The Kia Sportage,Past and Present.

Well,to be perfectly honest,i was never a fan of Korean cars,i owned two(Kia) in the past,one was quite disappointing,while the other was slightly above average.

They do have the power to surprise.
That was a long time ago;since then,the Koreans have soared billions of miles ahead in terms of design and built quality!one of the cars which i had previously owned(the one that was above average),has now blossomed into a beautiful work-of-art in motion,i am talking about the Kia Sportage of course.

First Generation
The first generation Sportage which i owned, was actually developed with a Mazda base platform. It shares many mechanical components such as the engine, transmissions, and differentials with the Mazda line of vehicles. This was due to the alliance of Ford-Mazda-Kia for technology and product sharing in the early to mid-1990s.It wasn't necessarily the best looking vehicle at the time,but it was one of the pioneers of the modern day SUV.

Second Generation
The second generation Sportage had a much more closer to home partnership in terms of technology and platform,as it shared its Hyundai Elantra based platform with the Hyundai Tucson. The second generation Sportage was considerably larger than the original Sportage and has close to zero offroading capability.Overall fit/finish and quality was said to have improved over the 1st generation model.

Third Generation
The third generation Sportage,which was designed by Peter Schreyer is without a doubt one of the best looking SUVs on sale today!Build quality and reliability have skyrocketed in comparison to its predecessors. It comes loaded with dual-zone automatic air conditioning, panoramic glass roof, cruise control, smart key with starter button, leather upholstery, power driver's seat, stereo with subwoofer and iPod cable, rear sensors and camera, chrome door handles, electric folding mirrors, 18-inch alloy wheels, and improved safety features such as ABS with stability control, active headrests and airbags all around.

Kia's Manufacturing Facility in The US.
Kia has certainly come a long way from its humble beginning.I wouldn't be surprise to see them topple Toyota and/or Honda someday.Kudos to the Koreans!

Honda Previews Concept CR-V

Honda has released an image of a "preliminary/concept version" of the all new 2012 CR-V, 

The new look "introduces the exterior styling for the more sophisticated and dynamic design of the upcoming production model," John Mendel, executive vice president of sales for American Honda, said in a statement.

Honda says the new CR-V will feature an improvement in fuel economy, an all-new interior and a lower cargo floor. Pricing and a specific release date are also not yet available.

The previous redesign of the CR-V was in the 2007 model year,but to be completely honest,wasn't exactly the best looking SUV out there.

Honda's recent practice has been to release a preliminary or concept version a few months before the vehicle goes into production to obtain some feedback regarding the design from the general public and if you ask me,this CR-V looks like a winner. 

Proton's CVT explained!

Proton,who recently announced that it will be fitting its whole range of vehicles with the CVT technology, has whipped up a video to give the Malaysian public a rough idea as to how its CVT (continuously variable transmission) fitted engines will perform.Enjoy! 

The Hyundai Veloster

In the not-so-distant past,one might be ridiculed for purchasing a Hyundai.Well,with that said, the era of cheap and quiet pathetic looking Hyundais have left us,leaving only a new breed of simply stunning looking models,one in particular that i have had my eye on since it's launch is the Hyundai Veloster.


According to Hyundai's press release, the "Veloster's unique design takes inspiration from a high-performance sport bike. Veloster has distinctive black A-pillars that give the glass a motorcycle helmet visor appearance.Mimicking the outside design theme, Hyundai says the dash and controls were all crafted to appear as they might on a sport bike. Even the floor console, Hyundai claims, is built to resemble the seat on a motorcycle.

It features a MINI Cooper Clubman-like passenger-side rear door, but this third door opens conventionally. This facilitates access to the rear seats and makes the car more practical when you decide to bring a couple of buddies along for the ride. The front doors are of unequal length; the one on the passenger side is narrower to make room for the rear door.

The Velostar features a 1.6 litre engine naturally aspirated capable of 138bhp. The low-power engine means you can get something as distinctive as a Scirocco or Megane RS for less cash and lower running costs.Transmission choices will include a 6-speed manual and a 6-speed dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters.

Veloster spotted in Malaysia(image by neurra.blogspot.com)
Hyundai Malaysia has been tight lipped as to whether the Veloster will be launched here,but to the joy of many Malaysian,local bloggers have obtained pictures of the Veloster being tested in Malaysia. 

Myvi "Lagi Best" Driven!

With BIG shoes to fill,has the new Myvi delivered??My answer to that is,Yes and No.

Yes because,the ride was smooth.sound proofing was slightly above average,comfort level was good(almost identical to the previous generation),it accelerated and took corners well,built quality isn't something to shout about but it works,the interior feels more spacious than its predecessor and the dashboard look modern and quite attractive.

So why NO,lets just say that the front end looks unquestionably hideous!the electronic power steering wheel makes the whole driving experience feel numb and the placement of the gear lever is completely wrong.

Don't get me wrong this is a pretty good car,but unfortunately,i cant help but think that the predecessor is just a tad better in some un-explainable way.

The All new Perodua Myvi gets a,

     * * *

(3 out of 5)

The Shelby Tuatara

With the extinction of the Bugatti Veyron, Shelby Supercars has released new pictures on what it claims to be a real contender for the Worlds fastest car title.
The US firm was a holder of the world's fastest production car title with its 1,183HP SCC Ultimate Aero TT that reached a top speed of 257 mph.Bugatti Veyron Super Sport has since,topped that, but now Shelby is back with a vengeance.
The Tuatara will use a 1,331bhp twin-turbo 7.0-litre V8, sending power to the rear wheels through a seven-speed manual or a seven-speed robotised manual gearbox.
the name Tuatara actually refers to a type of lizard, native to New Zealand. It supposedly has the fastest evolving molecular structure in nature, something that the company's owner, Jarod Shelby, feels it shares with his carbon-fibre-bodied supercar.

"Most manufacturers essentially use the same basic model and body shape for up to 10 years, while only making small refinements to it each year. After only three years in production with the Ultimate Aero, SSC's Tuatara is about to monumentally evolve in the areas of sophistication, design, aerodynamics and shear all‐around performance. We felt that the fastest evolving DNA was a perfect definition of SSC's latest project.," he said.

Proton listed as one of the Top Reliable Manufacturers in the UK.

Research by Direct Line Breakdown has revealed the Proton's range has been listed as the fifth least like to fall foul of mechanical breakdowns.

Proton Exora
The research, based on Direct Line Breakdown's call out records, shows Proton following closely behind Honda, Toyota, Mazda and Nissan.

Proton Satria neo
Simon Park, General Manager, Sales and Marketing, for Proton Cars (UK) Ltd said: "We are proud to see Proton ranking at number five in this research, and it is testament to the genuine experiences of our extremely loyal customer base. Many of our customers have owned a Proton for years and have been very satisfied by how reliable they are."Kudos to Proton!i for one hope this is the beginning of a bright  future for the Malaysian Automaker.

Proton Msx concept

Police Transforms Mercedes into Honda

Perhaps a long long time ago there was once a time when the Chinese couldn't tell the difference between a Mercedes-Benz and a Honda. but in todays modern, car-crazy China, however, this is clearly no longer the case. That didn't stop police in Fangchenggang (part of Guangxi Province) from performing a low-tech badge swap on a Mercedes-Benz ML350 in a bid to make it look like a run-of-the-mill Honda, right down to CR-V emblem on the rear liftgate.

Car News China reports that the police did it to fool taxpayers into thinking that the department didn't spend big bucks on a Benz. An ML350 reportedly costs around 900,000 yuan ($139,000 USD), which is a lot more than Honda CR-V, which runs around 200,000 yuan ($30,000 or so). As you may have guessed, the ridiculous cover-up attempt by the cops angered residents whole lot more than if they'd simply rolled out, baller style, in the Mercedes from the beginning.

New MX-5 Coming Soon.

Mazda’s next-generation Mazda MX-5 which is slotted for a 2012/2013 launch,is said to be more agile and technologically advance its predecessor.

An artist impression of the New MX-5(Image courtesy of Autocar)
Mazda’s engineers have been tasked with trimming 275kg from the 1075kg kerb weight of today’s MX-5 to hit an ambitious 800kg.

In place of today’s 1.8 and 2.0-litre engines, the next MX-5 will feature a small direct-injection four-cylinder turbocharged engine of around 1.5 litres.(much like the RX-8 which uses a 1.3 liter Rotary engine.)

The Shinari Concept,which previewed the KODO theme.

The design language will be the new Kodo theme first seen on the Shinari concept at Paris last year 

2012 Camry Previewed.

The Toyota Camry is one of the bestselling cars in America and the world,knowing this,Toyota has begin teasing us with the introduction of the redesigned 2012 Toyota Camry in a video featuring Toyota president and CEO Akio Toyoda.

The 44 second video features 42 seconds of Akio Toyoda thanking those who buy the Camry and making promises about the 2012 Camry like the fact that it will be the “best Camry ever” and that it will “exceed all expectations”. That is all pretty vague and really offers little about the 2012 Camry but at the 28 second mark of the video, the camera pans down to Mr. Toyoda’s left side as he gestures – giving us our first look at the 2012 Toyota Camry.