BMW 4 Series Coupe Concept revealed

BMW has been contemplating about renaming the 3 Series coupe to a 4 Series since quite a while, and only now it will materialize. Although officially labelled as a concept, this is the 2 door version of the F30 3 Series, set to be unveiled at the North American International Motor Show in January. Codenamed F32, the concept is named 4 Series Coupe Concept and apart from the glitzy bumper fascias, fancy interior trimmings and gigantic wheels, this is a thinly disguised BMW 4 Series.

The front end carries the same design philosophy as the F30 with the drooping nose and headlight "pan handle" intersecting the grille housing. The headlight itself is more delicately styled as compared to the F30. The bumper on the concept car has a gaping lower air intake, garnished with the parallel inner fins to complete the chiselled frontal fascia.

The side profile is classic BMW coupe sillhouette with sloping C-pillar and lengthy front door. In the concept, and billed to reach production, there is a lower fender gills. The rear end bears a strong family resemblance with the new 6 Series with overall outlines of the proportion. The cohesiveness between the trunk lid, C-pillar kick and the rear light shape is just astonishingly pretty. The same can't be said with the rear bumper decoration, which follow the same concept as the front ones, but looks quite overdone. This probably will be one of the extravaganza detailing of the show car. However, overall, the 4 Series Coupe Concept is stunningly elegant just like any of the BMW coupe.

The cabin will be a familiar environment to the current 3 Series owner, and the dashboard and gear console are practically carried over wholesomely. The showcar comes with leather upholstered dashboard upper section with contrasting stitching, unique veneer for the panelling and the prominently-stitched and ribbed brown cow-hides on the dashboard lower panel and on the seats. Expect the cabin to be identical to the current trim lines as of the F30 once it reaches production.

With the new segment numbering signified by the 4 Series, the F32 Coupe is larger than the 3 Series sedan that underpinned it. Length is slightly up at 4,641mm, wider at 1,826mm but lower at 1,362mm. It sits on a similar 2,810mm wheelbase. The powertrain unit is set to mirror those on the sedan with their downsized displacement boosted with TwinPower turbo technology. More photos of the BMW 4 Series Coupe Concept can be viewed after the jump.

Another Patented Ford Innovation - Unobstructed Door

Ford innovators at the company’s UK research and development centre originated the new Ford B-MAX’s ingenious door system. In studying ways to ease access in and out of a future small car, team members working on the Ford B-MAX project wanted completely unobstructed entry and exit.  The Dunton Innovation Group came up with the idea of hinged front doors, sliding rear doors and integrating the central body pillars to create a 1.5-metre-wide opening.

Customer research had established that loading and unloading cars, especially from the side, needed to be as simple and easy as possible.  This was not only said by parents and others ferrying children in their cars, but also by adults transporting older parents.

Prototype demonstrators pioneering the Easy Access Door System, which now features on the production Ford B-MAX, went to customer clinics in the UK and on the continent.  Public reaction confirmed Ford’s plans to progress the innovation:  “Wow, it’s like opening a flat or an apartment,” said one customer.

The Ford B-MAX programme transferred from embryonic development at Dunton to engineers at the company’s sister technical centre in Cologne for full engineering and testing.

“We delivered B-MAX with an innovative door system while retaining the stylish sweeping roofline which is contributing to its appeal today – so job done by the Dunton Innovation Group,” said Richard Brown.

Other innovations hatched by the Dunton team include the Ford Focus’ award-winning Door Edge Protector covered HERE . A mere £50 option, the protectors wrap round the side of the doors when open and fold away discreetly as they are shut.

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2013 American Honda Civic - the detail differences

Honda has debuted its heavily facelifted North American Civic at the Los Angeles Motor Show. The updated model received a total aesthetic makeover on the outside and inside, and the chassis setting has been recalibated, both intending to rectify the cheap-car feeling of the 2012 model and set to deliver a more satisfying driving experience.

From the outset, it is clear that the 2012 Honda Civic is the car for recession time. In order to fulfill the targeted projected area in side, front, rear and top elevation with minimum material achievable, all the surfaces has been flattened. Why? The curvier metal and plastic panels consume more raw material for a given projection area and the heavier the curve, the deeper the tooling (stamping or moulding) has to be. Hence, a flatter surface not only uses less material, but the tooling can be made smaller and cheaper too. So, there goes the wrap-around fender and sculpted dashboard of the Civic FD generation. While they were at that, all the expensive garnishing like the interior bezel has been taken away too.

This time around, Honda America has re-sculpted the entire front end by giving is a new hood, bumper and grille. The plain looking front end has been beefed up with more substantial bumper featuring the thick chrome bar too. The grille outline has been thickened, and chromed too ala the new Accord. The hood panel has been reprofiled and this lend a more voluptuous look.

The weedy rear end design has been totally ditched. From both photos above (credited to Autoblog), the entire trunk lid is an newly designed item and it features an embedded tail light too. Mind you, it is not the half-hearted reflector insert like the Asian model, but a totally new jewel-like light assembly. Together with the chunkier rear bumper particularly at the lower portion, the rear end now has a more planted stance.

The upscaling move continues with the cabin design. The drab cabin of the 2012 car made way for the redesigned dashboard, floor console and door trim. For the centre console, the audio and aircond control panel has been re-specified with more premium design. The airvents has been resized and garnished with chrome surround. Similar treatment are given to the gear console where the gear base is trimmed in metal-look, and the gear slot is chrome-lined. Similar chrome line is inserted to the cup holder too, although it still lacks the sliding cover of the Asian car. The door trim has been revised, whereby the top portion has been totally redesigned, and now moulded with padded material like the Asian car. Subtle silver insert is there too to punch additional elegant touch. Both the dashboard and door trim top panel comes with leather-like stitching for an added opulence. Tricot headliner complete the interior makeover.

The improvement does not stop there. Honda has taken the opportunity to quicken the steering ratio, stiffen the anti roll bar and front spring while the front disc brake has been enlarged by 20mm to 282mm. All these measures to a better handling and braking performance.

Safety has been enhanced too. Debuting on 2013 Honda Civic are the SmartVent which is a device to minimise the excessive side airbag deployment force, curtain airbags and new alert system in the form of Lane Departure Warning and Forward Collision Warning systems.

Also making an inroad into the 2013 Civic is a host of multimedia experience found on the recently introduced Honda Accord. Among them are the Bluetooth Hands Free Link, rear view camera, colored i-MID, Pandora Interface and SMS functionality.

Lets get into the detail of the changed item and how does it fare with the outgoing 2012 car, and to certain extend we would like to draw some comparison with the Asian car. The new fascia really added the much needed premium touch to the Civic. The original American Civic bumper is a tad drab compared to the Asian version, which subtly comes with chunkier lower edge and hence looks sportier. Meshed grille insert also has replaced the previous horizontal bars item. 

Majority of the change happen at the back. It is clear cut here that the more jewel-like rear light and tastefully applied chrome does bring the Civic outlook to a more premium level. The lower valence too lends some air of solidity to the rear end of the Civic, which can look under-substance on both outgoing American and current Asian car.

For the interior, apart from the redesign centre cluster, the re-defined gear console has certainly hit the mark. The current gear console, on any continent, can be best described as cheap looking. The black gear surround really belongs to the Honda City class instead of the Civic class. Honda has ditched the previous console, and income a wider gear base that is finished in the metal look (like Civic FD) and the gear gate has been chrome-lined. Honda Malaysia, can you find a way to incorporate this minor enhancement somehow in our Civic? 

The Asian Honda Civic has been blessed with the soft touch material on the upper door trim section, while the 2012 American Civic did not come with this. For the 2013 enhancement, Honda did not simply take the Asian design and applied to the American Civic, it has gone the long route by redesigning the upper section. The padded upper section also come with the stitch-like finishing and the silver accent is a nice addition. The silver trim looks really integrated, unlike the after-though look like the Asian Civic.

The audio system also has not been spared in this round of extensive update. The jumbo-sized audio button with its plain design has been updated. The panel is now more contoured and glossy in finishing and there is also some chrome insert included too.

In North America, the new 2013 Honda Civic continues to come in the sedan and coupe guise. While the sedan has received all the detail update, the coupe make do with the new wheel design. Trim wise, the entry level DX trim has been dropped, thus now comprises of LX, EX, EX-L and Si. The first 3 trims are powered by the familiar 1.8L mill paired to either 5 speed manual or automatic transmission. The range-topper Si is powered by the 2.4L engine and paired only to the 6 speed manual gearbox. In between, there is also a natural gas version with 1.8L engine (110hp) while the Civic Hybrid is powered by the 1.5L gasoline hooked to the IMA system.

For all the improvement, the Civic range starts from $18,615 for the Sedan LX and stops at $26,465 for the Civic Natural Gas. Compared to the 2012 price, the price increase is mere $160.

What do you think about the enhanced Honda Civic? Are there any update you would like to have in the Malaysian version? More photos of the 2013 Honda Civic can be found after the jump.

Proton Satria Neo R3 launched

Proton has launched the Satria Neo R3 yesterday as a sportier and more dynamic extension to the Satria Neo CPS model range. Not to be confused with the R3 Satria Neo (which retailed at RM79,797 and punched 145hp at a screaming 7,000rpm), this is essentially the Satria Neo CPS that is decked out the with the R3 parts.

Compared to its look-alike high performance cousin, Satria Neo R3 is powered by the 1.6L CPS which produced 125hp@6,500rpm and 150Nm@4,500rpm. Paired to either 4 speed automatic or 5 speed manual, Satria Neo R3 can sprint to 100km/h in 10.5s and 190km/h of top speed (make that 12.5s and 185km/h for the automatic version). The manual version is priced at RM61,250 while the automatic version retailed at RM64,250.

Compared to the outgoing Satria Neo CPS, the R3 version is kitted with front splitter, rear spoiler, 16 inch alloy wheels and side protector moulding in Titanium finish. The interior has been upgraded too with the double DIN audio system with touch screen panel and leather upholstery. Unlike the exterior makeover which gets most of the R3 Satria Neo outlook, the interior enhancement stop at those two, so there's no red trimmings (except stitching) and push-start button. The exterior shade has been extended to 4 options namely Fire Red, GTi Silver, Tranquility Black and Canary Yellow which is the famous color of the S2000 Satria Neo. The R3 body decals are included in the styling package for any purchase before 31st December 2012.

As usual with R3 component inventory, a range of upgrades are available. The buyer can buy ECU upgrade, high-performance exhaust system, lowered spring set and lightened engine pulleys. For the price, please consult your nearest Proton dealer.

Proton Satria Neo has made its mark in the motorsport arena lately. The involvement started to pay dividend in 2011 when Proton emerged as the APRC champion. Although it has been aged and seasoned accordingly since its 2006 introduction, and despite the oldies design from previous era of Proton design, Satria Neo is quite wonderful to drive. Lets not talk about the cabin ergonomics or the weak door stopper, and slight inconvenient clutch and gear slotting, it is about the way the steering interact with the body dynamics that shine. With proper power and handling upgrade, Satria Neo potentially can become one of the better-handling affordable car in the market. 

More studio snapshots of Proton Satria Neo R3 can be found after the jump.

New CAR Magazine in the market

There's a new car magazine at your nearest news agent, and it is called CAR. The latest publication from Astro Publication is the fruit of the licensing agreement with Bauer Consumer Media Limited in the UK. In UK market, CAR is the premium motoring magazine with 50 years of history and CAR Malaysian edition is the 10th licensed edition of the CAR Magazine in many continents round the globe.

CAR Malaysia is headed by Ahmad Zulizwan and Donald Cheah. If their names sound familiar, this is because they have led other UK-based magazine before, and this is not the first licensed automotive magazine from Astro Publication.

The new magazine will rival the likes of Autocar, Top Gear and Evo, which are the high-ranking UK-licensed magazine. CAR content will mix the selection of local and European news, with the first-grade photography.

The magazine has hit the news agent from 28 November and retailed at competitive RM10. The first Malaysian edition will feature the drive impression of the new Volkswagen Golf, Aston Martin Vanquish, Ford Focus sedan as well the finest superhatch in the Britain's market.

Malaysia Motoring News would like to welcome the latest edition of the magazine to the Malaysian shore. Truthfully, our market is really starving for the healthy dose of automotive magazine. My student time in the UK was certainly a heaven in this aspect, and my trips to Japan has shown the same heaven too. So lets hope these heavenly scenario is not that far off from Malaysian automotive magazine market.

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