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.

New Ford Ranger officially launched in Malaysia

The burnt orange one is the 3.2 WildTrak, 2.2 XLT is in grey

The Ford Motor Company together with local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion launched the new Ford Ranger earlier today. This is a very facelifted version of the Ford Ranger we see on our roads. It features a new front end design as well as more equipment and stuff.

The 1.2liter Turbo Renault Clio GT Line - A budget Clio RS?

Whilst I was over in Thailand driving a truck, interviewing truck drivers and eating lots of tom yam, TC Euro Cars launched the New Renault CLIO GT LINE. The car will be available in Malaysia at the estimated price of RM118,000, with an additional RM5,000 for the Flame Red colour. Launch availability is slated for Q4 2015. The spirited and sporty five-door hatchback will be available in four colours – Flame Red, Diamond Black, Glacier White and Malta Blue.

Truck News: IVECO at the Czech Truck Prix VIDEO

Have a look at this video with the IVECO's vehicles of the Schwaben Truck Team at Czech Truck Prix. After driving some trucks around a track (albeit much slower than this) recently this could be fun actually.

The new BMW M4 GTS - Do you want one? I do.

BMW has a new GTS model. The BMW M4 GTS is a 700 unit limited edition that celebrates the 30th anniversary of the BMW M3 (Essentially the M4 is a two door M3 as BMW names its two door coupes in even numbers). 

Schools in Melaka and Negeri Sembilan to benefit from CALTEX FUEL YOUR SCHOOL CAMPAIGN

 Top row (L-R) Mr. Mohd bin Janis, Assistant Director, Registration and Relation Unit of Malacca Education Department; Mr. Shahid Ahmed, Chevron Malaysia Country Chairman; Puan Siti Khairon Shariff, Trustee of MyKasih Foundation; Mr. Haji Rashid bin Abdul Hamid, Alor Gajah District Education Officer alongside teachers from Malacca and Negeri Sembilan at the launch of Caltex Fuel Your School campaign.

Chevron Malaysia Limited, which markets the Caltex brand here in Malaysia, is allocating a total sum of RM250,000 to continue on its annual Caltex Fuel Your School campaign (“the campaign”) in partnership with MyKasih Foundation. This campaign is now in its fourth year and it aims to fund eligible classroom projects – an approach to deliver inspiring classroom sessions for students to further promote the learning of Science, Technology, English and Mathematics (STEM) subjects, this year in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan. 

This year’s campaign reaches out to public schools in Malacca and Negeri Sembilan, with a total of 50 classroom projects to be awarded – 25 projects from schools in Malacca and 25 projects from schools in Negeri Sembilan. The selection of projects will be based on the creative and innovative use of requested project materials which promotes a hands-on learning experience in the classroom and meets the existing classrooms curriculum objectives. 

Shell officially introduces the latest and greatest Shell Helix Ultra ECT C2/C3 0W-30

I was at the official launching of Shell's latest Helix Ultra motor oil yesterday. It was a fabulous event where distinguished guests included valued customers as well as members of the media. The Shell Helix Ultra ECT C2//C3 0W-30 is Shell Lubricant's latest and most advanced product in the Shell Helix With PurePlus Technology range. It is the highest grade that Shell has and offers up to four times better wear protection than the industry standard.

We were entertained with food and drink whilst being briefed on the virtues of Shell's latest and greatest engine oil. Some of the food was as cutting edge as the engine oil as it was quite a fusion of different flavours that confused the heck out of our palettes. Anyway, back to the engine oil at hand, Shell Lubricants General Manager for Malaysia and SIngapore, Mr Leslie Ng (above- the chap in the tuxedo holding the Helix Ultra pack) told us that the Shell Helix Ultra ECT C2/C3 0W-30 is also our most advanced formulation to date.

Hyundai Motor is the 39th biggest brand in the WORLD

Hyundai is currently the fourth largest vehicle manufacturer in the world. Hyundai operates the world's largest integrated automobile manufacturing facility in Ulsan, South Korea, which has an annual production capacity of 1.6 million units. The company employs about 75,000 people worldwide. Hyundai vehicles are sold in 193 countries through some 6,000 dealerships and showrooms. The company first started in 1967 as an assembler. It is now the 39th biggest brand in the world and the 7th biggest automobile brand in the world according to Interbrand.

MICHELIN Launches its new mid-range SUV tyre - the Michelin Primacy SUV

Mr. Chandan Thakur (in the suit), MD of Michelin Malaysia with his regional counterpart and Bibendum, aka Michelin Man

Today I met with a few of the tyre guys from Michelin over at a hotel in Petaling Jaya. We were all there for the launch of their latest tyre that will cater for the up and coming SUV market which right now is about 9% of the total volume for the passenger car market and climbing. The tyre in question is the new Michelin Primacy SUV.

This exclusively designed all-weather on road tyre for SUVs is available from 16 inch and above sizes. These are in the common sizes for most popular and family oriented SUVs in the market like the Honda CRV, the Nissan X-TRAIL and the Mazda CX-5 to name a few. 

Spotted for Sale: 1995 BMW M3 E36

This is something nice to dream about. A 1995 BMW M3 E36. This was the first six cylinder M3 and it had a 3.0liter straight-six engine that made about 280bhp. This was something everyone who loved cars dreamt about owning in the 1990s. So this could be a dream come true for some of you out there. This blue car has the 3.0liter engine with the 5 speed manual gearbox. A purist's spec. But those days, most of these performance BMWs had a manual gearbox.

TRUCKS: Short Drive: The Volvo Trucks FH 440 Prime Mover With Tanker Trailer - I drive one on a Racetrack in Thailand

The Kaeng Krachan Circuit on the outskirts of Hua Hin, Thailand is a wonderful place to be driving anything. It is about 3.2km in length and has tight turns and undulations. It has nicely cambered corners, dips and crests that one can play with whilst driving on it. 

Volvo Trucks let me drive one of their prime movers on this race track. I would have liked a nice hot hatch but beggars can't be choosers. So thank you so very, very much whilst we are at it. The Volvo Truck in question was the latest Volvo FH 440 Sleeper Cab. The 440 means 440hp and about 2200nm torque from a Volvo D13A 13,000cc in-line 6 cylinder turbocharged engine. It runs the power it makes through a Volvo I-shift automated transmission unit that has 12 forward speeds. There are a heck of a lot of power and drivetrain configurations for the Volvo FH, from the 13liter 400hp engine to a 16liter 610hp /2800nm  trucker's dream machine special coupled with either the I-shift automatic, a 12 speed and a 14speed manual transmissions to play around with.