Driven: A Day with the Jaguar XJ L 2.0 Ti

A few months or so ago I managed a short drive in a Jaguar XJ L 2.0. That short drive was translated into this review over here. Now the thing about short drives or a spin around a block or two is that whilst you can pick up some interesting bits, design traits you may like, some driving pleasure, nuances and other traits, whether good or bad, you can never really judge something as good as having it over a few days at least. But the Jaguar XJ L is one of those cars that is an eye opener, in a very good way. Even over a short drive you can tell how much pleasure this large barge of a car can give you. Then you get lucky. You're actually given another one for one day and one nite (so a big thank you to Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia is in order). And now my life is ruined because I want one so bad and it costs RM653,888.

The car, a white Jaguar XJ L 2.0 Ti, looks incredible from the outside. Do check out how the rear wheel arches flare out a little. It shows off its rear wheel drive stance and a wider rear. Stunning. It is actually as large as a house but because it is low slung you don't actually notice this until you actually park in front of a house. But whilst it is a luxo-barge in every sense of the word its aluminium chassis actually brings its weight down to speed boat weights. It is over 200kg lighter than the equivalent Mercedes S-Class or BMW 7 series. It is because of this inherent lightness that Jaguar can actually fit a small 2.0liter turbocharged petrol engine into the car compared with its rivals which need something with at least a 3.0liter engine in them. And also shows in how this car drives. 

Ambi Pur and FC Barcelona partnership kicks off with a Win A Trip To Barcelona Contest

Last Thursday, Ambi Pur, a brand which is pretty well known for its air fresheners announced their regional sponsorship agreement with FC Barcelona, another famous brand, not known for air fresheners but for soccer or football. The reason this piece of news is here is that Ambi Pur makes car fresheners. So there is an automotive angle here. There is also a football based angle here, but I would leave that to the experts and fans.

Anyway, Air freshener brand Ambi Pur (a brand owned by Proctor & Gamble) and FC Barcelona announced their regional sponsorship agreement today in Kuala Lumpur. The partnership will be activated across six countries in the Southeast Asia market: Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Caltex announces winners of its recent RON97 Promotion

These days the mere pumping of petrol can make someone a winner. Caltex had recently announced the winners of their recent RON97 promotion. The RON97 Promotion kicked off on 16 August, 2015 and took place over a period of 6 weeks before ending on 30 September, 2015. During the 6-week campaign, Chevron rewarded more than 190 lucky customers with a share of over RM110,000 worth of prizes.

From the amount stated above, there were 12 super lucky people who won the grand prize of RM5,000 in cash each. Imagine how much Caltex RON97 can you fill with RM5,000. Wish I took part. 

DRB-HICOM Autofest 2015 - Offers, Deals and fun for all!

The DRB Hicom Autofest 2015 is on from today, 6th to the 8th of November 2015. From 9am to 6pm at the EON Complex, Glenmarie. 11 brands - Proton, Lotus Cars, Spyder Can Am, Audi, Volkswagen, Honda, Jeep, Mitsubishi, Isuzu, Tata and Modenas as well as DRB Hicom non automotive brands and products too.

Deals, packages  and test drives are available. Special auctions for used Proton cars on Saturday (11am and3pm) and Sunday 8th November (3pm). Over 200 Proton cars including the Exora Bold, Suprima S, Preve, Inspira, Persona and more will be auctioned off at very affordable prices.

Experts Meet To Find Ways to Enhance Road Safety at the Conference of ASEAN Road Safety 2015

 Deputy Transport Minister of Malaysia, YB Datuk Abdul Aziz Kaprawi officially opening CARS2015

As the United Nations’ Decade of Action for Road Safety reaches its mid-point, the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) gathered the region’s top experts to galvanise efforts to enhance road safety at the ASEAN Road Safety 2015 (CARS 2015).

Shell Launches the Shell V-Power LEGO Collection - Now Available at Shell Stations throughout Malaysia

#ReadySetBuild - Shell officially launched its new Shell V-Power LEGO Collection at Sunway Pyramid today. This is an exclusive range of small LEGO sets that are based around Ferrari and Shell respectively. The collection was created in collaboration with Ferrari and the LEGO group and introduces six new models - four iconic Ferrari cars (with a tiny pull-back motor in them), a Finish Line and Podium set which includes a LEGO minifigure (minifig), and a set of the Shell Station modelled after the one at Ferrari's Foriano Circuit - Ferrari's private racetrack in Maranello. The Shell Station set comes with a Shell Scientist minifig. 

Tuan HJ Azman Ismail (pictured above, in the middle), Managing Director of Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd said that Shell are excited that through the Shell V-Power LEGO Collection, they can bring people together. He said that "Motorists, race fans, toy enthusiasts, children and adults alike (will) make Shell a happy pit stop for all. We believe that the simple act of building can be more meaningful and fun if shared with others. Our hope is for our customers to not simply build the Shell V-Power collection but form closer bonds in the process" 

Ford looks towards nature to find answers - First step, the Gecko Lizard

And....meanwhile....Over at the FOMOCO (Ford Motor Company) Headquarters in the States, researchers of Ford have decided to study more of nature to seek out new solutions that are sustainable to modern day challenges in design and its impact to the environment. The first step is that little lizard called the Gecko.

This little lizard can stick upside down and on most surfaces. The sticky toe pads would be researched to improve adhesives (used in automobiles especially in the interior plastics and other polyurethane that needs to be stuck together). The science involved is called BIOMIMICRY, or copying what is biologically made naturally and adapting it to what humans build. 

Matthias Muller, Chairman of the Board of Management, Volkswagen AG announces key steps to realign the group

Matthias Müller, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG (ex-CEO of Porsche), has announced the five key steps to realign the Group especially in light of the current 'DieselGate' crisis that the group is facing. I think this is very much needed as we are now hearing that the 3.0liter Volkswagen/Audi diesel engine also has some cheat device for emissions testing in them. 

The crisis faced by Volkswagen group is really huge. For the first time in years the group has posted a loss. There are 600,000 employees worldwide to care about too. The key steps would be put in place (five of them) and we would now see a new game plan that would see the Volkswagen group's future to the year 2025 would be rolled out by middle of 2016. This effectively replaces the earlier Group Strategy 2018.

Toyota Ranks Highest in New–Vehicle Sales Satisfaction Among Mass Market Brands for a Third Consecutive Year

I just had the time to read up on JD Power's latest findings about the 2015 Malaysia Sales Satisfaction Index Study which was released at the end of October 2015. Toyota as usual has come in as number one. Not surprisingly of course. Now what is my opinion about this?

Note that this are mass market brands. This means no Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz or Rolls Royce. I also see an absence of Volkswagen in the report. Volkswagen is a mass market brand. It is not a premium brand. This could mean that Volkswagen has not participated this time around or JD Power has not got a fairly large response from customers of that brand. 

Driven: 2015 Volkswagen Passat 1.8 TSI DSG (B7) CKD

I had a go at the locally assembled Volkswagen Passat 1.8TSI (B7) recently. This is Volkswagen's full sized or D segment competitor here in Malaysia and it has been around in this form since 2011 with local assembly in Pekan, Pahang since 2012. Now this B7 series Passat has a long history to it in terms of production life cycle. It actually started its life as a B6 Passat in 2005 and was heavily facelifted in 2010 for the 2011 production year. And by heavily facelifted, it really is some extra engineering compared to the usual facelift of a change of bumpers and lights.

The B7 Passat actually only keeps the roof of the B6 Passat. The rest of the body panels are new. The changes to the 2005 chassis are also quite extensive with a 2mm increase in wheelbase (2,711mm) and a 4mm overall increase in length (4,769mm). The interior of the car gets a slightly redesigned dashboard (especially below the vents with the addition of an analog clock and better quality trim) and more soundproofing with thicker glass all round. The Malaysian spec Passat B7 gets the 1.8 TSI engine with the 7 speed dual clutch transmission as standard.

Renault CLIO GT LINE Now Available at Showrooms Nationwide

TC Euro Cars, the sole franchise holder for Renault cars in Malaysia, today announced that the sporty and stylish New Renault CLIO GT LINE is now available in showrooms across the country. It is available at the confirmed retail price of RM118,000, on-the-road inclusive of GST without insurance for private individual registration.

TOKYO Motor Show 2015: Subaru Impreza 5 Door Concept -

The Tokyo Motor Show 2015 is currently ongoing. Subaru has decided to preview the next-generation Impreza 5 Door Concept there. The concept has a "Dynamic & Solid design with a hexagonal grille and "hawk-eye headlights." The Impreza Hatchback (which is what this really is) concept measures 4,400mm long, 1,880mm wide and 1,440mm tall with a wheelbase that spans 2,670mm. Subaru has decided not to reveal any other details as yet. So we do not know what engine, drivetrain and performance specs so far.

5 short films celebrating the MIGHTY, but Small Ford Ecoboost engine

Downsizing is the keyword with automotive engines these days. The Ford Motor Company has embraced this concept wholeheartedly. It isn't just big and mighty 5.0 V8s that power such cars like the Ford Mustang above, but a 2.3lliter Ecoboost engine. Still making 310hp / 430Nm, it still makes a large American sports car go pretty fast. In fact, the 4.6liter V8 that powered the previous generation Mustang GT made just 300hp / 433Nm. The Ecoboost is a fabulous work of engineering.

The first Ford EcoBoost engine was introduced in 2009 and since then, 5 million EcoBoost-equipped vehicles have been sold globally. In the Asia Pacific region, demand for the EcoBoost engine range is growing and Ford will be launching more vehicles equipped with the fuel-efficient technology. By the end of 2015, Ford will offer EcoBoost in Asia Pacific in more than 20 vehicles.

Some tidbits and news on upcoming reviews on a Truck vs a Bus, a Volkswagen Passat and a Jaguar XJ L

As usual I've been busy. Busy with life. I have also decided to clean up my personal Facebook page of all unwanted and negative clutter. Clutter has been mostly political and anyone who irritates the heck out of me. My Facebook feed is now very positive and I only see what I want to see. Clutter and deadweight holds you back. If you want to achieve more in most things you gotta get rid of it. Life is so much  better without idiots. 

Most of you would also realise that I am bilingual. I speak and write fluently (or decently well) in English and the Malay language. I also know how to swear and curse in umpteen more languages too. Being bilingual is a good thing, but one of the languages must be English if you want to spread your wings globally. I started writing in English because I wanted a broader audience instead of using my mother tongue. I also had the privilege to write for publications elsewhere aside from Malaysia. One of the great things about the knowledge to converse in English and the internet is that it opened up an avenue and a platform for me to share my thoughts to others through a channel that is easily accessible most of the time. And since English is the most widely used medium in most continents (Mandarin could be the most used language but it isn't used on all continents globally), it is the way to go. Look where English has gotten me. I get to drive nice vehicles most of the time.

What handles decently well and is under RM50,000? The Proton Iriz these days.

I was at the Giant Mall in Kelana Jaya and the Proton dealership there is offering the Proton Iriz with a discount of up to RM9,268 (T&C applies obviously). This has to be the fully loaded 1.6 CVT Automatic or the 1.6 Manual. I checked the online adverts for the car and yes, you can get a full monty Iriz for under RM50,000. Compare this with the retail price of RM61,691.31 / Solid CVT or RM58,815.04 / Solid Manual. 

Now the 1.6 Iriz is the ONLY Iriz worth to buy simply because of the performance it gives you. It's engine works better with the CVT and the extra power helps make it so much better to drive. The wider tyres also help the car alot. I have driven both the 1.3 and the 1.6, so I can safely say that until the 1.3 turbo version that supposedly will come with an upgraded manual gear shift, this 1.6 is the one to get. Manual or Automatic. The link to the Iriz 1.6 CVT is here and in there is a link to the Iriz 1.3 Manual.

Spotted for Sale: 1984 Honda Civic 1.6(M) - The 'Wonder' Civic

The car that has been Spotted for Sale here today is the third generation Honda Civic. It was produced by Honda from 1983 to 1987. This 1984 model the three-door hatchback version and is one of the more collectible 3rd Gen Civics aside from the CRX that is also derived from this chassis.. Other not so interesting 3rd Gen Civics were a four-door sedan (also known as the Honda Ballade) and the five-door "Shuttle" station wagon - imagine this as something BMW would now make with its 3 series and then call it the 3 series GT, i.e unclecar variant of the 3 series. Honda was so ahead of its time.

All New Hyundai Tucson on display at Paradigm Mall

There is a Hyundai roadshow this weekend at the Paradigm Mall in Petaling Jaya. They are displaying the soon to be launched 2016 Hyundai Tucson over there.

Want a chance to watch Manchester United vs Chelsea live? Test drive and BOOK a Chevrolet NOW

Ever dreamt of watching Manchester United or Chelsea live in front of you? Ever dreamt of watching it at Old Trafford? Ever dreamt of watching Bryan Robson play in front of you? Wait, that was Manchester United a long while ago. I think that fella who looks like Shrek still plays for them. Rooney's his name. Who plays for them now I don't really care. But if you do, here's a chance to go see them play.

It's quite easy, Simply visit any of the 30 Chevrolet showrooms in East and West Malaysia to test drive any 5 models and upon registration , i.e you book a Chevy, you will get instant cash rebates and participation in the ‘Manchester United For Life’ spend and win contest. The offer stands from now till 10th December 2015.

TRUCK & BUS NEWS: A Session with Mr. Mats Nilsson, MD of Volvo Trucks Malaysia - On the Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge, Hybrid Trucks, B10 biodiesel and more

 Mr Mats Nilsson with Mr Nor Rahmat - winner of the 2015 Fuelwatch Challenge Malaysia)

A roller coaster ride. That's what the past month or so has been to Yours Truly. Trips, launches, visits, business meetings, family, hobbies, other pursuits have made it a very interesting period. I now have to put myself back in time to the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 finals in Hua Hin, Thailand to give you a short report on the session we Malaysian automotive journalists/reporters/bloggers had with Mr Mats Nilsson, Managing Director of Volvo Trucks Malaysia. 

I'm the chap in blue...trying to look serious and professional during the interview session.

Get Behind the Wheel of the New Ford Ranger This Weekend at the new Auto Connexion dealership in PJ

Interested to try the improved Ford Ranger? You can do so this weekend at the new Sime Darby Auto Connexion dealership located at Lot 3, Jalan 51A/219, 46100 Petaling Jaya (just off Federal Highway, opposite current SDAC PJ dealership). No advance booking is required, and admission is free.

In the meantime, do check out Ford's vid on the Ranger doing a lap in the pool....

Press Release

Get Behind the Wheel of the New Ford Ranger This Weekend at the ‘Tough Done Smarter Experiential Test Drive’

MINI John Cooper Works receives “sport auto award 2015”

The current MINI John Cooper Works recently came as top choice in the Sport Auto magazine's annual readers' choice category for Imported Small Car Category. For those who are unaware, Sport auto is a German automobile magazine. More like THE German auto magazine to read when it comes to performance cars.

Sport Auto magazine is one of the most referred to magazine as the magazine publishes its "Supertest" of cars, featuring the laptime of the car(s) the Nurburgring Nordschleife. The laps are usually driven by the former editor-in-chief Horst von Saurma. The magazine also runs a challenge for the fastest lap time driven with a car that is German road legal (TÜV) inclusive of even the tyres and that the car is also registered in Germany.

The Go Auto factory visit - The GWM Haval M4 local assembly and how contract assembly is done properly

A while ago I had a chance to visit the Go Auto assembly plant in Gurun, Kedah. Go Auto is currently distributors and assemblers for the Great Wall Motors (GWM) brand of vehicles here in Malaysia. It isn't just the Great Wall Haval M4 being assembled here actually. But there is more to them than meets the eye. 

The Go Automobile Manufacturing Sdn Bhd plant began operations sometime in 2011 and started out assembling vehicles and 4x4 pickup trucks belonging to Great Wall Motors. These days the plant can assemble slightly more than 300 units of vehicles per month and there are plans to expand the size of the factory so that it may eventually produce over a thousand vehicles per month. At the moment operations are on a smallish scale compared to the NAZA plant located in front of it. The Go Auto plant may be small but what I could see is an efficient system implemented. And they do not only assemble Great Wall Motor vehicles, they also contract assemble for other automotive brands from China too.

Driven: 1996 Mercedes Benz R170 SLK230 Kompressor with only 22,000+ miles on the clock

The Mercedes Benz you see above is the 1996 Mercedes Benz R170 SLK230 Kompressor. It is a roadster by definition and is the first of the small compact Mercedes Benz designed to capitalise on the emergence of the compact luxury car market. The car in some ways was to compete with the more affordable Mazda MX5 roadster as well as ending up going head to head with other compact coupes like the BMW Z3 and the Porsche Boxster.

ASEAN NCAP – SAFER CARS FOR ASEAN REGION & ASEAN NCAP CHILD SAFETY DAY ON 11 NOVEMBER 2015

Just so you folks know, I've published the press release below for everyone's benefit.

To approach the child safety concerns, the New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP), a body that gives ratings to vehicles with child occupant protection, will be organizing an ASEAN NCAP Child Safety Day. The event will be held on 11 November 2015 at Autoliv Hirotako Safety Sdn. Bhd. The objectives of the event are to promote the use of child restraint system (CRS) and to introduce the standards related to CRS to the general public. The highlight of the event will be a demonstration to evaluate the performance of child seat.

You will also find a somewhat details description on how the tests determine the safety standard of the cars tested.

Volkswagen Beetle Bug edition and Beetle Club edition all sold out in record time

Sometimes cars just sell themselves. Volkswagen Malaysia has just sold out its run of the Beetle Bug edition (above) and the Beetle Club edition (below) . There were 200 Beetle Bug editions made available and 50 Beetle Club editions too. All have been bought by someone. I think even in these trying times iconic cars like the Beetle have their own special pull.

Industry News: Ford Malaysia announces promising sales numbers for September retail sales

Ford today announced September retail sales in Malaysia of 844 units, driven by continued demand for the Ranger (above - which has been recently facelifted) and Fiesta (below).The September result helped drive third quarter sales up 34 percent from the previous quarter to 2,691 units, as the Ford brand continues to gain momentum. 

Truck & Bus News: Scania Malaysia Launches its Kuala Terengganu Service Centre

From left to right: Chandra Rajan, Scania Region Manager for Region East, Marie Sjödin Enström, Managing Director of Scania Southeast Asia, Dato’ Hj IR Mohamad Dalib, Director of Automotive Engineering Department of JPJ, Gary Archer, Services Director of Scania Southeast Asia, Wan Noaimadudin Wan Mohamad Kamal (Aiman), Branch Manager of Scania Kuala Terengganu, officiating the Launch of the Scania Malaysia Kuala Terengganu Service Centre.

In order to make life way easier for its customers on the East Coast, Scania (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd. has officially launched its Kuala Terengganu service centre, further strengthening its sales and services for all customers in the East Coast region. Customers can now send their Scania trucks, buses and coaches, marine, industrial and power generation engines to this service centre for regular maintenance. This saves a lot of down time for those who are running Scania vehicles and machinery.

The New BMW M2 - Slightly less than a BMW M4?

BMW just previewed details and pics about its new M series car. It is based on the BMW 2 Series coupe and isn't that much smaller than the BMW M3/M4. Isn't that much slower than the M3/M4 as it basically runs a detuned M3/M4 engine. It also has the same optional DCT gearbox as the M3/M4. It has a lot of M3/M4 parts inside it.  I think you get what I am trying to say by now.

Drive Experience - The early internet, trucking in the 1970s/1980s, drive experiences & the M151 "Jeep" Truck 1/4 Ton

In 2006 when I first started this website the internet was a slower place to be. Facebook and YouTube was in its infancy. Instagram wasn't even born yet. There was not many places to actually view stuff and waste time online. Those days we had no real smartphones too. So you actually had to go out and do lots of stuff instead of getting totally stuck to the screen all of the time. 

I suppose you could say that I am quite lucky. I get to try new things all of the time. Go on driving adventures and so on. I don't only watch other people's motoring adventures on YouTube or read about them in a magazine. I get to do my own stuff. Recently I managed to cop a drive or two of something with eighteen wheels and also a bus or two. I suppose this is what happens when you have a passion for all things on four wheels - you drive something with more than four wheels stuck on it.

Sunday Lite: The BMW Seven Hundred and Fifty by Q Branch

Q: It's the insurance damage waiver for your beautiful new car. Now, will you need collision coverage?
Bond: Yes.
Q: Fire?
Bond: Probably.
Q: Personal Injury?
Bond: I hope not, but accidents do happen.
Q: They frequently do with you.
Bond: Well, that takes care of the normal wear and tear. I there any other protection I need?
Q: Only from me, 007, unless you bring that car back in pristine order.

Spotted for Sale: 1997 TVR Chimaera 4.0 - This used to be Made In Port Klang

The early to mid 1990s was a burgeoning time for the automotive sector. Everywhere around the world manufacturers were busy launching new innovative models and cars that actually made us Petrolheads want it so badly. It was a time where things happened in a big way even in Malaysia. Proton just launched the Wira to great acclaim (and a waiting list of over five months). Bufori decided to start producing cars in Malaysia and we had the great British sportscar manufacturer TVR deciding to build cars in Malaysia too.

Truck news: Images from the Volvo Trucks Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 : Real people, lots of emotion and energy.

Most of the pics below would basically tell the tale of the Malaysian Volvo Trucks contingent to the recent Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2015 which was recently held in Hua Hin, Thailand. There were lots of pleasant memories made over there. The pictures will tell the story as an online record to what happened then - meeting new friends, new challenges, new experiences, the laughter and more. 

News: Volkswagen Malaysia sponsors 100 units of Volkswagen vehicles to GPEC Asia

L-R  (front row) : YBhg. Dato' Sri Adenan bin Ab. Rahim, Timbalan Ketua Setiausaha (Dasar Keselamatan), YBhg. Datuk Nur Jazlan bin Mohamed, Timbalan Menteri Dalam Negeri and Mr Armin Keller, Managing Director of Volkswagen Group Malaysia.  

Volkswagen Group Malaysia recently announced its participation as the official car sponsor this year at the General Police and Special Equipment Exhibition & Conference (GPEC) Asia 2015. Volkswagen Group Malaysia will be sponsoring and registering a total of 100 units ranging from the Volkswagen CC, Sharan and Tiguan which will be used for and by delegates throughout the three day conference held at PWTC in Kuala Lumpur on the 21st to the 23rd of October 2015.