Updates to the site and we welcome the Mercedes 190e 2.3 8v as part of our fleet.

If you noticed we've now put an 'Our Cars' link as well as a link to our Facebook site so that you may interact with us on that social network. 

The interesting thing is that genuine petrolhead and motoring enthusiast Adlis K who now owns the modern classic Mercedes Benz 190e 2.3 8v with the Cossie bodykit and 190e EVO2 wheels has decided to join forces and become a contributor.

We will be featuring parts of the car's refurbishment under his hands in the coming months. Or Years. It all depends on how long he decides to keep the car. This fella is a serial car buyer, and with that comes serial car seller. So you never know. But do stay tuned folks. Things are picking up in here.

Also to come are reviews of the Suzy Alto 1.0, a few longer writeups that we have planned and other stuff. We can't exactly say as we like doing things at the spur of the moment. It makes life interesting doesn't it?

This is the 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Thank God it's not on sale here.

We can thank our lucky stars that there isn't an official Jeep distributor here in Malaysia. The 2014 Jeep Cherokee has a face only a person high on something would love. Daytime driving lights with indicators on top, headlights in the middle and fog lights below. And that funny grille that is totally at odds with the lower grille. What type of drugs was the designer on? This is apparent if you take a look at it full frontal.

 

Photos. From the web.

Sunday Car Porn - The 2013 Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring

As per Alfa Romeo:
"The backbone of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring is the chassis of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, selected for its light, rigid structure, perfect as the basis for redesigning a high-performance car. In detail, the architecture features a mid-front engine, transaxle gearbox and rear-wheel drive: this layout offers an optimal 49–51% load distribution between the front and rear ends. It features double-wishbone suspension, with forged aluminium uprights and supports and additional strut at the rear for toe-in control.

The compact, light engine is a 450 HP, 4.7-litre V8 with 480 Nm of maximum torque. The gearbox is electrically operated with 6 speeds and paddle control, while the limited-slip differential and self-ventilating brakes are marked by their generous dimensions. With this equipment, the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaches 290 km/h."

It's an Alfa Romeo. Enuff' Said.

Two Final Cars - The Lamborghini Gallardo and the Mini Mk2

Recently Lamborghini produced its final Lamborghini Gallardo. The car, a Rosso Mars coloured Lamborghini Gallardo LP570-4 Spyder Performante rolled off the production line ending the production for this Italian supercar. The Gallardo was first introduced in 2003 and it has been ten years in production with a total production figure of over 14,000 units of the car in various guises.

The Ford Fiesta 1.0 Ecoboost at KLIMS'13 - This isn't the actual Fiesta we'd be getting.

The Ford Fiesta that wad displayed at the recent KL motor show is not the actual car we Malaysians will be getting. And this is a good thing. Surprised? Those that have been taking extra attention would know what I'm harping on about.

Citroen DS3 to be launched early 2014 in Malaysia

Citroen will be launching the DS3 by the first quarter of 2014 here in Malaysia. The Citroen DS3 is a premium 3 door supermini sized hatchback that was officially launched in January 2010. It has taken this long to arrive in Malaysia as during 2010-2011 the brand was technically in limbo here in Malaysia with Naza Euro Motors appointed as Citroen's local distributor, bringing both PSA group brands under one roof (the other being Peugeot).

Nissan Almera NISMO Package - Why I suggest you should save your money instead.

Oooo....check out the photo...three men standing under a sign that shows 'male'

Currently the best selling non-national car in the market simply because it is fresh and new (before the launch of the all-new Vios. Nissan has a NISMO package for the car and you can buy it together with the Almera or separately. In short you can upgrade any Almera that had been purchased prior to the launch of the Nissan Almera NISMO packages.

All-New 4th Generation Honda City launched over in India. Gee.... didn't we just have a motorshow for Honda to launch something like this?

Honda has just launched the 4th Generation Honda City in India and the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 has just finished. What does this tell you? Whilst we are important enough to get the all-new Honda Odyssey two weeks after its Japan launch we aren't important enough to launch Honda's B-segment car. But then again, what's a high tax, price controlled market like Malaysia compared to a market with a billion people like India? Pretty obvious isn't it.

Subaru keeps hoodwinking us all.

Take a look at the slightly overexposed photo of a Legacy and an Australian spec Toyota Camry 2.5 Atisse above. Try to guess which is the Scooby and which is the ultimate uncle-mobile before reading the next paragraph below.

And here's a mega 'up yours' to older cars being unsafe - A 1987 Mercedes Benz 190e 2.3 8v

I just drove this car a few days and God, it was comfortable and surprisingly nimble. It also felt as solid or even better than newer cars costing RM80,000. The car in question is a 1987 190e 2.3 8valve with a 2.3-16 bodykit with a front AMG bumper. The wheels are original 8.75in x 17 Mercedes Evo 2 wheels plucked from the utterly mad 190e 2.5-16 Evo 2. It makes 134hp and 205Nm in stock form.

The paradox in car names..beginning with the latest all-new Large Mini

My friend recently commented on my post regarding the All-new 2014-2015 Mini. He considers the large Mini an Oxymoron. I have to agree with him. Large Mini.

Now that the MINI is actually a brand name instead of actually meaning something small and petite unlike the original Austin Mini, it is the biggest automotive oxymoron around. To those that aren't aware of what 'oxymoron' means it is a figure of speech that juxtaposes contradictory elements. The MINI is definitely an oxymoron as it isn't truly small. We have cars like the Smart ForTwo and those Japanese Kei Cars which are much smaller than BMW's Mini.

2015 Subaru WRX makes its debut at the LA Auto Show - Thoughts about it.

Subaru has just launched the 2015 Subaru WRX at the 2013 Los Angeles Auto Show. According to the Press Release it gets the following:

• New platform offers a stiffer, more agile chassis for Subaru global performance icon
• New torque-vectoring system reduces understeer
• New 268-hp 2.0-liter direct-injection turbo BOXER engine
• New standard 6-speed manual transmission
• New Sport Lineartronic® CVT with manual modes

KLIMS'13 - Hyundai I40 sedan and i40 wagon Launched at KLIMS'13

2014 Hyundai i40 Wagon

So what the heck is a Hyundai i40? It is a full sized D segment sedan much like the Hyundai Sonata (Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Kia Optima etc) except Hyundai says that the i40 is a luxury D segment vehicle. Hyundai has decided to keep selling the cheaper Sonata while launching the i40 for the Malaysian market. We are getting spoilt for choices in this segment people.

How does this i40 differ from the Sonata?

All-new Mk3 Mini is larger than ever. Why?

Hot off the preview pages, the Mk3 2014/2015 Mini (above, left). Basically, its huge. 98mm longer (3,821mm), 44mm wider (1,727mm) and 7mm taller (1,414mm) than the Mk2 Mini. The wheelbase is 42mm longer at 2,495mm and it is wider too. Aside from that the top of the range Cooper S now comes with a 2.0liter turbocharged engine making 192hp. See? It even needs a larger sized engine to make it go fast.

KLIMS'13 - Volkswagen at KLIMS'13 and the launch of the CKD 2014 Polo 1.6 Hatchback

Volkswagen is another car manufacturer that decided to participate in a big way for the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS'13). The VW stand is the largest at KLIMS'13 and showcases the following:

• National premiere of the new 2014 Volkswagen Polo 1.6, 3rd locally assembled model
• Unique special ‘cut out’ model of Golf displays Volkswagen’s engineering, innovation and safety
• The iconic Beetle Fender Edition first appearance in Malaysia
• “Think Blue” – Interaction of fuel efficiency and fuel saving
• The Volkswagen comprehensive model line-up and exciting brand entertainment for all walks of life

MIROS crash tests a 23 year old Proton and declares it unsafe.....What a load of crap.

Photo:via cbt.com.my from Miros

There was, putting it bluntly, a really stupid piece of news made by the Malaysia Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) stating that cars that are more than 12 years old are not safe to be on the road. MIROS added that there is a higher risk of death in an accident because such cars could be faulty without the driver being aware of it and that most cars are designed to have a lifespan of five to twelve years. MIROS also stated that cars made more than twelve years ago were also lacking in safety features. This conclusion was derived after a car collision test at the Asean New Car Assessment Programme (ASEAN NCAP) . The test car was done on a...23 year old Proton Saga. 

KLIMS'13 - Ford at KLIMS, the Ford Fiesta EcoBoost and Ford EcoSport

Ford has chosen to participate in the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show 2013 (KLIMS'13) in a big way. They've decided to come up with a showcase showing its old and new cars. They've showcased a vintage Model A, the Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 (no, this is just for show), Ford Focus Sport+ Graphite edition (above), Fiesta ST, the Fusion Hybrid saloon and two potential large sellers for them in Malaysia – the Ford EcoSport mini SUV and the Ford Fiesta 1.0l EcoBoost hatchback. Both the Ford EcoSport and EcoBoost will be launched next year with the Fiesta sometime early 2014 and the EcoSport later in the year.

KLIMS'13 - Infiniti makes its debut appearance at the Motor Show

Infiniti Q50

Infiniti has made their first appearance at the Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show. I hope they will keep on participating in it for years to come. Their cars might be for the luxury end of the car market, but variety makes things better. And people must have hopes and dreams. 

They've displayed the luxury flagship Q70, the premium sports saloon Q50 (which has a larger 3.7liter engine compared to the 2.5liter Q70), the QX50 SUV and Sebastian Vettel's F1 car. Let's just see what Infiniti has to say - photos incorporated therein.            

(-Sometimes, the press release is the most straightforward). 

INFINITI FIRST APPEARANCE IN KUALA LUMPUR INTERNATIONAL MOTORSHOW 2013

KLIMS'13 - The Nissan Leaf is officially launched

Nissan launched the Nissan Leaf electric car at KLIMS13. RM168,000 on the road for a fully electric car. This is a car which would have limited mileage if you are hard on the throttle pedal most of the time and love air-conditioning, radio and lights on. If your commutes are reasonably short then it would be the car for you. It would actually suit eco-mentalists, housewives, aunties and uncles who would only use the car within a 30km radius to run errands and for anyone that hates filling up petrol at the pumps. All they have to do is use the supplied power cold and charge the car after each drive. 

Convenient.  And that's all I have to say about the Leaf. 

KL International Motor Show 2013 - 2014 Hyundai i30 Preview

The Hyundai i30 is a Hyundai Elantra sized hatchback. In fact if you're in America you could buy this as a Hyundai Elantra GT. The car will be sold here in Malaysia in the First Quarter of 2014 and will come with one engine spec, the 1.8liter NU MPI 4 cylinder engine which would make 150PS and178Nm torque. It will also get the 6 speed automatic transmission and will come with lots of kit. No official price has been given as yet but we're predicting it would be sold at RM110,000 to RM115,000 which is slightly higher (due to the specs given) than the previous i30 sold in Malaysia.