the Adaptive Front-Lighting System low beam headlamps wihichswivels according to steering position to help light up the upcoming road around a bend.

The Estima is also equipped with a S-VSC system, an enhancement from the regular VSC system, which can use the electric power steering to apply appropriate steering torque to help stabilize the car.

Look after the jump or click any of the images above for a small gallery.
[Read more...]

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Twenty lucky winners strike gold in Caltex contest

May 15, 2012 at 12:05 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News

More contest winners. Twenty lucky folks have struck gold in Peraduan KeEMASan dengan Caltex organised by the fuel brand. Caltex gave away a total of RM280,000 in Maybank Gold Investment Accounts to the winners of the contest, held from December last year to March 31, 2012.

One of four RM40,000 worth of gold First Prize winners, Mohd Asri Abdullah from Kelantan, was represented at the ceremony by his wife Siti Nor Arashyiah. She shared that the family is still in a state of shock and had yet to decide on what to do with the winnings.

25-year old Chok Yung Hau from Port Dickson, the youngest First Prize winner, almost missed the windfall. “I am grateful to God as when the official Caltex winner notification came through, I was onboard a flight and could not answer the call. However, they kept on trying and during the third attempt, I arrived at the airport and was informed about the surprising news,” said the electrical shop owner.

Scams are everywhere these days, and a disbelieving Lee Siew Yin from Labis immediately found a lawyer to contact her neighborhood Caltex petrol station for verification, before celebrating. That’s one very careful lady!

“Peraduan KeEMASan dengan Caltex aimed to reward our customers’ invested support towards the Caltex brand and quality products with worthy prizes across our network. From the faces of our winners, we are happy to note that we hit that mark. We continue to strive towards ensuring Caltex helps customers enjoy their respective journeys,” said Jeremy Oh, Country Chairman, Chevron Malaysia Limited.

There were four First Prizes of RM40,000 each, eight Second Prizes worth RM10,000, eight Third Prizes worth RM5,000 and 1,688 Caltex StarCash cards worth RM199,184 up for grabs. Those who purchased RM40 and above in a single receipt at Caltex stations were in the running.

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BHPetrol gave away tons of prizes to April’s winners

May 14, 2012 at 10:37 pm By Chris Ng Filed Under Cars, Local News

BHP have recently presented prizes to the first month of winners of the BHPetrol-Celcom-HTC contest. In total, there were four winners for the month of April, one for each week.

The lucky contestants that won a HTC ONE smartphone each are En. Razmi Zakaria, Mr. SP Navapushanam, Ms. Vivien Chen and Pn. Noraini Marwan. The contest, which runs for three months from April to June 30, 2012, is now in its second month. This means that there are only eight HTC One smartphone left for grabs.

To get in on the action, all you need to do is to purchase a minimum RM30 Celcom Xpax reload in a single receipt. The more you reload, the more chances you have. More details can be had here.

In an another event, BHPetrol have announced the April winners of the BHPetrol’s Drive To Win contest, which runs from April 1 to June 30, 2012. The contest requires participants to spend a minimum of RM30 at participating BHPetrol stations to win cash prizes and 2.5 million ePoints every month.

The first prize of RM100,000 went to Mr. Ong Cheng Teng, who uses Infiniti Advanced2X 97. He will be using the prize to treat his family to a holiday in Taiwan. The second prize of RM30,000 was won by Chin Ying Jack, Ismail bin Mohd Ali got RM20,000 for third, Rachel Lian in fourth will enjoy RM10,000 and Chir Kuan Mok have an extra RM5,000 to spend. To see who else won, click here.

Winners for both contests were notified by phone.

 

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Jazeman Jaafar wins his first British F3 race at Pau

May 14, 2012 at 6:13 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Motorsports

Jazeman Jaafar has finally won his first British F3 International Series race, taking the honours at the Grand Prix de Pau in France, which ran over the weekend. A second place finish on Sunday means he now lies second in the overall British F3 Drivers’ Championship for the 2012 season.

The third round of British F3, which was run on a temporary circuit on the streets of Pau built for the annual Grand Prix de Pau weekend, saw the European F3 Championship joining the party for the two races.

During qualifying on Saturday, the young Malaysian set the best lap time of the British F3 runners to take third on the grid, behind two F3 Euroseries drivers, with Ferrari F1 protégé, Raffaele Marciello, in pole position for both races.

In the first race, Marciello led through to the finish, but it was Jaafar who starred in the British F3 fight for honours. The 19-year-old driver didn’t have the best of starts off the line, but he was soon in the mix.

When second and third-placed drivers Daniel Juncadella and Pascal Wehrlein collided at a hairpin, the Petronas-sponsored driver slid through into second place. A safety car period to recover the stricken cars bunched up the field, and at the restart Jaafar made a bold, spirited attempt on Marciello, but the Italian eventually pulled away and took the chequered flag.

Nonetheless, Jaafar’s outstanding drive was rewarded with the Carlin driver’s first British F3 victory and second-place overall in the race – the second feature race on Sunday, again won by Marciello, saw JJ finish third to secure the spot

“I’m really happy to have beaten the British F3 field and take my first win in the series, as I’ve been waiting a long time for it. My first win, together with listening to the Negaraku, made this very a very special day; it was an amazing feeling. The support from home has never stopped motivating me to be on top,” he said.

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Lotus Evora GTC – lighter and tighter than the GT4 Enduro

May 14, 2012 at 4:39 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, International News, Lotus


Click to enlarge.

Meet Lotus Racing’s newest kid, the Evora GTC, essentially a lightened GT4 Enduro with some go-faster bits. The vehicle carries over the GT4 Enduro’s 4.0 litre V6, with 450 hp and 460 Nm of torque, as well as its XTRAC six-speed sequential paddle-shift gearbox, but the car has gone on a diet.

Carbon-fibre doors, roof and engine cover have replaced fiberglass panels, and Plexiglass replaces the windows to trim yet more weight off what is already a very light car. At 1,130 to 1,140kg, depending on specification, the GTC tips the scales at 30 kg lighter than the Enduro.

Bits have been added on for it though – traction control and a Bosch racing ABS system have been added to optimise power delivery and braking control. The car also features wider wheels and tyres to give the car more grip through the curves – the front and rear wheels rise to 18x10Js and 12Js respectively, mated to 27/65-18 tyres at the front and 30/65-18s at the rear.

In order to accommodate the wider wheels, flared arches have been fitted, which give the car a more aggressive silhouette without hampering the aerodynamics. Initial testing has already revealed the GTC to be faster than the previous evolution.

As well as the MSA Endurance Series and Grand-Am GTC (undergoing homologation), the car is eligible for the British GT Championship, VdeV Series, Dutch Supercar, and Creventic Endurance Races such as the Dubai 24 Hours and the 12 Hours of Bathurst.

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