Latest Lokatoo Map version 3.31 dated 9th June 2011

For your information, the latest map version 3.31 is now available for downloading from Lokatoo website for Navigation Software version 2.07, 3.10, 3.20 and ‘4.0 and above’. Majority of the road or POI updates in this version covers Klang Valley and Pahang, covering areas such as Ampang, Bangsar, Kelana Jaya, Bukit Tinggi, Jerantut and Kuantan.




Click HERE to download.

A Few More Details about Honda’s Upcoming Plug-in Hybrid

Honda announced at last year’s L.A. auto show that it make and sell an all-electric Honda Fit, as well as a full-size sedan using plug-in hybrid technology. The Fit should make a fantastic platform for a pure EV, but we haven’t had many details about what the plug-in hybrid will look like, or its features. This week’s Automotive News fills in a few of those blanks, while leaving lots of questions unanswered.

For all the promise of plug-in hybrid technology—offering a lot of electric driving capabilities, but still providing driving range on par with an ICE car—there are only two competing designs: the Chevy Volt with a relatively large battery pack, and a Prius Plug-in Hybrid with a smaller pack and a blended approach to using electric and gas. The Honda system bears more resemblance to Toyota’s approach.

Here are a few snippets about Honda’s entry into the plug-in hybrid market.

Platform – Honda is currently using an Accord as a test platform. The Accord was modified with an aluminum hood as well as other unspecified weight reductions. The plug-in hybrid still weighs 330 pounds more than the gas version of the Accord.

Battery & Range – Its 6 kWh lithium ion battery pack is placed behind the back seat, and encroaches upon the truck space. It’s about the size of a “suitcase,” and currently configured to run up to 62 mph in all-electric mode for about 15 miles, which Honda believes will “satisfy about 70 percent of its users.”

System – The large sedan plug-in hybrid will use a two motor system (unlike Honda’s current single motor hybrid system). The traction motor is 120 kilowatts (compared to Volt’s 111 kW). It’s combined with a 2-liter four-cylinder engine and a CVT transmission.

Sales Target - According to Automotive News, Honda’s new larger two-motor hybrid system—which comes out first as a plug-in hybrid but will also be used on conventional hybrids as well—will help the company expand hybrid sales from its current 5 percent take rate, to around 10 percent of global sales by 2015.-plugincars.com

Hyundai Elantra Coupe First Look

This is how the 2011 Hyundai Elantra coupe, to be unveiled at this year’s Los AngelesAuto Show, would look like.

Rivaling cars Like Kia Forte (Cerato) Koup and Honda Civic Coupe, the Elantra Coupe not only looks almost exactly like the sedan, it’ll also get the same 1.8 liter 148 hp engine. That’s not a very gutsy powertrain, but it does 40mpg highway and almost 30 mpg in city driving which is very impressive.

It would be nice if Hyundai takes the same approach to coupes as Kia did with the Forte Koup, and set the Elantra Coupe apart from its sedan sibling by adding more sportiness, more drama to the way it looks. Kia has done that, both inside and out, with great results. Or maybe they have saved it for the R-Spec version of the car, which is due in 2012 with a more powerful engine and hopefully sportier styling. That said, the finished product at the LA Show could be different than the rendering here.

So this would be a cheaper alternative for the Genesis Coupe and a serious threat for its sister from Kia.-motorward.com

Toyota EZ MPV to launch on June 21st

Guangzhou Toyota are planning to launch the EZ MPV in the Chinese market on June 21st according to media reports, the compact MPV will targeted against other family use MPV’s such as the Mazda 5 and the highly popular VW Touran. June 21st will see the launch party happening in Beijing, but the car will not be in dealers until early July, three different engine offerings will be available with a lowly 1.6L starting, a 1.8L in the middle and a 2.0L top of the range model. The EZ had its first airing at theGuangzhou Auto Show in December 2010 and again in Shanghai in April this year, it seems that Toyota are not going to be promoting this vehicle as a traditional MPV but will instead be calling it a FUV which according to Toyota meansFashionable Utility Vehicle.-chinacartimes.com

BMW Releases New 1-Series Early After Photos Leaked

After photos leaked onto the web late last week of the new 2012 BMW 1-Series, BMW has apparently opted to forgo the big launch they’d planned for the Frankfurt Motor Show and has since released all the details and specs of the new car now, to avoid speculation. 

So, what awaits would-be 1-Series buyers? Well, a bigger car, for one. 

Based upon the 3-Series platform, the new 1-Series will grow significantly in every dimension except vertically. A move that will assuredly ostracize some enthusiasts, the growth is a response to the next 3-Series’ also-expanded footprint leaving more room for a bigger 1-Series than previously possible, with most of the expanded capacity coming in the form of a larger cabin and cargo area. Both areas in which the current 1-Series earned much criticism, the new, roomier 1er should assuage many that thought it simply too small to be practical.

And of course, there will be new sheetmetal as well. Although definitely still looking very much like a 1-series, the new model has an even more upright grille flanked by even larger headlights; making what was already a slightly cartoonish car look even more so. Interestingly, while additional variants (read: a coupe) are slated to follow, only the über-practical five-door hatchback layout will be made available from the outset. 

Further evidence of BMW’s move towards practicality will be found underhood, where the absence of the turbocharged inline six will definitely be felt by sporting drivers. Instead, a lineup consisting entirely of four cylinders ranging from 136 to 245 horsepower will be available to North American drivers, with overseas markets benefitting from the additional fitment of three diesel engines.-carguideweb.com