2010 New Edition Models Of BMW For CNY
BMW is offering a total of 7 limited edition models for the upcoming Chinese New Year Celebrations. Four are from the 3-Series range and three are from the 5-Series range. You can check them out this weekend at the CNY@BMW dealership event at all BMW dealerships. I’ll be going to the one closest to my home – Auto Bavaria Sg Besi, to snap some live photos.
The E90 range consists of the BMW 320i Lifestyle Edition, the BMW 320i Performance Edition, the BMW 320d Performance Edition and the BMW 325i Performance Edition. Each Performance Edition variant of limited to 48 units each. I don’t really have much info on the Lifestyle Edition at this point.
You basically get BMW Performance accent strips and a black front grille for a sportier look. On the inside, you get BMW Performance gear levers which are wrapped with Alcantara and Walkanappa leather with a chrome strip on top, and a BMW Performance handbrake grip in Alcantara leather. Finally, there’s a set of aluminium pedals and footrest.
New Ford Focus - global Car basically the third generation
The Ford Focus has always been one of the best-handling C-segment cars I’ve ever driven. The biggest drawback it has for the Malaysian market is that it’s a little small on the inside, being an European product where their C-segment cars are a little smaller. Their Civic is a smaller hatch compared to the large 2,700 mm wheelbase version we get here.
And here it is, the latest edition of the Focus. Ford pegs it as all-new, and technically it should be considering that the 2nd generation Focus has already been facelifted. So this is basically the third generation and for the first time the Focus is a world car instead of being two different products for North America and the rest of the world. I had a go at the North American product earlier this week and I can understand why American journos have been calling for Ford to bring the Euro Focus across the ocean. Well, they don’t have to do that anymore – they are going to get this new global Focus as well.
The design is far edgier compared to the outgoing Focus. Ford attempted to add some Kinetic Design elements to the current Focus when it got facelifted but because there’s just so much you can change during a facelift, the end result was not as ‘kinetic’ as say, the new Fiesta or the new Ford Kuga. With this new body, Ford has pulled out all the stops with their Kinetic Design – check out details like the ‘zorro Z’ design at the front wheel arch. The ducktail on the sedan’s boot is also pretty prominent. Some might feel it’s perhaps a little too overdone, especially the details of the front bumper. They look like they belong on an aggressive model like an ST or an RS, but these are just your regular Focus models. But this could also be a good thing for some customers – no mods needed.
Wheelbase has unchanged, though the new Focus is a little longer mostly due to pedestrian safety requirements. This means the overhangs are longer. What this will mean is that the interior space is probably largely unchanged over the 2nd generation. Ford says based on their market research this is a good balance between size and fuel economy but to me, for a world car there definitely will be markets where a larger vehicle will be called for. After all, that is why Honda split the Civic in two. In these markets, certain buyers will look to other vehicles no matter how good the Focus looks simply because of interior space. The new 3rd generation Focus also differentiates between the sedan and the hatchback variant more than the 2nd generation did. The vertical tail lamps are gone on the hatchback in favor of wider rear glass but the tail lamps remain mounted high-ish.
Changes to the platform between the 2nd generation and the 3rd generation mostly covers the way the suspension subframes are mounted. There has been some changes which are primarily driven by the desire to increase the level of NVH damping of the Focus. Thus you can expect the new Ford Focus to feel a little more refined than the outgoing one. Techniques such as the use of sashed doors, dual plane sealing, more aerodynamic wing mirrors and windshield wipers are used. Ford says the new Focus Global C platform shares only about one third with the new Mazda 3, while the rest are exclusively Ford.
Ford wanted the new Focus to be more refined and more quiet, as quiet is one of the factors that we take into account when our brains process the feel of ‘quality’. Quietness is also a big thing for what Ford defines as the new Ford flavor these days – they are investing alot into ways they can make their cars more silent, as I will show you in an upcoming post.
The Detroit showcar features a new 2.0 liter DI Ti-VCT engine. Those acronyms basically mean the engine has direct injection and dual variable valve timing, both on intake and exhaust. This new engine makes up to 20 horses more power than the current Mazda-based Duratec 20, while consuming 10% less fuel. The 4-speed auto has also been replaced by a new 6-speed Powershift dual clutch transmission. Apparently there is also an active grille shutter system, which shuts off some of the air intakes to improve aerodynamics whenever the extra cooling is not needed.
The new Focus will also debut an EPAS system for the first time. EPAS is basically an electric power steering. Alot of other manufacturers have started using EPAS systems in their cars but most people say an electric power steering is more ‘dead’ and unnatural compared to a regular hydraulic one. But Ford believes that a properly tuned EPAS can actually improve steering precision and feel over a hydraulic one.
According to Ford, there are over 250 parameters and settings in an EPAS that has to be finetuned in detail to achieve a good feel. As the 2nd gen Focus was a great drive, I hope Ford got all the variables right! There’s also a Dynamic Cornering Control system which counteracts slip on the inner wheel during a corner to improve cornering performance and turn-in.
Also new is the MyFord system, which is basically like iDrive. You use a phone-style 5-way button on your steering wheel to control the user interface. MyFord is built on Microsoft Windows Auto. Quite a few companies are basing their new in-car systems on Windows Auto, such as Fiat’s Blue & Me and the new system from Kia. There’s also voice commands, so you can say Call Muthu for the phone to call up Muthu in your phonebook. MyFord is the sibling to the touch operation-based MyFord Touch and MyLincoln Touch showcased at the CES end of last year.
This is one of 10 cars that will spawn from this new “Global C platform”, as Ford calls it. The first was the new C-MAX and Grand C-MAX MPVs which we saw at Frankfurt last year. Ford plans to put the this new third generation global Ford Focus into production for Europe and North America late this year, with a showroom debut in early 2011. It will be quite some time before it hits Malaysia (only early 2012 optimistically), but let me let you in on a secret – we’ll see an interesting new variant of the 2nd gen Focus here soon. This additional variant to the current generation Focus will feature diesel power!
2010 New Detroit : aggresive styling
One of the eye catching displays over at GM is the Buick Regal GS. The Regal is basically the European Opel/Vauxhall Insignia rebadged as a Buick for the US and Chinese market (Buick is a highly regarded marque in China). This GS showcar features a potent performance package – 255 bhp/400 Nm 2.0-litre Ecotec turbo engine with power going to all wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox and electronic LSD.
Acceleration from nought to 60 mph (96 km/h) is “less than six seconds”. The Vauxhall Insignia VXR, which has a 320 bhp 2.8-litre Ecotec V6 turbo does the same sprint in 5.8 seconds. The Regal GS features a lowered body and aggresive styling that mimics the VXR, except that it wears Buick’s signature “waterfall grille”. The show car wears 20-inch wheels.
That front HiPerStrut suspension helps reduce torque steer and maintain negative camber during cornering, improving grip and feel while isolating undesirable feedback. The GS features Brembo brakes with cross-drilled rotors, four-piston aluminum calipers and uprated pads. Interactive Drive Control System (IDCS) chassis technology allows the selection of three modes – normal, sport and GS – that change suspension settings, throttle response and steering sensitivity.
Inside, the Regal GS features a full black interior, sport shifter, a suede-covered, flat-bottom steering wheel and Recaro seats with four-way lumbar support and cushion extensions.
New Detroit 2010: wear the famous logotype
Mention GMC and the mental image for most will be full-sized trucks and SUVs with a mega grille to fit those three alphabets, but as we all now know, even the Americans are now turning to smaller vehicles that are more friendly to the wallet and environment. Which brings us to this, the GMC Granite concept, the smallest car ever to wear the famous logotype.
The Granite is 0.6 m shorter than the Terrain crossover, GMC’s current “baby”, but its interior is spacious and flexible to fit the needs of “active people”. Generous cargo space and flipping/folding seats, for example, enable a mountain bike to be loaded completely inside with the tailgate closed. A decent 2,631 mm wheelbase means the claims are realistic.
“Granite was conceived as a new type of vehicle from GMC – one that could stretch people’s ideas of what a GMC can be,” said Lisa Hutchinson, product marketing director for GMC. “We call it an ‘urban utility vehicle’ and our goal was redefining what the GMC name could mean to a new generation of customers looking for both bold design and functionality.”
It seems to be a must-have these days, so the Granite gets rear-hinged “suicide” doors. GMC describes the Granite as an urban loft apartment on wheels with “urban-industrial design”. It reminds us a liitle of the Kia Soul, although this concept looks more butch, with a lower roof and wider stance. The glasshouse is very slim, but the flanks don’t look slab sided thanks to those deep creases that “cut through” the car. The wheels are pushed out to the extreme ends of the box and wheel arches are prominent. Looks quite cool to us!
Power comes from a 1.4-litre turbocharged engine matched with a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. This engine should be the ECOTEC turbo from the Chevy Cruze which makes 138bhp and 200Nm of torque.
Luxury Red Alfa Romeo Spider Six Cylinders Engine
The Alfa Romeo ambit agency is completed by two cars with able antic personalities able with active four and six butt engines: the Alfa Romeo Spider and the Alfa Romeo GTV.
Guts and appearance are the attributes of the able 220 bhp (162 kW) 3.0 V6 24V ability assemblage adapted to the GTV on view. This engine, accumulated with a six-speed gearbox with sixth non-overdrive dispatch and aerodynamic kit (standard on this version), takes Alfa's coupé to a top dispatch of 250 km/h with dispatch from aught to 100 km/h in aloof 6.7 seconds.
Luxury BMW X6 ACTIVEHYBRID 2010
New Jaguar XJ 2011
While most of the sedans in this segment are indiscernible in a crowd, the all-new 2011 Jaguar XJ draws mesmerized stares at first glance. Jaguar, intent on designing "beautiful speedy cars" with "seductive designs," has delivered a sleek, liquid and contemporary shape – it is not difficult to visualize that leaping black cat in its elongated silhouette. Instantly recognizable as a Jaguar – thanks to the giant front grille – the XJ's figure doesn't overtly build-upon the styling of the XF, as plenty of would have expected.
Luxury Sport Cars from Kia Forte
Much like parent company Hyundai, Kia has been working hard to revive its brand picture. New products like the Soul and Forte have been comparatively well received so far, and with new stunners like the 2011 Sportage and Optima on the way, Kia ought to benefit from a healthy boost in sales. But strip away the sleek new designs and clever interior packaging, and you'll find that Kia's core value of crafting very safe vehicles is still holding strong, now that the 2010 Forte sedan has been named a Top Safety Pick by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
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