Opinion: Thoughts on car prices & labour costs elsewhere and the soon to be replaced Honda CRV

I haven't had the time to really rave and rant in recent times. So today I think I should share more car related stuff with you folks out there as it's a sunday night as I type this and my mind is at ease. Well, maybe not so much at ease because tomorrow is the start of another week where a lot of things will be happening. 

Volvo launches the S90 and V90 in T5 And T6 R design variants in Malaysia

L to R - H.E Ambassador Dag Juhlin-Dannfelt, Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia and Mr Lennart Stegland, MD Volvo Car Malaysia

Friday, the 24th of March 2017 marked another milestone for Volvo here in Malaysia. The brand has now launched their newest flagship models, the Volvo S90 sedan and the Volvo V90 estate. Both, like the recently launched XC90 make up Volvo's renaissance and basically a comeback into the premium vehicle arena after some time lost in the Scandinavian wilderness. Well, according to Yours Truly that is. 

Driver's Education: Volkswagen “Polo P” Project Driver's Skills programme for new drivers - First one is currently ongoing at UTAR Sg Long

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) today launched its inaugural “Polo P” project, dedicated to educating and empowering new licensed drivers with the skills and knowledge to stay safe on the roads. So now you can go from newbie licensed driver to Professional with the Volkswagen “Polo P” Project.

DRB-HICOM says that all Foreign Strategic Partner Bidders are still in the running - Move along folks, let's just wait till mid-2017.

There have been news recently that Geely, the China auto maker, who is purportedly in the running to become Proton's foreign strategic partner has dropped out of contention. Geely and the French PSA group have been seen as the fore-runners in this exercise and such a news is indeed worrying to some. 

HAPPENINGS: Naza Kia Malaysia provides Polis Di Raja Malaysia (PDRM) with a Kia Sorento

Naza Kia Malaysia has handed over a brand new Kia Sorento to our boys in blue. The Kia Sorento that was presented to the PDRM is a diesel variant is equipped with an R 2.2 CRDi engine which produces 200 PS and 441.3 Nm of torque and is mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. I suppose this MPV could be used in many ways by the PDRM actually.

Contest: EXPERIENCE THE DRIVE CONTEST’ BY PROTON

Now here is a chance for you to Win weekly RM500 petrol cards and monthly RM3,000 cash from Proton. They have recently launched the  “Experience the Drive Contest” to encourage Malaysians to test drive and experience their cars. The ‘Experience the Drive Contest’ (“the Contest”) had started on 1 March 2017 and the Contest will continue until the end of the year.

Naza Kia Launches The All New Grand Carnival

Naza Kia Malaysia has launched the current new generation Kia Carnival here in Malaysia. This new Carnival, now called the Kia Grand Carnival, marks a return of some sorts for Kia here. We missed a whole generation of the MPV here and now its back.

Grab (Car) and Tinder Partner to Give You a Chance to Meet Your Favourite Personalities

Grab, Southeast Asia’s leading technology company, is partnering with Tinder, the world's leading social app for meeting new people, to give you a special opportunity to meet your match! So it's a dating app coupled with a ride sharing app. What could possibly go wrong...

Ford Ranger WildTrak now on sale in limited-edition new Jet Black

You can now for a limited time buy the very fantastic to drive Ford Ranger WildTrack pick-up in Jet Black. You get class-leading safety features, including six airbags, and driver assistance technologies like Lane Keeping Aid, Adaptive Cruise Control and Electronic Stability Control. 

A Special Volkswagen Offer by our JPJ...in some ways.

A once in a lifetime opportunity for Volkswagen enthusiasts has arrived courtesy of our Road Transport Department. As of the 21st of March, 2017, the RTD, or better known as Jabatan Pengangkutan Jalan Malaysia (JPJ) has started the "VW" car registration series and customers who purchase a Volkswagen car in the next couple of days will be one of the lucky few to own a Volkswagen with a VW number plate. Customers who are interested should quickly visit their nearest authorized dealers to find out more or to place a booking before the "VW" series ends. 

UITM’S ECO-SPRINT EMERGED AS CHAMPIONS AT SHELL ECO-MARATHON ASIA 2017

Our engineering students HAVE THE POTENTIAL to achieve greatness. Team UiTM Eco-Sprint from Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Shah Alam, Malaysia brought home victory for the fourth consecutive time with a result of 359.4km/m3 in the Hydrogen category, at the recently held Shell Eco-marathon Asia 2017 competition in Singapore. Emerging as the runners up in the same category, University of Malaya’s Eco-Voyager earned Malaysia a sweet 1-2 victory by achieving an improved reading of 255.7km/m3 (compared to the team’s previous reading at the competition last year)!

MITSUBISHI OPENS ITS NEW 3S CENTRE IN BAYAN LEPAS, PENANG

EON Auto Mart Sdn Bhd, a member of the DRB-HICOM Group of companies, and Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia today officially launched the new Mitsubishi 3S Centre in Bayan Lepas.  This is part of the company’s efforts to provide better customer experience for Mitsubishi’s owners in and around Bayan Lepas and the greater Penang region.

Our Cars/ Long Term Test: Continental MC5 on the C180 after 15,000km

This is a short piece since I am on vacation with the family. As you folks are aware, the Mercedes-Benz C180 W204 had been fitted with Continental MC5 aka MAX contact replacing the OE fitted Continental CSC5 tyres. Now since I have done around 15,000km on them it's time to review them.

Ford Continues its ‘Driving Skills for Life’ Programme with over 140 participants this time around

With the main aim to reduce road accidents in Malaysia, Ford and local distributor Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC) organised another six sessions of their Driving Skills for Life programme, a flagship global corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme offering free-of-charge, hands-on driver training. Over 140 licensed drivers participated in this programme. 

Roadshow News: “Vento Turbocharged Tour” to be held at 11 selected locations across the country

Volkswagen Passenger Cars Malaysia (VPCM) will be organizing the “Vento Turbocharged Tour” which will be held at 11 selected locations across the country starting with the 18th and 19th of March at AEON Bukit Tinggi, Klang. 

Porsche Centre Penang officially opens its doors - Porsche Cayman 718 unveiled

Sime Darby Auto Performance (SDAP), the authorised importer of Porsche vehicles in Malaysia, recently officially opened the new Porsche Centre Penang to cater for the Northern region. This brand new 3S Porsche Centre Penang is strategically located along Jalan Baru in Seberang Perai, Penang, and is easily accessible from Penang Island via the first bridge.

Happenings: Continental Tyre Malaysia supports Malaysian Classic Volkswagen Enthusiasts on their road trip to Germany

Ah. Old Volkswagens. They do bring out some pretty nostalgic feelings in everyone. Usually some people just use them on weekend drives around their neighbourhood. Old Beetles and original Kombi Transporter vans get used sparingly by their owners and kept in pristine condition. But not these bunch of valiant people led by Mr Stephen Pang. They are on their way to Germany using 4 classic Volkswagens - three Kombis and a Beetle. 

Naza Kia Malaysia Set to Launch All New Grand Carnival before the end of the 1st quarter, 2017

Naza Kia Malaysia, who are the authorised distributors of Kia here has just announced that they will launch the all-new Kia Carnival MPV before the end of March 2017. According to the company, the Carnival will be the vehicle pushing up the sales of Kia Malaysia for the year. They forecast an increase of up to 25% for this year. Quite high hopes on this MPV by the looks of it. 

Offer alert: Chevrolet Malaysia's Double Bonus deals - Rebates up to RM6,000 and more for a new Chevy Colorado

Naza Quest Sdn Bhd the sole importer and distributor for Chevrolet vehicles in Malaysia is now offering the 'Double Bonus' sales promotion for the new Chevrolet Colorado. 

The new Porsche 911 GT3

I must say that everytime Porsche launches a new 911 GT3 I get very excited. The reason is because the Porsche 911 is in its purest form when it is a GT3. More so when it becomes a GT3 RS. However, the previous GT3 was not offered with the purest gearbox of all - the manual. Only a PDK box last time. This time, the new Porsche 911 GT3 gets all of its purity back as it is now offered with one again.