News: Subaru BRZ will have a second generation says Fuji Heavy Industries' boss

The Subaru BRZ will not be a one hit wonder. In response to the earlier report, the President of Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd has stated in Automotive News that Subaru plans to have another generation of the BRZ. Yasuyuki Yoshinaga, president of Subaru's parent company, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. also added that the current arrangement with Toyota will continue even though Toyota have another joint-venture arrangement with BMW to come up with a hybrid coupe.

Toyota still has a place in the BRZ story due to the fact that Subaru needs the volume that Toyota can sell (the BRZ's Toyota twin is the GT 86) in order for the BRZ to be viable in the first place. Whatever it is, it looks like this pure, normally aspirated rear wheel drive coupe is here to stay. For now that is.

BMW M4 on the 'Ultimate Racetrack'

Here we have the BMW M4 on an aircraft carrier with a racetrack on it. Yes it is a mash-up of actual driving and CGI of a racetrack on an aircraft carrier. Marketing at its best. But, so's the driving in the vid too!

Volkswagen Jetta Customer Test Drive Gone Wrong

This has been trending around local social app sites very recently. I received pictures via my Whatapp and also via my news feed on Facebook. It would seem that a customer test drive had gone a wee bit wrong over at the Volkswagen dealer in Sungai Petani, Kedah.

New Large Mini Cars - 2015 Countryman and 2015 Paceman

The New Large Mini cars are in. Let me type that again. LARGE MINI. Could there be an oxymoron that can beat that in the car industry? Maybe one could if they had a car called Ginormous and then is sized like a Perodua Viva. Anyway, Mini, the brand, has launched the all new Mini Countryman and Mini Paceman for 2015.

Sunday Car Porn: More Kahn Design - Porsche Panamera 3.0 Diesel V6 – Super Sport Wide Track

This Kahn Design Porsche Panamera 3.0 Diesel V6 is actually up for sale over in the UK for £59,875.00. If diesel does not rock your boat (especially since diesel quality is crap in Malaysia) you can head over to the UK and get them to commission a petrol based one for you!

Spotted for sale: Classic VW Beetle that WANTS to be a Porsche and a BMW at the same time

In line with Motoring-Malaysia's unofficial VW Day today let's carry on with a VW you'd never thought was possible, but is very much in existence. I present to you, one which is on sale. It is a vintage Volkswagen Beetle that wants to be a Porsche 911 Turbo on the outside with its whaletail. This is quite acceptable as there are a lot of Porsche style mods around but then it gets steered around with a steering wheel from a BMW. You get BMW, Porsche and Volkswagen for RM18,000. So what more could you want ? Actually a lot more if its going to cost RM18,000!!!!!

TECH TALK: Volkswagen engine and DSG related issues. How to try avoid them (UPDATED)

There has been a fair bit of Volkswagen related news this week and I thought I'd continue with something technical related. Over the last few months I have been driving a slew of Volkswagen cars. From the basic Volkswagen Polo 1.6 hatchback to the latest locally assembled Volkswagen Jetta 1.4TSI. All are decent cars to drive around and some, like the Polo GTI brought a smile to my face because it was simply satisfying to drive fast in a tiny car over a nice mountainside road. The latest Mk7 Golf  1.4 TSI was also remarkable in that after a few days you realise why this car has been the benchmark in family hatchbacks over the years. A tad soulless, but a feat in packaging and also overall vehicle performance. And oh, nothing broke, nor did any issues creep up as regards to them.

THE VOLKSWAGEN MARATHON SERIES 2014: DRIVEN BY VOLKSWAGEN

This is a bit of news for those who like to run for fun or for fitness or for competition. I'd rather drive. But those who would rather run, do take note. Langkawi in August, Hulu Langat in early September 2014.

PRESS RELEASE

THE VOLKSWAGEN MARATHON SERIES 2014: DRIVEN BY VOLKSWAGEN

2015 Volkswagen Passat previewed - It looks much better than ever

The All-New 2015 Volkswgen Passat B9 is 2mm shorter than the outgoing one at 4767mm (wheelbase is an impressive 79mm longer at 2791mm), 12mm wider at 1832mm and 6mm lower at 1456mm. Like most new cars these days it is no longer heavier than the outgoing model but up to 85kg lighter with the base models coming in at 1312kg which is very impressive for a full sized sedan.

Automotive News: VW Group takes over Blackberry's European R&D centre and also founds Volkswagen Infotainment GmbH

This is something fairly interesting. The Volkswagen Group is taking over BlackBerry's European research and development centre in Bochum (Germany). What does this tell me? 

Spotted for Sale: 1994 Toyota Sera - Budget McLaren F1 Butterfly door experience

The Toyota Sera (model designation EXY10) is a two door, 2+2 Butterfly swing door equipped coupe which Toyota built from 1990 to 1996. Built originally and exclusively for the Japanese market, it somehow made its way overseas and Malaysia was one of them.

Sunday Car Porn: Land Rover Defender 2.2 TDCI XS 110 – Chelsea Defender by A. Kahn Design.

Kahn Design, that UK based company that adds more leather, wide arches, big wheels and basically everything turned up to 11 on a scale of 10 has did up another Land Rover Defender - The Land Rover Defender 2.2 TDCI XS 110 – Chelsea Defender. 

"The look of the Nara Bronze XS 110 Chelsea Wide Track is complimented by a multitude of additions that include a front bumper including bumper lighting, front and rear wheel wide wheel arches and wings in matt black, LED diamond bright headlights, bonnet vents with mesh, painted brake calipers, privacy glass, front bumper sump guard, hardwearing mud flaps, exhaust shields, Kahn crosshair exhaust system, Kahn 9 x 20" Mondial wheels in volcanic black and a Chelsea truck company spare wheel cover.

BMW i3 wins award for Production Interior Vehicle Design of the Year

The new BMW electric hybrid coupe, the BMW i3 has won an award for 2014 Production Interior Vehicle Design of the Year at the Automotive Interiors Expo Award 2014 (there IS such an expo!). The car, innovative as heck but isn't something for the sporty sort of BMW drivers. More for the uncles and aunties. And Eco-mentalists. Yup.

PRESS RELEASE

Tuning News: New 2014 Mercedes Benz C180 W205 tuned by Inden Design

The tuning houses have descended on the W205 Mercedes Benz C-class. Here we have Inden Design, tuner of Ferrari and Mercedes Benz over in Germany coming up with their interpretation of the entry level C180 model. This could be inspiration to those local car enthusiasts who intend to get the new C-class and start making it slightly different from the norm.

News: Subaru BRZ may be axed due to a BMW-Toyota collaboration

The Subaru BRZ, or the Subaru version of the Toyota GT86 may be discontinued if Toyota and BMW's joint venture on the developement of a high performance sports car gathers momentum. The chief engineer responsible for the Toyota and Subaru versions, Tetsuya Tada, had stated in an interview with www.Drive.com.au that the program with the German brand could be expanded to include the next 86. 

The engineers are currently examining whether to keep the current 2.0liter flat four engine or replace it with something more conventional, or in my opinion, something 4 cylinder with a turbocharger that allows for better emissions and torque (as well as downsizing the engine even more).

News: Volkswagen Peninsular Malaysia 'Volkswagen On Tour' Roadshow is now on going

Volkswagen Group Malaysia is extending its comprehensive and compelling Volkswagen brand experience to various locations across Peninsular Malaysia as part of its continuous commitment to engage with Malaysians. 

Starting with its first stop at One Utama in Petaling Jaya, the continuation of the Volkswagen On Tour series of roadshows will see visitors engaging personally with Volkswagen’s fleet of vehicles in Malaysia including all of Volkswagen’s recently launched vehicles – the all-new Golf R, the latest Tiguan, the enhanced Passat and the locally assembled Jetta. Visitors will also stand the chance to win the Polo Sedan in conjunction with Volkswagen’s “Safe and Stylish Balik Kampung” campaign.

News: Hyundai's new 3S Centre in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia and enhanced Hyundai Veloster launched

Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) has opened its first 3S centre in the East Coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The 3S centre is located in Kuantan, Pahang and it is part of Hyundai's plan to increase its market share over the next three years continues to gain momentum. You can now get everything Hyundai in one stop over in the 'Pantai Timur'. 

2014 J.D Power Awards for Initial Quality Study and Awards for Dependability Rating

The 2011 Lexus GS - Most reliable Mid-sized Premium Car after three years and most reliable brand overall after the same period according to J.D Power

There are two, I repeat two (2) major J.D Power Awards for the Automotive sector out there. 

First is the Initial Quality Study for 2014. Taken from the Initial Quality Study (IQS), which looks at owner-reported problems in the first 90 days of new-vehicle ownership, this score is based on problems that have caused a complete breakdown or malfunction, or where controls or features may work as designed, but are difficult to use or understand.

Hyundai Snares Most JD Power Initial Quality Awards In Its History

J.D. Power presented three Hyundai vehicles - 2014 Genesis, 2014 Elantra and 2014 Accent - their highest award for initial quality in their respective segments. Hyundai ranked fourth overall in initial quality, climbing six spots from last year, and was the highest-ranked non-premium brand. In total, Hyundai had six vehicles in the Top Three positions in their segments, including two second place finishes for Santa Fe and Sonata and a third-place finish for Equus. This year’s results mark the third time Hyundai has been the highest-ranked non-premium brand in the past 10 years, and the third time it finished among the Top Four brands overall.

TYRE NEWS: GOODYEAR PROVIDES MALAYSIAN DRIVERS WITH WORRY FREE ASSURANCE

Goodyear Malaysia is delivering greater assurance to drivers by offering its Worry Free Assurance program. This provides replacement tyres within six months from the date of purchase on selected Goodyear tire patterns for road hazard damage that is beyond repair (caused by puncture, cut, bruise or impact during the course of normal driving) on a maintained road (within the stipulated terms and conditions). Tyres are expensive. Especially in those large low profile sizes. AND what is the difference between tyre and tire? Tyre is the English way of spelling it and 'tire' is the American/Canadian way of spelling it as per the press release - there you go, another lesson for you folks out there.

Spotted For Sale: The "Toyota AE86" you never ever wanted

This is for one for those days where you thought things couldn't get any weirder but it does. My friend Firdaus has friends who search the classifieds for unique used cars to lust after. But sometimes they come across cars that you have no idea why they are what they are in the first place. This is one of them - a Proton Saga Iswara that wants to be a Tofu transport vehicle, the Toyota 'Hatchiroku' or 86.

Peugeot 508 facelifted for 2015MY

Peugeot has facelifted their large family sedan, the 508 for the 2015 Model Year. The new nose gets its new themes from the recently launch 308 and is actually more promiment as well as being a more conventional split two grille front end rather than one large grille previously. Lots of brands seem to eschew the large single grille and are now reverting to the traditional split grille setup. Ah, how things are so fluid in the automotive industry.

The facelift covers the sedan, the SW estate and also the crossover RX wagon (which isn't on sale over here) and aside from the front end rework, the new stuff are some new engines and the interior, which has new dials, instrumentation, less clutter (from less switches) and a larger infotainment screen. There are also blind spot sensors and a reverse camera as options too.

Facelifted 2015 Mercedes Benz CLS launched - new front end, LED headlights and a new gearbox

The facelifted Mercedes Benz CLS has been previewed. Typical of most new Mercedes Benz facelifts, the 2015 CLS now gets a nearly completely new front end. The 'honed front section' is actually a familiar looking face. It looks so much like the facelifted W212 E-class instead of being more of a 'halo' car for Mercedes. Maybe there is a need for more of a family look to it. It does have a Diamond pattern type grille of the latest sporty models though. Still breathtaking though.

RM199 per month for a Golf, Polo Sedan or Polo 1.6 - too good to be true?

"It’s never been easier to own a Volkswagen. For an amazingly low monthly instalment of RM199*, you can drive home a brand new Golf, Polo Sedan or Polo 1.6. And because we have stock readily available, there is no waiting for your dream car either."

So is it too good to be true? If it were RM199 per month forever, then theVolkswagen Golf 1.4TSI would be yours after about 779 months, a Polo Sedan could be yours for 452 months or 37 years. So......This is only for the first year okay. After that things should revert to the normal high hundreds or low thousands or RM.

Tech Talk: Mercedes Benz Malaysia says its not their fault you're having problems with Grey Imports and...

....I have to agree with them. This issue cropped up due to Malaysians who buy grey import Mercedes Benz Direct Injection (CGI) or even the CDI diesel models who are suffering from engine ailments caused by Malaysian petrol being of Euro 2 standard when the Euro or Japan Specced models brought in by grey importers or AP holders require at least Euro 4. Those that bought via official Mercedes Benz dealers (like Yours Truly...Muahahahahaha) will not face such problems.

Perodua drops prices of the Viva, why Perodua is successful and why Proton aren't

You've got to hand it to Perodua. The second national car maker has dropped prices for their cheapest model again. 

Viva 660 BX manual – RM22,000 ( from RM25,000, less RM3,000)
Viva 850 manual – RM27,900 (from RM33,200, less RM5,300)
Viva S auto – RM29,900 (from RM35,200, less RM5,300)
Viva Elite MT – RM32,900 (from RM38,200, less RM5,300)
Viva Elite AT – RM36,800 (from RM41,300, less RM4,500)

Mercedes AMG previews a new engine for its upcoming GT

"A compact design, low power-to-weight ratio, great fuel efficiency, and signature, distinctive AMG sound all work in harmony to create the high-performance AMG 4.0 Liter V8 Biturbo Engine (M178). This engine is truly bigger than the sum of its parts – and a quantum leap into the future of technology."

Opinion: Of Nissan Teana and Nissan Sylphy - CVT on the old and new models.

It may be very okay to buy this new 2014 Teana.....

...but not very okay to buy this previous Teana.

I just noticed that the new Nissan Sylphy and the new Nissan Teana....have the same engine and gearbox. Note that the earlier Sylpillis, er Slyphy...no, Sylphy and the earlier Tena, no, that's an adult diaper were running the same CVT gearbox and different engines. This time, both have four cylinder Nissa-Renault MR Series 2.0liter engines running a slightly modified CVT gearbox. You also get the same engine and transmission in the recently launched Renault Fluence (which I totally forgot was also recently launched - makes you wonder how much I was looking forward to it being around Malaysia).

Tech Talk: Of steering feel and steering weight. No, they're not the same

The steering of this Mazda has supposedly less feedback than.....

......this 1990 Proton Saga??????

I have on many occasions noticed that most of us Malaysians confuse 'steering feel' with 'steering weight'. There was this one time when a friend of mine was trying to sell his Mazda MX-5 Roadster and the chap who wanted to buy it said that the Roadster had no steering feel. This was unlike his 1990 Proton Saga Megavalve Manual which to him had tons of feel.

TEST DRIVE: THE VOLKSWAGEN GOLF 1.4TSI Mk7 - The Mr Spock of hatchbacks

The Volkswagen Golf is a car that has become an automotive icon. Over in Europe the car defines a genre and is the benchmark that others either follow or try to beat when engineering a hatchback. However over here, things are just warming up as any real Golf presence came about sometime after 2004 when the Golf Mk5 was officially imported. Prior to this we had Auto Dunia importing Volkswagens but somehow they must have done it wrong as not many people were enraptured by Volkswagens. These days, there are more Golfs than before and now in its Mk7 model, the current Golf carries on the legacy (and whatever reputation the previous models have; good or bad).

Trucking News: Volvo Trucks Announces the Fuelwatch Challenge 2014 Champion

Volvo Trucks have announced the winner of this year's Fuelwatch Challenge. Clocking the lowest fuel consumption over the 40-kilometre drive challenge in the final stage, En Ahmad Bin Othman from Logistik Petikemas Sdn Bhd in Prai emerged as the victor of this year’s Fuelwatch Challenge. He achieved a strong result of 2.52 kilometres using only 1 litre of fuel driving a Volvo truck with a 40-footer container carrying 20 tonnes of load. As the national champion and the next Fuelwatch ambassador, En Ahmad Bin Othman is set to represent Malaysia at the Fuelwatch APAC and World Finals 2014, to be held in Volvo’s home country in Gothenburg, Sweden later this September. Go and make us proud.

New car launch: McLaren launches the McLaren 650S at its KL Showroom

I attended the launch of the new McLaren 650S supercar in both coupe and spyder form earlier today. This marks the third car launched by McLaren after the 12C and the P1. Some may say that the 650S is an evolution version of the 12C as it looks similar. But underneath is a whole slew of parts which differ from the 12C. One of which is the suspension hydraulics which have been placed closer to the top of the strut instead of being in the middle of the car. This does all sorts of things, but I would have to actually drive the car to find out and see. Fingers crossed (big time).

Iconic Cars: The original Citroen DS

The original Citroen DS Brake Pedal......is actually something called a mushroom button. It isn't even a pedal. Really. As exotic and as unreal as how it looks inside and out. Note that you also have a tiny little stick as an accelerator pedal too. The 'normal' looking pedal you see on the left is the DS' park brake. The rest of the interior is also cool. Note the single spoke steering wheel, column mounted gear shift (4 or 5 speed manual, 3 speed automatic or 4 speed semi-auto) and an actually modern looking dashboard for a car that was first produced in 1955. In fact, it was so futuristic, Citroen kept on producing it till 1975.

New car launch: Volkswagen officially launches the Mk 7 Volswagen Golf R for Malaysia

The Volkswagen Golf R is officially in town. It will costs those interested RM245,888 without insurance and if you opt for the optional tech pack, RM285,888 without any insurance too. 

This new Mk 7 Golf R is fitted with a newly designed 2.0l TSI engine producing 290hp and 380Nm of torque from as low as 1750rpm via the usual wet clutch DSG transmission unit through all four wheels (a Haldex All-wheel drive system). This allows the Golf  R to accelerate from 0 to 100kph in 5 seconds and onwards to around 250kmh easily. It, like any Mk7 Golf is based on VW's pretty good Modular Transverse Matrix (MQB) platform. As with any performance hatchback the Golf R built on a chassis that starts of as a regular Golf hatchback and gets extra engineering built into it. A good foundation is all important, and when it comes to ride, handling as well as NVH, the engineers already have the brilliant chassis of the basic Golf and makes it into the Golf R. 

Car News: Launches this week - Nissan Teana and the Range Rover Sport

Nissan launches the ALL-NEW 2014 L33 Nissan Teana (aka Nissan Fuga elsewhere). It looks good, has a name that no one will make fun of and is now without a 6 cylinder engine (now a 2.0 136hp  4cylinder and a 173hp 2.5 4 cylinder driving the front wheels via a CVT - not that powerful if you compare to the Honda Accord or even Hyundai's i40). Boo Hoo for ultimate affordable refinement but prices are more affordable and servicing costs should go down a tad bit. RM139,800 for the base 2.0, RM149,800 for the 2.0XL and RM169,900 for the full monty 2.5XV. All with insurance.