Test Drive: 2016 Hyundai Tucson 2.0 Executive - Hyundai's compact SUV grows up

Hyundai have come a long way. Back in the 1990s when Hyundai first set foot in Malaysia you would have never thought that their cars would actually be good to even sit inside. They went through many phases in terms of car design and styling. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s they made nondescript looking cars that were bland to look at. In the late 1990s they started aping certain European brands. But it was when they decided to bring in talents from across the globe that this Korean brand started making waves.

First Crash of the Perodua Bezza?

This could be the first crash of the new Perodua Bezza sedan in the hands of test drive customers. 

TRUCK News: FUSO Diamond Mini Draw Contest 2016 / 2017 - 15 winners from 885 entries!

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles, recently presented 15 delighted FUSO truck customers who participated in the FUSO Diamond Mini Draw Contest 2016 / 2017 with attractive prizes in a special customer appreciation event. Five of the lucky 15 winners each won an exclusive trip to Japan and service and parts vouchers worth a total of RM 85,000. Meanwhile, 10 other fortunate customers each won consolation prizes of service vouchers worth RM 1,000. They were chosen from a total number of 885 entries.

Perodua 1st Half 2016 Performance Report - Strong performance reported on all fronts, maintains projected sales targets4

Perodua, Malaysia's second national car make is on a roll. Earlier today they held a press conference and disclosed sales figures and other performance related news regarding the car maker. Perodua basically told us that they are doing incredibly well actually with the announcement that they maintain their projected sales target of 216,000 units for 2016 despite the reduced projected total industry volume of new car sales due to the unstable global (and local) economy as well as the current soft consumer sentiment.

Away with the Proton Perdana

I have just arrived in Melaka after a drive with the Proton Perdana 2.0. I am down here with a bunch of other automotive journos who were in the 2.4 and 2.0 also. Here are some real life pics of the cars from my phone for the time being.

Sunday Lite: Project Kahn Land Rover Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Westminster Edition - Something nice to get stuck in a Raya Open House traffic jam

Taking it easy this weekend as it is still Hari Raya Aidil Fitri open house weekends till the end of July. I heard a friend's relative took 3 hours to reach Section 6 in Shah Alam from Ampang Jaya. Hearing this was stressful. So this is Project Kahn's latest showing which would make sitting in a traffic jam much more relaxing. The Project Kahn Land Rover Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Westminster Edition. According to Kahn this is the ideal vehicle one would associate with royalty. Fuiyoh. 

BMW's M Division unveils the limited to 200 units BMW M5 Competition Edition

 

This is quite interesting. The chaps over at the BMW M Division have come up with a special edition BMW M5 called the BMW M5 'Competition Edition'. M Division is BMW's in-house tuning arm and they've come up with this fabulous 600hp version of the M5. Complete with official factory warranty.

Perodua Officially Launches the its first ever Sedan - The Perodua Bezza (UPDATED with press release and more photos)

Bezza 1.0 Manual with Gear Up Bodykit

The Perodua Bezza, Perodua's first ever production sedan has just been launched. It is Perodua's 11th model and  aside from being its first sedan it is also its first Energy Efficient Sedan (EEV) which takes advantage of Malaysia's EEV tax breaks. It had cost Perodua RM300million to develop the Bezza and being the first ever Perodua sedan, takes them into uncharted territory in some ways. But response to this small A segment sedan has been very good, with a reported 4,028 bookings received within 5 days from the date it started to accept bookings.

Industry News: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia 1st Half 2016 Performance Report - Record Sales Figures & More.....

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia have actually broke a number of its own records again for the 1st half of 2016 in terms of sales performance. Double digit growths and 6,017 cars delivered to customers during that period. Seriously folks, the premium end of car sales here in Malaysia is largely unaffected by whatever supposed slowdown in the country's economy. What credit crunch you might ask?

Perodua - Free 50-point Car Inspection at Giant, Seri Kembangan with post Raya Perodua Tweckbot app

Perodua, via its Perodua Tweckbot app has returned. The Perodua Twecknot offers its FREE 50-point safety check to all Perodua vehicles at the Giant shopping complex at Seri Kembangan, Selangor in conjunction with the post Hari Raya Aidil Fitri 2016 celebrations. Remember, its usually a month long celebration with people's open houses and all that. A whole month of eating and celebrating after a whole month of fasting. Hmm..

The Rolls Royce Dawn is launched in Malaysia

Superlative. Now that's a word to describe the Rolls Royce Dawn. This is the latest super luxury car from Rolls Royce Motor Cars and it is a four-seater drophead coupe. It has just been launched earlier today and if you must know, it is a more contemporary styled Rolls Royce that is aimed at the younger, but obviously still very affluent customer. 

Ford and Sime Darby Auto Connexion will have an 'Open House Hari Raya' thingy at all Ford Showrooms nationwide - 22-24 July 2016

In conjunction with the usually one month long Hari Raya AidilFitri celebrations here in Malaysia Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) will be having something called the ‘Raya Get Together with Ford Family’ open house at all Ford showrooms nationwide from 22 to 24 July 2016.

The 2016 Renault Formula 1 Car will be on tour at Renault Showrooms and Roadshows in the Klang Valley

If you are a motorsport or specifically a Formula 1 enthusiast or 'kaki', or you support the Renault Formula 1 Team then you can catch a lifesize model of the 2016 Renault R.S. 16 Formula One car in display at selected Renault showrooms and Renault roadshows in the Klang Valley.

Spotted on the Streets: Volkswagen Type 2 1st Generation MicroBus with the 'Rat Look'

 

I spotted this classic, vintage Volkswagen Type 2 'Microbus'  aka Kombi aka Transporter recently and it caught my eye. The 'Bus' is iconic as it is and here, many try to keep it in pristine condition or with a proper funky psychedelic, flower-power 1960s or 1970s vibe to it. This one was unique.

BMW has a 1 Series Sedan for the China market. I hope they start selling it globally

BMW together with Chinese joint-venture company, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd (BBA) has revealed the BMW 1 series sedan. This is the China market only (for the moment, hopefully) premium compact sports sedan that sits at the very bottom of the BMW sedan range.

2016 Perodua Bezza ASEAN NCAP Ratings - 5 Star and 4 Star ratings given

ASEAN NCAP (the New Car Assessment Program) has released the results for the soon to be on sale Perodua Bezza compact sedan. 

Friday Night Blabbering - Facebook suggests that I join the Toyota Camry Hybrid Owners Malaysia page. Why Bother?

The thing with Facebook is that it likes to suggest pages for us to 'Like'. Now somehow there are patterns and algorithms that try to detect on what my pet peeves, hobbies and likes are and all of these enable Facebook to suggest that I would like to click 'Like' and join the closed group called the CAMRY OWNERS CLUB MALAYSIA. 

Happenings: CALTEX'S RELEASE THE POWER OF X’ PROMOTION REWARDS CUSTOMER WITH GRAND PRIZE YAMAHA MOTORBIKE

The Caltex Lubricants - X-Men: Apocalypse  - the 'Release the Power of X' contest has been successfully concluded with the grand prize winner awarded a 150cc Yamaha FZ150i.  Mr. Chung Guang Yao (photo above - left) from Klang won the bike. Sixteen years of age and he only needs to take his licence in order to ride his grand prize!

Perodua opens the order books for their first sedan - The Perodua Bezza

Perodua has announced on their website that their first sedan, the Perodua Bezza is now open for bookings. This is a milestone for Perodua. Their first sedan and their first locally designed car. It is based on the Perodua Axia city car and it does not look like a hatchback with a boot screwed onto it. It looks like a proper sedan from what I gather. Especially from the leaked photo much earlier (below) and the special preview that three publications - Paultan.org, Motor Trader and Careta.my had published.

Spotted For Sale: Another one of those 'AE86' that you've never wanted to own - Mazda 323 Astina 'Trueno'

Why the heck does everyone want to make any car with a wedge shaped front into an AE86 Toyota Levin Trueno? Here is another one. So far we have seen the original Proton Saga or some old front wheel drive Toyota Corolla becoming a panda AE86 but this time, someone has decided to make the Mazda 323 Astina (Familia Astina or 323 F) into a 'Hatchiroku' or 86. 

Audi Malaysia Hari Raya Offers - 1 year insurance, 2 years free service and more.

Audi Malaysia have offers on most of their cars sold here with the exception of the Audi A4 and the A5 for this Hari Raya celebrations. 

Volkswagen Malaysia's Hari Raya 'Open House' this 16th and 17th July 2016

Volkswagen Malaysia will be holding Hari Raya Open Houses at all of its authorised Volkswagen Dealerships nationwide this 16th and 17th July 2016. There one would find offers, deals and promotions on the range of Volkswagen cars sold here. The guest of honour is most probably the King of Fruits judging from the pic above.

FORD MUSTANG 2.3 ECOBOOST WILL BE ON DISPLAY AT THE SIME DARBY AUTO CONNEXION JURU, PENANG FROM THE 15TH-24TH JULY 2016

Those who are up north and are Ford Mustang or American muscle car fans take note. Ford via distributors Sime Darby Auto Connexion will be displaying a Mustang 2.3liter EcoBoost over at the Sime Darby Auto Connexion Juru Showroom over in Seberang Perai, Penang from the 15th to the 24th of July 2016. 

Ferrari reveals the La Ferrari in roadster or open top form - Official name will be revealed at the upcoming 2016 Paris Motor Show

Ferrari has revealed to us the first photographs of the newest version of the limited edition La Ferrari. Its name has not been officially revealed as yet but rumours are going around that the 'Aperta' moniker will be used like the Ferrari 458 Speciale Aperta open top and the limited edition 599 SA Aperta. 

KL Supercar Drag Race - 4 scheduled programmes from mid-July to December 2016 to be held

I am busy celebrating the Idil Fitri right now so there will not be many posts from me for the moment. Anyway, this is just to inform you folks that there will be something called the KL Supercar Drag Race at Dataran Merdeka that should be on from mid-July to December 2016. The first is scheduled for this coming 15th to the 17th of July. 

Article on Road Safety from the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS) for this festive holidays

Down below is a post from Mr.Yusof Ghani from the Institut Penyelidikan Keselamatan Jalan Raya Malaysia  or the Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (MIROS). It is in Bahasa Malaysia. I shall try to give you folks out there the gist of it in English. If you understand Bahasa Malaysia better, you can read the whole test below.

"Patience can help avoid road tragedies.

TRUCK & BUS NEWS: Volvo Trucks' VISTA Competition 2015-2016 - Team Harju wins but all VISTA participants including those from the Asia Pacific region benefit from competing

VISTA (Volvo International Service Training Award) is the largest competition for workshop personnel in the world. What originally started in 1957 as a competition for Volvo's mechanics in Sweden has since become an international event. The aim of VISTA is to develop and improve employees' knowledge and skills and improve customer service. The competition is open to all workshop employees within the Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses global service network. VISTA 2015-2016 has been the biggest ever, with more than 18,500 participants from across the world.

MILITARY VEHICLES - THE 1956 ACMA VESPA 150 TAP - Cute scooter, big gun.

This is something gloriously off-topic folks. I don't usually write about two-wheeled vehicles but I'd like to make an exception this time. Usually when we think about scooters, especially the iconic Vespa we think of cute transport. This is still cute but it packs a real punch. I mean have you ever seen anything so cute but could take out a main battle tank? This folks is the Vespa 150 TAP.

'NANA VW Giveaway' Instagram Child Safety Seat Contest gets its winner

Volkswagen Malaysia and local celebrity Nana Mahazan (I believe she's a Radio DJ these days) today presented a Volkswagen child seat to Ms Hafikah Tarmizi, winner of the “Nana VW Giveaway”Instagram contest. The contest, ran by Nana through her Instagram account, was part of a collaboration with Volkswagen Malaysia to raise awareness on the importance of child safety. 

Scania Malaysia 'ITSASCANIA' Selfie Contest that EVERYONE CAN ENTER!!!!

Scania Malaysia have a contest which you can enter folks! If you are one of those people who love taking selfies, Scania Malaysia's ‘ITSASCANIA’ Facebook contest is the one for you. Take a Selfie of you with a SCANIA bus or truck during this Hari Raya season (from now until 31 JULY 2016) win weekly prizes.  Remember to use the hashtag folks. #ITSASCANIA

Hyundai service promotions for both older cars out of warranty as well as new aftersales schemes for newly registered cars

Hyundai have unveiled a new promotion on older Hyundai models that are no longer under warranty. Older Hyundai car owners can now enjoy savings from participating Hyundai service centres which are now offering free labour on lube change service (engine oil and oil filter) for these out of warranty models. Apart from waiving the labour charge on lube change service, participating Hyundai service centres will also be performing a free 20-point inspection on cars which include brake pads, bearings, tyres, windshield wipers, radiator fluid, spark plug, etc.

PROTON WILL CONDUCT FREE SAFETY INSPECTION AT SELECTED PETRONAS STATIONS THIS HARI RAYA SEASON FOR PROTON OWNERS

Proton is continuing its FREE 20-Point Safety Inspection for its customers during the Hari Raya Puasa (Idil Fitri) holiday season this year. The free safety inspection will be available from 2 to 4 July 2016, from 9 am to 7 pm at selected PETRONAS stations. This value added service is held in collaboration with PETRONAS and the PETRONAS Coffee Break Campaign.

Truck News: Scania's Electrically Powered Hybrid Trucks Ply the World's First Electric Powered Highway.

Scania has achieved a historical milestone as a result of a partnership that demonstrates fossil fuel free transportation. The world's first electric road has been opened near the Swedish city of Gavle where Scania has supplied electrically powered hybrid trucks which can run on a 2kilometer long stretch of road under full electric mode. This is quite a view into the near future when it comes to commercial transport.

Electric Cars & motorsport: Formula Student Team breaks world record with an electric racing car.

This is a bit on electric car technology and research & development done by students (most probably for their project credits). Quite amazing actually as a student team from the ETH Zurich and Lucerne University, which is supported by the BMW Group, has successfully broken the previous acceleration record for electric cars. As part of their preparatory phase of the Formula Student where they are competing, their Formula Student car reached a speed of 100 km/h in 1.5seconds within a distance of less than 30 metres on a military airbase near Zurich. They have in turn managed to break the previous world record of 1.779 seconds.

2016 Hyundai Tucson achieves high crash test ratings from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in America

The current Hyundai Tucson compact SUV has achieved pretty outstanding crash protection ratings from the American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) recently. It is the only vehicle in the compact SUV category that actually received high ratings for the driver and passenger in the latest round of IIHS small-overlap crash tests.

Honda's Official Statement on the recent death caused by faulty Takata Airbags

Here is the official statement by Honda Malaysia as regards the recent death of a Honda City driver. Note the following:

1. Honda Malaysia has inspected the vehicle involved.

Idiot Spotted on Social Media Holding Sleeping Baby on Steering Wheel Whilst Driving at 80kmh Without A Seatbelt Also.

This photo was taken off a social media website. Look how silly this chap is. The caption in the photo says "BAPAK DRIVE TAPI DIA NAK TIDUR JUGAK. TIDUR KAT STEERING. MUJUR JALAN KAMPUNG. 80KMJ SHJ "- Father is driving but the child wants to sleep. Sleeps on the steering. Luckily this is a village road. Only going 80kmh. 

What the hell is wrong with this person?

The Takata Airbag Recall - Honda City driver dies in minor accident due to airbag deployment. Honda, Subaru and other owners take note

The Star had reported that a lady driving her Honda CIty died in a seriously minor accident. The steering wheel airbag in her car deployed on impact and must have sent bits of metal into her chest causing her to die. This is the actual problem facing cars equipped with the Takata manufactured airbag. This news is so close to us. We thought things like this would not affect us here in Malaysia. 

SHORT TEST DRIVE: 2016 HONDA CIVIC 1.5 TC-P - Honda's foray into mass produced turbocharged vehicles & its competitors

Honda Malaysia launched the tenth generation Civic recently. This has to be the most awaited C segment car launch in recent times here in Malaysia. I have not heard so much talk about a C Segment car like this in a long time. This is because the C segment sedan has been a dying market for most car makers here. The prices for the cars in this category are around RM100,000 to around RM140,000 and it actually overlaps a lot of the smaller B segment cars and the larger, D segment, full sized cars in the market. It also has to deal with the popular in recent times B and C segment sized SUVs and MPVs which actually take a sizable chunk out of the sales. So when Honda teased the fact that the new FC series Civic was going to have a 1.5liter turbocharged engine, people started paying attention.

Supercars: The Mercedes-AMG GT R photos have been unveiled...it pays homage to the W194 300SL from 1952

Photos of the Mercedes-AMG GT R has been unveiled. You can see that this souped up version of the Mercedes-AMG GT takes after the 1952 W194 300SL Gullwing race car that Juan Manuel Fangio once raced. You can see that in the way the front grille is designed, very much like the 1952 300SL race car with its vertical slats instead of the usual horizontal winged style which is common these days.

Shell charity drive on the 1st to the 3rd of July 2016 - Every 1 litre of fuel pumped at a Shell station, 1 sen will be donated

This is some CSR news that would benefit children in need. In conjunction with this year’s Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration, Shell will donate 1 sen (RM0.01) for every 1 litre fuel pumped at any Shell fuel station nationwide on 1, 2 and 3 of July (Friday, Saturday, Sunday). The funds collected will be channeled to help improve and transform the lives of disadvantaged children across the country. This is the second year Shell Malaysia is doing this and this year is also Shell's 125th anniversary in Malaysia. So it's a little more special. 

Sport Cars: Lotus 50th Anniversary celebrations - the 3-Eleven at the Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Lotus Elise Cup 250

Lotus Cars are a bit excited about their two latest cars. One is the Lotus 3-Eleven and the other, the Lotus Elise Cup 250. Both cars have just rolled off their respective production lines over in Hethel, UK. Just in time for the 50th anniversary celebrations of Lotus Cars.

Some tips from Ford on how to survive the holiday season in Malaysia.

Now here in this article are some handy tips from Ford that could be of help in the coming Hari Raya celebrations. Now since the tips are courtesy of Ford Malaysia, they say one should plan one's journey in advance, stop when you're tired and be gentle on the accelerator. However, the BIGGEST tip of them all is you should buy a Ford.

1990s Honda Impreza - Just found these photos from 2010 on my PC

This is a Honda Impreza. No joke. Neither Honda nor Subaru ever made these before. This is just the ingenuity of one of our fellow Malaysian. I actually had these pics taken from mudah.my in 2010 but I promptly forgot about this super modified Honda City who wanted so much to be a Subaru. Scoop, goalpost spoiler and all. It was hidden away somewhere and I managed to find them as I was looking through some older files from my hard drive. Boy. I'd like to give these people another A for effort. And another A for allowing the friendly neighbourhood fiberglass shop to make some money.

Supercars: Ferrari Owners from Japan and Southeast Asia in Northern Japan for the Ferrari Hokkaido Rally 2016

The Ferrari Hokkaido Rally 2016 took place over two separate weekends. The 2nd to the 5th of June 2016 for the Japanese customers and then on the 9th to the 12th of June 2016 for the South East Asian customers. The Ferrari Hokkaido Rally was created by Ferrari Far East as a driving platform for the region and also as part of the 50 Years of Ferrari in Japan Anniversary activities.

BHPetrol Infiniti 2X - Harmony in Performance

When it comes to filling up the cars I run I usually end up going the extra mile when it comes to the choice of fuel to put into the tank of my cars. This is maybe because as a petrolhead, every detail is important. Down to the type of petrol I pump. Aside from the obvious performance gains that you can find in certain brands of fuel, I also take into account whether the fuel used would give me additional mileage with every tankful I fill up. This simple benefit allows me to get added savings too. One such fuel or petrol is BHPetrol Infiniti 2x or just Infiniti for short. 

MotoringMY video: The Land Rover Defender's crawler gear in action - Short Video by Motoring-Malaysia on YouTube

Since this is the month of Ramadan things are a bit slow these days. Not many companies do product launches during this time and not many people like conducting business meetings too. So I have the time to give you a short video showing the capability of the recently discontinued Land Rover Defender. Production of the iconic 4x4 has since ceased since early this year ending a 25 year production run.

Honda will cease production of the HONDA CRZ - Not gonna miss it much actually.

One of the most disappointing Honda cars in recent history has recently been confirmed to be discontinued. According to some the Honda CRZ was being discontinued with the launch of the CRZ Final Label in Japan. Then we received word that Honda was officially ceasing production of this small hybrid sports car. So the CRZ Final Label is indeed the end of this hybrid sports car. The news mentioned that the CR-Z will be discontinued at the end of the year to make room for the Accord Hybrid and Clarity Fuel Cell cars. 

Ford engines throughout the years and how electronics make them better and more efficient

Ford are proud of their latest engine, the EcoBoost. This is especially for the 1.0liter version which has been named "Best Engine" in its class at the 2016 International Engine of the Year Awards. The three cylinder version of the turbocharged Ford engine won based on the drivability, performance, economy, refinement and technology of the engine.