News: JEEP is back in Malaysia

Jeep is back in Malaysia after a long absence. This time around Jeep Malaysia is a company under the DRB-HICOM Berhad group who have been awarded the exclusive distributorship from Chrysler Group International (part of the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group). Today is the official launch of the brand and also the opening of the first Jeep 3S centre in Malaysia, located in Glenmarie, Shah Alam. By next year, Jeep Malaysia intends to open centres in Penang and Johor followed by one centre each in Sabah and Sarawak by 2016.

Redesigned Hyundai Sonata Wins CARS.COM, USA TODAY

Recently the redesigned Hyundai Sonata won an award over in the United States. The new Sonata, which is not available in Malaysia at the moment won the Motorweek Midsize Sedan Challenge. The new Sonata held up against 9 other brands and came up tops after some expert and car shopper testing.

Volkswagen Malaysia Launches Courtesy Car Programme for its Customers

Volkswagen Malaysia has officially launched its mobility guarantee programme on the 26th of November 2014. As part of its ongoing efforts to improve customer satisfaction, Volkswagen Malaysia is sponsoring and deploying more than 200 vehicles to offer customers complete mobility support.

Trucking news: Scania Malaysia launches the Scania Assistance Service and Scania Fleet Management System

Today I was at Scania Malaysia for the launch of the Scania Assistance Service and Scania Fleet Management System. These are ownership solutions for better profitability for Scania bus and truck operators here in Malaysia. Of course, I get to view some nice machines too. In the heavy duty sort of scale that is. I was busy taking admiring the huge Garrett turbo fitted to the Scania bus chassis to the left of the photo above folks.

Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake

First glimpse of the new Mercedes Benz CLA Shooting Brake folks. I like it. I think.

"Say hello to the new CLA Shooting Brake! The latest member of our successful family of compact models. A unique look of its own! [CLA Shooting Brake | Fuel consumption combined: 6.8-4.2 l/100km | Combined CO2 emission: 156-101 g/km | #MercedesBenz #CLAShootingBrake #CLA #ShootingBrake #compactcars #mbcar" From MercedesBenz Instagram

DBKL will be renaming some roads - A waste of meetings discussing a trivial subject and a bit on the JPJ

KUALA LUMPUR: NINE roads and streets here will be renamed after rulers who have served as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.
Jalan Duta will be renamed Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim; Jalan Khidmat Usaha will be renamed Jalan Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah; Jalan Ipoh — from the Jalan Segambut junction to the Jalan Pahang junction — will be renamed Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah; Persiaran Duta will be renamed Persiaran Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin; Jalan Khidmat Setia and Jalan Ibadah will be renamed Jalan Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin; Lebuhraya Mahameru will be renamed Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar; Persiaran Mahameru will be renamed Persiaran Tuanku Jaafar; and, Jalan Semarak will be renamed Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra.
Mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib said the new names would take effect tomorrow.
He said City Hall had received the cabinet’s consent to rename the roads.
“This is to honour the rulers who have served as Yang di-Pertuan Agong.”
Phesal said Pos Malaysia would be informed of the changes to the road names to avoid confusion over addresses. New Straits Times 

These days I am not bothered to complain about the nation's politics, politicians, government policies and the people that implement such systems (which are usually quite idiotic). This is the norm for me as I believe, complaining and ranting about local politics and government policies is a bloody waste of time. You see, if you side party A and you are against what party B is doing there would be some who end up becoming keyboard warriors defending or attacking such a person, cause or ideal. It is actually a bloody waste of your time folks.

Test Drive: 2014 Ford Ranger 2.2l XLT Automatic - Traction Control and ISOFIX ..as well as the usual goodies too

The current Ford Ranger has been around Malaysia since 2012 and is quite a familiar sight. First launched in 2011 it has captured a fair number of people who like driving pickup trucks. This 2014 version of the Ford Ranger is the same as it was when it first came out some two years ago. However, Ford basically improved it with the addition of traction control (ESP) and ISOFIX baby seat anchorage points. 

Ramblings about Lotus Cars, the terrible image that Proton Cars have and what needs to be done.

Lotus Suprima S - Imagine the above with massive arches, 18inch wheels, vented bonnet, whale-tail rear spoiler and at least 200bhp. And a PROPER Lotus badge instead of that corny R3 one......Would a true enthusiast buy it for RM105,000? I believe so.

I had been doing some reading up on Lotus Cars recently. Lotus Cars is owned by DRB-Hicom through Proton, the Malaysian car company. Both car companies are actually in a bit of trouble owning to low sales volumes with Proton being second in the Malaysian passenger vehicle sales charts for the past two years or so. Assembler and re-badge experts Perodua have taken over the top spot in passenger car sales in Malaysia and its no question that Malaysians seem to like the brand more these days. Tell me how many of the newly launched Proton Iriz (which in 1.6liter form is not too bad) you see on the roads today compared to the newly launched Perodua Axia (which is the best value for money car you can buy these days with the puny Ringgit). Couple this with the fact that Malaysian banks seem to be tightening down on car loans also do not auger well with Proton who according to my sources have about 50% of customer car loan applications rejected or turned down. Not the fault of Proton, but this bites nonetheless.

LLumar 2014 Asia Pacific Tint-Off Competition - 16 Teams from 14 Countries Take Part. Team from South Korea Wins

Yesterday I attended a tinting competition organized by LLumar automotive window films and its Malaysian distributor Tint Auto (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd . Yes, there is such an event and it was participated by 16 teams from 14 countries. The extra three teams came from China, which as you know is a huge country and warrants extra coverage (as well as sales numbers too).

Anyway, whilst the only cars provided were Volkswagen Passats by VW distributor F.A Wagen it was still an international themed events with tint experts from Oman, Singapore, China and South Korea as well as our own Malaysia to name a few.