Proton is recalling a total of 34,000 Proton Savvys due to potential water entry into the rear wheel-bearing which could lead to a malfunction of the affected components. Proton say this recall is purely a precautionary measure for the safety of its customers.

“The safety and satisfaction of our customers is a primary concern. As a precautionary measure, we are recalling all Savvy’s for inspection and repair. We do apologise to all the Savvy owners for any inconvenience,” said Proton managing director Dato Syed Zainal Abidin Syed Mohamed Tahir.

Customers should immediately contact the nearest Proton Edar or EON service branch for an appointment to have their cars inspected, or call Proton i-Care at 1300880888.

Aston Martin has unveiled the first photos of its Aston Martin Vantage GT2 racer, which finally completes Aston Martin’s portfolio of GT race cars in each of the four GT categories – GT1, GT2, GT3 and GT4.

GT2 is the Series Grand Touring Cars category. GT2 cars are generally much closer to a production car than GT1 cars which typically use exotic materials in their construction, but GT2 cars are still generally significantly upgraded compared to a GT3 car.

Not much specifications have been revealed on the Vantage GT except that its engine can be run on both normal gasoline and E85.

Click here to read the rest of Aston Martin Vantage GT2

Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Datuk Shahrir Samad is of the opinion that the Approved Permits system (which are used to control the import of CBU cars into Malaysia, amongst other things) should be abolished.

In a report in this week’s The Edge Weekly, Datuk Shahrir said despite the government saying Approved Permits are more of a formality rather than a control system, they can be a barrier and be open to abuse. The Approved Permits system has to be abolished to prevent a group of local companies from forming a cartel to keep prices high and hold back supplies.

The first E85-capable Hummer will be the 2009 Hummer H2 truck and H2 SUT pick-up truck, with GM also planning to offer more than 15 FlexFuel models for the 2009 model year (including the recently unveiled Hummer H3T and H3). As for Hummer, it has committed to offer biofuel options on all its vehicles by 2010.

The problem with E85 Hummers in its native market of the USA is that less than 1% of fuel stations nationwide offer E85. GM wants to get around this by selling the E85 fuel at the dealer. Yup, you buy your car from a dealer, then you go back to the dealer to fill up.

Classic Chevrolet-Hummer in Grapevine, Texas has spent about half a million US dollars to install nine pumps dedicated to E85, E10 and biodiesel. The biofuel station is called Classic Clean Fuels and is located next to the dealer’s Hummer store.

General Motors vice president of R&D and Strategic Planning Larry Burns says in the future GM could also look into hydrogen fueling stations at dealers.

Related Links:
2009 Hummer H3T to be unveiled at Chicago 2008
Hummer H3T Video
The Malaysian Insider: Green fuel may not be so green after all

A more hardcore and lightweight version of the Mk7 Ford Fiesta (shown above) is in the works, and like its higher performance Focus sibling, it will be called the Ford Fiesta RS. According to Auto Express, the new 7th generation Ford Fiesta will have two high performance versions instead of just the ST, similiar to the line-up planned for its bigger brother, the Ford Focus. The Fiesta will have a “warm” Fiesta ST, as well as an all-out hot hatch Ford Fiesta RS.

The Mk6 Fiesta ST came with a 150 PS 2.0 liter Duratec, so the new Mk7 RS has to top the 150 PS figure. While there are no official details yet, the Mk7 ST is rumoured to come with a new 1.6 liter EcoBoost turbocharged inline-4 engine instead of a large normally aspirated Duratec engine, so it will be very easy to tune up this engine for the RS version. Expect the ST to feature 150 horses or so, and the RS to top out at nearly 200 horsepower.

Related Posts:
Ford Fiesta based on Verve Concept for Geneva 2008
Ford releases 2009 Ford Fiesta video

Hyundai will be launching its first mass production hybrid car in 2009, the Hyundai Avante LPI (also known as the Elantra LPI). This will be followed by other models and by 2012 Hyundai plans to have production fuel cell electric vehicles as well.

The Hyundai Avante LPI will run on both Liquefied Petroleum Gas and electricity. No specs have been unveiled, and it’s not known whether the powertrain can use regular gasoline or not, but the way it is worded seems to indicate it does not use regular gasoline, although that is a planned future development.

“The importance of developing futuristic, environmentally-friendly cars is increasing for sustainable growth. Therefore, technology for advanced cars, like the hybrid, is imperative,” said Hyundai-Kia Chairman Chung Mong Koo.

Source

Mercedes-Benz will unveiled the facelifted A-Class at the Auto Mobil International show in Leipzig in early April 2008. New fuel saving features have been added to the range, with the A150 and A170 baseline models getting the ECO start/stop function. There is also a new 82 horsepower A160 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY 3-door model with manual transmission which uses just 4.5 liters of diesel per 100km.

The BlueEFFICIENCY package for the A-Class includes a body that is 10mm lower, an aerodynamically optimised radiator grille with a sealed off rear side, and brake energy regeneration for the onboard electrical systems.

On the interior, the storage area in the center console has been enlarge. There are now new trim elements done up in smoke grey and diagonally brushed aluminium.

More photos after the jump.

Related Posts:
Mercedes-Benz might drop A-Class
Next generation A-Class might share MINI platform
Mercedes-Benz A-Class F-Cell in Iceland
Mercedes-Benz to develop next generation A/B-Class alone
2006 Mercedes-Benz A-Class to be launched in Malaysia next week (2005 news)

Click here to read the rest of 2009 Mercedes-Benz A-Class Facelift

The Honda Dreams Fund programme by Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd is a scholarship that aims to give underprivileged young Malaysians who dare to dream, a chance to fulfill their dreams and achieve a better future through education.

It covers tertiary education fees and provides for allowances to meet living expenses for the duration of their courses in private institutions, and is open to Malaysians aged between 17 – 24 years of age who have at least completed and passed the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM) examination. The candidate must come from a household with a combined income of less than RM1,500. This full scholarship is non-binding.

The first batch of 20 young Malaysians are already studying now. The 2008 batch will consist of another lucky 20 people, selected from the shortlisted list of 60 candidates. The selection process will be via an all expense-paid workshop. The selection process is done by an ndependent Advisory Panel which comprises members from Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM), All Womens Action Society (AWAM), Malaysian Youth Council (MYC) as well as UNDP and Honda Malaysia.

To apply, candidates are required to write an essay on their aspirations in realizing their dreams on A4 size paper in not more than 500 words beginning with “Honda Dreams Fund is the opportunity I have been waiting for to realise my dreams. Since I was young, I have always aspired to be…“.

Attach a photocopy of the following documents: NRIC, Certified true copy of Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) and/or Sijil Tinggi Pelajaran Malaysia (STPM), School leaving certificate (if any), Testimonial / referees (from schools/NGOs/Homes), EA Form / J Form or any other form that verifies income (if any) and other qualifications if available.

Send applications to:

Honda Dreams Fund
“Human Resource Development through Education and
Training for Malaysian Youth” Project
P.O Box 12544
50782, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Or email to: hdfessay@undp.org

The closing date for entries is tomorrow. It’s rather last minute now, but if you read this and know of anyone who might be in need of such a scholarship, please do let them know. It’s not very likely that someone who needs such a scholarship has the luxury of going online often and reading websites such as this one, so it’s very important for those who do have such luxuries to inform those who don’t via word of mouth and etc.

Of course, Honda Malaysia realises this and has brought the news of the programme’s availability to the public, including rurals in East Malaysia. A team from Honda Malaysia including CEO Atsushi Fujimoto visited Miri, Sarawak and Sabah. The team visited Miri and Bario on February 25–28, 2008, sharing the opportunities available through the HDF to 170 youths and representatives from the indigenous groups of Sarawak.

Talks in Sabah were held in Penampang, Tambunan and Sukau, Kinabatangan. More than 130 youths, parents, schoolteachers and representatives of villages from more than 14 districts in Sabah, some from as far as Kudat and Tawau, attended the talk in Penampang.

The talk in Tambunan drew about 70 students while the one in Sukau was attended by about 85 people from 7 villages. Sukau which is located about 150km from Sandakan is an area accessible by water transportation or a dusty ride in a hired van through stretches of paved road, pothole-filled semi-tarred road and gravel. Majority of the population are the Orang Sungai, who live below the poverty line in Sabah of about RM700.

Eduan Bah Chimpok, a pastor who gathered the Orang Asli for the talk in Gopeng said, “This is a golden opportunity for the Orang Asli. Most of them receive no education and for those who did, they cannot afford to further their studies. The way that Honda and UNDP have put together this scholarship and the campaign they undertook to inform these indigenous groups is refreshing. This is the first time a corporation had gone through such lengths to talk about a scholarship to the Orang Asli.”

These are the people we are talking about, who really need such a scholarship. Taking a look at the 2007 recipients list, there is a great mix of gender and race. This is one of the few scholarships in Malaysia which gives out funds based on need and merit rather than “other factors”.

And if you know someone who needs such a scholarship and will most likely miss the application this year, there’s always next year.

Related Links:
Honda Dream Funds Class of 2007
Honda Dream Funds – Application

Click here to read the rest of Honda Dreams Fund Scholarship

Click to enlarge

Reader Al Maarof who sent in the photos of the Renault showcase earlier has scanned for us the estimated pricelist (with specifications) for the 4 Renault models going to be offered in Malaysia. All of them are over RM200K, with the turbocharged Renault Grand Espace going for over RM300,000 OTR inclusive of insurance.

Related Posts:
TC Eurocars previews Malaysia-bound Renault cars

Click to enlarge

Nasim Sdn Bhd has launched the Peugeot Privilege owner loyalty programme, which is complimentary to all current owners of any Peugeot vehicles. Among benefits include an immediately 10% discount from the retail prices of selected spare parts, and soon to come are more attractive services and programmes tailored to the Peugeot owner.

Peugeot owners can give Nasim a ring at 03-2617 7777 or 1800-88-6292 to find out more about the Peugeot Privilege programme.