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The Perodua Eco-Challenge is back with more teams, more money, less petrol and extra challenges!

May 18, 2011 at 3:05 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Perodua

The Perodua Eco-Challenge (PEC) is one of the more interesting CSR programmes around. Now in its third year, PEC challenges universities and polytechnics to produce the most fuel efficient “concept car”. The main objective is to challenge the engineering capabilities of undergraduates and to breed innovation and creativity among them. And as we’ve seen from last year’s event, the results can be very impressive.

Perodua Eco-Challenge 2011 will happen on June 25 at the Melaka International Motorsports Circuit. The venue of the finals may be the same, but this year’s PEC is a much tougher challenge for the students. The main change is that teams are now only given an engine (660 cc three-cylinder) and a gearbox (five-speed manual), as opposed to a full car last year.

This means that teams will have to construct a chassis and shell for the car, instead of just stripping and modifying Vivas. Because of this extra work, the seed money given to each team by Perodua has increased from last year’s RM10,000 to RM17,500.

Because of this new ruling, the machines we will see at MIMC next month will come in various shapes, sizes and configurations – UKM is working on a mid engined, rear driven car, for instance. They will also be given less fuel. Last year, teams extracted the most out of a litre of petrol; this year, they will do so with half the amount (0.5-litre) of Petronas Primax 95 Xtra.

The entry list this year has grown to 14 teams, including a Perodua in-house R&D team that won’t be eligible for prizes. Speaking of prizes, the longest distance winning team will take home RM20,000, first runner up RM10,000 and third place RM5,000. The “Engineering” category has a RM30k pot to be won, while the “Design/Participation” category offers RM9,000 up for grabs.

At a progress update event this afternoon, the selected reps of the participating universities didn’t reveal too much of their “trade secrets”, but the Perodua team (which has nothing to lose, or rather nothing to win) shared their project targets as well as the shape of their car, which you can see from the image above. Can any student team beat this 70 km/l benchmark? We’ll have to wait. At present, many of the teams are in the phase of manufacturing the components and testing the car.

The entry list consists of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Universiti Kuala Lumpur Malaysia Spanish Institute, Politeknik Sultan Azlan Shah (based in Tg Malim, so they will be testing in Proton’s facilities!), Universiti Malaysia Pahang, Universiti Sains Malaysia (2010 A/T winners), Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Teknologi Petronas, Universiti Tenaga Nasional (2010 M/T winners), Universiti Industri Selangor, Politeknik Ungku Omar, Politeknik Port Dickson, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Universiti Teknikal Malaysia Melaka.

All the best to the participating teams – see you in Melaka!

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Bribespot – helping to put a ‘face’ to corruption

May 18, 2011 at 1:37 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under International News, Technology

Bribery is pretty much a rampant, worldwide thing, and it happens in many facets of life. We can all do without it, for sure, but one way or another most of us have had to partake in it as the giver. Not correct, nor ethical, but sometimes it’s easier to take flight than fight, with a little help from some De La Rues.

Most cases go unreported, of course – it takes a significant effort to expose such activity, and the trouble one has to go to usually means the idea is a non-starter in the mind. Well, here’s a way where you can go about it, quietly and in a faceless manner.

It’s called Bribespot, an app currently available on the internet and to Android phone users (an iPhone version is on the cards) that gives users a chance to anonymously report bribes. It’s new, just about a month old, so there’s little on-ground data yet, but you can expect things to heat up as it goes on.

The application was developed by a team of people from Estonia, Finland, Lithuania and Iran, and was launched at the Garage48 startup competition in Tallinn, Estonia last month.

On a phone, the Bribespot app automatically gets your location and visualises bribes requested/paid around you. You can use Bribespot to report a bribe – just ensure the app has the right location, indicate the bribe size and choose the category. You can also add the story behind it using comment box. The report, the people behind the program say, is completely anonymous.

A ‘bribe stream’ is also available, so you can get more detailed information about bribes, view specific locations and the size of the bribe paid. In all, it probably won’t change things too much – bribes will continue to be given and taken, but at least now you can see where and when it happens. You can also imagine that a great deal many reports from hereabouts will be for traffic offences!

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Hyundai Genesis Prada – one very large, stylish bag

May 18, 2011 at 11:25 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Hyundai, International News, Koreans


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Hyundai has introduced the production version of its Genesis Prada in Korea, two years after a special edition was unveiled at the Seoul Motor Show. The limited edition variant is based on the 2012 Genesis sedan, equipped with a 430 PS Tau 5.0 GDi engine.

The company says the the joint project is the result of both companies’ approach to create a highly unique version of the Genesis model, addressed to the most sophisticated clientele.


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The edition comes in three special colours, these being Black Nero, Blue Baltico and Brown Moro, and these are applied with a three-layer coat technology with stereoscopic gold pearl.

Dark chrome accents, in a nod to the unique palladium-coated buckles on Prada’s bags, are to be found, with the radiator grille, emblem and door handles wearing the material. The innovations introduced by Prada include also 19-inch alloy wheels and an outer, wedge shaped antenna.


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Inside, there’s definitely no shortage of leather – the dashboard and the upholstery in the Genesis Prada get the artisan-crafted treatment in the form of “saffiano” leather, which is Prada’s signature top quality leather. Genesis Prada badging and a GP500 emblem round off things with this one.

Hyundai says the car will be produced by customised personal orders, and that it will work together with Prada to carry out exclusive VIP marketing activities on the vehicle, of which there will only be 1,200 units available for the Korean market. There are plans to offer the car to a limited number of Middle Eastern and Asian countries, including China, at a later point.

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RON 95 petrol pricing to be reviewed soon

May 18, 2011 at 12:12 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Local News, Malaysian Fuel Prices

The price of RON 95 petrol, along with the pricing of all other petroleum products, will be reviewed in June, according to Domestic Trade, Cooperative and Consumerism Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob. He told reporters yesterday that the finance ministry and Pemandu (Performance Management & Delivery Unit) would be among those which would determine if the prices should be maintained or increased.

Ismail Sabri added that according to Pemandu’s subsidy rationalisation plan, there would be a revision every six months for subsidies on all products, saying that diesel, LPG and RON95 prices were revised last December and therefore a revision was now due.

“This means that a mid-year revision will be carried out this month or early June. I can’t say what will happen, but the revision will take place and the government’s subsidy burden is high,” he told reporters, who posed the question about the status of RON 95 pricing following the increase of RON 97 recently to RM2.90.

He said that although he had previously stated that petrol prices would not go up at the moment, that wasn’t a guarantee that petrol prices would stay the same forever, since the government was already burdened with subsidies for petroleum products.

“Last year, the government’s subsidy for petroleum products was RM8bil when world fuel prices shot up, and we don’t see signs that it will drop. If this continues, the government will bear RM18bil in subsidies this year, an increase of RM10bil,” he stated, adding that if subsidies were reduced, the RM10bil could be used to build more schools, housing projects, educational aid and village roads.

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Petronas PRIMAX 95 Xtra Virtual Race will end on the 30th of May – support your favorite racecar now!

May 17, 2011 at 11:16 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under Cars

Hey guys, the Petronas PRIMAX 95 XTRA Virtual Race has been extended until the 30th of May 2011, so there’s still time for you to support a virtual race car of your choice for a chance to get invited to an exclusive fans appreciation party with the winner.

Our race car is currently in the lead with 417 supporters, but every last supporter counts! :) You can also vote for multiple race cars so to triple your chances of getting invited to the party, you can simply vote for all 3 virtual race cars. In case you don’t know, the other virtual racers are Juliana Evans and hitz.fm’s Ean.

All you have to do is log on to the Petronasbrands Facebook page, click the Savings All The Way tab at the left below the main profile image, enter the virtual race page and click “PUMP” to pump virtual fuel into your favorite virtual race car.

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Kung Fu Panda saves the day! Chinese auto distributor Pang Da pumps 45m euros into Saab, buys stake in Spyker

May 17, 2011 at 5:35 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, China, International News, Saab, Spyker

Cash strapped Saab has a new saviour, just a few days after the deal with Chinese automaker Hawtai fell through. The Swedish brand’s owner, Spyker, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pang Da Automobile Trade Co Ltd, China’s largest publicly traded automobile distributor with over 1,100 dealerships nationwide.

The MoU includes a strategic alliance consisting of a 50/50 distribution joint venture and a manufacturing joint venture (MJV) for Saab vehicles as well as for an MJV-owned brand (a so-called ‘child brand’) in China. Saab will have up to 50% stake in the MJV, with Pang Da and another manufacturing partner owning the remaining shares.


In return, Saab gets what it needs the most for now – cash. Pang Da will pay 30 million euro for the purchase of Saab vehicles and is expected to make an additional 15 million euro payment for the purchase of more Saab vehicles within 30 days, subject to certain circumstances. The 30 million euro initial payment will give Saab the ability to pay its suppliers and the liquidity required to restart production.

In addition, the Chinese company will take an equity stake in Saab’s parent Spyker for a total amount of 65 million euro at 4.19 per share. This equates to 24% of Spyker, and Pang Da will have the right to nominate a member of the Supervisory Board of Spyker and/or the board of Saab.

Isn’t that quite a bit of purchasing power for a car dealer? Well, Pang Da raised nearly 6.5 billion yuan (over 703 million euro) in its initial public offering last month, so it definitely has the means.

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Volkswagen Camper Van tent – a very different Transporter

May 17, 2011 at 12:17 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under International News

So, you fancy the great outdoors, and love the idea of being out in the open with a VW Type 2 Transporter, but can’t lay your hands on an example? Well, here’s a cheaper, and more accomodating option, a fold away you can roll up to the ground with in your Range Rover Sport. Or Touareg.

It’s a 1:1 scale tent of the Transporter, in this case the T1 version of the model from 1965, called the VW Camper Van tent. Officially licensed by Volkswagen, it offers accomodation for four adults, in two zip-separated double size ‘rooms,’ so one can, ahem, do whatever it is one would like to do in relative privacy (don’t think there’s too much sound insulation though).

Features include heavy-duty waterproofing on the outer fabric shell (3,000 mm top, 1,000 mm side rating) for protection against the elements, and blue, yellow and red as colour options. All you’ll need to complete the experience is to bring along accompanying music, clothes and other paraphernalia from the era.

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Aston Martin Cygnet to have an all-electric version

May 17, 2011 at 12:10 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Aston Martin, Cars, Hybrids and Alternative Fuel, International News

Obviously, someone somewhere thinks that this is undoubtedly a brilliant idea – an Aston Martin all-electric car. Only thing is, it’s not going to be very fast, nor very big.

Reports say the rumour mill has it that the company is planning an EV version of its tiny Cygnet, which of course will essentially be a tarted up electric version of the Toyota iQ, which the standard Cygnet is based on. All in the name of being seen as green, yes, and a case of ‘since everyone’s doing it, why shouldn’t we?’ Still, you can imagine there’ll be takers. There always are.

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Peugeot RCZ – silver example already spotted months ago

May 16, 2011 at 11:59 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot


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It’s very close now, the launch of the Peugeot RCZ – the car is set to make its debut officially in a few days time at Bangsar Shopping Centre, and already a white coloured example has been caught on a transporter over the weekend, presumably one of the launch cars that will be at the display in BSC.


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Another reader, Brian, has sent in more photos of the car, but they are of a registered road-going silver unit, and were taken back in late January. He says that he saw the car parked in Jaya 33 in Petaling Jaya then, so it looks like the RCZ has been around and out in the open for a while now. Might this be the same silver unit that was spotted in JPJ Putrajaya back last October doing type approval?


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Not that it matters, really, since everyone’s going to be able to clap eyes on a bevy of fresh examples soon enough, in 156 hp automatic and 200 hp manual form at point of launch. Stay tuned for the 2+2 coupe’s launch story later this week!

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DPM: We cannot sustain subsidies on the same amount

May 16, 2011 at 3:02 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Local News, Malaysian Fuel Prices

Earlier this month, RON 97 petrol shot up by 20 sen to RM2.90 per litre. It was actually the fifth monthly increase in a row for RON 97 since December 2010, but it does not affect the majority of Malaysians, who continue to pay RM1.90 for RON 95 fuel. But will there be an upward revision of RON 95 prices?

Not today, but we should brace ourselves for one. Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin told reporters this morning that the subsidy bill is set to double to RM20.58 billion, and that the country will not be able to sustain this level of subsidy at today’s prices. Of this total, petroleum related sectors, including subsidy for RON 95 petrol and diesel, takes the lion’s share of RM18 billion. Last year, it cost RM9.2 billion.

“Yes, we are subsidising but we cannot sustain subsidies on the same amount. So there are ways in which we are trying to reduce subsidy costs like the increase in price of sugar. We are doing it in stages. Subsidy costs has also doubled from RM10.32 billion in 2010 to an expected cost of RM20.58 billion in 2011. RM18 billion is subsidy for petroleum-related sectors,” he told newsmen.

“We cannot guarantee there will be no increase in the prices of goods. We cannot control the prices but where the government can intervene to decrease public burden then we will,” the DPM added.

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