With accidents said to cause by the Toyota Prius being too quiet that pedestrians are not aware of there is actually a car near them. Toyota has come out with a solution for it. Yesterday, Toyota announced in Toyota City, Japan that from 30th August, Prius owner are able to purchase a device that stimulate the engine sound outside the car.

The device will automatically emits a sound of an electric motor when the Prius is about 25km/h and above, the sound is aim to alert pedestrians that there’s a vehicle nearby. The sound will falls and rises in pitch depending on the Toyota Prius Speed thus help to stimulate a more “real” engine sound. This simple device with a speaker inside the Prius front bumper will be also equipped in other hybrids or electric cars that Toyota will launch in future. The device is currently applicable to the Third-generation Toyota Prius and is selling at 12,600 yen in Japan ( excluding installation and other fees) and in today’s exchange rate would be RM475.52 . Check out the video of the demonstration below, as part of the video – Toyota trying to prove  the sound does not add much noise to the cabin and it can be switch on or off. I wish they could allow us to select what type of engine sound too..Lexus LFA engine sound perhaps?

The new Nissan Murano facelift has officially revealed by Nissan. The 2nd Generation of of Nissan Murano is launched in 2008 and 2 years later a facelift for a year 2011 model Nissan Murano facelift. This facelift will firstly apply to the North American markets.

It is still powered by a 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 250 horsepower and 240 lb-ft of torque and is still mated with a CVT (continuously variable transmission) gearbox.

The new Murano Facelift gets a more aggressive front. With a slight tweak on the grille design and a more sporty front bumper ( mainly around the fog lights area).

From the rear, the most significant changes would definitely be the rear lights. The rear lights is surrounded by transparent design and center red braking LED lights. Other optional variant available is with 20-inch wheels, a dual-panel moonroof and more optional goodies,  as well as a AWD and FWD too. The current Nissan Murano is priced RM330,000 in Malaysia. US is getting the facelift by October in their Nissan Showrooms, we shall see whether our version gets a facelift later too.

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Hyundai Malaysia or rather known as Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd has launch a special promotion for Hyundai owners in conjunction of the Hari Raya Aidilfitri. Hyundai customers will benefit up 20% discount on selected car parts and 10 to 15% on labour charge.  Hyundai car will be service and inspected by certified Hyundai technicians using the latest diagnostic and service tools. All certified Hyundai service center will be using only genuine parts.

“Hyundai car owners should take advantage of this promotion as it does not only mean savings on selected parts and labour, but also a better and safer drive home,” said Mr Dennis Ho, Managing Director of Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors Sdn Bhd.

Like last year, customers that take advantage to service their cars during  20th August to 9th September, 2010 will receive a free mystery gifts. To avoid long waiting hours in service centers, customers are advised to make appointment with their preferred Hyundai service centers.

For more information Hyundai owners may contact  Hyundai Sime Darby Motors’s Customer Careline at 1-300-13-2000 or log in to www.hyundai.com.my

* The above graphic is actually Hyundai last year’s promotion, please do not refer. *

There’s been leak of brochure of the 2011 Merc CLS , the actual car taken as we reported earlier. Now, there’s a some studio Photos of the Mercedes CLS 2011 seem to be appear online. Before the new Mercedes Benz CLS reaches our shores these materials continues teases us.

The new Mercedes Benz CLS shots are much clearer inside out, the studio shots taken making the Merc CLS looks stunning in every single angle. Need not to be mention the new CLS headlights and rear lights are – Awesome !

The front and back of the definitely defines what a four-door sport saloon should be. The photos shown here is the 265hp Mercedes Benz CLS 350 model. The fierce and muscular looking 2011 CLS redefines Mercedes Benz 4 seater coupe.

The interior looks much sportier compare to the previous CLS with some of the carbon fiber touch and a redesign steering. The all new 2011 Mercedes Benz CLS will be a rival to Porche Panamera, Maserati Quattroporte in our land. Check out more photos below, and i’m sure you will agree with me that the new CLS looks good in every angle.

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BHPetrol Malaysia has come out with 2 new petrol variant, and obviously claims to be better. Both petrol as sold as the same price as of the Malaysia’s market rate which, Rm1.85/litre for the Ron 95 version and Rm2.10/litre for the Ron 97 version. BHPetrol has added a new formulation, which they would like to call it Advanced Additive Compound(AAC) which is by adding a maximum additive volume of 800 parts per million (ppm).  Now, BHP Petrol actually bought the additive from a German company, and it was said that BHPetrol is giving us double of what the German Additive company recommended them. I guess that’s why BHPetrol is dare enough to put 3 big words to brand their product “Infiniti – Advanced – 2times”.

The added additive its a fully synthetic type, and other mixtures making it a engine cleaning, and minimizing friction inside your engine combustion area thus this brings better protection for your engine, better performance and most of all better fuel economy.

In order to see how much does all these mixture improved over a normal petrol. BHPetrol actually sends its new fuel with the new additive back to Germany for an independent Fuel testing company which follows the strict European standards. The new BHPetrol Infiniti Advanced2X fuels are tested for it’s cleaning performance using a Mercedes-Benz engine. With the result back from Germany shows ( refer the above chart),  when compare to a non additive petrol it is 94% “cleaner” with only 3mg/valve of deposits. To tell you in normal terms, a normal car engine tends to lose power gradually as we drive, one of the reason to this is actually the “dirts” left inside your engine after the combustion. With this greater cleaning power in BHPetrol’s fuel, this will help to clean the engine throughout the engine’s lifespan. Again, on top of that, other functions with the combination of this brilliant recipe, the new fuel should give you improve fuel efficiency and improve performance.

The fuel also serve as a anti-rust function for your fuel pipes and tanks so that the rust particles will not be deliver to your engine.  How will this compare to the Shell V-Power 97 fuel launch 2 months back? We will leave it to you to be BHPetrol’s final and most crucial testers – the consumers. There’s also a promotion going on for those who like to try out the new BHPetorl Infiniti Advanced2x Ron95 and 97 fuels. With a minimum purchase or RM30 of BHPetrol Ron95 or Ron97 will be entitle to have a chance to win a all-new Mercedes-Benz C200 CGI Elegance and other over 700 prizes.

Hyundai with it’s continuous improving in their product has reach another milestone yet again. Recently, a well-known German Automotive Magazine ( Auto Bild) has voted and awarded Hyundai as the top position in their quality report in Germany for the year 2010. The big deal of this part is, Hyundai has overtaken other well known car makers in Germany such as, BMW, Audi, Mercedes Benz and others.

Hyundai took this honor is based on it’s effort in analyzing it’s cars reliability, durability and most of all customer’s satisfaction. Taken into consideration as this report is one of those which is highly respected report from Auto Bild. This has further strengthen Hyundai as a automotive market player who has been consistently improving it’s products.

Hyundai is also the top three non-premium brand in J.D. Power and Associates’ Initial Quality Study.

In May, we reported some spyshot over the Honda Civic Euro edition being spied. The hot hatch that is said to be rival VW’s Golf and Scirocco. Recently some fellas in Germany manage to caught the below spy shot video and upload it to Youtube outside Honda’s Germany Office. No one is sure about what is hidden beneath the heavily disguise vehicle. It could be a entirely new model from Honda, or it could be a version of Honda Civic Euro to replace the 5-door hatch since what we reported earlier was a 3 door version.

This also reminded me that it was awhile ago, in a Japanese magazine that illustrated what could be the next generation of Honda Civic. Looking at the illustration of the next generation of Honda Civic and the spyshot video, i’m suspected it this could apply to JDM Honda Civic as well. We’ll just have to wait for more spyshot or some official teaser till’ then. While this is rumored to be new Civic for us and it is some what like Proton Wira Aeroback type, i’m not too sure this version of Civic will be favorable in our market. Hopefully we will able to see some high performance ECO-friendly engine developed by Honda as a variant to replace the Civic Type R that has been continued in Euro as well as Japan as the K20A engine does not meet the emission standards. Honda also confirmed that there’s a new/updated gasoline-electric hybrid engine being developed for the Civic. Enjoy the Honda Civic Spyshot Video Below !

Volkswagen to have Complete Knock Down (CKD) units by March next year,  however it’s partner in Malaysia is not Proton. It’s DRB-HICOM. Surprise, surprise. It made me feel like the movie -  Stars Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. Some of our hopes were called off since Volkswagen made an announcement 2 months back calling off talks with Proton about the possible collaboration , but a New Hope arise. It was last Friday, DRB-HICOM Berhad & Volkswagen AG signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on assembling and manufacturing Volkswagen vehicles in Malaysia.

The agreement will make Volkswagen existing sales activities and becoming a more competitive automotive brand in Malaysia market. Volkswagen cars will be built in Pekan, Pahang. DRB-Hicom will also look into local automotive component manufacturing companies, this is also in line with the National Automotive Policy (NAP). We do hope with this act we can buy Volkswagen vehicles in a more affordable price.

It was also announced by our Prime Minister,Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that the first batch of Malaysia built Volkswagen vehicles will be roll out by 1st quarter next year. 3  Volkswagen Models is expected to built for the 1st batch. No official announcement on which VW cars yet, but our guess would be the Volkswagen Jetta as shown above and another possibile popular model would be the VW Passat.

The possible 3rd model in could be the Volkswagen Touran which is actually already being assemble in Indonesia. The Touran is a entry level MPV from Volkswagen.

It is a truly exciting news for us, however depending on how DRB-Hicom and Volkswagen handle the situation, 1st quarter next year might seem pretty quick. There could be possibility too DRB-Hicom will do this 1st few batch of Volkswagen vehicles in  a SKD( Semi Knock Down)  which means it’s partially imported, for example it’s body works is welded before bringing it in instead of importing in pieces by pieces (the like how Naza did with the recent launched Peugeot 3008). More VW cars on the roads next year !

Hyundai Motor America has been leading in terms of fuel economy of vehicles manufacturer in the US since 2008.  This is by averaging out all the fuel consumption of vehicles that wears the Hyundai brand. With this, the Hyundai has also increased their market share up to 50% in the automotive industry.

Hyundai lately has announced it’s next goal in fuel efficient, and consumption – the target is to get at least 50 miles per gallon by 2025 ( in our case 4.7 Liter every 100km) across the average of all it’s vehicles.  In a more descriptive context by year 2025, vehicles ranging from the hybrids to the more gas guzzling Hyundai Genesis Coupe to commercial trucks will be totalled and averaged to have a fuel consumption of  today’s Toyota Prius. While this may seen not so hard to achieve in 25 years, people in the automotive industry will see it as a huge challenge.

Hyundai will utilize it’s innovative Blue Drive™ technology to accomplish their goal. Of course, Blue Drive™  technology will continuously improved in Hyundai’s Research & Development centers across the world ( California, Michigan, Korea, India and Germany). Various types of powertrains will be researched such as, gasoline direct injection, turbocharging, electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids. The research also includes reducing weight by using light-weight materials and design, aerodynamics and more.

Environmental Protection Agency Fuel Economy Reports

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has set a standard for automakers to achieve an average rating of fuel consumption for 35.5mpg by year 2016. As for Hyundai before this requirement took place, Hyundai has already announced it’s own plans to deliver a minimum of 35mpg by year 2015.

The long-awaited standard model of Golf, Scirocco and Polo have just make available by Volkswagen Group Malaysia. The Golf and Scirocco are fitted with the award-winning 1.4 TSI 4-cylinder direct injection twin-charged engine, while the new Polo is fitted with the 1.2 TSI 4-cylinder direct injection turbo-charged engine.

The Golf and Scirocco 1.4 TSI…

The 1.4 TSI direct-injection twin-charger engine mated 7-speed direct shift gearbox (DSG) are fitted to Golf and Scirocco, the engine produces with 160PS (108kW) and 240Nm of torque. The Volkswagen’s  flagship engine uses the combination of supercharger to boost the engine at low-rpm and the turbocharger works at the higher-rpm. Both cars manage to clock 8 seconds from 0-100km/h and an approximate top speed of 220km/h. Both car are fairly good performance as street cars.

Both younger siblings of the Golf GTI and Scirocco 2.0 TSI are fitted with 1-inch smaller wheels. The Golf 1.4 TSI fitted with 16-inch wheels with 205/55 R16 tyres, while the Scirocco 1.4 TSI fitted with 17-inch wheels with 225/45 R17 tyres.

Somehow, the 1.4 TSI models have slightly less feature comparing to the 2.0 TSI or the GTI models. We will cover this in coming in-depth review!

Price factors for Golf & Scirocco:-

Golf 1.4 TSI – RM 155,888.00* in Peninsular Malaysia (with Light & Sound Package) ; Without Light & Sound Package at the price of RM 148,888.00*.

Scirocco 1.4 TSI – RM 188,888.00* in Peninsular Malaysia

The Light & Sound Package for the Golf 1.4 TSI is basically come with Bi-xenon headlights for high and
low beam with integrated turn signal indicator that similar with the GTI, front fog light, headlight cleaning system and MEDIA-IN USB/iPod media interface.

If you love the Golf or the Scirocco appearance and you don’t fancy about the little more powerful engine. You got to trust me, the 1.4 TSI model is ideal! Both car support minimum RON 95 Unleaded Fuel. The fuel consumption for the Golf at Urban drive only 7.5 litres per 100 km^ , but the Scirocco is a little higher at 8.0 litres per 100 km^.

The Polo 1.2 TSI…

Moving over to the smaller passenger car – Polo 1.2 TSI, I think the new Polo looks much better and stunning compare to the outgoing model. The front façade shares the similar outlook like Golf, Scirocco and other VW new line-up.

This 4 door hatchback fitted with 1.2 TSI direct-injection turbo-charged engine that churn-out 105PS (77kW) and 175 Nm of torque. Besides, this car also comes with 7-speed direct shift gearbox (DSG) too. Over on performance wise, the car clock 9.7 seconds from 0-100km/h and a top speed of 190km/h. This tiny hatch fitted with 15-inch wheels with 195/55 R15 tyres.

I would say this Polo is something sexy and zippy like the Honda Jazz. The price is reasonable par with the Honda Jazz. You can get yourself a German 4-door hatchback at only RM 108,888.00* in Peninsular Malaysia. This car is also compatible with RON95 Unleaded Fuel and the fuel consumption only 7.0 litres per 100km^ at Urban drive condition.

Anyway, stay with us and we will keep you posted with the in-depth review and photos of the 3 new Volkswagen models.

* Price excluding registration and inspection fees, road tax, number plate and insurance.
^ Average Fuel Consumption based on specification provided

Photo Gallery: Volkswagen Golf 1.4 TSI

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Photo Gallery: Volkswagen Scirocco 1.4 TSI

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Photo Gallery: Volkswagen Polo 1.2 TSI

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