Dunia Automotif

(Petaling Jaya, Monday): In the public interest, Proton Holdings Bhd should explain how BMW can acquire Husqvarna Motorcycles for an undisclosed sum from MV Agusta. Husqvarna is famous for building rugged, off-road bikes. According to Reuters report dated 20 July 2007, Husqvarna first made motorcycles in Sweden in 1903 and belonged to MV Agusta. Proton Holdings Bhd (Proton) acquired MV Agusta for 70 million euros ($96.7 million) in 2004 and sold early last year for the token sum of 1 euro. Public interest requires a full accounting from Proton on how BMW can pay an undisclosed sum for one of the many units of MV Augusta whilst Proton sold off the entire MV Agustaa for only one euro. Proton chairman Datuk Mohd Azlan Hashim admitted that Proton lost about RM500 million at the time of acquisition of MV Agusta comprising of the purchase amount of RM367.6 million and the additional provisions relating to MV Agusta in the accounts of the Proton group for the financial year 2005/06 of RM136....

Here's Suzuki's riposte to the Yamaha YZF-R125 and Honda CBR125R; a miniaturised GSX-R carrying an all-new engine and aimed squarely at the young rider market. These new images, taken by Suzuki and leaked onto the internet, reveal that the bike is virtually complete – with its chassis, engine and styling all in a production-ready state, and only lacks the final headlight and windscreen, replaced on the photographic bike with mirrored plastic. And while there are no specs available yet to go with the pictures, there's plenty to indicate this could be the most high-spec road-going 125cc machine on the market. The chassis, for instance, appears to be an extruded and cast aluminium beam frame, although there remains a chance it could be made from steel. Yamaha's R125 shows that a pressed-steel chassis can be made to look convincingly like an alloy frame, but if Suzuki is pulling the same trick, it's done so in a breathtakingly convincing manner. The swingarm, with its p...

BMW's S1000RR 1000cc superbike might not be making big waves in World Superbike competition just yet, but today's release of photos, specifications and a hugely detailed press pack leaves us in no doubt that the new Beemer flagship will be an absolute monster on the road. A massive 193 horsepower is just the beginning - the S1000RR packs a combined ABS that's lighter and smarter than Honda's, variable intake tracts and exhaust butterflies that outdo the Yamaha and MV Agusta systems, a 4-mode variable engine mapping system that seems a lot better thought-out than Suzuki's, and a very clever traction control system that's integrated into the mind-boggling fly-by-wire engine management system in a way that seems much more logical than Ducati's. Brand new in every way, this purpose-built German superbike is set to hit showroom floors well before the end of the year. As Troy Corser and Ruben Xaus quietly go about the long and arduous task of developing the S1000R...