Mazda Becomes First Automaker to use Trans-Siberian Railroad

The Trans-Siberian Railway is a massive network of railroads connecting European Russia with the far east side of the country, China and the Sea of Japan. Starting in October 2008, Mazda will become the first car manufacturer to adopt this transport system for regular large-scale transportation of vehicles to Russia. Mazda will ship its vehicles from its factory in Hiroshima, Japan to Zarubino which is near Vladivostok. The automobiles will then be transported on the approximately 9,300 km (5,800 miles) route to Moscow on dedicated block trains of 30 rail cars. As with the passenger train, delivery time to Moscow will be 10 days. -Continued

Mazda claims that this transport initiative will supplement vehicle shipments from Japan, reducing the delivery time to Russia by up to 30 days for high demand models.

“Mazda is one of Russia’s most popular brands with double-digit growth every month,” said Jorgen Olesen, Vice President for Customer Service, Logistics and IS at Mazda Motor Europe. “Rail transport is intended to supplement existing delivery, which will continue to come by ship and road from the west. This dual transport strategy will help meet high demand for Mazda cars in Russia, and to lower overall delivery times to customers.”

2009 Honda Legend: Euro market Acura RL says no to front-shield

Ever wonder how the North American market 2009 RL (see here) would look like without that gaudy ‘armor shield’ that Acura likes to call a front grille? Then check out the European market Honda Legend facelift that was unveiled at the Moscow International Auto Show. The new grille fits nicely to the revised front-end giving the luxury sedan a more classy appearance. Other than that, the Legend is nothing more than a rebadged 2009 Acura RL. On the outside, the most noticeable changes of the facelifted version are the new lights, bonnet, front wings, boot lid, bumpers and the adoption of standard 18" wheels. -Continued

Mechanical changes include the new 3.7-liter V6 VTEC engine that replaces the previous 3.5-liter V6 unit and is coupled to an all-new 5-speed gearbox with revised steering wheel mounted paddle-shifters and new gearbox software. According to Honda, the new Legend can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.1 seconds, 0.2 seconds quicker than before. Fuel economy and CO2 figures have also been improved over the previous model. In terms of chassis upgrades, while the Legend’s SH-AWD system remains unchanged, the settings for the suspension have been altered to improve the ride and handling.

Honda also refined the Legend’s cabin by equipping it with a suite of NVH reducing technologies, the most advanced of which is the Active Noise Cancellation system (ANC), which cancels out low frequency noise by playing the opposite wave form through the Bose sound system. The 2009 Legend also gets new Active Head Restraints and heated rear seats while the Bose Audio system now has a USB socket enabling the connection of an iPod.

Opening picture edited by Carscoop

2008 Moscow Auto Show Babes Gallery

No car show is complete without the babes and the 2008 Moscow International Auto Salon is no exception. We could go on talking about the ones we liked the most and how the Russian ‘femme fatales’ represented the highlight of the show but we gather that by now, most of you will have already scrolled down to check out the babes one by one. If not, don’t let us hold you; just follow the jump and enjoy our humongous gallery with 61 photos. -Continued

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