New Mazda3 coming
Both the Mazda6 (not available in
Thailand) and the Mazda3 have been very popular motorcars.
In this last January the 3 became the best selling car in
Australia! This popularity can be seen all over the world.
For Mazda, the 3 has been a winner.
New
Mazda3
However, the Mazda3 is now five years into its model life,
and a replacement is on its way here, and from all reports,
this new Mazda3 is even better. It had its international
launch late last year, and I hope we may see it at the
Bangkok International Motor Show at the end of this month.
If there was an area of complaint with the Mazda3, it was
noise. Not that it was really overpowering, but it was
there. The new model Mazda3 has been improved by between
6-11 percent as regards noise, with the aerodynamics having
been refined to reduce wind noise, new tyres have been
chosen to cut tyre roar, extra rigidity has been built into
the body and vibration dampening material has been
optimized. All up the result is a car that is noticeably
quieter although it is reported there is still wind noise at
high speeds.
Mazda has confirmed that there will three engine choices for
the new car; 108 kW 2.0 liter petrol, 122 kW 2.5 liter
petrol and the 110 kW 2.2 liter turbodiesel. The old 2.3
liter four cylinder which was the top of the line, is
replaced by the 2.5 liter unit. Power is only up by 7 kW but
there is 23 Nm more torque. The coarse sound of the old car
is replaced with a more desirable note; one that is subtle,
too, thanks to the changes to the chassis rigidity and
dampening material.
The six-speed manual gearbox will be standard on all models
with the five-speed Activematic replacing the four-speed
auto on the petrol cars. The biggest change is in the cabin
where new wheel-mounted shift paddles replace the previously
hidden buttons behind the wheel. It may seem minor but it
does help to make the driving experience more enjoyable.
The new look is more futuristic. It follows the same theme
as the new Mazda6 with new sharper headlights and heavily
stylized wheel arch flares.
Pencils out for the F1 calendar
A little over three weeks now to the first
Grand Prix for 2009, being held in Melbourne Australia.
Just which team has managed to develop the quickest car over
the New Year period? How many will run the controversial
KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System)? Will the ex-Honda
team be there with new owners? So many imponderables that
will finally be answered when the red lights go out to
signify the start of the 2009 season.
Here is the
2009 FIA Formula One world championship calendar:
29 March Australia
(Melbourne)
5 April Malaysia
(Sepang)
19 April China
(Shanghai)
26 April Bahrain
(Sakhir)
10 May Spain
(Barcelona)
24 May Monaco
7 June Turkey
(Istanbul)
21 June Great
Britain (Silverstone)
12 July Germany
(Nurburgring)
26 July Hungary
(Hungaroring)
23 August Europe
(Valencia)
30 August Belgium
(Spa-Francorchamps)
13 September Italy (Monza)
27 September Singapore
4 October Japan
(Suzuka)
18 October Brazil
(Interlagos)
1 November Abu Dhabi
No French,
Canadian or US GPs this year, but at least Spa is still on.
Abu Dhabi is a new track, and Australia and Malaysia are
holding their GPs later in the day to make the races more TV
viewer friendly in Europe.
The Australian GP will start at 1 p.m. Thai time. I watch
the action on the big screen at Jameson’s Irish Pub. Join
me for lunch and the discussions afterwards.
Autotrivia Quiz
Last week I asked which was the first
motor car to be offered with a reversing light? The correct
answer was the American Wills-Sainte Claire in 1921.
So to this week. Retractable headlights were first offered
in 1936. On what car, and how were they actuated?
For the Automania FREE beer this week, be the first correct
answer to email [email protected]
Good luck!
Tesla now building a
four door
The Tesla company in the US, the manufacturer of
electric performance vehicles has built a four door sedan as
well as its roadster. This new vehicle will be released at
an invitation-only event to be held at its California design
studio on March 26.
Tesla said that confirmation of the imminent receipt of loan
payments from the US federal government, as part of the
Obama administration’s Advanced Technology Vehicles
Manufacturing loan program, would keep Tesla on target to
commence production in 2011.
Tesla
4 door
The Department of Energy has agreed funding for its $US350
million loan application for the Model S, which will join
the Tesla Roadster already on sale. Tesla expect a waiting
list for the new sedan, but if you already have a roadster,
then you go to the top of the list.
Tesla announced at last month’s Detroit motor show a deal
with Daimler to co-develop 1000 battery packs and chargers
for the Smart cars - an arrangement it now says could both
expand to include tens of thousands of batteries annually as
well as lead to a series of strategic alliances to build EVs
for other car-makers.
Tesla also announced it was taking orders for the Roadster
Sport, which the company says is capable of 0-100 km/h under
4 seconds, with first deliveries due in June.
This week it also announced agreements for Tesla sales and
service centre leases in Chicago and London’s Knightsbridge
district. It says it is close to finalizing locations in
Manhattan, Miami, Seattle and Munich, with all six retail
outlets due to open this year.
The Tesla battery pack should last about seven years or at
least 160,000km “under normal use”. Customers can also pay
$US12,000, up front, to receive a replacement battery pack
after seven years.
MSN Cars
Car of the Year 2009
MSN Cars is
a premier automotive website and they have just had a vote
for their Car of the Year. I found the results interesting,
and quite surprising.
The top 10 (percentage of the vote in brackets)
1. Nissan
GT-R 29 percent
2. Jaguar
XF 12 percent
3. Ferrari
California 11 percent
4. Volkswagen Scirocco 11
percent
5. BMW
X6 9 percent
6. Audi
Q5 8 percent
7. Mitsubishi Evo X
8 percent
8. Ford
Fiesta 6 percent
9. Vauxhall
Insignia 3 percent
10. Tesla
Roadster 2 percent
Nissan GT-R
From this
poll, it is obvious that the new Nissan GT-R has captured
the imagination of everyone. The previous model, now out of
production for some years, was sensational. It seems the
new one is as well. Unfortunately, in this country, many of
these vehicles are not available, though the new Scirocco is
being brought in by the grey market suppliers. The Ford
Fiesta we should get by this time next year, being a local
(Eastern Seaboard) manufacture. The others in the list just
show how starved we are for choices in this country, I am
afraid.
Top 10
car auction records (US$ prices)
The world
may be in a financial mess, but the prices of classic cars
keeps on going up. A new hedge against inflation? Buy your
Ferrari 250 GT and place it in a bank vault and bring it out
later for auctions. On second thoughts, leave it at home,
banks are not so safe these days.
Ferrari 250 GT
Here are some the record auction prices, beginning at a
shade under 11 million dollars.
1 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Cal
Spyder $10,894,400
2 1931 Bugatti Royale Type
41 $9,800,000
3 1962 Ferrari 330
TRI/LM $9,281,250
4 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540
K $8,252,201
5 1937 Bugatti Type 57SC
Atalante Coupe $7,920,000
6 1929 Mercedes-Benz 38/250
SSK $7,443,070
7 1904 Rolls-Royce
10hp $7,254,290
8 1962 Ferrari 250
LM $6,979,000
9 1931 Bugatti Royale Type
41 $6,500,000
10 1962 Ferrari 330
TRI/LM $6,490,000
Bangkok International
Motor Show
End of this
month is the Bangkok International Motor Show, and with the
way the auto industry is world-wide, I would suggest that
there will be plenty of sales incentives on offer. If you
are thinking about a new car, BITEC (Km 1 Bangna-Trat Road)
and the motor show is the place to be. The show runs from
March 28 up to April 6.
In addition to the new car salon the show also has classic
cars and bikes, the Mustang, VW, Austin-Mini and sports car
clubs as well as accessories and off-road shows.
Natter Nosh and Noggin
The monthly car enthusiasts meeting will be at
Jameson’s Irish Pub on Soi AR next to the Nova Park
development. The car (and bike) enthusiasts meet on the
second Monday of the month, so this time it is Monday (March
9) at Jameson’s at 7 p.m. This is a totally informal meeting
of like-minded souls to discuss their pet motoring (and
motorcycling) loves and hates. Many interesting debates come
from these evenings. Come along and meet guys who have a
common interest in cars and bikes, and enjoy the Jameson’s
Steak night special, washed down with a few beers.
One reason for America’s woes
The latest figures from the Consumer Reports
organization placed GM second last in reliability. But it
doesn’t stop there with just GM. US models accounted for
eight of the 10 worst scores in testing and reliability
ratings, with the Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara scoring
just 17 out of 100. The Lexus LS 460L scored a 99 out of a
100 as the all-around highest. No wonder Chrysler is in
trouble.
In overall reliability, GM fell below Suzuki to score
second-last overall with a 57. Ford Motor Co. had a 63
score, compared with Suzuki’s 60.
Honda Motor Co. had the best overall rating with a 78, ahead
of Subaru’s 75 and Toyota’s 54.
The magazine recommends 95 percent of Honda’s vehicles
tested, 100 percent of Subaru’s and 89 percent of Toyota’s.
It only recommends 17 percent of GM’s and none of
Chrysler’s.
The Consumer Reports people also looked at ‘Best Value’ and
of the 41 vehicles making the list for best value, not one
was built by a US automaker. Japanese manufacturers took 35
awards, while Korean automaker Hyundai won three, including
Best Value Midsize SUV for the Hyundai Santa Fe. Toyota had
17, Honda Motor Co. had 10 and Nissan had 4.
To compile its report, the Consumers Union, the parent
organization for Consumer Reports, spent $2.7 million
secretly buying 80 test cars. The vehicles were driven for
thousands of miles and put through 50 individual tests and
evaluations. It also relied on reports of problems on 1.4
million vehicles from its 7 million online and print
subscribers.
However, David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive
Research in Ann Arbor, questioned how reliable the survey is
pointing to J.D. Power and other surveys that suggest
greater parity between US and foreign automakers.
