I am driving a 1984 Nissan Sunny 130Y. The original engine was a single overhead cam carburetted 8 valve 1.3 liter engine called the E13. It made about 65 horsepower. It still runs very well after 2 engine transplants (now running an E15 carburetted 8 valve SOHC 1.5 liter - 67hp), albeit the NVH has gone quite horrible, which makes the ride at highway speeds pretty deafening for me due to wind noise but it sure doesn’t harm other road users.

I’ve just got back from Langkawi from the Honda Accord Media Drive event to be greeted by updates on the possible car scrap policy. Nanyang.com.my posted a piece of news on the controversial Car Scrapping Policy which is rumoured to find it’s way into the soon to be announced Budget 2007.

The report quotes industry sources saying the policy will be imposed on cars aged 15 years and older, to ensure:

1. More orderly road traffic
2. Safety for road users
3. A cleaner environment

There are currently 80,000 cars on the road over 15 years of age, and most of them are Protons. The scrapping rebate previously suggested is not to be given out by the government, but by national makes - thus making the rebate effective for purchasing a new national make vehicle only.

Nanyang’s report doesn’t exactly have the most solid sources or references, so we don’t really know whether it will be implemented or not until the Budget 2007 is announced. Are you ready to commit yourself to another 9 grueling years of loan repayment?

Previous post on the car scrapping issue available here.

By the way, happy Merdeka Day to all Malaysians!

Volkswagen and Edaran Otomobil Nasional Berhad (EON) are said to be close to signing off a dealership deal for the distribution of Volkswagen cars in Malaysia by the latter company. EON had originally been in talks with Volkswagen back in 2002, but something came out of it as Volkswagen started talks with Proton on a partnership. Since nothing came out of the Proton-VW talks, Volkswagen has been talking to other Malaysian companies on distributorships.

Volkswagen has already investment in a HQ in Malaysia, and was set to start selling cars but it had to delay it’s plans due to the new NAP which tax brackets made Volkswagen cars uncompetitive here in Malaysia. EON is already distributing one of Volkswagen’s marques - Audi, which is handled by EON subsidiary Euromobil. The other Volkswagen marque in Malaysia is Skoda, which is distributed by Quasar Carriage Sdn Bhd.

Volkswagen has also been in talks with Cycle & Carriage Bintang for a superdealer agreement, so I am not sure how the pieces of the puzzle fit together with both EON and Cycle & Carriage Bintang in the picture. There is also someone else with a slice of the Volkswagen pie - AutoStadt Asia Sdn Bhd which hold the rights to Volkswagen APs in Malaysia.

On an unrelated note, there will be no more posts today and perhaps Wednesday as I will somewhere without access to a computer or the internet. Be good!

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Subaru’s controversial aircraft propellor-inspired grille that has appeared on the Subaru Tribeca and the Subaru Impreza will be tossed out the window with the next generation of models. I think it’s safe to say that most of us think the new grille is not exactly the most pleasing design to look at. It’s even been called “The Flying Vagina”.

The upcoming Subaru Impreza to be released in both sedan and hatchback form will feature yet another new corporate grille, which I hope is much more better looking than the current weird grille, though topping the current grille in a beauty contest isn’t exactly the hardest thing in the world to do.

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Volkswagen’s Iroc concept pays homage to the first Volkswagen Scirocco presented 33 years ago at the Geneva Motor Show. The new Sc-IROC-co runs away slightly from the original Scirocco’s classic coupe shape, and transforms into something which I view as Volkwagen’s version of the Audi TT. More details and photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Volkswagen IROC Concept

The Brabus K4 is essentially a kitted up model W211 Mercedes Benz E-Class powered by the M271 4-cylinder 1.8 liter Kompresser engine tuned to 193hp and 260Nm of torque. This would put it on par with a tuned up version of the same engine in the E’s younger brother, the Mercedes Benz C230K, though the Brabus has slightly more power. paultan.org contributor Dr. S.P. Long shares with us his valuable views on the Brabus K4 from a “standard” W211 Mercedes Benz E200K owner’s perspective.

Click here to read the rest of Brabus K4 Short Test Drive

BMW had their Brunch at BMW session over the weekend, with Saturday as a private affair for selected people and Sunday as an event open to the public. They also had test drives for the public. A myriad of cars were available for selection, 3-series, 5-series, 7-series, and MINI Coopers. I decided to go check the place out and grab photos for you guys who didn’t manage to make it there, at least you’ll be able to enjoy the event virtually here. Click each photo for a larger version.

Click here to read the rest of Brunch @ BMW Photo Gallery and Experience

In a perfect world, I would own an Audi A4 2.0T Multitronic and it would be sitting in my parking lot everyday, just like the picture above. But the world is not perfect, but a good compromise would be a test drive so I can bring to you my thoughts on the latest B7 Audi A4 2.0T Multitronic, powered by the 2.0 liter TFSI engine of the Volkswagen Golf GTI fame. I managed to do quite a comprehensive test drive, covering traffic jams, parking lots, dry straights, dry bends, wet straights, wet windy roads, day and night. Check out the test drive report after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Audi A4 2.0T FSI Multitronic Test Drive Review

Proton is in talks with a major Thai car distributorship for the distribution of Proton cars in Thailand, with black and white set to be signed before 2006 is up. This distributor is said to be a major player for the passenger car industry and has 30 years experience.

The company also has an assembly plant in Thailand, which opens up possibilities of CKD Protons in Thailand should the need ever arise. Part of Proton’s efforts to expand sales by reaching into overseas markets.

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The new 2007 Toyota Camry should be coming very very soon. These photos were sent in by reader Adam from Shah Alam. It looks like we are not getting the USDM version of the Camry, but another version similiar to the one found in Taiwan and Thailand.. I must say I really like this new Camry, it has the muscular more box-like shape that looks more upmarket than it really is, as compared to the previous model available on the roads now. More Lexus DNA. More photos after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of 2007 Toyota Camry coming soon?

A couple of Nissan engineers cooked up this special concept of the Nissan 350Z during their spare times. This reminds me a little of Google’s workplace culture where employees are allowed to work on their own projects during a certain allotted time period. Anyway, more about this black beauty after jump…

Click here to read the rest of Nissan 350Z GT-S Supercharged