KY drives

The first generation Proton Saga that came out in 1985 was also the first ever Malaysian automobile production, based on the 1983 Mitsubishi Lancer. 23 years later, Proton finally came up with an all new second generation Proton Saga, also known as the BLM (base line model).

The 2008 white Proton Saga BLM

While the first generation saga came with a choice of 1.3 or 1.5 liter engine (the later Iswara face lift model only had 1.3), the BLM come with only one engine choice. The 1.3 liter Campro I4 that churns out a respectable 94 bhp at 6000 rpm. For a car that weigh just over 1 tonne (about 100kg heavier than it’s predecessor), this is a pretty reasonable power to weight ratio for city and highway driving with an occasional trip to Genting.

The new car is also bigger and better than the previous version. More interior space as well as new and improved design in every aspects. It is actually quite surprising that the car is based on the same platform with Proton Savvy.

2008 Proton Saga BLM rear view

Proton Saga comes either with Automatic or Manual transmission. Pricing is from RM31,500 to RM39,800 and they are currently selling like hot cakes. Proton is planning to sell about 50,000 to 60,000 Sagas per year. In fact, together with Proton Persona, the car maker has improved it’s financial stage tremendously, announcing a net income in the three months ended March 31 at 236.4 million ringgit.

After a quarter century since the 2nd generation Dodge Challenger stopped production, the the classic muscle car is back again with a vengeance. The 3rd generation Challenger, the SRT8, is bigger, heavier, more luxury, meaner, and way, way more powerful than its predecessors.

2008 Dodge Challenger, the classic muscle car

This baby churns out 425 bhp with a massive 420 lbs/ft torque off the 6.1-liter HEMI V8. A 5 speed AutoStick automatic transmission is mated with this engine. A set of 20″ wheels complete the package. Although the car weighs a hefty 4140 lbs, it is still able to do 0-100km/h in less than 6 seconds and a 1/4 mile time below 14 seconds. We shall wait for the real world results before the end of this year.

Other than the in-your-face exterior that is both very effective and aesthetically pleasing, the race inspired interior is equally as good. The simple black and blue lume color scheme is a stark contrast with the loud orange exterior, but somehow jives very well.

luxurious and classy interior

Of course, for the US $40k you pay, the Challenger SRT8 does come with other bells and whistles like GPS, keyless entry and hands-free system. Then again, for a car this impractical with the current fuel price, who cares? All we want is to have some tire-burning fun. I’m sure there aren’t many people from the 6400 cars booked this year who’ll use it as a daily driver.

After hanging around the car industry for around 2 decades, the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors is finally gaining some respect by coming out with models that are actually very attractive, especially in terms of look. The Kia Soul 2009 is a production car that was first shown as a concept car at the 2006 Detroit Auto Show.

Kia Soul concept in the Autoshow

The design of Soul is very distinctive and quite unlike any other compact SUVs, the chief designer at Kia Motors Europe Gregory Guillaume was quoted saying “The all-new Kia production car will be a car that defies classification and encourages customers to build an emotional bond with their new purchase by providing a creative platform that they can customise to match their car to their own character. It will appeal especially to the young-at-heart - whatever their age”.

Kia Soul on the road

A 2.0 liter 4 cylinder engine mated with a 5-speed automatic transmission would be driving the Soul. Although an SUV, this car is most likely to get only front wheel drive, there is no 4 wheel drive version as yet. You can call this a car-type SUV rather than something you would want to take off road.

To give you an idea on the power from this car, the current 2.0 liter engine used in Kia Spectra produces 138 bhp. Pretty tame for an SUV, hopefully they boost up the power output a little since the Spectra is certainly a lighter car.

This car is definitely going along the line of Mini Cooper and VW Beetle 2.0, with attractive styler that will likely to capture the younger crowd. Pricing should be around US $16-18k when it is launched this summer.

Audi came up with the A3 Clubsports concept car that really shines not only in the way it looks but also in terms of the overall performance package.

In the heart of this compact 2-door 4-wheel drive sports sedan is a heavily tuned 2.0 liter TDI diesel engine that churns out 221 bhp with a massive 332 lb/ft torque that you would expect from a diesel. A six speed gearbox completes the package. The car is capable of 0-100km in about 6.6 seconds.

Audi A3 Clubsports quattro

The car was built specifically for an annual VW and Audi get together in Austria, lets see if Audi will bring this baby to the market. With that kind of performance and look it should be able to sell very well alongside popular offerings such as the VW GTi

TruckinWeb is an online magazine that is devoted to everything truck and SUV related. You can find a host of information from custom reviews of trucks, to technical data, and everything in between, pretty neat if you are a fan of trucks and SUVs.

The web magazine also holds the Truckin Ride of the Month competition too, you just need to submit the pictures of your outstanding truck or SUVs via the website to stand a chance to win a free truckinweb t-shirt. For this month, the last day of submission is 17:00 p.m. PST 6/22/2007, and the voting process starts from 17:30 p.m. PST 6/22/2007 till 17:00 p.m. PST 6/30/2007. The top three highest voted trucks will win the t-shirt. You can submit up to 4 pictures, pretty simple process.

Other features of the site includes a price checker for new trucks in US, just select the make and model from drop down menu, and key in the zip code of the location you wish to purchase the truck and viola, instant price list. A pretty nifty information to have before heading to your local dealer.

There is also a forum you could ask questions should you need to find otherwise hard to find information. However, above all, the most interesting feature of the website must be the Multimedia section. There you can download wallpapers of your favorite ride, and there are plenty of videos too, though titled truck videos, most of them are bikini contests of girls with trucks, check it out!

To complete the portal, a trucking blog is built in too.