thumbs up to new f1 engine rules..

Volkswagen has managed to resist the temptation of joining Formula 1 so far. As recent as early this month, the new Porsche boss Matthias Mueller “ruled out” the series.

“F1 is a drivers’ world championship, with the focus on the sponsors and the manufacturers only secondary. For us, this is a clear drawback for such a long-term investment, as is the unclear rules for the future. (But) if the VW Group was interested, then Porsche would surely be the brand that would work best for this,” he told German newspaper Westfalen Blatt.

But the new rules that limit engines to 1.6-litre four-cylinder units in 2013 could be thing that changes VW’s mind. When asked, VW Motorsport’s Hans-Joachim Stuck spoke of the possibilities.

“We welcome the decision. It is not only great news for F1, but for the whole of motorsport, as it takes the sport in the right direction environmentally. Of course, we have not decided anything, but the conditions for Volkswagen to possibly enter the category have now been created. The engine rules are a good starting point for Volkswagen,” he said.

VW’s motorsport program subscribes to “Resource-saving motorsport” and efficient engines with production-based technology (the brand’s Formula 3 engine is a 2.0-litre four-cylinder NA engine with ‘just’ 210 hp ). Using bio natural gas engines in the Scirocco R-Cup and at the Nürburgring 24 Hours is proof that “Volkswagen is already in the process of putting the aims of eco-conscious motorsport of the future into action now,” according to VW Motorsport Director Kris Nissen.

Will we see Porsche racing with Ferrari, Mercedes and Lotus in F1 in the near future?

5464 fl

Unveiled by Proton MD Datuk Syed Zainal moments ago, it is officially called the Saga FL.

From the boss’ speech, and the new features, we know that Proton is trying to get the younger crowd to consider the Saga as their first car, urban middle class folks that would otherwise buy a Myvi.

The Blue Rock colour you see here is one of the two new colors (the other is Cafe Latte, a light brown hue), and is the same colour as the Thai show car. There are now two trim lines – Standard and Executive – down from the previous three. Manual (5-speed) and automatic (4-speed) choices are available for both trims, which mean that there are four possible configurations.

Powered by the same 1,332 cc Campro engine with 94 hp and 120 Nm, the Saga FL gets Proton’s new face, which will be sign of things to come. As detailed before, the new exterior consists of new lamps front and rear, new grille, new bumpers on both ends and new design rims. Standard variants ride on 175/70 R13 wheels while Executive FLs use 185/60 R14 rubber.

Most of the new features that the FL gets over the old car is for the Executive. They are dual airbags, steering audio buttons and USB/AUX ports for the Clarion MP3 stereo. New goodies available on both trims are side mirrors with LED signal lamps, rear power windows, rear LED tail lamps. The rest of the Executive-only equipment includes driver’s seat height adjuster, powered wing mirrors, fog lamps and slim rear spoiler.

The new Proton Saga facelift is now available in four different variants – the Standard M/T and A/T as well as the higher spec Executive M/T and A/T, which is one grade level less than the pre-facelift Saga, which was available in N-Line, B-Line and M-Line. Effectively, this means very basic N-Line with the cheapest price tag and the black bumper is not represented in the new line-up.

All models have the front and rear power windows, MP3 function for the audio player, and the side mirrors with LED turn indicators.

What the Executive model adds over the Standard model are the USB and AUX input, the dual front SRS airbags (Standard model doesn’t have any airbags), steering wheel audio switches, driver seat height adjustment, electric door mirrors, fog lamps, rear spoiler, a multipurpose container and side protector moulding. Wheels are alloys wrapped with 180/60R14 on the Executive, and steel wheels wrapped with 175/70R13 on the Standard.

The engine and gearbox remains the same as the pre-facelift Proton Saga for now, however Proton has indicated that they will be rolling out an update to the Campro engine family sometime next year, and this update could include the new Proton Saga. The update will include improvements to the normally aspirated Campro engines as well as add a new turbocharged variant for models like the Proton Exora.

The Saga is available in Solid White, Tranquility Black, Genetic Silver, and two new flours – Cafe Latte and Blue Rock. Our live galleries after the jump are mostly of the two new colours so you’ll know what they look like.

Of course, the most important part are the new prices. Prices have gone up by about RM1,000 to RM1,300 across the board, which is not too bad a jump considering there’s an extra passenger airbag in the airbag-equipped models. In the price comparison, we’ll compare the Standard with the B-Line and the Executive with the M-Line.
Saga Difference Saga Facelift
1.3 Standard M/T RM36,998 RM1,000 RM37,998
1.3 Standard A/T RM39,998 RM1,000 RM40,998
1.3 Executive M/T RM39,498 RM1,200 RM40,698
1.3 Executive A/T RM41,998 RM1,300 RM43,298

Malaysias turf..

Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua Sdn Bhd (Perodua) managing director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh expects vehicle sales in Malaysia to hit a new high in 2011.

“I believe that TIV (total industry volume) will reach 600,000 units next year based on the growing number of new car buyers and a healthy economy,” he told StarBiz.

Aminar said the local automotive industry still had a good growth potential despite sceptics arguing otherwise.

“Some might say that the automotive industry in Malaysia is a sunset industry, but I beg to differ. I believe that the industry has a lot of room to grow.

“The TIV in Malaysia has averaged about 500,000 units in the last decade and it would be easy to assume that the average would stay that way, but that is just not true.”

Aminar said Malaysia had a growing young population that would drive new vehicle sales.

“Malaysia is a young country, with 60 per cent of its population between the ages of 15 and 64, while 30 per cent are below 15 years of age. The demographic suggests that the number of car buyers will increase over time as a personal vehicle is still needed due to an inadequate public transportation system.”

He also said the government’s intention of transforming the nation into a high-income economy via the New Economic Model (NEM) would benefit the local automotive sector.

“We believe this will also help boost automotive sales as consumers will buy cars to reflect their status as income, especially disposable income, rises.”

From January to September, TIV rose 14 per cent to 453,249 units compared with 397,950 units in the same period last year. The Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA) has forecast TIV for 2010 to hit 570,000, its highest ever since reaching 552,316 units in 2005.

For next year, MAA president Datuk Aishah Ahmad said TIV was expected to grow at a marginal rate of 2 per cent to 3 per cent from 2010.

Industry observers and analysts also expect sales of hybrid vehicles to improve next year following the government’s decision to remove excise duties on such vehicles effective January 1.

Aminar said the automotive industry’s 2010 year-to-date sales performance had been “very encouraging”.

“If we annualise that number we will have an average of 151,100 vehicles per quarter. That means that the TIV potential (for 2010) is 604,400 units!

“However, the fourth quarter has always seemed to slow down a bit and, taking that into account, we believe that total TIV (2010) will range from 580,000 to 590,000 units.”

Aminar said Perodua was confident of achieving its sales target of 185,000 units this year. According to reports, the national carmaker expects to sell 190,000 vehicles in 2011.

On what was needed to improve the automotive industry, Aminar said the Government should keep to its plans under the National Automotive Policy (NAP) as it would give the auto players a solid path to strategise their long-term plan properly.

“The NAP also gives the automotive vendors precious time to gradually increase their competitiveness in terms of cost management, further improve their quality level as well as productivity and efficiency to be on par with their international counterparts.

“This will allow them to be able to export their products to other international players and not just rely on domestic players.”

Aminar also said any trade barriers in the automotive industry should be removed at a gradual pace and not suddenly.

“If all the trade barriers were abolished overnight then you would see resale value of cars plummet. This will devastate not only the resale market but new car sales as well as many car buyers usually trade in their vehicles.

“The customers with existing loans will find it difficult to settle as the value of their cars would be greatly diminished. It would be better if the current barriers were removed gradually over time to lessen any impact.”

Indonesian Update

Frost & Sullivan: Indonesia's Passenger Vehicle Sales to Grow at CAGR of 8.6 percent Due to Increased Demand for MPVs, SUVs and Entry of Low-Cost Economical Cars

JAKARTA, Indonesia, Sept. 7 -- Frost & Sullivan expects Indonesia's passenger vehicle sales to increase at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6 percent from 2010 to 2015 due to increased demand for multi-purpose vehicles (MPVs), sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and entry of low-cost economical cars.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

Mr. Vijayendra R Rao, Industry Manager, Automotive & Transportation Practice, Asia Pacific at Frost & Sullivan, said that MPVs and SUVs are expected to continue to be the most popular passenger vehicles in Indonesia during 2010-2015.

If you are interested in more information on this study, please send an e-mail to Alice Chia, Corporate Communications, at alice.chia@frost.com, with your full name, company name, title, telephone number, company e-mail address, company website, city, state and country.

Mr. Rao said that the MPVs low pricing is the key driver of the segment's popularity among consumers. He predicts that MPVs will dominate the market in 2012 due to its low entry level price tag.

He noted that while all other passenger vehicle segments experienced a dip in market share in 2009, MPVs bucked the trend by growing 11.2 percent to 65.2 percent in 2009 as compared to a market share of 54.1 percent in 2008, to be the most popular passenger vehicle segment in Indonesia.

Mr. Rao said that vehicle production in Indonesia is expected to grow at a CAGR of 8 percent during 2010 to 2015 as more vehicle manufacturers are increasing their capacity with encouragement from the government.

Mr. Rao also said that the Indonesian government had recently announced that it is working on a system of incentives and an industrial concept to turn Indonesia into one of Asia's automobile production hubs. "The government plans to implement more regulations that will attract investments in automotive production facilities and reduce import tariffs for completely knocked down (CKD) and completely built unit (CBU) units," he added.

He noted that Indonesia's automotive component exports has grown by 35 to 40 percent annually since 2003, with the major components exports being bumpers, body accessories, mufflers, gearboxes, wheel rims, steering wheels, columns, and drive axles. Indonesia's automotive components are exported mainly to Japan and other ASEAN countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.

Mr. Rao said that Indonesia's total industry volume (TIV) is likely to increase 15% to reach 405,225 by the end of 2010, in tandem with the improved economy and positive consumer sentiment.

Strategic Analysis of Passenger Vehicles Market in Indonesia is part of the Automotive & Transportation Growth Partnership Services program, which also includes research in the following markets: Strategic Analysis of Passenger Vehicles Market in Malaysia, Strategic Analysis of Passenger Vehicles Market in Thailand. All research services included in subscriptions provide detailed market opportunities and industry trends that have been evaluated following extensive interviews with market.

Yo.

Russian business tycoon and mining magnate, Mikhail D. Prokhorov, has ventured out into the hybrid car business. He is the same gentleman who owns the U.S. basketball team, New Jersey Nets. This will be the first gas-electric hybrid car by Russia, and will be able to use either petrol or natural gas in the process of generating its electric power. The car will be named ‘Yo’, and will be manufactured under a new company called e-Auto, and is targeted to go on sale in mid 2012.
‘Yo’ will be directly competing with the Toyota Prius. It will be propelled by 2 electric motors, and a small petrol engine that can work both on petrol and natural gas, which will work towards generating electricity that the car consumes while in use. While the Prius gives around 50 miles per gallon, this car is expected to give close to 70 miles per gallon, and will also have a better total range as compared to any other normal plug-in electric car.

The cost is expected to be a little less than $15,000, though actual pricing will be finalized in the near future. The ‘Yo’ is said to have a better mileage than the Prius due to it being lighter in weight and also having a lesser top speed.Mr. Prokhorov said he wanted to show the world that Russia can give it an extraordinary, useful and modern car. And from the way things seem, the ‘Yo’ might just deliver on that promise.

a word from the experts..

The Frost & Sullivan ‘Aspirational Car of the Year’ Award is conferred to a manufacturer based on a structured research process and by evaluating the performance of its products by end users. The “Voice of Customer” survey recognizes an OEM that has launched the best models across various segments of passenger vehicles, satisfied aspiring needs, and been rated high for its achievement in “Excellence in Technology and Innovation”. Maruti Suzuki Swift was awarded the Frost & Sullivan 2010 Aspirational Car of the Year Award in Segment B.

The recipient of this Award had to excel in one or more of the following criteria:

* Improvement in customer satisfaction levels
* Reduced churn rate
* Reduction in operational costs while maintaining high levels of satisfaction
* Imitation by competitors

Receiving the award Mr. Shashank Srivastava, Chief General Manager Marketing, Maruti Suzuki India Limited said, “Swift is one of the most important brand for us. It has been a great success story for Maruti Suzuki and the Indian Automotive Industry. With its radical styling, sporty drive and advance features it taken the customer expectations to a new level, creating an all new segment. It is heartening to see Swift get this most aspirational car award. The Swift continues to be the most popular and aspirational car for the customers.”

will the real slim shady please stand up..

GROUP Lotus plc and Genii Capital have formed a partnership which will see the Renault F1 Team renamed as Lotus Renault GP for the 2011 racing season.

The title sponsorship agreement will run until the 2017 season.

Group Lotus will acquire a major equity stake in the team from Genii Capital.

For 2011, the Lotus Renault GP cars will race in a new interpretation of the iconic black and gold colours that were last used when Lotus and Renault joined forces in the 1980s.

The partnership between Lotus and Genii brings the ability to quickly incorporate new technologies from F1 cars into Lotus road cars, including hybrid technology, kinetic energy recovery systems, aero advancements and lightweight materials.

Genii, an investment holding company with a portfolio of automotive technologies, brings non-F1 technologies such as lightweight braking systems, variable compression engine technology and on board software systems to the partnership.

Group Lotus CEO Dany Bahar said, "I can think of no better platform for automotive brand communications than motorsport and F1. We are aware that there has been a lot of controversy around the usage of our brand in F1 and I am delighted to be able to formally clarify our position: We are Lotus, and we are back."



Datuk Sri Mohd Nadzmi Mohd Salleh, chairman of Proton, the majority shareholder of Lotus, said: "We know that Group Lotus has much to offer Formula 1 and vice versa. After careful consideration, we believe this arrangement will be fruitful, both from a commercial and marketing point of view."



Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Proton advisor, said: "This is an exciting development which delivers strategic benefits to both Group Lotus and Proton."



Carlos Ghosn, chairman and CEO of Renault, commented: "This multi-partner alliance will bring new dynamics to the team and enable it to compete with the sportís best from next season."

Genii can also offer Proton the ability to leverage on its existing business relationships in Russia and other parts of the world.

Through Genii, Proton can also potentially access advanced automotive technologies by virtue of Geniiís association with Mangrove, a venture capital group.

Gerard Lopez, founding partner of Genii Capital, said, "For Group Lotus, access to Formula 1 opens up new marketing opportunities and a major platform for business exchanges and development. In this regard, Genii Capital possesses shareholdings in, and direct access to, cutting edge companies in the automotive industry. Our tie-up with Group Lotus and Proton, which will enable its future road car ranges to take advantage of significant new technologies, is a natural step."

The drama that is brewing between the new Lotus Renault GP and Team Lotus headed by Datuk Seri Tony Fernandes has put Malaysia under the spotlight.

Sources informed us that Group Lotus has already been planning to go into Formula One and the budget has been allocated.

Team Lotus, on the other hand, has been reported to forge ahead with its racing plans for next year, also using a Renault engine.

Whether the focus on these two Malaysian teams will bring good to the country is yet to be determined.

In the meantime, let's just sit back and enjoy the drama, and hope that it brings some good for the taxpayers.