Lexus Malaysia to conduct Special Service Campaign to 78 IS250 vehicles owners-Full Press Release

Yesterday Toyota Motor Corporation has issued a recall statement that involved a total of 1.7 Million vehicles worldwide and today Lexus Malaysia, a division of UMW Toyota Motor, the exclusive distributor of Lexus vehicles in Malaysia would like to announce a Special Service Campaign (SSC) for its Lexus IS250 models.

This is to address the insufficient tightening of the fuel pressure sensor that has been found in some IS250 model produced from August 2007 to February 2009 . There is a possibility that the pressure sensor could become loose, over time. If this occurs, fuel may leak via a gasket that is used between the sensor and the delivery pipe connection.

Lexus Malaysia will inspect the vehicle for fuel leakage and if no leakage is found, the fuel pressure sensor will be tighten with the proper torque. If a fuel leak is confirmed, the gasket between the sensor and the delivery pipe will be replaced and the sensor will also be tightened with the proper torque.

There are a total of 78 units of Lexus IS250 involved in this SSC and Lexus Malaysia is taking proactive measures to contact all its owners. No other Lexus or Toyota models sold by UMW Toyota Motor in Malaysia are involved in this campaign.

As soon as the parts are available, Lexus Malaysia will notify its customers and make appointments to carry out the necessary corrective measures.

Customers may also contact Lexus Malaysia’s free phone line 1-800-88-LEXUS (53987) for further information or assistance.

Nasim bags International Awards from Peugeot-Full Press Release

Nasim Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of the Peugeot brand in Malaysia, has won an International Award from Automobiles Peugeot for its efforts in growing the Lion brand last year.

Automobiles Peugeot presented Nasim with the Successful Industrialisation and Commercial Launch of the 207 Award at the Peugeot 2011 Convention for Worldwide Distributors in Valencia, Spain.

Mr Jean-Phillipe Imparato, Vice-President of International Sales and Marketing for Automobiles Peugeot, presented the award to Mr SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin, Joint Group Executive Chairman of the Naza Group of Companies and CEO of Nasim.

“This award from Peugeot is a recognition of our efforts in manufacturing the 207 in Malaysia for right-hand drive markets in the region. At present, we have had over 600 bookings for the new 207 and it is currently the most attainable European offering in the market,” SM Nasarudin said.

He said the 207 is produced at Naza Automotive Manufacturing Sdn Bhd’s plant in Gurun, Kedah for both the domestic and export markets. The 207 was launched in November 2010.

“We have already begun exports to Thailand and exports to Indonesia, Brunei and Sri Lanka will commence in the first quarter of 2011,” SM Nasarudin said.

In early 2010, Automobiles Peugeot appointed Nasim as its partner to make Malaysia the French carmaker’s manufacturing hub for the region.

Besides the 207, other models launched by Nasim last year were the new 3008, 5008 as well as upgrades to the 308 VTi and 308 Turbo. Nasim is targeting to sell some 5,000 units of the 207 in 2011.

For this year, Nasim has already launched the new 308 CC and will introduce three more models to the market during the course of 2011. These models, along with the 207, are expected to increase Nasim’s sales this year to 7,000 units.

source: Nasim Sdn. Bhd.

Pagani Huayra officially revealed!!!

After numerous leaks shot circulating the internet, today Pagani Automobili has officially released its new Pagani Zonda successor, Huayra after the name of Andean god of wind Aymara Huayra Tata.

Pagani also release some bits about this supercar where this Italian beast will be made of carbon-titanium monoque frame with the body parts are casted from carbon fibre. The extensive use of expensive and super light weight material will make this new baby as light as 1,350kg and this “Wind” Pagani will be propelled by a Mercedes-Benz AMG 6.0 litre twin turbocharged V12 engine producing in access of 700hp and a mind boggling 1000Nm to push this car as light as a feather.

To enjoy this feat of engineering requires you to have a very very deep pocket, how deep, let see if you have a spare of cold hard cash of €1,000,000. I’m sure your pocket will be light as a feather after forking out this insanely amount of money. Well there are thousands of Billionaire in this world. Nothing can stop them!!! Head on after the jump to make your nose bleed.

source: Evo, Pagani Automobili

Volkswagen’s “Formula XL1”-The vision of future mobility-Full Press Release

Future mobility is one of the most stimulating topics of our time. The key question here: Just how much could the energy consumption of cars be reduced if all the stops were pulled out for efficiency? There is now an answer to this question, and Volkswagen is delivering it in the form of the new XL1. Combined fuel consumption: 0.9 l/100 km. No other hybrid car powered by an electric motor / internal combustion engine combination is more fuel efficient. The prototype will be unveiled in a world debut at the Qatar Motor Show (26 - 29 January).

To the point

Conceptually, the XL1 represents the third evolutionary stage of Volkswagen’s 1-litre car strategy. When the new millennium was ushered in, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand Piëch, who is today Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, formulated the visionary goal of bringing to the market a production car that was practical for everyday use with a fuel consumption of 1.0 litre per 100 km. In the new XL1, Volkswagen is demonstrating that this goal is now within reach.

The new Volkswagen XL1 attains a CO2 emissions value of 24 g/km, thanks to a combination of lightweight construction (monocoque and add-on parts made of carbon fibre), very low aerodynamic drag (Cd 0.186) and a plug-in hybrid system - consisting of a two cylinder TDI engine (35 kW / 48 PS), E-motor (20 kW / 27 PS), 7-speed dual-clutch transmission (DSG) and lithium-ion battery. The results: with fuel consumption of 0.9 l/100 km, the new Volkswagen XL1 only emits 24 g/km CO2. Since it is designed as a plug-in hybrid, the XL1 prototype can also be driven for up to 35 kilometres in pure electric mode, i.e. with zero emissions at point of use. The battery can be charged from a conventional household electric outlet. Naturally, battery regeneration is also employed to recover energy while slowing down and store as much of it as possible in the battery for re-use. In this case, the electric motor acts as an electric generator.

Despite the very high levels of efficiency, developers were able to design a body layout that offers greater everyday practicality, incorporating side by side seating rather than the tandem arrangement seen in both the first 1-litre car presented in 2002 and the L1 presented in 2009. In the new XL1, wing doors make it easier to enter and exit the car. Further progress has been made by manufacturing body parts from carbon fibre reinforced polymer parts (CFRP), a technique used in Formula 1 car construction. Once again, Volkswagen has successfully achieved significant reductions in production costs– an important step forward to make viable a limited production run of the XL1. Background: together with suppliers, Volkswagen has developed and patented a new system for CFRP production in what is known as the aRTM process (advanced Resin Transfer Moulding).

source: Volkswagen

"True power should be shared"- The final instalment of Aston Martin Rapide miniseries

Aston Martin has just release the final miniseries of “True Power Should Be Shared” where there is a lot of driving footage of the Aston Martin Rapide being filmed in Lisbon Portugal. Well for all of you that have watch the previous series, I’m sure you will be wondering what the package that they are mission to sent for. Well this series will reveal all. Watch the final series above and you can watch the previous series here and here

Tun Dr Mahathir visits Perodua after 10 years-Perodua Alza Exclusive Edition to be launch soon- Full Press Release

Former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is the visionary behind the formation of Perodua, was given a rousing welcome on his return visit to Perodua Headquarters and plant here today, after his previous visit some 10 years ago.

Thousands of staff led by Perodua Chairman Tan Sri Asmat Kamaludin, Board of Directors, as well as senior management were on hand to welcome Tun Dr Mahathir on his arrival.

“We are forever indebted to Tun Dr Mahathir, whose vision for the automotive industry to be one of the drivers of the country’s industrialisation, has led to the birth of Perodua,” Asmat said in his welcoming speech.

“This visit by Tun Dr Mahathir is very significant to us, as it has been 10 years since Tun’s last visit here for the line-off ceremony of Perodua’s 500,000th unit vehicle (Kancil) on 7 August 2001,” he said.

Perodua Managing Director Datuk Aminar Rashid Salleh in his briefing among other things, touched on the formative years of Perodua, the company’s growth and plans that include increasing exports and the plant expansion.

“Perodua is the number one car company in terms of sales for the past 5 consecutive years as of December 2010. Last year, we sold some188,600 units and commanded a market share of 31.2% compared with 8,880 units sold and 4.4% market share in 1994,” he said.

Tun Dr Mahathir was also given a briefing on Perodua’s Research & Development plans and future models. He was later given a tour of Perodua’s car and engine manufacturing plants.

In conjunction with his visit, Perodua presented 1 unit of Alza, the popular Multi-Purpose Vehicle (MPV) bearing the 2020 number plate to Tun Dr Mahathir, to signify the Vision 2020, a long-term national plan coined by Tun Dr Mahathir himself.

To commemorate his visit, Perodua will launch 500 units of the Alza Exclusive Edition, a facelift version of the Alza Advanced Version, tentatively to hit the market in mid-2011. The final price, additional features and booking date will be announced in due date.

Perodua has also pledge to donate RM1,000 from the sale of every unit of the Alza Exclusive Edition to The Perdana Leadership Foundation. The total donation from Perodua will be RM500,000.

Corporate bodies or individuals are also welcomed to do their part in the donation drive. They can purchase the Alza Exclusive Edition over the approved price of the vehicle and Perodua will handover their donation (purchase price minus vehicle price) to the foundation, Aminar said.

source: Perodua

Nissan finally release the full fury of the Godzilla!!!!

Nissan has finally officially release the full fury of the Godzilla by allowing the features of launch control for the 2012 Nissan GT-R. How official is official, now owners does not need to play around the button anymore, it’s all will be displayed in the owner’s manual of how to use the launch control system. As you may know, previously the launch control system has been a widely debated feature whereby the owners warranty will be void once Nissan has detected that you have abused the system for your wild joy rides as this will prematurely make your engine and gearbox to fail.

Now with the newly official launch control system, Nissan has limit the rev of up to 4,000rpm and based on the rumours this new specification Godzilla can push all the 523 horses with launch control on for a century sprint of less than 3 seconds. Did I hear the Godzilla roars at the back of my neck!!!