This is Honda’s commercial for the Honda Element. Kind of weird and random, it features the Honda Element talking to a crab with an obsessive hobby.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Element Crab Commercial

The Toyota RAV4 was a concept born in 1989. The moniker RAV4 means Recreational Active Vehicle with 4-wheel drive. 5 years later, the first Toyota RAV4 was launched at the 1994 Geneva Motor Show. UMW Toyota is now offering the third generation Toyota RAV4 on our local shores. The previous two Toyota RAV4 compact SUVs were commonly called RAV4.1 (top left) and RAV4.2 (top right). The Toyota RAV4.2 was available here in CBU form through either UMW Toyota or through grey importers. Both three-door and give-door versions were available. Let’s have a look at the third generation five-door 2006 Toyota RAV4, or the RAV4.3, which comes to Malaysia in CBU form.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Toyota RAV4 in Malaysia

Toyota has begun exporting it’s export version of the Toyota Hiace 2.5 liter turbodiesel van to Thailand, targetting a total sales of 1,300 units (RM143 million) by the year end, with a production of 200 units a month. UMW Toyota currently produces 200 units a month for the local market, so this would be doubling the production output for the Hiace. The van has 40% ASEAN content.

There is a high demand for the Toyota Hiace in Thailand, with 1000 units sold a month. Toyota will be exporting the 2.5 liter turbodiesel model which makes 102hp @ 3600rpm and 260Nm of torque at 1,600-2,400rpm. The 2KD-FTV turbodiesel motor is also found in the Toyota Hilux. There is also a 160hp, 241Nm 2.7 liter VVT-i petrol version available for sale locally but only the turbodiesel models are going to be exported.

UMW Toyota has invested RM9 million in the form of additional facilities to cater for the production of the export model.

Click here to read the rest of UMW Toyota exports Toyota Hiace to Thailand

A old series of short promotional films by BMW starring Clive Owen as a driver. In this installment of the series, The Driver has to transport an 8-year old Tibetan boy to safety. This clip was directed by Ang Lee and features the E39 BMW 5-series sedan.

Click here to read the rest of BMW The Hire Short Films - Chosen

Every car lover has to have watched The Fast and the Furious and it’s sequel 2 Fast 2 Furious. I previously posted about the upcoming third installment in the series, The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. Let’s have a look at some of the the cars that will be used in the production.

Click here to read the rest of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift Cars

Apparently The Edge Daily’s reporter had misinterpreted UMW Toyota Motor’s Managing Director David Chen’s statements at the Kuala Lumpur International Automotive Conference last week.

There is no plan to manufacture any Toyota models in Malaysia. Toyota is just designating Malaysia as one of it’s regional production centers for certain models. Toyota currently uses Thailand as it’s passenger car and pick-up truck center and Indonesia for MPVs and SUVs. Malaysia will be the production center for some models, but only for assembly and the first would be the van that is being exported.

Perhaps there was some confusion with terms like manufacturing and assembling. This is the problem with mainstream news sources that are not automotive news-focused, most of the time their journalists do not have a full understanding on how the industry works, and the jargon involved.

Related Posts:
UMW Toyota to manufacture cars locally

Source: Chips Yap

I’m trying out a new way of displaying photos, as I’ll need it to showcase the photo galleries for the KLIMS 2006. Here are more photos of the Naza 206 Bestari. The page needs to be fully loaded for the script to work.

Click here to read the rest of Naza 206 Bestari Photo Gallery

A old series of short promotional films by BMW starring Clive Owen as a driver. The Driver has to deliver a mysterious ticking briefcase to a team of secret agents. It’s not that easy, as there alot of people that do not want that ticking briefcase to be delivered. This clip features the BMW Z4 Roadster.

Click here to read the rest of BMW The Hire Short Films - Ticker

[ UPDATE: The Perodua Viva has been launched! Click here for full details on specifications and pricing, as well as many clear photos of both exterior and interior! ]

Perodua has an XX06 Concept Car over at the KL International Motor Show 2006 which begins today, at the Putra World Trade Center. It looks like the concept car is based on the Daihatsu Mira. We’ve been seeing spyshots of a Daihatsu Mira being tested on Malaysian roads lately. Links to the spyshots are available under the Related Posts section below.

Perodua has added their own bumper and grille to this concept. This could be a replacement for the Perodua Kelisa or the Perodua Kancil some time in the future. In my opinion, Perodua already has a car serving the higher-end market segment with the Perodua Myvi. They should just merge the Kancil and Kelisa lines. The Perodua Kelisa has already gone through facelifts and so many special editions since it was introduced back in 2001.

What I’d really like to see is the new Daihatsu Terios/Daihatsu Be-Go as a replacement for the Perodua Kembara. The 2nd generation Toyota RAV design elements in it look really good.

Anyone going to the KLIMS? I’ll go either this weekend or Monday to cover it. Will be back with lots of photos.

Related Posts:
Perodua Viva to launch in May 2007
Perodua Viva Photos on Forum
Perodua Viva to be unveiled mid-2007
New Daihatsu Mira launched in Japan
Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) sighted in Mines
Kancil Replacement Model (Perodua Viva) spotted!
Kancil and Kelisa Replacements in first half 2007 (Perodua Viva)
Upcoming Perodua Kelisa replacement?
Could this be a Kancil Replacement Model?
New Perodua Kancil / Kelisa coming down our alley?

Inspired by the popularity of the BMW Short Films, Nissan tried to do something similiar with the Nissan 350Z. It follows the style of underground racing flicks like Getaway in Stockholm, with a camera mounted on the top of the car recording a high-speed spirited drive through a city. Video after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Nissan 350Z The Run Video