Kia just launched the Optima GT with a 2.0 turbo delivering 242hp and 345Nm. Looks very impressive on paper but the strange thing is that the acceleration time is only 7.4 seconds to 100 km/h. The Mercedes C250 with 211hp and 350Nm does it in 6.3 seconds and the BMW 330i with 250hp and 350Nm does it in 5.9 seconds. What happened to Kia??
Being more than 1.5 seconds slower is strange since the weight of the cars are very similar. It appears that the Kia's transmission isn't as efficient as the Merc or the BMW. Kia has 6 speed while the Merc has 9 and BMW has 8. I believe the difference is from the transmission loss rather than the lack of gears.
Historically Korean makers may claim relatively high horsepower ratings in their brochures but when it comes to execution something is always missing. Some may argue that Mercedes and BMW will usually understate their actual performance figures and use wheel horsepower rather than engine horsepower rating. This could be true since some people have dyno tested BMWs to check the performance figures. There was a case where the 320d was tested on the dyno, on paper the engine power was suppose to be 177hp but on the dyno the read out at the wheels was 170+ wheel horsepower. What this means is that BMW published wheel horsepower figures rather than engine horsepower. In this case the specimen car actually had over 200hp at the engine.
If Kia published engine horsepower figure this means that the 242hp would end up being 200hp or less at the wheels. This could explain the slower acceleration times.
Not to take anything away from Kia, it is definitely a good effort by them to make the car more sporty and offer something fresh. I know Kia and Hyundai usually benchmark themselves against Japanese rivals instead of European rivals. At RM179,000 it is definitely a good alternative to the run of the mill Camry or Accord. The Optima GT is definitely more sporty looking inside and out and is definitely faster than the Camry or Accord. First the buyer needs to get over the fact that the Koreans can challenge the Japanese for sporty drive.
Monday, 29 May 2017
Sunday, 28 May 2017
Proton and Geely
Looks like the rumours of Geely buying 49.9% of Proton is materialising. Proton is really in a financial rut and have no choice but to sell a large part to Geely. Dr. Mahathir the founder and creator of Proton is crying about it. Despite all this the current Malaysian Government is not willing to assist Proton any further. The relation between the present government and Dr. Mahathir is at its lowest which will literally accelerate the demise of Proton. Time and time again Proton has asked the Government for money and with so many prior financial injections there was no improvement made to the way Proton conducted business.
Proton has become a real burden to the Malaysian public. The original concept was good however with the way Dr. Mahathir handled business he only knew how to create protective business environment for Proton. It had an unfair advantage over competing car makers and this made them complacent over the years. Proton never improved itself and did not change its ways since the 1980s. Every other car maker has moved forward with product development and expanded well beyond their own shores.
When the news broke out that Proton would sell 49% to Geely and Dr. Mahathir was seen as a very unhappy person, the public was not sympathetic to him at all. In fact most Malaysians cursed him for creating Proton and forcing the public to buy cars at ridiculous prices and also creating the AP system that only enriched a few businessmen that were close to him. Seeing that the current turn of events have made Proton look like a useless company, everyone is waiting to see what will happen. Will Geely invest heavily to turn Proton around or will they eventually pull out. Geely for sure will not accept the way the current Proton management runs the business and they would want the corrupt management to be kicked out. Proton will also have to beg for money from Geely since the government will not be providing any more funding. Proton would have to listen to Geely's management if they want to have funds to keep running the business. Geely on the other hand will be able to expand into Malaysia and South East Asia very quickly.
The question in Malaysia is whether Malaysians will buy Geely cars since China made / China branded cars have not been well received. Geely's cars have improved tremendously in the last 10 years and ever since buying over Volvo, Geely has made big steps forward in terms of product development. Some technology transfer has naturally taken place and this can only benefit Geely. As an observer I do hope that the bulk of the corrupt Proton management will be kicked out once and for all. They have only contributed to the demise of the company and milked the company for all its got at the expense of Malaysian tax payers.
Proton has become a real burden to the Malaysian public. The original concept was good however with the way Dr. Mahathir handled business he only knew how to create protective business environment for Proton. It had an unfair advantage over competing car makers and this made them complacent over the years. Proton never improved itself and did not change its ways since the 1980s. Every other car maker has moved forward with product development and expanded well beyond their own shores.
When the news broke out that Proton would sell 49% to Geely and Dr. Mahathir was seen as a very unhappy person, the public was not sympathetic to him at all. In fact most Malaysians cursed him for creating Proton and forcing the public to buy cars at ridiculous prices and also creating the AP system that only enriched a few businessmen that were close to him. Seeing that the current turn of events have made Proton look like a useless company, everyone is waiting to see what will happen. Will Geely invest heavily to turn Proton around or will they eventually pull out. Geely for sure will not accept the way the current Proton management runs the business and they would want the corrupt management to be kicked out. Proton will also have to beg for money from Geely since the government will not be providing any more funding. Proton would have to listen to Geely's management if they want to have funds to keep running the business. Geely on the other hand will be able to expand into Malaysia and South East Asia very quickly.
The question in Malaysia is whether Malaysians will buy Geely cars since China made / China branded cars have not been well received. Geely's cars have improved tremendously in the last 10 years and ever since buying over Volvo, Geely has made big steps forward in terms of product development. Some technology transfer has naturally taken place and this can only benefit Geely. As an observer I do hope that the bulk of the corrupt Proton management will be kicked out once and for all. They have only contributed to the demise of the company and milked the company for all its got at the expense of Malaysian tax payers.
Wednesday, 12 April 2017
Dodge Challenger SRT Demon - too much power?
Looks like Dodge is really going all out with the power craze. Last year they released the Hellcat pushing the car's power to 720hp. Now they have gone one step further and boosted the car to 840hp!! The Hellcat was popular no doubt about it but many people couldn't really handle the power. Dodge was smart to offer the owners 2 sets of keys, one which will allow the car to run on a lower power setting and another one for maximum power. Many owners thought that having a tonne of power they can beat anything on the drag strip but they were so wrong!!
Many of the Hellcat owners were humiliated at the drag strip by Tesla Model S and many other 4WD equipped sports cars. The Hellcat struggled to get power down since the rear tires were not wide enough.
The new SRT Demon has been improved and seems like almost no expense has been spared with air conditioning cooled air intake system and much wider rear drag radials! This will no doubt make the car faster to launch from the drag strip but driving it on a road course it will require skill to control 840hp! Seeing from the numerous accidents and the lack of understanding from the people who will buy this type of car, it could be a recipe for disaster. Dodge acknowledges the potential danger of handing the keys of a 840hp monster to a person with little driving experience or have no idea how to control such a beast, Dodge offers a driving course for the new buyers. This is definitely needed since going fast in a straight line is fine but going fast in a turn and not killing yourself is another thing.
Male ego can often be the root of the problem. Having the money to buy a high powered car is one thing but knowing how to drive it is completely different. Very often people who buy such high powered cars are buying it out of ego. Can they really handle so much power? I have 2 friends who were ex-race instructors and the feedback they received from teaching hundreds of students is that ego is the real problem. Many male students refuse to listen to instructions and think that more power will help them go faster. They don't even realise that using the right tires will make a huge difference. Many struggle to follow instructions on when to apply the brakes, where to turn and when to apply the throttle. Without sufficient car control and understanding the basics of how to control the car any car with a lot of power will be dangerous.
For those who have the skill to drive a car of this performance level it will definitely a lot of fun. For those who don't possess the skill to drive a car of this performance level it is like giving a gun to a child!
Many of the Hellcat owners were humiliated at the drag strip by Tesla Model S and many other 4WD equipped sports cars. The Hellcat struggled to get power down since the rear tires were not wide enough.
The new SRT Demon has been improved and seems like almost no expense has been spared with air conditioning cooled air intake system and much wider rear drag radials! This will no doubt make the car faster to launch from the drag strip but driving it on a road course it will require skill to control 840hp! Seeing from the numerous accidents and the lack of understanding from the people who will buy this type of car, it could be a recipe for disaster. Dodge acknowledges the potential danger of handing the keys of a 840hp monster to a person with little driving experience or have no idea how to control such a beast, Dodge offers a driving course for the new buyers. This is definitely needed since going fast in a straight line is fine but going fast in a turn and not killing yourself is another thing.
Male ego can often be the root of the problem. Having the money to buy a high powered car is one thing but knowing how to drive it is completely different. Very often people who buy such high powered cars are buying it out of ego. Can they really handle so much power? I have 2 friends who were ex-race instructors and the feedback they received from teaching hundreds of students is that ego is the real problem. Many male students refuse to listen to instructions and think that more power will help them go faster. They don't even realise that using the right tires will make a huge difference. Many struggle to follow instructions on when to apply the brakes, where to turn and when to apply the throttle. Without sufficient car control and understanding the basics of how to control the car any car with a lot of power will be dangerous.
For those who have the skill to drive a car of this performance level it will definitely a lot of fun. For those who don't possess the skill to drive a car of this performance level it is like giving a gun to a child!
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Bugatti Chiron
Bugatti is a legendary name that went on a sabbatical for decades until it resurfaced again in 2005 showing that it is not dead and is capable of making hypercars. The Veyron was born and was the first production car that had 1000hp. It was unheard of at that time and people with fat cheque books were more than happy to pay this money to have a 1000hp under their right foot. Fast forward 12 years and Bugatti is back again with another model. This time it is called the Chiron. It is nearly ready for production and only a limited of test units are on display and under live testing.
Why did Bugatti develop the Chiron? Bugatti no longer held the edge over the other super car makers because Ferrari have since introduced the LaFerrari with 900+hp, Mclaren have introduced their P1 with 900+hp and Porsche introduced the 918 with 800+hp. All of this have made the Veyron look old. Bugatti had to move the yardstick more further and give it that exclusivity. 1000hp is no longer magical, it has become normal. The Chiron have moved the yardstick much further now with its 1500hp output. The car still comes with 8 litre W16 quad turbo engine but much have been revised to allow for greater efficiency. the handling of the car has also tremendously improved making it much more playable and nimble and not behave like a big drag strip monster.
The Chiron's interior design is also current and oozes with style. The car is not capable of 260mph and there is speculation that it may eventually achieve 300mph over its lifespan since Bugatti will undoubtedly tweak the car for further performance improvements. The price tag for the car is 2 million British pounds and this is by far the most expensive hypercar on sale now.
Buying a Bugatti is like joining an exclusive club and the membership's perk is the ability to go well over 200mph! I am very sure we will see many Chiron's in Dubai, Shanghai and Monte Carlo in the very near future.
After the release of the Chiron the super car makers like Ferrari and Mclaren will be a rush to introduce more powerful cars to compete in this exclusive hypercar market segment.
Why did Bugatti develop the Chiron? Bugatti no longer held the edge over the other super car makers because Ferrari have since introduced the LaFerrari with 900+hp, Mclaren have introduced their P1 with 900+hp and Porsche introduced the 918 with 800+hp. All of this have made the Veyron look old. Bugatti had to move the yardstick more further and give it that exclusivity. 1000hp is no longer magical, it has become normal. The Chiron have moved the yardstick much further now with its 1500hp output. The car still comes with 8 litre W16 quad turbo engine but much have been revised to allow for greater efficiency. the handling of the car has also tremendously improved making it much more playable and nimble and not behave like a big drag strip monster.
The Chiron's interior design is also current and oozes with style. The car is not capable of 260mph and there is speculation that it may eventually achieve 300mph over its lifespan since Bugatti will undoubtedly tweak the car for further performance improvements. The price tag for the car is 2 million British pounds and this is by far the most expensive hypercar on sale now.
Buying a Bugatti is like joining an exclusive club and the membership's perk is the ability to go well over 200mph! I am very sure we will see many Chiron's in Dubai, Shanghai and Monte Carlo in the very near future.
After the release of the Chiron the super car makers like Ferrari and Mclaren will be a rush to introduce more powerful cars to compete in this exclusive hypercar market segment.
Tuesday, 4 April 2017
Proton is dying and no one is buying over the company
Proton has been on the death bed for years and every time there is a potential saviour in sight the deal goes sour one way or another. Quite often the would be potential partner is a larger car foreign company looking to utilise Malaysia as a production base to capitalise on the Asean Free Trade Agreement and supply cars to other South East Asian countries such as Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam and Singapore. During the initial talks everything looks positive until further investigation by the potential partner will uncover massive levels of corruption and other inadequacies.
Malaysia is in a strategic location to have a factory to manufacture or assemble cars to be supplied to neighbouring countries but Proton may not be the right partner. There are just too many 'devils' in the company that have been enjoying kick backs from suppliers for decades. This culture of corruption is so entrenched that it has been systematically destroying the company from inside. No business minded car company would accept this and if they were to partake in any joint venture these 'devils' would have to be removed from the company. However, so far Proton management has not been willing to remove these individual because many of them are in the management team.
VW had done their due diligence many years ago when they considered partnering with Proton but seeing this corruption based corporate culture VW didn't want anything to do with it. Now that Peugeot and Geely were considering to buy Proton, the deals have gone sour and Geely has backed out. It is very likely that upon discovering the levels of corruption and Proton's management's refusal to remove the corrupt members of the management Geely would not entertain working in such an environment. Peugeot is still in talks with Proton but it is also likely that they will back out too.
Proton will end up rotting and closing down before long since the Malaysian government no longer have the funds to bail out Proton after doing so numerous times. With each bail out or cash injection, nothing happened and the money just ended up in the pockets of a select few.
Without further investment or securing a joint venture partner or a buy out, Proton will not survive another 10 years. Their stock levels are extremely high since many people refuse to buy their cars and the operational costs are killing the company. The new models with higher margins are no popular. Only the basic Saga model is selling but that model alone is not sufficient to keep the company afloat.
Malaysia is in a strategic location to have a factory to manufacture or assemble cars to be supplied to neighbouring countries but Proton may not be the right partner. There are just too many 'devils' in the company that have been enjoying kick backs from suppliers for decades. This culture of corruption is so entrenched that it has been systematically destroying the company from inside. No business minded car company would accept this and if they were to partake in any joint venture these 'devils' would have to be removed from the company. However, so far Proton management has not been willing to remove these individual because many of them are in the management team.
VW had done their due diligence many years ago when they considered partnering with Proton but seeing this corruption based corporate culture VW didn't want anything to do with it. Now that Peugeot and Geely were considering to buy Proton, the deals have gone sour and Geely has backed out. It is very likely that upon discovering the levels of corruption and Proton's management's refusal to remove the corrupt members of the management Geely would not entertain working in such an environment. Peugeot is still in talks with Proton but it is also likely that they will back out too.
Proton will end up rotting and closing down before long since the Malaysian government no longer have the funds to bail out Proton after doing so numerous times. With each bail out or cash injection, nothing happened and the money just ended up in the pockets of a select few.
Without further investment or securing a joint venture partner or a buy out, Proton will not survive another 10 years. Their stock levels are extremely high since many people refuse to buy their cars and the operational costs are killing the company. The new models with higher margins are no popular. Only the basic Saga model is selling but that model alone is not sufficient to keep the company afloat.
Monday, 3 April 2017
VW just bought Ferrari!
The biggest news to hit the automotive industry last week was when VW bought 90% of Ferrari essentially taking control of the company. It is was one of the most amazing news since VW is the largest automotive group in the world and by buying Ferrari it just expands their portfolio further. VW already owns Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bugatti. Adding Ferrari would make VW the largest luxury car brand owner in the world.
This also makes any other rival tiny in perspective. Ferrari has brand value, F1 technology and a loyal following of elite customers. Rivals like Toyota are nowhere near since Toyota's most prestigious brand is only Lexus which many know is a glorified Toyota. General Motors, Ford, PSA and Fiat are now far behind VW.
Porsche and Lamborghini have been enjoying growth for the last 15 years which contributes to VW's group business. Bugatti also recently had a resurgence since the introduction of the new Chiron model.
There is also rumours of VW or Audi entering F1. VW has stayed away from F1 thus far and this news is definitely something interesting. VW has enjoyed success with selling cars without getting involved in F1. In fact the only companies to really benefit from road car sales stemming from involvement in F1 is Ferrari and Mercedes Benz. Renault and Honda have not benefitted much in the last few years despite Renault winning with Redbull few years ago.
Toyota flopped in their F1 campaign before pulling the plug and Honda looks like it is potentially facing the same fate. Several full season in F1 and not a single victory to show for it. F1 is a cruel sport and not every car company is cut out for it. Even BMW only managed several victories with Williams before quitting.
This also makes any other rival tiny in perspective. Ferrari has brand value, F1 technology and a loyal following of elite customers. Rivals like Toyota are nowhere near since Toyota's most prestigious brand is only Lexus which many know is a glorified Toyota. General Motors, Ford, PSA and Fiat are now far behind VW.
Porsche and Lamborghini have been enjoying growth for the last 15 years which contributes to VW's group business. Bugatti also recently had a resurgence since the introduction of the new Chiron model.
There is also rumours of VW or Audi entering F1. VW has stayed away from F1 thus far and this news is definitely something interesting. VW has enjoyed success with selling cars without getting involved in F1. In fact the only companies to really benefit from road car sales stemming from involvement in F1 is Ferrari and Mercedes Benz. Renault and Honda have not benefitted much in the last few years despite Renault winning with Redbull few years ago.
Toyota flopped in their F1 campaign before pulling the plug and Honda looks like it is potentially facing the same fate. Several full season in F1 and not a single victory to show for it. F1 is a cruel sport and not every car company is cut out for it. Even BMW only managed several victories with Williams before quitting.
Monday, 23 January 2017
End of the road for Faraday Friday?
Earlier this month at CES Faraday Automotive introduced their Tesla rivalling car the Friday but before it can even go into production the company is looking like it will not last much longer. There are many rumours that the company will close down if no fresh funds are injected into the company. Several key top personnel have left the company since end of 2016. Building a car from scratch is no easy feat and without a product to sell to recover the investment cost it is an uphill battle to turn things around. Time is not on their side and having spent 3 years to develop the cars the money is surely being burnt at a fast rate. Total staff count of 1400 is a large number for a new start up. Despite the CEO and founder being a billionaire, throwing millions into the company without a solid product to sell will eventually make any investor think twice.
Faraday had a good concept but failing in their first 2 attempts definitely hurt them. With some fresh injection of money Faraday can turn things around but they need to focus on getting the basics right and move away from attempting to make a sports car and concentrate on making a simple electric car that is affordable and innovative. It will be hard for Faraday to compete head on with Tesla since Tesla has almost a decade head start over Faraday. Tesla is ahead in terms of infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and R&D. The best way is for Faraday to make an affordable entry level electric car that is able to be charged quickly and offer good driving range. Keeping it affordable will allow them to quickly get cars into the market and gradually gain market share while at the same time plan for the charging infrastructure.
Many companies make bold claims about their ability to build better cars than Tesla but so far none have even made a car that can rival the Tesla Model S or P. No point making claims when there is no product to show.
The other new kids on the block are Rimac and NextEv. Lets see which of them will survive and produce a car that people can afford to buy and is practical to use on a daily basis. Concepts are nice but no one sells concepts. People want to buy real cars and not dreams that the car makers project.
Faraday had a good concept but failing in their first 2 attempts definitely hurt them. With some fresh injection of money Faraday can turn things around but they need to focus on getting the basics right and move away from attempting to make a sports car and concentrate on making a simple electric car that is affordable and innovative. It will be hard for Faraday to compete head on with Tesla since Tesla has almost a decade head start over Faraday. Tesla is ahead in terms of infrastructure, technology, manufacturing and R&D. The best way is for Faraday to make an affordable entry level electric car that is able to be charged quickly and offer good driving range. Keeping it affordable will allow them to quickly get cars into the market and gradually gain market share while at the same time plan for the charging infrastructure.
Many companies make bold claims about their ability to build better cars than Tesla but so far none have even made a car that can rival the Tesla Model S or P. No point making claims when there is no product to show.
The other new kids on the block are Rimac and NextEv. Lets see which of them will survive and produce a car that people can afford to buy and is practical to use on a daily basis. Concepts are nice but no one sells concepts. People want to buy real cars and not dreams that the car makers project.
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