SHORT TEST DRIVE: MERCEDES BENZ GLC 250 4MATIC

A few weeks ago I was invited to try out the Mercedes Benz GLC 250 4Matic SUV at Cycle & Carriage's Mercedes Benz showroom located along Jalan Tun Razak (incidently my favourite Mecedes Benz showroom to visit - free plug here peeps!). The Mercedes Benz GLC-Class is Mercedes Benz's answer to the Audi Q5 and the BMW X3. It is a long time coming as prior to this, Mercedes Benz had no direct competitor, locally or in right hand drive markets. Before the GLC existed, which was sometime 2015, Mercedes Benz only had something called the GLK for left hand drive markets. This was actually a huge mistake and if you noticed, there are lots of Audi Q5s and BMW X3s around. Of course, now with the launch of the GLC in Malaysia, things are bound to change.

All-new Elantra and All-new Tucson Win the Prestigious iF Design Award

It has been over 60 years since the first German iF Design Awards were held.  The design awards have been recognized across the world as a symbol of design and styling excellence across various fields including automobile design. Organized by iF International Forum Design GmbH, the awards recognize outstanding design across various disciplines and categories. The jury awarded the sought-after prize to Hyundai Motor’s All-new Elantra and All-New Tucson following a rigorous judging process, involving almost 5,000 entries from 53 countries Both cars  won the  iF Design Award 2016 in “Product” discipline, under “Automobiles / Vehicles / Bikes”.

TRUCK NEWS: A bit on the recent large order of MAN TGS Trucks to the LTS Group

Hartmut Mueller, Managing Director of MAN Truck and Bus (M) Sdn Bhd (3rd from right) presenting a mock key to Lee Kah Chye, CEO of  the Lee Ting San (LTS) Group of Companies (3rd from left) to mark the handover of 70 units of MAN TGS prime mover to LTS. Witnessing the handover is Mohd Azharuddin Bin Mat Sah, CEO of Suruhanjaya Pengangkutan Awam Darat (SPAD) (2nd from right) and other board members of LTS.

I have to say that this must have been a coup for MAN Truck & Bus (M) Sdn Bhd (MTBM). One of the larger  transportation service provider in Malaysia, Lee Ting San Group of Companies (LTS Group), had recently purchased seventy MAN TGS 19.360, 4×2 prime mover intended for long-haul transport. MAN TGS will make up one third of the logistic specialist’s existing fleet of prime movers. 

The First Volkswagen Stand-Alone Body & Paint Centre Launched in Balakong

Volkswagen via their dealer Win Hin Autohaus Sdn Bhd has opened the first stand alone Body and Paint centre. This center is located close to the Win Hin 3S centre in Balakong, Selangor.  this centre covers services such as minor and major body repairs, chassis realignment, genuine parts, windscreen replacements, body spray and paintjobs while also assisting Volkswagen owners with their insurance claims. 

TEST DRIVE: Volvo V40 T5 Cross Country 2.0 - Probably the most refined premium hatchback in the market

Volvo cars have a long history in Malaysian motoring. They were one of the first European cars warmly embraced by the Malaysian car buying public. In the 1970s, 1980s and up to the 1990s you could see many of them plying our cities, towns and even villages. People who could afford a large sedan bought them for their size and safety. They were box shaped cars that many of those born in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s would remember as the car that their father, uncle, grandfather had and those were sweet memories of being in something safe and secure.

The Lotus Evora 400 is finally introduced to the Malaysian Market

First evora 400 customer key. From left - Head of Lotus Cars Malaysia YM Tengku Djan Tengku Mahaleel, Director of Group Lotus PLC and CEO of PROTON, Dato' Abdul Harith Abdullah, First Owner of Lotus Evora 400 in Malaysia, Mr Patrick Tam, and Chairman of Group Lotus PLC and PROTON, YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The Lotus Evora 400 has finally made it to our shores. A year after its unveiling at the Geneva Motorshow. Lotus Cars Malaysia introduced the Evora 400 at their showroom along Jalan Damansara. This car is the latest Evora with lots of improvements. Present at the launch was Chairman of Group Lotus PLC and PROTON, YABhg Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed. Also significant at the launch was the handing over of the key to the first owner of the Evora 400, Mr Patrick Tam and that Tun Mahathir himself drove off in a red Evora 400 (a replacement for the original one he had).

Essential Tips to Stay Safe this Festive Season by FORD Malaysia and from Yours Truly

Ford Malaysia has sent me some tips for those of you who will be on the road this Chinese New Year season. I believe it is my duty to share the tips stated below. I also want to add these two tips:

1. PLEASE USE YOUR INDICATORS WHEN YOU WANT TO MAKE A TURN OR OVERTAKE. 

JAGUAR XE SPORTS SEDAN LAUNCHED IN MALAYSIA

Earlier today Jaguar Land Rover Malaysia officially launched the all new Jaguar XE sedan for the Malaysian market. This is the smallest, lightest and stiffest Jaguar sedan ever built to date and it is packed with many ground-breaking features. 

The most eye opening feature of this car is the aluminium intensive monocoque chassis. No other compact premium sedan is built this way for the time being. What this means is that the car is one of the lightest in its class and this in turn usually translates to great fuel economy and a car that is light on its feet, i.e it should handle well.

Truck & Bus News: Volvo Trucks Officially Opens its Largest Dealership to date in Port Klang

I attended the official launch of Volvo Trucks' latest and currently largest dealership in Malaysia on Tuesday, 26th of January. The event was launched by Mr. Bengt Carlsson, Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia and attended by senior management of Volvo Group and Volvo Malaysia, customers, business partners and the media. I did write about this dealership a month or so ago but that was because that was to announce that the dealership was already open for business. It was only on that day that the facility was officially launched in a very grand way.

From left: Bengt Carlsson, Swedish Ambassador, Christophe Martin, President Asia Oceania, Volvo Group Trucks (in the middle) and Mats Nilsson, Managing Director, Volvo Malaysia getting ready to launch the opening of Port Klang flagship dealership

Porsche unveils the Four Cylinder Porsche Boxster and Boxster S

PORSCHE have introduced the latest generation of their Boxster. Codenamed Porsche 718, the new Boxster and Boxster S is essentially the current Boxster/Cayman floorpan with some exterior upgrades, suspension upgrades and most importantly, smaller flat four engines which replace the flat sixes. Downsizing is again the order of the day.

Ferrari California T gets a handling upgrade option - HS for Handling Speciale

There are those that think that the Ferrari California T isn't a Ferrari that is sporty. Which is one reason why you don't see many around here in Malaysia. When it was first launched I suppose I would agree. These days, after Ferrari did a thorough revision and started calling it the California T, the car looks much better and drove better. Which is usually the case why someone buys a Ferrari in these parts most of the time. Now, the improved Cali is available with a more focused Handling Speciale (HS) option. 

Spotted for Sale: 2006 Mahindra Scorpio 2.0 (M) - Now you can act out your Inspector Sahab dreams properly

This made in India Mahindra is actually pretty cool for the price asked - RM11,000. You get to act out your dream to be a Tamil movie policeman with one of these. Well, it's either you're Inspector Sahab or you're the evil rich landlord with a lot of henchmen that always seem to arrive in a few of these. Do you also realise that every Inspector in the Tamil movie is named Inspector Sahab? Of course lah, 'Sahab' actually means 'Sir'. A polite way to address a ranked police officer.

Proton's "It's In The Drive" Campaign - Test Drive & Win a Suprima S and other prizes

Alright folks. Proton Edar Sdn Bhd, distributor of Proton cars have launched their latest sales campaign. The 'It's in the drive' campaign begins today until the 31st of March 2016. 

This is a roadshow and also a test drive campaign. Malaysians with a valid IC and driving license are eligible to participate in the “Test Drive & Win” contest. This contest will be divided into two eligibility criteria. Customers can head over to any PROTON showrooms nationwide and test drive any Proton models, fill in the test drive form, answer several simple questions and participants will then stand a chance to win a weekly prize. To be eligible to win the Grand Prize, customers who have successfully booked their car during this campaign can stand a chance to win the Suprima S.Selected winners for the contest will have a chance to win weekly prizes which include a 42” LCD TV, electronic gadgets such as mobile phones and iPad minis worth about RM150,000 in total. At the end of the contest, a selected winner will win the Proton Suprima S premium variant for the grand prize.

TRUCK & BUS: Which is more fun to drive? A truck or a bus - Featuring the Scania G460 Truck & Scania Marcopolo Coach

Today I shall try to answer the very important question of whether a prime mover truck complete with a trailer or a bus is a better drive. I am sure this is one question that would never pop into the mind of most Malaysians. But just in case you happen to come into circumstances where the only means of transport is either a bus or a truck, this would answer your question.

A few months ago I was given the opportunity to try both by Scania at their Driver Competitions 2014/2015 at the Sepang Circuit. One was a Scania G460 truck and the bus was a Scania Marcopolo. I have to say that I truly love what I do and the opportunities I get. I mean, who gets to try trucks and buses at race tracks. This was my second excursion in a prime mover truck after I tried a Volvo FM series complete with a tanker load of 10 tons. On a race track in Thailand. Life is pretty interesting sometimes.

What? Ford's seat fabrics used for clothing in Hong Kong fashion show.

Errr...in something that showcases the versatility of Ford's seat fabrics, the Ford Motor Company made its debut on the HKTDC Hong Kong Fashion Week runway today as part of The EcoChic Design Award 2015/16 grand finale show. Five outfits featured in the show were made entirely from the up-cycling of Ford’s sustainable seat fabrics, which are made from recycled plastic bottles.

"Manchester United For Life” Contest is Back with Chevrolet’s 2016 CNY Campaign

Good news! If you missed on the chance to win stuff in Chevrolet's 'Manchester United for Life' contest held last year you can try again. Chevrolet's authorised distributor, NAZA Quest Sdn Bhd is in a good mood due to the great response of last year’s Chevrolet “Manchester United For Life” contest. So even though the previous contest winner was just announced last December, the 2016 installment is back and a NEW lucky winner will be heading to watch the Manchester United vs. Everton game at Old Trafford on April 2, 2016.

Truck News: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles post sales of 2,623 units for 2015

 Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Commercial Vehicles post sales of 2,623 units, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Vice President, Commercial Vehicles Albert Yee with the Mercedes-Benz Actros and FUSO FE83PG

Now a bit on some trucking news here in Malaysia. Mercedes Benz Commercial Vehicles, like their passenger vehicle arm, has done well in Malaysia for 2015. As the distributor of Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles and FUSO trucks, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia delivered to customers a respective total of 193 units and 2,430 units. In doing so, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has effectively increased its market share in Malaysia for both European and Asian truck segments. The 2,623 units sold represented a 5.5% increase in their overall sales over 2014.

Spotted For Sale: ANOTHER "Toyota AE86" that you never, ever wanted A.K.A ISWARUENO

Yup. This is another one of those 'AE86' that you never ever want. Like the previous one here, this is not a Toyota but it is another Proton Saga like the one I posted last time. It is actually bad enough that we see old two door KE70 Corolla Liftbacks with the Panda colour scheme and the words Trueno plastered on them but this, is exceptional. Ever heard of a ISWARUENO? Now you have.

The fella over in Kedah is trying to sell this 1992 Proton Iswara as a Proton Iswara 1.3 (M) AE86 Initial D. Fuiyoh. 

Motor Image launches the facelifted 2016MY Subaru XV in Malaysia

(from left) Jun Yong, Emcee of the day; Andrew Lee, General Manager, Motor Image Malaysia; Reza Mutalib, Executive Director, TC Subaru Sdn Bhd; Monika Sta Maria, 2015 Asia's Next Top Model runner up and Subaru Brand Ambassador

Motor Image, the authorised distributor of Subaru in Malaysia launched the facelifted Subaru XV sometime around brunch time today (that's breakfast and lunch time to you folks out there).  The MY16 or model year 2016 Subaru XV features the following improvements that I've laid down below.

New by MINI - The MINI Clubman ALL4

We have a new XL sized MINI variant out. Based on the MINI Clubman but it now has all-wheel drive.  Now we can attack wet mountain roads the way we would use an Audi RS3, Mitsubishi EVO or a Subaru WRX in a MINI. The petrol powered COOPER S Clubman ALL4 version gets a 2.0liter turbocharged with  192hp / 280Nm with either a 6 speed manual or 8 speed steptronic automatic transmission. Needs more power if one wants to chase after the Audi, Mitsu, Scooby mentioned above though. A JCW version should obviously follow soon yes?