PROTON PERSONA PREMIUM CVT & PROTON PERDANA 2.4 BAG SOME AWARDS AT THE FIRST EVER CARSIFU AWARDS

Recently,  PROTON, the national car company managed to bag a couple of awards at the first ever Carsifu Editor's Choice Awards 2016. The very recently launched All-New, Persona Premium CVT (the mid-specced car)  had won Best Compact Car and the also freshly launched All-New Proton Perdana 2.4 won Best Local Design of the Year at the inaugural CarSifu Editors’ Choice Awards 2016. Congratulations to Proton cars is in order.

Happenings: Perodua Fun Walk 2016 in conjunction with the National Sports Day

Managing Director of Perodua Sales Sdn Bhd, Dr. Zahari Husin (right), set off an air horn to release the participants of Perodua Fun Walk 2016. Also in the picture is Mr. Takamasa Kurinami, Executive Director of Perodua.

It's National Sports Day here in Malaysia today folks and I was busy taking a long afternoon nap just now. The reason was that I had to wake up early today and send my kid to her school for her school sports day today held in conjunction with the National Sports Day. So I sent her, went out with the missus for some fabric shopping in SS2 (we ended up not buying anything) and then later went over to the little kiddo's school and ate nasi lemak whilst waiting. After that I went home and fell asleep on the sofa. So much for National Sports Day participation on my part. But anyway, Perodua did something today too!

ISUZU D-MAX BEAST wins ‘Best Dressed-up Pick-up Truck’ at the first ever Carsifu Editor’s Choice Awards

The limited edition Isuzu D-Max BEAST triumphed in the ‘Best Dressed-up Pick-up Truck’ category at the first ever Carsifu Editor’s Choice Awards organised by Star Media Group. Isuzu Malaysia Sdn Bhd Executive Director Hajime Machimura (3rd from left in the photo above) received the award from Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Lee Chee Leong in the presence of Star Media Group Chairman Datuk Fu Ah Kiow, chief operating officer Calvin Kan and chief revenue officer Lim Bee Leng at a gala dinner on the 6th of October 2016.

Ford starts producing more Ford Ranger pickup trucks in Thailand to meet demand & photos of a Ford Ranger Wildtrak

A bit of regional automotive news now folks. Ford Motor Company has announced the official start of production for the Ford Ranger pickup truck at its Ford Thailand Manufacturing (FTM) facility to help meet extraordinary demand across the Asia Pacific region.

TRUCK NEWS: TWO BRAND NEW SCANIA TRUCKS ADDED TO SMG MEGA SAPPIRE'S FLEET

 Haji Idros, Sales Director od Scania SEA (2nd from right) handing over the key to the Scania truck to the Directors of SMG Mega Sappire.

SMG Mega Sappire Sdn Bhd (SMG) has added two new Scania trucks to its fleet as part of its expansion to cater for the increase in the haulage and loader business. The keys to its two latest P410LA6X2MSZ trucks were handed over to the Managing Director of SMG, Mr Kanapathy Raman Satish by the Sales Director for Scania Southeast Asia, Tuan Haji Idros Puteh today. 

AUDI MALAYSIA introduces the Q7 2.0 TFSI Quattro - The flagship Audi SUV gets competitive in terms of pricing

Don't you just love downsizing? Now you can buy a huge full-sized SUV (or house) and only pay less road tax for it! Audi Malaysia has just introduced the flagship Audi Q7 with a 2.0liter TFSI engine. This comes in close to a year after the official launch of the current Q7 with the 3.0 TFSI engine here in Malaysia. So you can have all the style of the largest SUV Audi offers with its more common and smaller engine (usually seen in the smaller A4, Q5, A6 models). 

The Ford Fiesta is 40 - Six Generations and 17 millions cars later.......

The Ford Fiesta is 40 years old already! Time flies. Since first little Fiesta rolled off the production line in 1976, there have been 6 generations of Fiesta with more than 17 million units produced to date. Ford is marking this special 40th birthday with a celebration of a car that is still keeping with the times and is innovative to this day. It is also the best-selling car in Europe for the past four years as it has been throughout the years.

Truck News: GIGA Shipping takes delivery of 2 HINO Truck Carriers & HINO announces sales of 2,551 units for the 1st Half of 2016

Earlier today GIGA Shipping, a subsidiary of Giga Maritime Group took delivery of two HINO SG2PDPA Prime Mover / Truck Carriers. The handover ceremony took place in HINO 3S dealer center, Soon Seng Truck & Parts Sdn Bhd. in Nilai, Negeri Sembilan. It was attended by Mr. Ken Iwamoto, Managing Director of Hino Motor Sales Malaysia who presented the trucks to Datuk Kumar Prabakaran, Managing Director of GIGA .

Automotive Industry CSR: Caltex Fuel Your School Programme to Help Fund Classroom Projects in Kelantan and Pahang this year

Chevron Malaysia Limited, which markets the Caltex® brand, continues its annual Caltex Fuel Your School programme (“the programme”) in partnership with MyKasih Foundation this year. This marks the fifth year Chevron Malaysia / Caltex is running this CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) Programme which benefit schools (which are chosen and those that need additional help the most) within the communities that Caltex operates throughout Malaysia.

The original BMC, BL (and maybe Rover) Mini and its Riley Elf, Wolseley Hornet, Mini Moke, Clubman, Countryman & pick up variants at the Auto Bavaria Mega Fest 2016

Lots of original, classic British Motor Corporation / British Leyland (and maybe Rover) Mini (with their owners, obviously) attended Auto Bavaria's Mega Sales event a couple of weeks ago. Here are some photos of it. Note the Riley Elf variant above and below (the one that has a different front and rear end). The Elf was the 'luxury' version of the Mini together with the Wolseley Hornet - exterior differences between the two include a different grille and the dashboard  

Hyundai Motor is the 35th biggest brand in the world according to Interbrand’s latest annual global brand value rankings

The Hyundai Motor company is the 35th biggest brand in the world according to Interbrand, a leading  consultancy company that mainly deals with branding and its net contribution to the value of a company. The Korean company also moved up one place to 6 th in the global automotive industry top 10 brands, ahead of Audi, Volkswagen, Nissan and Porsche and is the 4 th most valuable high-volume automotive brand.

TEST DRIVE: THE 2016 FORD S-MAX 2.0L ECOBOOST® - Petrolheads with lots of Children would be happy with one of these

Abandon all hope for those that enter here. This is a nice phrase to use especially those who earn a modest income, married, have more than three children, a maid, a pet car or dog and can only have one car in their garage yet has the need for speed. This is also the case for those that need to carry a lot of people who are adults, like their parents, grandparents and grown up kids for holidays but love the thrill of driving. There is almost no hope for these sort of people. I mean, to have fun you'd need something like a properly stonking hot hatchback, like a Ford Fiesta ST. Or a Ford Ranger WildTrak 3.2 which could uproot a tree or two. But you need to carry people. Lots of them. 

Toyota Upgrades the Vios - A new engine and drivetrain finally as well as VSC for all variants

 2016 Toyota Vios 1.5GX

Good news! Toyota have finally upgraded the 3rd generation Toyota Vios! Launched in 2013, this time the edgy styled Vios gets a slight exterior tweak but most importantly, a proper engine and gearbox from the 2010s instead of still being stuck in 2002. 

Renault Captur sales promo - Enjoy a rebate of RM8,000 in the 'CAPTURE LIFE, CAPTURE STYLE, CAPTURE DEALS' promo

Capture Life, Capture Style, Capture Deals’,is the latest sales promo for the Renault Captur by Renault distributors TC Euro Cars here in Malaysia. Customers who purchase the Renault Captur will enjoy rebates of RM8,000 off the vehicle price of RM117,200 (on-the-road inclusive of GST, without insurance, for Peninsular Malaysia and private registration). 

Ford and Sime Darby Auto Connexion starts their Year End Sales Promo - The BIG DEAL Promotion is on till 31st December 2016!

Ford and local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) has announced their year end promotions by kicking off the Big Deal promotion. The Big Deal promo will offer customers attractive cash rebates on selected models nationwide until 31 December 2016.

ISUZU MU-X SUV TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2016 BORNEO SAFARI

The Isuzu Mu-X SUV will participate in this year's Borneo Safari International Offroad Challenge. This is quite a unique thing as it would mark participation by Isuzu Malaysia Sdn Bhd. - a manufacturer taking part in one of the harshest off-road challenges out there.

Road Safety: GLOBAL NCAP's Vision Zero - Key points at the 2016 OECD International Transport Forum

I have published below the PRESS RELEASE by GLOBAL NCAP regarding their latest calls for improved vehicle safety. It makes for interesting reading if you are interested in what's going to happen next in the realm of vehicle safety.

ROADSHOW TO PROMOTE SHELL ADVANCE LIMITED EDITION PACKS WITHIN PENINSULAR MALAYSIA

Shell Advance is embarking on a Peninsular Malaysia-wide roadshow to promote its newly introduced, specially designed limited edition packs of its best-selling motorcycle engine oils. From now till November 2016, the Shell Advance mobile truck will be visiting more than 100 locations across Peninsular Malaysia to promote four variants of Shell Advance motorcycle engine oils that now come in limited edition packs – Shell Advance Ultra with PurePlus Technology 10W-40 (1L) and 15W-50 (1L), Shell Advance AX7 10W-40 (1L) and Shell Advance AX5 Scooter 15W-40 (0.8L).

MOTORSPORT: PERODUA Sponsors Nabil Jeffri in the GP2 Race Series

This piece of news is something that gives hope to Malaysians who intend to compete in the world stage. Perodua has announced that it is sponsoring Muhammad Nabil Jan Al Jeffri in this year's GP2 Race Series. Perodua joins a list of sponsors that include our Kementerian Belia dan Sukan (The Youth and Sports Ministry of Malaysia). At a young 22 years of age, he would need all the assistance he can get to be able to compete in the international level. 

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launches the C-Class Cabriolet and the SLC Roadster

The Mercedes-Benz Dream Cars Collection is what Mercedes-Benz calls their sports cars and coupes. They have expanded the Malaysian official sports car line-up with the introduction of two new models, the all-new C-Class Cabriolet & the new generation SLC Roadster, offering a wider range of options for connoisseurs of dream cars.

Audi Malaysia and Swire Motors officially open Audi Puchong

So many things happened yesterday - F1 pre-race parties, car launches, a diesel fuel launch and showroom launches. Which brings us to this piece of news. Audi Malaysia has announced the appointment of Swire Motors as the latest authorised dealer for the Audi brand in Malaysia.  Audi Puchong has already begun operations early September at a temporary Audi Puchong Showroom located at the SetiaWalk Mall, with after sales support provided at a dedicated facility nearby. This interim arrangement will precede the construction of a fully-fledged Audi Puchong 3S centre that will begin operations in 2018. 

Happenings: At the Renault Sport Formula One Pre-Race Party at the Renault Flagship Showroom

I attended Renault's pre-race Formula One party yesterday. The event was organised by TC Euro Cars (TCEC), the sole franchise holder of Renault cars in Malaysia over at the Renault Showroom and lepak place over at Section 13 Petaling Jaya. A total of 120 lucky F1 fans yesterday were treated to a special appearance by Renault Sport Formula One™ team drivers – Kevin Magnussen (middle- right) and Jolyon Palmer (middle-left).

AUDI RS 3 SEDAN LAUNCHED OVER AT THE 2016 PARIS MOTOR SHOW - 400HP / 480NM 2.5LITER 5 CYLINDERS

Audi has launched the Audi RS 3 sedan at this year’s Paris Motor Show. The RS 3 Sedan is the first compact Audi sedan to bear the RS label. It will be sold under the “Audi Sport” label, with presales of the compact RS model first start in China and in the United States in spring 2017. The two countries must be the brand's most important markets for the RS models.

Kimi Raikkonen tries his hand at Fire Fighting and Fire Truck Driving courtesy of Shell V-Power

It is Formula One weekend here in Malaysia. So there have been lots of happenings here and there. This time, Scuderia Ferrari driver, Kimi 'The Ice Man' Raikkonen gets to try out a Fire Truck courtesy of Shell V-Power. 

Audi launches the Second Generation Q5 at the 2016 Paris Motor Show

The 2nd Generation Audi Q5 has been launched over at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. This popular compact luxury crossover SUV basically gets Audi's current, slightly more edgy styling compared to its more rounded looking predecessor bringing the Q5 more in line with current trends. A simple way to say how it looks like would be to take the newly launched (in Malaysia) Audi Q7 and shrink it down a bit.

Honda Civic Type R revealed at the 2016 Paris Motor Show - Based on the hatch with production scheduled for 2017

Honda has revealed the CIVIC TYPE R concept car at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. It is based on the current and just launched Honda Civic Hatchback. What this new Type R is seen to have is a continuation of the current Civic Type R 2.0 turbo - a whole lot of aero addenda and that 2.0liter VTEC Turbo engine.

NAZA Italia reveals the Ferrari GTC4Lusso T in a simultaneous global debut with the official launch at the Paris Motor Show

Not too shabby for Malaysia eh? We actually get to view the newest Ferrari at the same time it is launched officially at the 2016 Paris Motor Show! NAZA Italia, official importer of the Ferrari brand in Malaysia, has unveiled the Ferrari GTC4Lusso T in a simultaneous global debut event. The reveal was held at the St. Regis Kuala Lumpur today, in tandem with the car’s official launch at the Paris Motor Show.

Renault Showcases New Models, Refreshed ones and a Concept Car at the 2016 Paris Motor Show

Renault is currently showcasing electric vehicles, new designs and a completely refreshed line-up at the 2016 Paris Motor Show. Significant models include the refreshed

 Renault ZOE electric car, the premiere of the Renault Koleos Initiale Paris and the Renault TREZOR Concept car.

BMW wins CarIT-Award 2016 - Magazine awards the BMW 7 Series' Remote Control Parking system as a leading technology system

Honestly, there are tons of awards for everything out there. There are awards for the Best of, the Worst of in every darn field you can think of. I searched on Google for the BEST UNDERWEAR AWARDS and lo and behold - the INTERFEEL AWARDS - "A selection of worldwide recognized professional of the intimates, swimwear and sportswear industry will reward the know-how and collections of Interfilière Shanghai exhibitors" came up. Wow. An award for Lingerie. So anyway, BMW just won something called the CarIT-(magazine) Award 2016 in the "Connected Car" field for their Remote Control Parking System in the BMW 7 Series.

THE ALL-NEW PROTON SAGA IS LAUNCHED - PRICES START FROM RM36,800 to RM45,800

The 3rd Generation Proton Saga has been launched. It comes in 3 variants – Standard (MT & CVT), Executive and Premium with prices starting from RM36,800 to RM45,800 in Peninsular Malaysia. 

The BMW M3 is 30 years old! - I reminisce on the E30 M3 a bit and let BMW tell the rest and a limited Ed Anniversary Model previewed - Lots of Pics!

The BMW M3 is 30 years old this year and its reputation today is totally peerless when it comes to the mid-sized sports car segment. In the mid 1980s, the very first M3 were homologated for the German Touring Car Championships and it won a whole lot of races obviously. It was this first M3, based on the BMW E30 3 Series that started it all. So much so that everyone wanted a E30 M3 back in the day. 

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Microsoft to work together on next generation connected & autonomous driving systems

The Renault-Nissan Alliance and Microsoft Corp. have signed a global, multiyear agreement to partner on next-generation technologies to advance connected driving experiences worldwide. The companies will work together to develop next-generation connected services for cars powered by Microsoft Azure, one of the Microsoft’s intelligent cloud offerings. These new services will improve customer experience via advanced navigation, predictive maintenance and vehicle centric services, remote monitoring of car features, external mobile experiences and over-the-air updates.

The New Jetta 1.4 TSI launched - Three Variants and Prices start much lower than before - RM108,990.

New Jetta Highline

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) today officially launched the new Volkswagen Jetta to the Malaysian market. The new Jetta is the first Volkswagen model to be launched by VPCM, since the company officially began operations in September. Taking over the sales and aftersales network from Volkswagen Group Malaysia who will concentrate on the assembly of Volkswagen cars in Pekan, Pahang and also Audi Malaysia. But today is the day of the new and improved Volkswagen Jetta.

Happenings: Ford Malaysia CSR Volunteer Projects for the Ford Global Caring Month 2016 - At the Lovely Nursing Centre in Petaling Jaya

Ford Motor Company kicks off the 11th annual Global Caring Month in September with Ford volunteers from more than three dozen countries around the world signing up for community projects, including a growing number of emerging markets from Cambodia to Laos, and Myanmar to Samoa. For Malaysia this year, Ford together with its local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) continued its charitable giving at the Lovely Nursing Centre in Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia.

Happenings: The 2016 SHELL RIMULA TECHNOLOGY FORUM AND GALA DINNER IN MIRI, SARAWAK

The recently held 2016 Shell Rimula Night was attended by more than 350 participants throughout Malaysia. It was held in Miri, Sarawak and a Shell Rimula Technology Forum was held together with it.

The All-New Proton Saga Teaser Video and photo stills

Here are some still photos of the all-new, and soon to be launched Proton Saga from the Proton Cars video posted on their Facebook page. I have also posted it down below for your viewing pleasure. We have already driven the car in a closed test session. The car will be launched mid this week and it is expected to cost between RM37,000 to RM45,000 and will come in 4 variants - 1.3manual Standard, 1.3CVT Standard, 1.3 Executive CVT and 1.3 Premium CVT . You can read about the initial drive impressions and see more teaser pics here if you're interested!

Opinion: And the ugliest car sold in Malaysia today is.......NOT the Nissan Almera

This afternoon I was having some drinks at the mamak over at Desa Sri Hartamas with some friends. And then the car in the picture above passed by. An Infiniti QX80. Then it hit me that the QX80 IS the ugliest car sold in the country right now. Actually, the world. Allow me to explain.

3rd Gen Proton Saga open for booking,Teaser Pics & SHORT TEST DRIVE of all variants

The Proton Saga. A Malaysian icon. Like Nasi Lemak, Roti Canai and Fried Mamak Mee. A symbol of something affordable for the masses. It has been awhile since PROTON started selling the 2^nd generation Saga BLM and now they've come up with a replacement which will be prices from RM37,000 to RM45,000. The car is scheduled to be launched very soon and here you have some teaser pics of the car, some technical details, some other details and my very short test drive of ALL of the variants that would be on sale 

Ferrari reveals the new V8 powered Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T

Ferrari will launch the new Ferrari GTC4 Lusso T at the upcoming Paris Motor Show sometime mid next week. This Ferrari is the first four-seater in its history to sport a turbo-charged V8 engine and this actually brings a new Ferrari GT concept aimed at owners seeking a car that is sporty, practical and versatile, as well as perfect for driving on a daily basis. Something which are almost never done with a Ferrari. That engine, and the practical shooting brake styling makes it possible.

Commercial Vehicle, Truck, Bus News: PETRONAS URANIA with ViscGuard launched for the Malaysian market

PETRONAS Lubricants Malaysia recently launched PETRONAS Urania with ViscGuard™ here in Malaysia. The Urania is PETRONAS' commercial vehicle lubricant (CVL) formulated to effectively guard against engine deposits build-up. Malaysia is a key market for PETRONAS Lubricants and is crucial to growing its business in Asia.

An Update on the all-new Proton Persona - The media drive, CSR initiative in Jengka 19, Persona Sales figures and other aspects on the car

The CEO of Proton, Dato' Fuaad Kenali (right) with Ogawa San (left) flagging us off - Yes, I was inside this car number #1!

Last 19th and 20th of September members of the Media went on the Proton Persona Media drive. The entourage was flagged off from the Proton Centre of Excellence, Subang Jaya and there were 60 participants from the media and also from PROTON's Senior Management and staff. This 2 days 1 night event was basically a drive to  Kuantan, Pahang and back to Subang Jaya.

The Auto Bavaria Mega Event is on this 23rd to the 25th of September 2016 at Bukit Jalil - BMW cars, BMW bikes, MINI etc. etc. offers galore!

In case any of you are interested in BMW, their largest authorised dealer Auto Bavaria are having their Mega Event over at Bukit Jalil Sports Complex, Car Park B this coming weekend - 23 to the 25th of September 2016 from 9am to 9pm daily (the staff participating are sure to have sore everything after the event is over!). You could say that this could be the Karnival Jom Kaypoh of the car industry. But limited to only one brands lah.

New Volkswagen Jetta Open for Pre-Booking - Priced from RM110,000 to RM130,000

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) is now opening the order books for the new, enhanced Volkswagen Jetta. The estimated price for the new Jetta ranges between RM110,000 to RM130,000 and it is available in four colours - Candy White, Platinum Grey, Reflex Silver and Deep Black. There will be three variants - Trendline, Comfortline and Highline.

The B9 Audi A4 is launched in Malaysia - 2.0 TFSI in Standard trim or S-Line and the option of a Technology Package (UPDATED with more pics)

Audi Malaysia have finally launched the all new B9 Audi A4. Looks handsomely familiar doesn't it? But it is about time as the previous B8 A4 has been around for quite a while already.

Spotted For Sale: 1985 Toyota Starlet 1.3 (m) - Another 1980s Toyota that had a following back in the day

This EP71 Toyota Starlet you see here was from a time when Toyota actually produced some nice to drive cars instead of just chasing profit margins. We had the AE86s as well as the Celica, Supra and also something called the Starlet Turbo. The Starlet was what Toyota had beneath the Corolla in the days prior to the Soluna/Vios. I think it was a nice name for a small little car. I do wonder why Toyota stopped using the moniker.

Ford Partnering with Global Cities on New Transport Solutions beginning with San Francisco - Ford Transit shuttle buses to play a key role

 

The Ford Motor Company is teaming up with major global cities, starting with San Francisco, in order to help solve congestion issues and help people move more easily now and for the future. Ford has decided to establish a new City Solutions team as part of its Ford Smart Mobility LLC to lead expanding mobility efforts with key cities worldwide. 

BMW issues a press release to tease another pic of the upcoming 5 Series sedan

BMW has basically issued a press release stating that the upcoming 7th generation, 'has it been that many already', BMW 5 Series will be produced over at the Dingdongfling plant in Lower Bavaria. I actually meant Bingoblingbliing. No, Dingolfling. 

It's D I N G O L F I N G.

I however think this is a clever way to tease another pic of the upcoming 5 series actually. 

ASEAN NCAP releases upcoming all-new Proton Saga crash test results - Do note that the car isn't launched yet!

Spy photo of the Proton Saga...put on the web a couple of months ago and now viraled everywhere!

ASEAN NCAP must be really excited. At the ASEAN Automobile Safety Forum, AASF, in Phnom Penh, ASEAN NCAP has released its latest test result for the 3rd Quarter of 2016 for the upcoming 3rd generation new Proton Saga (which was wrongly stated in the press release below as the 2nd generation Saga). Proton will be launching this new A segment sedan sometime very soon (by next month at the latest) and in the test, the all-new Proton Saga scored 13.33 out of 16.00 points in the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) category, which placed the model in the range of a 4-Star rating. 

Truck News: Trucker Zulkifli bin Saad makes history by being the first Malaysian to reach the Volvo Fuelwatch Challenge 2016 World Finals

Malaysian trucker, Zulkifli bin Saad made history when he was announced as one of the Top 5 finalists of the Asia Pacific Fuelwatch Challenge 2016, sealing his entry into the World Finals which was held shortly after the event over at Varberg, Sweden. He basically made history twice actually. This was his first time participating in the Malaysian leg of the Fuelwatch Challenge and he managed to win it in one go. Then he managed to enter the world finals, challenging the best around the world!

DRB-HICOM and PROTON PRESENTS CARS TO MALAYSIAN OLYMPIC MEDALLISTS OF RIO 2016

 

Earlier today, DRB-HICOM and PROTON Holdings Bhd had presented a total of eight cars to the nation's Olympians who had succeeded in winning the medals at the recent Rio Olympic Games. Proton hopes that with the record achievement (our best performance at the Olympics to date) at the recent Rio 2016 Olympic Games, more talented Malaysians will be inspired to achieve greater heights and make our country proud. The cars are a big gesture of appreciation indeed and should be an incentive to those who want to reach greater heights.