Cars & Motors News

[Rasputin]

BMW bullish about local car market

BMW Malaysia Sdn Bhd believes the healthy local passenger car market and the company's strong performance in 2005 will help it maintain its status as Malaysia's fastest-growing premium automotive brand.

Having recorded a 25.1% growth in BMW car sales last year with 3,015 units sold, the company is bullish on its outlook for the remainder of 2006, according to managing director Wolfgang Schlimme.

At the announcement ceremony of Ingress Auto Sdn Bhd as BMW's latest authorised dealer, Schlimme said the company would welcome competition from other manufacturers as this would mean that BMW would always strive for excellence.

“Malaysia actually has the biggest passenger car market in Asia, and we see strong growth continuing into the year, especially in the premium cars segment,” he added.

He said BMW was currently growing at 3%-5% faster than the general Malaysian passenger car market, increasing sales growth from 18.9% in 2004 to 25.1% last year, as well as raising the number of BMW models from just four in 2001 to eight, including the Z4, 6-Series, and X5.

The company was hopeful that the National Automotive Policy (NAP) would help spur BMW's growth in Malaysia by providing a more level playing field, he said, adding that it would decide on its new strategies once the NAP was announced.

[bluesky_152000]

oh by the way its not orange county club but orange county choppers... sorry for that mistake

[Rasputin]

2006 Chevrolet Corvette C6

[nanakhafan]

mashine khoobiye...mipasandam

[Rasputin]

Opel GT

Within a year, in spring of 2007 a legendary one in the history of motoring, Opel GT will appear again sport. This mythical model that was born in the years 70 presents/displays a new generation in form to roadster two-seater and that will be able to be seen for the first time in the next Hall Geneva, at the beginning of March. Its line is very showy and their dynamic qualities rest in their back traction and motor I disturb of four cylinders with direct gasoline injection placed in the front part. Account with a piston displacement of 2,0 100 liters and 260 CV that they drive to him from 0 to km/h in only 6 second and reaches 230 a terminal velocity of km/h. The GT incorporates overturns of fabric and rims of 18 inches and has been inspired by concept Vauxhall Lightning, created in May of 2003.

[nanakhafan]

AHHHHHHH.......rim hasho negah kon....AHHHHH lol....1 saal dige mishe 2007..hehe hahah...

[Rasputin]

You've never seen a Hyundai like this before

More performance. Sophisticated styling. Class-leading interior space and exceptional cargo space. Among the best in standard safety features. These are just some of the considerations that went into creating the all-new 2006 Sonata. And after years of planning, it's finally ready. Sonata GL, Sonata GL V6 and Sonata GLS V6 - three trim levels that all offer an outstanding package of standard features at a lot less than you'd expect to pay. It's been totally redesigned to give you a Hyundai like you've never seen before.

[Rasputin]

2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT .

[nanakhafan]

AHHH...oon Hyundai bid
....ee mitsubishi e ham khoob bid...

[Rasputin]

2006 Ford Zephyr

April 20, 2004 - The 2006 Lincoln Zephyr teaser unveiled at the 2004 New York International Auto Show illustrates how Lincoln can bring its hallmarks of elegant design and comfort to a new generation of customers. The midsize, five-passenger Lincoln Zephyr is a premium sedan with features that assure comfort and refinement worthy of a Lincoln. Just as significantly, it also introduces the design elegance and refinement that have made Lincoln Navigator and Aviator such desirable nameplates.



This teaser vehicle unveiled in New York sets the stage - and sends a strong signal - for the production version of Lincoln's next sedan. The concept builds on themes explored in the Lincoln Mark LT and Lincoln Aviator concepts that were unveiled at the 2004 North American International Auto Show in Detroit.

Design statements such as the bold horizontal lines of the taillamps and grille reinforce its athleticism. Instead, the Lincoln Zephyr establishes its sport sedan persona with geometric elements such as a steeply raked windshield, strong horizontal themes and wide, large-diameter, spoked alloy wheels.

The wheels are 19 inches in diameter and feature a symmetrical 12-spoke layout that complements the Lincoln star located on the flush center caps. The spoke pattern puts the Lincoln logo in the "crosshairs," like a telescopic sight, drawing the eye toward the wheel center.

The side profile is complemented by chrome trim at the belt line, door handles and mirror caps, and the soft glow of satin aluminum wheels. The light body color also provides a strong contrast to the bold, dark window graphics.

[Rasputin]

2006 Honda Ridgeline

Honda's Ridgeline may look like your everyday full-sized pick-up truck, but it's not. Of course, the funky design my give some kind of clue that things are slightly different. Don't let the bed or the boxed steel frame fool you -- the Ridgeline has more in common with your mom's Accord than your dad's Ford Super-Duty.



Performance
As we mentioned earlier, Honda's Ridgeline comes powered by a 3.5 liter 255 horsepower V6 and has full-time all-wheel drive. It does sound kind of wimpy for a truck, and well… it is. The Ridgeline shares its V6 with Honda's more "family-oriented" Odyssey minivan and Pilot SUV. It is a Honda engine, so you know it's incredibly smooth, it's just a bit different for a truck.

How is this engine "different" for a truck? For starters, it's mounted horizontally. A horizontally-mounted engine is common for Hondas, but very uncommon for trucks. Why? Because horizontally-mounted engines are primarily found on front-engined, front-wheel drive cars. As most of you can guess, this engine configuration basically makes the Ridgeline a front-wheel drive truck. According to our research, Honda's Ridgeline puts about 70 percent of its power to the front wheels, but it is able to shift that power to the rear wheels if needed. As the Ridgeline spends most of its time with the 70 percent front bias, we're gonna consider the Ridgeline a front-wheel drive car.

Don't think that the front-drive layout is all that the Ridgeline has in common with your mom's Accord. Like all Hondas (and just about every single modern car), the Ridgeline utilizes unibody construction. As most trucks still use the antiquated "box on frame" type of construction, this car-like method of manufacture is truly unique. This unibody makes the Ridgeline much more rigid than a "regular" truck, giving the Ridgeline a quieter, more stable ride.

[Rasputin]

2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder

[Rasputin]

Coolest Concept Cars 2006

Fins. Turbine power. Separate bubble domes over the driver and passenger seats.

These are the kinds of features that can make concept cars so delightful. Special prototypes are beloved by auto enthusiasts, and carmakers have historically unveiled concept cars at auto shows with the goal of making jaws drop as far as possible.

In the past 12 months, such concept cars as Daimler Chrysler's (nyse: DCX - news - people ) 700-hp Maybach Exelero prototype and Mercedes-Benz's bionic car, which is based on the shape of a tropical fish, accepted the torch from history's best concept cars--that is, the ones that live in the world of the wild, the improbable and the radical.

We say "radical" knowing that the car business is a conservative one, and that concept cars are not just working prototypes of future production models. January's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, for example, featured a concept version of a small, forthcoming Acura sport utility vehicle from Honda Motor (nyse: HMC - news - people )--a perfectly respectable car, but not one that sets your imagination on fire the way a 16-cylinder Cadillac prototype or a revival of the Lamborghini Miura does.

See the Coolest Concept Cars 2006.
The slide show that follows showcases the ten coolest concept cars of the last 12 months, and our goal was to highlight the models that get your blood going. While you will likely see some of the slide show's models in showrooms down the road, some others feel more like flights of fancy. And we admire that, considering that production cars err on the safe side of design for the sake of mass appeal.

In our selections, we were biased toward the more wild or extravagant prototypes. And this being Forbes.com, we were also biased toward the more expensive-looking models. Some handsome, smaller concept cars impressed us in the last year, including the Edge from Ford Motor (nyse: F - news - people ) and the Urge from Nissan Motor (nasdaq: NSANY - news - people ), but featuring those vehicles in the slide show would have precluded us from excluding some real bombshells. After all, we wanted to make sure we had room for standouts like the Maybach and Aston Martin's Rapide prototype.

The past 12 months have been great for concept cars. We have seen blue-blooded automakers build some marvels, and we have seen more humble automakers build instant classics, such as Mazda with its Senku prototype from the Tokyo Motor Show.

Fans of American cars will love that old-school Detroit attitude abounds in the slide show, thanks to such prototypes as the Chevrolet Camaro from General Motors (nyse: GM - news - people ), the Challenger from Dodge and the Imperial from Chrysler.

The Imperial is another stab from Chrysler at bringing sinister looks back into American sedans. The company's current 300 production car is its other effort. While the 300 was intimidating enough to be the ride of choice for Ed Harris' terrifying villain in last year's movie A History of Violence, the Imperial has perhaps too much attitude, with its busy butt, menacing tires and aggressive snout.

[Rasputin]

2006 Pontiac Solstice

DETROIT, MI - Based upon a new General Motors global architecture that will spawn several fun-to-drive small cars around the world in coming years, the gorgeous 2006 Pontiac Solstice roadster is not only intended to become an icon for GM's performance division but also is gunning for the best-selling roadster on the globe, the Mazda Miata.

On paper, the Solstice has the goods to take on today's Miata. An aluminum 2.4-liter DOHC Ecotec four-cylinder engine that makes 170 horsepower and 170 lb-ft. of torque sits under a reverse-hinged clamshell hood, powering the Pontiac Solstice's rear wheels through a five-speed, close-ratio manual transmission. Given the engineers' weight target of 2,860 pounds, this amount of power should result in acceleration that outpaces today's 142-horse Miata.

But, that kind of muscle won't make the Solstice a rocket. Sometime after launch, it seems likely that GM will install a supercharged 2.0-liter Ecotec under the Pontiac Solstice's hood, a motor expected to generate more than 200 horsepower in the Saturn ION Red Line and new 2005 Chevrolet Cobalt SS Supercharged.

Underpinning the 2006 Pontiac Solstice is GM's Kappa architecture, comprised of hydroformed full-length frame rails, a closed stamped steel center tunnel and a four-wheel-independent short- and long-arm suspension system. Large 18-inch wheels with 245/45 tires and four-wheel-disc brakes come standard on the Pontiac Solstice, with ABS an available option.

[nanakhafan]

hehe che mamanie..