NST- Maybank CBT COTY 2008: Special Mention Awards

This year’s NST-CBT 2008 COTY Awards has the addition of five Special Mention Awards introduced to recognise outstanding achievement and advances in the local automotive sector. These awards include:

The Safety Award: Jaguar XF
The winner of the Safety Award is the Jaguar XF, also the top choice in the Premium Executive Car (above RM200,000) category. One of its primary winning points is the pedestrian airbag that sets new standards for automotive safety. This award recognises excellence in effort, design, construction or engineering within the environment and a major contribution towards road and vehicular safety.


The Innovation Award: Honda Civic Hybrid
The Innovation Award goes to the Honda Civic Hybrid. It is the first hybrid vehicle in the market to spur a greener path towards a more environmentally friendly automotive sector. It takes a lot of boldness for Honda Malaysia to sell a very niche model which they possibly didn't make profits (or perhaps even at a marginal loss).


The Good Design Award: Volvo C30
The Volvo C30 received the Good Design Award for leaving a lasting impression and emotional attachment to the driver while having all the sophistication without the complications to the end-user.


The Top Selling Car Award (national-car category): Perodua Myvi
Malaysia’s Top Selling Car 2006-2008 Award was aptly won by the Perodua Myvi which has notched up sales of 277,993 units since its launch in late 2005.


The Top Selling Car (non-national category) Award: Toyota Avanza
Malaysia’s Top Selling Non-National Car 2005-2008 Award was taken home by the Toyota Avanza. To date, over 110,000 units have been sold.

NST-Maybank CBT Car of the Year 2008 Awards

The following are the winners of NST-Maybank CBT COTY 2008 Awards:

Entry-level Car of the Year 2008: Proton Saga


Premium small Car of the Year 2008: Honda Jazz


Family Car of the Year 2008: Nissan Sylphy


Executive Car of the Year (below RM200k) 2008: Mazda6 2.5


Premium Executive Car of the Year (above RM200k) 2008: Jaguar XF


Limousine Car of the Year 2008: Mercedes-Benz S500L


Performance Car of the Year 2008 (below RM300k): Honda Civic Type-R


Performance Car of the Year (above RM300k) 2008: BMW M3


Midi-MPV Car of the Year 2008: Honda Stream


Large MPV Car of the Year 2008: Renault Grand Espace

SUV Car of the Year 2008: Chevrolet Captiva


Premium SUV Car of the Year 2008: Mazda CX-9

Pickup Truck Car of the Year 2008: Mitsubishi Triton 3.2

NST-Maybank Cars, Bikes & Trucks (CBT) Car of the Year 2008: Mazda6 2.5L

The Mazda brand in Malaysia has undergone a revival yesterday, after clinching the coveted "Overall Car of the Year 2008" from New Straits Times' Cars, Bikes & Trucks.

The Mazda6 2.5 also came out tops in the Executive Car (below RM200,000) category. Bermaz Motors (the local Mazda distributor) has also added another feather to its cap when its roomy seven- seater Mazda CX9 won the “Best in Class” in the Premium SUV category.

This year's COTY judging panel is made up of 12 individuals, comprising senior Malaysian motoring journalists and professionals from the academic and medical fraternities, concurred unanimously to award the top accolade of “Overall Car of the Year” Award to the Mazda6 2.5 for maintaining a next to perfect balance between performance and comfort, two factors demanded by the Executive Car buyer.

Its build quality, power, interior comfort, handling, dashing good looks and attractive pricing were key criteria that earned the Mazda6 2.5 the top honours.

Being built on its own chassis has allowed the Mazda6 2.5 a sense of exclusivity that stays true to Mazda’s “Zoom Zoom” tagline. The Mazda6 2.5 proves to be a smart purchase as it offers CBU quality at CKD price. This is a rarity, but Bermaz Motor Sdn Bhd has managed to do it.

The winners for the New Straits Times/Maybank 2008 Awards were announced at a gala dinner last night in Kuala Lumpur hosted by the New Straits Times and title sponsor Maybank Berhad.

The guest-of-honour for the night was Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop, Second Finance Minister.
Also gracing the ocassion was Datuk Aishah Ahmad, President of the Automotive Association of Malaysia (AAM).

More details on the rest of the COTY 2008 winners later or go here: CBT COTY 2008

Como seria o Opala nos dias atuais

O site motorclube mostrou uma matéria onde o estudante de design paulista Cauê de Mattos criou uma simulação em 3d de como seria o Opala se fosse lançado hoje.

Eu achei o máximo, claro que se fosse lançado hoje não seria assim cortariam um mote gastos e o carro focaria uma porcaria. Mas se fosse lançado como Cauê criou seria um sucesso.

No site diz que na projeção do Opala "Special 40" feito por Cauê ele segue as linhas do projeto original apenas atualizando as formas.

Cauê fez o que já é feito nos Estados Unidos com o Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro e Dodge Challenger.





Mais fotos clique aqui

EcoSport 2.0 16V Flex

A Ford apresentou hoje em Salvador, na Bahia, o EcoSport equipado com o motor 2.0 16V Flex (bicombustível), que já estréia como modelo 2009. O modelo chega às lojas a partir desta semana, nas versões Freestyle, Automatic e 4WD (com tração nas quatro rodas), com preço situado entre R$ 58.900 (Freestyle 2.0 XLT) e R$ 61.900 (2.0 XLT 4WD).
Esse mesmo propulsor deverá equipar no segundo semestre de 2009 as versões topo de linha dos novos Focus hatch e sedã. A opção movida exclusivamente a gasolina sai definitivamente de linha.

A versão 2.0 Flex, segundo a Ford, se destaca pelo desempenho e pelo nível de consumo mais baixo que seu similar com combustível derivado do petróleo. Cerca de 80% do torque já estão disponíveis a partir das 1.500 rpm.

Ele rende agora de 141 cv (a gasolina) a 145 cv (com álcool) de potência e o torque varia de 19,06 a 19,47 kgfm, contra 145 cv e 19 kgfm do atual 2.0 Duratec a gasolina, do qual deriva.

De acordo com a Ford, com esse motor o EcoSport é capaz de acelerar de 0 a 100 km/h em 9,9 segundos (álcool) ou em 10,1 s (usando gasolina), na versão mecânica, 4x2.



Para funcionar com álcool e gasolina, o motor recebeu uma série de mudanças. Produzido com bloco, cabeçote e mancais de alumínio, ele traz comando de válvulas acionado por corrente, novos injetores de combustível, sedes de válvulas redimensionadas, cabeçote com fluxo de ar otimizado e sistema de escape em aço inox. O catalisador fica agora ao lado do propulsor, para permitir um rápido aquecimento após a partida para a redução de emissões.



Veja os preços da nova linha EcoSport Flex:

EcoSport Freestyle 1.6 Flex XLT - R$ 57.900

EcoSport Freestyle 2.0 Flex XLT - R$ 58.900

EcoSport 2.0 Flex XLT Automatic - R$ 60.900

EcoSport 2.0 Flex XLT 4WD - R$ 61.900

Clique nas fotos para ampliar

Ricardo Couto

O novo Mazda3

A japonesa Mazda, que acaba de retomar mais de 20% de suas ações pertencentes à Ford, começa a mostrar aos poucos as novas linhas do Mazda3. A segunda geração do modelo sedã foi apresentada este mês no Salão de Los Angeles, nos Estados Unidos. O mistério agora gira em torno na versão hatchback, mostrado pela própria montadora ainda sob disfarces. Sua estréia esta programada para o Salão de Bolonha, na Itália.

O foco da Mazda com os novos veículos é a readaptação do mercado automotivo norte americano, que tende para carros compactos e de baixo consumo de combustível. Para tal, a nova linha Mazda3, que tem início de vendas previsto para o começo de 2009, chega com motores quatro cilindros 2.0 e 2.5.



Notável na imagem do Mazda3 sedã, o visual frontal foi completamente remodelado, ganhando aspecto semelhante aos dos carros-conceito da linha Nagare, apresentados nos últimos anos pela marca em diversas partes do mundo.

De acordo com a Mazda, ambos os carros chegam com melhorias significativas na dirigibilidade e estabilidade, graças à nova plataforma e conjunto de suspensão aplicados a segunda geração da linha.

Clique nas fotos para ampliar
Fonte

Crie sua Ferrari Califórnia

A Ferrari disponibilizou em seu site www.ferraricalifornia.com tem um configurador para você criar sua própria Ferrari Califórnia.

Segundo a Ferrari, 60% do público comprador da California nunca teve um modelo da marca. Eles contarão com um esportivo equipado com motor 4.3 V8 dianteiro de 460 cv. Segundo a Ferrari, o carro acelera de 0 a 100 km/h em menos de 4 segundos e a velocidade final fica na casa dos 310 km/h. Outro aspecto interessante é o fato deste carro ser a Ferrari menos poluente de todos os tempos. De acordo com a empresa, melhorias mecânicas permitiram uma redução de 30% nos índices de emissões de poluentes em relação aos demais esportivos de sua linha.

Esta amarela da foto é minha (só falta conseguir a grana) vai lá e crie a sua.

2009 Porsche Panamera

Porsche’s completely new ‘sportscar’ for 2009, the Panamera, has been revealed to be a 4-door, 4-seater sports tourer/coupe. Set to make its world debut at Geneva Auto Salon in 2009, it will not be powered by the Boxster/Cayman/911 range of Porsche’s boxer engines. Instead, it will have V6 or V8 powerplants - much like the Cayenne’s - with output ranging from 300 to 500hp. In line with the 2008 facelift 911 (997) and the 2009 facelift Boxster (987)/Cayman (987c) range, this new Porsche ‘saloon’ will also boast of Direct Fuel Injection (DFI) and PDK twin clutch robotic-manual gearbox. The Panamera range will also have the top model designated as ‘Turbo’, which is very telling of what’s beneath the hood. By 2010, Porsche will likely extend the Panamera range by adding a hybrid version.

Design wise, it is claimed that the Panamera combines the sleek profile of a coupe, blending uniquely into a classical saloon body plus the benefits of a versatile interior - that can carry four occupants comfortably. Yet this all-new model lineup is still instantly recognisable as a Porsche.

In what is actually a five-door liftback - somewhat reminiscent (in concept) of the Toyota Corona Liftback or the Ford Telstar TX5/Mazda 626 Liftback of yesteryears - For Wheels reckon the new Panamera has that unique and characterful look that will grow on many, unlike the ugly-child in the Cayenne, when it was first unveiled in 2002. Even with Porsche's facelift exercise in 2007, the Cayenne did little to correct its ‘birth-defects’, only to pale aesthetically beside the Audi Q7 and even its much cheaper cousin, the VW Touareg.

The sporty 4-door ‘coupe’ Panamera measures almost 5-metres in length and is claimed to be bigger than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class or BMW 5-series (think: R-Class in extended ‘L’ guise e.g. R350L). From these early pictures, you can safely tell that the base model will be the Panamera S (rear-wheel drive) and with the addition of all-wheel drive, next step up, the Panamera 4S. The top-dog of the family will be none other than the Panamera Turbo, which will probably be AWD. Will there be a plain vanilla and ‘entry-level’ Panamera without the ‘S’ suffix in the vein of the Boxster, Cayman or Carrera? How about a Panamera GTS or Panamera Turbo S for even more snob factor and of course, that little more speed?