Amazing auto tech under development by Jaguar Land Rover

Jaguar Land Rover is researching technologies that will offer drivers a 360 degrees view out of their vehicle, uninterrupted by the pillars that support the roof.

They plan to do this by embedding screens in the surface of each pillar inside the car which would carry live video feeds from cameras covering the angles outside the car usually obscured in the blind spots created by the A, B and C-pillars.

The 360 Virtual Urban Windscreen would increase the overall safety features of the car by making pedestrians, cyclists and other vehicles all around the car visible. The system would automatically make the left or right-hand side pillars transparent when the driver indicates to change direction, when they move their head to look over their shoulder during an overtake manoeuvre, or as the vehicle approaches a junction.

According to Dr Wolfgang Epple, Director of Research and Technology, Jaguar Land Rover:
“Our ultimate aim is to reduce the potential for accidents and enhance the urban driving experience. The Jaguar Land Rover research team is developing this technology to improve visibility and to give the driver with the right information at the right time. If we can keep the driver’s eyes on the road ahead and present information in a non-distracting way, we can help drivers make better decisions in the most demanding and congested driving environments.”

The virtual windscreen would be connected to the Cloud and could present information ranging from petrol station prices to the number of parking spaces available, so drivers won’t have to look for this information themselves. The connected car could also enhance navigation by advising the driver to turn left or right at more visible landmarks, such as pubs or shops, rather than just road signs or street names.

Another interesting technology under development is their ‘Follow-Me Ghost Car Navigation’ which projects an image of a vehicle in front of the driver’s car for them to follow, turn by turn, to their destination.

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Mitsubishi ASX Designer Edition

The Mitsubishi ASX is one of the cheapest compact SUVs in Malaysia at RM114,743.50 (TR without insurance) for the 2WD version with 2.0-LITER 16-valve inline-4 DOHC MIVEC engine. This is because they assemble it in Malaysia.

They recently worked together with Malaysian designer Rizalman Ibrahim, to come up with the Mitsubishi ASX Designer Edition. The model only comes in "Titanium" grey with racing stripe running down the front and back of the car. It is only available in the 4WD version. The grey theme is carried in the interior as well with grey leather seats with yellow trims. Leather (grey and yellow) covered gear knobs and matte finished black alloy rims. The car also has a large rear spoiler and fin-type antenna as opposed to the bee-sting type antennas. Another unique feature is the panoramic tinted glass roof



Behind the scenes video:



The Designer Edition model is priced at RM131,801.50 (OTR without insurance).

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Exclusive Preview of the New BMW i8 Ad

This is BMW's new ad for the BMW i8. The film was shot in the desert near Almeria, in southern Spain by acclaimed film director Tarsem.

The BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car. The car combines BMW eDrive technology and a BMW TwinPower Turbo 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder petrol engine.

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Luke Aker’s 1996 Nissan Maxima

Film-maker Luke Aker decided to put up his beloved 1996 Nissan Maxima on Craiglist with a humorous video accompanying it - "Luxury Defined" as he put it.



It was so good, Nissan actually decided to buy it and later restored it to it's former glory and will be displayed at their North America’s headquarters.

Nissan came out with an equally funny video to mark the occasion:



Auto companies do have a sense of humour.

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Rejuvenating an old car - repairs on a Proton Wira 1.3 M

Different people buy cars for various reasons - for many a car is an extension of their self image - representing their lifestyle. Almost everyone I talk to has a dream car - one they aspire to even if they cannot afford it. However, there are also a lot of people for whom a car is just a machine useful to get from point A to point B. My dad happens to be one of them. He has been driving the same Proton Wira 1.3 manual transmission hatchback for more than 8 years now and asked him whether he wanted to update to a new car. He was not really keen.

He calls luxury cars, houses on wheels because with the price of some of the cars, you can actually buy a house.

He is really fond of the car and I am not surprised. The car has only done 127,800 Kms and recently had timing belt in the engine changes. He proudly mentioned that the car has not broken down even once and starts up immediately.

However, I was sure that the aging car was bound to have some problems and this was confirmed when I recently had it serviced at the local Proton Edar service centre near my house (SENAXIS Sdn Bhd). One of the tyres needed to be changed immediately as it was nearly bald. They also pointed out that several parts need to be replaced and even suggested that it be better to actually buy a new car. However, my dad was not having any of it - his reasoning was that the estimated total cost of the repairs was about RM1000 but to buy a new car would cost at least RM45000 for the Proton Persona 1.6 M version. This was because he does not want a small car and does not like the look of the Saga. I guess he does have certain preferences.

Anyway we decided to go ahead with the repairs and overall a total of 27 parts were replaced (big and small) and the overall damage came to RM1642.80 including tyre allignment (RM40), labour (RM250) and 6% tax (RM15).

The major parts included:

1. Insulator assys x2 = RM188.24
2. Rubber bump x 2 = RM151.56
3. Link control assy LH and RH = RM127.53 x 2
4. Shock absorbers assy RR, RH and LH = RM102.12 x2
5. Strut FR suspension LH and RH = RM185.07 x 2 (the costliest parts).

Other minor parts included rubber bumps, pads, tyre nuts, bushing coils, rubber stabilizers.

I know that official car service centres are more expensive but I choose to go there because I wanted genuine parts.

Do you think we could have got them cheaper elsewhere?

Anyway, I think we have extended the life of the old car for a few more years.

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DeLorean fan's amazing creations

Rich Weissensel's amazing creations using damaged DeLoreans include a monster truck, six gull-wing limo and of course, a 'Back to the future' homage.

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Proton Surprima S Standard launched

Proton Holdings Bhd today unveiled the Suprima S Standard model and made it more affordable with prices starting at RM69,438 for solid colour and RM69,888 for metallic painted cars. That's nearly RM7000 cheaper than the executive version which cost RM76,760.05 (Metalic) and RM76,410.05 (Solid) respectively.

However, in making this car more affordable, a number of safety features present in the Executive variant have been removed. The new car model has only 2 air bags - the side and curtain airbags have been removed. It also loses the TC (Traction Control), ESC (Electronic Stability Control) and hill hold features.

I wonder whether their ad may be misleading as removal of all these safety features may result in different NCAP ratings. Fortunately ABS With EBD is still present. The touch screen and GPS are gone as well and the steering wheel does not have paddle shifters or radio controls.

The headlights are no longers LEDs but the normal bulbs and you would have to adjust the side mirrors manually. Sometimes I am amazed when I remember that these features were standard on my old Volvo S40 which was more than 10 years old.

What message is Proton trying to tell its customers?

This will definitely not improve the perception that most consumers have about the national car brand.

Don't get me wrong. I have been a long time supporter of Proton and I even did my MBA dissertation on the national car. They have come a long way but is still in no position to compete with other brands if the Government policies were removed.

The new car is still not which I call "affordable" cheap and we recently bought the Proton Preve Premium version with all the features - all the bells and whistles - at almost the same price. With the cars getting cheaper and the variety of choices in the market, I forsee Proton coming up with a number of promotions to try and get rid of unsold stock in the near future.

The engine is still the same CamPro 1.6 Turbo engine with 7-speed ProTronic CVT. The car runs on 16" alloy wheels fitted with 205/55 tyres.

This new variant is available in five colours: Tranquility Black, Solid White, Genetic Silver, Atlantic Blue and Fire Red.

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Restoring 30+ year-old BBS RS 001s rims

Car audio company Clarion is in the process of restoring an iconic 1974 BMW 2002. As part of the project, they got their hands on original 30-year-old Germany built BBS RS 001 wheels. They hired VR Wheels in Los Angeles to restore them to mint condition - actually the end product looks better.

Check the amazing video of how they refurbished the old wheels and gave it a new life:



Related link: Clarion Builds

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(Uganda) Kiira ev SMACK

Automotive manufacture is a serious goal heating up in the East Africa region.  Uganda comes in with an answer to Africa's private mobility needs after an earlier achievement of a full electric vehicle namely the Kiira EV prototype.  This time they created a proof of concept for a production vehicle with a Hybrid powertrain to match called the Kiira EV Smack. 

"East Africa’s first hybrid electronic car has gone on display in Kenya ahead of its production in 2018.

The Ugandan-made Kiira EV smack will be launched in Nairobi later on Friday as the manufacturers seek potential investors willing to fund their dream.

Kiira Motors Corporation, the manufacturer of the vehicle, is looking for $300 million to enable them begin production.

The hybrid electronic vehicle was conceptualised and made in Uganda, and now is seeking for potential investors across the East African region.

Chief Operations Officer of  Kiira motors, Albert Akovuku says: “The amount of investment that is required 350m USD.”

A first for East Africa, the Uganda government has already committed $70 million as seed funding.

Akovuku says : “ By 2018, we should have the first car out of the production line for the east African market.”

The moment the engine is off the battery takes over and gives you extra mileage

However,  in a region that does not generate enough electricity the car has been termed by many in Uganda as a prestige project, one likely to become a white elephant.

Not so says Akovuko who is driving the dream of having East Africa’s first hybrid electric car.

“The engine in there is a generator, when you are the on the road and the electric mode is off the generator automatically charges the batteries to give it traction, the moment the engine is off the battery takes over and gives you extra mileage.”

Hybrid electronic cars combine the benefits of gasoline and electric motor engines with the aim of attaining fuel economy, speed and engine efficiency.

The Kiira is no different says the manufacturer, who hopes to sell it at $20,000 per car.

What started as a university project, is now a Ugandan government project. The Ugandan government says it is stopping at nothing until Kiira EV smack in on the road in East Africa and soon across the continent."

Courtesy of

http://www.sabc.co.za/news/a/0ae62f004632dfbc9c53fd96d4703d1f/East-Africas-first-hybrid-car-to-be-launched

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Nissan Datsun Go crash test results

The Nissan Datsun Go car which is aimed at the Indian market was recently tested for safety. The car failed spectacularly getting 0 out of possible 5 stars. The car comes without air bags and looking at the video of the test, it would not have done much good even if the car had been fitted with them. If the car can get this badly damaged at just 40mph speeds, I am just wondering what would happen at UK highway speeds of 70mph.

MNCs need to stop pushing lousy products into the emerging markets. And India definitely needs to have some minimum safety standards put in place.

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The new Citroën C4 Cactus with nice bumps

One thing is sure about the new Citroën C4 Cactus - you will definitely get a lot of attention. It features unique Airbump® side panels which is supposed to protect from knocks and occasional bumps. The Airbump® panels are made from supply TPU (Thermoplastic Polyurethane) and include tiny air capsules.

I suspect that reactions to the Airbump® feature is going to be split into 2 groups - "either you like it or you don't".

Other unique designs include sleek roof bars, a floating quarter window and clean lines. The front end features nice lights with daytime running LEDs emphasising the slim headlights as well as 3D-effect back lights.

Inside, the car features slim dashboard and 7 inch Touch Drive interface and a huge glovebox.



Check out the Citroën C4 Cactus for more information.

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Tesla Model S 2014 scores 5/5 in Euro NCAP crash test

The Tesla Model S electric car has scored 5 stars (the maximum) safety rating after testing by the Euro NCAP.

The 4 door saloon falls under the executive class.

Read the full report here.

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Sponsored video: Toyota Dominoes - spirit of Toyota innovation

"A car company with a positive environmental effect" sounds like an oxymoron. Well Toyota is trying to show that this is not impossible with the launch of Toyota hybrid technology!

Their new Fuel cell vehicle (FCV) shows that cars can be eco-friendly.

In case you are wondering how a Fuel Cell Vehicle works, read on....
IN a FCV, the Fuel Cells generates electricity through the chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen to power the motor driving the vehicle. Hydrogen, which replaces conventional fuels (Petrol and Diesel) is an environment friendly energy source that can be produced from various raw materials. However, the most amazing thing in FCVs is that they have zero emissions or in other words, zero CO2 emissions during operation.

The dominoes picking themselves up in this clip captures the essence of the spirit of Toyota innovation.



Explore Toyota's Global website to learn more and watch more videos on their YouTube page.

This post is sponsored by Toyota, but all of the thoughts are our own.

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Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center in Carlsbad.

Amazing car designs from the Mercedes-Benz design center in California - Carlsbad, USA.

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(Nigeria) Innoson vehicles

The first step in realising vehicle production to interest local vehicle development through established joint ventures. Nigeria brings an answer to getting Africas mobility needs sorted.

The company, which is a proud manufacturer of made in Nigeria cars, buses, tankers and other products, would as from August 8, 2014, introduce brand new cars into the Nigerian automobile market at the cost of Nigerian Naira 1.5million equivalent to US Dollars 9000.

The chairman and chief executive of the company, Mr. Innocent Chukwuma, who announced this in Enugu yesterday, said the cars, which would be fully air conditioned with every other specification, is aimed at getting Nigerians to own brand new cars.

T

he most expensive of the cars, according to Chukwuma, would cost Nigerian Naira 3.5million equivalent to US Dollars 21,000. 

IVM introduces automotive products from China, Japan and Germany. It's product line includes heavy duty vehicles, middle and high level buses, special environment friendly vehicles. The company carries out optimization design and assembly according to west african road condition so as to produce suitable products at affordable prices.

http://innosonivm.com/en/ProductList.Asp

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(Ghana) Kantanka suv phase 2.

It's remarkable to see Apostle Dr.Kwadwo Safo push forward to establish an African automaker on the continent. With alot of effort and time, West Africa seems to be realising that dream a day at a time. It has been a buzz on Ghanaian media and the African continent at large.

Courtesy of the Ghanaian webportal "ghanaweb.com" the enterprise is described further.

The ‘Star of Africa’ set of sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and Pickups are ready for sale, according to Kwadwo Safo Jr, CEO and Executive director of the Kantanka Automobile Company Limited, which produces the Kantanka vehicles.

The company has produced commercial quantities of the two vehicle types for the Ghanaian market.

A subsidiary of the ‘Star of Africa’, an organisation well known for its inventions, the Kantanka assembling plant has been more focused on the mass production of these two vehicles for months now.

“Now we have produced the SUVs and Pickups and they are ready for sale. But we have also opened our doors to anyone who wants to do a test drive of the car any day.” Safo Jr told StarrFMonline.com.

The vehicles, Safo Jnr. said, meets international standards and will soon prove to be the most economical brand-new vehicles to acquire on the Ghanaian market.

The car parts are imported, but assembled here in Ghana by a workforce of about 200 young men between the ages of 15-25, most of whom have no formal education and training in automobile engineering.

The plant can produce eight vehicles a day. It could increase the production rate by four or more, depending on market demand.

The founder of the Kantanka Star of Africa brand, Apostle Dr. Kwadwo Safo, is the brain behind all the Kantanka inventions.

Apostle Safo's son, Safo Jr, says his father is dedicated to making the Ghanaian a little more comfortable in their daily routines.

“My dad is always thinking ‘what’s next?’ So I love engaging in conversation with him. I look up to him a lot because although he is not as educated as I am, he always has something new to share.”

“What I love most is his ability to take that which is widely used, turn it around, and make an invention that will propel that device to respond better to the needs of the Ghanaian. He knows what a machine is meant for: to make life easy, and he ensures he does so in all his inventions.”

The government of Ghana has hinted at the possibility of investing in the growth of the company by buying majority of the vehicles for state institutions.

Kwadwo Safo Jr told StarrFMonline.com that Ghanaians are warming up to the Kantanka brand since it started the awareness a month ago, and many are developing some level of confidence in the brand.

“At first people were skeptical. I remember one gentleman was asked if he would buy a Ghana-made car, and he was quick to say 'no'. After a test drive, he proclaimed he would buy a Kantanka vehicle any day.”

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Jaguar Land Rover opens its first overseas manufacturing plant

Jaguar Land Rover has opened its first overseas manufacturing facility in China. The award-winning Range Rover Evoque will be the first model to be built in a joint venture with Chinese auto company Chery Automobile Company Ltd worth RMB 10.9 billion. This is in fact the first Chinese-British automotive joint venture.

The 400,000 square-metres plant, is located in the Changshu Economic Development Zone north of Shanghai.

They expect to build three Jaguar Land Rover models with total production capacity of 130,000 units a year by 2016 (for the Chinese market only). The facility features highly-automated press shops – including cutting-edge aluminium and steel technologies – along with a steel body shop comprising 306 robots, an energy-efficient paint shop and an ergonomically-friendly final assembly line.

Some interesting information:

• Jaguar Land Rover first established a presence in China just over a decade ago.
• China is Jaguar Land Rover’s single largest market with over 100,000 vehicles sold in the last fiscal year
• In addition to China, Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed plans to create a local manufacturing facility in Brazil and has a local assembly facility in Pune, India.

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Buying a car with a budget of only RM65000 ++ in Malaysia

I was thankful that once we came back to Malaysia, a lot of people have been helping us out, especially our parents. Initially, we used my mother-in-law's old Proton Wira and later on was my dad's old Wira, which I am still using. Since both my wife and I are working and not at the same place, we needed to have two cars as I could not send and pick here up from her office. We start looking around for cars here and we decided to live within our means and set out a budget of RM 65000 for the new car. My wife also had one condition - that the car must be automatic as she was still recovering from her leg fracture. We also did not want a small Perodua car and we came up with a list of cars (in the so called popular B-segment) which we could buy with our limited budget, namely:

1. Honda City (starting at RM75800)
2. Toyota Vios (starting at RM73213)
3. Nissan Almera (starting at RM66827)and
4. Proton Preve (Starting RM61471)

Looking at the list, we realised that we could only afford the Proton and if we wanted a better car, we would have to increase our budget.
After driving a Volvo S40 in the UK for several years, we were not really looking forward to driving a Proton. However, the more research I did about the Proton Preve, the more impressed I was with the model. We went to see it at the Proton showroom near our house in Taman Megah, PJ and we decided that the Proton Preve Premium version was what we wanted. However, it was still beyond our budget at around RM72K (approx. £13650).

We were very fortunate because Proton suddenly announced a Merdeka/ Hari Raya discount of 5% across their complete range of models. This suddenly brought the Proton Preve Premium version within our range at around RM68,000 (solid colours) and really great value as it has loads of features not present in the basic Honda, Toyota and Nissan models. This includes a Turbo engine, touch screen with built-in sat-nav, 6 air bags, push button start, automatic lights and wipers, etc.. The offer also included 3 years free service and range of gifts including free in-car wifi hub with access for a year, free SmartTAG, full tank fuel, etc.

So that's the story in brief about how my wife ended up with a Proton Preve 1.6 CFE CVT Premium car powered by the Campro CFE 1561cc turbo engine with 7 speed ProTronic transmission and mounted on great looking 17" alloy wheels with 215/45 R17 tyres.

Watch out for a more detailed review of the car later.

(updated 22 October 2014).

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Snippets of a Study on the Future of Mobility

According to a recent Auto Study on the future of mobility conducted by New York based company MRY, via Whitman Insight Strategies, owning a car is still an important part of our day-to-day life.

This study surveyed 1,000 smartphone owners – 500 Millennials, 500 35+) and cover everything from consumers’ thoughts on the “connected car,” to which automakers are perceived to be the most innovative (and how that translates to sales).

The findings reveals that unsurprisingly that mobile phones matter a lot more to people, slightly less than cars. Among adults 35+: 94% say their cars are important vs 82% phones. But for Millennials, it’s 87% cars, 86% phones. Overall, SMS comes in at 72%, high def TV 55%, Facebook 47%, newspaper subscription 32%, and Twitter and Instagram around 20%.

Across ages, access to a car (90%) trumps helping others (77%), raising a family (73%), voting (68%), and being wealthy (43%). However, the youth just want to get rich as being wealthy is a FAR bigger deal for Millennials (53%) vs adults 35+ (33%) - one of the biggest value gaps MRY found in the study.

As for car ownership, 96% of surveyed individuals own or lease a vehicle, and 91% think that owning a car is still an important part of their day-to-day. Even 87% of the Millennial population, which is more aware of car-sharing services and other transportation options, agrees that owning a car is essential. This means that auto manufacturers need to keep people happy, because at least 40% of surveyed individuals are likely to use car-sharing services if offered in their communities.

To put things into perspective: new vehicle sales are around the 16 million mark, with the average sticker price north of $30,000 (See link). That’s $480 billion. A shift in attitude leads to changes in purchase behavior and even a 1% change could mean a $5 billion impact on sales.

However, car-sharing still has a long way to go. Even though Uber ranks above all of the major auto brands when measured against the intersection of innovation and personal connection, it is still a relatively unknown entity. Only 22% of surveyed individuals were familiar with Uber, falling behind Zip Car (33% familiar) and just ahead of Lyft (18% familiar).

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The Proton Iriz - pictures

Had the chance to try out the new Proton Iriz a few days after it was launched. There were three variants at the showroom at  Taman Megah, PJ, near my house in Malaysia.

Quite impressed - Proton has indeed come a long way.

The green one is the manual variant.












There was an automatic white car outside (for test drive). Loved the sound of the exhaust. They have tuned it to sound like a much more powerful sports car.







The grey one is the premium variant with six air bags, rear cameras, touch screen GPS, turbo engine and loads of other extras.

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The Strati -World's first 3 D printed car

Welcome to the age of printed cars. Arizona based car manufacturer Local Motors has come out with the World's first 3 D printed car - the Strati. It won the 2014 Popular Mechanics Breakthrough Award in New York yesterday.


The car chassis/frame, exterior body, and interior features are made from ABS plastic reinforced with carbon fibres. The electric engine, wheels and other parts were sourced from Renault’s Twizy. It takes the company around 44 hours to print out.

It only has a top speed of about 40mph (60km/h) but I am sure the speeds will improve as time goes by. I am just thinking at the possibilities. In the future, you can probably print out spare parts at home.

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The second generation Proton Perdana

The second generation Proton Perdana was unveiled last year and is only available exclusively to Malaysian Government officials. The car is available in 2.0 and 2.4 litre models and according to reports, is based on the 8th generation Honda Accord.

Saw one a few days back in PJ and it really looks nice.

Stuck at traffic lights when I took this picture.

2014 Proton Perdana Front Three Quarter CC BY-SA 3.0
Paul Tan paultan.org's contribution to Wikimedia

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Proton Iriz Active concept car

Proton has come out with a concept called the Iriz Active. It was unveiled on the 28th of this month by Chairman Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad at Alami Proton.

Supposed to be a crossover model.

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End of the traditional paper tax disc in the UK

Moving into the digital era, the DVSA has done away with the need for traditional paper tax discs in the UK. The first paper tax disc was issued in the UK over 90 years ago.

No paper dics means less trees cut to make them.

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Subaru launch Japan only car based on the WRX STI

Subaru recently launched the Japan only WRX S4 in Japan. The model is based on the WRX STI model which was launched in Europe earlier.

It is powered by a direct injection 2.0 litre turbo engine which is tuned to produce 300hp. The engine is combined with Subaru's Lineartronic 7-speed gearbox.

Subaru Global vehicle production was up 17% on last year while total number of exports also increased by 15%.

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Launch of the Proton's compact car - Proton Iriz in Malaysia

Malaysian car company is launching their new compact car the Proton Iriz today. Blogger Paul Tan is streaming the launch live.

Even before the launch of the car, it has received five-star rating in Adult Occupant Protection and four-star rating in Child Occupant Protection by the New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asian Countries (Asean NCAP).

The car will come in 3 Trim lines and 8 variants and in 7 colours.

Prices of the car (on-the-road) will be between RM42,438 and RM62,888.

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Jaguar XE S Sports Saloon launch

The new Jaguar XE S sports saloon was launched in a big way all over London last night.

Powered by a supercharged 3.0 litre V6 with 8-speed automatic transmission, this sports saloon accelerates from 0-60mph in just 4.9 seconds.

Prices of the XE range start from £27,000.

Watch the launch here.

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Drive Me: Volvo's groundbreaking autonomous driving project

Volvo's project called "Drive Me" plans to have 100 self-driving Volvos to public roads in everyday conditions by 2017.

Watch the video:

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Volvo Car Malaysia expands into Sarawak

Volvo owners will now be able to service their cars at the two authorised service centres in Sarawak, located in Sibu and Kuching with more locations planned in the future

Greatwall Group of Companies has been appointed as the new 2S representative.

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BMW to recall cars over air bag fears

BMW is recalling about 1.6 million 3-Series vehicles produced between May 1999 and August 2006 worldwide. They will replace passenger-side front airbags made by Takata Corp because the inflators could break apart during deployment and injure passengers.

The recall is an extension of last year's recall of 240,000 cars globally for the same issue, he said.

The air bag supplied by Japan's Takata has also affected Honda Motor Co, Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co, Mazda Motor Corp, Fuji Heavy Industries-owned Subaru, Mitsubishi, Ford and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' Chrysler brand.

This latest recall will affect about 574,000 in the United States, about 450,000 in Germany and about 189,000 in the United Kingdom.

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The new BMW X4

A fusion of the power of the X model with the design of their classic coupe, the X4 is BMW's latest crossover vehicle.

3 different types of twin power turbo engines powering the X4: 

BMW X4 xDrive35d

• 6 cylinder in-line diesel engine with 313hp and 630Nm of torque
• Goes from 0-62mph in 5.2 seconds
• It has a top speed of 153mph (247km/h)
• Fuel consumption: 47.1mpg
• CO2 emissions of 157g/km

BMW X4 xDrive30d

6 cylinder in-line diesel engine with 258hp and 560Nm of torque

Goes from 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds

It has a top speed of 145mph (234km/h)

Fuel consumption: 46.3-49.6mpg

CO2 emissions of 149-159g/km

BMW X4 xDrive30d

4 cylinder in-line diesel engine with 190hp and 400Nm of torque

Goes from 0-62mph in 8 seconds

It has a top speed of 132mph (212km/h)

Fuel consumption: 50.4-54.3mpg / Automatic: 52.3-56.5mpg

CO2 emissions of 136-146g/km

Others options include a full-colour Head-up display, surround-view which offers the driver a bird's eye view of the area around the vehicle as well as reversing assist camera which shows the area behind the vehicle.

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Safety risk of Heavy Quadricycles

Quadricycles, which as the name suggest, were originally derived from motorcycles. They have emerged as a new class of sub-compact vehicles in Europe.

They are small and fuel-efficient. I have recently noticed several Universities here in the UK using street-legal quadricycles. These include the Club Car Villager 2+2 LSV, the Renault Twizy 80, the Tazzari ZERO and the Ligier IXO J LINE 4 Places

Their safety tests are different from other cars as they do not have to pass any of the rigorous crash tests to which cars are subjected. However,according to a recent report from the EURO NCAP, frontal and side impacts at 50km/h, revealed severe safety problems for all four cars.

The vehicles were scored primarily on data from crash dummies but penalties were also given for poor performance of the structure or restraints. The Ligier and the Tazzari had major failings of their restraint systems in the frontal test. In the Ligier, the upper connection of the driver’s seatbelt pulled out of the structure, leaving the dummy unrestrained and leading to a high risk of injury.

In the Tazzari, the driver seatbelt broke and the driver’s head hit the steering wheel with a force that indicated a high risk of serious or fatal injury. The structure of the Club Car virtually collapsed in the frontal impact. The Renault Twizy - the only vehicle of the four tested to have an airbag as standard - scored best but its stiff structure and restraint system resulted in some dangerously high dummy readings.



Read more here: Euro NCAP

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Wanted - a small car for city driving in Malaysia

Wanted a small, affordable second car for city driving in Malaysia.
The maximum budget is RM 40K (approx £7298).

If I had that budget here in the UK, I would probably go for a second hand car and would have several options.

However, in Malaysia there are only 2 options available, namely the Perodua ViVA (Yes! That is how the name is written) with prices starting from RM 24,936.45 (for the ViVA 660 BX - Manual, solid white colour) and the Proton Saga with prices from RM 33,426 (for the Saga SV Manual, solid white colour). The SV stands for Super Value.

Dimension wise, the Perodua ViVA (3575 x 1475 x 1530) is slightly smaller but taller than the Proton Saga (4278 x 1680 x 1520).

Looking at the websites of the two Malaysian car companies, I am quite impressed with the information provided from engine specs in detail to the various accessories available.

Though there is nearly RM 8000 difference in prices between the two cars, the Viva seems quite underpowered even for a city car with an engine displacement of only 659 cc. If I choose the ViVA 850 - Manual (847cc), prices goes up to RM 32,756.45.

I am not too concerned about the maximum speed but I am definitely interested in the fuel efficiency.

The Perodua website does not tell us anything about the fuel efficiency, other than mentioning that the cars have been equipped with "Dynamic Variable Valve Timing (DVVT), Double Overhead Camshaft (DOHC) and Electronic Fuel Injection  (EFI)".

The Proton Saga has a CamPro IAFM, 4-cylinder, DOHC 16V 1332cc engine and according to their website, the fuel consumption at @ 90km/h (approx. 56m/h) is 5.7 litres.

So if you had RM 40000 to spend on a car, I would definitely recommend the Proton Saga.

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Subaru Forester & XV - for those who love the rural life

Have you watched the recent Subaru ads?

They show their two vehicles  from their all-wheel drive range, the Subaru Forester & XV in action. They are perfect for those who love life in rural areas.

Forester Features:

• Heated door mirrors
• Remote control key system
• Roof rails
• Subaru Vehicle Dynamics Control
• Multi-function display
• Bluetooth, iPod and USB connectivity

The XT model is turbo-charged.

XV Features:

• Reversing camera
• Steering wheel audio controls
• Cruise control
• Hill Start Assist
• Rain-sensing windshield wipers with de-icer
• Leather gear lever & steering wheel

Prices for the XV starts from £21,995 and £24,995 for the Forester.

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Can you power cars using AA batteries

What did you think of the post "Clubbing together for an electric revolution!" yesterday?

I am sure most of you must have realised that it was a spoof post.

"LipraLoof" is an anagram of APRILFOOLS

Unfortunately, you can't power cars using AA batteries yet.

Happy April Fools Day

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Clubbing together for an electric revolution!

The UK’s largest independent car club, City Car Club, is working with innovative start-up LipraLoof Technologies Ltd, to trial smart power technology, which could one day see cars powered by AA-style batteries. Who’d have thought it?

James Finlayson, Managing Director of the hourly rental car club said: “When LipraLoof approached us we instantly realised how exciting this technology was – it has the potential to revolutionise the way we drive. However, like with any new technology, rigorous real-world testing is a must and with a 700+ fleet of cars which are used mainly for short journeys, we are in the perfect position to help.”

LipraLoof’s batteries contain complex mix of four metal hydrates which creates a quad, or 4A battery, which produces far more power than a standard battery. When these batteries are combined with technology that harnesses, stores and reuses the energy usually wasted when driving, it creates a system capable of powering a car up to 88mph over a significant distances.

LipraLoof’s founder and managing director Dr Ed Heaverben, explains: “We’ve combined our quad batteries with virtually 100% regenerative breaking which harnesses the energy normally lost when we brake. Another significant area where we’ve conserved energy is with the tyres – we’ve developed a specially designed tread that ‘grabs’ energy which normally escapes onto the road as heat. This saved energy is then stored in a French-Luxemburg engineered Flux Capacitor, ready for use when needed.”

It’s expected the trial and development phase will last around two years, and hopefully the commercial version of the complex system will be ready for market in 2016-17, and we at Auto Lah can’t wait to test it!

Car clubs are all about providing a realistic, flexible alternative to car ownership that benefits individuals, the wider community and are environmentally sustainable.
For further information visit www.lipraloof.co.uk.


Happy April Fools day

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Subaru VIZIV 2 Concept

According to Subaru, the new VIZIV 2 crossover concept is "introducing the future of All-Wheel Drive vehicles."

VIZIV stands for Vision for Innovation and Subaru is using it to showcase how advanced hybrid technology can be used with "Subarus All-Wheel Drive (AWD) while also indicating at a future design direction for Subarus production vehicles."

The powertrain uses a new 1.6-litre turbo-diesel DIT (Direct-Injection Turbo) Boxer engine and three electric motors, one to power the front wheels and one on each of the rear wheels which operate independently.

We are looking at a possible future generation of hybrid technology powered Subaru AWD vehicles.

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BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé

Roomy and sporty Coupés from BMW. Four frameless doors and a large boot.

A great example is the BMW 435i, which is powered 6-cylinder TwinPower Turbo petrol 225 kW (306 hp) engine and accelerates from 0 to 62 mph in 5.5 seconds.
Average fuel consumption is quite modest at 28.3 to 29.0 mpg (Steptronic transmission: 30.9 to 31.4 mpg), accompanied by CO2 emissions of just 193 to 189 g/km (Steptronic transmission: 178 to 174 g/km).

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The hi tech new Peugeot 108

PEUGEOT has just launched its new city car - the new PEUGEOT 108. It is clearly targeted at today's connected generation - it features a large touch screen and the Mirror Screen function, including the new MirrorLink and AppInCar connectivity protocols which will linkup with your smartphone seamlessly. The Mirror Screen function operates using MirrorLink technology for telephones running on Android, RIM and Windows, and by AppInCar for telephones running on iOs.

The car is available in two body styles: the PEUGEOT 108 hatchback and the PEUGEOT 108 TOP! convertible which can be personalised in various ways.

By opting for the PEUGEOT 108 TOP!, the customer has the freedom to choose the roof colour: Black, grey, Red Purple. They can decide to suit their taste, according to the body colour chosen. Among the eight colours available, two are exclusive to the model: Aïkinite, a golden copper, and Red Purple, an unusual violet. Reserved only for the 3-door hatchback, two versions of two-tone paint are available: Red Purple and Gallium Grey or Lipizan White and Aïkinite.

The customer can then select from the seven personalisation themes and three interior ambiences. The personalisation themes comprise exterior stickers, shells for the door mirrors, interior stickers, floor carpets, key fob shells (mechanical, plip or Keyless Entry and Starting card) while the three interior ambiences determine the colours of the finishers on the dashboard and centre panel.

Red Purple PEUGEOT 108 5-door hatchback, covered with diamond shaped motifs playing with the light.

PEUGEOT 108, 3-door with two-tone paint, marrying Red Purple with Gallium Grey on the upper parts of the body.

The PEUGEOT 108 offers a choice of six trims. Curitiba cloth is exclusive to the Access trim level. On Active and Allure trim levels, the PEUGEOT 108 hatchback is trimmed with Carolight cloth, a revisited tartan, the PEUGEOT 108 TOP! convertible with Rayura Aïkinite cloth. Leather, exclusive to the Allure trim level, is available on both body styles.

At 3.47m long and 1.62m wide, the PEUGEOT 108 is has quite compact dimensions. According to their press release, its reduced overhangs and turning radius of just 4.80m allow it to avoid with obstacles with ease. The driving position also provides excellent forward vision.

When loading the boot, the PEUGEOT 108 reveals one of its many strengths. The Keyless Entry and Starting card allows the doors to be unlocked, the tailgate to be unlocked and partially opened with just a press on the appropriate button. On opening the tailgate, the shelf automatically folds away against the rear screen and reveals a boot that is generous for the category: 196 litres with the puncture repair kit, 180 litres with the spare wheel. Loading is easy with the low sill, just 77 cm, and a wide 1 metre space between the wheel arches. The initial volume can be extended to 750 litres by folding the 50/50 rear seat backrests.

As for safety, the car comes with a set of six airbags fitted as standard: two frontal airbags (the passenger airbag can be switched off), two lateral airbags at the front, and two curtain airbags covering the front and rear seats. Finally, for the safety of children in the car, the two rear seats are equipped with IsoFix mountings.

As for the engines, there is a choice of four 3-cylinder power units:
- 1.0 e-VTi68 5-speed manual, 88g/km CO2,
- 1.0 VTi 68 5-speed manual, 95g/km de CO2,
- 1.0 VTi68 5-speed electronic, 97g/km CO2,
- New Puretech1.2 VTi 82 engine with 5-speed manual gearbox, 99g/km CO2.

There are two tyre sizes used, 165/65 R14 or 165/60 R15. They are continuously monitored by the Indirect Tyre Under-Inflation Detection system.

The braking system includes as standard, ABS, Electronic Brake Force Distribution, Emergency Collision Braking System and switchable ESP. The braking system is completed by 247mm ventilated discs at the front and 200mm drums at the rear.

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Volvo Concept XC Coupe

The Volvo Concept XC Coupé was unveiled in January at the 2014 Detroit Motor Show. It won the 'Best Concept Car' title as well as the award for 'Best use of Colour, Graphics and Materials'.

The difference between the two-door, four-seater Volvo Concept XC Coupe and the Volvo Concept Coupe include the larger 21-inch wheels, accentuated wheel-arches and a taller roofline.

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Discovery Channel premieres new episode of RODS N WHEELS

An all-new episode of RODS N WHEELS starts on the Discovery Channel. In the first episode, the guys visit George Barris. George’s hot rod creations have been featured in various movies and TV shows including the Batmobile in the original Batman television series.

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Dash Cams to the Rescue: HP Car Camcorder f200 review

An increasing number of motorists in the UK are installing in-car dashboard cameras or dash cams, as they are more popularly known. The mini video cams are fixed discretely on the windscreen of your vehicle. The main reason is the rise of the so-called "crash-for-cash" scams.

There are gangs who stage fake accidents in order to make fraudulent insurance claims. Their modus-operandi is to slam on their brakes suddenly and causing the vehicle behind to crash into them. The Insurance Fraud Bureau estimates that the annual cost of these fraud cases amount to around £392 million (1). This highlights the importance of this issue and it is no wonder that many van owners and operators have also started to install dash cams in their fleet of vehicles. In the event of an accident, the accurate recordings of the events can prove useful in legal proceedings and insurance claims.

Another possible benefit of installing these cams is that the drivers would probably drive more responsibly as they are aware that the cams are running and recording their entire journey as well. Thus, they can encourage safer driving.

On the other hand, you may want to just record the beautiful landscape on a trip. I wish I had one during our amazing driving trip to the Scottish highlands and the Isle of Skye last Easter.

There are a range of dash cams out there with prices ranging from around £10 to over £100. Their quality and features vary widely as well. Anyway, I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to review the HP Car Camcorder f200. The camera is quite small and discreetly fits behind the mirror. However, the power cord dangling down was quite annoying and I may have to run it along the top of the windscreen.

The camera supports micro SDHC cards up to 32GB. However, the spare card I had at home was only 8GBs. It has a 2.4" LCD Color TFT screen at the back which helps to position the camera and is surprisingly clear. I plugged the power cord in and started playing around with the menu which was quite easy to navigate.

First of all I changed the dates and time and then formatted the memory card. I then realised that it had started recording. The camera allows for total hands free operation as you can set the camera to start recording as soon as it detects motion. It can also be set to start recording automatically when it detects a collision or sudden braking situation. You can select the sensitivity but I think that it defeats the whole purpose as you would want to see the events leading up to an accident as well - before the collision actually happens. Fortunately, I did not get the chance to test the automatic collision recording feature and I hope it remains that way.

I recorded a recent trip to my son's school. The camera has a wide angle fixed focus lens F2.4 and records in full HD (1920 x 1080) including voice recording. It also has a built in 3-Axis gyro force sensor which keeps the images steady even on bumpy Coventry side roads.

On playing back the video on our TV, we found that the quality of the video was really good. I could easily read the car number plates and the distant landmarks we passed on the road were really clear. Check out the short video which I uploaded on YouTube.

I definitely recommend this camera. Prices of the cam varies widely depending on the online retailer, from £85.50 to £114.54.

This review was sponsored by Tesco Compare van insurance

Related Link: Insurance Fraud Bureau

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Happy New Year 2014

Wishing all visitors to Auto Lah 
a very Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Here's looking forward to more exciting Car news this year.

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