FREE SAFETY CHECKS FOR PROTON CARS ALONG HIGHWAYS THIS HOLIDAY SEASON

 In its effort to encourage safe driving to its customers, PROTON is organising a Road Safety Campaign for Proton cars travelling along the North-South and East Coast highways during the upcoming festive and school holidays. The campaign, which will run from today until 6th of February next year, will see PROTON giving out free car inspections for Proton cars at the Proton i.care Mobile Pit Stops located at several rest areas along the mentioned highways. 

Present at the launching ceremony today was Road Safety Department Director General Datuk Suret Singh, PLUS Expressways Berhad Senior Manager Mohd Nizam Ismail, MTD Prime Sdn Bhd Assistant Vice President of Tollways Division Ahmad Yuzdi Sulaiman and Proton Edar Sdn Bhd General Manager of Marketing Abdul Sidik Abdul Hamid. 

Commenting on the campaign, Proton Edar Sdn Bhd Chief Executive Officer Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim said that the campaign is an offshoot to the PROTON Drive Safely programme held during the Hari Raya Aidilfitri holidays at the East Coast highway in August. 

"As a car maker we have a social responsibility to educate and promote safety awareness to road users, especially in supporting the government’s call to reduce road accidents during festive seasons and school holidays. The best way for us would be to reach out to our car users and help them get a conscious knowledge on the condition of their cars. We hope that when drivers are conscious about the condition of their cars, they will be more careful when driving," explained Mohamad Shukor. 

The Mobile Pit Stops, conveniently located at several toll and R&R areas along the highways, will be giving out free 18-point safety check and minor repair services for Proton car owners. The Proton i.care Mobile Pit Stops will be available at the following venue and dates:- 

Southbound	Sg. Besi Toll		Seremban R & R	23Dec, 31Dec,1Feb
			Ayer Keroh	16Nov,24Dec,31Dec,2Feb
	Dengkil Toll		Dengkil R & R	16Nov, 24Dec, 31Dec,2Feb
KL-bound	Senai Toll		Pagoh/ Seremban R & R	21Nov,26Dec,1Jan,6Feb
	Juru Toll		Tapah/ Sg. Buloh R & R	21Nov,26Dec,1Jan,6Feb
	Bentong Toll		Genting Sempah R & R	21Nov,26Dec,1Jan,6Feb
Northbound	Jalan Duta Toll		Sg. Buloh R & R	23Dec, 31Dec,1Feb
			Tapah	16Nov,24Dec,31Dec,2Feb
EastCoast bound	Gombak Toll		Temerloh Timur R & R	16Nov, 24Dec, 31Dec,2Feb

The PROTON i.care team will also be collaborating with the respective highway patrol teams to assist Proton cars experiencing problems along the highways. 

On another note, the newly launched Proton Inspira, had received an encouraging response from the public. As of yesterday, PROTON had received a total of 2,800 units in total bookings since it was first opened for booking on 14th of October.

2011 Dodge Durango Full Details

Chrysler has released full details of 2011 Dodge Durango.2011 Dodge Durango has two engine options: the standard fuel 3.6-liter V-6 engine Pentastar and the availability of 5.7-liter HEMI engine with fuel, the cylinder deactivation system (MDS) mode four-cylinder. Both engines have variable valve timing (VVT) and are available with AWD. In addition to high efficiency motors provide exceptional V-6 and towing capacity of V-8 with the predominance standard trailer control (-. V-8 and £ 7400 Best in Class V-6 – £ 6200.). When equipped with the HEMI ® V-8, the 2011 Dodge Durango can tow weight over a 24-foot boat and trailer.

The all-new Dodge Durango-2011 also offers consumers features 45 safety and security, including standard front seat-mounted side airbags and standard side-curtain airbags covering all three rows of passengers, and any new standard active head restraints. Electronic stability control is also standard. Other technologies available safety and security include blind spot monitoring, detection rear cross path before collision warning, adaptive cruise control and keyless Enter n’ Go Best of all,

consumers will have all the 2011 Dodge Durango capacity, capability and flexibility and still get good fuel economy. In fact, motorists are more than 500 miles, the distance from San Diego to San Francisco or Detroit to New York without having to stop for fuel.-newcarelease.com

L.A. Auto Show: 2012 Buick Regal GS goes manual

A few short years ago, finding a manual transmission in a Buick would have been considered a sign of the apocalypse. The average age of a Buick owner was among the oldest in the industry, and parent company GM knew that if they were to keep Buick from avoiding the same calamitous fate as Oldsmobile, it needed to turn things around.

Fast forward to this year’s L.A. Auto Show, and not only has GM introduced a hybrid version of Buick's   acclaimed LaCrosse sedan, but it also has introduced a sportier version of the smallerRegal sedan, the 2012 Regal GS.

This Regal GS is powered by a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine, putting out 255 horsepower and a stout 295 pound feet of torque. A six-speed manual transmission will be available when the car goes on sale in the second half of 2011, with a six-speed automatic being made available later. Buick says the Regal GS will go from 0 to 60 in less than seven seconds.

Other highlights include a lower stance, Brembo calipers on the front brakes, 19-inch wheels standard with 20-inch wheels optional, and Buick’s Interactive Drive Control System, whereby drivers can choose among three suspension and steering settings.

I asked Buick’s Roger McCormack why the company didn’t go full throttle with the GS variant and instead use the 325 horsepower, turbocharged V6 the Opel Insignia OPC uses in Europe (the Regal is basically a rebadged version of the Opel Insignia). He said that although the V6 may eventually find itself in a Regal, Buick preferred the GS’ turbocharged four cylinder because it is lighter, more fuel efficient and cheaper than the V6.

The cost of the Regal GS is expected to start in the mid-$30,000 range.-latimes.com

LA 2010 – Subaru Impreza Design Concept previews the next model

Subaru arrived at the 2010 Los Angeles Motor Show with the Impreza Design Concept which could well preview the next-generation sedan. This aggressive-looking concept is motivated by a new 2.0 liter Boxer engine and is based on the newly-unveiled 224hp 2.5 liter boxer that will be introduced with the 2011 Forester.

The engine is linked to a Lineartronic continuously variable transmission. This combination is likely to make its way into the new Impreza. Subaru says that this concept features a “four-door coupe” styling and it is the first model to feature Subaru’s new design philosophy called “Confidence in Motion”.

This concept, which is a four-seater also has an all-wheel-drive system, camera stalks that replace side mirrors, fin-shaped LED goof lamps and so on. The production version, if it based on this, will most likely feature a toned-down design, inside and out. What do you think of the design?-icars.sg

Dream new Mercedes-Benz Biome - the car at one with nature

Visionary brilliance or flight of fantasy? Reap what you sow, say Mercedes-Benz engineers about their new Biome concept car, making its debut at the LA Auto Show.

The Mercedes-Benz Biome is made from an ultralight material called 'BioFibre' 

The Biome, they say, will be grown in a "completely organic environment" from seeds sown in a nursery; a Mercedes-Benz nursery. Out on the road the car will emit not a cocktail of noxious gases, but pure oxygen. And at the end of its life-span it won’t be dragged off to the local dump to be dismantled in a pool of oil - it will be composted. Or used as building material.

“We wanted to illustrate the vision of the perfect vehicle of the future,” said Hubert Lee, head of the Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Studios in Carlsbad. “The Biome is a natural technology hybrid and forms part of our earth’s ecosystem. It grows and thrives like the leaves on a tree.”

It will, he says, be made from "BioFibre" and weigh just 875lbs (397kg). BioFibre, you see, will be grown from proprietary DNA in the MB nursery, where it will collect energy from the sun and store it in a liquid chemical bond called BioNectar4534.

The trip deepens: the interior of the Biome will grow from DNA contained in the Mercedes star on the front of the vehicle, while the exterior grows from the star on the rear. To accommodate specific customer requirements, the MB star will be genetically engineered, allowing the vehicle to grow accordingly.

Trees will help in the process too. They will be equipped with "special receptors" that collect solar energy, turning it into BioNectar, say the team from MB.-telegraph.co.uk

2012 BMW 1-Series Hatchback caught testing

Latest spy shots of the 1-Series hatchback from BMW have been received. Though BMW just mentions release of a smaller model with front wheel drive it is yet to be seen if the company would keep the 1 Series name to the car or give it some other new name conforming to the C-segment or the 2-Series.

The codename of the car is F20 and its launch is expected in late 2011. It would incorporate the new and softer design language that BMW is now talking or giving the market as well as have a more pronounced front grille. There is also a major work that has been carried out to the interior of the car as the spy shots show. There is the most noticeable feature of the center console being slightly tilted towards the driver
For power, BMW have announced that the car would be getting a hybrid engine. This would be the default set up not only for this car but all other BMW cars of the 1-Series and 3-Series models as well as its upcoming FWD supermini. This was declared by BMW themselves.

The engine choice would not be restricted to just one type but rather spread over the option of having a four-cylinder and perhaps even three-cylinder turbocharged gasoline units. There are also chances that the six-cylinder engines would be carried over more or less unchanged from the current model.

Source: carscoop