MYKALAHARI-AUTOMOTIVE BLOGS

The Car Of The Year 2009

2009-10-23T14:04:00.000-07:00

The Car of The Year-A prestigeous awards given to a car to commemorate the excellence of the car in every aspect.The car not necessarily to be expensive to be nominated,or very cheerfully cheap,but the practicality,the satisfaction of the owner,little ads ,maybe and etcethra.For year 2009,the result is here.All these final three contestants are no ordinary car.There are widely known in the entire earth for the performance and have been existed for generations of models.And the nominations are FORD FIESTA,VAUXHALL/OPEL INSAGNIA and VOLKSWAGEN GOLF.And the winner is.....................................

.......................................Vauxhall Insignia!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes,nice looking car,isn't? The overall result is very tight,with Insagnia win over one points(321 points) to Ford Fiesta.That one vital points has lift the name of Insignia to crowned as The Car of The Year.Here are the complete review of the car(Adapted from : www.caroftheyear.org)-

The Insignia is the first Opel to win in 22 years but General Motors’ European company has been runner-up four times – and in 2007 the Opel Corsa lost by just two points to the Ford S-Max. Ford has won the award five times but this is the second occasion it has lost by one point.

This year’s narrow victory emphasizes the high level of this year’s competition, which has 37 initial candidates and seven finalists. Of the 59 car of the Year jurors representing 23 European countries, 20 gave the Insignia top points, while 19 put the Fiesta in first place.

Opel has defined Insignia design as artistry with German precision: premium values at an affordable price. Many Jury members appreciated the looks and visual quality of this model but the new C/D car from Russelsheim is much more than style. Active and passive safety, comfort and a wide array of efficient engines characterize this model. The richness of equipment can be increased with sophisticated options such as the ‘Opel Eye’, that reads road signals, FlexRide suspension and nine-mode Adaptive Forward Lighting. An efficient, adaptive 4X4 transmission, standard with the 2.8V6 Turbo engine, is an optional in the 2.0 Turbo petrol engine. 6-gear automatic transmission, also standard in the V6, is available in the 2.0 Turbo and 130/160 hp Diesel engines.

Excellence of design has been applied, not only to the look-alike 4/5-door sleek derivatives, but also to a Sports Tourer that combines the practicality of a wagon and good access to the large cargo area with elegance of lines and appealing looks. Outstanding aerodynamics is also a feature in the Insignia, following an Opel tradition of decades.

TECHNICAL DATA

Body:

4/5-door saloons, Sports Tourer wagon

Size:

4.83 (4.91) X 1.86 X 1.50 m.

Transmission:

Front Wheel Drive/ Four Wheel Drive

Petrol Engines:

1.6 (115 hp), 1.8 (140), 2.0 Turbo (220), 2.8 V6 Turbo (280)

Diesel Engines:

2.0 Turbo (110, 130, 160 hp), 1.9 Twin Turbo (190)

Maximum speed - 0-100 km/h acceleration:

Petrol engines: 192 to 250 km/h. - 12.9 to 6.9 s.

Diesel engines: 186 to 218 km/h. - 13.9 to 9.5 s.

Combined fuel consumption - CO2 emissions:

Petrol engines: 7.6 to 11.6 l/100 km – 179 to 272 g/km

Diesel engines: 5.8 to 6.8 l/100 km – 154 to 179 g/km

Adapted from : www.caroftheyear.org

The New Proton Waja?

2009-10-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

After launching a big hit mpv proton exora,proton probably will launch a new model-a sedan.the name of the has still not revealed,but the snapshot of the car has been widely spread on the internet.The name appear on the reg plate state it could be a new Proton Waja.Take a look :

The car,which shown above may be familiar to some.The physical look of the car however,for me is a very nice car in red with a big rim,could be 16'.I dont know for sure wether this is a leaking picture of a prototype by the proton or just a photoshop job done by some persons but if this is a car from proton,i would say this car could be the most potential car on malaysian market today.A source state the car will be yours for around RM55,000.The detail specification of the car is not available.Nice car,isn't?

Anyone with a good info regarding the car,leave a comment about this.Hope this one is proton's...

Proton Exora

2009-10-22T08:06:00.000-07:00

So,proton once again manufacture one more model in local and international market,which is the a multi-purpose vehicle,named proton exora.A 1.6 model,which claimed by the proton is the lowest-priced car in it segment,with the price tag of rm79,000.The seven seater,at the first glance look likes has been blend together from several mpv design in malaysian market.The rear lamp,seems like one in toyota avanza,while the bodywork is not different from the nissan grand livina.However i must say that the car is well priced,and design as well.It is a nice car from the outside,except for the small 15' rim.

Here,i try to comment on the car as detail as possible,and based on my experience driving the car.Let's take a look from the inside.On the bright side,this car,comes with the DVD player for the boring family crossing all the way from south to north of the semenanjung for hari raya.It is a good move by the proton to give the buyer a good entertainment system for the pasengger,and also the first time ever installed on the proton custom car.Also on the radio system located in the dashboard,we have the bluetooth technology.A passenger capable of sharing the mp3 played in the devive which support bluetooth and play them through the exora speaker system via bluetooth.the quality is quite good,but the most important part of all,it works!!.

In terms of long journey experience,a DVD player is good enough for you.BUT,one thing almost ruined it all-the seat.You see,the seat is rock-hard.You will find no difference between sitting on the rock and the seat of exora.The plastic on the exora as well,is C-H-E-A-P.Its very hard,no leather at all.I am sorry to say,the quality in the interior is quite dissapointing.Not to mention it has to be this way,that way but proton should have learnt something in their previous model.The suspension,is nightmare.The ride is like i am in a very small compact car.Bouncing here and there.I thought i would be my very pleasure to drive this "proton-cum-lotus" handling car.Or maybe the name proton is just on the brand.I dont know for sure.

The luggage compartment is just fine.They(proton)have included the net in the compartment to deter the luggage falling down during unloading.Proton Exora is actually is a very nice car,and have a very nice name.

Its a one affordable and good looking car and even better compared to some japanese mpv model.At rm79000,no wonder proton exora a big hit in malaysian road today.

National Carmaker

2009-10-22T01:40:00.000-07:00

In 2009,Proton Holdings is 26 years old,which mean have very stable position and marketing in terms of car making.In the past few years,Proton has introduced some of the models for the public.Gen2,Persona,Exora,SatriaNeo,you name it.But you see,not to really underestimate the capability of what the Malaysian can do but,is it worth the quality of the car produced by the Proton compared to millions or maybe,billions of ringgit invested purchasing the lotus technology? Some say this,some say that.For Proton,the first car after invested in Lotus,right away they introduced the Proton Savvy,which claimed by Proton,"Will be the first ever Malaysian Lotus".The Top Gear once ran a segment about car,and not surprisingly the Savvy,being displayed.One of the presenter,Jeremy Clarson laughed when he read the description about the car-"Your first Lotus".At the price of 7k pound,and with the ugly-looking compact car,immadiately JC instruct the slide of the Proton Savvy to be removed as it makes him sick looking at it.

So,continental perception about the Malaysian cars,thanks to Top Gear,is ruined badly.Not to compared apple to orange but,it is not the type of the car that being the question on how good looking the car is,but the quality of it.Other compact car from other carmaker,such as Suzuki(Swift) is a nice looking and quite a performance car,just close to won the Compact Car of The Year by Top Gear.TG,despite not a glamorous or a grand car festival,but the evaluation of the car is very very pay attention even to minor detail.Even the staggeringly 250000pound ferrari got smashed by these TG Guys,and even a cheap 15000pound vauxhall impress them all.The quality of the car is something you cannot get that easy.And proton has failed,again after all these years collaborating with other major companies.So,what's next proton?