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Alpine Alpenglow Concept Shows Design And Technological Direction Of Sportscar Company

Alpine, the French company founded in 1955, has always been associated with sportscars. That part of its DNA remains intact up till today and will also be found in its roadgoing and racetrack models of tomorrow. The vision and roadmap moving forward is now encapsulated in the Alpenglow concept which will be displayed at the Paris Motorshow this month.

The Alpenglow presents the brand’s forward-looking technological direction as well as the design language that will be adopted. Like its parent company, Renault, Alpine is also heading towards full electrification and will explore the approach of using hydrogen. ‘Green’ hydrogen sustainable mobility as hydrogen is available ‘everywhere’. A hydrogen-fuelled engine releases practically nothing but steam during combustion so it is very clean.

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Duo Provides Personal Mobility For the ‘Last Kilometre’ Within Cities

In the larger cities of developed countries, some areas are now closed off the cars as a way to remove congestion and also pollution. Efficient public transport systems bring people into these urban areas where they get off at specific points. Some may be lucky as their destination might be nearby, but there will also be others who may have to walk that ‘last kilometre’ to their office.

Various companies have worked on addressing this final mobility connection by coming out with small vehicles that are allowed to be used within the restricted areas. As they are electrically powered, they are pollution-free so air quality will not be affected.

Mobilize, Renault’s brand which focusses on mobility, has come up with a new micro vehicle called the Duo which provides convenient, appealing personal transport that even a 14-year old can use (in France). Measuring 2.43 metres long and 1.3 metres wide, the Duo can accommodate two people and occupy just one-third of a standard parking space.

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How The Ford Ranger Raptor’s Sound Goes From Mild To Wild

One of the pleasures that driving enthusiasts enjoy is the ‘music’ from the exhaust of their cars. It can convey emotion and form part of the car’s character, especially with sportscars. Some manufacturers have their engineers spend a lot of time and effort to ensure that the car has a sound unique enough to become an aural signature that signifies the presence of the car near or far.

Generally, the growls or roars have been associated with sportscars but now, Ford is also bringing a new feature to truck owners which will allow them to customise the exhaust sound in various ways. It’s made possible by the new active valve twin exhaust system fitted to the 3-litre twin-turbo V6 engine of the latest Ranger Raptor.

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2022 Volkswagen Fest | Audi Experience On This Weekend At Sentul Depot, KL

The Volkswagen Fest, which used to be held in Setia Alam, Selangor, is at the Sentul Dept in Kuala Lumpur this weekend for the 2022 edition Not run for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is now back with the latest Volkswagen models for the Malaysian market, as well as other lifestyle-related activities and of course, many things Volkswagen.

This year, the venue also has the Audi Experience as the Audi brand is now handled in Malaysia by PHS Automotive Malaysia which is a sister company to Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM), with both companies under Porsche Holdings Salzburg.

The Sentul Depot, located off Jalan Ipoh, is an ideal location for such an event. The entire event space is within the warehouse so no worries about hot sunshine or heavy rain – visitors will be cool and dry throughout their visit. The event starts at 10 am on both days, and there is no charge for entry (parking is also free).

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Polestar Finally Adds A SUV To Its Range, To Be Built In America From 2024

Eventually, every carmaker adds a SUV to their range, a trend which started in the 1990s and reached the pinnacle of the car market in 2018 when even Rolls-Royce introduced a SUV it calls the Cullinan. Now Polestar, the company owned by Volvo (which is owned by the Geely Group), has finally come out with its SUV, the Polestar 3.

As Polestar produces only battery electric vehicles, the Polestar 3 is therefore powered only by electricity, no combustion engine or even hybrid option. And like other carmakers who make their SUVs in the USA because of the huge market for such vehicles, Polestar is also going to make its SUV there although production will be done in China during the first year and shift to America in 2024. Its other models are presently made in China and Sweden.

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Hyundai Motor Group Vehicles To Be Transformed To Software Defined Vehicles

The Hyundai Motor Group has announced a new global strategy which will ensure that its vehicles remain technically and functionally up to date throughout the vehicle’s entire life. This will see all vehicles (Hyundai, Kia and Genesis) transformed to Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs) by 2025.

The industry-leading initiative is expected to transform the customer experience via constantly evolving software technology. It will encompass all models and enable upgrading of all vehicle functions such as safety, convenience, connectivity, security, and driving performance.

The upgrades will be delivered ‘Over-The-Air’ and the vehicles will be equipped with the necessary hardware to receive the updates. This means that owners need not visit a service centre, saving time. The ability to upgrade software will also enhance resale value of the vehicle which will be kept up to date even after 10 years in use.

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18th Volkswagen Outlet Opened In Setia Alam, Selangor

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) continues to expand its dealer network around the country to make the German brand more accessible to customers. The latest outlet to be opened in the Klang Valley is at Setia Alam in Selangor by Goh Brothers Motor.

Goh Brothers Motor has had a long association with Volkswagen and its new outlet in Setia Alam joins two others – in Juru, Penang and Ipoh, Perak. With the addition of Volkswagen Setia Alam, the brand network now has 18 outlets.

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Isuzu D-MAX X-Terrain To Take On 30th Borneo Safari Challenge

From the fashion world back to nature – that will be the journey for the Isuzu D-MAX when it once again participates in the Borneo Safari International Off-Road Challenge. This will be the 14^th year that Isuzu Malaysia is supporting the event which was not run in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Isuzu Malaysia is providing 3 units of the D-MAX X-Terrain as Official Media Vehicles during the week-long event organised by the Sabah Four Wheel Drive Association (SFWDA). The vehicles were recently handed over by Isuzu Malaysia’s Marketing Manager, Alan Lee, to the association’s President, Hj. Faez Nordin.

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e:HEV – How Honda’s Hybrid Technology Has Evolved In Over 20 Years

Although Toyota began selling the first mass-produced hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) that have an electric motor working with a petrol engine, Honda also brought HEVs into the market around the same time. In fact, in Malaysia, Honda was the first to actually market HEVs when it offered the Civic Hybrid in 2004, priced at RM118,888. Back then, hybrids were still a novelty rather than something which drew people due to being new technology.

Over the years, Honda Malaysia continued to promote HEVs, offering the technology in some models and then being the first brand to assemble a HEV locally – the Jazz Hybrid – in 2012. Incentives provided by the government during that period were intended to promote HEVs so that more people would buy the environment-friendly cars. In fact, the incentives created the unusual situation whereby a HEV variant cost less than the variants with just petrol engines – in every other market, HEVs would cost more than their conventional engine equivalents due to the additional cost of the technology.

Although sales of HEVs have not been rocketing upwards, they have been steadily increasing and the technology has also matured and is more efficient, while costs have lowered. Since the days of the first Insight, it has been Honda’s aim to find ways to lower the costs of its hybrid technology – which it markets as e:HEV now – so that more people can afford to buy HEVs.

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First Driving Impressions Of The Honda Civic RS e:HEV Sedan (w/VIDEO)

When the latest 11^th generation Honda Civic was launched in January, we asked Honda Malaysia about the possibility of a hybrid version also being available. At that time, it was already known that the latest generation did have a hybrid variant (which Honda refers to as e:HEV) that was to be sold in Europe with a hatchback bodystyle. Honda Malaysia said they ‘would consider it’ as a future addition then…

10 months later, the Civic e:HEV is about to be launched and it’s clear that the company must have already been working on it and not just ‘considering it’ because it takes time to plan for local assembly at the Melaka plant. And now that the launch will take place soon, Honda Malaysia has offered us a chance to get first impressions of the new model.

Our drive took place at the Sepang International Circuit with the same condition that we can tell you about the exterior and the driving impressions and the e:HEV technology, but not what the interior is like (for now).

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