Archive for May, 2008
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Klaus Berning, executive vice-president of sales and marketing at Porsche in Germany, was in SA for last week’s official opening of the new centre. He believed “the real milestone and leap in sales” would come with the launch of the Panamera sports coupe towards the end of 2009. The car was announced way back in July 2005. It is expected to increase Porsche’s worldwide sales by 15 000 to 20 000 a year. The model range in South Africa runs from R495 000 for a Porsche Boxster to R2.6-million for a Porsche GT2.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Strategic Vision’s total quality index reflects only the first two to three months of ownership. This is similar to J.D. Power’s initial quality scores. Neither survey should really impact a buying decision, outside of the fact that it takes into account the dealership experience. The VW Jetta is leading the pack at the Total Quality Survey by Strategic Vision in the medium car segment. BMW topped the list, with Hummer, Mercedes-Benz, Audi, Infiniti, Lexus, Land Rover, Cadillac, Lincoln and Volkswagen rounding out the top 10. Only VW, GM and Ford showed improvement this year, as the industry averaged dropped a few points.
Posted in Manufacturers, VolksWagen | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
The single frame grille of the newest Ingolstadt model range is definitely a striking design object. ABT Sportsline has directed its whole attention to this specific design element and has advanced a front grille for the models AS4, AS5, AS7 and AS3 Facelift so that it equals the philosophy of the world’s leading tuner of cars of the Volkswagen group: The optics must support the self-confident and dynamical appearance of the car - and this is exactly what ABT achieves with the new front.
Noticeable are the five massive longitudinal ribs which give the face of the AS4, AS5, AS7 and AS3 Facelift even more presence and accentuate the character of the sports cars from Kempten. The outermost struts continue the line of the ABT front skirt and fit perfectly into the sportive design concept. The new grille “made in Kempten” consists of high-quality ABS plastic and can be ordered at ABT Sportsline and its partners for about 380 euros (including tax).
Posted in Audi, Manufacturers | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Skoda is planning its own version of Volkswagen’s upcoming new Lupo (based on the up! concept), and plans to manufacture it in India. Skoda currently has two plants in India, one in Aurangabad and one in Chakan. Skoda officials say its small car will have a new platform, which seems to indicate the upcoming rear-engined rear-wheel drive platform which underpins the up!/Lupo. The new small Skoda will make its debut by 2010, and will fuel Skoda’s race to sell 100,000 cars annually from 2012 onwards. It will be priced between Rs 3-5 lakh (US$7,100 to US$11,600).
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
There seems to be a worldwide shift to white from silver as the most popular choice for a car’s colour. According to DuPont’s survey last year, white and pearl white narrowly took the top spot in colour choices in North America, is the leader by a large margin in Mexico. Car manufacturers such as BMW have noticed this shift towards white in North America, and have been styling their concept and show cars in white. If you look around, white doesn’t seem to be very popular in Malaysia, and in many instances if you see a white car it’s most likely to be a police car. But we can see many opting for white with the latest generation Toyota Camry, a sign that Malaysians are also shifting towards white….
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd announced yesterday that it will be launching two models this year. One is the Nissan Sylphy, which only comes with one engine variant, a 2.0 liter model powered by the MR20DE. The other will be a pick-up truck, which is likely the Nissan Frontier Navara 4X4 that is sold in Thailand by Siam Nissan Automobile.
The Nissan Frontier Navara, or known as the Nissan Navara in other parts of the world, sports a rather impressive specifications list in Thailand including transmission choices that feature either a 6-speed manual or a 5-speed automatic. The gearing for the automatic features a strong 3.827 first gear ratio and a single overdrive ratio. Even the 6-speed manual has a first gear ratio of 4.692 (compared to the Ranger’s 3.905), which guarantees oodles of fun for those who like pushing off from a stand-still and feeling a turbodiesel’s massive torque. The truck’s 4WD system is now electronically selectable via a dial on the dashboard.
Size-wise, the Frontier Navara has grown larger compared to the Frontier SUT that is on sale currently. Wheelbase has increased from 2,950mm to 3,200rpm, while length, width and height of the Frontier Navara is 5,125 x 1,850 x 1,780 compared to the Frontier SUT’s 5,080 x 1,825 x 1,715. So the new truck is wider, taller, and longer. It can handle a payload of more than 1 ton (1,050kg), and has a towing capacity of 2,700kg thanks to the high 403Nm of torque.
Posted in Manufacturers, Nissan | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Based on the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the Passionata retains the grand sports tourer personality of its host chassis, but adds a body that’s much more organic with swoops, bulges and soft curves everywhere the eye falls. The mega hood scoop makes the car look a little insect-like, and we also see some cues inspired by the Corvette, Lotus and even McLaren F1 in the front end, but overall it’s a knock out design and the connection to Ferrari’s own design language is unmistakable. Sahin, however, is hoping to do more than just draw the Passionata, as he claims in his press release after the jump that “production will be arranged” if there’s a demand for it. Unfortunately, a brand new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano will have to be sacrificed to build the Passionata, which we think probably violates Ferrari’s warranty.
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Friday, May 30th, 2008
Porsche Panamera will begin production next April, with the goal of producing 20,000 four-doors per year. The 4,000-pound Porsche will be available with a choice of 300 hp 3.6L V6, a 4.8L V8 packing 405 ponies, or 520 hp with forced induction, and prices are rumored to be between €80,000 and €125,000. Word on the street is that the V6 won’t be available until 2010 and a hybrid will follow for 2011.
Posted in Manufacturers, Porsche | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Edaran Tan Chong Motor has unveiled initial details on the Nissan Sylphy that it will be launching soon on their website. The Nissan Sylphy will only feature one engine variant, which is the MR20DE engine. The 2.0 liter engine is a long stroke engine with variable valve timing producing 133 PS at 5,200rpm and 191Nm of torque at 4,400rpm. Power will go to the front wheels via an XTRONIC CVT transmission featuring gear ratios from 2.349 to 0.394.
The car’s suspension design uses an independent MacPherson strut setup with stabilizer at the front, and a torsion beam at the rear, presumably to improve boot space, which totals up to 504 liters. The car has ventilated disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear, with ABS, EBD and Brake Assist. The power steering system is of the electric type as opposed to a hydraulic system. Fuel tank size is 52 liters, and Nissan claims the car can travel 16km on 1 liter of fuel as tested under Japan’s 10-15 test mode.
Posted in Manufacturers, Nissan | No Comments »
Friday, May 30th, 2008
Tata Motors will replace its existing range of 100-180 horsepower (hp) trucks by September 2008 with the ‘world truck’ fitted with 200-500hp engines, aimed at tackling the competition from Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, MAN and others. “We will make the new vehicles in the old assembly lines,” said SB Borwankar, plant head, Jamshedpur. To begin with, it would produce the entire range from 100 hp to 500hp at its works here and phase out those of lower horsepower.
“Next year, the Jamshedpur plant is going to produce ‘world trucks’, which will be a totally different kind of modular vehicle where we are going to wipe out the impression of substandard quality,” Borwankar told members of the Singhbhum Chamber of Commerce & Industry here recently. Besides these, the Tata Daewoo Commercial Vehicle and Afzal Motors in Pakistan have commissioned a new truck and bus assembling plant in Karachi to assemble heavy-duty trucks. Significantly, Tata Motors has been keen on launching a large truck for global markets for some time now. According to the company, its tie-up with Daewoo has given Tata Motors the confidence to build its own world truck.
Posted in Manufacturers, Tata | No Comments »
