Honda gets 10,000 bookings within a month for the All-new Honda City.

Fuiyoh. But what do you expect with the Honda City? It is a Honda and therefore its badge carries some weight. The all-new Toyota Vios seems like a rehash of the earlier one with and basically has a new suit (I have come to the opinion that Honda seems to have won this round as it has more tech, equipment and is unpretentious - I mean check out the Vios' interior fake leather stitching made out of moulded plastic for heaven's sake!!!!). The Nissan Almera seems to be downright dowdy in terms of styling. And everyone who's badge conscious, and there are many here in Malaysia, would not want to be seen in the quieter, more refined, sometimes faster (when turbocharged) Proton Preve and Suprima S.

So do read onwards to the press release if you are interested folks.

Resale Comparo - Five 2011 RM150,000 cars, or thereabouts.

Today's posting is something that I'd like you folks out there to start thinking and using your grey matter a little. This is a comparison of second hand prices of a few cars sold at the RM150,000 or thereabouts. 

I Spotted a 2011reg Volkswagen W Jetta 1.4TSI going for RM96,000 over at Mudah.my. In 2011 the car had a purchase price of RM149,000+ without insurance. This is a fantastic piece of kit as it has a 160ps twincharged 1.4liter engine as well as a DSG transmission. It gives you that feel of what a well built car and fun to drive as well as being actually a very stable drive at high speeds. Granted, it has its faults, one of them being its high maintenance costs. Well? What do you expect from an engine that has a supercharger and a turbocharger as well as a gearbox that shifts super fast and has no transmission lag whatsoever? Cheap technology? Like a BMW, you need to shower this car with TLC. More than you think.

I also spotted a 2011 Hyundai Sonata 2.0 High Spec (as it has a sunroof) comes in at RM89,900 which went for RM143,000+ when new. This one has Hyundai's fluidic styling and is 100% kimchi and Korean drama. This basically means a drama free drive as it is reliable and all. Drama free could also mean slightly dull. But like a good Korean drama that takes months to finish, the Sonata will be reliable until the end.

Those problems that suddenly disappear when you visit the mechanic and the non-turbo Proton Preve

The Proton Preve -  No Actual Photographs - Apologies, as I was too busy trying to help solve a problem with it

Earlier today I drove the Proton Preve 1.6 Executive CVT IAFM+(Automatic) - i.e the non-turbo version. The reason I did this wasn't because Proton loaned me a car to do so. I wish Proton did but they didn't. Anyway, the reason I drove this non-turbocharged or non CFE Preve was because my friend wanted me to diagnose a fault in his Preve. It supposedly would stutter and jerk after the car stops, enters into reverse, reverses then moves forward again. 

Now the thing was that after a good half and hour of trying to achieve the symptom mentioned by the Preve's owner I failed in doing so. I suppose this is something that some of us have experienced, where the car would suddenly suffer some failings but when it reaches the mechanic, nothing seems to be wrong. This has happened to me a few times personally and it is quite frustrating.

Volkswagen Premiers 4 New Models At Auto China 2014

Press Release

Volkswagen celebrates four world premieres at Auto China 2014
• Touareg, technically and optically refined
• Golf R 400, extremely sporty concept car
• New Midsize Coupé, four-door design concept
• Golf Edition, concept on the occasion of the 40th anniversary of the Golf