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Upon getting into her and turning her on, she comes alive immediately, purring with great pleasure, her raspy engine note serenading to you in sweet seduction. Sitting in the electric sports seat shod in luxurious and supple Nappa leather, it sets you up for an intimate feeling of being in perfect harmony with the RCZ. On the move, this lioness with her turbo charged engine mated to a smooth shifting six speed automatic transmission churning out 156 horses and 240Nm worth of torque sends you into sheer automotive ecstasy in nine seconds with strong in-gear acceleration. And should you try to be blatantly unfaithful to her on the road by attempting to chase down an even more beautiful Italian 'super model', she shows her displeasure with her caterwauling engine screaming

New

Peugeot's Belle Ã‰poque | Peugeot RCZ

The date was set for a rendezvous, a tryst that bordered on sheer adultery. As I got on my way, a thought came to mind, how can something so wrong feel so right?

The Crossfire's striking exterior is the epitome of Chrysler's corporate styling DNA, sharing traits that can be found on the PT Cruiser. One particular highlight of the car is its central spine which runs from the front bumper, via the grille running all the way through the long bonnet, roof line and into the rear bumper - a signature design of the Crossfire that has worked to great visual effect.

Readers' Rides

Caught In A... | Chrysler Crossfire

IN Chrysler, Daimler, Crossfire, SLK

A stunning looking car that looks gorgeous from any angle, the Chrysler Crossfire has certainly won Susan and Mark over. But why?

Yes, you got that right — both husband and wife own a BMW each. Mind you, these BMWs are not ordinary ones at that. The husband goes around in his fire breathing 507bhp M5 sedan, while the wife settled for a demure and rare, (probably the only one in town) - BMW 135i Cabriolet. The colours individually chosen by them can also come across as the culmination of Yin and Yang - not exactly black, more of dark blue actually for the M5 and in the 135i's case white, but you get the idea.

Readers' Rides

Double The Fun, Even In The Sun | BMW M5 & 135i Cabriolet

IN BMW, M5, 135i

The husband drives an M5, and the wifey drives a rare 135i Cabriolet — truly a match made in heaven, for both owners and their cars.

Conceptually, the XL1 represents the third evolutionary stage of Volkswagen’s 1-litre car strategy. When the new millennium was ushered in, Prof. Dr. Ferdinand PiÃ«ch, who is today Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Volkswagen AG, formulated the visionary goal of bringing to the market a production car that was practical for everyday use with a fuel consumption of 1.0 litre per 100 km. In the new XL1, Volkswagen is demonstrating that this goal is now within reach.

Happenings

Two-seat XL1 Brings Vision Of The 1-litre Car Close To Production Maturity

IN VW, Volkswagen, XL1, 1 Litre

Vision becomes reality as Volkswagen’s “Formula XL1”: Volkswagen XL1 prototype consumes just 0.9 l/100 km!

Mr Gilbert Kwek, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Singapore said, “Mercedes-Benz has always been at the forefront of technology and the first to offer our customers unique experiences in tandem with their latest lifestyle. Similarly, by equipping our sales team with the iPAD, we are able to capitalize on the benefits of technology and provide our customers with the most up to date information and data on our wide array of sophisticated products. They will also have first hand access to the cars’ product features via the responsive high resolution multi touch display. For example, they will be able to see the selected colour combination for the upholstery and trim instantly” More than 55 sets of the Apple iPad have been distributed to the sales team to enhance the Mercedes-Benz vehicle purchasing experience.

Happenings

Customised Application Mercedes-Benz iShowroom Debuts In Singapore

IN Mercedes-Benz, IPAD

From now onwards, Mercedes-Benz sales personnel are equipped with the Apple iPad to serve the customers better.

On local shores, we hardly recognize it as the DeLorean. My mum recalls it as that time-machine from my favorite time-traveling trilogy. While I’m having a crack at summoning 1.21 “jiggawatts” of nuclear power to go back in time, it is all but fictional. However, the fictitious DeLorean Time Machine brought back fond memories of the past, including my maiden visit to a cinema when I was slightly younger. Back To The Future was the first ever movie that I caught on the big screen with my mum after copiously threatening to burn my school books if she didn’t bring me to watch it. I was barely 10, and I was in love with The Time Machine, one of the sporadic relationships I had that she did not protest against. The tickets were modestly priced at $3.50 for a child and you even get a short screen break at the hour-mark of the movie to visit the washroom. My mum was my first date, I’ll always tell my friends. Shortly after the movie, I made up my mind that I was going to buy myself a two door coupe with butterfly wings and a hooked fishing rod at the top and wait for lightning to strike. I seriously wanted to do 88 miles per hour and break the time-barrier.

Classics

Back To The Future! | DeLorean DMC-12

IN DeLorean, DMC-12, Michael J Fox

Our guest writer travels back in time for some nostalgic revision of his childhood.

The growing sophistication of design and development has forced numerous automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to evaluate the systems currently in place to ensure they are using best-in-class technology. Aston Martin began its extensive and ongoing competitive PLM technology evaluation two years ago. The decision to migrate from its current technology to NX and Teamcenter is critical to its mission of continuing to produce some of the world’s greatest sports cars.

Happenings

Aston Martin To Standardize Global Sports Car Development

IN Aston Martin, Siemens

Adoption clearly emphasizes Siemens PLM Software’s automotive market leadership and underscores the importance of its open strategy.

“The Furtive e-GT’s looks and performance are both incredibly compelling,” said
Marchetti. “This car positions France in the rapidly expanding electric car market. I am passionate about cars and my ambition when I founded Exagon Engineering was to create an all-electric luxury car that meets the same standards as a gas-powered vehicle. By partnering with Siemens PLM Software, I was able to create a masterpiece.”

Happenings

Exagon Engineering Develops EV Using Siemens PLM Software Technology

IN Exagon, Siemens, EV, Electric

France’s first all-electric luxury car, the Furtive-eGT combines high performance with respect for the environment.

The season is set to be the best in years, with very strong interest from new teams and drivers and a close cooperation with HKAA in three of the six events. Motorsport Asia has received applications from Teams running Chevrolet’s and BMW’s as well as varied entries from the usually popular Honda’s. The Series’ will get underway on 20th March with its first ever visit to the Guangdong
International Circuit, located in the Guangzhou province. It will then continue with four races in May at two Asian Festival Of Speed events. Rounds 3 & 4 will be held at the Korean International Circuit for the AFOS season opener before heading to Malaysia at the end of May for the next two rounds. ATCS will take a one-month break before meeting up again in Sepang for Rounds 7 & 8. The 2011 ATCS Season will end in Indonesia where the drivers are excited to make a return
to the very challenging and resurfaced Sentul International Circuit.

Motorsports

Motorsport Asia Announces 2011 Asian Touring Car Series Calendar

IN ATCS, Touring Car, Motorsport Asia

Motorsport Asia unveils the Asian Touring Car Series which is set to visit five nations competing in a total of 10 championship rounds before finishing the season at the Macau GP.

Now let's begin with the exterior. Shy, retiring types who like to keep their feet firmly on the ground should look elsewhere, for what we have here is a soft-roader that is very big, very bold and very, very in your face. The X6M is deeply aggressive from the front, with its big air intakes and angry-looking headlamps. With those bumps on the bonnet, subtlety does not figure greatly in the overall design philosophy of this SUV. From the side, it looks rough and tumble and you can know that BMW's designers subdued themselves to not go overboard with the bodywork. Details are definitely well planned, with each and every crease functional in reducing drag at high speeds. You then get a set of 20-inch M alloys, wrapped in grippy-but-stiff Bridgestone Dueler HP Sport rubbers (275/40 R-20 front, 313/35 R-20 rear) to complete the package.

New

To Infinity And Beyond...

IN BMW, X6, M

Who would be odd enough to come up with a performance SUV? Surprisingly, BMW - and here's their staggeringly out-of-this-world X6M.

Happenings

Optima-stic New Kia Arrives In Singapore

IN KIA, Optima

The new Optima K5 looks set to be the next rising sun.

Motorsports

OCBC Launches Corporate Karting Challenge Initiative

IN OCBC, Corporate, Karting, Challenge, 2011, Kartright, Speedway

OCBC's encouraging us to don a suit of a different kind.

The Lotuses have been looking gorgeously attractive and I’m extremely pleased with Proton for keeping their in-house designers off the Exige. And thus the Elise and the Exige have been two different cars and so is the Gen-2. That’s a good job, well done! Hence that it is not really the same after all. The lover this time is Vee, a hopeless romantic who in all probability, graduated from the Shakespearian School of Technological Locomotive Behavioral Physics (yeah, you wished!) and he decided that some irrepressible obsession he has with his beloved crusader could be conserved with passing time.

Modified

Cool Runnings | Lotus Exige S

IN Lotus, Exige, Orange, Cryogenically Frozen

A cranky old beer-gulping uncle at the coffee-shop might have told you that any coupe with two doors and piercing body shades would be characterized as a sports car. Not true.

In summary, of course there are other grouses that we could pick on such as the sound quality right down to the performance tuning, but those aside, it is the incredibly detailed imagery of the game that keeps us addicted as well as the fact that we are just hardcore racing gamers, and we're glad that nothing has diluted the pure racing experience. There’s no denying that the beautiful GT5 has set the bar for racing sims to an all-new high and we are looking forward to more nights of racing in the comfort of our office lounge.

The Pit

Gran Turismo 5 | Only The Hardcore Need Apply.

IN Gran Turismo, GT5, Sony, Playstation 3

It has been years since Gran Turismo 4 stormed the racing simulator world in 2004.

While the Cerato Forte and Forte Koup were equipped from Day One with the latest generation features to exceed the expectations of discerning drivers, Kia is going one better with the addition of even more equipment for all available versions. The wide stance and athletic lines of both models are tastefully enhanced with the addition of LED indicator repeaters on the wing mirrors. These not only improve the already dramatic looks of the Forte duo, but add to an already long list of safety features by better communicating the driver’s intention to change direction. The cockpit environment also receives new features in both cars. A new boot-type wrap adds a dash of class and style to the transmission lever, for starters. Drivers of the enhanced Forte duo will also be delighted to find a set of Bluetooth controls on the steering wheel, for seamless operation of compatible hands-free mobile phone headsets. These not only take Bluetooth integration to new levels, but are yet another important safety feature, ensuring that the driver’s hands never stray far from the steering wheel, where they belong.

Happenings

Forte Duo Stay Ahead Of The Rest

IN KIA, Cerato, Forte, Koup

Less than two years after transforming itself into a heavyweight player on the local motoring scene with the launch of the Cerato Forte, Kia is taking another leap forward.

For many years, SPD has been providing professional care to help unlock the hidden potential of approximately 2,800 physically disabled clients. Clients visit the SPD Ability Centre in Tiong Bahru and SPD@Tampines for a variety of services, including rehabilitation, day care, as well as IT and vocational training. Public transportation can be a challenge for some SPD clients and they rely on seven SPD-owned vans that are wheelchair-enabled and specially adapted to meet their needs, supplemented by 11 vans run by an outsourced transport provider. Many clients are from low-income families and are unable to afford charges for this transport service.

Happenings

Caltex Fuels The Society For Physically Disabled

IN Caltex, Diesel, Techron D, SPD

One of Asia Pacific's leading energy company provides one year’s worth of fuel to the SPD transport service.

Happenings

Stamford Tyres' Year End Sale

IN Stamford Tyres, Lok Yang, Loyang, Kung Chung

Stamford Tyres is currently holding their year end sale at their mega marts in Lok Yang (Jurong), Kung Chong (Leng Kee) and Loyang (Changi) from 16 to 19 December 2010 (9 am to 7 pm).

So how does alcohol affect one's ability to drive? Alcohol as we know, inhibits the brain’s ability to function effectively, slowing the relay of visual messages from the eyes, processing of information thus becomes more difficult and instructions to the muscles are delayed. Alcohol usually retards a person’s reaction time by 10 to 30% as well as the reduction of the ability to gauge speed and distances. Alcohol also reduces one’s ability to see distant objects, to use peripheral vision to perceive what is happening at the roadside and reduce night vision by 25%. Blurred and double vision may also occur. Alcohol may also give one a sense of overconfidence, with the result that they may be prepared to take greater risks, such as abrupt lane changing or speeding. Impaired judgement may also alter a person’s perception of how fit they are to drive. Finally, as alcohol is a depressant drug, it may make a driver drowsy and affect their sense of balance. A person who drives after they have had only one drink is still five times more likely to get him or herself involved in a traffic accident than one who abstains from alcohol.

Happenings

Dangers Of Drink Driving

IN Drink Driving, Traffic Police

Drinking alcohol impairs one’s senses as it reduces one's driving instincts and psychomotor coordination, turning avoidable hazards into potentially life threatening ones.

Happenings

Racing Legend Tom Walkinshaw Passes On at Age 64

IN HSV, Tom Walkinshaw

The Scottish racer will be remembered for helping lead Holden to its first series win in V8 Supercars Australia since 2002 through drivers Rick Kelly in 2006 and Garth Tander in 2007.

Since its launch in 1953, the annual iF product design award has been one of the world’s most important prizes for excellence in design. The award has its origins in the product show “Die gute Industrieform” (Good Industrial Design) initiated by the Hanover trade show and is now one of the world’s largest design competitions. For the iF product design award 2011, the organizers received 2,756 submissions from 43 countries for products registered in 16 categories. Kia Sportage and Kia Optima won in the category “Transportation Design.”

Happenings

iF Design awards go to Kia Sportage and Optima

IN Kia, Sportage, Optima

Latest additions to Kia’s line-up recognized for their design quality, workmanship, innovation, eco-friendliness, ergonomics and safety.