The Malaysian Insider :: Drive

Aston Martin unveils celebratory centenary concept

Mon, 20 May 2013 23:08:36 GMT

LONDON, May 21 — British carmaker Aston Martin officially took the wraps off its highly anticipated CC100 Speedster Concept at this weekend’s 24 Hours of Nürburgring race. The one-off creation, inspired by the 1959 Aston Martin DBR1 race car — which when driven by Sterling Moss demolished the competition on the very same track — brings the ...

Aston Martin, Mercedes take Nürburgring by storm

Mon, 20 May 2013 10:52:01 GMT

LONDON, May 25 — British carmaker Aston Martin gave its fans 100 reasons to remember this year’s endurance race with a parade through history. What better way to mark a first centenary in business as a sportscar manufacturer than with a 100-car parade around one of the world’s most famous — and equally notorious — racing circuits. The Nürburgring ...

Beautiful cars in a beautiful setting

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:49:51 GMT

ROME, May 20 — Held on the picturesque shores of Italy’s Lake Como since 1929, the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este is regarded by many as the most significant event in the classic car calendar and the one that does the most to celebrate the perseveration of historic cars and motorcycles. For three days each May, the grounds of the Grand Hotel ...

Toyota starts exports of Yaris to North America

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:05:55 GMT

PARIS, May 17 — Toyota Motor Corp has begun exporting French-made Yaris compact cars to customers in North America for the first time this month. Toyota said it planned to export around 25,000 gasoline versions of the Yaris built at the northern French town of Onnaing, near Valenciennes, to the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico ...

Mercedes showcases Google in-car integration at I/O conference

Thu, 16 May 2013 01:38:22 GMT

BERLIN, May 16 — German carmaker Mercedes is lining up alongside Silicon Valley luminaries to demonstrate its latest app developments as part of Google’s annual developers event. The DigitalDriveStyle app combines powerful Google search, location and mapping features into a single, safe-to-use-while-driving service for Mercedes owners. The system ...

Lennon’s Ferrari 330GT to be auctioned off this summer

Tue, 14 May 2013 23:07:28 GMT

LONDON, May 15 — On July 12, Bonhams will auction off John Lennon’s very first car, a Ferrari 330GT Coupé, during the Festival of Speed in Goodwood, England. The sports car is expected to fetch between £180,000 (RM900,000) and £220,000. Lennon bought this sky-blue right-hand-drive Ferrari 330GT 2+2 Coupé for £6,500 back in 1965. The late Beatle ...

Lamborghini’s latest display of hedonism

Mon, 13 May 2013 23:50:56 GMT

NEW YORK, May 14 — Built to commemorate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary, the Egoista is rather aptly named. Unveiled in Sant’Agata Bolognese by its creator, Volkswagen’s head of design, Walter De Silva, the Egoista doesn’t so much whisper “look at me” as it does scream it at decibel levels dangerous to the human ear. “This is a car made for one ...

New Yorkers get pumped up for bike sharing

Sun, 12 May 2013 23:34:13 GMT

NEW YORK, May 13 — In a parking lot near the East River in Manhattan, Adriana Alltari gathers her courage, lifts her feet off the ground and wobbles away on New York’s latest mode of public transport: a bicycle. Alltari, a 32-year-old engineer, was taking part in free bike riding classes as the Big Apple makes final preparations for a programme ...

Rocky road for electric car market

Sun, 12 May 2013 07:14:06 GMT

WASHINGTON, May 12 — The road has gotten bumpier for electric cars. Coda Automotive, one of what had been a promising crop of electric car startups, filed for bankruptcy protection this month, and said it would reorganize around the electric storage market. High-end electric car maker Fisker Automotive, which has had financial woes for months, ...

VW wows festival crowd with super GTI concept

Sat, 11 May 2013 07:54:27 GMT

LONDON, May 11 — The Design Vision GTI is based on a standard Volkswagen Golf and was built specifically for the marque’s biggest fans at their yearly gathering. Every year in May, 150,000 of the Volkswagen Golf GTI’s biggest and most committed fans descend upon the Austrian city of Reifinitz for the Wörthersee Treffen (this year, running May ...

Bentley launches exclusive Le Mans range in US

Fri, 10 May 2013 12:08:21 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 10— To celebrate the 90th anniversary of Bentley’s first win at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race, the company is building an exclusive range of Le Mans limited edition specification cars solely for its North American clientele. In all, Bentley won the flagship endurance race six times between 1924 and 2003 and as such has ...

India car sales on worst sales streak in history

Fri, 10 May 2013 06:15:22 GMT

NEW DELHI, May 10 — India’s car market is enduring its worst sales decline in history after sales in April fell for a sixth straight month, according to an industry body, as economic gloom and rising ownership costs savage a once much-vaunted growth market. High interest rates, rising fuel costs and the dark clouds hanging over India’s economy ...

China April auto sales up despite weak economy

Thu, 09 May 2013 23:46:48 GMT

SHANGHAI, May 10 — China’s auto sales surged 13.4 per cent year-on-year in April, an industry group said yesterday, despite weakness in the world’s second-largest economy. A total of 1.84 million vehicles were sold last month in China, the largest auto market in the world, the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers said in a ...

Volkswagen recalls 91,000 cars in Japan, says report

Thu, 09 May 2013 08:43:57 GMT

FRANKFURT, May 9 — Volkswagen is recalling about 91,000 cars in Japan due to possible gearbox problems, German news agency dpa reported late yesterday, citing a spokesman for the company. Volkswagen was not immediately available for comment today, which is a public holiday in most parts of Germany. The report comes after Volkswagen said in March ...

Ferrari said to be planning an even more exclusive hypercar

Thu, 09 May 2013 02:19:20 GMT

ROME, May 9 — Ferrari has confirmed that all 499 examples of its latest flagship, the LaFerrari, are already spoken for as biggest rival Porsche reveals mixed fortunes with its latest flagship offering, the 918 Spyder. Ferrari’s parent company, Fiat, is reportedly examining other opportunities to extend the car’s production run in some way with ...

Smart, BoConcept partner for new car and furniture range

Tue, 07 May 2013 23:15:30 GMT

LONDON, May 8 — Carmaker Smart is teaming up with Danish interior design company BoConcept for a limited edition car and furniture range. Based on the Smart fortwo two-seater city car, the SmartBoConcept boasts a matte crystal white exterior with matte brown accents while inside, the cabin has been dressed to reflect modern interior design trends. ...

350 reasons to celebrate Lamborghini’s birthday

Sun, 05 May 2013 14:51:22 GMT

LOS ANGELES, May 5 – What is 4.5km long and boasts over 190,000 horsepower? The Lamborghini 50th birthday convoy of new and classic models. In a fitting tribute to the at-times eccentric supercar builder on the occaision of its 50th anniversary, a convoy of 350 Lamborghinis will tour through some of the most picturesque regions of Italy on their ...

The McLaren P1, the super popular supercar

Sun, 05 May 2013 05:09:20 GMT

LONDON, May 5 — The company says it has already sold 275 units of its P1 supercar to clients in Europe, the Middle East and North America and is well on its way to selling all 375 of its US$1.3 million (RM3.9 million) flagship model, less than two months after it made its official debut at the Geneva Motor Show. The McLaren P1 combines an electric ...

Auto industry love for Mexico grows with new Audi plant

Sun, 05 May 2013 03:27:47 GMT

SAN JOSE CHIAPA, Mexico, May 5 — The automotive industry’s growing love affair with Mexico was celebrated here yesterday as Audi executives laid the foundation stone for its first assembly plant in the Americas. Volkswagen AG’s premium brand is joining a parade of automakers who have announced plans to build cars in a country that is seen as a ...

Germany, Spain auto sales spur recovery hopes

Sun, 05 May 2013 03:04:57 GMT

BERLIN, May 5 — Car sales rose in Germany and Spain last month, industry data shows, adding to signs that Europe’s austerity-driven auto slump could soon bottom out. Spanish car sales jumped 11 per cent, partly due to holiday timing and government incentives. Registrations in Germany, the region’s biggest market, advanced 3.8 per cent for the ...

Porsche unleashes new 911 Turbo models

Fri, 03 May 2013 12:54:13 GMT

BERLIN, May 3 — Longer wheelbase, larger wheels, a more powerful engine and a lighter frame all combine to keep the latest 911 Turbo and Turbo S at the forefront of automotive technology and performance. Capable of going from 0-100kph in 3.1 seconds and on to 316kph thanks to a 3.8-litre, flat-six, twin turbocharged engine, the latest Porsche ...

Qoros 3: Officially the best looking car in China

Fri, 03 May 2013 09:34:13 GMT

BEIJING, May 3 — The new Quoros 3 sedan has won the Most Beautiful Automobile China award at the Shanghai motor show. Styled in Munich and Shanghai, the Qoros 3 is the first car to be built by the company since its formation in 2007 and attempts to blend European design cues with contemporary Chinese driving needs, and as such, it is the most ...

Toyota boss to take wheel at Nurburgring

Thu, 02 May 2013 23:19:05 GMT

TOKYO, May 3 — The motorsport-loving president of Japanese auto giant Toyota will get behind the wheel in the Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race in Germany later this month, a company spokesman said on Wednesday. Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the group’s founder, will be one of a team of four driving a Toyota car at the Nurburgring Circuit in the ...

Family sedans losing ground to crossovers on convenience, price

Thu, 02 May 2013 04:29:50 GMT

DETROIT, May 2 — Family sedans like the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord are losing ground this year as American families and empty-nest baby boomers find they would rather handle life’s daily chores in a crossover. Midsize sedans remain the single largest segment of the US auto industry. But their share of the industry has shrunk this year, ...

US car sales streak continues in April

Thu, 02 May 2013 02:27:50 GMT

CHICAGO, May 2 — US auto sales looked set to continue their winning streak in April as General Motors, Ford and Chrysler reported double digit growth yesterday while rival Toyota posted a modest loss. Hot new models and low interest rates lured customers into showrooms to replace ageing vehicles they had held onto for far longer than usual as a ...