Perodua has announced that for the first time in 12 years, the demographics of Perodua buyers are 50:50 between Malays and non-Malaysia, compared to 60:40 with the majority being Malay for the past 12 years. This is primarily due to the popularity of the Perodua Myvi, which appeals to non-Malay buyers. 70-80 percent of Perodua buyers are either first time car buyers or people looking to buy a Perodua as a 2nd or 3rd car, not to replace an existing car. The remainder want to replace an existing car in the household.

Perodua Myvi orders have reached 105,000 units since May last year. Record sales for the Perodua Myvi were in May 2006 and June 2006, where Perodua sold 15,200 each month in those two months. Previously the record month was in March where Perodua sold 14,800 units.

BMW is using Kermit the Frog from The Muppet Show to promote it’s BMW 1-Series hatchback. It showcases Kermit driving the 1-Series around the desert having a whole load of fun showcasing the car’s agility and performance. Have a look at the video after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of BMW 1-Series Kermit the Frog Advertisement

The Honda Jazz has been very popular with Malaysians despite it’s high price tag due to it being a CBU imported from previously Japan and now Thailand. It was first introduced in early 2003 with the 1.4 liter i-DSI model which was fully imported from Japan. In 2004, it was updated with 1.5 liter i-DSI and 1.5 liter VTEC models fully imported from Thailand. Very popular with the ladies and even guys too. The Honda Jazz is known as the Honda Fit in Japan, and has spawned siblings like a sedan - the Honda City (called the Fit Aria in Japan) as well as a station wagon - the Honda Airwave.

There has been a facelift for the Honda Jazz recently in Japan. Let’s have a look at the Thailand facelift.

Click here to read the rest of Thailand 2006 Honda Jazz Facelift

There was a report in the New Straits Times yesterday regarding the problem known as kereta potong, which are cars that are assembled from cannibalised parts. The original chassis or skeleton of the car’s integrity is jeopardised and the areas which they are joined together might rust easily and are prone to breaking. These cars are considered not road-worthy.

Click here to read the rest of Kereta Potong in Malaysia

As if 170hp from their new 1.4 TSI engine is not enough, Volkswagen is currently testing a 200hp version of their twincharged pocket rocket engine. The engine is currently available in 140hp and 170hp units, and uses twincharging - a combination of supercharging at low engine RPM and turbocharging at high engine RPM - and really precise direct injection to achieve it’s amazing power figures.

Volkswagen acknowledges that most consumers still have the impression that displacement rules all, and look at the size of the engine rather than the amount of torque and horsepower it produces. The 1.4 TSI engines that go into current Volkswagen cars do not have the 1.4 liter engine capacity advertised anywhere including on the model names. The Volkswagen Golf with a 170hp TSI engine is called the Volkswagen Golf GT.

The 1.4 TSI is currently found in the Golf, Golf Plus, and Touran models, but will eventually find it’s way into the Polo, Eos and Passat. I think it will do especially well in a Polo GTI, which is currently powered by a 1.8 liter 150hp engine.

Related Posts:
Volkswagen 1.4 TSI Twincharged Engine
Volkswagen Golf GT 1.4 TSI and 2.0 TDI

Source

QXTX, which looks like some kind of Chery QQ fan club website has posted a different set of Chery QQ crash test result photos on their site last year. In these new crash test photos, the damage does not look bad at all, but even through Babelfish Chinese to English translation, I could not really determine to which crash testing standards was used as guidelines for the crash test. Perhaps a reader who can read Chinese could help with the translation? Anyone?

You can see that the last photo was shot intentionally to show that all four doors of the Chery QQ could be opened after the crash. Proper crash test or not, I’ll let you be the judge! For older photos showing much worse results, click here. More crash test photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of New Chery QQ Crash Test Photos

[ UPDATE: The new 2007 Honda Stream has been launched in Malaysia. Click here for prices and details. ]

I’ve posted about the new second generation 2007 Honda Stream last month, but the photos were of the exterior, without any shots of the interior. I’ve gotten hold of three interior shots of the 2007 Honda Stream, so check them out after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Honda Stream Interior Photos

LATEST UPDATE: The new 8th generation 2008 Honda Accord is now in Malaysia. Click the link on the left for more information on prices, specifications and photos.

The 7th generation Honda Accord was launched in 2002, and won Japan’s Car of the Year award in the year of it’s introduction. It reached our local shores in late 2003, and won awards in Malaysia too like Autocar Asean’s Car of the Year 2003/2004. Since it’s launch to date, it holds the top sales spot in it’s segment, with approximately 15,000 on the road so far. Honda’s normal model cycle calls for a mid-life facelift, and this facelift is now available in Malaysia. It was launched yesterday and I was there to bring you this report. Let’s have a look at the 2006 Honda Accord facelift and what enhancements it has over it’s predecessor.

Click here to read the rest of 2006 Honda Accord Facelift in Malaysia

Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd is close to signing a superdealer agreement with Volkswagen Group Malaysia Sdn Bhd to distribute Volkswagen cars here in Malaysia. The deal will involve distributing CBU Volkswagen vehicles here and should be finalised end this month or early next month.

After that’s done with, sales should begin within the next three months, pending Volkswagen’s new strategy revamp is complete. Volkswagen has had to put it’s plans here in Malaysia on hold due to the National Automotive Policy’s new tax structures which made it’s cars uncompetitive.

On a side note, although Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd will be carrying out sales, marketing, promotions, and have showrooms for Volkswagen cars - basically do everything to sell the cars here, it will not have rights to import the cars. Importing rights are with the AP holders for Volkswagen, AutoStadt Asia Sdn Bhd, which were only recently awarded with the APs only in February 2006.

I am disappointed with this as it is similiar to the shake leg AP middlemen situation which existed back before the new National Automotive Policy was formed. The fact that AutoStadt Asia Sdn Bhd’s owners are the same people who own Emeritus Equities Sdn Bhd who lost their rice bowl when the government stopped giving them Kleemann APs gives you more reason to be suspicious. If you want to know who the owners are, click here. You will not be suprised.

The excuse the government gave for this middleman situation was a problem in the AP policy where public listed companies could not qualify for APs because they did not have the required amount of bumiputra shareholders even if they were bumiputra-controlled. As you all know, APs are for bumiputra companies only. This policy is not in effect anymore, and companies like DRB-HICOM have been able to get APs directly and not go through middlemen like West Star. Does anyone know whether Cycle & Carriage is predominantly bumiputra-controlled? I bet they’re not, hence the requirement for AutoStadt to even exist in the first place.

Ridiculous. Well, if Volkswagen cars are a hit in Malaysia, you can bet that helicopter dealers will be overjoyed.

Related Posts:
Volkswagen appoints AutoStadt as sole importer
DRB-HICOM granted it’s own APs
How franchise AP holders make their money with no effort

Honda will be revealing it’s new facelifted 2006 Honda Accord today, after about a week of preview ads running on various media. Check back later today for a report on what enhancements the new facelifted Honda Accord brings, other than the obvious totally new rear end design.

Are you digging it?

UPDATE: This new 2006 Honda Accord facelift has been launched on the 6th of July 2006 in Malaysia. Click here for an in-depth coverage.