Latest
News
29 Apr, 2007
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| 2008 Corvette gets 6.2-liter V8 and
430hp |
 
The 2008 model year Chevrolet Corvette will arrive this summer. The
headline change is the introduction of a larger 6.2-liter LS3 V8.
Compare with the current LS2 engine, it gets larger bore, larger
valves, higher cam lift, higher flow intake manifolds and fuel
injection. The result is 430 horsepower and 424 lbft of torque, up from
the current 400hp and 400 lbft. Moreover, an optional variable
back-pressure exhaust (like Z06) will add another 6 horsepower and 4
lbft of torque. Top speed rise from 186 mph to 190 mph.
GM claims the 6-speed manual gearbox gets a much-needed improvement in
shift quality while the 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission
gets faster shifts to enable 0-60 mph in only 4.3 seconds. Other
changes include new forged alloy wheels, revised steering, new interior
trim and upgraded equipment. Thankfully, its keen price remains
unchanged.
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29 Apr, 2007
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| Toyota becomes World No. 1 !! |
The time has finally come. After
dominating global sales chart for 76 years, GM's world no. 1 position
has been passed by Toyota in the first quarter this year. During this
period, Toyota sold 2.35 million vehicles worldwide, including its
subsidiary Daihatsu and Hino, which is a 9% growth compare with last
year. GM sold 2.26 million units in the same period, which is a 3% rise
mostly thanks to the increased sales in China. Congratulation to
Toyota, the new world's biggest car maker !
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21 Apr, 2007
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| BMW CS concept... Oh No !! |
 
This ugly duck is BMW's CS concept, now being displayed at Shanghai
motor show. The 4-door coupe is clearly an answer to Mercedes CLS,
Aston Martin Rapide and Porsche Panamera. Measuring 5106mm long, 1978mm
wide and 3146mm at wheelbase, it is even larger than the current
7-Series. Chris Bangle said it is only a concept car now and there is
no technical details available, but who knows if it will be put into
production ? if so, it could be named Z9 and powered by a
600-plus-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 derived from the M5's V10, as German
sources rumoured. While everybody else is launching green concept cars,
BMW must be mad to show this politically incorrect concept now. Perhaps
this is why it chose to show the car in China first.
 
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17 Apr, 2007
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| New Peugeots to be lighter |
 << 308, the last bulky Peugeot
Just days after my
editorial "Global
Warming to Change Our Motor Industry - Part 3", Peugeot revealed
that all its future models following the forthcoming 308 will trim
weight to reduce fuel consumption and emission. The 308, however, will
be the last bulky Peugeot.
"We have to develop cars with less weight than the car it replaces.
It’s the only way we can go.” Said Frederic Saint-Geours, Executive
Vice President of Peugeot.
Obviously, car makers see the same point as AutoZine: facing the great
challenge of emission reduction, our next generation cars have to be
smaller and lighter.
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13 Apr, 2007
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| GM halts development of big RWD cars |
The topic about global
warming is hot everywhere, not only here in AutoZine but also in the
United States. Recently, the US Supreme Court judged that EPA
(Environmental Protection Agency) has the right to regulate carbon
dioxide emission from vehicles. At the same time, the Congress proposes
to raise corporate average fuel economy standard (CAFE) from the
current level of 27.5mpg to 34mpg by 2016. The Bush government, on the
other hand, proposes to raise fuel economy standard by 4% per year over
10 years. These cause a big headache to GM, which has a lot of fuel
inefficient vehicles in its lineup.
The first victim is the big RWD cars based
on Holden Commodore's Zeta platform. GM originally planned to develop
various cars from the Zeta – Chevrolet Camaro, Chevrolet Impala, a big
Buick and the next generation Cadillac CTS / STS / V12 flagship model.
However, due to the uncertainty over fuel economy standard, Bob Lutz
said the development plan will be halted until Washington finalize the
proposals. The only lucky survivor will be Chevrolet Camaro, as it is
too late to stop.
 “If we have to devote our resources to
meeting fuel economy mandates that demand we get 30% better mileage, we
can’t devote them to future rear-drive products that we don’t know how
to get 30% better mileage from.” said Lutz.
Good point. But Bob, you should have forecasted the situation long ago.
While everybody else is building more frugal cars, GM let its
Australian subsidiary to develop a bigger and thirstier Commodore.
There is nothing wrong with RWD, but the sheer size and weight of the
Zeta platform makes it impossible to get reasonable mileage and
emission to face the environmental demand in the future. Poor GM bet on
low fuel prices and the protection from the Bush government to survive,
but now even the government has to follow the global trend to cap
carbon dioxide emission.
While the Congress-proposed new average fuel economy of 34mpg is said
to be tough, in Europe the fleet average consumption is already 36mpg
today. Furthermore, EU proposes to raise the emission standard to
130g/km by 2012, an equivalent of around 57mpg. In contrast, GM looks
like a big fat child having eaten a lot of McDonald hamburgers and
fried chips and still cries for hungry.
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11 Apr, 2007
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| Volvo S40 / V50 facelift |
 
Volvo has introduced facelift to the S40 and V50 family. Both cars get
a slightly restyled front and rear, increased storage space in center
console and door bins, upgraded equipment and a couple of revised
engines: the 125hp 1.8-liter four can now drink gasoline as well as E85
fuel, while the T5's 2.5-liter turbocharged five-pot gets an increase
of 10 horsepower to 230hp. No major changes anyway.
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6 Apr, 2007
|
| WCOTY: Lexus LS460 |
Following the footprints of Audi A6 (2005) and BMW 3-Series (2006),
Lexus LS460 has been voted as World Car of the Year 2007 by 43
international automotive journalists. It beat Audi TT and Mini in the
final.
Other awards by the committee:
Design of the Year: Audi TT
Performance Car of the Year: Audi RS4 (note: didn't it debut in 2005 ?)
Green Car of the Year: Mercedes E320 Bluetec (note: has it gone on sale
last year ?)
Interestingly, WCOTY awards were announced on the same day as our AutoZine
Awards 2007. You can compare them and see which is more convincing.
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6 Apr, 2007
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| M3 gets fat |
Shortly after the
prototype and the V8 engine, BMW has released specifications of the
production M3. Basically, everything is unchanged from the prototype.
However, the most interesting to us is whether it weighs more than the
old car. In the press release, BMW stressed that the new M3 employs a
lot of lightweight materials, such as a roof made of carbon-fiber
reinforced plastic (like the previous M3 CSL and M6), aluminum front
suspensions, forged aluminum rear suspensions and compound disc brakes.
Moreover, the aluminum V8 engine is 15kg lighter than the old
iron-block straight-6. Nevertheless, in the end the kerb weight is 1580kg
(DIN), compare to the old M3's 1495kg and M3 CSL's 1385kg. So where
does the extra fat come from ?
Anyway, thanks to the more powerful engine, the new car still returns a
considerably higher power-to-weight ratio: 266hp/ton (old M3:
229hp/ton; old CSL: 260hp/ton). 0-62 mph is claimed at 4.8 seconds. The
acceleration performance of the new car is never in doubt, but I have
reservation about its braking - although the ventilated and grooved
discs look big (i.e. 360mm front and 350mm rear), they are clamped by
single-piston calipers like the previous generation. Now coping with
the increased weight, the braking could continue to be the weakest link
of M3.
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6 Apr, 2007
|
| Ford Flex |
 
Previously called "Fairlane" in concept stage, Ford Flex is the
production car. It looks like a jumbo Mini or a people carrier version
of Range Rover Sport, with nice looking interior which seats 7. The car
is very, very big, measuring over 5.1 meters in length and 2 meters in
width. Underpinning it is the platform of Ford Edge crossover (also a
sister of Freestyle and 500), sharing the same 265hp 3.5 V6, 6-speed
auto transmission, front-drive or optional AWD system.
 
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6 Apr, 2007
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| Ford Shelby GT500KR |
 Ford will produce 1000 units of this special edition. Based
on the GT500, the GT500KR gets a hotter tuning of the 5.4-liter
supercharged V8 to release 540hp and 510lbft. That's almost level with
the discontinued Ford GT supercar and surpasses the level of Corvette
Z06. The modifications also include beefed up suspensions, shorter
final drive ratio, shorter throw gearshift and stronger Brembo brakes.
Pony cars could be that crazy.
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5 Apr, 2007
|
| CLK63 AMG Black |
 
AMG's newly established Black Series targets the most demanding drivers
in the same way as Porsche 911 GT3. The first Black Series product was
last year's SLK55 Black. Now it is joined with CLK63 AMG Black. From
the outlook, you might confuse it with Mercedes' F1 safety car. Yes, it
shares most of the exterior modifications with that one, such as a deep
and wide front bumper with massive intakes, flared wheel arches,
extended side skirts and rear diffusers. Still, it is not as aggressive
as the CLK DTM because it lacks a rear spoiler and intakes at the rear
fenders. In fact, the CLK63 AMG Black bridges the gap between the
"regular", 481hp CLK63 and the 582hp supercharged CLK DTM. Its
6.2-liter DOHC V8 is tuned to 507 horsepower at 6800 rpm and its torque
remains unchanged at 465 lbft at 5250 rpm. 0-60 mph takes 4.1 seconds,
0.3 quicker than the regular car. The electronic speed regulator is no
longer set at the usual 155mph (250kph), but at a generous 186mph
(300kph).
The gearbox of the Black continues to be the 7G-Tronic with AMG's
Speedshift program and paddle shift control. However, it offers only
two modes - Sport and Manual, with Comfort mode deleted because there
is virtually no comfort to say for the very track-biased car. The final
drive ratio is shortened to sharpen acceleration.
Predictably, the flared wheel arches bring wider tracks - that's an
additional 75mm and 66mm front and rear respectively. This necessitates
revised suspension geometry and AMG introduced adjustable dampers by
the way. The compression rate, rebound rate, ride height, tracks and
camber are all adjustable, obviously designed for track use. The wheels
are upgraded to 19-inch forged aluminum ones. The front brakes become
ceramic discs measuring 360mm in diameter. The rears are 330mm steel.
Tires are upgraded to Pirelli P-Zero Corsa 265/30ZR19 front and
285/30ZR19 rear. There are plenty of carbon fiber used in the bodywork,
such as the diffusers and front fenders.
Inside, the Black series is trimmed in black, of course. Carbon-fiber
trim is used throughout the center console and instrument binnacle. A
pair of lightweight racing buckets is standard, but customers may also
opt for the more comfortable electric leather seats. Pricing is yet to
be announced, but expect it will cost around 30% more than the regular
CLK63 AMG, or more than a 911 GT3. Perhaps too expensive for a car
based on the last generation Mercedes C-class.
|
5 Apr, 2007
|
| Honda S2000 CR |
 
This year Honda S2000 is 8 years old. It feels very old but
unfortunately Honda has no intention to replace it. Instead, Honda
chose to introduce a derivative to stimulate sales. Called S2000CR, the
CR stands for Club Racing and you can easily see that from its
aggressive yet extremely ugly aero kits. These aero kits, in particular
the rear spoiler and front air dam, reduces aerodynamic lift. However,
headline of the modifications is a 40kg reduction of kerb weight by
deleting the convertible soft top. Yes, it ditched the soft top. This
mean the S2000CR offers zero weather protection if you leave the
aluminum hardtop at home. Isn't it going too extreme ?
 Because
of the free of soft top storage, Honda can install a tower brace to the
rear suspensions thus reinforces the chassis. Firmer springs and
dampers, quicker ratio steering, a slightly wider rear tires
(255/40R17) and
stickier Bridgestone Potenza RE070 rubbers should sharpen handling.
What about the engine ? sadly, the S2000CR is still powered by the
2.2-liter 16V engine like the regular American S2000, without any
modifications. In other words, output is 237hp at 7800 rpm and 162 lbft
at a sky-high 6800rpm. So, although track time is improved, real world
performance is still the biggest weakness of the car.
|
3 Apr, 2007
|
| New Subaru Impreza |
 
Surprisingly, Subaru to going to unveil its third generation Impreza
for the first time in the USA instead of Japan. This car is going to be
shown in New York auto show.
From these photos, the new Impreza looks rather characterless. In sedan
form it looks like a Saab 9-3 (well, the last generation used to be
badge-engineered as Saab 9-2X but this won't be applied to the new car
as GM is no longer a shareholder of Subaru), but bulkier and uglier.
The hatchback is slightly more stylish, but it looks too much like a
Mazda 3. Both cars feature a new wing-shape grille and headlights
integration, which is hardly a memorable feature. I actually prefer the
one used in R1/R2 and Tribeca off-roader. Inside, the dashboard design,
taken from Tribeca, is much better. It finally features decent grade
plastics and a much roomier cabin. Headroom and rear legroom are
particularly improved. The new Impreza has a wheelbase of 2620mm, some
95mm longer than the outgoing car. In sedan form, it is 125mm longer
overall and 35mm taller. The 5-door is slightly shorter than the old
one, but remember the old car was called a "Wagon" while the new car is
a hatchback.
In the mechanical side, the biggest change is the rear suspensions,
which switch from MacPherson struts to double-wishbone type. Hopefully
this will improve the Impreza's ride quality. Moreover, the new
suspensions get rid of strut towers thus contribute to a wide and flat
luggage area.
In the US-spec car, few changes are made to the powertrain. The engine
is still that horizontally opposed four-cylinder (boxer) displacing 2.5
liters. In naturally aspirated form it outputs 170 horsepower and 170
lbft of torque, more or less the same as before. In WRX form, the
engine is turbocharged and produces 224hp and 226 lbft, again the same
as the old car, although these figures arrive lower down the rev. The
engine is said to be mounted slightly lower in the chassis to improve
handling. The transmission remains to be outdated 5-speed manual or
4-speed automatic.
 
|
3 Apr, 2007
|
| Japanese Civic Type R |
 
The Japanese version of Civic Type R has gone on sale. Unlike the
European version, it is based on the 4-door Civic sedan thus has a
larger boot and longer wheelbase. In Japan, it is used to replace the
Integra Type R, which was dead last year. (The last generation,
UK-imported Civic Type R was never a hit in Japan) Therefore in Honda's
website you can see it is usually compared to the last Integra Type R.
Like the European Civic Type R, the motor is still that K20A 2.0-liter
DOHC i-VTEC, but its tuning is even hotter. Compression ratio is
11.7:1, higher than the European version (11.0:1) as well as the old
Integra (11.5:1). Compare with the latter, it employs larger diameter
throttle butterfly and larger diamater and straighter intake manifolds.
To reduce air resistance further, the intake manifold unit is casted
with a special resin coated on the sand die, hence smoothening the
internal surface of the intake manifolds. This technique is carried
over from the late NSX. It alone contributes to 2 more horsepower at
high rev. At the exhaust side, the exhaust manifolds are rerouted to
reduce back-pressure.
 
Overall, the engine produces 225ps (JIS) at 8000 rpm and 159 lbft of
torque at 6100 rpm. Max rev is 8400 rpm. For comparison, the old
Integra Type R produced 220ps at 8000 rpm and 152 lbft at 7000 rpm,
with the same max rev at 8400 rpm. The current European Civic Type R
produces 201hp (DIN) at 7800 rpm and 142 lbft at 5600 rpm, with cut-out
set at 8000 rpm. The Japanese reserve the best for themselves !
The chassis of new Civic Type R is 50% stiffer than Integra Type R.
Compare with the regular Civic sedan, it has various strengthening but
without any suspension tower bars because of the inherent strength of
the chassis. Weight is reduced by using aluminum front bumper beam and
by deleting some sound insulation, spare tire, electric door mirrors
etc. The rear seatback cannot be opened for access to trunk, both
saving weight and increasing strength. The car is 20mm wider and 10mm
lower in ride height. Brakes are upgraded to Brembo 320mm ventilated
discs with 4-piston calipers up front and 282mm discs at the rear. The
front brakes also got cooling air ducts to draw cold air. Tires are
225/40R18 like the European version, but unlike the latter, it gets a
Torsen LSD as standard.
 
However, the new Civic Type R may be slower than the car it replaces.
It weighs 1270 kg, some 80-100 kg more than the old Integra Type R.
This is virtually impossible to be compensated by the slight increase
of power.
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1 Apr, 2007
|
| Ferrari names Schumacher as new CEO |
A
surprise announcement has been made today at Maranello: former F1
champion Michael Schumacher has been named as the new CEO of Ferrari.
At the same time, Jean Todt will be promoted to the post of chairman
while Luca di Montezemolo will concentrate on his job as the chairman
of Fiat Group. This ended the long speculation that what position
Schumacher would take in Maranello after his retirement from formula
one racing. Last year when asked about the role of Schumacher in the
future, Montezemolo described "his relationship with Maranello will
continue, albeit in a different form and I am very happy about that".
It is believed that Schumacher originally wanted to head the F1
division instead of the road car operation, but his cold relationship
with new star Kimi Raikkonen appeared to be an obstacle. Schumacher did not attend this year's
opening race at Melbourne. Instead, he went to Turin and negotiated
with Montezemolo, ended up to be Ferrari's new CEO. The F1 division,
however, will be overseen directly by Jean Todt.
|
<<
The Big 3: Michael Schumacher
(middle), Jean Todt (Left) and Luca di Montezemolo (Right), discussed
about the future of MS in the last round of F1 championship last year.
MS wanted to head the F1 division then.
|
In the press conference held at Maranello,
Montezemolo was asked why he chose an ex-racing driver without
management experience to head Ferrari. Montezemolo said, "During the 11
years serving Ferrari, Michael demonstrated an unique ability to
integrate people working to achieve the same goal. He led our men to
struggle during our darkest days and eventually brought us the biggest
success in formula one history - seven Driver's World Champions and
seven Constructor's World Champions in total. I have all the confidence
that Michael will bring the same success to our road car division." he
added, "Our road car business faces increasingly strong competition
from Lambo.. er... the company with a bull in its logo, and that
company supplying fancy cars to James Bond. We need a strong tactician
to fend off these competitions. Hopefully Michael will use his dirty
tactics to bump our rivals off the track."
"Having lost the Championship to Renault last year was a big let down
to me"
said Schumacher. "That's why I decide to take up this
challenge (to lead Ferrari's road car division). This time I will beat
them in style. Our road cars will be quicker than the latest Renault
Twingo !" said an excited Schumacher.
 |
<< Schumacher celebrated his
appointment in his usual winning style. |
However, the most interesting thing to
AutoZine's readers is probably Maranello's future product plan.
Schumacher revealed that Maranello is developing a successor to the
Enzo supercar. It will be faster than Bugatti Veyron, with a top speed
of at least 300 mph. "As one of my predecessors ever said the fastest
road car has to be a Ferrari, I have no way but to claim wild numbers."
said Schumacher. A stealth technology using radar-absorbing coating on
the all carbon-fiber body will ensure the Ferrari customers free of
speeding tickets, while journalists will be unable to verify its true
top speed, thus cleverly avoiding embarrassment. The car is likely to
be named "F117A Schumacher".
Stick to Enzo Ferrari's principle of using V12 engines and the
nomenclature of naming its cars according to cylinder displacement,
Schumacher calculated the V12 engine has to displace 1400cc. "The so
many laws and principles established in this company cause me a lot of
headache", admitted Schumacher, but he said the small displacement will
help passing the EU CO2 emission limit of
130g /km. "The small displacement alone will reduce emission to about
250g /km. The remaining reduction will be implemented by an ingenious,
revolutionary, pace-setting, record-breaking, championship-winning
technology: the world's first carbon-fiber engine block !"
According to Schumacher, carbon-fiber engine block will not only reduce
weight substantially, but it will absorb the carbon-dioxide produced in
the combustion chambers and result in carbon-fiber-dioxide. "It
actually helps strengthening the block. The solid carbon-fiber-dioxide
can be removed from the engine by our technicians after a period of
time." Our question is, will the waste decompound back into CO2
in the nature ? "It doesn't matter, we will dump the waste at the
backyard of Lamborghini. It's just miles away from our headquarters,
very convenient."
|
<<
The new Ferrari CEO test drove the new Ferrari supercar by himself
|
Another special feature of the new Ferrari
supercar is the position of its engine. To satisfy Enzo Ferrari's
front-engined formula and Schumacher's preference of mid-engined
machine simultaneously, Ferrari decided to split the V12 engine. Half
of the cylinders located up front and another half behind the driver.
They are connected in the middle by a Superfast F1 gearbox located on
the passenger seat. "Remember to tighten the seatbelt for it," reminded
Schumacher. Drive will be sent to the left front wheel, then
transmitted to the right rear wheel and then to right front wheel and
then back to left rear wheel and finally to the steering wheel. The
so-called "All Traction" drive system ensure optimum grip. "Even when
the car is airborne, at least the steering wheel will grip hard on the
driver's hands !"
To compensate the lack of displacement, the V12 is fed by
twin-turbochargers per cylinder. For better weight distribution, these
two dozens turbochargers are installed in the cockpit next to the
driver and right behind the air conditioning outlets, taking advantage
of the cooling air flow. For the "Challenge Stradale" version of the
car, air conditioning will be discarded to save weight. Cooling is then
provided manually by the driver by blowing air towards the
turbochargers. "The best thing is, this layout lets the driver to feel
the intense driving environment only available in F1 cars." claimed
Schumacher.
At this stage, Schumacher is declined to disclose power rating of the
car, but said "it will be very close to an elephant". It is known that
Schumacher has bought a couple of elephants as development benchmark.
Why elephant? "Because an elephant is more powerful than a bull, our
main competitor. Besides, it's easier to handle, with excellent grip
and never oversteer."
The price of F117A Schumacher will be more expensive than Enzo, simply
because Schumacher thinks his name more valuable than Enzo Ferrari.
Apart from the car, customers will get a driving lesson by Schumacher
himself and his photographs with original signature, as he has a lot of
stocks no one wants.
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