NAZA Italia previews the all-new Maserati Levante luxury SUV

L to R-  Mr. Suraish Kumar,  Head of After-Sales, NAZA Italia Sdn. Bhd, Mr. Zakaria Ismail, Advisor, NAZA World Group of Companies & Mr. Farid Sulaiman, Vice President of NAZA Italia Sdn Bhd.

NAZA Italia, official importers and distributors of Maserati in Malaysia previewed the all-new Maserati Levante SUV recently. This is the first SUV for Maserati and it, like other Maserati prior to this, gets its name from the name of a regional breeze or wind - Bora, Ghibli, Syamal and others. 

THE 'RENAULT FLUENCE IT'S A BIG DEAL' CAMPAIGN - Buy selected Renault Fluence at a steal!

Renault cars in Malaysia, today announced the ‘Renault Fluence It’s a Big Deal’ campaign. Through this new sales campaign, you can buy a display unit or selected pre-registered Renault Fluence at RM79,888 (on-the-road inclusive of GST, without insurance, for Peninsular Malaysia and private registration). This is B segment price for a larger C segment car! More car for you for less money.

LAND ROVER DISCOVERY SPORT now available in diesel

Jaguar Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has introduced the diesel variant of the Land Rover Discovery Sport premium compact SUV.) The new 5+2 seater Land Rover Discovery Sport 2.2L SD4 Diesel is powered by a proven 2.2-litre, 190PS and 420Nm turbodiesel engine mated to an advanced nine-speed automatic transmission. It looks the same as the petrol version and has the same levels of equipment. 

Four Malaysians in two Land Rover Defenders will strike off to India via the old World War II road through Imphal, Myanmar

 What was just a dream has now become reality for a bunch of Land Rover enthusiasts from the Land Rover Owners Club of Malaysia (LROM). Four Malaysians in two Land Rover Defenders will embark on a historic 46-day overland journey to India via the old World War II Myanmar-India corridor through Tamu – Imphal – Dimapur.

UPDATED (16 August - press release & feature list) : All-New Proton Persona is now officially available for booking!

As I mentioned in a previous article, the all-new Proton Persona is now available for booking at all authorised dealers at an indicative price of RM47,000 to RM61,000 in Peninsular Malaysia and RM49,000 to RM63,000 in Sabah & Sarawak. With 3 years Free Service (Parts & Labour, T&C applies) for bookings made by 30th September 2016!

Sunday Lite: Rare cars I remember spotting when I was a young lad in Taiping - A Citroen, Saab, Rover & a Borgward

The clocktower in Taiping. I used to go for tuition classes in the building behind the clocktower back in the day. 

Taiping was a quaint little town where I grew up. It was a place where everything was peaceful and most of us teenagers would cycle from one end of town to the other. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, these was a time where change was happening. Taiping may have been a small town then (slightly larger these days) but prior to this, from 1876 to 1937 it was Perak's state capital. This was also a time when tin mining was booming around the town.

INDUSTRY NEWS: PERODUA should have delivered 6,000 BEZZA Sedans by now from a record 19,000 orders

Down below is the press release from Perodua. The company have target 6,000 deliveries of the new Perodua Bezza sedan by today, the 12th of August 2016. This is part of the 19,000 orders the company has received to date. The breakdown of deliveries are 42% for the Perodua Bezza 1.3L Advance Version, 43% for the Perodua Bezza 1.3L Premium X and 15% for the Perodua Bezza 1.0L variants.

Volvo Car Malaysia announces EEV status for selected models - XC60 & V40 models are now more affordable!

XC60 T5

Good News! Volvo Car Malaysia, the already jovial and happy chaps who sell well designed Swedish cars are now happy to announce that selected models equipped with their latest, and currently very efficient Drive-E powertrains has been accorded EEV (energy efficient vehicle) status. With that, three Drive-E models sold in Malaysia will now enjoy better tax break incentives from the Malaysian government. This means that they are cheaper to procure. Yup.

TRUCK NEWS: DRIVE A SCANIA TRUCK AND WIN PRIZES THIS WEEKEND AT THE JOHOR BUS, TRUCK AND COMPONENT EXPO 2016 (JBTC)

Curious on how to drive a truck? Now you can cross this off your bucket list. If you are in and around Johor Bahru this weekend as anyone with a valid driver’s license will have the opportunity to drive a truck and test their skills this weekend at the Scania Driver Competition – JBTC Edition (SDC–JBTC Edition) that will be held during the Johor Bus, Truck and Component Expo 2016

Short Test Drive: I've DRIVEN the All-New PROTON PERSONA 1.6 - Manual & Auto Tested. UPDATED with new pics

The all-new Proton Persona will be launched on the 23rd of August 2016. For now it will come in three variants - the 1.6 manual, 1.6 automatic and the 1.6 premium. The order books for the Persona will be opened sometime next week but Proton have not revealed its pricing for the car as yet. According to them, the car will be priced competitively. 

Spotted For Sale: 1989 Daihatsu Mira Walk-Through Van - Not a Kei Car, but a Kei Van.

This is an interesting find - A L70 series Daihatsu Mira 660cc Walk-Through van from 1989. This grey import has come in via the classic car AP (Approval Permit) for cars older than 25 years of age. This is the L70 version and not the later L200 (the version that Perodua made into the Kancil) because of the L200 was first launched in 1990 and it had more flush fitting headlights as well as a slightly rounded bumper. But this isn't something to discuss about. This was a Kei car that became a Kei van.

PROTON have started teasing the all-new B segment sized Proton PERSONA

Proton has now officially teased us with one (1) picture of the all-new Proton Persona which will be launched soon. The car, will effectively replace the current Persona but it is supposedly slightly smaller than the one which has been around for....err...a very long time (about 9 years or so to this date). The main difference between the new Persona and the new one is the size.

News: Vehicle Auction on 14th August 2016 - Bid for your car, truck, van, generator set here.

There will be an auction scheduled on Sunday, 14th of August 2016 over at Fleet Management Solution Sdn Bhd's premises in Shah Alam. This could be the place to head over to  if you're interested in bidding / buying some ex-company cars, 4x4s, vans for your up and coming pasar malam business or a truck or two. 

Truck & Bus News: SCANIA DRIVER COMPETITION SOUTHEAST ASIA 2016-2017 is officially on - Applications are Open Now

The 2016-2017 Scania Driver Competition has started. The SDC Southeast Asia 2016-2017 (SDC-SEA) as it is officially called is now bigger.  it will, for the first time, welcome participants throughout South East Asia (which is why it is now called SDC-SEA). There will be drivers from Myanmar and the Philippines added to the list of competitors which would include 10 drivers from Malaysia, 6 from Singapore, 2 from Philippines and 2 from Myanmar in the finals. It should be more interesting after this!

Volkswagen Malaysia Merdeka Sales Promotion Campaign and Malaysia-wide Open House

Volkswagen Malaysia has announced today that in the spirit of unity and national harmony, Volkswagen Malaysia will be and is celebrating the month of August with special Merdeka promotions.

Century Battery have launched their battery warranty service centre and have a SMS Contest going on right now

Century Motolite Battery Sdn Bhd or Century Battery have been in the vehicle battery business for as long as I can remember. For over 50 years they have been selling batteries throughout Malaysia. Their current crop of batteries include the maintenance free Century Ultramax, Century SDFC (for continental makes of cars), Century Marathoner (which they improved in May 2016), Hybrid and also the Century LM low maintenance battery. They even have a battery assist service for the greater Klang Valley area if any motorist requires an immediate battery change (for the agreed price of course). Anyway, Century Battery have just announced that they are the first company in Malaysia to have a battery warranty service centre. 

Test Drive: 2016 Volvo S60 T6 - A stealthy executive express that gives you old school thrills in a new package

Sometime ago I attended the Malaysian launch of the 2016 Volvo S60 T6. It is not exactly an all-new car as it is still the one that was launched way back in 2010 but this is the one where Volvo, in 2015, started added their newest engines and transmissions based on their Drive-E technology as well as doing some style tweaks and adding more driver conveniences. Now what is interesting about this new car is that it is sold in Malaysia in front wheel drive form and has an output of 306 hp and 400 Nm of torque. I had a brief spin in one and it felt so alive. Really alive as it tyre-chirped, torquesteered, tramlined its way down the road. Like what an a powerful, old school front wheel drive sports sedan would do. Like what its forefather, the Volvo 850 T5R would have done in its day. 

MotorSport: FITRA ERI TAKES THIRD VICTORY IN MALAYSIA CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Now aside from the Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific there was a whole lot of other racing going on at Sepang International Circuit (SIC) last weekend. All of the races were part of the Malaysia Championship Series (MCS) which includes the Asian Le Mans series and also the name bearer - the Malaysia Championship Series,  Touring Production Championship & the lower output Malaysian Touring Car Championship. So this time, Round 2 of the MCS race for the Touring Production Championship at SIC was won by  Indonesian driver Fitra Eri of Team Sakura Tedco Racing, His third victory of this season.

Truck News: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Launches Its First Full-Fledged 3S Commercial Vehicle Centre in East Coast

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles (MBM CV) recently launched its very first full-fledged 3S Commercial Vehicle Centre in Kuantan, Pahang with its authorised dealer, Hap Seng Commercial Vehicle Sdn Bhd.

Truck News: Volvo Trucks Malaysia 2016 Fuelwatch Challenge Malaysia - Zulkifli bin Saad crowned the 2016 fuelsaving King

The Fuelwatch Challenge 2016 by Volvo Trucks has been won by Zulkifli bin Saad. Zulkifli, who hails from Penang. This is the 7th year the very popular annual Volvo Trucks Fuelwatch Challenge has been held in Malaysia and this year, Volvo Trucks have made some changes to the competition by adding expert mentors in the form of part winners and also by adding the Volvo DynaFleet Management system to be used to monitor driver and truck performance.