2009 Lexus RX, REAL pictures

Earlier we have seen some spyshots of the 2009 Lexus RX. Today the boys at AutoSpies managed to scoop some production model pictures of the 2009 Lexus RX. The images seem to be captured from a Japanese market catalogue. I think the AutoSpies team are the first in the world to publish pictures of the third generation Lexus RX, unmasked.
The white car is the RX450h hybrid while the black car is the standard RX350.

More pictures at autospies.com

The 2009 RX is expected to make its world debut next month in November, at the LA Auto Show, which will run from November 21st to 30th at the LA Convention Center.

Update: 2009 Lexus RX - clearer pictures surfaced

2009 BMW 3-series facelift

According to CBT, the current E90 3-series sedan (and presumably E91 estate, on special order basis) will arrive on the shores of Malaysia by November. More on CBT's impression of the 2009 model year update of the 3er here.

The images below are taken from the 2009 3-series product training manual, prepared by BMW Group University.


Note the "power-dome" like bulge running down the hood. New alloy wheel designs are also available but it is unclear if the same designs will be adopted in our local ASEAN region markets.




Image from OneShift.
Headlamp housings now feature a "ribbed structure" for a more 3D-like effect for the turn indicators. Daytime running lights will also make their debut on the 3er.


Tail-lamps gets LED treatment as well. Image from OneShift.

On the interior, all the door panels have been improved with adjustments to their specific placement and angle for greater ergonomics. On the safety front, anti-whiplash injury active headrest will be fitted as standard items.


i-Driver controller have also been improved, with a more intuitive user-interface. This should address many of the gripes users have against the earlier generation i-Drive units.






Earlier this year, when the new MD of BMW Group Malaysia Geoffrey Briscoe came onboard, (replacing Wolfgang Schlimme who has returned to BMW Group AG), he did made some statements suggesting that more diesel variants of BMW models will be introduced. It is quite likely that 330d will be introduced here as well, now that road tax on privately owned diesel cars have been reduced in both Singapore and Malaysia. As for our local fuel quality, well that's another topic altogether. What I can say is that BMW sells far less cars than Toyota. Also, the usage pattern of a Hilux is very different from a Bimmer 3. I guess it's a case of "manageable warranty claims."


Also, owners of diesel powered SCR (selective catalytic reduction) equipped cars need to keep a close eye on their service schedules. The car would not start if the AdBlue tank (BMW calls it DEF - Diesel Exhaust Fluid) runs out of urine, I mean urea. The service interval for DEF module is around 20,000km.

You really have to be a complete idiot to see this on the screen. The on-board computer flashes a warning at T-1000 miles (1600+km) before the AdBlue tank runs dry.

Related link :
BMW 3-series facelift images.

Navara to re-ignite truck wars in Malaysia?

So, the Navara has finally arrived in Malaysia. Navara's introduction in Malaysia is two years overdue, not to mention that it is due for a mid-life model update soon. In fact, the facelift Navara will be launched in Thailand somewhere in early 2010. Anyway to be fair, the delay has more to do with limitations within the local Nissan distributor Edaran Tan Chong Motor and also due to restructuring exercises of Nissan's global operations. More on the Navara launch in Malaysia at CBT.

Update : Navara was launched on 5-November. Confirmed specs and price can be found at MTM.

ETCM wants you to think of the Navara as the new King of Trucks, and rightly so; its 2.5-litre 4-cylinder Common-rail Diesel intercooled-turbo engine produces 174PS and a mountain pulling 403Nm of torque at only 2000rpm. That's a lot more pulling power than the 3.2-litre Mitsubishi Triton (L200 in EU) 160PS and 343Nm of torque, and also more than the 136PS and 294Nm produced by the Isuzu D-MAX 3.0-litre. But D-Max counters back by producing its peak torque at a far lower 1400rpm, just a tick-over above idle!

However I am not so sure if Nissan banging on the right unique selling points for its marketing strategy. The current leader in pick-up truck sales is Toyota Hilux, which among all the key players in the truck segment, is the oldest of the lot. Despite its age, Hilux commands the largest sales volume. Next up is Mitsubishi's Triton which leads over Isuzu's D-Max by only a whisker, but Isuzu moves its trucks out of the showroom with far less discounting required compared to Mitsubishi. Earlier this year, Mitsubishi introduced its 3.2-litre variant, which at that time was the most powerful truck in the market. Before that Ford Ranger also boasted of having the most powerful engine, with VGT and a 5-speed automatic transmission. None of these models achieved any sort of sales success. The latest 3.2-litre Triton can barely sell more than 30 units a month. The previous Frontier was also promoted as the most powerful truck (at that time), but it still lost considerable grounds to the less powerful Hilux. Isuzu too introduced a 3.0-litre variant but its marketing strategy was more focused on the "voice of customer" experience, on the reliability and durability of the truck. As we can see from the sales figures, the marketing plan worked brilliantly. Isuzu is the No.1 selling truck in the Borneo region of Malaysia.


ETCM's ad campaign for the Navara plays with the tagline "Mother Trucker," supposedly to give a sort of crude connotation. But the "elements" that support the "Mother Trucker" campaign is very much focused on power and speed, as seen with the Navara's microsite which features some corny flash based game, loosely featuring a Ford F-150, Lancer Evo and something which looks like a cross between a TVR and a Zonda. But as mentioned earlier, how important is the element of speed and power to a truck buyer? Sales figures of "powerful trucks" seems to suggest otherwise. Afterall, the market leader Hilux has one of the lowest power outputs.

Meanwhile Isuzu choose to build an image of durability, reliability, and economical operation with class leading fuel economy. It first ran multiple series of "fuel economy run stunts" to establish the link of Isuzu=excellent fuel economy.


Then the next wave of ad campaigns from Isuzu Malaysia feature "voices of customers." To built on Isuzu=fuel economy to Isuzu=fuel economy+reliability. This sort of focused ad campaign is what car marketers ought to follow.


More at Isuzu Malaysia.

The not so scientific hypothesis : Power doesn't really sell in the truck segment. Don't believe too much into the nonsense that bummers with too much free time spew on Internet forums. Having a strong reputation for reliability and durability matters more than having fancy specs and high power outputs. I doubt those Xenon headlamps are going to sway many buyers.


Image from Siam Nissan.

Of course, this does not in any way predict that the Navara will be a sales flop. But looking at the sales performance in Thailand and Australia, the two most important truck (or utes as the Aussies call it) markets in the region, Navara will do fine but it is not going to cause any sleepless nights to Hilux or D-Max salesmen. In Thailand, despite its superior power, Navara trails at a very distant third place (1st Hilux, 2nd D-Max) while in Australia Navara trails at a very distant second place from top selling Hilux. Isuzu's D-Max was only recently introduced in Australia last month, sold by the newly formed Isuzu Ute Pty Ltd. It will replace the Holden Rodeo under a restructuring of GM Australia's operations.


Despite its age, Hilux remains the market's favourite.


D-Max has been incredibly successful given Isuzu's limited marketing resources.


Triton has sells on its "softer, better looking" design and class leading ride comfort.

Decisions on ad campaigns / marketing strategies should be based on proper market research to understand what ticks truck buyers and what don't. But too often, companies have very little idea of what they want and decide by selecting from any of the ad agency proposals that they fancy, and its usually the cheapest one.

Having said that, it is interesting to note that in both Thailand and Australia, the older Frontier continues to be sold alongside the Navara as a workhorse model. In Thailand, the newer model is refered to as Frontier Navara while its older workhorse sibling is sold just as the Navara. In Australia, the newer model is called Navara D40 while its predecessor continues to be sold as the Navara D22. The workhorse D22 / Frontier models are only available in manual transmission.

In Australia, the workhorse Navara D22 is also available with a chassis-cab ute body.

Over in Australia, Mitsubishi has released an interesting "prototype" showcar for the recently concluded Sydney Motor Show - the Team Mitsubishi Ralliart (TMR) Triton.


More images at WCF.
Of course, this is purely an Australian effort and there is no plan for introduction of "Ralliart" variants of any Mitsubishi models in other markets. Still, its an interesting proposition of what can be done by after-market tuners. I am sure some of these items can be evaluated by the local Mitsubishi distributor to be introduced on an optional basis. Most of these accessories are already available in the market anyway. The difference is when a dealer sells them, the cost of purchase can be included as part of the car loan and paid in installments. Something which customers cannot do with the local 4x4 accessory shop. So there is always a lucrative "optional accessories" business for dealers.

Revised Civic Hybrid Malaysia Price

Image from TV Smith Dua Sen
Revised price for Civic Hybrid in Malaysia : Reduced from RM160k to somewhere between RM125k to RM130k.

The exact pricing can only be confirmed when the next shipment arrives in February 2009. This indecisive pricing seems rather odd. Probably there are some internal complications pertaining declarations of the vehicle's open market value and the specific costing details.

In any case, the Civic Hybrid suddenly becomes a rather valuable proposition when you consider the fact that the locally assembled (Pegoh, Melaka plant) Civic 2.0S sells for RM 128.8k. Let's just put it this way, the car is far from being the final word in built quality. The Civic Hybrid comes fully imported from Honda's plant in Suzuka, and it carries with it the CBU from Japan "snob" factor, plus it's a Civic that does not immediately brand you like an annoying, arrogant, shallow wanabe racer-boy.

Related link
Hybrid vehicle tax incentive for Malaysia. Proton EVs soon?
"Leaked" Images of Third Generation Prius

Viper Club to Nissan and Porsche : Shut up and let us show you how is it done.

This whole Porsche vs Nissan argument over their respective pride and joy's lap times around the Nurburgring Nordschleife is getting really childish. Stop it boys. It makes these otherwise respectable men look like 12-year old kids.

In case you lived somewhere in space where microwaves take 18 months to reach you, Nissan launched its GT-R with much fanfare about its 7:29 lap time set by Toshio Suzuki around the original Norhern Loop part of the Nurburgring circuit (a different section not used by F1 cars). Porsche, probably due to some sense of national pride could not standby and let a Japanese manufacturer beat its 911 GT-2's lap time of 7:32:02 set my its resident "Ring Meister" Walter Rohl on its home ground. So Porsche bought one unit of GT-R State side and have it shipped across the Atlantic back to Deutscheland and let one of its test drivers (not Walter Rohl) to have a go at it. Porsche's 911 product manager August Achleitner would later reveal to the press that they could not even get within 25 seconds of Nissan's claimed 7:29 time, implying that the GT-R used for the lap record is not a stock standard car but is running on racing specs semi slick tires. Nissan would later offer to give "free driver training" to Porsche test drivers on how to flog the GT-R around The Ring, and also released another video of its record breaking attempt which clearly shows standard Dunlop SP Sport 600 DSST CTT tires were used.

But seriously does it really matter what time does a car do around The Ring? Because my bet is that you can never replicate that time and regular racers of The Ring will lap you in a VW Polo or even a Toyota Aygo like you are going in reverse. It's not just a matter of skill. The Nordschleife is a 20 plus km circuit with 73 corners, so long and so many turns that remembering which part of the circuit you are in is already a challenge in itself.

A Sabine Schmitz has shown, even a Ford Transit van driven by a Ring Meister is faster than 911s driven by regular guys with oversized egos.


So what is the value of "My GT-R is faster than your Porsche" around the Nurburgring? Cheap bar table talk? And I am even more surprised that Porsche 911's product manager is free to talk to the press. Don't all corporate communications have to go through a PR department? Specifically to avoid this sort of PR blunder? A 911 is such an admirable car and it stands for so much more than a GT-R. You guys have a so much longer and so much more illustrious racing history. You won 24-hours of Le Mans multiple times over for goodness sake. Why do you see a need to engage with a Datsun who went faster than you? You drive a 911 down a stretch of road and a teenage punk in some loud Honda goes faster than you, so do you drop a gear and up your pace? Immature!

I doubt 911 sales will be affected by the GT-R. They should be more concerned about the tanking economy than some PlayStation generation wheels. Beyond lap times, there is a world of difference between a Porsche and a Nissan, in case you have yet to notice.


While those two boys are busy retaliating each other's comments, a Viper ACR (ACR is Dodge's translation for Clubsport / RSR package) has quietly broken all previous production car lap times around The Ring. The time? 7:22.1, a full 7 seconds off the GT-R. And the best thing is that the effort received no support from Chrysler but is instead cobbled together by a group of Viper enthusiasts from Viper Club of America. American cars are often at the receiving end of all handling jokes at the pub. The recent Corvette ZR-1 and Viper ACR's lap times around The Ring should silence all critics. But do I suddenly fancy Vipers and Vettes just because they went faster than a 911 or a GT-R? Of course no. They are still crude Yank contraptions. Lap times are only for argument sake. Nissan needs the record desperately because it needs to make some big noise for its GT-R launch in the all important American market, it is after all the underdog. But what's with Porsche's recent reaction? They is nothing that they need to prove. Watch a video of the ACR's record breaking hot lap below. More on the Viper's record breaking attempt at Motor Trend.



Viper Club of America's record breaking attempt was driven by Tom Coronel, WTCC and 24hrs of Nurburgring


No fancy pits that Nissan record setters enjoyed. These guys prepped their cars on the car park. More images at Motor Trend

VW Tiguan in Malaysia

The Tiguan has finally made its way to Malaysia, at a stratospheric price of RM250k, no thanks to our tax structure which is very prohibitive to cars that are fully imported in CBU form. At the moment (as far as I know at least) all Tiguans are manufactured at VW's Wolfsburg plant in Germany, which by the way is VW's first and oldest plant. But far from being a relic, Wolfsburg plant remains one of the most sophisticated in the world. But Germany also one of the highest labour costs in the world. C'mon VW, built them where you sell them. Come to Thailand. 

In terms of product positioning, the Tiguan's conquest market is supposed to come from Toyota RAV4 and Honda CR-V, maybe a little bit buyers from BMW X3 and the upcoming X1. But Malaysian motor vehicle tax structure skewed the respective vehicles pricing terribly and only the domestically assembled CR-V (Pegoh, Melaka) has a real chance for decent sales volume. Toyota's RAV4 sells in forgettable numbers even in the grey market, as reconditioned Harriers / Lexus RX can be bought for the same price. 

But the highlight I would like to make is it that the I believe Tiguan is the first vehicle officially sold in Malaysia with a self-park feature.  All ASEAN market specs Lexus LS460L does not come optioned with the Park-Assist. Watch the Tiguan's ParkAssist in action in the video below. 


Also, globally Tiguans are available in two trims - Sport & Style and Track & Field, differentiable from their front bumpers. Malaysia will only be getting the Track & Field version. VW's brochure claims a 28 degrees approach angle for the Track & Field models (vs 18 degrees for Sport & Style). No mention about departure angles though. So what's the point if I can attack a hill but cannot come down without taking out rear bumper plastic mouldings? Anyway for comparison sake, serious off-roaders like the Isuzu D-Max has a 34 degree approach angle and a 23 degree departure angle.
Sport & Style
Track & Field
Images from GermanCarZone.

Neighbouring Singapore market gets the Sport & Style version though, but ParkAssist is a SGD 11k option for them.

It will be some time before local motoring journos can publish test drives / impressions on the car. The closest regional review on the Tiguan can be found from OneShift.com

I never really fancied the Tiguan's looks since its global launch in 2007, but I still liked the car anyway. In fact, there is not a single VW model that I can say am impressed with the way it looks (that honour goes to Mazda 3 and 6), but I still liked most VW models because of their superb interior, and a general sense of high quality in its fit and finish. Of course, having a German badge helps too. 


Flat folding seats offer great utility but Honda CR-V's twin tier trunk is a far more useable item on an everyday basis. Hope that will be included in the next model update.


I personally prefer upward opening tailgates compared to sideway opening ones. They are easier to open when your hands are full and are particularly useful in the rain.

Comparison between Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and VW Tiguan (US specs)  


Related link:
VW Robust Pick-up to spawn Namib SUV

"Leaked" Images of Third Generation Prius

Third generation Prius will be unveiled at the January 2009 at the Detroit Motor Show.

Earlier we have already seen a first sneak peek of the Prius. It is now confirmed that the image was released by TMS (Toyota Motor Sales, USA) marketing boys to PriusChat forums.


A second teaser image has been released as earlier this week, it's nothing much and your guess is as good as mine as to does this button do?

Good thing that no further teaser is required, now that another PriusChat user posted some supposedly "leaked" images of the third generation Prius. Unlike the first two teaser images, these did not originate from Toyota, not officially at least. But do I smell some one-upmanship after Honda revealed its uber-cool Insight 2?

Don't you think it's a bit Scion TC-ish at the front?


I believe the "SOS" function will only be available at USA / Europe / Japan where the necessary infrastructure to support vehicle telematics services are available.


More higher res images are available at PriusChat.

Update : These images have been confirmed by Toyota to be the real thing.

We thought we’d take a moment to confirm that the car shown in these
unauthorized photos – at least the ones we’ve seen so far - is indeed the new
Prius.
Sorry, we’re not able to provide details. Those will be forthcoming
when the car is formally introduced at the North American International Auto
Show in Detroit in January.
What we can tell you, however, is this: This new
Prius will retain all of the virtues of the model that precedes it. It’s about
the same size as its forebear, but with more interior room and better fuel
economy. But you expected nothing less, right?
Tune in January 11-13 for more
information.
- Jon F. Thompson, Editor, Open Road

Earlier, this blog have mentioned that the Prius nameplate will be a sub-brand within the Toyota group. But now with more details coming in, it seems that this will only happen in USA / North American markets. The idea of a Prius branded range of models is floated by Toyota's American subsidiary Toyota Motor Sales. The idea is still currently being considered by the principal company TMC. At least a 3-model line-up is being proposed - the standard "Prius-Prius" you see here, a smaller than the "standard" Prius model (how much difference / better can it be from the iQ?), and another larger higher performance "Prius on steroids" that is speculated to wear a crossover type body. But I am also hearing a different story from other news sources saying that the crossover hybrid will be an exclusive Lexus only model, sitting below the next generation RX (450h), which will also be unveiled by 2009. All these doubts should clear up by January 2009 as the Lexus brand specific crossover hybrid will be launched together with the 3rd generation Prius.

More about HSD here.

There is a logic behind TMS' initiative. Thus far Prius have overshadowed all of Toyota's other hybrid models, which is not really a bad thing. But when Toyota embarked on its hybrid model expansion plan around the world, the idea was to unify all Toyota hybrid models under the Hybrid Synergy Drive umbrella (Lexus has Lexus Hybrid Drive). All its current marketing plans are structured and budgeted along that line. But despite Toyota's best efforts to push the HSD brand, consumers have not associate hybrids with HSD the way Toyota wants it. Instead they associated it with Prius. Sales of Toyota's other hybrid models are also nowhere near as good as the Prius, proving a long held believe that people buy hybrids for image reasons as much as it is for fuel economy. Having a distinctive bodystyle is crucial, which is also why Honda's Civic Hybrid never really caught on.

Image from GoAuto.
This is also a reason why I have some nagging doubts as to how well will the Camry Hybrid will catch on in Australia and Thailand without any serious discounting or incentives, either from the government or Toyota dealers. Toyota went ahead after being aggressively wooed by the Thai and Australian government, but will consumers catch on? It is easy for Toyota to roll back on its plan as all of the hybrid components are shipped in from Japan, thus there is minimal local investments and tooling redesigns to commit to. Excess allocation can be easily diverted to other markets. But its not so easy for governments to explain the results of their policies.

But back to the HSD plan, promoting the Prius nameplate as a sub-brand is just a reaction to consumer habits, a wise decision I must say. The Prius will be built in Japan's Tsutsumi plant, China's Changchun plant and by 2010 Mississippi plant in USA. Prius will face-off with Honda's recently unveiled sub-zero cool Insight 2 and Chevy's highly anticipated "Prius-killer" Volt. Honda promises the Insight 2 to be among the most affordable hybrid in the market, and it will form the core of a 3-model assault which will also include the Jazz hybrid and CR-Z. GM unveiled the Volt at its 100th anniversary celebration and is banking on the Volt to ensure GM's survival over the next decade. The Volt has been confirmed by GM to go on sale in Europe under the Opel badge and also in Australia under the Holden badge.

Unconfirmed rumours is hinting that the Prius will be making its way to Malaysia by 2009, possibly during the 2009 KL International Motor Show.
Related link :
Honda Insight 2

Revised Price for Civic Hybrid in Malaysia

Image from TV Smith Dua Sen

According to CBT, Honda Malaysia will revise pricing of its Civic Hybrid by next week. Expected to be in the range of RM120k to RM130k. More info at CBT.
Updated : Civic Hybrid's New Price announced.

Related link
Hybrid vehicle tax incentive for Malaysia. Proton EVs soon?

Meet the Beckers. Audi's viral video.

A new video "Meet the Beckers" have been making rounds on Youtube. Watch it below, it's really hilarious. The video pokes fun of the stereotypical drivers of all the big name automotive luxury marques.


The part on the BMW M3 convertible driver is spot on. A typical poseur alpha-male BMW driver, bullying Prius drivers, playboy with dumb blonde girlfriends. The Merc - clueless in operating the electronic functions of the vehicle and inconsiderate. Lexus - geeky, controlling wife and dysfunctional kids. While Audi are the cars that nice people drive - mature, smart, family guy material. Of course these are merely stereotypes, celebrated in the spirit of humour. I am sure there are some nice BMW drivers and Lexus owners with normal family out there.

No further information can be found on the origin of this viral video but you can be sure that its the work of Audi's marketing boys. A brilliant one too.


The gentlemen's car. Image from Fourtitude

Personally, I am very fond of the cars from Ingolstadt. I like it that they are more classy and subtle, less "in your face" designs. Many have criticiced Audis for having a less "direct steering feel" and are nose-heavy, and that they are front-wheel drivers and thus cannot offer the sort of driving pleasure BMWs can. In response to that, I don't understand what is really the big deal about this FWD vs RWD talk. 90% of the time these cars will be driven on road conditions and speeds that do not bring out much differences in the handling traits of these two drivetrain configurations. Plus, given that the typical BMW poseur is helpless in changing the car's headlamp bulbs and is unable to differentiate a prop-shaft and a drive-shaft, I am very doubtful that it really does make any difference in having them to drive a FWD or a RWD vehicle. It's the mantra of marketing - tell people something often enough and they will believe it to be true.

As for me, 99% of my experience with any particular car is spent inside it. Which is why Audi's win me over with their excellent interior designs and ergonomics. Among all the big German names, Audis are said to have the best interior. And I don't drive flat out 10/10 all the time, a well sorted out chassis with good ride comfort will do just fine thank you.

Nice people are a rare commodity these days, and cars for nice people are even rarer. Looking at the automotive design trends, it is clear that we are heading towards a direction with more designs that shout for your attention - LOOK AT ME I AM THE NEW RICH! The other car for nice people - Volvo is already in dire financial situation. People just don't appreciate good subtle designs nowadays. I wonder how long can Audi continue to build cars for "nice people."

On a side note, early models Audis are famous for being over-engineered (probably that's they never really made much money until VW came in). I can't find any pictures to better elaborate this, but if you look at the previous generation B7 A4s, the tailgate is lifted by struts - which frees up more space in the boot, not to mention looks more sophisticated. But the newer B8 A4s only come with cheap looking plastic covered "goose-neck" hinges.


B7 A4 trunk with gas struts. Compare this to a current generation B8 A4 and you will get what I mean. I guess it is only inevitable that the free reign of cost-oblivious engineers in Audi will come to an end, sooner or later.