Many European car companies have gone the route of engine down sizing to improve efficiency. All this came when the oil price was very high but in the recent year the oil price is at its all time low but yet car companies are still going on with engine down sizing. Volvo has been one of the early birds with engine down sizing sticking to their 2.0 and 2.3 litre turbos since the 1990s when most of the other car companies like BMW, Mercedes and Japanese makers were sticking to their bigger capacity naturally aspirated engines.
this time round Volvo took the step a little further and will introduce a 1.5 litre 3 cylinder engine with a turbo charger. With this small engine one would expect them to bolt it on a smaller model like the S40 or V40 model but this is not the case. The new 1.5 turbo is planned for the S60 and S90 models which are much bigger in physical size. Volvo also plans to connect a hybrid system with this engine similar to that of the new XC90 with a plug-in hybrid system.
Volvo seems to be serious about push their development and with the improvement in financial position since being Chinese owned, Volvo has really found their step in the R&D department. It is yet to be seen if Volvo can catch up to the Germans but they are moving in the right direction. Previously Volvo was very conservative with their design approach and appeared lost, they didn't have a very good selling individual model and the line was ageing fast. Something had to be done to inject some life into the brand and by developing new technology it appears that Volvo is back on the map again.
Volvo is also putting to use their Polestar department where performance oriented models will be released. Volvo is following the footsteps of BMW with their M division and AMG for Mercedes. It is a good move to help shake the sedate and boring image of Volvo. Polestar is relatively unknown to people who are not fans of Volvo. It is about time the Polestar brand came to light and show the world that Volvo cars are not necessarily safe and boring.
Tuesday, 8 March 2016
Thursday, 3 March 2016
Mercedes A45 AMG facelift
Mercedes appears to be pushing the performance envelope with the A45 AMG with its recent facelift. The car's power and torque has been increased by 21hp and 25Nm respectively to 381 and 475Nm which is very high for a small car. The little pocket rocket is definitely a fast car and not one to take lightly. It is immensely capable and has great character from its rowdy exhaust note. the new facelift model comes with a modular exhaust valve where it can alter its opening to suit slow speed city driving or full bore wide open throttle applications. Looks wise the car hasn't changed much, the changes were mostly under the skin. The Mercedes A class is not ugly to begin with so better not mess with the looks.
The previous model despite having 4WD the car had a tendency to understeer when pushed hard into turns. this probably because it is 4WD and the weight of the engine is over the front wheels. In the hands of a good driver it still can manage impressive lap times in any race track and in the hands of the novice it will make him look like a hero.
Mercedes is definitely doing well with its new model line up with can appeal to the younger buyers which was something Mercedes was aiming for. In the past Mercedes were associated with older buyer or someone more matured, this meant Mercedes was losing out on the younger buyer which was promptly snapped up by BMW. This has all changed and Mercedes has taken the fight to BMW and Audi. this is the first time in history where Mercedes as so many new models on offer from the A, B, C, E, S, M, G, GLA, GLC, GLE, GLK, SL, SLK, CLK, AMG GT and Vito. The buyers are spoilt for choice. This definitely also helps Mercedes capture more sales world wide and broadens it brand appeal. It does not look like BMW or Audi is able to follow the pace where Mercedes is expanding it range.
Having visited the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart, the museum will be in need for more space soon at the rate Mercedes is expanding it model range.
The previous model despite having 4WD the car had a tendency to understeer when pushed hard into turns. this probably because it is 4WD and the weight of the engine is over the front wheels. In the hands of a good driver it still can manage impressive lap times in any race track and in the hands of the novice it will make him look like a hero.
Mercedes is definitely doing well with its new model line up with can appeal to the younger buyers which was something Mercedes was aiming for. In the past Mercedes were associated with older buyer or someone more matured, this meant Mercedes was losing out on the younger buyer which was promptly snapped up by BMW. This has all changed and Mercedes has taken the fight to BMW and Audi. this is the first time in history where Mercedes as so many new models on offer from the A, B, C, E, S, M, G, GLA, GLC, GLE, GLK, SL, SLK, CLK, AMG GT and Vito. The buyers are spoilt for choice. This definitely also helps Mercedes capture more sales world wide and broadens it brand appeal. It does not look like BMW or Audi is able to follow the pace where Mercedes is expanding it range.
Having visited the Mercedes museum in Stuttgart, the museum will be in need for more space soon at the rate Mercedes is expanding it model range.
new race track needed
Malaysia at the moment has 2 race tracks dedicated for motor racing, Sepang F1 track in Kuala Lumpur and Pasir Gudang in Johor. Sepang F1 track was designed specifically for Formula One racing and the track is advanced, wide and well planned out for large racing events however the cost of renting the track for weekend warriors is just too prohibitive to most of the locals. The track rental for 1 hour is RM6,000 or US$1400. Often organisers will rent the track for blocks of 4 hours and share the cost with participants who then pay RM400-500 or US$100-120 to drive for 4 hours. Situated near the airport, it is 70km away from the city and it only allows circuit driving. Drifting or drag racing (in proper form with burn outs) is prohibited as Sepang management wants to protect the tarmac for Formula One.
Having such a high tech facility is good but when it is not accessible to the masses it is a problem. Many young hot headed drivers take to the city streets or highways to race illegally. The Government previously mooted the idea of creating a secondary smaller track just at the fringe of the city. The project was dubbed KL Motopark but shortly after the ground breaking ceremony the project ground to a halt for no specified reason. It could be lack of fund or other reasons. The street racing is a nuisance and many tragic accidents have occurred as a result. In the latest move by the Government a Minister came out with an idea to close off some streets on a sunday to allow moped racing. this is not well received by the public since the moped racing gangs are already a nuisance and it will encourage them more when there is no racing.
The areas surrounding Kuala Lumpur city still have abundance of vacant land which can be converted to a smaller race track with basic facilities. It is not necessary to build world class facilities on a small track, the aim is just to provide a place for the motor heads to drive or race taking all the illegal racing off the streets.
Having such a high tech facility is good but when it is not accessible to the masses it is a problem. Many young hot headed drivers take to the city streets or highways to race illegally. The Government previously mooted the idea of creating a secondary smaller track just at the fringe of the city. The project was dubbed KL Motopark but shortly after the ground breaking ceremony the project ground to a halt for no specified reason. It could be lack of fund or other reasons. The street racing is a nuisance and many tragic accidents have occurred as a result. In the latest move by the Government a Minister came out with an idea to close off some streets on a sunday to allow moped racing. this is not well received by the public since the moped racing gangs are already a nuisance and it will encourage them more when there is no racing.
The areas surrounding Kuala Lumpur city still have abundance of vacant land which can be converted to a smaller race track with basic facilities. It is not necessary to build world class facilities on a small track, the aim is just to provide a place for the motor heads to drive or race taking all the illegal racing off the streets.
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