Friday, December 31, 2010

Festival Proton 1Malaysia

Saya baru sahaja pulang dari Shah Alam dan sempat ke Festival Proton 1Malaysia di Pusat Kecemerlangan Proton di Subang Jaya, Selangor. Ketika saya berada di sana, pihak pengurusan sedang sibuk membuat persiapan, samada dari segi ruang pameran, ruang letak kereta, pentas persembahan dan keselamatan. Saya dibenarkan masuk dan sempat mengambil beberapa foto, walaupun festival belum bermula.

Terdapat beberapa model konsep Proton dan Lotus dipamerkan seperti Tuah, Jebat, Kasturi, Lekir, Lekiu, EMAS, Lotus City, Saga dan Exora EV. Selain itu, model Satria Neo R3 Lotus Racing, Lotus Evora, dan beberapa model hasil kerja dari pekerja Proton juga turut dipamerkan. Foto-foto yang saya sediakan ini diambil sekitar jam 5 petang, iaitu 3 jam sebelum festival sebenar dibuka kepada umum.

Dikhabarkan festival akan bermula jam 8 malam sehingga 12 tengah malam. Ini juga sempena menyambut kedatangan tahun baru 2011. Diharapkan usaha Proton mengadakan festival seperti ini dapat merapatkan lagi hubungan antara Proton dan pengguna, serta berkongsi beberapa maklumat terkini dan mendedahkan pengguna tentang teknologi terkini dari Proton. Syabas!

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Mobil Hybrid




Saat ini teknologi Hybrid lagi gencar-gencarnya dipopulerkan. Hal ini dikarenakan makin maraknya isu global warming. Toyota dan Honda meupakan pabrik mobil yang lagi mempopulerkan Teknologi Mobil Hybrid sebagai solusi menghemat BBM dan mengatasi pencemaran lingkungan. Cara kerja mesin listrik dengan prinsip regenerative (isi ulang/recharging saat kendaraan sedang beroperasi) pada mesin hybrid, berbeda dengan mobil tenaga listrik penuh. Mobil tersebut tidak bisa mengisi ulang listriknya. Bila listriknya habis, Batterai/aki harus di-charge secara khusus dengan waktu 8 hingga 12 jam (untuk teknologi charger onboard). Khusus mesin hybrid, mesin listriknya bisa mengisi ulang ke aki dengan memanfaatkan kinetic energy saat mengerem (regenerative brakeing). Bahkan sebagian energi mesin dari mesin bensin/solar/bio fuel saat berjalan listriknya bisa disalurkan untuk mengisi batterai/aki. Dengan sistem operasi seperti ini maka akan terjadi penghematan BBM. Di Kota Tokyo Jepang, truk dan bus sudah banyak yang memakai tenaga mesin system hybrid karena dinilai amat efisien/hemat BBM dan mengurangi polusi. Jenis mesin hybrid secara umum ada yang memakai sistem paralel dan sistem seri, namun yang paling umum adalah parallel. Mesin listrik pada kendaran hybrid sebenarnya hanyalah sebagai penunjang atau bisa disebut booster, pada mesin utama yang memakai bensin ataupun solar. Mesin listrik yang kecil pada kendaraan jenis hybrid tak akan kuat menjalankan mobil secara normal. Perkembangan teknologi mesin hybrid memang kini semakin pesat. Begitu pula dalam pengisian ulang listriknya yang semakin canggih, cepat, dan tenaga mesin listriknya semakin besar.

nfs nittro

jaguar supersport

Volvo Air Motion Open Air Car Design Concept Futuristic Car

Sport futuristic car Volvo Air Motion design concept presented at Los Angeles Auto Show Car Design Challenge Competition, Volvo car Maker Company. Unique open air car design technology whole innovative level with its “lighter than a Formula 1 racing car” study vehicles development. New Volvo Air Motion’s aerodynamic car body mirrors design the look of a clam shell and are built from an ultra light carbon fiber material that tips the scales at less than 1,000lbs. In addition its strong however ultra-light body kit structure, the Volvo Air Motion car concept auxiliary adds to its superlatives eco-friendliness, as it is not using a single drop of gasoline while driving wild.
 Volvo built Volvo Air Motion concept car through fewer components and replaced the heavy internal combustion engine with powerful, nevertheless simple minimalist, compressed air motors. To compress the air wanted for the centrally mounted air tank, Volvo came up with a design for Air Replenishment Sites. Intended at enthusiast, Volvo Air Motion can be seen at the show in 1/4 scale model displayed in the area that connects the South and the West Halls. It fully showcases the beauty and purity of Scandinavian vision and further delivers a guilt free, raw driving experience.

Porsche 997 V-RT Car Edition Turbo Engine Refined Vorsteiner

Take a look at this new car design Porsche 997 V-RT super sport car with new innovation Turbo engine official photos gallery shown below. If you not yet see the Porsche 997 V-RT specs before, read the car press release when the car tuning package and test drive performance report also included. Porsche 911 Turbo was refined by Vorsteiner which make some creative car modification with installing an aerodynamics vehicle body kit and a set of huge luxury alloy wheels. Vorsteiner Porsche 911 V-RT car model features new body kit consisting of larger carbon fiber air intakes exclusive of fog lights as in the Porsche GT2 vehicle version. At the rear view, the tuning specialists installed, presented to buy new car font bumper with a twin-finned carbon fiber rear diffuser for the quad exhaust system.
 The Porsche 911 V-RT race car rims are three-piece V-306 20″ fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires for maximum grip at the race track as well as the public roads. The Porsche 911 V-RT engine is 3.6 litre twin-turbocharged flat-six with 480PS (353 kW) and 620Nm of torque. It catapults the car 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds (manual) and the top speed is 310 km/h (193 mph). There is an optional Sports Chrono overboost package, which increases torque to 680 Nm (500 lb-ft). More information, visit Porsche official website.
 

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Cool Police Cars

There is one type of car no one would like to see in the rearview mirror: the police car. I have gathered some models of police cars which are a little bit different from the stereotype of a typical police car. These models are cool, have enough horsepower to follow any fast lawbreaker. Police cars come in different shapes, sizes and colors, but they all have the same main purpose: uphold the law, and provide officers the perfect transportation mean, in order to keep cities in order.

Mini Smart Car is the best one for the crowded streets of Austria. This compact car can cut through corners easily and it has a top speed of 135 Km/hr. This little car is used in more countries in Europe and it is very efficient because it can easily sneak in crowded place, and it offers a good speed for following the thieves or other lawbreakers. It looks pretty funny, but when you see it in the rearview mirror it becomes scary.



cool-police-cars
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



Porche Carrera offers officers 325 horses and a top speed of 285 Km/hr. This is one of the fastest police cars, it is used in the same country as the MiniSmart, but it looks more sporty and it has a more elegant design. This car has a permanent place in Germany, at the Porche museum. It has an imposing design, and it can easily intimidate infractors.


cool-police-cars2
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



The Dodge Charger is used in the U.S.A and it was first presented at the New York auto show in 2005. It is powered by a 425 hp engine which offers 233 Km/hr and it is used across 50 states; it can charge from 0 to 100 Km/hr in six seconds and it has a very sturdy and stable design. It looks very nice, and it helps police officers reach the fast and furious drivers which cross the speed limit.


cool-police-cars3
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



Italy can be proud of these beasts patrolling on the freeways around Rome. This Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 has a 525 hp engine, a roaring one, which can zoom from 0 to 100 Km/hr in only 3.7 seconds. This car has been donated by the producer to the Italian authorities and apart from speed, this wonderful police car has some interesting additional features, like : automatic number plate recognition system, forward looking camera, and a trunk in front which can be used as a first-response medical platform. When needed, it can also transport organs, because it also has a refrigerated box, for high-speed transport in accidents or medical emergencies.


cool-police-cars4
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



In London you can see police officers driving same Lamborghini cars, but a different model: Murcielago LP640. There are no more BMW 535d patrol cars since this type of cars have been purchased to keep London safe. This car is an Italian car, and it offers 6.5 Litre engine and four wheel drive, it can reach a 330 km/h and it can go from 0 to 100 Km/hr in 3.4 seconds. It looks good and I think it fits with the Londonese landscape, but also with Londonese lawbreakers.


cool-police-cars5
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



Police cars in India are modest, and I think that the authorities use the officer's force more than the cars' power. This nice car is one of the police cars in India, and it has quite simple specifications, and nothing outrageous.


cool-police-cars6
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



In Holland, police officers use this nice Spyker C8 Spider which has 406hp and a 300km/h (187 mph)  and goes from 0 to 100 Km/hr in 3.8 seconds.


cool-police-cars7 http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
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A sheriff in Texas has a H2 Hummer, which provides him 700 hp with a 7.0 L engine. This is a powerful car, and I think it is very efficient and helps very easily the sheriff to reestablish order in this state.


cool-police-cars8
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/



In each country, there are used the cars the authorities considered perfect for their protection purposes, and they are also adapted to the level of criminality in those countries. There are also very well trained police officers, who can easily handle these cool cars. I don't wish anyone to look in the rearview mirror and see one of these powerful cars with the light and audio signals turned on to make him stop. As you can observe, the possibilities are different in various countries, but I think everyone is trying to offer the best for their police departments, because it is a very important aspect in the social life, and keeping it safe is a national interest matter.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Tokyo Drift Cars

Tokyo Drift Cars









http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift features many beautiful drift cars like tuned Japanese imports, Eurotuners, and American muscle cars. More than 200 cars were used for the film and since body kits and other modifications can make it difficult to recognize the original car, this is a guide to the vehicles of Tokyo Drift.


Veilside Mazda RX-7
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/

1994 Mazda RX-7 with VeilSide Fortune wide body kit. In the movie, Han dies when the car flips and explodes after wrecking into a Mercedes Benz S-Class. VeilSide built three duplicate RX-7s for the film and the Tokyo Drift shop built three aditional visual clones.

Ford Mustang
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/

Ford Mustang RB26DET









http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
 1967 Ford Mustang Fastback driven by Sean Boswell. This Mustang is unique because the power plant for the Ford is a RB26DET Nissan Skyline engine. A trend with JDM enthusiasts is to take a classic Japanese car and transplant a new high performance engine like the RB26 or SR20DET. However it is virtually unheard of to swap a JDM engine into a classic American car, making this truly a unique whip. Another interesting note is that the studio decided to go with a single turbo instead of the stock twin turbo setup.

Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
2003 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX GSR featuring APR graphics and body kit. Mitsubishi donated 10 new JDM EVOs to the film and eight were specially modified to rear wheel drive only using a kit developed by Rhys Millen Racing (RMR). The kit replaces the differential output assembly with one that leaves out the splines to drive the front wheels and the output holes in the transfer case are capped. The factory transverse mounted six-speed transmission and remaining drivetrain is left stock. Lancers come from the factory with an AWD transmission and rear wheel drive swaps are performed to improve drifting performance. Driven by Sean when he is learning how to drift.

Volkswagen Touran
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
2004 Volkswagen Touran modeled after the Hulk. Twinkie owns the car and Sean drives it in the movie.

Chevrolet Monte Carlo
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
1971 Chevrolet Monte Carlo driven by Sean in the opening race scene. Wrecked during a race with Clay’s Dodge Viper and later scrapped by Pima County Sheriff Department following Sean’s arrest. Nine Monte Carlos were built for The Fast & the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Two had big-blocks and the other seven had small-block V8s or were engine-less props. The two big-block Chevys use Hooker headers, Flowmaster mufflers, Richmond T-10 four-speed manual transmissions, Wenco driveshafts and Moser-built 12-bolt rear-ends running 4.88:1 gears in a spool differential. Both ride on a chassis fitted with Global West front control arms and coil springs, KYB shocks, Speedway Engineering anti-sway bars, Global West weight jack plates and quick-ratio steering boxes. Wilwood disc brakes sit behind the Cragar 397 steel 15-inch wheels and the tires are Goodyear stock-car specials.

Nissan 350Z
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
2006 Nissan 350Z with Top Secret body kit driven by Morimoto. In the movie, Morimoto Collides head on with a green Toyota Aristo causing a massive pile up that presumably kills him.

Nissan 350Z
http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
2006 Nissan 350Z featuring VeilSide wide body kit. Villain DK drives the 350Z in the parking garage scene and later plunges off the mountain while touge racing against the Ford Mustang. Eleven 350Zs were built for the film and two cars were equipped with an APS twin turbo system, APS turbo-back exhaust, and Magnaflow mufflers that raised horsepower to approximately 450. The suspension features RSR lowering springs, 19-inch Veilside rims, and Toyo Proxes tires.

2005 Dodge Viper SRT10 driven by Clay and wrecked into a concrete pipe at high speed when racing Sean in the Monte Carlo. 

2000 S15 Nissan Silvia featuring C-West body kit and RB26DETT engine swap. Sean drives this S15 but due to inexperience drifting, he causes suspension and body damage to the car. 

1993 S13 Nissan Silvia with DRFT aeroparts (body kit). 

1998 Toyota Chaser with 5-speed transmission, C-West rear wing, Volk Racing GT-V wheels, and Toyo Proxes tires. Little is modified from stock, as the Chaser is drift ready from the factory. The Chaser features a single turbo version of the Supra’s JZ engine. 

2006 Mazda RX-8 with VeilSide body kit, driven by Neela. This right-hand-drive RX-8 is lowered using Tein springs and sits on Volk Racing GT-AV wheels wrapped in Toyo Proxes tires. Under the hood a GReddy single turbo system and a Tanabe cat-back exhaust system boost power.

Fast and Furious - Thoughts After Viewing From An Inside Perspective

 

I’ve had a long history with the development of Fast and Furious (FF4). I just got a chance to see the movie on Friday night for the first time in its entirety. Being behind the scenes for the filming gave me a lot of perspective on what I thought the movie might look like or how it might progress. Of course most of my assumptions I thought of ended up being false. I think that is perhaps always the case with movies if you’re on the inside; The end result is a bit of a mystery that gets worked out in the editing room after everyone else packs their bags and moves on. You can really only hope for the best and then let it go.
Regardless of what I thought would or would not happen, the movie is a huge hit and I’m very glad! The F&F franchise needed a hit to keep it going and this movie delivered huge box office numbers. That is what was needed to keep the franchise moving forward and I’m excited about part 5!
I received a lot of emails from friends, fans and car enthusiasts asking me what happened to the Bulletproof S2000s that the studio had me build. The response is the basis of this post and I’ll keep it short since I’m short on time.
There were some great cars filmed for the movie that much to my surprise never saw any screen time at all.
Most notably would be the Mines R35 GT-R which the studio had for quite a long time and used in (what I thought was) an important part of the film. I think not just the audience, but the movie car department of the movie and Mines themselves were dissapointed that such a high profile car was not utilized at all despite lots of filming and expense.
Also I noticed that Taro’s Vertex kitted 350Z (from ZigZag Asia) was there for the filming and never got any screen time. That was a shame because the car was very clean (expect nothing less from those guys).
Lastly are the cars I was involved with. Sure, I knew the gold S2000 would be a wildcard because of editing. The gold car was in an important scene, so it remained in the movie but the scene was edited down so much that I watched my hood flexing under the guy’s head more than I saw the car. In fact I didnt really see the car at all, just the hood getting abused after the slam. The movie industry is crazy when you think about how much work is done in advance for such a little amount of usable film. They had me pull the engine out of the car to do that scene since they were supposed to drop my engine on the guy’s head. They ended up not using anything of my car and in the end it could have been any hood that the guy was thrown on. Oh well…
Next up is the more surprising thing on my end. The movie studio went as far as changing out one of the opening scene cars to have me build them two identical S2000s for a race scene (you need two or more cars for any major film car that gets driven - in case of a break down). There was supposed to be a 2-3 minute opening scene of the movie that featured a few cars. They filmed that scene for I believe 1-2 solid weeks and it involved a drug run across the border and ended up in Letty’s death to set up the movie. When they removed the entire opening scene it was not only a surprise to me, but also to other insiders in the movie who spent a ridiculous amount of time and money to make that scene. In the end the entire scene was trimmed down to about 3 seconds of flash back material in which I think I might have caught a split second glimpse of the red S2000 I put together for the film (I’ll have to pause it once I get it on DVD).
In Hollywood there are no guarantees so I’m not upset. I’d be lying if I didnt say that I was surprised…I spent a solid 1-2 months on the movie for what amounted to at most 1 second of screen time. But ultimately that is how it works with big budget films. I cant be mad about it because the studio did what I and everyone expected them to do…to make a movie that is popular and sells LOADS of tickets. I highly doubt 99.9% of the viewing audience cares at all that the Mines GT-R, that Vertex Z or my S2000s were not in the film. They didnt make this movie for me and probably not for any of us reading this blog, just like they didnt make Bow Wow’s Hulk car for Tsuchiya and our friends in Japan with Tokyo Drift. Its ok, its the movie biz and in the end it makes crazy stupid amounts of money for those lucky few who have the juice.
So on my end, it was a lot of build up for really no reward…but I’m comfortable with at the least gaining a better understanding of the process and knowing that I’m not alone…I mean Mines gave them their demo car for something like 5 months and got absolutely zero screen time…so who am I to be upset.
As usual I remain persistent and I hope that the third time is a charm for me (I did a little work in FF3 with no results, did a lot more in FF4 with almost no result, and FF5…we’ll see…) That’s not counting the bit of film time I got in FF1 since that was so long ago.
Here’s two shots of the S2000s produced for the opening scene of the movie (which I hope will at least be on the DVD)
Bulletproof Automotive S2000 Fast and Furious Opening Scene - Deleted http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
Bulletproof Automotive S2000 Fast and Furious Opening Scene - Deleted
Bulletproof Automotive S2000 Opening Scene Fast and Furious http://impressivecars-impressivecars.blogspot.com/
Bulletproof Automotive S2000 Opening Scene Fast and Furious
It should be noted how fast these cars changed under the varying conditions of the studio. It started with me having  full creative control in which I prepared a quick concept of the car (the GT3 green S2000 with flat black TE37s with the green stripe). Then mid way through the studio required the car to be a candy red. In response to the candy red show car color I decided to go crazy and do 24K gold RE30 Volks in 19×11 size with stretched tires. I figured if they want bling, I’ll give them bling!  Then 12 hours before filming they (without my knowing) took the RE30s off and put on Koenig wheels, took off the craftsquare carbon mirrors and put on APR mirrors, spray painted the leather seats, discarded the clear corner lenses for the headlights, slapped in some orange side markers and sent the car to filming. Since I’m not a fan of Koenig, and APR I’ll not be posting any pictures of the car in the final movie spec. Perhaps the DVD will show that.
Most funny part of filming: The S2000 is a drug transport car in the movie and is filmed both racing and sitting still during a drug deal. It wasn’t until on the set that they started trying to figure out how to fit a massive case of drugs into the S2000. They started “trying” to open up the rear hatch (which if you have this hardtop you know is not possible by simply trying to lift it open) and looking for places to store a massive case of heroin. In the end, the S2000 is not a great drug transport car if you’re moving weight like that…so we ended up pulling the passenger seat out to put the case in. I found that to be a really amusing moment.

Fourth Fast & Furious


SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Sources close to the production of the three films in The Fast & The Furious series have told Inside Line that a fourth installment is on its way. The best guess is that it will show up in theaters worldwide during the summer of 2008.
The project is currently classified merely as “in development” at Universal, with no clear production start date and no announced director. However, it’s rumored that the next film will reunite many characters and actors from the first three including Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson and Lucas Black. Obviously the story will once again center around automotive mayhem of the most intense sort, but the rumor is that this time most of the action will be set in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
As to the cars, expectations are that some familiar machinery — like a resurrected version of the blown 1970 Dodge Charger from the original film — will mix it up with such contemporary machinery as the new Dodge Challenger and classic South American muscle like the Chevrolet Opala. Also don’t be surprised if Vin Diesel’s character finds his way behind the wheel of a classic 1987 Buick GNX.
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