To make a booking you have to place a US$5,000 booking fee that is refundable but that means US$5 million in Tesla’s hands right now. The base model will cost US$49,900 after a tax credit because of the car’s zero emissions. The tax credit is quite substantial at US$7,500.

Tesla claims a 300 mile (480km) range (160 miles for the baseline model and another 230 mile model) and a recharge time of 45 minutes from a special external 480V QuickCharger line, or several hours (overnight) with a regular electrical outlet between 120V to 240V.

The company also claims the car’s floor-installed battery packs can be swapped out in less than the time it takes to fill a full tank of petrol, so in the future you could actually go to “battery stations” and swap out your batteries for a freshly fully charged new set instead of stopping and waiting for a full charge.

0 to 100km/h takes only 5.6 seconds which is pretty rapid for a sedan, and power goes to the rear wheels via a single speed transmission, but there are plans for the future for all-wheel drive models. For the US market the cars will naturally be left hand drive but right hand drive models will also be available later.

It may have tough looks but it’s not very big though, with a wheelbase of only 2,578mm, which indicates its likely to be using the PQ35 Golf platform. It’s 4,233mm long, 1,793mm wide and 1,691mm tall. On the interior it features a rear seat system called Varioflex which essentially allows you to extend boot space up to 1,760 liters.

Under the hood are a few engines such as a 1.8 liter TSI engine and a 2.0 TDI engine. The Yeti is also equipped with a 4X4 system with a 4th generation Haldex clutch system for those that intend to take it on rough roads, and it also has a 180mm ground clearance to help with that.

In the UK market, it is standard equipment on the RX450h SE-L Premium, and it’s display position and lighting intensity can be adjusted according to ambient light via controls near the steering wheel. The Lexus HUD system uses white as the colour for the HUD display, a colour that is rarely used because of its tendency to blend with the exterior background. Lexus went around this by using high intensity LEDs. They then tested it out on the snow-covered roads of Hokkaido.

They probably insisted on having it white to maintain a consistent look with the rest of the instrument lighting, which is white. As far as I know ther eis no HUD on the RX offered in Malaysia, which is the RX350 model.

The Ibiza range already has a 150 PS Ibiza FR and a 180 PS Ibiza Cupra, but the new SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra offers both 150 PS and 180 PS tune versions of the 1.4 liter TSI engine, and adds a unique Bocanegra bodykit which looks way more aggressive and fitting of the 180 PS than the sedate-looking-in-comparison Ibiza Cupra.

The engine is mated to a 7-speed twin clutch transmission with paddle shifters, and an XDS electronic LSD. It’s small, light, has 180 PS and most importantly plenty of torque thanks to the twin-turbocharging. A nice alternative to other good-looking hot hatches like the MiTo and the Cooper S.

Read more: “Production SEAT Ibiza Bocanegra unveiled in both 150 PS and 180 PS guise!” -

While that 170 PS number may not cause much excitement, torque dials in at 350Nm from just 1,750rpm which should give the Scirocco plenty of shove from a stand-still, but being a modern diesel fuel consumption is rated at 53.3 mpg on the combined cycle.

The 6-speed manual version is slightly less polluting at only 139g/km of CO2 emissions and is priced at £21,755.00 RRP OTR while the 6-speed DSG version puts outs 147g/km of CO2 and is priced at a premium because of the twin clutch gearbox, you’ll have to fork out £23,060.00 for it, or about RM 122,150.

The new XJ will definitely have some family resemblance to the XF as the coupe-like roofline and the contours on the front bonnet are very visible from the teaser image. There is a rather interesting looking C-pillar which is visible in the teaser images, and Theophilus has used these clues to create his speculation.

A full panoramic glass roof as shown in the teaser will likely be an option if not standard, and like the XF, the XJ will be powered by a range of V6 and V8 engines.

2 more months to go!
Read more: “Is this how the new Jaguar XJ will look like?”

In Japan, the Wish receives Toyota’s new Valvematic engines. Valvematic is a continuously variable valve timing and valve lift mechanism, while VVT-i which affects timing. The engines are the 2ZR-FAE for the 1.8L model and the 3ZR-FAE for the 2.0L.

The 2.0L makes an impressive 158 PS at 6,200rpm and 196Nm of torque at 4,400rpm (of course the king of the hill is still the Optima facelift’s 163 PS), while the 1.8L units either put out 144 PS and 176Nm of torque or 133 PS and 164Nm of torque. The lower figures are for models equipped with the 4WD drivetrain.

All engines are mated to the Super CVT-i transmission, and some have manual paddle shifting for 7 virtual CVT gear ratios.

2009 Toyota Wish

Fuel consumption is said to have improved and exceeds Japanese 2010 standards by 20% for the 1.8L model, and 15% for the 2.0L model. The 2.0L unit gets 15.2km/l based on the Japanese 10-15 cycle, and the 1.8L model gets 16.0km/l.

In terms of practicality, the maximum luggage capacity has had its width increased by 95mm. The slimmer seatbacks for the seats increase legroom for the rows behind it. Front diagonal visibility is better by attaching the side mirrors to the door panels and reducing the width of the A-pillars. Seat covers have been treated with an anti-mite agent, and the climate control system has the Camry’s Plasmacluster air-purifying technology. The steering wheel is both tilt and reach adjustable.

2009 Toyota Wish

The Wish also adds an improved version of VSC called S-VSC, which also uses the electric power steering system to apply appropriate steering torque to help stabilize it. High spec models get features such as keyless entry and start via a push button starter. The Wish has a parking assist system that tells you when to turn the steering wheel and when to back up during parallel parking, but doesn’t turn the wheel for you itself. There is also a 10-speaker Wish Panoramic Live Sound System for surround sound audio.

Mind you, this is a company that Warren Buffet has invested in! This new BYD M6 MPV is inspired from one of the most popular MPVs out there, the Toyota Estima. The M6 is BYD’s first MPV and it’s quite a large one, measuring 4,600mm x 1,760mm x 1,490mm with a 2,950mm wheelbase.

Under the hood will be a choice of BYD’s own 2.0 liter engine from the BYD483 series good for 138 horsepower 6,000rpm and 186Nm of torque between 4,000 to 4,500rpm, or a Mitsubishi 4G69 2.4 liter unit producing 162 horsepower between 5,000 to 6,000rpm and 220Nm of torque between 3500 to 4500rpm.

The MPV, while in its essence a boring people mover vehicle, has quite a high percentage of decent-looking models compared to ugly ones out there which means it is surprisingly easy to style and make good-looking.

Look after the jump for some sketches of the BYD M6. More details to come later when the BYD is launched, then hopefully we’ll get some interior photos.

As you can see from the shot above the GTI in its sixth incarnation looks nothing like the first version, though the red lining around the front grille remains. The Mk6 shares more in common with the Mk4 so you’ll be able to spot the resemblance with those two vehicles side by side instead. Of course, the man in the shot is Hans-Joachim Stuck, who worked closely with Volkswagen in developing the new GTI.

Stuck reminiscened to the old days of the Mk1, which had a 110 PS 1.8 liter engine which according to him had a willing less to rev that was fun from day one. The new GTI is quite different, using an engine that is only slightly larger but makes nearly twice the power thanks to the use of a turbocharger and direct fuel injection.

The EA888 engine produces 210 PS and a massive 280Nm of torque from as low as 1,700rpm up to 5,200rpm. It is differentiated from the Mk5 engine via new pistons and piston rings, a regulated oil pump, a new vacuum pump
, a new high-pressure fuel pump and a new mass airflow sensor. For greenheads, emissions are Euro 5 compliant at 170g/km and the engine sips only 7.3 liters (7.4L for the DSG) of fuel per 100km, compared to 8.0 liters on the Mk5 GTI. It also has a lower compression ratio of 9.6:1 compared to the Mk5’s 10.5:1.

Want more numbers? 0 to 100km/h takes just 6.9 seconds. A 240 km/h top speed with the manual transmission is achieved at top gear at 5,900rpm. With the 6-speed twin clutch DSG, the top speed is 238km/h at top gear with the rev needle pointing to 5,920rpm.

The new Mk6 also has a standard electronic transverse differential lock, or what Volkswagen calls XDS. The Mk6 chassis is lowered with the GTI - 22mm at the front and 15mm at the rear. The dampers now have electronic damper control, which is controlled via the DCC or Dynamic Chassis Control system. This can setup various car parameters according to the mode you are in - Nomral, Sport and Comfort. In Sport mode, in addition to stiffening the dampers, the power steering is also set for better responsiveness.

XDS uses braking pressure to emulate the function of a differential lock. If the system detects that the wheel at the inside of the curve that the GTI is taking is insufficiently loaded, the car will brake this wheel to restore traction. It helps compensate for the typical front wheel drive understeer through fast curves.

There are various driver aids provided with the car, The GTI has generation II of the Park Assist system, which requires only a space of 1.1 meters, down from 1.4 meters. With Park Assist II, the GTI can reverse into a parallel parking spot automatically, with the driver only needed to control the brakes and accelerator (and clutch in the manual). There is also Adaptive Cruise Control, which requires less intervention from the driver as it brakes and accelerates the GTI while looking out for the distance to the car in front via a laser sensor in the rear view mirror.

The Mk5 GTI can still be purchased from various Volkswagen Malaysia dealers. Later in the year we’ll get to check out this new Mk6 as well as the Scirocco on our grounds. For now, please enjoy the hi-res photos and the videos.

There has to be a first, and this might be it - the Terrafugia Transition. They don’t call it a flying car though, instead its official definition is a “roadable light sport aircraft”, which means its first and foremost an aircraft.

According to Terrafugia flying it is alot like a regular plane and someone only needs 20 hours of flight time in a Transition-specific course if he starts from scratch. For existing pilots its even easier - just a familiarization training that’s included with the purchase.

The Terrafugia transition can cruise at 100 knots or over 180km/h. It burns 5 gallons per hour from a 20 gallon fuel tank. On the road, it achieves 30mpg at highway speeds. No top speed has been mentioned so I suspect this is actually quite low although the minimum of highway accepted speeds should be achievable, likely due to conflict of aerodynamics design.

While its wings can be folded and you can park it at your house and even in your garage, You can’t just take off immediately as it isn’t a VTOL aircraft. VTOL means vertical take-off and landing, those that have played Command & Conquer before would be familiar with this - remember the Orca?

Instead, you’ll have to “drive” the Transition to your nearest runway and take off there like a normal plane. It’s front wheel drive, by the way. The cost has not been finalised yet but a rough estimate has been pegged at US$ 194,000!

It recently performed its maiden flight which lasted only 37 seconds before it landed again. “The first flight is great, but first landing is what matters,” said Terrafugia co-founder Anna Mracek Dietrich.

Look after the jump for a few photos of the car/plane.

The current 6-series has proven to be a sales success, with numbers averaging just on 20,000 units per year. BMW doesn’t want to risk hurting sales of the next-generation model so for the new car designers will be dialing down the controversial styling. The spy shots and video reveal a much sleeker look and a wider stance. The wheelbase will also be slightly longer than the current car, but overhangs, both front and back, will be shorter.

The ‘Bangle Butt’ bootlid remains but isn’t as distinct as the lid on the current car. Don’t be fooled by the black canvas soft-top as this is simply a ruse to hide a new folding hard-top underneath. The material’s ill-fitting form and mysterious bumps suggest that the next-gen 6-series will in fact sport a folding hard-top. There are also rumors the car will be offered with two different versions, a more luxurious GT and an aggressive sports model.

Inside, the 6-series will still feature plenty of luxury appointments as well as a new eight-speed automatic gearbox with paddle-shifters. The current engine lineup is expected to carry over relatively unchanged, however, the range topping M6 will likely get a new twin-turbo V10 engine and dual-clutch transmission.

Both companies have since denied the rumors, telling Italy’s Il Sole 24 Ore newspaper that there are no plans to merge with any other parties. However, both have reiterated that they are open to cooperating with other companies on projects that could create industrial synergies or open access to new markets.

According to an insider, however, Italian investment bank Mediobanca has been contacted by Fiat about drawing up a report on merging Fiat’s automotive operations with those of PSA. Previous reports also suggested that Fiat was searching Europe to secure a credit line of up to €5 billion to finance a takeover of PSA.

While no one is suggesting that Fiat and PSA are about to merge, it’s often the case that the companies deny rumors only when there is some truth behind them. We wouldn’t be surprised to see some kind of a deal forged, though don’t expect a full blown alliance like the one that will likely take place between Fiat and Chrysler.