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Hiking and breathtaking sights at Bukit Tabur, soothing massage at Nada Lama and more on Travel Safe and Save with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA Episode 7

August 18, 2011 at 5:36 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Travel Safe and Save

One week has passed since we premiered Episode 6 of Travel Safe and Save with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA where Harvinder visited good old Melaka. It’s now time for a brand new episode of the series and this time, co-host Julie Woon checks out what Klang Valley has to offer with the Chevrolet Cruze.

She visits Bukit Tabur, which is located in Ulu Kelang, just a stone’s throw away from downtown Kuala Lumpur. There she tries out hiking and sets her sight on the gorgeous views the hill has to offer, including a view of the Ulu Kelang Dam.

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Following a good workout with the hike, Julie heads to Bukit Lanjan where she makes a stop at Nada Lama for a soothing and rejuvenating massage. She then ends the journey with a traditional Indonesian meal.

Hope you enjoy the video :) You can also watch previous episodes of Travel Safe and Save with PETRONAS PRIMAX 95 XTRA right here.

Check out more information on the locations after the jump.
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Optimum pressure: Goodyear AMT tyres that won’t lose air

August 18, 2011 at 4:20 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars

Everyone knows the importance of maintaining optimum tyre pressure (we hope!), but we sometimes forget to do so, or lack the discipline to regularly check. Well, if the good folks at Goodyear have their way, we won’t need to bother with manually inflating tyres in the future.

Say hello to Goodyear’s Air Maintenance Technology (AMT), a new innovation currently undergoing development. The headline here is that AMT tyres will remain inflated at the optimum pressure without the need for any external pumps or electronics. All components of the AMT system, including a miniaturised pump, will be fully contained within the black donut!

“While the technology is complex, the idea behind the AMT system is relatively simple and powered by the tyre itself as it rolls down the road. A tyre that can maintain its own inflation is something drivers have wanted for many years. Goodyear has taken on this challenge and the progress we have made is very encouraging. This will become the kind of technological breakthrough that people will wonder how they ever lived without,” said Jean-Claude Kihn, Goodyear’s Chief Technical Officer.

Last month, Goodyear successfully applied for a grant from the Luxemburg government for R&D of an AMT system for consumer tyres. That work will be conducted at Goodyear’s Innovation Center in Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg. In the US, the Department of Energy’s Office of Vehicle Technology recently awarded Goodyear a $1.5 million grant for R&D and demonstration of the AMT system for commercial truck tyres.

So things are looking good for the AMT, but Goodyear isn’t giving any timeline on when this tech would be commercially available. In the meantime, make it a habit to regularly check your tyre pressure for fuel savings, optimum road holding and longer tyre life.

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MINI One 31 unit limited edition – RM139,888!

August 18, 2011 at 4:07 pm By Paul Tan Filed Under BMW, Cars, Local News

The 31 unit limited edition MINI One set to be launched this month will also be the most affordable brand new MINI ever, as MINI Malaysia’s Facebook Page has revealed that the price for the MINI One will be RM139,888.

It’s quite a barebones MINI though – the 1.6 litre engine makes just 98 horsepower and 153Nm of torque, a detuned version of the 1.6 litre engine in the Cooper. Only two colours will be available – Chilli Red and Pepper White. Even the wheels are the most basic steel wheel design.

Word is that as of today, 21 of the 31 units have already been booked, and there are only 10 units left for grabs!

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Rear centre seat belt installation reminder for Honda City (2003-2005) owners, get it done at a 3S Centre now!

August 18, 2011 at 2:38 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, Local News

Ahead of the coming Hari Raya celebrations, when Malaysians clog the roads back to our hometowns, Honda Malaysia is reminding owners of the Honda City (year 2003 to 2005) to go for free rear seat belt installation at any Honda 3S Centre.

25,480 units of the Honda City sold in that period came without a rear centre seat belt. For these cars, the company made an announcement for free installation beginning October 2008, with costs borne by Honda Malaysia. However, as of today, more than 50% of these units have yet to be brought in for remedy.

Jabatan Keselamatan Jalan Raya initiated a rear seat belt campaign back in June 2008 and had given car owners a grace period of three years beginning January 2009 to install rear seat belts in their cars, compulsory for cars registered from January 1995 onwards. The ruling takes effect from 1 January 2012.

If you own a 2003-2005 Honda City, or know someone who does, it’s wise to take action now and book an appointment with your Honda 3S Centre. Remember to buckle up, whether you’re sitting in front or at the back. It’s the law, and it can save your life.

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ExxonMobil sells refining and fuels marketing business in Malaysia to San Miguel Corporation of the Philippines

August 18, 2011 at 1:11 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Local News

ExxonMobil, owner of Esso and Mobil brands, has agreed to sell its interest in three businesses operating in the Malaysian downstream petroleum sector to San Miguel Corporation (SMC) of the Philippines. The deal is reported to cost SMC up to US$610 million in total or RM1.8 billion. It was previously reported that Boustead Holdings (owner of BHPetrol) and Shell Malaysia were among those interested in taking over ExxonMobil’s fuel stations.

The sale to SMC includes ExxonMobil’s 65% stake in Bursa listed Esso Malaysia Berhad (priced at US$206 million, much lower than market value), which operates a refinery in Port Dickson, as well as its wholly-owned ExxonMobil Malaysia Sdn Bhd and ExxonMobil Borneo Sdn Bhd affiliates. The latter two are involved in the retail, industrial and wholesale and aviation fuels businesses.

The physical assets in the transaction include the 88kbd capacity PD refinery which processes an average of 45,000 barrels of crude a day, equity interest in 10 fuel distribution terminals (7 of which are active) and around 560 retail fuel stations. Just last year, ExxonMobil spent a substantial RM90 million in a gas station upgrading exercise.

Despite the change of ownership, the refining, distribution and fuels marketing businesses will continue to operate as they do today under the new shareholder. The Esso and Mobil brands will remain in the market place for up to three years to facilitate SMC’s transition to a new retail fuels brand. The youngest fuel brand at present is BHPetrol, born out of BP’s sale of its retail business to Boustead in 2005.

However, this isn’t a total exit from Malaysia. The sale doesn’t affect ExxonMobil’s upstream interests in the country, where it is active in oil and gas exploration and production through ExxonMobil Exploration and Production Malaysia Inc. Also not included in the sale are the marketing and sales of chemicals, lubricants, and asphalt products, as well as the operations of the ExxonMobil Kuala Lumpur Business Support Center. ExxonMobil’s history in Malaysia dates back to 1893.

Some might know the name as a beverage maker, but San Miguel Corp is a huge Filipino conglomerate and the parent company of Petron, the largest oil refining and marketing company in the Philippines.

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Sebastien Loeb pens new deal to stay with Citroen till 2013

August 18, 2011 at 10:24 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Citroën, Motorsports

Sebastien Loeb, who has won the WRC title seven times running with Citroen, has just penned a new two-year deal that will keep him with the French team till 2013.

After doing it all, the living rally legend had an itch for a new challenge, a new discipline even. “At one point, actually, I wanted a change of scenery. But as I said, between saying and thinking and actually doing it is very different! I thought of new challenges, but ultimately, I am staying, and that’s fine. I am relieved to have made this decision and to continue,” Loeb said, adding that “after careful consideration, I thought that the DTM or the endurance races will have to wait a little.”

He also revealed that Volkswagen tried to pull him over. “I had a proposal from VW, which I must admit had my full attention. The means of VW are very important, superior to Citroen that is clear,” referring to the resources of the Germans.

“With Citroen I evolved, learned a lot, and I won my titles and did not want to hurt the team. They would feel that I had betrayed them by going to another manufacturer. My relationship with the team, with the management of the PSA, the engineers, the mechanics has always been excellent and I did not want to spoil everything.

“With the arrival of other manufacturers in the championship, the competition is going to get tougher in the years to come. All the more so with the rule changes concerning the starting order coming in 2012 as all the drivers will be fighting on a level playing field. To take the fight to them I’m putting my trust in Citroen, a team I know inside out and the DS3 WRC, the car that I helped set up with Citroen Racing,” he shared.

Unlike many of today’s football players, this guy has loyalty. Salute!

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US market Honda Fit Sport gets mild update in and out

August 18, 2011 at 9:20 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Honda, International News

The Honda Jazz, which is called Fit in North America (as with in Japan), gets a mild update for model year 2012. The Honda Fit Sport variant gets revised looks, there are interior upgrades for all models, as well as the addition of new standard features.

The Fit Sport’s exterior updates include a newly designed front grille and bumper, black headlight bezels and a dark “machined surface” finish for the alloys instead of the usual painted finish. The entry level Fit receives body-colour wing mirrors and updated wheel covers.

Inside, the Fit Sport cabin is enhanced with dark metallic dashboard components for a unified color theme (previously gray and black) and chrome accents around the dials. All models get newly designed console-mounted drink holders with ambient lighting.

More across the board updates include sound insulation measures in the floor, front fenders and A-pillars, plus thicker front corner-window glass. This would be useful, since NVH isn’t that great in the Jazz. Two new colors are available: Blue Raspberry Metallic and Orangeburst Metallic.

Kit wise, the Fit Sport now comes standard with steering wheel audio controls that were previously exclusive to navigation-equipped models, as well as upgraded seat fabric. The Honda Satellite-Linked Navigation System now has 16GB of flash memory in place of the old DVD-based system.

Our market’s Jazz received a facelift in April. Click here to refresh your memory. More pics of the US market 2012 Fit after the jump.
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Chinese brand Hawtai to partner Proton after Saab failure?

August 17, 2011 at 12:08 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, China, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton

When Youngman recently bought a stake in troubled Swedish brand Saab, we raised the question on the former’s relationship with Proton. Youngman has been Proton’s partner for quite some time now – Proton provides models for Youngman to rebadge as ‘Lotus’ in China – but does it need the Malaysian anymore, now that it has Saab?

Chinese carmakers are all looking to expand, and acquiring foreign brands is a short cut of sorts to absorb better design, quality and QC. Before the Youngman-Saab deal, another Chinese carmaker was in the picture. Beijing based Hawtai threw in US$172 million for a 29.9% stake in Saab back in May, only for the deal to fall through as they did not obtain all the necessary consents.

This swingers club story has now been updated with reports from China saying that Hawtai will work with Proton, which is no longer the apple of Youngman’s eyes, remember?

According to “inside sources” the two companies (Hawtai and Proton) may be pairing up to take on the Indonesian market and have had “multiple high level meetings” at Hawtai’s HQ in downtown Beijing. While no one knows what’s going on in the boardroom, Hawtai bosses did let slip in a media interview last month that they were in contact with an overseas company regarding a possible joint venture.


Logo of China’s Hawtai Motor, not to be confused with the Malaysian biscuit maker

“In one respect, Proton has to improve its development in the Chinese market, and Hawtai are planning to enter the Indonesian market to expand overseas sales,” China Car Times quoted a source as saying.

There’s bound to be more flirting and proposals to come, and we’ll keep track of the goss (damn, I feel like Perez Hilton now!). Anyway, we dropped by Hawtai’s stand at Guangzhou 2010, click here to see what they had on display. To see, the fruits of Proton’s union with Youngman, click here.

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New car brand to be born in Frankfurt – Eterniti Motors

August 17, 2011 at 10:39 am By Danny Tan Filed Under 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show, Cars, Eterniti Motors, International News

Besides new models and concepts, next month’s Frankfurt show will also see the birth of a new automotive brand. Eterniti Motors (EM) is a London based company that aims to build bespoke luxury vehicles with hand crafted interiors. Its first model, a luxury SUV crossover that’s likely to be called ‘Hemera’, will be shown at Frankfurt.

Expected to carry a price tag of around £150,000, Eterniti’s SUV will be joined later by a similar effort by Aston Martin as well as an upcoming Bentley SUV. As the first to market in 2012, EM wants to sell more than 100 units per year, and is counting on demand from emerging markets. The chassis and powertrain won’t be self developed, but it’s not known from where they will be procured from.

Already, there are plans to expand the range, and a supercar is the next step. Unlike the SUV, the mega bucks supercar will be a bespoke, ground-up design. Eterniti is open to collaborate with other carmakers.

Registered in England, Eterniti Motors is backed by a group of international investors, and the team is claimed to be experienced with luxury cars. Their identities will be revealed as we get closer to Frankfurt, stay tuned!

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CKD Volvo S60 T4 and T5 launched – RM220k and RM255k

August 16, 2011 at 10:25 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Volvo


UPDATE: Live gallery from the event added

Volvo Car Malaysia officially launched the locally assembled Volvo S60 this evening. The CKD S60 comes in two engine variants, a T5 and the new T4. When the S60 was launched back in April, there were two CBU variants offered – the 3.0 T6 AWD and the 2.0 T5. With the new CKD lineup, the range topping (and expensive) T6 is no more.

Both the T4 and T5 powerplants are from Volvo’s latest Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDi) four-cylinder engine family, and are part of the European downsizing movement, which can be summed up as: smaller cc + DI + turbo = more go and better FC.

The unit in the T5 is a 2.0-litre with 240 hp and 320 Nm of torque, pretty impressive figures that trump even Volkswagen’s TSI engine in the Golf GTI. The S60 T5 does 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds on its way to a top speed of 230 km/h.

The T4 may be just a 1.6-litre unit, but with a turbo bolted on, it makes 180 hp and 240 Nm of twist from 1,600 to 5,000 rpm. An overboost function raises max torque to 270 Nm in spurts. That should mean that it will be fast enough for most (0-100 in 9.0s top speed 225 km/h), while costing just RM90 in road tax. Combined consumption is 7.4 litres per 100 km. Both engines are mated to a six-speed Powershift gearbox, so it’s all the latest tech in one.

Volvo bills the S60 as its “naughtiest car ever”, so it comes with “improved steering, stiffer springs and bushes as well as more damping than any previous model”. The mid sized exec also comes with Advanced Stability Control and Corner Traction Control, which is a form of torque vectoring. By the way, our market gets the ‘Dynamic’ spec instead of ‘Comfort’. Find out what we think – read the full test drive report here.

It ain’t a Volvo if it doesn’t come with a full house of safety kit. The T5 features Pedestrian Detection with full auto brake, which detects pedestrians in front of the car and automatically applies full braking power if the driver does not respond in time after being warned with light and sound.


‘Njord’ wheels for the T5 (left) and ‘Balder’ rims for the T4, both are 17in items

Full braking works at speeds of up to 35 km/h. Above that, it slows down the car as much as possible, which could mean less serious injury, or surviving the crash. Collision Warning with full auto brake does the same, but for cars in front.

Adaptive Cruise Control with Queue Assist maintains a set gap to the vehicle in front and works from 0 to 200 km/h. This means that technically, the S60 T5 can “drive itself” in a traffic jam. City Safety and the blind spot warning BLIS are standard on the T4.

The S60 also comes with the new Volvo Sensus infotainment system, displayed on a 5-inch colour screen and accessible via steering wheel controls.


Five colours available, but signature Vibrant Copper has been dropped from CKD range

The S60 T4 is priced at RM220,000, while the T5 costs RM255,000 OTR without insurance. An accessory package worth RM10,000 will be thrown in the mix for the first 60 customers.

Live gallery after the jump. More pics from our test drive report can be viewed here.
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