Auto Today

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Volkswagen Polo Sedan launched – RM99,888

It is time to end all speculations you have about the Volkswagen Polo Sedan because it was launched just over an hour ago. The first thing that is on your mind now is the price, which you will find at the end of this post. Go ahead, scroll down, I’ll wait. Back? Good.
The Polo Sedan is billed to be the affordable Volkswagen, and to an extent, the most affordable German car this corner of the world. It is made in India and plans for CKDs will depend on market demand.

On the outside, the Polo Sedan come with chrome finishing on the front grille and on the front air-dam, trunk and fog light surrounds with height adjustable halogen headlights, and green-tinted heat absorbing glass. It wears 15-inch alloy wheels and comes in six colours – Candy White, Flash Red, Terra Beige, Shadow Blue, Reflex Silver and Deep Black.
There are also chrome accents on the inside as the Polo Sedan comes with an interior chrome package (chrome surrounds for light switches, AC vents, steering wheel accent, handbrake level knob and gearshift). As expected, there is a fair bit amount of leather that is found wrapped around the steering wheel, gearshift knob, handbrake lever and gearshift boot.

The seats are wrapped in ‘Metric’ fabric seat upholstery. Completing the salient equipment list are one-touch powered windows for all four windows, multi-function display, music player hooked to four speakers and rear doors with storage pockets.
In terms of safety, the Polo Sedan is outfitted with four airbags (two at the front and two at the sides), electronic Brake Pressure Distribution (EBD) and pinch-guard for all four windows. There is also the Intelligent Crash Response System, or ICRS, that automatically unlocks your doors and turns on the hazard lights in case of accidents.

The heart of the Polo Sedan is a 1.6 litre MPI naturally aspirated engine that generates 105 PS and 153 Nm of torque. It completes the 0-100 km/h sprint in 12.3 seconds and has a top speed of 183 km/h. As for fuel efficiency, the Polo Sedan does 6.5 l/100km. Paired with the engine is a six-speed torque-converter automatic transmission.
The price that Volkswagen is asking for a Polo Sedan is RM99,888, without registration and insurance.
The story does not end here. There will be more details and a first-impression drive of the Polo Sedan will be coming soon.

MINI introduces Hyde Park and Green Park design themes

April 19, 2012 at 11:00 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under BMW, Cars, International News

Something new from MINI, in this case new design models with exclusive colour schemes, equipment and fittings. It’s available worldwide for both the MINI and MINI Clubman body styles, in this case the MINI Cooper, Cooper S, Cooper D and Cooper SD as well as the respective Clubman variants.
The themes are called the MINI Hyde Park and MINI Green Park, the suffixes named after the recreational areas in London. The Hyde Park features a Pepper White body colour, combined with Hot Chocolate contrasting paintwork – available for the first time – on the roof and exterior mirror caps. For the Clubman, the lower sections of the C-pillar are finished in the body colour.

Also to be found, bonnet and side stripes in Hot Chocolate, while another highlight is indicator lenses done in transparent white – along with the direction indicators integrated in the headlights, this lends the side indicators and rear lights a markedly individual look as well.
Meanwhile, the traditional British passion for sporting competition is expressed in the MINI Green Park. The roof and exterior mirror caps display British Racing Green paintwork, as do the bonnet stripes, and the body of this one is also in Pepper White. Again, the lower C-pillars of the GP Clubman are done in body colour.

Inside both the Hyde Park and Green Park models, you’ll find contrast surfaces in Pepper White, reflecting a cabin design that takes its cue from the exterior. Those into these park homages can take their pick from seats in cloth/leather or leather, in black or Polar Beige, with the MINI Yours dashboard lined in leather in a black/Polar Beige combination.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

BMW M Performance Parts continue to expand the brand

By Damon LavrincRSS feed

Posted Mar 14th 2012 12:19AM

The relentless expansion of M-engineered and branded wares doesn't just stop at the M diesel quadruplets and the M135i. Here in Geneva, BMW announced the latest line of M performance parts that spans the spectrum from appearance bits to powertrain upgrades.

M Performance exhausts will be available for the new 1 Series (in Europe), along with the 3 Series and 5 Series. Carbon fiber front splitters join black kidney grilles in the catalog, as does a new version of the M Performance steering wheel. BMW also claims to have some suspension components are in the works, and all this kit will be on sale and ready for installation at BMW dealers in the United States this summer

Porsche driver busted for using toothpaste to alter license plate

By Jonathon RamseyRSS feed

Posted Mar 13 2012 12:03PM

A Chinese Porsche Boxster driver is in trouble for using toothpaste to avoid the law. The owner used the cavity-preventing goo to change the 1s on his license plates to 7s. This ended up attracting the attention of Qingdao police, who thought the 7s didn't look right.

The owner will be able to reflect on his mistake over some long walks: he was fined 2,200 yuan ($349 USD) and got six points taken off his licence. Since he only had six points left to give, he won't be driving for a while.