Eco Expo Asia 2015 - HKTDC, International Trade Fair on Environmental Protection, 28th to 31st Oct

 HKTDC is currently holding the 10th Anniversary Eco Expo Asia 2015 -  the Asia World Expo venue side near the HK International Airport,  which has attracted exhibitors ranging from Hardware to Building Materials,   Lighting and Electric Cars and Buses.   It will open from 28th to 31st October 2015,  more details are available here:   http://www.hktdc.com/fair/ecoexpoasia-en/s/2989-General_Information/Eco-Expo-Asia-International-Trade-Fair-on-Environmental-Protection/Fair-Details.html#sthash.lYYzQtd6.dpuf

 

 

Asia World Expo -
On the Airport Train line,  it is just one station away from HK International Airport.
Alternatively just take a Taxi

 

 

Its mainly Eco Sustainable Building Materials,  Outdoor Lighting and other Environmental Technologies Here,    Plus the Electric Cars and Buses -
At this Asia Expo venue.  The Wanchai Exhibition and Convention Centre side concentrates more on the Lighting side this year in 2015.

 

 

Nissan LEAF – a Zero emission Battery Electric Car with 88KW Motor and around 160Km Range
Apparently thanks to the likes of Tesla too,  Electric Cars are really taking off.  There are currently 11 Quick Charge stations in HK,  where a full battery charge can be attained in just 30 minutes.  There are lots more Medium Charge stations in HK,  where charging takes between 3-4 hours whilst you go shopping or stay in a Hotel.







Nissan LEAF Gear Control -  There is a D and B Drive mode.
If you have already driven or test drove Electric Cars before,  you might notice that operating on the maximum Battery Regenerative Mode  (B Mode here),  will automatically engine brake when letting go of the accelerator,  as this action saves and generates power much like in Hybrid Cars during braking.   As a Safety Feature,  most Electric Cars under Regenerative Mode turns on the Braking Lights automatically if you are not on the gas already. 

 
Zippy Motor for a Battery Car -
Although without an actual combustion engine,  Electric Cars on average are nominally heavier than a Petrol Car due to the Battery Packs.  However using an Electric Motor instead of a Fuel Engine with a full Drive Train,  much higher efficiency is achieved with little energy wasted.  So a 88KW Electric Motor usually has better instant torque,  throttle response and actual power transferred to the wheels.  It really is the way to go for the Future plus it has Zero Emission of waste gas.  

 

 

Me Behind the Nissan LEAF Wheel -
Will also try out 2 other Car models below to compare

 

 

The Nissan e-NV200 – a 7 Seater
The Electric Motor spec is the same as the LEAF above.   The suspension and other set ups are however different.   Obviously due to the heavier weight this will be less racy,  but then it is higher up the ground and more comfortable for the family.

This Nissan e-NV200 is apparently quite Popular with locals living in HK’s New Territories -
Since living on larger housing estates mean they have spare garage space to Charge Batteries and it is for getting around local areas,  to schools and for shopping daily.  

 

The Green Electric Bus has a mileage of around 300km -
This was on the news these few days too,  you can visit and see for yourself at the Eco Expo Asia.  Hopefully this will be running soon in early 2016 is the plan for HK.

 

 

 

Some Animal Products also available -
Apparently they are natural organic and helps animals to digest..








New Eco Fish Tanks -
These are interesting because they are based on Nitrogen Cycles.  You grow Plants on the top level,  and feed your fishes in the tanks below as normal.   The Natural Cleaning and filtering cycle means,  it will grow both plants above and fishes or lobsters below without much maintenance.   If you have kept gold fish or tropical fishes at home before, you will notice how each Water Change can be a hassle and the chemical changes can hazardly affect the fish’s health.   This natural technology fixes most of those imbalance problems..

 

 

This Company does Air Purifying, 
The machine is installed at Hospital Entrances,  where it can clean your shoes before Entering and minimizing Contamination of hospital rooms.  Quite Useful in other situations too..

 

 

A MedAir Air Purifier using Metal Ionizers -  no Paper Filters required
Operating with a Static Electricity voltage that is lower than Body generated Static Electricity when pulling off your wool jumper in Winter, this is quite safe even for Children.

 

Interesting new Tungsten Lamps -
Generating less heat than before,  but maintaining the same nostalgic feeling..

 

 

Final Electric Car Test Today – a Volkswagen eGolf also with 88KW Power
The base weight is around 1600Kg and comprised of 264 different Battery Packs.  This is Sportier than I thought,  its quite adept at over taking with instant response,  again thanks to the Electric Motor with hardly any energy loss through the Engine & Drive Train mechanicals.   

 

 

This Logo flips open for the Reverse Camera during Parking -
Such a cool idea.  It also 2ndly acts as the Boot Release Handle. 
Lets hope this VW really is achieving Zero Emission. 








Feels just like an Ordinary Petrol Car -
But overall they are much quieter and throttle response is quite instant. 
I wonder if Electric Battery Cars will 1 day replace all petrol and diesel vehicles 1 day in the near future,  as this Technology really is flying these 2 years…  and Government Incentives means you pay less Taxes and also receive higher Resale Values for Electric Cars nowadays.  Even hotels like L’Hotel branches in Hong Kong and Shopping Centres are catching on this technology and providing Charging Stations for customers and it is certainly worth monitoring to understand the trend.

Eco Expo Asia 2015 – Date from 28th to 31st October

Address:   AsiaWorld-Expo
Hong Kong International Airport
Lantau, Hong Kong, China

General Enquiries
Tel: (852) 3606 8828
Fax: (852) 3606 8889
Email: info@asiaworld-expo.com

Maserati GrandTurismo Sport - GT Grand Tourer Coupe with a Signature Engine Roar

 I love Car Racing and it is all about paying respect to the best built machineries in the world!   It is not about the thrill from the speeding to me at all,  one has to be very safe when it comes to driving on the road and refrain oneself from ever speeding on public roads outside of a circuitry track.    My love for Car Racing is similar to my love for food,  it is all about timing and precision,  not that dissimilar to baking pastries.   Every 0.1 second matters and this is what separates an F1 driver like Lewis Hamilton from a Nico Rosberg,  or a Sebastian Vettel from Kimi Raikkonen.  The Maserati series gives me exactly the excitement I enjoy so much -  smartly designed by the Pininfarina car design studio,  it not only looks super smart,  but the Ferrari/Maserati engineering team behind makes them one of the most desirable cars on this planet.   And I love that roar from the newer updated V8 4.7Litre engine!

 

 

 

A 4 Seated 2 Door Coupe Front Engine Rear Wheel Drive,
the  Maserati GrandTurismo Sport is one of the highest Sought After Cars -
With  0-100 kph performance of only 4.8s,  and 0-400m of 12.6s,  this is pushing into the Super Car territory.  Not far off from it’s sister Ferrari’s now under the same Italian group.











Wished I could own one of these Sooner -
The Red Interior with the Black exterior paint is super attractive. 
Italian Engineering at it’s best and wished I could live with one for a longer period to really learn more about it’s driving mode.








One of the most Beautiful Cars in the world -
That engine roar from the V8 is unmistakable,  so is the front grill design with the Maserati symbol.
I really have to work harder and buy one of these sooner than later.  Maserati here I come : )

 

 

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Porsche Panamera S - Practical 4 Door Sports Sedan with High Performance

 I arrived in Macau with high anticipation of test driving the 2014-2015 face lifted Porsche 4 Door Sports Sedan  -  the Panamera S model now featuring an updated V6 3 Litre Twin Turbo engine with 420bhp Horsepower or 309KW.   The low torquey twin-turbo configuration allows it instant throttle response at any RPM range and a quick acceleration of 0-100kph of only 5.1 seconds.   The new 7 Gears PDK dual-clutch Automatic Transmission also behaves more like a Manual gearbox as I found out from the way it holds gears especially downhill -  there is also an assistive “Launch Function” which helps to maximize acceleration from still at the Traffic Lights or from the Circuit Grid Box for the enthusiast.

 

 

The Front End Resembles a Classic Porsche 911 -
This time the longer wheelbase Panamera S with 4 seats and 4 doors.   This Porsche is actually currently one of the biggest selling models in China,  Macau and Hong Kong side.   It’s sporty but with the Active Air Suspension and different Sports Modes,  also makes it practical to carry your passengers with comfort.

 

 

The Panamera S Rear View -
The Twin Turbo’s and Exhausts are adequately muffled when driving inside and outside the car,  I found this ultimately comforting plus the acceleration potential is lurking within anytime ready to be unleashed.   Overtaking another car in traffic was instant and swift.

20” Inch Panamera Sports Wheels Painted in Black on this S model -
The other entry level Panamera riding alongside us,  sported 19” Wheels in comparison.
I should mention the Braking System on the Panamera in general is not as abrupt as those on a typical super car.   It’s tuned initially to brake gradually comfortable,  but rest assure when you need to stop on a more enthusiastic drive,  press the Brakes harder and it will always stop on a dime.

 

The Interior -
Nowadays in a Sporty 4 Door Sedan,  its both as much about the driver’s cockpit, as well as ergonomics and comfort to every passenger on board.   There’s plenty of leg rooms in the back too.   And Active and Passive Safety features build in which are confidence inspiring. 

 

 

 

It’s Growing Appeal to the Asian and American Market is Understandable -
Its fast,  it’s German Engineering at its best,  plus it’s still a Porsche !   And now you have a 4 door option which still handles on rails yet remains daily practical.   I was mentioning that if you are a Soccer Mom and didn’t want to go down the SUV path for say reasons of it being too tall or harder to park daily,  then this is the ultimate Soccer Mom or Dad’s family ride!   

 

 

 

 

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There is also this 2014 Face-lifted Basic Model Porsche Panamera 3.6L V6 Naturally Aspirated -
With a 300HP or 224KW engine,  which already does respectable acceleration and handling for daily usage.  The Panamera S model above just has that extra 100+ Horsepower handy and extra low end RPM torque from the turbos.  

 

 

 

 

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Infiniti Q50 2.0T Turbo Premium - Test Driving the New Infiniti by Nissan

 The latest Infiniti by Nissan-Renault group is every loyal Skyline fan's dream come true.  The Infiniti range is an upgraded version and derived from the same Nissan Skyline DNA linage over the years. It has returned wiser as a grown-up version and became a more mature design package, the L-Shaped LED front parker lights and the smoother curvy bonnet lines are definitively trendily European in style than all of its predecessors.  Rest assure the performance has also received a welcoming and deserving boost by the manufacturer, yet it manages to use less fuel than those before this generation.   The engine installed is shared with Mercedes and Daimler development.

 

 

Infiniti Q50 -
Sporty and with European curves,  suitable for Professionals in image.  This is the Premium package which sports 18” Alloy Wheels and Bridgestone tyres,  with an Electronically adjustable Suspension package and better interior.  In Macau,  this is currently selling in the MOP $440,000 range,  but knowing the Tax System discrepancy,  paying in Hong Kong Dollars here can give you around a $20,000 discount. 

 

 

Executive Looking yet Young Sporty -
Let’s give it some acceleration pedal action,  to see if this 2.0L Engine with Turbo can give the enthuasists some real action.

 

 

 

 

Blessed with a Wind Tunnel calibrated aerodynamic performance of a very low 0.26 Coefficient of Efficiency drag, the 2015 Spec Infiniti Q50 2.0T carries an impressive 0-100km/h time of only 7.2 seconds whilst managing to keep fuel usage down to under 7.3Litres/100Km - 
Impressive figure and this certainly is one efficient beast. In my mind instantly, I was drawing direct correlation to an equally worthy competitor in the upper end Lexus Performance series.  And don’t forget this Engine shares the same DNA as a Mercedes C-Class Turbo engine as mentioned above.

 

 

 

 

Seat Stitching - “Infinity” by Nissan-Renault Group
They are also present on the latest Formula 1 Red Bull-Infiniti team.   Since Renault and Nissan supply the engines to Red Bull Formula 1 Team as well,  in partnership.

 

 

 

Dual Monitors with Touch-Screen -
GPS System and the Control below is digitalized via Fibre Optics.   You can select every variable from Air Conditioning,  to Stability Control,  Braking and Steer Assist,  all the way down to the specially installed BOSE Audio system. 

 

 

 

Designed and built from scratch to emulate a European Spec Sports sedan experience,
Indeed the Infiniti Q50's underlying engine block also shares the same development program with a Mercedes-Benz C Class, the result of a joint manufacturing collaboration between Nissan and Daimler AG group.  Having evaluated the limits of the Infiniti Q50 2.0T S Premium package, under slippery and rainy conditions in Macau,  it still handled steadily and safely up to the point of Electronic Stability Control finally kicking in by calculations of its sensors, just as I very deliberately provoked it during cornering.   *None of the other passengers actually noticed my mischievousness as I put pedal to the floor in the middle of a wet corner to test if it will drift wide naturally,  or we can somehow trust it’s passive Electronics System to correct.  Not that one can’t control it if it falls out of hand but it is still a big test and expected in today’s technology,  just like the accelerometer in your iPhone and Smart Phone!  It gives the driver much needed confidence as a passive and non-intrusive safety feature as we are all humans after all, even for the most precise professional drivers having an off-day and it might catch them off guard.

 

 

As a long term dedicated Skyline-Infiniti line fan and enthusiast - 
One of my major inner concerns was how would the car ultimately perform when pushed to its limit during sudden turn-ins or fast cornering, in this rear wheel drive configuration historically famous for great handling.  I mean with the much sharper European design in looks, I somehow was skeptical they might become too safe and classy and nullify the handling side of things to make it too gentlemen predictable in behaviour just as we are just beginning to have fun.  Rest assure the Engine Power Distribution from the Turbo Engine and also the Drivability set up is as sharp as is expected and here I must give praise to Infiniti sticking to heritage.  Performance in all aspects is tuned by none other than multiple F1 Champion Sebastian Vettel, surprisingly even also down to the Engine Mapping.   Red Bull,  Renault and Nissan Infinity linkage definitely helped with its development.   Sure I would expect less understeer on turn-in,  but the balance was close and suitable for most novice.

 

 

 

18” Alloy Wheels with the Premium Package -
The Bridgestone tyres have a good amount of grip even in the wet.

 

 

Dashboard -
Revs to 6,500rpm but the power-torque delivery arrives quite early.  Such is modern Turbo technology.   Turbo lag nowadays is almost non-existent and it climbed up hill many times without effort.








7 Speed Gear Shift has only +/- Controls on the Gear Stick  -
The Shift-Paddles on the Steering Wheel are not present. And for what is an Automatic Gearbox with a Torque Converter still taking care of the power,  this makes inherent sense since the Tip-Tronic Gear set up wasn’t meant to be mechanically racy with thumping clutch gear changes.  

 

A lovely Package that is emulating a European Experience -
As an ex-Nissan driver I can totally see where this is heading in the European Sporty Cars section!   The no lag engine response with plenty of usable torque and a lovingly designed and manufactured interior is almost immaculate.   The chassis is convincingly stiff,  the suspension and handling characteristics was accurate with a good safety margin dialled-in.   I would love to own this as my daily car and it looks so cool yet executive. 

 

Despite looking Executive in Design -
If you are adventurous enough to turn off the brake assisted turn-in and other stability controls, you can manually test the car's ultimate balance. My final impression of this car is that it has definitely matured to become right up there with the best available European sporty sedans, even the suspension, built, engine and handling plus the design of the interior is very convincing. There is also a Hybrid V6 version available which carries a 360 Horsepower engine and can perform 0-100km/h in 5.1s, which is just touching on super car territory. Now I am excited to try that version,  and also the newly released Q70 series..

 

 

 

Macau:
Address:  Avenida 1 de Maio, R/C D, Bloco 4, The Bayview, Macau
Phone:  (853) 2871 9838

 

Hong Kong:  INFINITI GALLERY
Address:  G/F Hutchison House, 10 Harcourt Road, Central, Hong Kong
Phonel: (852) 2756 9123