Corolla Altis 2.0 launched in Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines

Toyota Motors Philippines, Toyota Motor Thailand and P.T. Toyota Astra Motor of Indonesia have all released a new 2.0-litre variant for the Corolla Altis.

The new 2.0-litre Corolla Altis spots a new "sporty" mesh grille, new 2.0-litre Dual VVT-i engine (previously only available in ASEAN markets in the Camry 3.5), paddle shifters, Smart Entry with push-start ignition button, rain sensing intermittent wipers and HID headlamps.

In Indonesia, the new Altis 2.0V replaces the Altis 1.8V while in Philippines, all 1.8-litre variants of the Altis have been discontinued. Only the 1.6-litre variants remain. However in Thailand, all three engine options are still available, with the 1.6-litre mainly targetted at fleet taxi market.

The Altis 2.0 is powered by the 3ZR-FE engine that also powers the Voxy and Noah in Japan. All ASEAN market Corolla Altis are manufactured in Toyota Motor Thailand's Gateway plant in Chachoengsao province, Thailand. White is also said to be a new colour option but its availability at local markets depends on the local distributor. Philippines took the new Super White II colour option while Indonesia did not.

Within the major ASEAN markets, Singapore and Malaysia have yet to launch the 2.0 Altis but they are expected to do so between now and early 2010. If you wondering if the coming 2009 facelift Camry 2.0 and 2.4 will feature Dual VVT-i, the short answer is no, judging from the Camry facelift that was launched in China early this year. It is very uncommon for Japanese car makers to replace one engine with another similarly sized unit midway in the vehicle's model life cycle. This is done not just because of production cost concerns but also to simplify after-sales support processes and parts stocking.

China's EV and Hybrid Car Market is Exaggerated

According to some analysts,

Frost & Sullivan, a global market research firm, believes the pace of growth for China’s hybrid and electric car market has been exaggerated. “While we believe hybrids have a good future, the sales in China's future market have been overhyped,” wrote Tristin Lin, senior consultant of automation & transportation, Frost & Sullivan China, in an email to HybridCars.com. “Hybrid development in China will not change over one night considering the sales were only 2,100 units in total [last year]. It takes time.”

According to Lin, hybrid sales in China will be below 100,000 units in 2015, and electric car sales will remain below 1 percent of the Chinese market as late as 2020.

I wonder how does Frost & Sullivan come out with these predictions. We need to remember that conventional analysis tools and methods don't work very well for a young developing market, especially one that is heavily influenced by government policies and regulations, as there are just too many variables that cannot be quantified.

The Chinese car market is heavily regulated and taxed. Fuel prices are closely regulated to balance interest of Chinese national oil producers while at the same time not allowing high energy prices to hamper economic growth. It seems that Frost & Sullivan have been applying the conventional tools of analysis that work well in a mature Western economy / developed car market.

The Chinese economy, though it embraces certain capitalist market principles, is still largely a centrally planned one. It is difficult to do any detail predictions on the Chinese car market, and the government is not particularly transparent about its future plans with foreign companies. Giant Toyota Motor Co. found this the hard way when overnight, the Chinese government decided to kill two birds with one stone by launching its economic stimulus package to prop up domestic consumption as well as to remove many polluting clunky old cars that do not meet current exhaust emission standards. The Chinese central government halved sales taxes on sub 1.6-litre vehicles, a segment which the mighty Toyota, famed for its meticulous planning, surprisingly don't even have a single competitive product in that segment. Other Chinese car market powerhouse brands like General Motors (yes GM, which is doing very well in China) and Volkswagen were ideally positioned with the right small car models and zoomed pass the Big-T to register record own breaking sales.

The Chinese government imports 3/5 of its oil, and the Chinese are determined not to be held ransom by Saudi oil sheikhs the same way Americans are. The increasing number of international level events held in Chinese cities is also forcing local city councils to clean up their skies - as shown during the Beijing Olympics. Next year, Shanghai will play host to the 2010 World Expo.

City councils of Beijing and Shanghai are mulling over a new decree to ban polluting old vehicles from entering city centers. From November 2009, all new combustion engine vehicles will be required to meet China IV emission standard. Beijing have already started implementing the first phase of such plan, with cars not carrying the “Environmentally Friendly” label issued by local city authorities will not be allowed into the 6th Main Ring Road - an over 160km long highway network surrounding Beijing city center. Since January 2009, cars that are not meeting an equivalent Euro 4 emission standard were banned from entering Beijing city center.

China also has vast reserve of coal - it is not the most environmentally friendly energy source but there are various means to reduce their impact, and coal certainly meets the objective of Chinese government's intention to reduce their reliance on imported oil. The beauty of electricity is that it can be generated from so many different primary energy sources - solar, wind, geothermal, coal, oil, etc etc. EVs are ideal "mobile energy storage" that could reduce China's dependence on foreign oil - many of which are imported from politically volatile regimes and China does not want to continue to be seen as supporting volatile military regimes if it wants to be taken seriously as a world superpower. The sea routes used by Chinese oil tankers to import crude oil are patrolled by US or NATO Navy forces. Strategically, this does not bode well for China in the long term. It is part of the Asian psyche to be self sufficient, or as the Japanese call it - "defend your (own) castle."

While these alone do not necessarily increase demand for hybrids or EVs, they are a strong indication of the governments long term intentions. One needs to piece the individual facts and numbers together to form a story.


The famous Project Better Place, via Renault-Nissan Motor Co has already been contracted to come out with a viable plan for EVs in China, starting with the first roll-out in Wuhan by 2011. 13 Chinese cities are said to be part of a mega plan to promote clean vehicles.

Let's not forget that Chinese battery maker and car producer BYD Group is the world's largest producer of lithium-ion cell batteries, with world's richest man Warren Buffett holding a 10% stake in the company. Volkswagen have also recently signed up BYD as its latest hybrid and EV battery partner.

It can be arguable that China's EV and hybrid car market might not be as big as initially predicted. But it is definitely not over-hyped. The key to estimating China's market potential for EV and hybrids does not lie in predicting future consumer demands, but China government's energy and foreign policies. Toyota predicted that China's appetite is for large sedans and SUVs, but the market shifted almost overnight following a policy change with a major preference for sub 1.6-litre small cars.

Related link :
China to be world's largest car market?
The great powertrain debate - diesel vs hybrid

Interview with Audi Design Chief

Detroit News managed to get hold of Audi's chief of design Stefan Sielaff for an interview. Below is some excerpts from the interview.

Q . Most car designers benchmark Audi. Whom do you benchmark?

A . We look at what the other high-end manufacturers are doing: Aston Martin, Bentley. Within the VW group, I love Bentley and Lamborghini.

Outside the VW group, I have to say Aston Martin. They are doing very emotional products, with good design quality.

Land Rover is also a brand I like. I like the authenticity and clean design language.

If you look at BMW and Mercedes, they're doing baroque cars and baroque interiors, very heavy and overdecorated. I don't want a heavy or bulky interior.

For more of the interview, go here.

Stefan Sielaff was a former interior designer at Mercedes-Benz before jumping over to the Ingolstadt camp in 2006, replacing previous Audi design superstar Walter de'Silva, who has since been promoted to Head of Design for the entire Volkswagen Group.


An interesting excerpt from an interview with Walter de'Silvia by EuropeanCarWeb :
ec: What was your motivation behind the recreation of Audi's corporate face?

Wd'S: I believe it is important to lead with character and emotion, in this case a bold and easily recognizable face. Most iconic cars have at least one clearly identifiable feature. For the Porsche 911 it's not necessarily the front, but its unmistakable silhouette. It is something you can identify at a mere glance. You don't mistake the distinctive grille of a BMW or Alfa Romeo for any other car, and now it's the same for Audi. The single-frame grille is an iconic style element. It provides the personality for the car and for the brand.

ec: We're told that the idea of the single-frame grille came to you while on vacation.

Wd'S:: Yes, I was on holiday and I started drawing. I made a few sketches incorporating the grille, inspired by the original Auto Union cars, and I knew in an instant that this would be the new face of Audi. Not everyone agreed we should make such a drastic change. Comments from the press were not so positive, but now everything is so and Audi now has a very visual and identifiable face. It too will continue to change and evolve.

But what caught my attention the most is the last question :
ec: If you could choose any car to design or redesign, which one would it be?
Wd'S: The Golf. Can you imagine a more important car? The success of the Golf in the past 25 years, the five generations of platform design. It is truly an icon like the Beetle or TT, but even more important in terms of the history and the impact its has made and the millions it has sold.
This will be a challenge, the biggest and most important of my career. And you ask me how I stay motivated?

The current Mk6 Golf is very similar to the previous Mk5 Golf because the main objective for Volkswagen is to rectify the Mk 5's biggest problem - that it costs too much to build. Much of the changes is regarding parts assembly and manufacturing processes of the vehicle. Underneath the Mk 6 skin, many of car's key components were carried over from the previous generation Golf, which is not exactly a bad thing because barring the Ford Focus, the Mk5 Golf is one of the best all rounded cars in recent time.

Keep your fingers crossed, the best Golf is yet to come, if Walter de'Silva manage to find his way around cost conscious VW management (understandable given the current climate).

Camry Hybrid as Nascar Pace and Safety Car

Toyota Motor Sales USA have been working hard to portray themselves to be just as American as domestic Big 3. Part of the reason is to deflect rising nationalistic sentiments against the Japanese automotive superpower as American Big 3 automakers close their plants and UAW workers are getting their pink slips.

Another reason is that the Mid and South West region of USA are populated the stereotypical Bible thumping, country music loving, chops his own firewood, Nascar loving, white bread redneck guy who will drive nothing other than a full size Ford or GM pickup. They are not known to be very receptive of Asian imports. They hate Hondas and Toyotas, especially hybrids. Of course, the above are typical stereotypes and may not apply to the younger generation who may not share the same anti-Japanese sentiments of the WW2 veteran fathers and grandfathers.

The region have been the hardest nut to crack for Toyota. Liberal states like California have the highest proportion of foreign import brands while more conservative areas like Texas or Kansas are US domestic brand strong holds.

Toyota tried to break into this region by participating two of region's favourite past times - Nascar racing and fly fishing. Toyota fielded the Tundra in Nascar Truck series and later the Nascar Nationwide Series and Nascar Sprint Cup with the Camry sedan. It also sponsored various fly fishing contests.

The move is not without controversy. Many Nascar fans were not happy of the Japanese company's domination in Nascar, which is perceived to be a deeply American identity. Last year, when racer Kyle Busch's No. 18 Toyota Camry won the Nascar Sprint Cup at Chicagoland Speedway, fans threw beer cans and booed at him.

It is left to be seen if the latest move by Toyota to replace a traditional Ford or GM model as Nascar's official pace and safety car will win them any new fans.

The Camry Hybrid will be used in the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina.

The Camry Hybrid will became the first hybrid used as a pace car for the entire duration of a Cup event. It is not the first hybrid to grace a Nascar event though as a Ford Fusion Hybrid led rolling start in the 2008 season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway before yielding to a regular Ford Fusion Sport who then took over.

The Nascar Camry Hybrid will maintain standard engine, transmission and suspension components.

Related link
The Infallible Toyota and Lumbering GM? Think again
Recall on China Market Toyota Camry - Defective Brakes

Toyota Prius Superman and Honda Insight Peanuts TV Commercial (Japan)

Toyota has started rolling out TV commercials for the Prius in Japan, starring Superman himself.



Yes it looks cheesy but I guess it works well for the Japanese...I don't know. Style is subjective, I don't go around town with a hairdo out of a Japanese manga / anime character. Just for comparison, below is the Japanese TV commercial for Honda Insight, starring Peanuts.

As of April 2009, the Insight dethroned Honda's own Fit (Jazz) hatchback as Japan's best selling car. It is also Japan's first hybrid car to be given that honour. But keep in mind that neither the Japan Auto Manufacturers Association (JAMA) nor Japan Auto Dealer's Association (JADA) combine sales of kei cars in their total sales figures. Kei car registrations are tracked by Japan Mini Vehicles Association. It's one of those little quirkiness in the Japanese car industry. Kei cars are the largest car segment in Japan, and the best selling kei car for many years running is Suzuki's Wagon-R, followed closely by Daihatsu Move (or was it the cute boxy Tanto?). In other words, I reckon the "actual" best selling car in Japan is still Suzuki Wagon-R, though it is difficult to obtain the latest registration figures of kei cars.

Below are some of the North American market Insight and Prius TV commercials. I guess these are more suitable to our taste.


By the way, it is not fair to compare both the Prius and Insight side by side. Generally they seem to attract the same crowd but they are actually two very different products. The Insight is priced significantly lower, and is positioned as an affordable hybrid. The Prius meanwhile has more fancy toys, is a larger more comforable car with higher performance, as well as a higher price tag.

Honda Civic Full Model Change (2011 Next Generation)

UPDATE : Spyshots of the next generation 2011 Civic in this updated post.


The scan above is from Japanese publication Mag-X, a highly respected publication within the JDM crowd. Scans of the June issue, containing scoop news of the full model change 2011 Civic were widely circulated on Internet after TOV posted it. This is the highest resolution I could find.

TOV boys have posted some translation, you can read them here. But I am quite doubtful of relevance to those of us residing outside Japan. Most bits of the scoop are not the same as my understanding, but I could be wrong.

What I understand is that Honda will finally re-align the Civic to match the price and specification levels of the JDM Corolla Axio. Civic have never sold well against the Corolla in Honda's own domestic Japan market, though Honda's Insight and Fit (Jazz) are the two best selling non-kei cars in Japan. This would imply that Honda intends to reduce the Civic's body size to qualify for a lower vehicle body size tax. In Japan, cars are taxed based on, among a host of other factors, according to their body size and engine capacity. Generally, vehicles in Japan are split into 3 vehicle size classes :
1. Kei jidosha (light car)
Maximum dimensions : 3.4 m long, 1.48 m wide, 2 m high
Maximum engine capacity : 660 cc.

Yellow number plates
Exception from parking space purchase contract (a form of tax on new vehicle registration) and discount on local municipal taxes and motor insurance.

2. Small size vehicles
Maximum dimensions : 4.7 m long, 1.7 m wide, 2 m high
Maximum engine capacity : 2,000 cc.

Number plates with 5 prefix (top of the plate) for cars, number 4 prefix for vans, trucks and estates.

Sponsor

3. Normal size vehicles
Dimensions : Larger than "small size vehicles"
Engine capacity : Larger than "small size vehicles"
Number plates with 3 prefix (1 or 2 for commercial buses and trucks)

In Japan, space is a premium. You even need to pay for a parking space "purchase contract" before you can register a new car in Japan. That is why micro kei cars are a rage in Japan.

The current JDM Corolla Axio measures at 1695mm wide while the JDM Civic (same as ASEAN market Civic) measures at 1755mm, exceeding the Body Size 5 bracket. The largers overseas market Corolla (a.k.a Altis) measures at 1760mm wide.

The US Domestic Model Civic have a slightly different styling and measurements with significant engineering changes under the skin in order to comply to US crash safety regulations (i.e. 5mph bumpers, amber turn signal lenses, larger rear view mirrors, use of airbags without seatbelts - which by the way is a really stupid move to me).
North America Civic
ASEAN Civic
Civic Euro

Honda intends by the next Full Model Change (Japanese OEM speak for next generation models), to reduce the Civic's width to below 1.7m to qualify for Body Size Group 5 tax bracket. Also, the Corolla Axio sedan features a 1.5-litre engine and a 1.8-litre engine option, allowing it to capture a wide spectrum of largest volume segment. While the JDM Civic offers only larger 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre engine options, same the engine line-up offered in ASEAN grouping markets. Both the 1.5-litre Toyota Vios and Honda City sedans are also sold in Japan as the Belta and Fit Aria respectively, but sales are very limited as small sedans are not very popular there (small hatchbacks are prefered). The Fit Aria is exported from Honda's Thailand plant in Ayutthaya.

JDM Corolla Axio

Overseas Corolla (Corolla Altis in ASEAN, Taiwan and India). Similar to USDM Corolla.

Outside of Japan, the Civic will have to compete with the larger Corolla (Altis) sold in almost every Corolla overseas market outside Japan. This creates a conflicting set of demands between Japan's domestic market requirements and that of their export markets. Thus, we are likely to see the Civic badge to spawn into two different models in the same way Corolla and Camry has.

At the moment, Honda sells an entirely different Civic (hatchback body) in Europe, manufactured in Swindon, UK to compete in the predominantly hatchback body type small car market in Europe. The Civic Euro lacks the necessary sales volume to justify further investment into this EU region specific model. It is hardly a sales leader in EU, where Honda is still struggling to crack the VW-Ford-Opel dominance.

Sponsor

This hatchback Civic could be "rationalized" with the JDM Civic into a single smaller model. While US and Asian markets will continue to get a sedan Civic. Thus, I quite doubtful the FMC 2011 Civic will be significantly different from the current model as the current formula and design concept is working well despite it being halfway into its model lifecycle. As product there is little wrong to it. The reason Civic is still playing catchup with Corolla sales in some countries, especially in large markets like Australia and Thailand has less to do with the product and more with the management, dealers, sales and marketing arm of Honda's local operations.

The hybrid variant of the Civic is said to get bespoke body / design. One of the main reason why the current Civic Hybrid has to play second fiddle to the Prius, despite being a cheaper and similarly capable car is because the Civic Hybrid's exterior design is too similar to a standard Civic. People who buy hybrids like to get an ego-boost by setting themselves apart from other regular Civic brethrens. It is said to receive a 1.5-litre petrol engine (compared to the current 1.3-litre) and will be a proper challenger to the Prius. The newly launched Insight should not be compared to the third generation Prius generation because they are really two different animals. The Insight is priced significantly lower and is intended to be an affordable hybrid. The Prius, meanwhile has more fancy toys including a roof-mounted solar panel powered air-conditioning and is a larger, more comfortable car for long distance drives.

Accord Euro

ASEAN Accord (including China, Taiwan, Middle East). Mostly similar to North American market Accords except the addition of mandatory amber turn signal lenses.

Australia is a peculiar market for Honda - it sells both versions of the European Civic and Accord alongside with the cheaper ASEAN Civic and Accords. Both ASEAN Honda models are sourced from Thailand while the Civic Euro is imported into Australia from UK (Swindon plant) and the Accord Euro despite its name is made in Japan.

The Civic Euro is not sold in Japan but the ASEAN Accord is sold there as the Inspire, alongside the smaller Accord (Euro).

Related link : Spyshots - 2011 Honda Civic 9th Generation model

The great powertrain debate - diesel vs hybrid.

A certain fat British bloke TV personality is famous for rubbishing environmental credentials of hybrids, throwing his support behind the new generation of clean diesels which gets better mileage than the pious Prius. Twenty year olds who know no better watching Internet pirated copies of his TV series - believe this to be the gospel of universal truth. Honda and Toyota fanboys start flame wars on Internet forums, pointing out that diesels continue to burn fuel, which is a diminishing resource and is this not a very smart solution and it produces higher NOx and carcinogenic particulate matter. Diesel proponents counter back by saying that hybrids are no better than conventional cars when one considers the battery production and disposal issues.


Expect debates to heat up again with the introduction of Honda's second generation Insight and Toyota's third generation Prius. The third generation Prius will be introduced in Malaysia and Thailand for the first time later this year. The Insight however will have to wait. Honda's Suzuka plant (the only production sight for Insight) is already overstretched to churn out as many Insights as it can to meet strong demand in Japan (Insight is now Japan's best selling non-kei car) and Europe and even its U.S. launch has to be delayed.

Below is autoindustrie blog's thoughts on the issues under contention :

1. Hybrids are not so green when one takes into account the batteries.
Compared to what? How can one take into account the entire supply and production chain of a hybrid vehicle's energy source but selectively ignore the same for a conventional diesel or petrol powered car? Diesel proponents argue that hybrid cars are more harmful to the environment because of battery production and mining of precious metals but choose to ignore to environmental cost that are associated with oil exploration, drilling, refinement, storage and transportation. Batteries are made to be recyclable, with most of the precious metals inside them can be recovered. Fossil fuel and its byproducts however cannot be recycled.

The hidden human cost of oil extraction.

Old Texaco oil barrels left on the side of the Aguarico River, near Lago Agrio, Ecuador.

An unlined waste pit filled with crude oil left by Texaco drilling operations years earlier lies in a forest clearing near the town of Sacha, Ecuador.

Maria Bravo stands by an open waste pit and flares in an area where she lives in the Guanta oil field.

For more images, go to Crude Reflections and also watch the short documentary here.

2. Hummer H3 SUV has a lower life-cycle energy cost than a Toyota Prius hybrid.
This famously circulated report was produced by researcher Art Spinella, President of Oregon-based CNW Marketing. Spinella is formerly from J.D. Power. The report has since been widely discredited for lacking in peer-review, inconsistent assumption and selective use of data. Dr. Peter H. Gleick of Pacific Institute has published a paper, re-analysing CNW's paper here. The results of the re-analysis is as expected; both “lifetime energy” and “energy per mile” for the Prius are far lower than for the Hummer.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, Carl Sagan (late), astronomer.

3. Diesels are more economical and provide higher mileage than hybrids.
That is true. But one should also take into consideration that price of diesel has been consistently higher than petrol for a good part of this decade. This is of course referring to deregulated markets where no price controls are leveled on diesel or petrol as they are locally. The increasing margin between prices of diesel and petrol has diminished much of the higher fuel economy advantage provided by diesels.

In Europe, close to 55% of all new cars sold are diesels. 30% of all new cars sold in the burgeoning India are diesels. Diesel is also the primary fuel for all farming and industrial equipments. Diesel prices will also spike during winter season as heating equipments rely on diesels. However the world's diesel refining capacity have yet to keep up with this rapid growth of diesel consumption, leading to a shortage of supply. It is for this reason that diesel prices are on the uptrend and while prices have dropped significantly due to the current economic recession, do expect things to pick up again when the economy recovers and consumption increases in tandem. Refinery capacity cannot be added quickly in the short term and fuel stations need significant renovation to accommodate more / larger diesel underground storage tanks (which differs from petrol storage tanks).

To meet increasingly tough EU IV and V and US BIN emission regulation, car makers rely on ultra low sulphur diesels to keep their new generation clean diesel engines running. Of course this would also imply that more sophisticated refining methods will have to be adopted, further driving prices up.

Diesel engines also cost more to produce and thus diesel model variants carry a higher price tag against their petrol powered counterparts, further extending the period / distance required to recoup any savings. Diesel engines run on the principle of compression ignition (compared to spark ignition in petrol engines). Thus, diesel engine blocks need to be made stronger to withstand the higher pressures. The need to generate high power at low engine speeds also means that stroke length of diesel engines are longer. Crankshafts, connecting rods, etc etc. have to be "overbuilt" more than a conventional petrol engine. The increase in material cost is what makes diesel engines to cost more.

The needs to utilise exhaust gas treatment like Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) with Diesel Exhaust Fluid (DEF) to placate increasingly tough exhaust emission regulations will further increase cost of diesel vehicles.

In the short term, diesels might be more economical, but this might not be true for very long.

4. What about diesel-hybrids?



The idea improving an already very economical diesel engine with a hybrid setup is attractive. However we need to remember that diesel engines cost more to produce. Hybrid powertrains also carry a significant price premium over their conventional petrol powered counterparts. To combine two high cost components together makes such a proposition impractical to begin with. Moreover, diesel engines suffer from higher NVH. One of the key challenges in designing hybrid vehicles is to maintain a smooth transition between petrol engine power and battery power. The higher NVH characteristic of diesel engines makes this task a lot harder, requiring even further high cost engineering solutions. Of course, companies like PSA Peugeot-Citroen might disagree and proceed with development of their Prologue and Hypnos concept.

So are hybrids the solution then? Not quite so. The "holy-grail" of electric vehicles (referred from here onwards as EVs) and hybrid vehicles (referred from here onwards as HVs) are higher energy density batteries - at the moment this usually refers to variations of Lithium based batteries. Fancy batteries used in EVs and HVs of the future require many rare earth metals like lithium, magnesium, nickel and cobalt. At the moment the world's largest reserve of magnesium is in China. The world's largest reserve of lithium is in Bolivia. It is left to be seen if these regimes are any better than the Arabs who control OPEC.

I think by now you can picture in your head the sort of problem we will be running into very soon with EVs and HVs. The expected resource supply concern is further exaggerated by increasing demand for mobile electronic appliances - PDAs, MP3 players, notebooks, cellphones, etc etc. Even photo-voltic solar panels are joining the long list of industries competing for the world's rare earch metal resources.


50% of the world's lithium supply lies under the Salar de Uyuni salt lake in Bolivia. Both Toyota and Mitsubishi have approached the Bolivian government with a deal in securing lithium supplies, only to be sent away by Bolivian President Evo Morales.

"All they wanted to do was carry away the raw lithium carbonate. That's not what we're after."said Luis Alberto Echazu, the country's minister of mining and metallurgy in an interview with Time magazine

While the Western media might paint Morales as a Third world socialist dictator, I believe that Morales is acting in the interest of his people. NAFTA (North American Free Trade) agreement left Mexicans poorer and exploited by American seeking to escape tough environmental and labour laws back in US. Resource rich Africa was plundered by the West, leaving behind a series of irreversible political and social rift that continues to haunt the Dark Continent until today. Ancient South America too was plundered by the marauding Spanish. There is no reason to believe that the people of Bolivia will benefit from the menial and dangerous jobs at lithium mines, not to mention the environmental degradation to its salt flats if any mining activity is to be carried out.

Neither EVs nor HVs are the long term solution to our transportation woes. I may be a car nut but I also understand that demand for cars will continue to rise and that driving pleasure is inversely proportional to vehicle density on our roads. We can't have it both ways. The only way to move forward is to redesign society to adopt integrated public transportation. Private transportation and personal cars should be left aside, used occasionally for pleasurable drives. As Jay Leno once put it, it's just like the difference between the way people treated horses in previous centuries and today. Today, horses are used solely for recreation, no longer for dirty transportation use like they used to centuries ago. If petrolheads want to continue to enjoy their cars this is the only way to move forward.

At this point, some will want to argue about how real is global warming / climate change etc etc. I will not go into that. Sometimes I am amazed by the general stupidity of some people. There are people who can search and point to scientific research, and then proceed to use these as ammo along with their half baked knowledge in science, when the very obvious point is that even school kids know that vehicular emissions poison our air and it's bad for us. Whether is climate change real or not is beside the point. Earth has been around for 4 billion years and has gone through many periods of warming and cooling. No matter how polluted earth becomes, it will regenerate itself over time, long after we have gone. Earth does not need our rescue. We are the ones who need to be rescued from ourselves. So it is pointless to argue if global warming is man-made or not. We need to change our ways for our own survival, not earth's. I want my kid to see the same blue skies and breathe the same clean air I enjoyed when I was young.

The car industry have a collective responsibility to mend their ways. EVs, HVs, clean diesels, etc etc are not addressing the root of the problem - that our model of private motorized transportation is not sustainable. Companies like Toyota (Hino), Daimler (Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles) and VW (Scania) have significant commercial trucks and buses operations and will be able adapt to such a change. But many others will falter and thus lobby hard against their government from such a move.

The World's Smallest Car?

This could very well be the world's smallest car. And it's fully road legal (in the UK), powered by a 150cc quad bike engine. Watch the video below.

More pictures at UK tabloid newspaper The Sun, yes the one with the infamous page 3 girls.

The car is built by British eccentric motorhead genius Perry Watkins. His name might sound familiar, because he is record holder for the world's lowest car - the Flatmobile, which looks like a some giant had flatten Batman's batmobile.

Billboard War - Audi vs BMW

This is confirmed to be real. It's an actual "billboard war" brewing in Santa Monica, California.

Another look.


Seems that Audi first put up the provocative ad as part of its nationwide ad campaign for the A4. Juggernaut Advertising, a creative agency hired by a BMW dealer (Santa Monica BMW) took advantage of the opportunity to do a one-up move to advertise themselves. They even came out with a press release. Note that the ad is commissioned by a BMW dealer and not BMW of America.

I am no marketer / advertising specialist but the campaign comes across to me as being a tad too eager to prove oneself, with a hint of inferiority complex in them. Which is consistent with the sort of having ego-issues, "alpha-males" personalities that a brand like BMW attracts.

The Audi ad was for an A4, but Santa Monica BMW responded with a M3 coupe. Doesn't that seem like an overkill? So BMW have took out all their wares while Audi is still keeping its screaming R8, RS4 and RS5 up in their sleeves. The A4 has already overtaken both the Mercedes-Benz C-class and BMW 3-series as Germany's best selling premium sedan. And Audi is already the leading premium brand in Western Europe and also in China, the world's largest car market. The results speak for themselves and there is no need for Audi of USA to go poking on their Bavarian countrymen's nose.

The entire campaign seem to have benefited Juggernaut Advertising more than BMW. It did raised the ad agency profile, but I am not sure if it raised BMW's profile in any positive way. Fanboys and regular people can comment all they want in blogs and forums, and might find them amusing, but what sort of effect does this have on the MAJORITY of people who ACTUALLY BUY these cars? Is it me or are American car ads really that crude? Even premium ads from Audi and BMW lack the sort of sophistication that we see in Europe, or even Asia.

Press Release from Juggernaut Advertising

Juggernaut Advertising, an independent advertising agency headquartered in Santa Monica, CA, has initiated a tactical outdoor marketing campaign on behalf of BMW of Santa Monica. The campaign is in response to Audi’s current billboards challenging BMW with the headline “Your move, BMW.”

Juggernaut Advertising’s creative work features the BMW M3 with the headline “Checkmate.” and is positioned prominently within the same sightline to westbound traffic as the Audi ad. Juggernaut approached BMW of Santa Monica after identifying a unique and immediate geographical opportunity along the highly trafficked Santa Monica Blvd. corridor between Beverly Hills and Santa Monica.

“When we heard the idea, we loved it and couldn’t resist going forward,” says Del Montell, Jr. of Santa Monica BMW.

Images from BMW Blog.

Fast and Furious Skyline Stolen

The blue R34 Skyline that starred in the latest Fast and Furious 4, was reportedly stolen from a vehicle storage facility in Los Angeles. The car, estimated to value at USD 75,000 was not insured.

In the midst of the getaway, a classic Studebaker and a Porsche Boxster was damaged. The thiefs specifically targetted the Nissan as none of the other cars were touched. Not sure what was big deal or the attraction of the Skyline as it is highly likely that there are other more valuable cars stored in the facility. According to Inside Line, the said Skyline is not actually a flagship GT-R model as potrayed in the movie. It is actually a lower range GT-S model, but kitted up with GT-R exterior parts.

Angels and Demons Lancia Delta

Those who have watched Angels and Demons in the cinemas would have noticed a sleek, black, cross-over like hatchback that Professor Robert Langdon and physicist Vittoria were travelling in. The car is a Lancia Delta, a third generation model to use the legendary "Delta" badge. Numerous Alfa Romeo 159, another brand under the Fiat Group, were also used throughout the movie.

The product placement in Angels and Demons was organized by Lancia and its creative agency Armando Testa from Rome with Sony Pictures (it also explains the Sony LCD screens used in the movie).


Fiat (owner of the Lancia brand) had to go through pretty extreme lengths in order to make the product placement possible. The biggest problem was that filming for Angels and Demons began as early as 2008, almost one full year before production of the Delta model will begin. Even pre-production models could not be ready on time by 2008. The new Delta was only premiered in the 2009 Geneva Motor Show in February.


Lancia had to make a few (unspecified number of units) one-off models with many parts still in prototyping stage in its Cassino plant in Italy. These specially made models for filming also had to be fully functional and reliable enough to work properly throughout the filming period. According to Lancia, the rear windows of the cars used for filming will be different from series production models as filming requirements necessitate the use of fully transparent windows rather than the standard darken items that will be used in series production models.


In conjunction with the movie's release, a new advertising theme "One angel, 200 demons," were also used in Europe, highlighting its double soul; angelic, but with 200 demons under its hood.


An online competition, offering the grand prize of a Lancia Delta is also underway in Italy.

Lancia is subsidiary of the giant Fiat automotive group. The once illustrious Lancia brand has been through some pretty depressing time over the last 2 decades. The last right hand drive Lancia car was made in 1994. Under the leadership current Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne, there were big plans to revive the slowly dying Lancia brand, starting the reintroduction of the new Lancia Delta to the United Kingdom by late 2009. UK is Fiat's largest export market. Introduction to the USA is also rumoured to be in the plans, if talks with Chrysler is successful.


To many enthusiast, the mere mention of the Delta badge would remind them of the legendary World Rally Championship conquering Lancia Delta HF Integrale. Subsequent generations of the Delta models were toned down and made more luxurious to target a wider clientele group.

Related link
Civic Hybrid To Star With Keanu Reeves
007 : Quantum Of Solace, starring Aston Martin DBS
Behind The Scenes of Audi R8 and Q7's Stunts in Ironman
Transporter 3. Yes it's with the A8 again
From Motor City to Hollywood, the case of car product placements in movies

Proton Saga 1.6 to be Australia's Cheapest Sedan

We have heard rumours of a 1.6-litre version of the Proton Saga will be introduced to the public sometime soon. Currently, the 1.6-litre Saga is only sold in Malaysia to taxi operators.



Image from MTM.

Today, Proton Cars Australia hinted that the Saga 1.6 will be exported to Australia by early 2010. It will be positioned at the lower end market, as Australia's cheapest sedan. Currently the cheapest Proton model on sale in Australia is the Savvy hatchback, which starts at around AUD 14,000.


I am not very familiar with details of vehicle pricing in Australia, but if I am not mistaken the current cheapest sedan in Down Under is the China-made Volkswagen Polo Classic 1.6, which starts at AUD 19,990. But the model is due for a make over by middle of this year. The image above is the current (outgoing) previous generation Polo Classic. VW Australia's website have already taken down section on the Polo Classic. The Shanghai made Volkswagen classic is the first Chinese made car to be imported into Australia.

The market for compact sedans in Australia however is very limited. The small-minicars segment is dominated by hatchbacks like Toyota Yaris (Echo) and Holden Barina (Chevy Aveo).

Press Release by Proton Cars Australia :
Proton Cars has announced a revitalised assault on the Australian car market and has signalled it will launch Australia's lowest priced sedan, which it believes will be the perfect answer to the current financial climate.

In early 2010 Proton will launch Australia's lowest price sedan and is redoubling its efforts to rebuild and refresh its dealer network across the country.

The company has severed ties with almost half its existing dealers and is now recruiting new high calibre dealers to broaden the reach and service levels for Proton customers.

Managing director of Proton Cars Australia, John Startari, admits that the marque has not performed to expectations, however the resources and backing have now been committed by parent company Proton Cars Berhad to drive the brand forward in Australia.

"The centre piece of our plan is to recruit the best dealer network available, we are not going to expand at all cost, it will be a matter of only signing dealers who are committed and eager to be a part of growing the brand," said John Startari.

"Product, pricing and marketing support have received major boosts to ensure that we have the tools to take Proton to the market," he said.

"Australia's lowest cost sedan will be the cornerstone of our range and Proton will present a value for money proposition from the entry level model to the sporty Satria.

"We will launch a revitalised range with the low cost sedan at a price and specification level that will make it hard to ignore in the market."

"It will be significantly different to the current Savvy, it is the same car that was launched in Malaysia recently as the Saga, it is a sedan and is powered by a 1.6 litre Campro engine in place of the 1.2 litre engine in the current Savvy," he added.

The company will not announce the pricing or the name of the new car until the launch, however Mr Startari says its price, equipment levels and overall value for money will make it a contender in the small/light car class.

Mr Startari said that Proton is here to stay and has a solid base on which it can build its future expansion.

"Proton Cars has an established infrastructure in Australia which we have refined and tuned over the past ten years, we have low overheads and a small but highly skilled workforce factors that will help drive the brand forward," he said.

"We have already recruited a number of new dealers and they have told us that many have considered taking on other low cost brands but did not want to take the risk with brands that do not have an established record in Australia," he added.

"Lotus handling and engineering, high levels of safety and equipment as well as the fact that Proton has stuck it out in this country are advantages that our new dealers have told us gave the brand appeal," he said.

"There is a car park of around 25,000 Protons on Australian roads, the marque has been established here for 14 years and it's now time to take the brand to a higher level," Mr Startari concluded.

Proton, was established in 1983, and is Malaysia's largest manufacturer of automobiles. With operations in key markets including the UK, Western Europe, the Middle East and across South-East Asia and Australasia. Proton produces a range of cars from versatile and reliable four-door family sedans to sporty three-door hatchbacks and utilities, and is also the parent company of world-renowned sports car maker, Lotus.

Proton brand is accelerating its learning curve through technology transfer with strategic partnerships and technical collaborations.

Proton's promise is to be a marque which builds cars with passion and soul, which are a delight to drive and a pleasure to own.

RON 97 and RON 95

On my commute to work this morning, one of the local Chinese radio station was discussing about the new ceiling price ruling for RON95 and RON97 petrol. In case you didn't know what's going on, read it here. I got so irritated by the amount of nonsense being aired on national radio by the DJ and one particular guest for their morning programme that I switched station.

Many members of the public are still pretty ignorant about RON fuel rating. And the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is no more better informed. He has been saying things like RON97 is better for the environment, gives more performance to the engine, and a load of other bull crap.

A lot of this have already been covered in an earlier post here, just ignore the no longer applicable ceiling price. Another informative article was posted on MTM last year.

In technical terms - petrol are commonly rated based on their Antiknock Index (AKI), a measure of octane quality. The AKI is a measure of a fuel’s ability to resist engine knock (ping). The AKI of a motor fuel is the average of the Research Octane Number (RON) and Motor Octane Number (MON) or (R+M)/2. Optimum performance and fuel economy is achieved when the AKI of a fuel is adequate for the engine in which it is combusted. There is no advantage in using gasoline of a higher AKI than the engine requires to operate knock-free.

In simple terms, if your car manual states the minimum RON requirement is RON 91, you will not get any improvement in exhaust emissions / engine performance by using a higher RON rating fuel. Most modern petrol powered cars are tuned to run on RON91 / RON 92 petrol.

Below are a summary of petrol quality standards of measurement, which I manage to reproduce from some reference materials published by the U.S. National Institute of Automotive Service Excellence.
Click to enlarge
Only Point 1 and 2 affects driveability of the vehicle, but as mentioned above, you will not get any performance advantage from running a higher RON rating fuel than what your vehicle's engine is originally designed to operate on. All other fuel quality properties have no relation to the RON index number. So there is no such thing as RON97 is better for the environment, is better for your engine etc etc, unless the vehicle manufacturer specifically states RON97 or higher is fuel required.

The table below are the common additives added to modern petrol.


By the way, there may be a lot of references on Caltex fuels in the linked article, but this blog is not related / supported in any way by Chevron. The reason I like to promote Caltex fuels is because my own car does not need anything higher than RON 92. And not many oil companies in Malaysia offer RON92 fuel except for Caltex, Esso, Mobil and BHPetroleum. But only Caltex and BHPetroleum is able to confirm that the same quality of additive is being used for their higher grade RON 97 petrol as well as the cheaper RON 92 petrol. I pay a lower price and I noticed that I got better mileage than another megabrand petrol who promises great mileage, so I have no complaints. Plus, there's a Caltex station is near my house.

Priority Parking Advertorial Campaigns

Seems like there is a new vehicle marketing trend - to offer priority parking spaces in high traffic areas. It usually involves an agreement between the vehicle brand's local distributor and the owner of some high-traffic property to offer free / allocated parking spaces to owners of a specific vehicle model.


In Malaysia, GM Asia Pacific's local JV - Hicom-Chevrolet was the first in the country to offer priority parking. 3 Reserved parking bays are available for Captiva owners in the following shopping malls :
The Curve (Petaling Jaya, Selangor)
Pavilion (Kuala Lumpur)
Subang Parade (Petaling Jaya, Selangor)
Sunway Pyramid (Petaling Jaya, Selangor)
Queensbay Mall (Penang)
City Square (Johor Bahru)

Given the low number of Captivas on the road, 3 per mall is more than enough.

Except for Pavillion mall, Hicom-Chevrolet will pay for the parking fees. Read more here at MTM.


Over in Australia, Honda Australia have also started offering priority parking to owners of Civic Hybrid in Melbourne Central Shopping Centre. More locations are expected to be included in the coming months, including Sydney and Melbourne airports.

It is a novel idea that is more cost effective compared to purchasing a full page advertorial space in any leading publication or to a glitzy conventional roadshow which consumers are all to familiar with and tends to be ignored. Priority parking offers the kind of "wow" factor creative agencies crave for. Car companies benefit from using their customer's own vehicles as a "show vehicle," and it creates talking points among the public. However this method is only suitable for young / low volume brands with very low sales. Obviously a brand like Toyota can't use such avenues as thousands of Toyota owners will be fighting over the few allocated space, and the marketing objectives for high volume brands are different. Both Chevy and Honda are very small players in Malaysia and Australia respectively. Chevy controls less than 1% of the Malaysian TIV while Honda trails in 8th place in Australian car sales tally. Recognition of the Honda brand is very poor in Australia and even brands like Hyundai, Nissan, Mazda and Mitsubishi shift more cars out of their Aussie showrooms than Honda.

Marketing objectives for lesser known brands usually just to create talking points, providing road presence. Priority parking is an ideal way to do so. But there is a challenge of when and how should a car company terminate such benefits. Obviously the practise can't go on forever and as sales volume improve, it is no longer practical to offer such benefits. And what about owners of other models? Won't they feel neglected by the company? What if I am a Chevy Cruze owner and I did not purchase the Captiva not because I can't afford it but because I hate huge clumsy SUVs? Why should some wanabe cowboy Captiva owner who gets cheap thrills from bullying smaller cars be treated better than a sophisticated and discerning Cruze owner like myself?

These are difficult issues, which is why it is important to understand what ticks owners of different models, and then making sure that sufficient provisions are in place to avoid alienating them. Or just make it a short term thing, as Honda Australia did. The Civic Hybrid priority parking is only available between May-11 to May-23. As a "follow-up" effort, a Civic Hybrid display unit will be on show at each location to complement the priority parking services, featuring the Honda Civic Hybrid vehicle and an educational display about Honda’s environmental initiatives.

If priority parking campaigns are executed properly, enough talking points and online discussions would have been created, thus meeting the ad campaign's objective.