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On the move, the driving characteristic of the MiTo isn’t what it seems to be. You may opine initially that the ride sways more towards the soft side, but when you set its DNA system from “Neutral” to “Dynamic”, you can feel the MiTo stiffen up and provide a reasonable amount of grip that is both sharp and rather precise. Pity the factory-fitted Bridgestone Turanza ER300 tyres that don’t seem to cooperate as they tend to screech and struggle for grip when pushed hard, killing your enthusiasm when shooting in hard into a corner. When it comes to the brakes, the anchors on the MiTo — standard with ABS and EBD - are assuring and offers respectable stopping power with no feeling of brake fade which is useful at hauling all that 1,145kg to a complete halt.

New

Ciao Di Nuovo | Alfa Romeo MiTo Multiair TCT

If you are a loyal fan of hot hatches, you would have noticed how this particular car segment is sometimes on a roll, but in most instances just plain quiet.

Motorsports

Biggest Field In History For Porsche Carrera Cup Asia

IN Porsche, 911, Carrera, PCCA, 2011

The Porsche Carrera Cup Asia is set for a record-breaking ninth season with an unprecedented 28 drivers signed for the region’s most prestigious GT championship.

The last time that a Red Bull Racing showcar performed in Singapore was back in February 2008 as a special item in that year’s Chingay Parade. It was the first time that the Singapore public had experienced the thunderous engine note of a F1 car, months before the inaugural Singapore night race took place in Marina Bay.

But even then, it was a mere sneak peek as the F1 car segment lasted barely five minutes before the Chingay Parade proper. This time round, the Red Bull Speed Street events will be fully fledged standalone showcar events lasting about an hour each, in which the public can expect manoeuvres such as short sprints, burnouts, engine breaks and donuts, which one won’t get to see often in actual F1 races.

This will mark the first time that Red Bull is organising a F1 showcar event in Malaysia as the blue and silver Red Bull was previously unavailable for sale in the country. The showcar event in Malaysia will take place along the entire stretch of Jalan Bukit Bintang starting from the Pavillion Mall to the Jalan Pudu junction, while the Singapore event will stretch from the Orchard Link junction to the Buyong Road intersection near the Istana.

The Austrian energy drink company, which is fast gaining in popularity amongst F1 aficionados thanks to the double championship winning feat of Red Bull Racing in 2010, is expecting crowds upwards of 100,000 spectators to line the 1km stretches along both shopping streets. To ensure that the safety of the audience is not compromised, safety measures and precautions will be in place in accordance with Red Bull Racing’s safety team.

A series of pre-event activations and tie-ups with retailers and malls in both countries can also be expected in the lead up to the events. Red Bull is also working closely with Singapore Grand Prix, Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and Orchard Road Business Association (ORBA) to organise the event in Singapore.

Happenings

Red Bull Racing's F1 Showcar To Race Down Singapore And Malaysia

IN Red Bull, Racing, F1

Red Bull Speed Street events in April featuring former F1 driver David Coulthard will mark the first time that Orchard Road and Jalan Bukit Bintang will be closed for a motor sports event.

But I think your car has strabismus. Your engineers said that it helps to provide better aerodynamics and apparently they are the only ones who think so. And I reckon I’m right because your blokes at Malvern Link rectified the eye problem four years ago. We were all spot-on except you because being cross-eyed was never a gift especially when you have a recessed nose. It makes driving in the night a grueling task and you can’t have auto headlights as a factory option. That’s the precision you get with hand-built cars.

Readers' Rides

Oh Morgan! | Morgan Aero 8

IN Morgan, Aero 8

Our writer pens a 'letter' to Morgan as he reflects on his encounter with their bespoke supercar, the one and only, defectively flawless, Morgan Aero 8.

Modified

Singapore's Best Mitsubishi Evo | Entry Eight (8)

IN Mitsubishi, Evo, Cycle & Carriage, Singapore, Evo 9, Evo X, Evo 10, Turbo

Can you make Mitsubishi's finest even better? Meet this extensively tuned-up monster. How much power? Well, it's as fear-inducing as the list of modifications.

From the diagram above, we can now see why Car One is more likely than Car Two to hit X and this hypothesis is taken with the assumption that the driver has a normal average reaction time. If the driver is distracted or driving under the influence of alcohol, then he or she will have a longer than average reaction time to knock X down without having any chance of applying brakes at all.

Happenings

The Dangers Of Speeding

IN Speeding, Traffic Police

Have you ever wondered why speed traps and covert operations conducted by the Traffic Police are in place? That is because inappropriate speed is a danger on public roads.

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

IN Peugeot, 1.6 Turbo, RCZ, Coupe

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.

Happenings

Mercedes-Benz SLK

IN Mercedes-Benz, SLS, AMG, Mercedes, SLK

Mini SLS AMG anyone? Mercedes-Benz's new SLK roadster may not have gullwing doors, but it does have a neat trick up its sleeve.

Happenings

Optima-stic New Kia Arrives In Singapore

IN KIA, Optima

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

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.

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.