- A Leaf
Now after writing about hybrids and then reading about the Nissan Leaf I am of the opinion that totally electric cars (not hybrids) of the near future (anything less than 5years from today) are actually going to be troublesome for most of us. Firstly, if you read their specs they have the range of about 2 feet on a single charge. Really. A supposed 160 kilometers range (like the Nissan Leaf) is actually useful if you work within a radius of 20km and you don't do any outside appointm
Image: The Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car
Alternative fuels for vehicles have, in recent years, become one of the most hyped topics in motoring. The frequency which it is mentioned in the media or by politicians may seem to suggest that alternative fuels are the future of motoring and marks the way forward. At the risk of sounding like an idiot (should I be proved wrong by future events), I proffer my opinion - alternative fuels will not become mainstream in our near future; in fact
Toyota has just released the facelifted Vios in Thailand. The timing couldn't have been more appropriate with the onslaught of the Mazda 2 sedan, and the upcoming Ford Fiesta sedan. Externally, the cosmetic changes include a revised grille, rear tail lamp and chromed boot lid. The 1.5L VVTI unit with 4 speed transmission in the current Vios continues to power the facelifted model.
The set of interior photos revealed some interesting changes. There is the availability of a Heads-Up Display m
- the Unclemobile that has been in the limelight due to faulty accelerator pedals in left hand drive form.
Today I was bored. I came home from my day job, made myself a cup of tea as usual, ate dinner with the family and decided that I would write something that would basically bore the heck out of me on a regular day. But since I was already feeling bored, writing about a company like Toyota couldn't make the day any duller.
Toyota is currently reeling from the blows it had sustained
Volkswagen has pulled the curtain off its latest 7 seater at Geneva - The all new Sharan. It is a timely replacement as the existing model is looking like an antique, and the replacement sports the new VW corporate 'face'.
This third-generation variant of the model is the biggest one yet, measuring 4.85 metres long, 1.9m wide but 1.72m lower, together with a wheelbase is 2.92m long. A new feature of the Sharan is the rear sliding door, aimed at making rear access easier. The individual seat
If you are impressed by the design philosophy of the new Hyundai Sonata, be ready to be thrilled by what the Korean maker could offer going forward. Hyundai presented to the world the i-flow concept car in Geneva, not only as a possible design study for the company's future products, but also as a testing ground for technological innovations.
Measuring 4.78 metres long, 1.85m wide and 1.4m high, the i-flow is about the size of a VW Passat. It points to a new D-segment family car Hyundai pla
- the Porsche 918 Spyder Concept. A 718ps all wheel drive hybrid supercar.
Recently we have read or heard that Proton has come up with a hybrid/electric/something green prototype of a car that basically resembles a box on wheels. The designed by Italdesign-Giugiaro is supposedly an achievement in how a car should be packaged. It looks like either an elongated SMART Fortwo or a shortened Mercedes A-class. So the actual innovative thing is that the Proton concept EMAS is that its a environment
At long last, Nissan has finally uncovered the all new Nissan Micra (March) at the 80th Geneva Motor Show. I believe the existing generation has been around for at least the past 6 years - quite a long production lifespan. Developed and built on Nissan's all-new V-platform, the Japanese supermini goes global with production set to take place at several overseas manufacturing sites including Thailand, India, Mexico and China. Expect Singapore's March to be sourced from the land of thousand smiles
We've recently seen Fiat launch the 500 C recently, the convertible version of this ever popular premium city car as well as the face lifted Punto Evo. Fiat is having a renaissance of sorts with both cars as they are selling well in most of Fiat's major markets. The 500 is a real premium small city car that I enjoy sitting in, although I find the driving position a little too high up. It is small, cozy and the materials used in the interior are nice of look at, and nice to touch. It is nothing l
Behold guys, this is not your usual slow moving safety vehicle seen during your army days. Sometimes, speed equals safety. Perhaps nowhere else is that more true than on a racetrack when you're piloting the so-called safety car and you've got a pack of Formula One cars riding up your tailpipe. The good thing is that the newest safety car to be used for F1 duty is the 571-horsepower Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
The SLS AMG F1 safety car is mechanically unchanged from the street-ready version excep
What you're staring at in disbelief is Chevrolet's Aveo RS Concept car. A little out of the fantasy books but if you tear away the aggressive bumpers, ridiculously large rims and the center exhausts at the rear, you're essentially looking at Chevrolet's next generation Aveo.
In terms of design both inside and out, the team at Chevrolet seem to have been given the order to step it up a notch and bring this entry level affordable runaround into the more serious market occupied by the new VW
The CT200h is Lexus' first attempt at building a "full hybrid" model, which means that the car can be driven exclusively in all-electric mode. The Lexus CT200h is the much-toned-down production model of the LF-Ch concept shown last year.
Measuring 4,320mm long, 1,765mm wide and 1,430mm tall, this five-door model is more compact that the Toyota Prius but is slightly longer than the Audi A3 Sportback. This baby Lexus is developed to rival BMW's 1 series and is powered by a hybrid drivetrain t
It is widely acknowledged that our road tax system is heavily skewed in favor of the small engine capacity car. I will not bore you guys with the detailed mathematical formula of the road tax system here on our sunny island (you can read about it here). It will suffice to say that any car with an engine capacity larger than 1,600cc is likely to face a pretty hefty road tax bill. A 3,000cc car attracts an annual road tax of $2,386 compared to $744 for a 1,600cc one. The road tax on the 3,000cc ca
They just keep getting better. These are the first official images of what the new Kia Magentis will look like and who is to say that it can be anything close to being ugly?
These official images will be showcased at this year's New York Motor Show in April and will be released in American and Korean showrooms to consumers later in the year. No news yet about its arrival here in Singapore but that's always the case with new cars. We just cannot deny the fact that we are still too tiny and in
[extract]
Lets look at something which will cost a lot more than a Saab, look more outrageous than a Saab and completely sell all of its 25 allocated production units within a few months, which I suppose is the same amount Saab sells in Singapore in the same time frame. The Gemballa MIG-U1 Enzo.
You would be buying a car that basically destroys the donor Ferrari Enzo by adding wide arches and wider tracks (body kit and rims, a body kit & roof scoop included), red quilted interior (I
Those waiting for a high performance variant of the sexy A5 will have to wait no more. The RS5 is set to make its debut at the Geneva Motorshow in about 2 weeks' time but images from its brochure have already made their way onto the web.
Information from the brochure reveals three types of seating and four wheel design choices. Audi's 7-speed dual clutch S-tronic transmission seems to be the only choice available as there was no mention of a manual option. Availability of a flat-bottom ste
And it's finally here, undeniably one of the more famous supercar brands on the market has finally unveiled their green supercar based on the Ferrari 599.
With a electrical motor sitting at the back, power output and torque figures show a significant jump although the extra system does add about 100kg to the cars weight. Engineers are quick to point out though that although the car is heavier, the extra power now offsets the weight gain...making for an altogether faster 599 than what is pres
Hybrids never fail to bore people unless they're nerds who love to talk all day about how they work or compare how many batteries their hybrid has. However, Honda's revelation of the CR-Z changed the world's perception of hybrids. What used to be stereotyped as slow and aesthetically boring is now sporty and rather handsome. Now there are plans to create another version to stuff the shoes into the mouths of hardcore petrol-heads, behold the CR-Z Type R.
The CR-Z already had head turning look
These are the first official photos of the Mercedes-Benz F800 Style 'four-door coupe' study, surfaced ahead of the concept model's debut at the Geneva Motor Show on March 2.
The new concept model serves two purposes. Firstly, it samples Mercedes-Benz's new and more dynamic design language that will be first applied on the next-generation CLS sports saloon that is expected later this year. The bumper seems to adopt the 'melting' design seen on the Volvo XC60, which I quite fancy persona
What constitutes a face lift?
Have you seen the updated Santa Fe here?
In all it's Korean glory, 8 out of 10 people I asked couldn't point out what was so different about the SUV from the last one.
A new set of headlamps and accompanying sculpted bumper brings the SUV closer in line with it's smaller Tuscon sibling and the company's design language. The rear gets changes as well but I can't really tell the difference between this and the last car so I'm not going to even try.
Te
Along with the Bluemotion and GTI Polo models, Volkswagen will also be staging the latest generation CrossPolo, which is a beefed up version of the Polo. It sports black plastic molding around the wheel arches, across the sills and bottom of each door, as well as on the front and rear bumpers. The front bumper gets a honeycomb treatment for the lower air intake and light silver trim at the bottom suggests the presence of underbody protection. Also included are the CrossPolo's trademark silver an
So we now have heard that Audi is about to enter the premium small car market with the Audi A1. The current market leaders of this market segment are the BMW Mini, the Fiat 500 and to some extent the Alfa Mito. These cars allow car manufacturers to charge a whole lot more for the same small package and of course, Audi being the premium marque in the VW-Audi stable is their contender. But after scrutinizing the pictures it is my opinion that Audi is trying too hard with those flowing A to C pilla
[extract] - The 370z Roadster. This picture is here as the other cars aren't interesting enough to be put up first.
Hello folks. This is what Nissan will be debuting or showing off to the general public at the upcomming Geneva Motorshow (4th to the 14th of March 2010), and the only thing I can do is yawn. Here
Like all Jaguars, the new XK looks like its in a class of its own. With curves which appear to be inspired by the Aston Martin One-77, and that new grille from the XF, the old 'Spitfire Wing' oval shape which dates back to the E-type of the 1960s will be retired to make way for this all new sheetmetal and grille design. The new Jag will be on sale to the public from 2013.
This will be the British car-maker's first ever diesel powered sports car which will be powered by a 3.0 litre twin turbo
