The importance of Child Safety Seats and where to get VERY affordable ones - Fabulous Mom Child Safety Seats

Hari Raya Aidilfitri is just right around the corner and this usually means a long journey back to our hometown for a lot of us. . It’s just natural that everyone is excited during this time but this excitement usually gives them the tendency to rush back to their hometown before the big day. However it is an undeniable fact that accident rates rise during these periods as there are more people on the roads during this time. The risk of someone having an accident is higher with the extra amount of vehicles on the roads

Ferrari’s turbo-charged V8 is the overall winner of the 2016 International Engine of the Year Awards

The 2016 International Engine of the Year Awards was held recently and the overall International Engine of the Year Award had gone to Ferrari for their 3.9liter bi-turbo V8 engine. This is the engine that you'll find inside the Ferrari 488 GTB, 488 Spider and the Ferrari California T (in a slightly different configuration).

Industry News (Regional): TUV sets up Independent Tyre Testing Lab in Indonesia - Progress in Indonesia's automotive sector

TUV Rheinland has opened the first independent tire testing laboratory in Indonesia . Located in Taman Tekno BSD, South Tangerang , the new 530 sq.m lab is fully certified by the Indonesia National Accreditation Body (KAN) and qualified to test passenger car, truck, bus and motorcycle tires to the latest national and international standards.

HYUNDAI SIME DARBY MOTORS offers FREE 12 Point Inspection for ALL CARS at participating Shell Stations in conjunction with Hari Raya celebrations

The Fasting Month is closing in and the Hari Raya will come soon enough.  In conjunction with the ‘balik kampung’ season this Hari Raya, Hyundai-Sime Darby Motors (HSDM) is organising its first road safety awareness campaign offering a free 12-point inspection for all cars regardless of brands at selected Shell petrol stations from 29 May to 17 July 2016. 

The Hap Seng Star Balakong Proven Exclusivity Centre launched - Here's the place to get your certified pre-owned Mercedes Benz cars & new ones too

 (From left) Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Vice President, Sales And Marketing, Passenger Cars, Mark Raine; with  Hap Seng Consolidated Berhad Group Chief Operating Officer and Hap Seng Star Chief Executive, Harald Behrend; with at the official launch. 

Mercedes Benz Malaysia and dealer Hap Seng Star have launched the Hap Seng Star Balakong Proven Exclusivity Centre yesterday. The Proven Exclusivity programme basically offers Malaysians a chance to  to own a pre-owned Mercedes-Benz Passenger car in a nearly new condition and at an attractive price compete with a proper Mercedes Benz quality assurances and the same level of customer-sales service that has no difference to that of buying brand new.

Shell Malaysia to introduce Chatime, llaollao and Gindaco outlets to various Shell Select stores

Shell Malaysia has decided to enter into a collaboration with Loob Holding, the Food & Beverage company that markets and sells  Chatime, llaollao and Gindaco in Malaysia. The products mentioned will be introduced at various Shell Select Fuel Stations soon. 

Ford Mustang quietly launched in Malaysia

This had actually sneaked pass most of our radars. Ford Malaysia via local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion launched the Ford Mustang earlier today. The launch was done without much fanfare.

INDUSTRY NEWS: Proton Cars and their Proton Preve gets launched in Chile

A few months ago when Tun Dr Mahathir was still Chairman of Proton he and the then CEO flagged off a cargo of Proton Preve cars that were destined for Chile. I was there at that historic (for Proton) event. Now, months later we now receive news of the official launch (and re-launch) of Proton Cars in Chile and the Proton Preve being the first model to be sold over there since 1998. 

SUPERCAR NEWS: The 458 MM Speciale - The latest in the series of one-off Ferrari cars

This is another reason why we need lots of money. Ferrari has revealed to us another of its one-off special order cars - the Ferrari 458 MM Speciale. Truly speciale.  Especially when viewed from the side as it looks like no other 458 out there.

INDUSTRY NEWS: 11th Batch of Apprentices Graduate from the Mercedes Benz Apprentice Training Centre's Automotive Mechatronic training programme

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia recently celebrated the graduation of the 11th batch of the Apprentice Training Centre (ATC)‘s Automotive Mechatronic training programme. Following three years of training, the ATC graduates are now qualified to provide world-class after sales services for Mercedes-Benz valued customers, and will be assigned to Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s nationwide dealer network.

CKD VOLVO XC90 T8 Twin Engine launched - The first Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) produced in Malaysia

(L to R) H.E. Mr Bengt G Carlsson, Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia and Mr Lennart Stegland, MD Volvo Car Malaysia

Volvo Car Malaysia today launched the locally-assembled Volvo XC90 T8 Twin Engine – the first ever Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) assembled in Malaysia. In addition to that, Malaysia will be the first country outside of Sweden to produce the XC90 T8 Twin Engine, thanks to huge investments made by the company to improve current infrastructure and capabilities of the local plant to handle Volvo’s SPA (Scalable Product Architecture) platform. This special SUV will also be exported to Thailand, and Volvo is also looking to do the same to other countries in the ASEAN region 

PEUGEOT & NASIM Launch the All-New Peugeot 408 e-THP

Nasim Sdn Bhd, the official distributor of Peugeot in Malaysia has finally launched the all-new Peugeot 408 e-THP here in Kuala Lumpur. The 408 is the 4 door sedan variant of the Peugeot 308 hatchback which was launched sometime last year here in Malaysia. There will be only one variant equipped with the 1.6liter direct injection turbocharged 4 cylinder engine with a 6 speed automatic transmission. It will be priced at RM143,888 on the road with GST.

ASEAN NCAP Q2 2016 results - Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Navara, Suzuki Ertiga, Suzuki Ciaz, Kia Morning, Hyundai EON and Isuzu MU-X

ASEAN NCAP has released the results for another batch of vehicles sold in the ASEAN region. The New Car Assessment Program for Southeast Asian Countries (ASEAN NCAP) announced the test results of seven car models that had been assessed in the second quarter of 2016. The models were Nissan X-Trail, Nissan Navara, Suzuki Ertiga, Suzuki Ciaz, Kia Morning, Hyundai EON and Isuzu MU-X. In the Adult Occupant Protection (AOP) category, two received 0-Star rating, four received 4- Star and one model received 5 Stars. 

Sports car news: Renault previews a CLIO R.S. 16 Concept car - This one gets the Megane R.S 275 engine and gearbox.

The Renault Clio RS 16 - Renault has come up with a Concept car as part of its Renault Sport’s 40th anniversary and their return to Formula 1. The Renault Sport Clio R.S.16 Concept grafts the Renault passenger car range’s highest-performing engine (found in the Renault Megane R.S 275) into a Renault Clio R.S. 

INDUSTRY NEWS: APOLLO Tyres now have an official presence in Malaysia

(Standing from L-R) Mr. Satish Sharma, President, Asia Pacific, Middle East & Africa (APMEA), Apollo Tyres and Mr. Shubhro Ghosh, Group Head - ASEAN, Middle East & Africa, Apollo Tyres

(front middle) Mr. Victor Siew, Divisional Head - Malaysia, Apollo Tyres

Apollo Tyres have officially set up shop in Malaysia. The tyre maker, Apollo Tyres Ltd is an international tyre manufacturer with manufacturing units in India and the Netherlands where it is more famous for the Vredestein brand. The company markets its products under its two global brands – Apollo and Vredestein. Apollo would be known to those who have bought the Volkswagen Polo 1.6 hatch and sedan (now Vento). Most of the Polo 1.6's had Apollo tyres fitted on them. This is because we basically received our CKD kits from Volkswagen's plants in India. 

Hari Raya Promo has begun at Ford with rebates, prizes and more

Hari Raya has already begun at Ford. From a promotion point of view that is. Ford and local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion has announced attractive cash rebates and monthly repayments for selected models nationwide. The monthly repayments after the rebates for new Fords are from as low as RM588 for Fiesta, RM908 for EcoSport and RM1,258 for Kuga.

Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia launches the facelifted Jaguar XJ series for Malaysia

Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia has launched the facelifted Jaguar XJ series luxury sedan in Malaysia. This latest model gets most of the latest tech upgrades like we have seen in the recently launched XF mid-sized luxury sedan. 

Editorial: When you buy a car, ensure you can afford to maintain it out of warranty regardless of anything

These days, nothing much surprises me in terms of car maintenance and repair costs. The figures I once thought to be reasonable for spare parts are actual figures that may have existed in the year 1975. In the days of GST, expensive tax and excise duties, high shipping costs and very high technology utilised in the parts (whether in the construction or in the materials used) have made spares cost a bomb. Which is why these days many owners end up maintaining their cars at the authorised service centers to ensure that their warranty is intact.

MOTORSPORT: BMW Motorsport and Akrapovič expand their long term commitment

Well known European performance exhaust manufacturer Akrapovič will continue to support BMW Motorsport as Official Partner, and will significantly expand its long-term commitment over the coming years. The company has been involved in BMW Motorsport’s DTM project since 2012 and will also be a prominent feature as Official Partner in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC), in which BMW Team RLL competes with two BMW M6 GTLMs, and at the iconic 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

MOTORSPORT: McLaren GT 650S GT3 previewed at the OD Racing Team Launch in preparation for the KL City Grand Prix 2016

The first of the upcoming Kuala Lumpur City Grand Prix 2016 events have begun. OD Racing held their official launch party for the year 2016 at the Zouk Club Kuala Lumpur on the evening of 25th May 2016 where the guest of honour was Yang Amat Mulia Tunku Dato’ Seri Utama Naquiyuddin Tuanku Ja’afar (below).