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This is a sponsored post by SDB Development

What can you get for about RM900k in Malaysia? You can pick from various cabriolet and coupe non-turbo models of the Porsche 911, a CBU S350L, a supercharged Range Rover Sport, a Jaguar XF-R, or a BMW M5 with some change.

Click here to read the rest of AD: Five Stones, SS2 by SDB Development

Honda’s Our Challenging Spirit contest this year is in Phase 2 now. Basically Honda associates a challenging spirit with a few qualities and for Phase 2 it is Challenge and Refinement. You can nominate someone that you think possesses these qualities. You’ll stand to win some prizes, but I think the best of all is having that special person up there on the nomination wall together with your story on why that person is special.

Since the contest is a motorsports-related thing after all, I’m going to nominate one Malaysian that we tend to associate with motorsports – Karamjit Singh. I think Malaysians will be quite familiar with this rally driver who has done Malaysia proud, snagging the Group N (Production car) titles in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

Career Highlights:
2004 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2002 FIA Production Car World Rally Champion
2002 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2001 FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2001 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
2000 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
1998 Thailand National Rally Champion
1997 Group N FIA Asia Pacific Rally Champion
1990 – 1997 Malaysian Rally Champion

But after that sponsorship seemed to have fallen short and Karamjit fell off the radar for awhile. There were even instances where the FIA subsidised participation fees for rallies because they knew his team were facing financial diffiulties. In 2005 he ran the risk of losing his racing license and his means of living as APRC rules stated one had to finish 6 out of 8 races but Karamjit did not have enough money to run sufficient rounds. He ended up getting slapped with a USD20,000 fine. That’s alot of money.

Despite all of that, Karamjit continues to bounce back and the latest is that he is back in a fully manufacturer backed rally team, driving the new Proton Satria Neo Super 2000. He’ll be racing at the APRC leg in Johor this August. “It’s a dream come true, an opportunity of a life time for me,” said 47 year-old Karamjit who began his career in 1985. “I have waited twenty-four years for this car.”

Honda’s definition of Challenge is to stand up to the challenges in life even against all odds and succeed in accomplishing goals otherwise not achievable if not for the challenging spirit. And as for Refinement – the relentless pursuing of perfection, constant learning, patience, and un-ending commitment to strive for the best in everything that one does. Some say Karamjit is already too old to continue racing but I feel with age and experience and constantly doing something you do best and trying to better yourself like in rallying and other forms of motorsports, it helps one get closer in that pursuit of perfection.

I think Karamjit has definitely has these qualities, so he’s got my nomination. If you know of an outstanding person who has made an impact in your life with the qualities Passion, Dedication, Challenge or Refinement, pay a tribute to the person and submit a nomination at the Honda Motorsports Challenging Spirit website.

When RON95 is fully introduced this September, it will cost RM1.75 per liter, which is 5 sen cheaper than RON97 but also 5 sen more expensive than RON92, which will then be phased out. RON97 will be repositioned as a premium fuel with an unsubsidized price tag of RM2 per liter and above.

Once RON95 is out and becomes the mainstream fuel due to the way the new fuels will be price-structured, the game will be pretty much “reset”, with some consumers trying the new RON95 fuels to see which one feels the best with their car’s internal combustion engine. It’s definitely a renewed opportunity to impress and gain some new customers.

You have to remember one thing though. Over time thanks to normal wear and tear, especially on older cars fitted with carburettors which do not deliver the right amount of fuel as precisely as compared to fuel injection, your engine’s combustion chamber might have been “modified” by the dirty carbon deposits caused by the a less than perfect combustion process. Carbon deposits increase the compression ratio because their bulk volume reduces the volume of the combustion chamber at Top Dead Centre and in the end if your engine is tuned to have a minimum of RON95, it may end up knocking thus requiring a fuel of higher than the recommended RON.

Fuel additive packages like the Techron formula found in Caltex fuel that are engineered to provide superior keep-clean for the combustion chamber may be able to help such cars. Techron is a patented formulation of polyetheramine and other unique detergents and components which can help clean up the engine intake system, and fuel metering system and continuous use over time will be able to help keep those parts clean as well. It’s also good to give the engine a little pressure to help these formulas clean off the deposits effectively.

In fact in the US there is actually something called Top Tier Detergent Gasolines, a standardised rating created by BMW, GM, Honda, Toyota and subsequently with Volkswagen & Audi endorsements in 2007. It is a standard that defines the levels of detergency (cleaning ability to provide optimal fuel economy, performance and reduced emissions) of fuels higher than what the US EPA has set, and Chevron (Caltex)’s Techron fuels were the first fuel to meet the Top Tier standard as they did not have to change Techron formulation to meet the standards. It already has adequate amounts of detergency.

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I’m sure you can see the relationship with brand power and a product’s price tag now, when you look at the C-segment with cars like the Civic, 308, Lancer, Focus, Altis, and the newly launched Mazda 3. A product with a strong brand somehow can command a higher price yet not really offer much in terms of specs. A brand does not get built out of thin air and the higher price tag will pay back some of the efforts put into brand building, whether it is A&P or the money invested into the product build quality or service network.

This applies everywhere and in the world of mobile phones there seems to be a kind of T-badge of sorts. You know, that device that doesn’t even have a camera in front for video calls, no tethering ability (until recently), or even a changeable battery. It is really something to worry about, because the world of electric cars opens up the possibility of car manufacturing to companies that you would not even consider to make cars before. Battery and electric motor technology is something quite unrelated to the internal combustion engines that have been developed by the big brands over the years.

Anyway I digress. I’ve been looking around recently for a mobile phone to potentially replace by existing phone which has gone out of warranty and from what I hear, is quite screwed up inside now. Too many drops it seems. A good mobile phone with good internet connectivity helps me manage this blog whenever I am on the go. A large and readable screen is very important to browse the comments moderation section of the blog’s Wordpress system so I’ve been looking at a few touchscreen phones. The Blackberry Storm and the iPhone come to mind.

The Blackberry Storm has the advantage of Blackberry technology and they’ve pretty much perfected push email so that’s a plus point. Various tests around the internet have also shown that the Storm’s browser is pretty much one of the quickest performing browsers, rendering pages quickly and with proper Javascript support, something important with the long comment list pages in my Wordpress. The Storm also has built-in tethering support which means I can use it as a modem for my laptop to update my site on the go.

Most importantly unlike the iPhone, it has a changeable battery, which is something I feel is very very important. Battery life generally goes down over time and you have to perform certain charge cycle rituals to keep it up. I simply do not have time for this, so knowing I can change my battery when it finally conks out (it’s happened to me before!) is important. That way I do not have to change my device if my battery dies.

Coming from a world of phones with regular buttons, it’s also worth nothing that the Storm’s touch screen is “smarter” as in it employs a haptic touch keyboard technology. It means the touch screen is tactile or should i say “clickable” – it provides feedback to your finger when you are typing on it. I’ve tried some Windows Mobile touchscreen phones and just felt weird touching something that did not provide me feedback.

The other thing that a motorist can take advantage of is the fact that that the Storm has an internal GPS antenna. Many swear by Garmin and Malsingmaps and there is actually a version of Garmin Mobile for Blackberry mobile phones. You can easily mount it on your windscreen with kits such as these.

The iPhone is currently only sold by one telco but with the Storm it’s a non-exclusive offering. Two telcos currently offer it and it so happens that my two SIM cards are from each of the two telcos. Celcom offers a shorter contract of only 12 months and there are two packages according to your usage, RM1699 and RM1399. The other telco is selling it for RM2199 with a 24 month commitment. Celcom is subsidising more in this case – it makes sense having trouble picking between a more expensive Civic and a cheaper Focus because it is two completely different products but in this case the product is one and the same so it’s a bit of a no brainer.

The only issue with the Storm at the moment right now is the lack of Wi-Fi, but I’ve been subscribing to an unlimited 3G service so that should not be an issue in Malaysia. I’d not be able to take advantage of the hotel Wi-Fi or an outdoor free Wi-Fi service like the one in most parts of Singapore in case I am anywhere overseas though!