News: Cadillac Concept?

Nothing much is known about this concept but it was teased at Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. This car  is based on a philosophy 'American glamour meets American technology'. Other than that, everything else about the car is virtually unknown. More will be known when Paris Motor Show happens. For now, enjoy these two teasers.

News: Mazda CX-7 dead

Mazda has chosen to discontinue the CX-7 officially. Due to low sales despite major updates which had a naturally aspirated 4-cylinder engine with a 5-speed automatic gearbox, it was only time before Mazda decided to axe the CX-7. Unlike the RX-8 which had a final special edition run of cars to commemorate the end of the RX-8, the CX-7 dies a silent death. It is only logical for Mazda to do so with the CX-7 being outdated compared to their other two SUV stars - CX-5 and CX-9 and updating it wouldn't guarantee more sales. Anyway, bye CX-7, though you wouldn't be thoroughly missed.

News: Bentley Mulsanne Convertible

Mulsanne, a name with prestige and sounds like the name of your stallion, if you had one. Bentley has chopped the roof off their Mulsanne, given it a soft top and added a convertible to its Mulsanne name. No details have been revealed about the engine but most probably will be similar to that of the Mulsanne itself. A 6.75l V8 pushing 505 hp and a mind blowing 1020 Nm of torque. That's pure balls if you know what I mean. Even the name suggests macho.

According to Bentley themselves, this car is engineered to be more driver focused instead of the hardtop which had the passengers in mind. If you like this car, you'd better give Bentley a hint as it looks like they will only build this if it positively received by the public.

News: Lotus Exige V6 Cup

Lotus has finally done something right despite the chaos going on in the company - manufacture a more powerful Exige! The Exige has always been a wild beast with flared arches, racer like diffuser, and orange paint and was always meant to be an alternative to Porsche's GT3 RS but with the power output at about 200+ hp, it seemed the Exige hadn't the punch to match the looks. Until April this year that is since Lotus took the heart from the Evora and forced it in the Exige. With the new introduction of the Exige, as you would expect with Lotus purists, they weren't happy. Lotus took note and has given us a more hardcore version, the V6 Cup.

The V6 Cup will be in divided into two variants: Track Day priced at £62,995 and Full-On-Competition-Spec at £74,995. Both are powered by the same supercharged 3.5l V6 engine pushing 346 bhp and does the century sprint in 3.8 seconds. A 911 Carrera GTS does it in 4.4 seconds and has 408 bhp. The Exige has certainly entered supercar territory with that kind of acceleration.

This race worthy car has all the kit it needs to go racing. It comes equipped with Lotus Dynamic Performance Management that gives the driver to choose between Race, Sport and Touring modes. It also gets a multi-adjustable suspension, rear diffuser and wing, aero-optimized front splitter and Pirelli P-Zero Trofeo tires. Also in the package, removable steering wheel, HANS compliant race seats, four or six point harness, FIA approved fire extinguishers and a roll cage. Now purists, here's the car you requested.

News: Mercedes-Benz C180 in Malaysia

For those of you who want the C-Class so bad but haven't the moolah to own one, here's your chance. Introducing the C180. This is an entry model that has just been included in Mercedes-Benz's current C-Class lineups. As with all entry models, the C180 sports the lowest output engine, a 1.8l four pot pushing 156 bhp and 250 Nm from 1600 - 4200 rpm to be exact. Modest engine specs you say but since it is mated to a 7G-TRONIC dual clutch gearbox, it does the century sprint in 8.9 seconds (that's faster than the Volvo S60 in 0.1 seconds) and continues on to a top speed of 223 km/h.

With a price tag of RM 227, 888 without insurance, it is a full RM 35k cheaper than its second cheapest variant. Also, with that amount of cash discounted off, some bit of kit has to go as well. You get a black piano trim instead of the burr walnut or the aluminium choice in the C200s, the audio system does not have MP3 functionality and only gets a CD changer instead of 6, seats aren't of the memory kind though I'm not sure if it is still electronically operated, the power steering doesn't get speed sensitivity as you do in the C200s and there isn't bi-xenon headlamps. There are more but these options stated are the more noteworthy ones.

Now a question. If you're given this kind of money and have to choose a car within the C-Class segment, which would you go for? 5...4...3...2...1... So, guys? What's the decision? Tough eh? Good job Mercedes, you've now made choosing the competitions all the more harder.

News: Facelifted Kia Sorento

New bumper and lights go well with the car

Kia is about to update the Kia Sorento with a reengineered bodyshell, improved handling as well as lowered fuel consumptions and CO2 emissions with its new engines. There will be three engine choices; a 2.0l four cylinder with 148 hp, a 2.2l turbodiesel that pushes 197 bhp and 436 Nm (421Nm on the manual) and a new 2.4l GDI petrol unit capable of 194 bhp and 242 Nm of torque. All the models get a choice of a 6 speed manual or auto together with its drive orientation - 2WD or 4WD. Clearly, the diesel is the winner and should be the most sought after variant.

I bet the tail lights would be really pretty when it lights up

Interior wise, you get an updated cabin with new moon roof arrangements, a slightly redesigned dashboard with a 7 inch LCD screen and updated bits and bobs in the SUV - nothing really outstanding really. The exterior also sports redesigned bumpers and light clusters and to be honest, looks a bit better than it does now. So, take my word and hold your horses first if you've decided to splurge your money on the Sorento now. Wait.

2012 interior

2013 interior. Seems better looking huh?

News: Toyota GT 86, The Real Deal

For those of you who want the GT 86 but haven't the guts to splash the money on it instead of a decent continental family car, here's an advertisement produced for the UK to convince you, though in an animated film.

Interesting film, don't you think? I gots to get me one of these, in toy car form. :(