Mitsubishi World's Most Dangerous Road

Mitsubishi Motors North America recently commissioned creative agency 180 LA for a high profile marketing campaign called “The World’s Most Dangerous Road.” As implied, Mitsubishi will take two of its SUVs (Outlander and Outlander Sport) to tackle the most dangerous road in the road - the Yungas Road in Bolivia. Snaking over 69km from the town of La Paz to Coroico, the single lane mountain pass road claims 200-300 travelers each year, giving it the dubious honour of the most dangerous road in the world.

In the last season of Top Gear, the three stooges made a journey across the same road. Of course, being Top Gear everything was made more dramatic than it actually is. Watch a clip of the episode below.


The Outlander Sport is also known as ASX in Europe and Japan. More videos of Mitsubishi's Most Dangerous Roads can be found in Mitsubishi North America's official Youtube channel here.


Oddly enough, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) also weighed in to capitalize on the Mitsubishi North America's ad campaign. MMM's official website actually posted the "Most Dangerous Road" ad and link, even though the model sold here does not even carry the same name (it is known on this side of the world as ASX) and does not feature 4WD.

The ASX is a pretty brilliant car. Aside from typical grouses on cheap interior trimmings (common on most Mitsubishi cars), comes full imported from Japan and kitted with more toys and gadgets than any other competitor, it is also sized just nice for an urban SUV. On paper, there is little reason for the car to not give the dominant and aging Honda CR-V a run for its money. But since its launch it did anything but gave the CR-V a run for its money. Sales were so bad that even a similarly priced 2WD Hyundai Tuscon 2.0 outsold the ASX by nearly 2 to 1. In a market that welcomes anything Japanese and views Korean cars with suspicion, it does says a lot about how far off the mark the ASX was. Not only that, Peugeot dealers actually shifts more 3008 out of their showroom than Mitsubishi does for its ASX. Like the ASX, the 3008 is a 2WD crossover with SUV-like pretensions.

I have always held the believe that our local market is not ready for a crossover. Local consumers don't like segment-straddling vehicles that they are not quite sure what to make of it. Just ask the Nissan Latio. Even Peugeot is smart enough to drop the crossover monicker in all its local marketing materials for the 3008. Toyota too did a similar thing with its 2WD 7-seater Rush which was more of an Avanza in a SUV body shell than anything else. UMW Toyota decided to market it clearly as an SUV. If some consumers choose to see it as an MPV by virtue of its 4WD ommission and 7-seater capacity then that's fine for them. When Hyundai introduced the new Tucson with 2WD, it had no concerns calling it an SUV, and so far sales have been pretty good in a market that is just beginning to accept Korean cars.

When I first saw a large billboard ad for the ASX - showing only a front three-quarter view with the word across it "ASX Active Sport Crossover," the gut feel is that MMM will be in for quite a bit of trouble with the ASX, but gave them a benefit of doubt. I thought maybe their market research pointed that consumers can accept this name. On hindsight, clearly whatever little market research (or product planning) done, it was very poor. It is already bad enough that the ASX have a front that is identical to the Lancer, or even the Lancer Sportback. When Proton introduced its Persona, whose front is identical to the Gen.2, even Proton knew that obviously the defining bits of the car is the unique rear and not the front and ads must always feature the car's rear and not the front. So to put on a billboard ad for a new model, showing an angle that looks exactly like another older model, with a name that no one knows what to make of it, is completely illogical in my opinion. The average person will just wonder why is there an ad for a blue Lancer called ASX?

My father asked me, "What is this crossover thing?" I think that says it all. But things didn't end there, Mitsubishi would later publish full page ads on major news dailies detailing all the features of the car. And I really mean ALL the features. It was information overload, with too many words, too many images. Again, my dad got lost less than halfway through. It was like someone literally took a page out of a catalogue, blow it up to newspaper page size and make it an ad. That's not how advertisements should be done. There are catalogues, and then there are advertisements. Ads should not overwhelm consumers with info.

A good marketer would have decided to spread out the budget for a smaller scale but a longer, sustained campaign, focusing on only ONE unique feature, or speaking of different virtues of the car at different weeks. Below is how Mitsubishi's Brazilian office did it - an ad that just talks about the ASX's knee airbag feature. It's the only SUV in its segment to feature it.

Mitsubishi Brazil also commissioned a TV ad to build up the urban-SUV image of the ASX. Watch it below.



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BMW Gran Coupe Leaked Images - NOT

4-door coupes are in vogue now. It's difficult to pinpoint exactly when in history did the trend started, an early generation 70s Jaguar XJ, with its iconic sloping low roof certainly qualifies on many accounts. The early 2000s saw Mazda reviving the concept with the RX-8 featuring "suicide-style opening" rear doors. But the trend only finally caught on when Mercedes-Benz launched its CLS, followed by Volkswagen Passat CC and Audi A5 and A7 Sportback (it may looked like a fastback, but Audi defines it as a coupe with the functionality of an Avant), all of which combined to give the concept of 4-door coupes the necessary "critical mass" to catch on with the public.

BMW, being the pioneer of various oddball cross-segment body styles (i.e. the coupe-SUV X6, the fastback-estate 5-series Gran Turismo) was surprisingly late to the party. The company however is not sitting idle. At last year's Auto Beijing 2010, BMW unveiled the Gran Coupe Concept as a preview to its upcoming 4-door coupe. Again, China is the place to be for scoop news and spyshots. Chinese website auto.sohu.com first broke news of leaked patent registration images for the production Gran Coupe.

If you think the car looks exactly like a 6-series then you are absolutely spot on. Some netizens have hinted insider news that this patent registration document is an old copy, and was submitted even before the Gran Coupe Concept was signed off. So this image is not reflective of the actual production version of the Gran Coupe Concept. The actual car will feature greater differentiation from its 6-series Coupe and Cabriolet siblings. BMW have a history of showing concept cars that are merely concept in name, and many of its cars went into production looking almost exactly like their original concept. Aside from those huge wheels wrapped by ultra thin tires, the Gran Coupe Concept looks neither too out of this world nor has many quirky non-production standard details. So we think it is a perfectly logical claim. There is no need to speculate on how will the actual Gran Coupe looks like. You have already seen most of the actual car. For goodness sake this "concept" car came with windshield wipers!

In any case, the production Gran Coupe is expected to debut by early 2012.

The only luxury brand still missing from the 4-door coupe segment is Lexus. The irony is that back in the late 80s, the first sketch for the SC400 coupe featured 4-doors, the rear doors open suicide style. But the idea was shot down on cost reasons, as well as Toyota's insistence that there is no such thing as a 4-door coupe. This was revealed by Erwin Lui, designer for the SC400 at Toyota's California based Calty Design Research Inc, in the book "Lexus The Relentless Pursuit". The first sketch for the first generation Lexus LS400, penned by Kunihiro Uchida, also featured coupe like proportions. Market research indicated that American buyers found Jaguar's styling to be the most attractive and that was what Uchida wanted to deliver, a coupe like profile of a Jaguar XJ. But the initial sketches were immediately shot down by old men back at Toyota's headquarters in Japan. Originally, Lexus was meant to be an US-market model but internal politics would have Toyota's domestic sales division muscling in and wanting a share of the growing prestige of the Lexus project. Hence the final design was toned down dramatically to meet needs of the more conservative Japanese corporate customers. Fast forward 20 years later, let's see how long is Lexus going to sit out on this one.

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Marketplace : MyHotCivic.com

The following is a guest post from MyHotCivic.com, an online store for Civic after market parts. Theautoindustrieblog.com makes no representations and give no warranties with respect to the information provided. Readers are advised to do their due diligence before deciding on any purchase.

It can be extraordinarily frustrating to deal with dim or dying headlights. Faulty headlights often don’t provide substantial enough on-road lighting coverage to keep the road ahead clearly visible. Potential obstacles and obstructions become difficult to see, and you may miss otherwise obvious road signs and highway markers that provide essential information. You expect your Honda Civic to perform well on the road, so you should expect your Civic headlights to perform at or above expectations. And there are no brighter headlights than Civic HIDs.

HID is an acronym for High Intensity Discharge, and improved light intensity is certain to be a major benefit of installing Civic HID headlights. Unlike conventional halogen bulbs, xenon HID bulbs contain no filament that can be damaged, making them much more durable. Furthermore, they can be up to three times as bright as halogens and consume nearly a third less energy. When efficiency and effectiveness are both crucial to your satisfaction as a Honda owner, settling for halogens is unthinkable when HIDs are available.

With the proper Civic HID ballasts installed, upgrading to a set of HIDs is a breeze. Simply follow the manufacturer’s guidelines, and follow all basic safety precautions during installation. Easy installation, however, is far from the only benefit of using xenon lighting. The blue and white light of HIDs puts less strain on the eyes, making nighttime driving easier. HIDs also provide more horizontal light coverage, resulting in an increased peripheral vision range. This can be critical for seeing moving objects or persons when driving fast at night.

If you’ve already spent a lot of time modifying your car and tricking it out with all the latest upgrades, you don’t want your car’s headlights to be left behind. HIDs radiate with vivid light, making any car look like a fierce competitor in the dark. Friends and car enthusiasts are sure to be impressed with the appearance of those new Civic HIDs installed on your car.

For both style and substance improvements, toss those halogens away. Install HIDs instead.

2012 Audi A6 Spied in China

, chinThe VW Group is the top automotive manufacturer in China. As of 2010, the VW brand families control 16.8% of China's passenger cars market. Within the premium segment, Audi leads with a market share of around 40%. In China, where being chauffer driven (China holds the record of having the worst traffic jams in the world) is the norm rather than an exception in this segment, Chinese customers place high emphasis on rear legroom. To meet these demands, Audi's joint venture in China, FAW-VW manufactures long wheelbase variants of Audi A4L and A6L, unique to China with infotainment equipments in the rear.

The Chinese government official's default car is a black Audi A6L with heavily tinted windows, like the one in the image below.

We were also told that half of the world's A6 are sold in China and by 2011, China is expected to overtake Germany as Audi's largest market.

Given such a backdrop, naturally one would expect China to be source of spyshots of the next generation A6, and as expected, they first appeared on Chinese websites. Images via auto.sohu.com and ChinaCarNews.com.

Yup. It's a shrunken A8.

Like we said earlier, mainland Chinese are increasingly determining the sort of cars we get to drive.

By the way, the current A6L won't die so soon. Instead, it will be given a new lease of life as a Hongqi sedan. Spyshots of the Hongqi C131 sedan, supposedly based on the current A6L is already making its rounds.

Hongqi is domestic brand by Audi's local Chinese partner FAW. Hongqis are commonly used by high ranking Chinese Communist Party officials. All Hongqi sedans were reskinned / rebadaged Audi sedans. However in recent times, Hongqis have been given more distinct look, a reflection of homegrown Chinese automotive talent.

This is the Hongqi CA7600. It's only available on special order and not sold to the public. It's armoured, has two flag poles, special stand and sunroof along with 4 microphones on the roof for the President to make his public address. Aside from the Mercedes 600 Grosser, this is the ultimate bad-ass dictator's car! No rapper or footballer or even Jeremy Clarkson, Paris Hilton is going to do a one-up on if you get your hands on one of these.

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2011 Toyota Fortuner Facelift

We have updated our earlier post 2011 Toyota Innova and Fortuner Facelift with additional photos of the Fortuner. Read more about it here.

Honda CR-V 2012 Spyshot

This, we are told, is the new 2012 model year Honda CR-V, known internally at Honda as the 2WS. Yes, that wedge shaped rear does remind us of a Volvo XC60. According to the folks at Autoblog, the elongated D-pillar suggests a third row seat. We think that's quite a possibility given that the CR-V's main rival, the Toyota RAV4, comes with a third row seat option in the US. Although it needs to be noted that US market RAV4 is slightly longer than their Japanese / European market equivalents.

Photo credits : Brenda Priddy & Company, via Autoblog.

Volvo XC60

On critics saying that the CR-V apes too much of a Volvo XC60 - give the same brief to two different designers working separately, to design a mid size urban soft-roader SUV that appeals to the masses, I reckon that both will still come to a similar solution. Being a mass volume product, cost is imperitive, so tail lamps stretching horizontally across the tailgate will be ruled out due to assembly and wiring harness cost. The only way left to go is for the tail lamps to be stacked vertically. Fuel economy concerns will dictate that a gradually slopping rear is favoured to reduce aero-drag. Plus the side windows profile and overall silhoutte needs has to project a youthful-sporty appeal. Hence that pronounced shoulder line that rises upwards to the rear to give the illusion of motion. Thus explains similarity. Sure there are other ways to achieve the same, but one needs to consider the complexity of the design which will then affect the steel stamping, logistics (flat body panels are favoured as they take up less space) and assembly takt time.

Third row seat in a US market RAV4. We doubt if this will be adopted across all markets. It is more likely to be just an optional item for the US market models, possibly a long wheel base version.  

On this side of the world, punitive taxes on imported vehicles coupled by the fact that the aside from China, Japan is the only source for right hand drive Toyota RAV 4 meant that Honda's hold on the passenger car based / unibody SUVs is uncontested. Nissan X-Trail is a bit more utilitarian, and the local distributors of Nissan Edaran Tan Chong Motor have sort of dropped the ball with the second generation X-Trail. In its heydays, Nissan used to shift almost 300 units of the first generation X-Trail a month. Now it registers just barely above 100 units a month. So by default, it is going to be another winner. Those in the know however, who are brave enough to break away from the herd mentality will opt for the Hyundai Tucson / ix35. Brilliant car in our opinion. It's cheaper and backed by a 5-years warranty.

Powertrain for the 2012 CR-V will be carried over from the current generation model, meaning a 2.0-liter 4-cylinder and in some markets, a 2.4-liter as well. European markets will receive a diesel option. Expected public launch will be in the coming 2011 Tokyo Motor Show this December. Local market launch should start sometime around Q2 2012. That is of course, assuming that the Mayans were wrong about the world collapsing by 2012.

Update : More shots can be found here.

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2011 Toyota Innova and Fortuner Facelift

The Toyota IMV series; comprising Innova MPV, Hilux truck, and Fortuner SUV, is one tired model line. Launched in 2005 with much fanfare, the series was given a mid-life update in late 2008. And the model looks to continue selling for a couple more years, with a minor change nip-tuck to extend its shelf life. Looks like a full model change won't come anytime soon.

Image credits Kompas.com

Since the IMV line-up's launch, the competition has upped the bar considerably. In Malaysia, Nissan's Grand Livina has overtaken both the Avanza and Innova in the sales charts. While Mitsubishi's Pajero Sport now leads the Fortuner, although Toyota still boasts of a healthy lead in Thailand and Indonesia. The Hilux is an exception though. It's in a segment where pragmatic considerations trumps any frivolous new features / design. Nissan much touted "most powerful Mother-Trucker truck in its segment" Navara is pretty much a dud in the local market. Neither have the newer offerings from Mitsubishi (Triton) and Ford (Ranger) able to dethrone the Hilux. Would be interesting to see how long can the Hilux hold on to its lead, increased competition from a new RT-50 Isuzu D-Max and a new Ranger looms in the horizon.

We would have to wait for spyshots of the Hilux facelift / minor change to surface from Thailand, the hub for the Hilux. This round of spyphotos are all coming from Indonesia, Toyota's hub for both the Innova and Fortuner. UPDATE : Read about the Hilux 2011 facelift here.

It looks like the ageing Innova, Fortuner and Hilux will continue to soldier on for a few more years with no new models in sight. Else, there won't be a second minor change in the car's model lifecycle.

Photo credits for the series of shots below : TMCblog.com

Photo of unknown origin. But left hand drive suggests this is a Vietnamese specs model. The Innova's tough ladder frame structure and high ground clearance makes it a Vietnamese taxi driver's favourite.

Fortuner Minor Change 2011. Photo credits :TMCblog.com No clearer shots though.

Expected launch date is sometime around Q3 / Q4 of this year. No significant changes under the skin are expected though. Most probably just minor tweaks on the grille, lights and bumpers, some accessories. Do expect minor bump up in the prices though, ageing model or not. After all, it is a Toyota that we're talking right?

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Tag Heuer Gulf Edition and Gulf Oil Le Mans Racers

Tag Heuer Formula 1 Gulf Edition

Tag Heuer makes the most famous Formula 1 watches. The brand have long been synonymous with motor racing, some of the earliest time keeping instruments used by both team managers and drivers were made by Tag Heuer. The 1916 Mikrograph series was the first stopwatch that can measure 1/100ths of a second. Obviously one of the key application for such precision is in motor racing. For its 2011 catalogue, Tag Heuer will be introducing a new addition to the Formula 1 series, called the Formula 1 Gulf Edition. The watch is expected to arrive sometime in Q3 2011, at a cool 1,000 plus Swiss Francs, or USD 1,120 excluding applicable local taxes. For that, you get the iconic Gulf Oil livery that became so synonymous with the famous French La Sarthe Le Mans 24 Hours race.

The Formula 1 series is not the first watch to bore the iconic Gulf Oil racing stripes, Tag Heuer's Monaco Gulf series already has it.

Tag Heuer Monaco Gulf

If you drop by at any Tag Heuer boutiques, you will notice the promo video (shown above) featuring Steve Mcqueen and Lewis Hamilton, in what looks like digitally edited clips from Steve Mcqueen's famous movie "Le Mans." People tell me that you can't call yourself a true car enthusiast until you've watched Steve Mcqueen's Le Mans. Well I've watched it, and found it to be rather boring. I guess it's a generational thing. Yes I do appreciate cars from the analogue racing dials era, in fact, I think I am fairly well informed with the Porsche 917, in all its Kurzheck (short tail), Langheck (long tail) and Spyder form, as well as the Ferrari 512 that was also heavily featured in the movie. Guys like Jay Leno can't stop raving about it, but for me, that DVD is just laying there in my collection, collecting dust.

The blue and orange stripes of Gulf Oil became very well known because of two very famous Le Mans racers - the Ford GT40 and Porsche 917K.

Gulf Oil Ford GT40

Gulf Oil Porsche 917

This was the actual car used by Steve Mcqueen in filming the movie Le Mans. Car #20, chassis number #022. The car is now owned by Jerry Seinfield. Depending the track and setup, the 917K may spot a different rear wing design.

The Gulf Oil connection with Le Mans racing is because of one man by the name of John Wyer, who made his name as an astute team manager when he delivered Aston Martin their first Le Mans victory in 1959, with the DBR1 piloted by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, finally breaking the dominance of the Jaguar D-Types. John Wyer is what you call a people person. In fact, Carroll Shelby would later explained that he turned down Ferrari's offer 3 times because he felt more confident driving for John Wyer. The "il Commendatore" old man Enzo Ferrari was known for his brutal politics of pitting his drivers against each other, even putting his drivers to unnecessary risks in chasing for the win. John Wyer would later go to Ford in 1963, to head the GT40 Le Mans program. By 1966, Ford GT40 won the Le Mans and will continue doing so for a few more years. By 1967 Wyer caught the attention of Gulf Oil, and they formed a new works Ford backed racing team with the now famous Gulf Oil blue-orange livery.

By 1969, Wyer had gone to Porsche, bringing along with him financial backing from Gulf Oil. Porsche had banked a lot of hopes on the 917. Despite the brand's sporting attributes, the illustrious Le Mans victory continue to elude the Zuffenhausen outfit. Worse still, its works drivers refused to drive the 917, preferring the older 908. The 917, designed by present day VW Group chairman Ferdinand Piech, had a difficult development. Works drivers found the car to be very dangerous and tricky to handle on the limit, not to mention the cabin temperature that can reach up to 70 degrees Celsius. It was only when John Wyer's team was brought in by Porsche did the car's handling issues got solved; John Wyer's team traced the problem to  the car's tail design. With the aerodynamics now sorted, the 917's potential is finally realized. By now, John Wyer's JWA Gulf Team is one of 3 teams backed by the works Porsche, along with the red-white liveried Porsche-Salzburg team, the blue-red-white Martini Racing team. By now the 917 was dominating endurance racing from Le Mans to the now defunct World Sportscar Championship.

Martini Racing Porsche 917.

Steve Mcqueen's movie may have popularized the Gulf liveried Porsche 917 and and projected it into the minds of more people, but a Gulf Porsche never actually won any Le Mans victory (contrary to the movie's ending). It was a Martini Racing Porsche 917 that set a total distance covered record of 5,335.3km, back in 1971. The record stood until 2010 before it was broken by an Audi. Since the 917, Porsche have won 15 outright Le Mans victory, and it all started from a problematic car that no one wanted to drive.

Tag Heuer's association with Le Mans 24 Hour racing and Steve Mcqueen is quite accidental. Steve Mcqueen wanted his character as a racing driver in his movie "Le Mans" to be as accurate as possible. So Mcqueen borrowed a racing suit from his Swiss racing driver friend Jo Siffert - who happens to be the spokesperson for both Gulf Oil and Tag Heuer. Hence both the Gulf Oil and Tag Heuer logo were projected to millions of people via Mcqueen's movie. To further mimick Jo Siffert's look, he wore a Tag Heuer Calibre 12 Monaco, the original "Monaco" that Lewis Hamilton was referring to in Tag Heuer's promo video "The Duel," shown above.

Mcqueen's character in the movie "Le Mans." Note the "Chronograph Heuer" logo and the original Tag Heuer Monaco watch worn. Tag Heuer have been milking this association with Steve Mcqueen until today.

Steve Mcqueen died in 1980 from a tumour growth, but his legacy in motor racing continues till today. John Wyer have since retired from all motorsports activities and the Gulf Oil company now partners with Aston Martin Racing. Last year, Aston Martin Racing LMP10 was the top finishing petrol car (can't keep up with the diesels of Peugeot and Audi)

The 2010 Aston Martin Racing LMP10, note the "007" number. It is however not the first Aston to carry this number. Read more about the 007 association with Aston Martin here.

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