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Volkswagen Jetta, Passat and Cross Touran launched – RM150k, RM185k and RM167k respectively, all CBU

October 19, 2011 at 10:59 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Feature Stories, Local News, Volkswagen

Volkswagen Group Malaysia today launched the Jetta, Passat and Cross Touran, following their preview debut at the Volkswagen Das Auto Show 2011 last month. All three models arrive in CBU form, though of course at some point in the near future the Passat and Jetta are set to be assembled locally, in Pekan – no details yet on that one though.

The Jetta sedan, which rolls in at RM149,888 (on the road, without insurance), is powered by a 1.4 TSI twin-charged engine, offering 160 PS at 5,800 rpm and 240 Nm from 1,500 to 4,500 rpm, mated to a seven-speed DSG tranny; this specification places the car as the most powerful sedan in its category, VGM says.

Features include Volkswagen’s Climatronic air-conditioning system, a RCD310 audio system, Park Distance Control (PDC) for the front and rear, cruise control and seats covered in ‘Sienna’ fabric.

As for the Passat, the 1.8 TSI-equipped D segment offering is priced at RM184,888, and has 160 PS at 5,000 to 6,200 rpm and 250 Nm from 1,500 to 4,200 rpm for output numbers, with a seven-speed DSG box in attendance.

Kit includes 17-inch alloys, bi-Xenon headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights, RCD 510 touch-screen, 6-disc CD changer / eight=speaker audio system and leather seats. Other items include cruise control, electric parking brake with auto-hold function and hill-hold control, PDC for the front and rear and a tyre pressure monitoring system.

Lastly, the Cross Touran, which goes for RM166,888. The seven-seater’s ”Cross” kit includes wider wheel arches and longer suspension springs than the standard Touran, giving it 20 mm more ground clearance than the latter. It’s also equipped with a 1.4 TSI mill, though in this case in its 140 hp and 220 Nm form.

Features on this one include 17-inch alloys with staggered tyres and bi-Xenon headlamps with daytime running lights, as well as plenty of interior comfort and convenience options, including 40 storage bins and up to 1,989 litres of cargo carrying space. The MPV also comes equipped with six airbags – the Jetta and Passat also have the same number..

We’re in the midst of the media drive involving all three vehicles, and we’ll have more for you when we return from Penang! Stay tuned.

262 Comments      

VIDEO: Part 2 of Proton Transporter’s Singapore adventure

October 19, 2011 at 4:19 pm By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Videos

Proton has just released a Part 2 video of a five-part online series which puts The Transporter’s journey to Singapore on centre stage. As you would know, Proton’s ‘Transporter’ is Hanis Salleh who emerged as the winner in The Transporter contest which ended on 24th August.

Hanis walked home with a 4-day/3-night all expense-paid trip to watch the 2011 Singapore GP at the Marina Bay street circuit. Not only that, he got to travel to the night race with Yasmin Hani, Diana Danielle and Jojo Struys! Now how about that?

The first video centred around the prelude to the trip while the second video we have here shows us their experience at the event with exclusive paddock passes. The third installment will be released soon, meanwhile enjoy this ;)

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UMW launches Repsol automotive lubricants in Malaysia

October 19, 2011 at 2:18 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Bikes, Cars, Local News

The name Repsol is no stranger to the biking community and to those who follow MotoGP. I have to admit that I haven’t been following the premier bike series for a long time, but I fondly remember my favourite rider Mick Doohan battling it out with the likes of Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz. The Aussie rode a Repsol Honda, the same team that just powered Casey Stoner to the 2011 MotoGP title.

Well, for those scratching their heads, Repsol is an oil and gas company from Spain with principal operations in Latin America, Middle East and North Africa. The brand is market leader in its home market and Argentina, and is quite big in South America. It operates in 30 countries and its products are available in 60 nations across the globe.

Repsol is now officially available in Malaysia courtesy of UMW Lubricants International (ULI). The principal agency agreement with Repsol was signed in November last year at the Valencia MotoGP race. Since its introduction here in June 2011, ULI has imported over 530 tonnes of lubricant oil for passenger vehicles, motorcycles and diesel engines.

ULI will start blending lubes according to Repsol specs at its Shah Alam plant from January 2012. The manufacturing of Repsol branded products has also begun at Lubritech’s plant in Guangdong, China. Lubritech is part of the UMW Group. Sales of Repsol lubes are expected to reach 20,000 tonnes per year within Malaysia and China by 2015. Locally, ULI is hoping to capture at least 3% market share bu end 2012. Promo activities will start from this weekend’s MotoGP race at Sepang.

UMW also handles the Pennzoil lubricant brand in Malaysia. Repsol will be positioned above the American brand.

“We would like to position Repsol as a premium quality lubricant. Given its long time association with MotoGP, we are going to aggressively promote Repsol products for the passenger vehicle market. We will appoint nationwide distributors and dealers, and target to have more than 200 outlets by the end of 2011,” said Datuk Syed Hisham Syed Wazir, President and Group CEO of UMW Holdings Berhad.

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UMW Toyota Motor update on Thailand flood disaster

October 19, 2011 at 11:05 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Local News, Toyota

Thailand is suffering from its worst flood in 50 years, and the scenes on the telly are sad, showing entire towns submerged in water. People have been displaced and industries paralysed. No one is spared, from hard disk drive makers like Western Digital to auto companies Honda and Toyota, plus their suppliers.

Honda’s plant in Rojana Industrial Park, Ayutthaya, is still a large aquarium, and Toyota has stopped operations at all its three plants in Samrong, Gateway and Ban Pho due to parts shortage. Here’s an update from UMW Toyota Motor on the current situation:

With the recent flooding in Ayutthaya, Thailand, Toyota Motor Thailand Co. (TMT) has decided to halt operations at all three plants at Samrong, Gateway and Ban Pho plants due to interruption in parts supply from affected suppliers.

UMW Toyota Motor Sdn Bhd would like to inform all customers, at this moment there is no interruption to the delivery of Toyota CKD (complete knocked down) and CBU (complete built-up) models retailed by the company for the month of October.

However, if the situation in Ayutthaya, Thailand continues to deteriorate, we will advise our customers on their vehicle delivery status individually.

“Our commitment to our customers remains topmost in our priority. We are closely monitoring on the parts supply situation in Thailand and will provide any updates or information in a timely manner. We sincerely hope for the quickest possible recovery and appreciate our customers and business partners understanding during these difficult times” said En. Ismet Suki, President of UMW Toyota Motor.

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Peugeot 508 1.6 litre 156 THP launched – RM170k OTR

October 18, 2011 at 11:53 pm By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Local News, Peugeot

Nasim launched the Peugeot 508 sedan earlier tonight in a single variant form, this being the 1.6 litre 156 THP. More than 100 pre-launch bookings have already been taken for the car, which rolls in at RM169,888, on-the-road with insurance.

Output figures for the EP6CDT Prince twin-scroll turbocharged mill are the by-now familiar 156 hp at 6,000 rpm and 240 Nm at 1,400 rpm, and the partnering transmission of choice is the AT6 six-speed auto gearbox, with steering mounted paddle shifters part of the package.

Performance figures for the variant include a 220 km/h top speed, a 0-100 km/h sprint time of 9.2 seconds and a combined drive cycle consumption figure of 7.1 litres per 100 km.

The kit list for the 1.6 156 THP includes just about everything as seen on the European spec’d model that we tested in Spain earlier this year – bi-Xenon headlamps with headlight washers and auto height adjusters, LED daytime running lights, leather seats, colour head-up display, eight-way electric-powered seats for the driver / passenger and push-start ignition.

Other standard issue items are six airbags, a 7-inch HD World in Peugeot multi-function colour screen (with USB and Bluetooth connectivity), four-zone air conditioning, an Intuitive Control Unit in the centre console, automatic electronic parking brake as well as steering-mounted radio/volume control and cruise control switches.

Also to be found, a Smart Beam function for the headlamps, where an intelligent camera – positioned at the back of the rearview mirror – analyses the driving conditions (vehicle being passed, lit urban areas sorta thing) and automatically switches the headlamps to high beam if the situation demands it, and reverting back to the standard beam if there’s on-coming traffic.

Elsewhere, there’s ESP, ABS, EBD, emergency brake assist, anti-skid regulation and DSC, as well as a Hill Assist system, front and rear parking assist (displayed on the 7-inch screen) and an Available Space Measurement (ASM) system, which aids the driver in parallel parking.

The 508 here also features the 10-speaker, 10-channel 500 watt amplifier JBL audio system with Arkamys audio processing that’s optional in Europe as standard fitment, and gets up-sized wheels to boot, in this case 18-inch twin five-spoke alloys, wearing 235/45 series tyres.

Four external shades are available for the 508, these being Pearl White, Bourrasque Blue, Aluminium and Haria Grey.

Oh, and the car actually has a navigation system, but it’s effectively dormant for now because there’s no Malaysian map as yet – owners will have to wait until next year before they can use it, when the map becomes available and retrofit loading is carried out. There are maps of France and Russia in the system right now, though it’s unlikely that an owner will want to drive his 508 that far just to utilise the GPS ….

373 Comments      

Chery hits export targets early, Brazil is biggest market

October 18, 2011 at 1:15 pm By Danny Tan Filed Under Cars, Chery, China, International News


Other than Proton, who else uses ‘FL’ to mark a facelift? This is the Chery Tiggo FL!

There are so many car brands in China that only a visit to a Chinese motor show will open one’s eyes. But apart from a handful, most of these brands are unknown outside the country, or province. One of the better known ones is Chery, which is also China’s largest passenger vehicle exporter.

Chery seems to have the vision its peers don’t. The Anhui based state owned company exported 122,441 vehicles in the first nine months of 2011, up 80% year-on-year. This surge of exports has allowed the company to achieve its original 2011 target of 122,000 units three months ahead of schedule. For the whole year, Chery expects to ship 180,000 vehicles overseas.

Who’s buying their cars? Exports to emerging markets have been especially strong. Fellow BRIC country Brazil is Chery’s largest export market, followed by Russia and Ukraine. Chery plans to export to Europe after 2015.

They won’t go it alone. According to a German report from last month, Chery Quantum Auto, a 1.5 billion euro joint venture between Chery and Israel Corp, will build three compact models to be sold in China and exported to Europe, reaching the continent next year. The cars, developed by Magna Steyr, will be built at a new factory near Shanghai with an initial capacity of 150,000 units per year, rising eventually to 500k units.

The cars, designed to meet Western standards and expected to cost around RM46,700 to RM63,500, will be sold under a new brand called Qoros. Read our post on that here.

81 Comments      

Peugeot 908 HYbrid4 hits the track for the first time

October 18, 2011 at 11:26 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Motorsports, Peugeot

Peugeot gave the 908 HYbrid4 its world debut at Geneva this year. Since then, the dual powered Le Mans racer has undergone a shakedown at private PSA Peugeot Citroën venue, and more recently, hit the track for the first time. It was at Estoril, Portugal, for testing.

The car completed a little more than 300 km in the hands of Peugeot drivers Nicolas Minassian, Stéphane Sarrazin and Alexander Wurz. ”Our aim wasn’t to put a lot of kilometres on the clock, but to verify that all the chief functions performed,” said Peugeot Sport’s Technical Director Bruno Famin.

”It was important to analyse the data of each run to be sure we understood the results before moving on to the next step. The system functioned well and responded as predicted, which was very satisfying. At the same time, we started to make a few adjustments to the car’s basic set-up. It worked well, so that’s very positive,” he added.

The system employed by the 908 HYbrid4 recovers and stores the kinetic energy generated under braking, before feeding it back into the driveline during acceleration. This significantly improves the efficiency of the powertrain, says Peugeot. The diesel engine is a 3.7-litre V8 HDi FAP unit with 550 hp. It is aided by a short power boost of 60kW (80 hp) for a few seconds when it the system is activated.

Recovered energy (500kJ between two braking phases) is stored in lithium-ion batteries before being automatically released to power the rear wheels under acceleration (there is no “push to pass” function, however). It will also be possible to run in electric only mode along the pit-lane and it is this mode that will be used for the car’s homologation.

It won’t compete in Le Mans anytime soon, though. “We have no intention of rushing things. We are still on a learning curve and the endurance testing will come later,” Famin said.

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Naza World brings in Indian Motorcycles – not from India!

October 18, 2011 at 10:17 am By Danny Tan Filed Under Bikes, Local News

There’s a new bike brand in town, and it’s Indian Motorcycles. Funny name, but think American Indian instead of India. Indian Motorcycles is an American brand focusing on easy riders and has a 110-year history of making two wheelers and was once the best selling brand with introduction of the first V-twin motorcycle in 1907. Currently, it’s more niche than mass and produces limited numbers from North Carolina, USA.

Harmony Fabulous Sdn Bhd (HFSB), a company under Naza World, launched the brand at last weekend’s Bikepalooza 2011. HFSB is the sole distributor of Indian Motorcycles for both Malaysia and Singapore markets. Dato’ Razali Ibrahim, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports officiated the launch.

HFSB is introducing four Indians locally, and they are the Chief Blackhawk and Chief Blackhawk Dark (Special Edition), Chief Vintage, Chief Classic and Chief Dark Horse. The Indian Chiefs are powered by a 1,721 cc air cooled pushrod PowerPlus engine with electronic fuel injection, linked to a six-speed transmission.

The Indian Chief models are priced from RM225,000 to RM285,000, inclusive of three years free maintenance. A dedicated Indian Motorcycles showroom next to Naza Automall PJ is in the works and due for completion by February 2012. In the meantime, the bikes will be on display at Naza World PJ.

43 Comments      

French flair: Peugeot 508 test drive report from Spain

October 18, 2011 at 9:04 am By Anthony Lim Filed Under Cars, Peugeot, Test Drive Reviews

The French have always had a certain fortitude and self-belief about them, nowhere more so than when it comes to their approach to cars. Love it? Tres bien. Indifferent, or not taken by it? Unlike the Italians, who would beg to disagree – rather strongly – if you happen to think one of their designs isn’t quite the trick, the same response from the French would be, well, it’s your loss then, because it is such a gem, non?

That cavalier train of thought, equivalent to an adage that ‘we build it the way we see it best, and so it is, indeed, perfect,’ has worked well enough in the past. And, up till the last few years, it has even gotten them by, even if fissures were starting to show.

Take the Peugeot 407, for instance. Lovely looking car, and sizeable enough, but what about that massive front overhang and oodles of unutilised space, which you could house a dog in (anyone remember the Italian incident with a 207)? The interior certainly wasn’t shabby, but rear passenger comfort seemed an afterthought. Not lacking in form, but questionably, function. Likewise the 607, hardly the commercial success, though that one was pretty much scoped from an era of such idée fixe still well and truly entrenched.

Well, a significant softening in approach has come about, one that suggests that the company, if not exactly abandoning core ideals, has adopted a less parochial view of things and a more global take on matters. This new fashion is reflected in something like the 508, Pug’s replacement for both the 407 and 607. Coming in from those, it’s almost radical, even.

Full story after the jump.
[Read more...]

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Driven/BCMY: We’re Hiring a Designer/Customer Support

October 18, 2011 at 7:38 am By Harvinder Sidhu Filed Under Advertorial

Dear all, one of our subsidiaries, BCMY Printing Sdn Bhd which specializes in online printing is currently looking for a full-time designer / customer support.

Job Description:

  • Responsible in supporting our customers and making sure that their enquiries are answered.
  • Process printing orders and artworks to ensure that they are compliant with our printing specifications.
  • Design business cards, flyers, brochures etc, based on customers’ requirements.
  • May also be involved in designing for some of our internal web projects under Driven Communications Sdn Bhd.
  • This is a full-time position, based in our office at Jaya One, Petaling Jaya.
  • RM 2,000 to RM 2,500 a month.

Requirements:

  • A diploma or a degree in design is required.
  • Must be fluent in English.
  • Fresh graduate is encouraged to apply.

Apply Now:
To apply, please email your resume as well as sample of your works to benjamin@driven.com.my. Only short-listed candidates will be notified.

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