Car News - Mitsubishi Launches All New Triton/Strada in Thailand

The last time that a Strada (Triton in some countries) received a new body was in 2005, that was nine years ago. It was also the same time the Toyota Hilux and Nissan Frontier Navara received a new body and while the latter had a new model which was launched recently, the Toyota is having a new model by next year.

This time, the new Strada has received a new body his year.




Billed as the "Ultimate Sport Utility Truck", the 2015 Triton combines a passenger car's comfortable interior and a pick-up truck's function and reliability. Well, the trend of a truck combing a sedan's attributes had been in the range since then.

No more side curves which was a love it or loathe it affair, replacing it are more conventional lines that are common among rivals. A new chrome grille is present, which is wrapped with LED lights.

Going inside, you'll notice that there is no more mechanical transfer case shift knob, replacing it is a rotary dial which is another trend among pick-up trucks currently. Other than a newly designed steering wheel, not much details are given.

For the engines, the four cylinder unit gets an aluminum engine block and Mitsubishi's MIVEC technology. The usual 4D56 2.5 diesel with either 128hp and 240Nm or 178hp and 400Nm (VGT version) is still available, while a 4G64 2.4 gasoline which develops 128hp and 194Nm is also offered. It can be paired between a six-speed manual or a five-speed automatic. One news is the improved levels of NVH (noise, harshness, and vibration) when paired with the 2.4 diesel.

Available body styles - for Thailand, at least for today - are a single cab, a double cab, and an extended cab.

For more information about the current body Strada, check out its latest car profile.

Car News - Mercedes Benz Announces New Naming Scheme, Revives Maybach

With Mercedes Benz having an expanded line-up, they had announced that it will be having a new naming scheme for its models, particularly for their SUVs and roadsters.

The chart above shows that the A, B, C, E, and S Classes (in ascending order) will remain the same especially they are the "core model series", as it does with the CLA and CLS 4 door coupes. For SUVs, they will get a "G" designation with the G Class remains unchanged, the GL becomes the GLS (or the GL S-Class in short), the ML will be the GLE (in short for GL E-Class), and the GLK gets the GLC name (or GL C-Class) while the GLA remains the same since it is the GL A-Class. These new names will be used by next year.

For the roadsters, the SL doesn't get a name change while the SLK will be the SLC (or the SL C-Class). Changes may be in effect this 2016.

Also, the engine designations for non gasoline models are also renamed by using a lowercase letter at the end of the model to denote the drive system. "c" means compressed natural gas, "d" for diesel, "e" for electric, "f" for fuel cell, and "h" for hybrid. 4MATIC, Benz's four wheel drive system, will remain the same.

In other news, Mercedes Benz will revive the Maybach nameplate for the upcoming Los Angeles Auto Show. The new Maybach is basically a more exclusive S-Class (a criticism it was trowed back then) to be called the Mercedes-Maybach S600. The sub-brand will have, as what its predecessor had, extreme levels of customization that suits the owners taste and it will not be a trim level.