Mazda 3/ Mazda Axela

Hi again, Today's review of compact/small cars is from Mazda, namely the Mazda 3. This model is known as Mazda Axela in Japan, Mazda's domestic market. The Mazda 3 is based on Ford's global C1 platform, which was developed by Volvo and is shared with the latest European Ford Focus and Volvo S40. Hence, from certain angles and if you look closely, you can see cues from the Ford and Volvo in this car.

There are 2 versions of this car, namely the 4-door sedan and the 5-door hatchback, which is quite popular in Europe. As mentioned by the wikipedia website, this car is reported to be up for a redesign for the 2009 model year.

For more information about this Mazda 3, check out the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mazda_Axela

Nissan Sentra / Nissan Sunny / Nissan Sylphy

Today's review is also another compact car, the Nissan Sentra. In Japan, this car is known as the Nissan Sunny. The Sunny name is also used for in Singapore. The replacement for the Nissan Sunny here in Singapore and also Japan is the Nissan Sylphy shown below:



The current Nissan Sunny on sale in Singapore looks slightly different from its Malaysia's counter-part, the Nissan Sentra. The difference is primarily in the front end (radiator grilles) of the car. The picture below shows the Nissan Sunny:

while the Malaysian Nissan Sentra is pictured below:

A new model of the Nissan Sentra is also on the way and is already out in the United States and other countries, the next picture shows this new Nissan Sentra:

For more information about the Nissan Sentra, click on the Wiki link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_Sentra

Volkswagen Jetta

Today we look at another compact car, the German built Volkswagen Jetta. Essentially, the Jetta is the sedan version of the Volkswagen Golf and the Jetta has been built since 1980s.

It is currently in the fifth generation (See pictures) and the Jetta has also been known as Volkswagen Bora, Volkswagen Sagitar, Volkswagen Vento in different markets.

To read more about the VW Jetta and its history and future, check out the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/VW_Jetta

Toyota Corolla

Today, we will look at a compact car from Toyota, the Toyota Corolla. The Corolla is a popular family car around the world and is made in a lot of countries which includes Japan, the United States (Fremont, California), the United Kingdom (Derbyshire), Canada (Cambridge, Ontario), Malaysia, China (Tianjin), Taiwan, Pakistan, South Africa, Brazil, Turkey, Philippines, Thailand, Venezuela and India.

The Japanese domestic market (JDM) model (show above) is slightly different as compared to the model being sold in other markets such as United States, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia etc (show below).

A new model, named the Corolla Axio was released in Japan on October 10, 2006. The picture below shows this new model. It has already been imported to countries like Singapore by parallel importers.

For more information on the history and current developments of the Toyota Corolla, check out the Wiki link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_Corolla

Ford Focus

Today, we'll look at a small family car from Ford, the Ford Focus.

There different versions of this car sold in North America and International markets. For the international markets, there top range is the Focus ST shown below.

And recently, there is a Coupé-Cabriolet version know as the Focus Coupé-Cabriolet (Focus CC) (see picture below).

To find out more about the Ford Focus, click on the below Wiki links:

NORTH AMERICAN MARKET:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_%28North_America%29

INTERNATIONAL MARKET:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Focus_%28International%29

Honda Civic & Honda Civic Hybrid

Today, we look at Honda Civic, which is another similar size car as the Mitsubishi Lancer and Subaru Impreza. The above picture shows the Japanese Domestic Market (JDM) model, while a slightly different version of the Honda Civic (Below) is available for the European market.

There is also a high performance version of this car, namely the Honda Civic Type R, which is built in England. (See below picture)

To find out more about the Honda Civic, check out the Wiki website below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic

There is also a Hybrid version of the Honda Civic. Read about it by clicking the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honda_Civic_Hybrid

If you're interested about hybrids, I have also posted another review of the Toyota Prius Hybrid.

Free GPS maps of the world

Just like to share a website called MapCenter2 - a place where you can share your maps for Garmin GPS receivers and find maps created by other GPS enthusiasts from all over the world.

You can download free routable maps from any part of the world that are put up by fellow GPS enthusiasts!

I haven't tested out any of the maps from this website yet. Anyone tested may like to comment here if you wish... cheers!

Check it out:

http://mapcenter2.cgpsmapper.com/

Subaru Impreza & WRX

Yesterday, we looked at the Mitsubishi Lancer, so today, we shall look at another similar sized saloon, the Subaru Impreza. Like the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution is the rally version of the Lancer sedan, the Subaru Impreza WRX is the rally going version of the Impreza sedan. However, both the Subaru Impreza and its more powerful WRX sibling are all-wheel drive while in the Mitsubishi's case, only the Evo (short for Evolution) is 4-wheel drive.

Here's a look at the new 2008 Subaru Impreza Hatchback. (picture from Wikipedia)

Notice that the front end of the car has been changed from the current 2007 model.

To read more about the Subaru Impreza, its origins, history, past, current and future model, click on the below link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subaru_Impreza

Mitsubishi Lancer voted "Car of the Year" in 2005 in Russia

Mitsubishi Lancer was voted "Car of the Year" in 2005 in Russia. Read about it at this website:

http://www.carpages.co.uk/mitsubishi/mitsubishi-lancer-22-04-05.asp

Also, the new Mitsubishi Lancer was launched in January 2007 and went on sale in North America from March 2007.

Read about the history of Mitsubishi Lancer from its beginning up til now at Wikipedia at the following :

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mitsubishi_Lancer

2007 Toyota Tundra

The Toyota Tundra is a full-size pickup truck sold by Toyota, replacing the Toyota T100. It is similar to the Toyota Sequoia, and Toyota Tacoma. The Tundra was nominated for the North American Truck of the Year award and was Motor Trend magazine's Truck of the year for the year 2000. The Tundra currently owns 5.6 percent of the fullsize market, and is built in San Antonio, Texas, and Gibson County, Indiana. The Tundra is also the best selling foreign full-size half-ton truck.

This truck has been featured in TV dramas such as Smallville and 24! The current model is the second generation of Tundra. This truck has many enhancements from the old generation, such as a towing capacity of over 10,000 lb, a payload capacity of over 2000 lb, and a new 5.7 liter V8 that produces 381 horsepower and 401 pound feet of torque. The 4.7 liter V8 and 4.0 liter V6 are also avalible in the new generation Tundra.


For more details of this truck, check out:

http://www.toyota.com/tundra/ - Toyota's America Website

Toyota Prius

The 2007 Prius with Hybrid Synergy Drive® is one of the greenest car you can find on this planet. This car offers a seamless integration of its gas engine and an emissions-free electric motor to achieve amazing fuel economy with an EPA-estimated combined city/highway 55 miles-per-gallon and Advanced Technology Partial Zero Emission Vehicle (AT-PZEV) rating. Available features includes Bluetooth® wireless technology, Smart Key System and backup camera. There is also an available auxiliary audio jack provides MP3/WMA playback capability so you can listen to your own soundtrack as you drive the hybrid movement forward. This car is so quiet during idle that you'd wonder if the engine is already started or not!

To find out more about this fantastic car, Check out the Toyota's website of your country!

http://www.toyota.com/ - America Toyota Website

Australia's Fuel Prices Check online

And here's a website for our Australian readers to find out fuel prices around your area:

http://motormouth.com.au/default_fl.aspx

MotorMouth helps you save precious time and money, and their improved services make it even easier to find the cheapest fuel in any part of Australia!

Checking Fuel/Gas Price online?

Just managed to track down several websites for North American readers of my Blog to check gas prices.

http://www.gasbuddy.com/ - This website is quite easy to use. Just click on your state in North America (US or Canada) and you will be linked to websites that track the cheapest gas prices.

http://www.gaspricewatch.com/new/default_V3.asp - This website allows you to either enter the location you are looking for using a control panel, or search directly in the map provided. Relatively simple and useful as well.

Finally, you can also use the Gas calculator provided by Newsnet5.com to check the price per fillup. http://www.newsnet5.com/sh/idi/news/gascalculator/index.html

Free GPS maps for Singapore and Malaysia

Hi Fellow car drivers,

If you have a GPS device and are looking for GPS maps for Singapore and Malaysia. Here's a great website to obtain free GPS maps for Singapore and Malaysia. Great help for navigation around these 2 countries either by foot or by car on your GPS device.

http://www.malsingmaps.com/forum/index.php

Viewers who to my blog who knows of free GPS maps to other countries could email me and or add in the comment section. Cheers.