Selamat Hari Raya and some odd ramblings...

Its Hari Raya Aidilfitri today and I'm up over at my in-law's place in Ara Damansara doing absolutely nothing to really celebrate this auspicious day except give my daughter some 'duit raya' or some festive money to her. I've even dressed down as I'm only in a polo tee and a pair of olive green chinos. The food was good as we had the usual nasi himpit, lemang, rendang (which I don't bother to eat as I'm a sausages and egg kind of man) , some nicey prepared roast tongue and salad (which I truly enjoy).

The actual cost of transport, and some tea.

I was pondering one afternoon during this month of fasting about transportation as a whole. This idea was brought about by hunger and the need for a nice pot of Earl Grey to soothe my at that time parched throat. But the brain keeps on working anyways.

Transportation has changed our lives in ways we have never imagined. In those days, we lived in a town, village or even a city with barely any contact with a person who lives a couple of hundred kilometers away. We’d basically grow up in a village and go to school there. Then, end up at the nearest large town or city to further one’s education or skills to become a carpenter, tailor, tradesmen or bank robber. We’d then learn enough of one’s trade and set up shop in a small town a few hundred miles from the place we grew up and then find a wife from the nearest village or town.

In these days, as an example, a person can be born in Kangar, Perlis, goes to boarding school in Kuala Kangsar, Perak, does his A-levels in a college in Kuala Lumpur, gets a scholarship and leaves for England where he gets his degree in engineering, comes back to Malaysia and works for an oil and gas company, gets posted to Dubai for a stint, marries a French gal who works as a banker also in Dubai and they decide to uproot and live in Bristol, England; opening a small tea and scones shop in a suburb there while managing an internet business selling Malaysian Batik which he gets his stock flown in from a batik factory in Terengganu, Malaysia. The change that had made this all possible is the invention of the major forms of transport; Planes, trains and automobiles.

Transport has made Earth a small place to live in. Soon we’d be running of places to explore and we’d have no choice but to invent proper passenger ships to send ourselves to Mars where we’d have a whole new world to colonize. However, transport has also caused a large drawback towards Mother Earth in general. The fossil fuel we burn is causing havoc towards our environment. The carbon released from our forms or transport is causing a supposedly marked rise in temperatures globally.

If we all used eco-friendly means of fuel, there won’t be any drawbacks to people flying down to Paris every few months for shopping or driving up to Singapore in their SL55s for a supposedly decent plate of Nasi Padang along Arab Street. Note that it takes about 800 liters of aviation fuel per person to reach gay Pahree from Kuala Lumpur and about the same amount back. It’ll take a couple of hundred Ringgit in fuel just for the nice fast Mercedes to make it to Arab Street. You’re thinking that what’s a couple of liters of fuel in a car that no one actually owns here in Malaysia, most of us drive Kancils, Vivas and Wiras. Well, the supposed myth is that we tend to export our oil out of Malaysia and bring in automotive grade petrol to sell. Just think, the amount of fuel is used by the oil tanker to bring in our fuel is not calculated. Our carbon footprint is huge. Unless we find a cost effective way to replace oil.

Note that it now costs RM1.80 per liter of RON95. It costs on average RM1.50 for 1500ml of bottled water. So petrol is slightly cheaper than bottled water, even if we have to drill it from the middle of the ocean, transport it back to shore, process it, then send it a couple of thousand miles away for refining and then used. Water if bottled in, say Taiping, sent by a lorry to Kuala Lumpur and still costs cheaper. How does a country stay rich by having so much oil is a mystery to me.

But as I stated above, transport has made us very choosy people. I for instance drive a Japanese car. The cost of making that car (steel, glass, electricity used, fuel used in the process), bringing that car into the country (building a car carrier freighter, fuel to transport) and so forth makes my car have a larger carbon consumption per vehicle than if you bought a Proton Persona. Of course, there is a slight difference in quality and what pleasure the Japanese, Italian, German car can give you over the Malaysian one. It’s However, being able to afford this ‘luxury’ means that I can do such a thing. I also love Italian shoes which were crafted in Italy and most probably
sea freighted or air freighted over burning more of our fuel along the way. I cannot see myself using BATA (Buy And Throw Away) shoes nowadays as they actually are terrible items for my beloved feet which thrive on looking dapper.

I also love expensive pens, watches and clothing that we can usually find being made in China (quite true as some expensive pens are now made there), Japan, Switzerland, and Italy which are usually transported in burning more fuel to satisfy such needs.

So you see, everything we want is either transported in whether we like it or not. Your carbon footprint is large if you like handcrafted goods made by the best around the world. We have grown choosy and fussier when we are able to earn more. When our spending powers are small, the things we want are basic necessities. When we become greedy 'capitalist pigs', we can afford things from everywhere around the world. Even the beautiful wife may come from Uzbekistan if we were ugly and desperate. You see, transport has made the quality of life so much better and life more interesting overall. But we are now feeling the repercussions from all of our fossil fuel burning.

However, we motorheads are a strange breed. While some of us may seem like we care for the environment, we still want our big petrol V8 to sound like Thor’s mighty hammer. We still want our dream cars to be 1000bhp Bugattis. We still want our Mercedes’ running 6.2liters of All Mighty Grunt (SL63AMG). I think the only serious eco-friendly thing I can do now is make sure the plants (planted by my mum who does her best in making a small plot of land in front of her terrace house in KL filled with flowers and some fruits and vegetable plants) that I have on my balcony watered and alive instead of shriveled and dead. Maybe a donation or two to the WWF or any donation box that I see at the order counter of the fast food joint I frequent. EnvironMENTALISTS would love pelting me with some rotten eggs by now. But heck, I love my life right now.

Am I babbling? I suppose I am. Consuming lots of food after breaking fast does that to people. Now where’s that nice cup of tea that I’m supposed to be having now that it’s late in the evening?

A 1974 Mercedes Benz 230.6 W114

A couple of weeks ago I tried a Mercedes. It was no ordinary new or nearly new Mercedes Benz but one that was as old as I was. At 37 years of age I am at the phase of life where running up a flight of stairs isn’t normal to do, or running for the sake of just running isn’t something we thirty-somethings would usually do. Although I do occasionally do try taking a flight of stairs in leaps and bound of two or three stairs at a time, most of the time it’s a step at a time. The body may decide to pull a hamstring or two if it felt it wasn’t warmed up enough to do the measly job of running up a flight of stairs. That’s being a 37 year old dignified bum and not Michael Schumacher.

Now the Mercedes W114 230.6 I tried is worse than I am right now in my mid to late thirties. At least I can still hop, skip and occasionally jump. But a 1974 230.6 is a very sedate ride to drive around in. Entering the car, starting it up and driving the darn thing for the first time is an experience from another lifetime, era, dimension, timezone or whatever word that reflects the difference it is from the motoring norm of today. I started up the car, released the handbrake, which was a grab-handle to the right of you and slotted into first. It was super vague and light. No notchiness and not much mechanical feel to it. Could be due to its age and slightly worn bushings. But coupled to its light clutch (yes, a 4 speed manual) it’s pretty easy to move off.

The steering wheel is almost the same thing. A total lack of feel. You would have almost no confidence if you came out from a modern day classic, which although most new cars lack feel isn’t like any experience you’d find. This is probably due to the recirculating ball set up instead of a usual rack and pinion job which you’ll find everywhere. Mercedes only started using the rack and pinion recently (post 2000 onwards) and this being a 1974 model, felt as if you’re steering an arcade game. There is no feel whatsoever of the road below you. It isn’t even like some cars where you’d say that its like you’re running and your soles are jelly, where your body reacts slightly slower than the road surface due to the vague surface. In this case, its like playing a 1980s race car game, you turn the steering, the car turns but there’s no feedback whatsoever from the road. It’s unnerving at speeds above 80km/h. But you eventually get slightly used to it. Now if you complain that the Subaru Impreza has a slightly vague steering compared to the Lancer Evolution, wait till you try this sucker on. The Impreza after a W114’s power steering is full of feel, like a Porsche 911’s, epic, superb, incredible, a paragon of modern engineering. So, everything’s relevant and subjective. We have it so much better than the 1970s.

Now handling is totally affected by the vague steering.. Due to it being a recirculating ball wheel, its also slow in its responses. Somehow, you’d adapt to the vagueness of the steering and turn like what you’d turn in a super tanker. You turn the wheel 3 to 4 days in advance of the corner you’re about to take. But all in all, you somehow manage to adapt to the slow and ridiculously steady pace of driving this car. This is what wafting is all about. Things are done slow, steady and winning does not matter. Arriving in style (or a few centuries too late) is what matters. You cruise around the roads of Kuala Lumpur is a style that’s long gone for this cosmopolitan city of about a million or two worth of residents. It reminds you of an age where you don’t rush anywhere. Everything is about quality and not quantity.

The 2.3liter 6 cylinder engine is a nice old school in line or straight 6 engine. It has ample pulling power and while slightly smokey due to its age, still had ample torque to pull it out of corners. Being a six, it is smooth for its age the car would easily cruise at 90km/h all day long without feeling stressed. The 4 speed manual could do with an overdrive, but in the early 1970s, this was the norm. Auto was a pricey option that not many took.

You tend to treat a car as old as this with a certain amount of respect. The same amount of respect you treat an 80 year old guy in a wheelchair. But the great thing about this old Merc is that it still is a sensible drive in the jam packed roads of Kuala Lumpur. Why so? It’s a Mercedes, it doesn’t overheat at the first semblance of a traffic jam. It’s built like a vault, meaning it’ll outlast you and will still be a fit old 80 year old car when at the age of 80 you’ll be in a wheelchair or a walking stick hobbling around slightly deaf and shouting loudly at other people thinking they’re deaf too.

Yes it doesn’t drive like that old MGB GT I once drove. The MGB was a sports car of its time, its steering responses are still fast to this day. This was because Mercedes was building a competent sedan, and not a sports car. Its slow steering meant that passengers won’t feel as if they’re riding in a dodgem car. The slowed responses, smooth ride cossets them, makes them feel good after hours in the car. Everything is sensible. So sensible that after 36 years of age, it still is a good nearly modern classic car to own. A W123 Mercedes would be an even more sensible buy with its more modern driving style but if you really want a big grille with vintage style lights, and lots of chrome bumpers, this is the one to get. I liked driving it. Slow, and dull witted it may be, but an experience nonetheless.

Note:W114s and W115 are essentially the same late 60s early 70s mid-sized sedans. The 114s are those equipped with 6 cylinder engines and the 115s with the smaller 4 cylinders ones.

Driving Pleasure:The Reason for Lack of Articles on this Blog

I've been a litte busy taking a break from writing. During the last month or so I've made the following road trips:

1. KL-IPOH-CAMERON HIGHLANDS (via Simpang Pulai) - KL (via old road to Tapah)
2. Two road trips to Muar in Johor. One of which in a Suzi Swift 1.5 which has amazing cruising ability by allowing us to travel from Tangkak to Seremban R&R in a mere 45 minutes.
3. A trip to Bukit Tinggi
4. KL-PENANG (Batu Ferrenggi) -KL via Simpang Pulai to CAMERON again and down via old road to Tapah -KL.

All in a month or a period of less than 6 weeks.

The driving experience was priceless. Especially the trip to the Highands. The weather was fine on both trips up and down and the Scooby TS was amazing. It's little engine easily hauling its arse up the windy roads to Brinchang and yes, there was a lack of power most of the time but you know that the chassis (on TEIN springs and front and rear strut bars) seems to be optimised for mountainside roads. Driving and attacking mountain roads is an experience that I somehow will never be bored of. I wonder where next?

Oh yeah. Tires. It seems that due to my extensive travels, I happen to run through a set every 8 to 9 months or so. I suppose this fact isn't healthy on my pocket. Hence the fact that I have to run, as some of my friend's put it, 'salesmen' tires. But being 215/45/17, it'll run me close to a thousand Ringgit on those with alignment and labour costs.

On another note. The Impreza 1.6TS which I drive just had its road tax renewed for its forth year. That's Four Years of Subaru ownership. It happened to 'reward' me with a cracked radiator sometime last week. I then had to get it fixed of course. Being a 1.6 normally aspirated engine, the radiator is a single core thin aluminium/plastic top thingy which I gladly upgraded to a used WRX STI radiator with a dual core. It is also an aluminium/plastic top thingy, but at least when or if I need to repair it, its already an uprated piece. The great thing about running a larger core radiator is that it has (obviously) more water, and therefore more cooling capacity. I noticed that on hotter days the engine runs as smooth as it does on most mornings. This is a good thing, as heat is an enemy of making power. It was a repair well worth it.

Why I'm writing this is because cars nowadays have this aluminium/plastic mix for their radiators. In those days, 1980s and below cars came withsolid copper radiators that hardly break after 4-5 years (which they do now). They don't make them in wholly aluminium except for aftermarket ones. The real reason for this is that any part that doesn't fail does not make profits for the manufacturer. In this case, radiator manufacturers. They need this part to fail every 5 years or so to keep them in business. Its a curse that will not go away. It's here to stay.

PETRONAS IS ALREADY SELLING RON95.

Yup. PETRONAS is already selling RON95 at some of its stations ahead of its September inroduction and this has made me a slightly happy man. The one station that I know is selling that stuff is the one on the MRRII somewhere after Kepong on the way towards Jalan Kuching/Batu Caves. I'm already using the stuff and from my observation, it works perfectly fine in my Impreza 1.6TS. No hiccups of any sort.

It should, since the owner's manual states that the car is recommended to run on the said substance. Most new global spec cars can run on the stuff. In fact all new cars with Fuel Injection can run on the stuff. These new engines have sensors here and there can will tell the ECU to retard or advance its ignition timing according to the quality of petrol that is in the car's tank. Most cars can even run on RON92 without any problems but hey, some are basically too scared to try. As I've stated in a previous posting. If your car is not a highly tuned monster, it should safely run on the cheaper stuff. Anyways, its your loss if you don't try it.

How much savings do I get from running RON95 over 97 (RM1.80)? Over 40 liters I'd save a 'whopping' RM2.00. But I use about 60liters a week, so I'd save around RM3.00 per week using RON95. Now RM3.00 x 4 weeks is RM12.00. It may seem insignificant, but RM12.00 can go a long way at the local sundry shop or at TESCO. Or that RM12.00 can be put to good use by blowing it all on entertaining friends at a teh tarik stall. At the very least your friends will think that you're a generous ol' chap. And that's a good thing during times of recession.

p.s - I've recently driven a nice classic Mercedes Benz saloon, of 1974 vintage. An excellent year. I haven't fallen in love with it, but it was an interesting drive nonetheless. It will be reviewed in here soon.

Dearest BMW, Don't Design Garbage and Call Them Niche Cars Will Ya? a.k.a. The BMW X6

I was driving peacefully along the SPRINT highway somewhere in Petaling Jaya when I was passed by the monstrous BMW X6 3.0. This car was recently launched in this country and the driver must have been feeling proud driving that hideous monster up and down the roads of Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur. I seriously cannot understand how BMW came up with such a design brief and issued a go ahead to build this car in the first place. The design brief must have read:

Dear Mr Bangle (then Head of Design, BMW)

This is the Board of Directors writing to you. Hope you are fine. We need you and your 'brilliant' degsign team to come up with a Sports Utility Vehicle that has a sloping tailgate (like a hatchback), 4 doors, square jawed David Coulthard front end, funny lines here, there and everywhere, BMW front grill that is as flaired as nostrils from an angry gorilla and sitting on 20 inch tires.

The reason for this is that recently Mercedes has come up with the CLS and it concerns us. The CLS seems to be taking sales from our M5 and M3. We think the reason for that is that it looks pretty good. We now think that with this new SUV cum Sports Hatchback Coupe we can recover some of the ground lost to the CLS. We reckon that with a car that is a 'niche within a niche' BMW will be able to profit as this is what our customers want. They do not want a CLS i.e a coupe with 4 doors, but they, the ultimate driving customers want an SUV that is sporty.

Yours sincerely
The Board

What is heck's name were thay thinking? It makes no sense. The X6, according to a guy whom I know who rides a bike to work thinks it is a bulldog on wheels. I myself think 'why?'.

What makes BMW think that "I think our X5 customers want a coupe, but still want an SUV at the same time". So to kill a lot of birds with one ugly stone, BMW comes up with a 4 door hatchback that is slightly shorter than an x5 but as high as a Toyota Harrier.

Yes, BMW engineers can make it corner like a hot hatch, because basically it IS one, only ten times the size of one. What's the actual point? If you want to drive fast, buy an M3, buy an M5, buy a Mercedes CLS or buy a Megane R26R (IF YOU REALLY WANT A FAST HATCHBACK). Don't buy a stupid looking, pointless, idiotic, niche car that thinks it can do everything. Furthermore, as an SUV, it cannot even wade though mud. It can't tow a trailer. It can't do most things people buy SUVs for.

BMW hardly makes sense. Ah, Mercedes has tapped into a niche market with the CLS. We'll tap into ANOTHER niche market, they said. Yes, no one has thought of a 4 door coupe on stilts. So they built it.

By then, the X6 passed me by, leaving me with bitter thoughts about the pointlessness of its existence. Then a Proton Gen2 passed by. It then occured to me that the BMW X6 is actually a Gen2 that has been photoshopped with a different grill and lights and its size increased by 1.5times, running on 20inch rims instead of 15in rims and tires. BMW should give royalty to Proton. I'm right, trust me. Look at the pics below and tell me truthfully whether they're the same car or not?













Left: The Proton Gen2 Right: The BMW X6 (or was it the other way round?)

Then again, I may have started a new trend here. We're used to seeing Proton Wiras modded to have tall tires like palm oil estate rally cars, soon we'll see X6 replicas running around Kuala Lumpur. Why buy the X6 if you can make one for yourself cheaply?

Perak: The Lumbering State. Volvo: The Lumbering Brand

There has been lots of rubbish of the political sort being thrown around in the Malaysian state of Perak these past couple of months. The tussle between the two main parties has gone from the removal of the state minister with a new one and a new state speaker to replace the previous one due to the change in state government that happened because a few members of one side jumping ship to the other. Now all this nonsense has got me thinking. What actually has Perak got to offer anyone in the first place with the exception of the people in charge?

Why I am asking such a question is that it usually benefits the people in charge as they can give out grants, land and contracts to their family, friends, cronies and those that they feel deserves it. Of course, this is supposedly done through ‘transparent’ negotiation, application forms, tenders and meetings. But the biggest problem I see in Perak is that irregardless of who’s in charge, the state is one of the slowest developing states in Malaysia.

The whole state seems to be like Taiping (see the pic below). Slow, idyllic, beautiful, a haven to pensioners and a place where we can sit at the market and point to a spot and place a bet with your friends stating: “The rain will come and its first drop with hit that spot at 2.30pm…for 10 Ringgit”.

It honestly is that slow. The traders who sell stuff at the market actually do that. They can and will wager a bet on anything and everything around Taiping as they’ve got nothing better to do with their lives. I should know. I was born and raised in Taiping and I still love Taiping for what it is (due to good food and its heritage actually). I can even predict atmospheric patterns to this day and age.

Actually the main problem with Perak is that it is a state in between Penang and Selangor (or more accurately, the Klang Valley). Development is concentrated in the two states and all trade centers around these two growth areas. The spillover of the development in Penang is towards Kedah, from Sungai Petani to Kulim and in Selangor, most of the development has gone towards Negeri Sembilan towards the Nilai district. It seems that Perak has not been able to gain any spillover from actual manufacturing and even in tourism; things do not seem that colourful. The only thrill I get in Perak is passing Jelapang toll to the North towards Taiping, where it passes through slightly ‘mountainous’ terrain. The North South Highway at that stretch is at its highest, with a nice long tunnel to listen to the exhaust note bounce off of it and nice uphill and downhill dual carriageways for you to enjoy sweeping corners as well as tight bends. It might un-nerve some drivers, but I enjoy that stretch tremendously.

Perak has Pangkor Island and Lumut as seaside resort locations. Maxwell Hill (Bukit Larut) as its hillside resort, and Taiping (including Pasir Salak) as its heritage site. But not much development or promotion has been actually done to make these sites. Of course there would be environMENTALists that would like to see the state under-developed so that places like Maxwell Hill be pristine and undisturbed. But heck, I love Maxwell Hill, but the only way to reach that place is by the government Land Rovers or if you enjoy hiking, a good 5-6 hour trek upwards. The last and only time I trekked up Maxwell Hill I was 15. If I went trekking again, I’d probably give up after the first 50 feet uphill. If I carried on any further, I’d suffer from breathing difficulties. Okay, no vehicle pollution for the hill. Could someone install a cable car service then? Not some flimsy cable car like the one in Langkawi, 1 piece of wire with one hook holding the cabin up to a wire isn’t what I call a safe way of travel. As a friend said, “if you had a choice between sky-diving and scuba diving, always choose scuba diving ‘cause your head may survive a scuba dive over a sky dive without a properly opening parachute”.

Pangkor can be another Langkawi if someone as visionary as our Tun Mahathir came along and decided that we need another Langkawi and pushed any development like crazy. We have Lumut as the Corte D’Azur and say, Pangkor as an Island paradise close to it. That would be fabulous. But notice that the roads leading to Lumut ain’t a fantastic highway to make travel easy. No one actually has done a proper development plan for the state of Perak and someone should do so soon. What? You want me to come up with one instead of complaining? Who says I don’t have a plan? I’m not getting paid for it so it’s staying in my brilliant brain for the moment. Of course, neither I’m being paid to maintain this blog but that’s a different matter isn’t it?

Perak is slightly stuck in a time warp, where time moves slowly compared to the two other states. It is not 1875, 1975 or even 1995. It’s 2009, and Perak needs a big push and therefore could the state government, whoever is in charge please buck up, set aside differences, move forward and stop all this nonsense. Is that actually so much to ask?

If Perak were a car it’ll be a Volvo 240. Years ago around 1875 when tin was being mined, rubber beginning to be planted and when Ngee Hin fought Hai San. It was a happening place to live. Nowadays, it’s basically the same car being driven around by a pensioner who happens to live in Taiping in the year 2009. Or if the pensioner used his EPF money draw out, he’d buy a used 1995 850GLT and think,

“Damn, that’s progress!This 850 is a mighty fine car.”

But he failed to note that the year is 2009 and the 850 is already a decade and a half old and car dynamics and basically progress has changed for the better. And that's how modern Perak is, in my opinion.

Things have moved on and even Volvo has moved on with their current S80 (right). With their IKEA styled center dash and modern, dare I say it Honda like looks and very acceptable ride and handling. However good a 240 is in ferrying people around, it’s too laid back. Yes there are twin turbo Supra engined 240s around which are actually fun and hilarious to drive. But ol’ Grandpa Abdullah still wouldn’t run fast with the latest pair of Addidas or after a heart transplant. You wouldn’t want to try out corner even a Satria GTI in one if you get what I mean.

As for Volvo, it too needs a bigger push. As good as the new S80 is, I still don't see anyone thinking about buying it. It still needs more image makeovers here in Malaysia (and maybe the world). No one actually really stops to think about buying a Volvo. Seriously. Unless he's looking for an estate like the V50. For RM250k+, most would buy the smaller Mercedes c200 or even the BMW 320. More dynamic Volvos please? or more race exposure to bring in the younger crowd (like what they did in the 1990s in the BTCC with their outrageous Volvo 850 wagons).

But I’d leave Taiping as it is. Those in the know would understand

The 240. Nice car, great Memories. But things have moved on a bit. Use one now in stock form and you'll be called 'Granpa' even if you're only 30 years old.

The 850. In R form, pretty fast box. I remember seeing one which really went for it on the then newly completed SPRINT highway in Petaling Jaya sometime in 1999 going like stink. Awesome shoebox! Great if you could find 850T5-R. Fab sounding 5 cylinder and turbo grunt to go.

Earth Hour and An Old Mercedes Worth Mentioning About

A month has come and gone. We had Earth Hour recently. We had Earth Day also recently (which I think made absolutely no impact on saving the planet whatsoever). We had a change of Prime Ministers recently (good riddance to the previous, hope for the best in the new one!), and we had 3 by-elections for us coffeeshop political analysts to sit around and have their unofficial post mortems to chat about. As for yours truly, yes, I did my part during earth hour. My family and I were at my wife’s family home in Petaling Jaya where we basically sat in the dark and gossiped about family matters. Now how many of you actually turned off their lights during Earth Hour? Remember, its turning off the lights, not life support machines for the elderly or incubators for premature babies. Imagine if people did just that.

Economic Stimulus? On Blogging and on certain events in the Automotive World

Ah, that's more like it. A RM60 BILLION stimulus package is what we all need. Provided the money reaches the general public instead of going through some politician's campaign fund first. Aside from that, let's add some figures to the picture. America, the main cause of this current economic turmoil is spending USD$200 Trillion and our neighbours are spending SGD$21 billion. I suppose our package is somewhat 'reasonable', before you take into account the fact that Singapore has about 7 million people to feed compared to at least 27 million of us here. America has around 290million people by the way. You guys do the math. Is the economic package big enough?

On another note, it's been fun blogging for the past two and a half years. Of course, this blog doesn't read like most blogs, where some would write on what they had for breakfast, what they had for lunch and then what they had for dinner. What dress they choose to wear today, yesterday or tomorrow. What they feel about the current political scenario or what pictures or poems they took or wrote. On an average, I write about 1.5 articles per month and since this blog's been around for almost 3 years, do feel free to browse what I've written previously.

On an automotive note, I am pretty happy that the new Honda City looks like a car instead of another tadpole on stilts. I truly despise the previous one. There is no other car that's as horrifying to own. Well, maybe the Hyundai Accent (also the previous one with all those stupid RX-S badging and fake scoops) as that car is so anonymous that a lamp post outshines it.

I also somehow pleased that most of my friends and relatives choose to purchase somewhat different from the norm automobiles. The recent being my wife's cousin, who is a somewhat happy owner of a Toyota Caldina GT4. I told him that it was a better alternative than one of those Toyota Wish or Estimas that everyone who's married with kids wants to own. He recently got married and all the best to him.

At his wedding reception his government contractor friend with a Mercedes E55 look a like was there. Now he has gone nearly the whole hog to transform his W211 E240 into a quasi-E55. The only difference is the 6 cylinder hum from the engine and a lack of a humongous rear diff that the E55 has. This a a chap who paid almost RM25K for a set of AMG brakes to make the look complete. The things people do to achieve automotive bliss.

I have to give a big hand to the guy who owns the blue Lancer Evolution 7.10. I'd say his ride is now an EVO 7 point 10 on the richter scale. It has everything and safely pumps at least 450bhp at the engine. This is after meticulous research, a brilliant mechanic and an owner who does not cut corners to achieve a target. Another way to achieve automotive bliss. But I'd hate to be the passenger in that car right now. When it had 350bhp at the engine I was slight nauseous, with 450bhp, I'd destroy his car mats.

On a closing note. Now that there are 3 lanes on the North-South highway. Things are so much better for me. I don't mind travelling North or even South. My last trip to Singapore took me 3 hours with a 45 minute break at Air Keroh, Melaka. And last weekend, traveling back from Muar took a decent time even with ridiculously heavy traffic due to the recent 3 day weekend. It should have been done years ago.

Malaysia vs New Zealand and the ugliest vehicle in the known universe

While I was on holiday in Langkawi a couple of months ago I got a little pissed in between munching down the turkey ham and sausages during breakfast. The notion of paying RM450++ a night for a chalet suite with breakfast at a 5 star resort in Langkawi seemed pretty reasonable. The notion that we had to pay the same amount for a small room at a business class hotel located at Queens Street in Singapore seemed outrageous nonetheless. It occurred to me that my Malaysian Ringgit’s value is slightly higher than rubbish outside of the country with the exception of supposedly poorer countries like Thailand, Indonesia and India. I’m sorry. But I have to say that Malaysia is a country that’s supposed to have much more better purchasing power than it currently has right now. And the argument that I shall put up is the nation of New Zealand.

Drive Experience: The BMW Seven Hundred and Fifty (E38 750i)

Now pay attention folks. This here is the first Uber-Saloon ever produced by a German marque since the almighty Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 in the 1970s. The BMW Seven Hundred and Fifty as Q mentioned in the James Bond movie, Tomorrow Never Dies, or simply 750iL as what you and me would normally call it is an engineering marvel. Although the 750 mentioned in the Bond movie is the newer E38 model, the predecessor E32 is the car mentioned here.

Slightly Off Topic: Okay, you’ve got your nice sports saloon….what else is there to do with your life?

You’ve already got your ___________(fill in the space here with your supermobile – MPVs aren’t included as they’re family mass carriers, telling the whole world you’re married with a ton of kids, hence very uncool). Now your ride has all that style/handling/horsepower (in any order whatsoever) your life is all but complete, till the next ride you’re hankering for that is. What else is there to do with your life?

It’s quite simple actually. You turn onto yourself. The reason being is that when you emerge from your Subaru Impreza or Lancer Evolution or even an Audi A4 at the hip “el fresco” stall that’s about half a hour’s drive (i.e.your regular happenin’ mamak stall) dressed in your fat crocs, your favourite t-shirt with that cigarette burn mark right on your tummy showing off your pale skin and shorts that only have a place on the football field you’re not only telling me and that you’re a sloppy dresser, but you have no respect for the car you drive. Why do I say so?

Firstly, you drive a fancy or luxurious car. People would be bound to stare when you make an entrance. The car passing by the stall before you park for instance. People would look and then keep on looking to see who (or what kind of horrific monster) emerges from the fancy automobile.

Secondly, the image of someone who dresses decently always captures the attention of most people (in a good way) instead of an image of a person who dresses like the neighbourhood lunatic (notice that every area has a dishevelled man/woman roaming the area in dirty and/or torn clothing). Just look at James Bond…..he does not drive off or exit his car dressed like a filthy psychotic pig farmer from Heck. And please, don’t tell me that you’ve never once in your whole life wanted to carry a Walther PPK, drive an Aston Martin, have a licence to kill and get to bed women with colourful names like Pussy Galore or Xenia Onattop. If you do, as would any red blooded men who is alive today, you’d want to be James Bond. Don't tell me that you can afford to take a half an hour's drive to the mamak and you can't spend 5 minutes throwing a decent outfit together. A pair of khakis or jeans, a polo T and a pair of driving mocs is only three pieces of clothing. What is so hard in that? Is it different from beach bum shorts, round neck t-shirt with a burn mark in it and a pair of rubber flip-flops which are also three items of clothing?

So you drive your fancy sedan or a pseudo rally monster or even an SUV and think you want to be James Bond. Just look what James Bond drives in Quantum of Solace; Aston Martin DBS, stolen Ford 4X4, a rented newly facelifted Volvo S40 (just before the Tosca theatre scene, a Range Rover to name a few. The Tom Ford tuxedo and suits aside, he also wears a decent pair of suede ankle boots for the finale, some decent pair of pants/khakis and a polo t-shirt or short sleeve shirt with a short jacket on top of it. Would it be too hard if you too tried this attire? You don’t have to go get exactly what James Bond wears. Just wear decent shoes when you drive that nice car of yours and you’ll seem to look properly dressed compared to others.

Ever notice how many people seem to go around in their rubber flip-flops or cheap looking leather but not leather sandals? Notice if they wore real quality sandals or shoes they would look slightly more dressed up even though they are wearing their oldest t-shirt and scruffiest looking pair of jeans they can find. It putting on a nice pair of sandals or shoes a hard thing to do? Is it so hard for you to invest in a pair of driving mocs or shoes and use it to the mamak stall? Is it also hard for you to wear a pair of jeans instead of some beach shorts that are meant for the beach? Especially if you have extremely scrawny legs you look pathetic. If you’re female, then shorts or skirts are fine, I’m discussing men here okay. So when you exit your ride at the mamak stall, everyone will at least say you're decently dressed for the car you drive. This is an image building thing, not an elitist thought.

Note- The only reason I’m using poor ol’ James ‘ere as an example is that that chap is the closest character who actually dresses decently most of the time and one that is easily recognised by all. I on the other hand wouldn’t follow James Bond to the ‘T’ on the fact that he’s a secret agent (no bright colours that may make him stand out in the crowd) and he doesn’t live in the humid tropics like I do (although you may see how he dresses for hot and humid climates in Casino Royale – Madagascar and the Caribbean scenes are the best)

One more for the road - Why are MPVs uncool? James Bond doesn't own one or even drive one, hence I rest my case.

The Current Economic Crisis and Build Quality in Cars - The old Datsun wins over the Continentals

Recently the whole world seems to be facing some sort of economic crisis. American financial institutions like Frannie May, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and so on have toppled. Banks in Europe also suffering from the same calamity. The price of petrol has gone down drastically within a period of 2 months. People getting thrown out of their jobs. People stopping their purchases on new electronic goods. The list goes on and on.

Basically the economic system as we know it is faulty. Let me give you a straight forward example of what is happening on a local scale. Let’s imagine that you and 100,000 of your friends decide to take up RM1 million each of loans. Then you tell them that we should not bother paying back these loans. The bank would go into cardiac arrest. RM1,000,000,000,000.00 is something that the bank doesn’t rightly have to give out for free in the first place and it is most probably that the bank had to get an interbank loan to come out with that stately amount. So once you and your friends default, it is very likely that the bank would not be able to pay the sum it borrowed from the other banks and it would be bankrupt. The other banks who in turn loaned a few billion to that bank would also be affected, and they too would become bankrupt. Once bankrupt, and if these banks were not given a governmental bailout, we’d see thousands on unemployed bankers. We’d also see people rushing to these banks trying to get their money out from their accounts before it all goes to heck. If the central bank does not guarantee all deposits, everyone’s going to be broke. Once everyone is broke, no one buys new calculators, cars, PDAs, telephones, clothers or even food; thus making factory workers, farmers, managers, engineers all out of a job and joining the bankers having a nice cosy chat by the Penang bridge, where some of these people have decided to take a closer look at the sea right below it.

What I’ve basically said is that it is not hard to topple any economy. All we have to do is gang up and not pay anyone. It is as horrifyingly simple as that. And after all has been said and done, we should all go back to farming. Each of us growing what we need and barter trading for what we don’t have. 10 eggs for a bunch or two of cabbages please.

So as we’ve seen, the economy is pretty beaten up today and you have been thinking of changing to a newer car but is now prevented to do so due to the fact that times are bad. The real question you have to ask is that is your car really that shitty to drive after 5 years of ownership? The actual answer is no. As a consumer, you are bombarded by marketing and hype as well as trying to keep up with the Joneses.

Every time you pick up a motoring magazine someone tells you that it may be uneconomical to drive around in a car older than 10 years. Someone also says that the car you bought has terrible build quality and will disintegrate after a week’s usage. The whole truth of the matter is that nothing of that sort will happen.

Take a look carefully when you drive along any busy road in KL and you will find cars older than 15 years still conveniently plying the streets. You can see old Datsuns, Toyota Corollas, 1^st generation Proton Sagas with their metal bumpers, old Mercedes (W123, W124, W126 and some W116 even) and so on. Many of these older cars are still going strong and will have many years of service still in them.

So what’s the point of this then? Very Simple. Have you ever got into a discussion where someone told you that the reason he bought a certain continental car due to the fact that it has fabulous build quality? The chap so adamant that his new BMW was built from a solid ingot of silver and nothing will break in that car? Well you tell him that you’ve got news for him. His RM200k car will have the same chance of surviving past 15years as the person who bought the RM30k Perodua Viva. The reason is out there for him to see.

Take a look over to some older Hondas, Nissans and even Mitsubishis on the road today. Some of these cars have heen around since the seventies and are still performing tasks for their owners. Note that their supposedly flimsy signal stalks, door handles, wing mirrors that most people criticised still work perfectly. Take a look at the old Datsun (pre Nissan) 120y beside you on the road and see that it still cruises at 90km/h on the highway. Look around you. Do you see a continental car from the same era at that Datsun? You might see the odd Mercedes, but these are the exception. They are actually built from solid steel blocks and cut to size. Do you see any old Ford Escorts, Fiats or VWs from the 1970s? occasionally you do see one or two, but what you do see are old Datsuns, Toyotas and other Japanese cars. Yes, in the beginning these were flimsy looking and feeling cars. Their controls feel tinny and cheap to hold. But why are they still on the road compared to those supposedly solidly built continentals? Build quality? Or just because it’s cheap to maintain?

The thing about these cars is that they are built using cheap looking plastics with no tactile feel whatsoever. However, these items last. Having no tactile feel does not mean it is doing a bad job. It is just doing its job even more soullessly than a switch with more feel. Somehow, it is because of this fact that I sometimes ignore people who like to argue that their continental is the best car in the world. The hard fact is that 20 years down the road, their ultimate driving machine is just scrap metal, whereas a 20 year old Toyota, is still usable and friendly enough to be used in KL on a day to day basis.

An example of continental engineering and build quality; a father of a friend of mine recently sold off with 1988 Jaguar XJ6 2.9 (XJ40 series) for a grand sum of RM3,000.00. The reason is that no one wanted it with its slightly faulty brakes and what not. Note that some 1989 Honda Civic hatchbacks are going for RM15,000.00 if the condition immaculate. Which is of better quality? The Jag, or the Civic? You figure it out.

The XJ40 Series Jaguar (pictured)- My Friend should have told me!!!!! I'd gotten that RM3K Jag for weekends! If it breaks down, just leave it at the roadside, like some Arab Sheikh who has too many cars!

Langkawi and the Nissan Latio "Sport" and there's Not an Ounce of 'Fairlady 350Z, 370Z or GTR Experience in it.

I recently went on two holiday trips. Each one taking a weekend away from the usual daily weekend routine of frequenting shopping malls, teh tarik sessions with friends, outings with family and also the sometime weekly pilgrimage to the friendly neighbourhood specialist mechanic to ogle at other people’s ride and to have the usual friendly exchange of banter among enthusiasts.

The first trip was down south to Singapore. As some of you readers know, I tend to drive to the island of Singapore regularly. It has become almost a bi-annual ritual for the missus, the little gal and me to head down south every few months to catch up on the latest trends and goings-on with our rich neighbours down south.

The second trip was to the island of Langkawi. It has been almost 5 years since I last visited Langkawi and a lot has happened there. Last time the road to the north (or to the beaches like Cenang, Tengah and Kok) was a single lane normal country road. Now it is a two lane per side carriageway that made travel from the town of Kuah to the airport or to the above mentioned beaches shorter by at least 15 minutes on average. Not that it matters to some local folk, which seems to drive so leisurely that to an outsider like me the guy driving his Proton Wira seem like he’s on a bullock cart.

However, Langkawi is another motoring experience that all you Malaysians should at least experience. Aside from the road mentioned above, the other roads are idyllic, laidback roads that are waiting to be driven on with some anger. For example, the road from the resort where I stayed on Pantai Cenang, passing pantai tengah, the airport (runway and all) towards Pantai Kok (where the beautiful Telaga Harbour Marina is located and where the original ‘The Loaf’ restaurant is located – great fresh breaded prawn burgers and so on) and onwards to Burau Bay etc. etc. is superb for a mad dash in the countryside.

If you’re from Pantai Cenang, the road, a typical B-road is straight with some 90 degree turns through some kampong sections. It then changes as you pass a junction towards the Sheraton Beach resort where it gets slightly hilly and windy with the rain forest on both side of the road (and the sea close to one side). This is a nice short stretch where you find dips, crests and turns that will challenge you a little. This stretch opens up to the Telaga Harbour and the scenery there is wonderful. It is along this stretch the roads straightens a little for some 90 degree bends (that you can take pretty fast as I’ve experienced) and then heads inland for more hilly and forest lined driving. There are other nice roads in Langkawi, some are on a hillslope overlooking the sea, some are through forests, but all are great drives. You could bring your car from the mainland, but it’ll get there a day late and cost as much as renting one for a few days.

I was there for three days and had rented a black Nissan Latio 1.6 Sport. The thing about manufacturers is that they like using the word ‘SPORT’ for most things nowadays. I remember when I was young, manufacturers of everything would use the word ‘TURBO’ on everything from hairdryers, washing machines, freezers, mechanical pencils and so on. Nowadays, automobile manufacturers have decided that it’s a good time to start using the monicker ‘SPORT’ on anything vaguely sporty. Hence the Nissan Latio SPORT.

Driving the Darn Thing

The Latio Sport has a 1.6liter engine coupled to a 4 speed auto transmission that, while being pretty eager to drop a few cogs on full throttle and is pretty closely geared (you can tell as it’s quick off the line but gets pretty coarse higher up even on the 4^th overdrive gear), is still an automatic box that does not even have a gated section for spirited drivers. There is no J-gate like in the Swift 1.5 or even paddle shifters (hey, the new non-ugly Honda City has this at around RM92,000.00) so that family type guys can play around and think like they’re driving manuals.

So while the car is pretty quick off the line, it’s still pretty tall. The Latio sedan is one car that is ugly due to the fact that it has a tall roof line. The Latio Sport in its hatchback styling looks better. But there is no disguising the fact that it is rather tall with small 15in rims and tyres. In fact while sitting on the leather and fabric lined seats that are like sofas instead of harder Recaro-like seats I’ve come to expect from sporty cars (like the Lancer GLS/GT or even the Swift 1.5)..... I realised that the car is tall, coupled with seats that make you feel like you’re in a van (mounted high in the cabin) with lack of proper support for the lower back and funny back of your back, at the shoulder blades support, when I was tackling a 90 degree corner somewhere along Pantai Kok on a Sunday morning. You could feel that if this car was slightly lower things would be better. At least your world would be a better place if this car was lower, but it is not. So you take the corner with all four tyres screaming for dear life at around 60km/h somewhere along Pantai Kok. Aside from the screaming tyres, the car is predictable, understeering early and if you be a little aggressive with it by braking late into the corner and manhandling the steering, the rear will assist you through the corner. But it wasn't as satisfying as I'd like it to be.

Yes, the steering is pretty fine. It is slightly rubbery but it does its job. Not as direct as I would have liked but hey, it’s a Latio, not a Fairlady Z. The thing I liked about driving this was it had no tail, being a hatchback. I like driving hatchbacks. With no tail, the rear is pretty obedient, and fast. There is no problems with having inertia (or the pendulum effect) from too much overhang at the rear because there isn’t any. However, because of that feeling, you tend to realise that you’re sitting pretty high up and you’d like the whole car to be lower to make full use of the nippy-ness to its fullest. The high roof-line somehow negates the fun factor of having no tail.

The ride is hard. I think Nissan needs more work on the secondary ride of this car. It tends to jiggle around abit on those bumpier sections. Big humps and bumps do not trouble the Latio Sport, but smaller bumpier sections of road make the car feel jiggly and irritating to the driver. Every small bump is felt and the car felt unresolved. It is nothing like the cheaper by almost RM20K Suzuki Swift 1.5 which feels smooth over small bumps and which feels quieter at 150km/h than this car. Both run torsion beam suspensions at the rear. But Suzuki is the better car. In fact, Ringgit to Ringgit, the RM70K Swift 1.5 is a better performance oriented car than the RM93K Latio Sport. In fact, spend an extra RM10K and get a Swift Sport in Manual for really good thrills.

I however enjoyed its user friendly controls and dash. Usually, there is nothing impossibly bad in most newer cars nowadays. The build quality is decent, materials used decent, but in certain aspects, like ride and handling as well as overall feel, some cars come up tops over others. The one qualm I dislike is this car does not have a water temperature gauge. Just an indicator in blue in the mornings to tell you the water hasn’t warmed up yet and an indicator in red. To tell you that it’s already too late to do anything except to get an overhaul for the engine. I mean, who actually pays attention to red lights on the dash (or the meters on the dashboard except for the speedometer) most of the time.

Now some of you may be asking why in God’s name did I take the Latio Sport then? Well, firstly I haven’t tried it yet. While I was offered a Mazda 3 1.6 I wanted something new in the Malaysian market that wasn’t going to be off the market soon (the Latio was only recently launched here in Malaysia early this year). The new Mazda 3 was recently launched so it’ll be old news soon. Secondly, I got it reasonably cheap. I’m not getting paid for this you know.

So in conclusion, the Latio Sport is not that sporty. It is a decent family hatchback with good carrying space. I went to Langkawi with my wife, kid and parents. We shopped like crazy and the Latio Sport managed to carry all the stuff to the airport without any worries whatsoever. I think you can buy this car if you have a small family, and the hatchback’s versatility for loading up stuff from IKEA. But as a Sports car it needs help. Lowering springs and better shocks to compensate for the overall height of the car and for the pretty bad ride. Maybe the IMPUL kitted version is a good buy. Maybe you should get a Suzuki Swift Sport straightaway. Now that’s a car that is indeed sportier right out of the box.

Buying this:

Does not mean you're experiencing even 10% of this:

Buying a Nissan Latio Sport does not mean you’re buying a performance Nissan. Somehow, Nissan manages to get rid of real sporty-ness from its bread and butter model. Nissan Latio Sport does not equal to driving a Nissan 370Z pictured to the left (lighter, shorter wheelbase than the 350z – new drift/rwd legend? I am looking forward to this) or owning a Nissan GTR. You want actual Nissan performance? Buy the real thing. Somewhere unlike Mitsubishi, Suzuki, Honda or even Subaru. You still can get a satisfying drive from their most basic models. I've driven the 350z, I should know. I mean does driving your 1985 Nissan Sunny 130y make you feel like you’re in an R32 Skyline? If it does, tell me which mental hospital you frequented regularly and come closer so that I can hit you on the head. Hard.

On The Petrol Price Drop, 125,000km With The Subaru Impreza 1.6TS and On Visiting Our Neighbours Down South

The past few weeks have brought us good news in the sense that petrol prices have gone down to RM1.90 per liter from an incredible and outrageous high of RM2.70 per liter. This has brought me some joy as I don't have to drive like a 'good muslim' all the time. I recently drove down to Singapore to spend a weekend of shopping and my pocket was only slightly dented to the tune of RM160.00 for a round trip. Kuala Lumpur - Singapore - Kuala Lumpur at speeds higher than recommended by most people. This was with 4 of us in the car and travelling to and fro places in Singapore for shopping and dining. I'd be spending close to RM260.00 to be doing the same trip at the earlier prices. Of course this is temporary, once the speculators start their nonsense again, and if indeed the oil companies find it harder to get oil from the ground, it is bound to rise again. This time I hope that everyone will be prepared for it by remembering what I am stating below:

THE PETROL PRICE DROP IS ONLY TEMPORARY....ONE DAY PRICES WILL MOVE UPWARDS AGAIN OKAY?

One of the reasons a trip to Singapore takes only so little petrol is that the car I am driving. The Subaru Impreza 1.6TS is a wonderful highway/city/b-road car. It has ample poke and great handling coupled with great fuel economy from its 1.6litre engine. The only drawback in owning this car is an air-conditioning system that's insufficient to handle long journeys during mid-day. You feel the heat. After 125,000km of driving it, I'd have to say that I would not swap it for any other brand new car in Malaysia for the price I bought it for. With some tinkering by yours truly, the 0-60km/h time has been brought down from about 12.5secs to around 10secs and the top speed has risen from 180km/h to around 210km/h (unassisted by slopes or wind). I'd say that I've hit my initial target when I bought the car; which was to make it go as fast as a BMW Mini Cooper (Not Cooper S).

Now the point of this article is for me to tell you people out there that if you are a motorhead, you should at least once a year make a short trip to that island down south, Singapore. The reason is that on that small island nation you can get to see the latest in automotive hardware. Yes, occasionally you get to see Singapore plate Ferraris, Lambos and so forth driving to Genting for a bout of gambling but it is nothing compared to what you get to picture there. Yes, you might curse and swear at some of them when they drive up and down the North-South highway but if you haven't been there recently it's a bloody waste.

I mean, where can you get to see the latest Audis, BMWs, Mercedes', Hondas, Mazdas or even Alfas? Especially Alfas since Sime Darby seems to have given up on their quest to best Ron Lim in selling Alfas. I believe he's outselling them selling used Alfas to people compared to them. On my recent trip there I got to check out the latest Mazda 2. It's such a fabulous small car. It looks cool to drive one and it's styled uniquely enough that it won't be mistaken for any other small hatch. I even managed to park right beside a Maserati Gran Turismo (don't know whether it was the latest 'S' version or not) which looked smashing. No other car this side of an Aston Martin DB9 would have presence like the Maserati.

I managed to catch a Murcielago in white, 2 Lancer Evo Xs, a few Impreza 1.5s and S-GTs (but no STI), an Audi TT Cabrio with 19in S-line wheels in white (could have been a TTS Cabrio), some Chrysler 300s, the latest A4 Avant, the new R35 GTR in that dirty VSPEC Nur Green (it looked sublime in that colour), the new Porsche Cayenne GTS and some other cars that you don't see everyday here in Kuala Lumpur. At Second Link, you also may bump into fancy Malaysian and Singapore cars like a CLK350 (not as common like the CLK240), a brand new Saab Convertible, a few CLS's and Porsches.

The thing I'm trying to say is that while Kuala Lumpur has some fabulous cars to view, like the recent white Mansory GT650 Bentley Continental GT (Imagine someone ridiculously rich enough to body-kit a Bentley and let it ride on 20inch wheels), there is nothing like taking that short 3-4hour drive south and visit our neighbours. Aside from getting out of Kuala Lumpur and enjoying the interaction between your car and you (albeit on a straight highway and not on some fab B-road), you'd be amazed by the cars, the fabulous traffic system and also the shopping. On the shopping, you get to also see rich Indonesians, Singaporeans, Caucasians, Filipinos, Bruneians Malaysians but not as many rich Arabs who think money can buy anything like here in Kuala Lumpur. What more could you ask for?

More B-road madness.....more tales of shock and woe. The Ford Econovan

B roads are addictive. If you are a motorhead, or claim to be one, you should tell yourself that every few weeks or so you’d take a long drive for no apparent reason just to be as one with your automobile. It isn’t exactly like taking your car to Sepang or the local race track, which is as fun or sometimes better, or worse depending on some factors but it is a way to bond with your surroundings, your car and yourself.

The Impreza S-GT - A car that confuses the heck out of me.

Do you people out there know who Harvey Dent is? If you’ve been a Batman fan, then you’d know that he is the villain known as Two Face famous for his split personality and a half scarred, half normal face. Now the simple meaning of having a split personality is having two people living inside one being. When it comes to cars, we somehow know that there are some docile cars that turn into monsters at the prod of the pedal (some turbo cars) or with the switch of a button on the dashboard (think BMW M5 with it’s ‘M’ button). But what I shall be telling you guys out there is that the new Subaru Impreza S-GT isn’t a two faced villain or anything like that. It is something incomprehensible if you follow the usual route on how a performance car should be. In fact, no other car feels like it and I think no one except Subaru is psychotic enough to make such a car.

The Nissan Latio, Sylphy and Teana - Where in the world does Nissan come up with names like that?

A Nissan Latio...a what?

Buying a car is one of the biggest investment that a person makes in his life and car manufacturers know this fact. The main reason you buy a car is to get from A to B without feeling as if your kneecaps are about to burst into pieces after a 20km run from your house to your workplace. In the old days, you could be a farmer, and your workplace would be as soon as you step outside your house but nowadays, you are bound to be a paper-pusher in some office 30km from your house and a car is your biggest necessity, whether you like it or not. No one it his or her right mind would want to take the bus until they retire at the ripe old age of 65 (or earlier). Everyone wants to have their own personal sort of transport and one that offers the comforts of a mini house, a car. You get a roof over your head and air-conditioning for those hot and humid days, or everyday since you work in KL.

How to make 280bhp in Two Different Ways and Which is Better.

Yes, yes, yes. This is one of the topics that I mentioned that I am going to write about and finally, it has been transferred from the incredibly complex and very car savvy mind of mine to this article.

Recently, 2 chaps are in their (early) 30s and the first person bought a 2003 Subaru Impreza WRX STi and the other a 2005 Nissan 350Z Fairlady. Both are grey imports and cost basically somewhat close to the RM150,000.00 figure (one slightly higher and one slightly lower). Now these two fellows are good friends of mine, thus they let me wring out their rides a little for me to make a comparo of things.

CHICKEN SOUP OF THE SOUL KIND OF EMAIL THAT DESERVES TO BE SHOT.

I recently received an email telling one of those 'CHICKEN SOUP OF THE SOUL' kind of stories. Yes these stories have a decent moral ending to it but this latest one really got on my nerves. Read the purported sad story first:

> Seorang Executive muda yang berjaya sedang memandu

> disebuahperkampungan di pinggir Bandar. Ia memandu

> agak lajudengan sebuah kereta WAJA yang berprestasi

> tinggi yangbaru sahaja dibelinya. Sambil ia memandu

> perlahan-lahan ia sedang memerhatikan seorang anak

> kecil dicelah-celah kereta yang diletakkan ditepi

> jalan, ia memperlahankan keretanya untuk melihat

> sesuatu yangdifikirkannya.

>

> Seelok-elok sahaja kereta Waja tersebut melintasi

> kawasan tersebut; anak kecil tidak kelihatan tetapi

> seketul batu dilontarkan tepat mengena pintu disebelah

> kanan kereta Waja tersebut.

>

> Apalagi Executive muda tersebut menekan brek sekuat

> hatinya dan berundur ke tempat dimana Anak kecil tadi

> berdiri. Dengan marahnya dia keluar dari kereta terus

> meluru ke arah Anak kecil, menarik tangan anak kecil

> dan menghempasnya ke kereta yang terletak ditepi jalan

> dan terus memarahi Anak kecil tadi :

>

> ' Apa ni ? Siapa awak ? dan apa ke jadahnya awak

> berada disini ? Itu kereta baru, mahal dan susah nak

> baiki ? Awak tau tak ? Kenapa awak buat ini semua ?

> jerit Executive tersebut.

> Anak kecil itu tunduk sedih, sayu dan memohon maaf ;

>

> ' Saya meminta maaf Pakcik, Saya tak tahu apa patut

> saya buat, ia merayu. Saya melontar batu kerana tak

> ada orang yang berhenti disini apabila saya panggil'.

>

> Dengan linangan air mata ia menunjukkan ke satu sudut

> yang tidak jauh dari situ. 'Itu abang saya , ia jatuh

> dari kerusi roda dari tebing disebelah dan tak ada

> orang yang dapat mengangkatnya kembali. Boleh tak

> Pakcik menolong saya, ia cedera dan ia terlalu berat

> untuk saya.

>

> Dengan rasa terharu,Executive muda tersebut melepaskan

> anak kecil tersebut dan terus mengangkat abangnya dan

> meletakkannya kembali ke kerusi roda.

> Terima kasih, pakcik. Saya doakan pakcik selamat

> dunia dan akhirat.

>

> Tak dapat digambarkan dengan perkataan, Executive

> muda hanya melihat dengan sayu, Anak kecil tersebut

> menyorong abangnya yang cacat dan cedera pulang menuju

> ke rumahnya. Anak sekecil itu boleh mendoakannya akan

> kesejahteraan hidupnya.

>

> Executive muda tersebut berjalan perlahan ke arah

> kereta, WAJA kemek teruk tetapi ia membiarkan saja

> tanpa dibaiki. Ia mengigatkannya bahawa kita tidak

> perlu berkejar-kejar dalam kehidupan ini sehinggakan

> seseorang melontar batu hanya kerana hendakkan

> perhatian .

>

> Pengajaran

>

> Allah tidak menjanjikan hidup ini tidak pernah susah,

> bersuka-ria tanpa kesedihan, Panas tanpa hujan tetapi

> ia memberi kita kekuatan, menenangkan kita semasa

> kesedihan dan menunjukkan jalan yang sebenar-benarnya.

> Janganlah kita sombong dengan kelebihan yang sementara.

Now I promptly shot off a reply to the person who sent it and cc'ed it to all that received it. Not because I am a mean and cruel person. But because I am right. This was my reply:

Hello,

First of all, yes it's good to hear such stories with a moral behind it. BUt please la...a PROTON WAJA? Berprestasi Tinggi? Which country did you come from? Malaysia? Even Malaysians know that the WAJA is already an 8 year old outdated chassis (as at 2008) developed from a late 1990s Mitsubishi Lancer/Charisma chassis (and claimed to be wholly designed in-house) and may not cease production till the year 2850. I say this because the Japanese change models every 5 years minimum and we buyers get the latest technology in our cars.

The WAJA is one of the most dullest family cars on the market. Look at it. It looks like a shopping trolley with steel panels placed on it. I've driven a few and never once did I come out of one telling myself that 'BOY, THAT'S ONE PRESTASI TINGGI CAR LA, I'M SO GLAD I PAID RM63,000.00 FOR THIS MAHAL WAJA'. I'd pay Muthu the garbage collector RM2.50 to take the car to the nearest steel recycling plant.

Everytime I stepped out of one I'd say that it as bad ergonomics, the steering is too fat to have decent grip, the seating/driving position is slightly wrong, the shape of the seats are like sofas without the side support, the engine coarse sounding and unexciting, the overall shape makes all its owners look like old uncles and aunties. The only thing good with the WAJA is the size. It is large enough to carry 5 fairly comfortably and lots of durians in the boot. Are you telling me that carrying 5 people and loads of boot space a car that's 'BERPRESTASI TINGGI?'

If I wanted to buy a PROTON that's 'berprestasi tinggi' I'd buy the PERSONA as its so much better looking and better value for money. If I told a story of a guy feeling self confident that he was driving a WAJA that story must be a lie. For God's Sake, please ask the person who wrote that story to change the car to a Mercedes or a BMW. It's more believable.

Maybe I just read this tale as it has been making its round since 2000, when the WAJA 'BERPRESTASI TINGGI' first came out. But the real moral that has to be said here is -

MAKE THE DARN STORIES BELIEVABLE!!!!!!!!

By the way, SELAMAT BERPUASA TO ALL.