NEWS: TRIPDA MALAYSIA APPOINTS CAMPUS AMBASSADORS AS ADVOCATES FOR CARPOOLING

There is an Smartphone app by Tripda, a company that runs an online car pooling platform that connects car drivers and passengers heading the same way so that they can car pool together and save time and money (or allow car drivers to make money? IF they don't have a conscience I suppose). 

Anyway, Tripda Malaysia has linked up with university students who act as their ambassadors to advocate the benefits of car pooling. Do read the press release below for more info.

Press Release

TRIPDA MALAYSIA APPOINTS CAMPUS AMBASSADORS 
AS ADVOCATES FOR CARPOOLING

TEST DRIVE: 2014 Ford Ecosport 1.5L Titanium

The Ford Ecosport is based on the current Ford Fiesta B2E platform and was originally launched in 2013. We got it last year and I got to drive it at the end of last year. I tested the Ford Ecosport 1.5L Titanium recently and this here is the long delayed review of the mini SUV.

The Ford Ecosport is Ford's global product. It is sold in is most continents and is specced and tuned with each market in mind. We Malaysians get the one built in Rayong, Thailand and gets a 110ps, 142Nm 1.5liter 4 cylinder petrol engine that is coupled with a 6 speed dual clutch gearbox. We don't get a manual option and it comes in front wheel drive only form too (there is a 2.0liter all-wheel drive variant elsewhere). This last note makes sense as it is marketed as an urban SUV and I doubt anyone who buys this Tonka toy cute little car to go off roading in it. Maybe some flash flood wading, but that's about it.

Scania Driver Competitions 2014/2015 Malaysia-Singapore

Last December 2014 Scania launched the Scania Driver Competition 2014/2015 Malaysia-Singapore to find the best drivers from these two countries. If you happen to work driving Scania trucks or you happen to run a fleet of Scania trucks, I do not see the harm in any of you entering this competition. Details are in the press release below.

Scania G-series Truck

Press Release

Scania Celebrates 10th Year Anniversary of Scania Driver Competitions Around The World.

Honda Malaysia Previews the 2015 Honda HR-V - Ahead of its February launch

An All-New Honda HR-V will be hitting Malaysian shores in February 2015.  It is a subcompact crossover vehicle and is actually based on Honda's Global Compact Series, which includes the current Honda City and Honda Jazz. It is called the Honda Vezel over in Japan (pic below) and uses the HR-V moniker here. The HR-V was previously used in the 1998-2006 HR-V mini SUV.

Latest Revised Volkswagen Car Prices in Malaysia and CNY Sales Rebates

Prices for Volkswagen cars in Malaysia have risen due to the free falling Malaysian Ringgit. Last I looked it was way past 3.53 to the US Dollar. The only consolation is the cheap fuel pump prices we get these days. I have posted a chart below showing the latest prices. Note that even the entry level Polo 1.6 costs at least up to RM2,000 more. However, Volkswagen Group Malaysia have come up with its latest sales initiative,  something called the ‘Volkswagen Red Campaign’!. 

First post of 2015, ramblings, excuses for not writing and the Peugeot RCZ THP156 Automatic

Hello folks. Welcome to the first post of 2015. Yes, yes I have been busy doing nothing much in terms of writing over the past month or so. The reason being the recent school holidays and that I was just plain lazy. It takes a whole lot of effort on my part to actually sit down and type something out as you all would agree that thumb twiddling, latte drinking, shopping, meeting up with friends and other non-productive things to do are so much fun. And when you actually add the fact that keeping this website up to date does not actually pay me a whole bunch of Ringgit every month you can see why I have neglected posting anything over the last thirty days or so. So let's start 2015 with an introduction of why motoring-malaysia.blogspot.com actually started in the first place.

Volkswagen Das Event

Volkswagen Malaysia had previewed the all new Volkswagen Passat B8 tonight. It looks more luxurious than before and has more of the Volkswagen CC styling cues instead of being upright and very stodgy (uncle car-like) They also showed off the electric E-Up and the Golf GTE hybrid.

Aside from that, they have briefed the media about their beefing up of the after sales service by setting up a local parts centre and training of more technical personnel.

Actually a lot of stuff. A proper write up will be published later.

News: JEEP is back in Malaysia

Jeep is back in Malaysia after a long absence. This time around Jeep Malaysia is a company under the DRB-HICOM Berhad group who have been awarded the exclusive distributorship from Chrysler Group International (part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group). Today is the official launch of the brand and also the opening of the first Jeep 3S centre in Malaysia, located in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. By next year, Jeep Malaysia intends to open centres in Penang and Johor followed by one centre each in Sabah and Sarawak by 2016.

Redesigned Hyundai Sonata Wins CARS.COM, USA TODAY

Recently the redesigned Hyundai Sonata won an award over in the United States. The new Sonata, which is not available in Malaysia at the moment won the Motorweek Midsize Sedan Challenge. The new Sonata held up against 9 other brands and came up tops after some expert and car shopper testing.

Volkswagen Malaysia Launches Courtesy Car Programme for its Customers

Volkswagen Malaysia has officially launched its mobility guarantee programme on the 26th of November 2014. As part of its ongoing efforts to improve customer satisfaction, Volkswagen Malaysia is sponsoring and deploying more than 200 vehicles to offer customers complete mobility support.

Trucking news: Scania Malaysia launches the Scania Assistance Service and Scania Fleet Management System

Today I was at Scania Malaysia for the launch of the Scania Assistance Service and Scania Fleet Management System. These are ownership solutions for better profitability for Scania bus and truck operators here in Malaysia. Of course, I get to view some nice machines too. In the heavy duty sort of scale that is. I was busy taking admiring the huge Garrett turbo fitted to the Scania bus chassis to the left of the photo above folks.

Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake

First glimpse of the new Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake folks. I like it. I think.

"Say hello to the new CLA Shooting Brake! The latest member of our successful family of compact models. A unique look of its own! [CLA Shooting Brake | Fuel consumption combined: 6.8-4.2 l/100km | Combined CO2 emission: 156-101 g/km | #MercedesBenz #CLAShootingBrake #CLA #ShootingBrake #compactcars #mbcar" From MercedesBenz Instagram

DBKL will be renaming some roads - A waste of meetings discussing a trivial subject and a bit on the JPJ

KUALA LUMPUR: NINE roads and streets here will be renamed after rulers who have served as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Jalan Duta will be renamed Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim; Jalan Khidmat Usaha will be renamed Jalan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah; Jalan Ipoh — from the Jalan Segambut junction to the Jalan Pahang junction — will be renamed Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah; Persiaran Duta will be renamed Persiaran Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin; Jalan Khidmat Setia and Jalan Ibadah will be renamed Jalan Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin; Lebuhraya Mahameru will be renamed Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar; Persiaran Mahameru will be renamed Persiaran Tuanku Jaafar; and, Jalan Semarak will be renamed Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra.
Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said the new names would take effect tomorrow.
He said City Hall had received the cabinet’s consent to rename the roads.
“This is to honour the rulers who have served as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
Phesal said Pos Malaysia would be informed of the changes to the road names to avoid confusion over addresses. New Straits Times 

These days I am not bothered to complain about the nation's politics, politicians, government policies and the people that implement such systems (which are usually quite idiotic). This is the norm for me as I believe, complaining and ranting about local politics and government policies is a bloody waste of time. You see, if you side party A and you are against what party B is doing there would be some who end up becoming keyboard warriors defending or attacking such a person, cause or ideal. It is actually a bloody waste of your time folks.

Test Drive: 2014 Ford Ranger 2.2l XLT Automatic - Traction Control and ISOFIX ..as well as the usual goodies too

The current Ford Ranger has been around Malaysia since 2012 and is quite a familiar sight. First launched in 2011 it has captured a fair number of people who like driving pickup trucks. This 2014 version of the Ford Ranger is the same as it was when it first came out some two years ago. However, Ford basically improved it with the addition of traction control (ESP) and ISOFIX baby seat anchorage points. 

Ramblings about Lotus Cars, the terrible image that Proton Cars have and what needs to be done.

Lotus Suprima S - Imagine the above with massive arches, 18inch wheels, vented bonnet, whale-tail rear spoiler and at least 200bhp. And a PROPER Lotus badge instead of that corny R3 one......Would a true enthusiast buy it for RM105,000? I believe so.

I had been doing some reading up on Lotus Cars recently. Lotus Cars is owned by DRB-Hicom through Proton, the Malaysian car company. Both car companies are actually in a bit of trouble owning to low sales volumes with Proton being second in the Malaysian passenger vehicle sales charts for the past two years or so. Assembler and re-badge experts Perodua have taken over the top spot in passenger car sales in Malaysia and its no question that Malaysians seem to like the brand more these days. Tell me how many of the newly launched Proton Iriz (which in 1.6liter form is not too bad) you see on the roads today compared to the newly launched Perodua Axia (which is the best value for money car you can buy these days with the puny Ringgit). Couple this with the fact that Malaysian banks seem to be tightening down on car loans also do not auger well with Proton who according to my sources have about 50% of customer car loan applications rejected or turned down. Not the fault of Proton, but this bites nonetheless.

LLumar 2014 Asia Pacific Tint-Off Competition - 16 Teams from 14 Countries Take Part. Team from South Korea Wins

Yesterday I attended a tinting competition organized by LLumar automotive window films and its Malaysian distributor Tint Auto (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd . Yes, there is such an event and it was participated by 16 teams from 14 countries. The extra three teams came from China, which as you know is a huge country and warrants extra coverage (as well as sales numbers too).

Anyway, whilst the only cars provided were Volkswagen Passats by VW distributor F.A Wagen it was still an international themed events with tint experts from Oman, Singapore, China and South Korea as well as our own Malaysia to name a few.

Reviews to look forward to: The 2014 Ford Ranger and the 2014 Ford Eco Sport

I have been a tad bit busy with things happening around me. As such, I have two reviews that I have to come up with within the next few days. But here are some pics on the two cars that I have had the pleasure of testing over the past month or so - The 2014 Ford Ranger and the 2014 Ford EcoSport.

Commercial Vehicle News: Volvo Buses Back in Malaysia and Launches New Bus Chassis Range

I attended the launch of Volvo Buses new chassis range for buses in Malaysia. It also marks the return of Volvo Buses (via the current Volvo Malaysia setup) to Malaysia after a number of years.

CARAMA BY CASTROL IS NOW IN JOHOR

Carama, which is Castrol's the value added online guide for car servicing, car maintenance and automobile workshop guide has now expanded to areas in the state of Johor. This means that you can now use Carama.com to book car services over there too instead of just the Klang Valley. 

Basic facts about Carama include over 250 certified and listed participating workshops which aims to ultimately rebuild the trust between Malaysian car owners and workshops. Carama provides all Carama users a 3 months / 5,000 km warranty on labour and spare parts. Additionally, users are entitled to 3% cashback on their total bill. On top of assurance and savings, all Carama users are entitled to 2 x FREE MyTeksi rides (worth RM15 each) whenever they make a booking on Carama.com, ensuring they have transportation to and from their car workshop.

Audi A3 Sedan - The Audi 1.4TFSI & 1.8 TFSI Quattro driven back to back

This is the A3 Sedan 1.8 TFSI Quattro - How do I know? I don't. I had to look through my notes and then found out that the wheel design makes it a 1.8 TFSI Quattro - Ten Spokes.

Audi has recently launched the A3 Sedan in Malaysia and we get two variants, one is the 1.4 TFSI and the other the sportier 1.8 TFSI Quattro. Launched in 2013, the Audi A3 sedan utilises the Volkswagen Group MQB platform first seen in the current Volkswagen Golf and then in the A3 Hatchback and Sportback variants. It is because of this basic chassis sharing that the Audi A3 Sedan is a very familiar animal to drive.