Silly Lil' Kernchill

Have you ever seen the made-in-Bolehland car Kancil ?
you know, that puny little 660 cc SLK ??

well, former PM Dr.M really wanted to sell it to the US, so when Dr.M paid a visit to the White House after finishing formal discussions with George Bush, Dr.M checked with Bush to find out if there was any way to push that Kancil in the USA.

after having looked at the brochure, Bush said, "You know, I think this 'Kernchill' is too small for us American."

not one who gives up easily, Dr.M persisted and finally Bush offered, "OkOk, take down this number. this guy is my good buddy and he's also the CEO of the biggest compact car distributor in North America."

satisfied with the meeting, Dr.M returned to Bolehland. the next day... he called the number and a lady answered, "TOYS 'R' US here, can I help you?"



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Shift_Altima

Touted as "the best performing front-wheel-drive sedan in the world", Nissan is waging the 2007 Altima to be among the top 3 selling cars in the U.S. heating up the battle against the segment heavyweights such as Honda Accord, Toyol Camry and Ford Fusion. more interior space. more horsepower. and considerably more attitude than the outgoing model, CEO Carlos Ghosn is counting on the new Altima to help Nissan claw back from many months of decline in sales.
built on an all-new "D" platform, Nissan lowered the engine, redesigned front suspension geometry, firmed up the chasis for better steering response. the 1-inch-shorter wheelbase added to nimbler handling. Engine options include 175bhp QR25 four-banger and 265+bhp VQ35 V6 engines, mated to high capacity Xtronic CVT (last found in Murano SUV). not exactly a fan of CVT (too artificially smooth methinks), i have deep doubts about its long term reliability. that aside, this hot mama surely got the looks and substance to take on its midsize rivals.

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2006 WCOTY Winners

The 2006 World Car award winners were announced at the current NY International Auto Show, and the winners are...

2006 World Car of the Year: BMW 3 Series2006 World Car Design of the Year: Citroën C4
2006 World Performance Car: Porsche Cayman S
2006 World Green Car: Honda Civic Hybrid

Citroën C4
Porsche Cayman S
Civic Hybrid

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TR: Legend

Lara is back! after several disastrous outings with Angel of Darkness, TR3, TR Chronicles; Eidos kicked out the original TR developer team Core Design, and assigned Crystal Dynamics to re-create a truer to life Miss Croft. comprised of 20,000 polygons, the new Lara is looking hot and sexier than before, despite a slight reduction in her cup size. fret not, coz she's still as potent and ever agile in action. longtime fans will appreciate the return to tomb raiding, scale greater heights, and dodge booby traps. Lara's movements are fluid, enabling players to quickly climb, swing on ropes, somersault from bars, cross ledges, perform daring leaps and swim effortlessly. so eat your heart out, Angelina Jolie!
it has been ages since i last fooled around with Lara. can't wait to get Lara's pair of b(o)(o)bs bouncing again! see gorgeous screenshots and trailer after the jump.





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Nissan GT-R, it is!

No more Skyline moniker. Not an Infiniti. Nissan says that the next gen GT-R flagship will be available worldwide as a Nissan model - consistent with its global branding. the production GT-R, earlier previewed in concept form as the GT-R PROTO (inset), will roll out at the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show. it is scheduled to go on sale in Japan in Fall 2007, followed by the U.S. and Canada in Spring 2008. fingers crossed that the legendary GT-R will hit Bolehland too. ((( before I die, I wanna drive the GT-R!!! )))

Skyline GT-R (R34) ceased production in Aug 2002straight-6 RB26DETT (280-ps)

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Bakabakashi-i

Struting her stuff on the runway, she looks very much an exotic sashimi oishii enough to be eaten raw. lean and lanky, this Mitsu model exedus an irresistable charm and rare allure.
too bad Mitsu did not dispense the same kind of good taste in their newly launched pint-sized model Mitsubishi-i. trying too hard to look kawai-i, it is a good example how NOT to design a K-car. power is short too, driven by a puny turbocharged 12-valve 660cc 3-cylinder DOHC MIVEC motor. enough said about that silly box. click to see more kawaii pix of the top model.



[pix credit: albert jou]

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++Tourist Trophy

From the producers of the block-buster Gran Turismo franchise, now experience the thrills of motorcycle racing in the real riding simulator ++Tourist Trophy (PS2 only). race on more than 35 tracks and ride on more than 100 sportbikes from more than 12 superbike manufacturers, incl. Honda, Kawasaki, BMW Motorrad, Ducati, and not forgetting the infamous MV Agusta.

MV Agusta was once owned by Proton, then sold for a measly 1.00 Euro - much to the anguish of the former PM Dr.Mahathir. perhaps all is not lost, Dr.M can take solace that he could still take a spin on an Agusta F4S virtually, and race with his grand kiddos at home ;D
out now in english version, it's time to pay Unker Ho a visit. watch the thrilling ++TT video after the jump.



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Premium Wars

While Bolehland car buyers are torn between post-NAP artificially cheaper car prices (a smokescreen to dilute the effects of recent hike in fuel prices), and sharp rising interest rates; another kind of price war is looming across the border in Siamland.

BangkokPost reports that German marques there were taken aback when they heard about the prices of Lexus's 2nd-gen IS250. In 212hp 2.5L V6 spec, the price starts at B2.99m (RM283k) for Luxury pack, and an additional B500,000 (RM47k) for Premium pack.
Despite having to import the IS250 in completely built-up (CBU) form, Lexus has managed to undercut the prices of the thai-built BMW 325i and Mercedes-Benz C230.
"We are making an ultra-small profit margin [on each IS250 sold]," a source told BangkokPost. "You can now see how much profit the Germans are making [with the 3-series and C-class]."
A BMW spokesman said: "It's good to see competition getting fierce in this segment, because the consumer benefits. But the real seller should be Premium pack [that is B190,000 (RM18k) more than the 325i]."
One DaimlerChrysler executive asked: "You mean Lexus is still making money [on each IS sold]?? You'd better check the price they [Lexus] declared with Customs..." heheh sounds familiar eh? ;p

back in Bolehland - i want my Lexus IS250 (CBU) @RM250k !!




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Smart Riddance

Sad to learn that the State Express 555 brand of ciggy will be killed off pretty soon. established since 1895, and sold in more than 55 countries, it has lost grounds to other better promoted brands. popularly known as Tiga Lima here, the price for a 20s-pack has risen from 0.60 sen to a whopping RM7.00 over the years. a fan says, "it was like eating a good chocolate - that was the allure of smoking a 555."

but the same cannot be said for the Smart ForFour. DaimlerChrysler planned to axe the production of the patchy ForFour to salvage its Smart brand. built by Mitsubishi at its NedCar plant in Holland, the Peguform thermoplastic body panels wrapped ForFour sold merely 43,700 units last year. DC said it will then integrate Smart into the Mercedes organisation, focusing solely on the 2-seater Smart ForTwo. restructuring of Smart will cost DC €1.0 billion.
a costly but smart decision for a dumb looking plastic box.
following the announcement by DC, Mitsubishi which has its own model Colt tied to the Smart platform, plans to seek compensation from DC for the abrupt termination of their partnership in the ForFour.

Pink Panther (2006): dumb movie, equally dumb ForTwo

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