Archive for Local News

Apparently there is an internal naming contest being held where Proton and Proton subsidiary employees can take part to name a new Proton sedan. The main prize winner will get RM10,000 cash, a GPS navigation unit, a special invite to the new Proton Sedan launch and 2 passes to the KLIMS 2010.

The two passes to this year’s KLIMS motorshow (3rd to 12th December 2010) may indicate that this is a model that’ll be launched this year – are we looking at the new Waja replacement which is rumoured to be based on a Mitsubishi Lancer, or something else? The contest will run from the 10th and ends on the 25th this month. You can click the thumbnail image on the left to view the full contest poster.

A little bird has indicated that Proton will probably take a small media group to the Geneva show (end February to March) this year, so there could be something of importance being unveiled there. Remember Azlan Othman’s tweet about Proton unveiling a new design direction this year?

Source: funtasticko & Ad

Back in late 2008, Proton had engaged in a legal tussle with its ex-partner for the Chinese market. Before Proton went to bed with Youngman for the Europestar range of cars, they actually had a JV with Goldstar Heavy Industrial Co Ltd to sell Proton cars there. Unfortunately there were hiccups along the way and Goldstar could not obtain the necessary manufacturing licenses.

Proton terminated the JV and naturally Goldstar was not happy. They went to court and the suit ended up being in arbitration in Singapore.

The result of the arbitration process is out:

If you don’t know the name BYD, perhaps you might have seen some of their cars on this blog or car magazines. I was shocked speechless at the Shanghai Motor Show to see a Mercedes CLK front merged with a Renault Megane CC rear! Or how about the famous Altis front-City rear F3 sedan, or even the cloned Toyota Aygo?

Well, there’s a possibility of these cars coming to our shores as BYD Auto (Build Your Dreams) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Berjaya Corp Bhd to explore the possibility of building the F0 1.0-litre small car for ASEAN. F0 is the Aygo lookalike currently retailing for US$5,000 to US$7,000 in China.

The terms of the agreement includes a feasibility study on the conversion of the left-hand drive F0 to a right-hand drive version together with related research and development as well as having Berjaya as the distributor of the vehicle. Both parties would also cooperate in setting up a manufacturing plant near Rawang where Berjaya has set aside a 100-acre site.

But first, Berjaya needs a new manufacturing license as under the current National Automotive Policy, the Government has frozen licenses for the manufacture of petroleum-based vehicles under 1.8 litres. Berjaya executive director Datuk Francis Lee said there was “a strong case” for the Government to approve the manufacturing license as the deal would be the first step towards making Malaysia the regional hub for BYD’s right hand drive cars.

Shenzhen-based BYD is an auto and battery manufacturer that’s relatively advanced in the development of hybrid and electric vehicles. It was the fourth-largest automaker by sales volume in China last year with more than 450,000 units sold, and targets to touch 800,000 units this year. Berjaya’s Lee added the future plant would be initially for petroleum-based vehicles but would be expanded to include BYD’s new-energy vehicles at a later stage.

Source

Some 15 per cent of road accidents in Malaysia are related to bald or regrooved tyres, according to Jabatan Keselamatan Jalan Raya (JKJR) Director General Datuk Suret Singh at a ceremony where Goodyear dealers pledged their support to the recent move the JKJR and the Ministry of Transport to ban the selling of bald and regrooved tyres in an effort to improve road safety levels in Malaysia. Regrooved tyres are produced by carving new treads into a worn tyre to create more tread depth.

The Goodyear dealers promised that such tyres are not sold, stocked or displayed in their premises. In addition, posters, banners and brochures will be placed in their outlets to educate consumers on the dangers of using these “recycled” tyres. “It is extremely dangerous to use these types of tyres. Take two minutes to check the condition of your tyres before embarking on your journey,” Datuk Suret added.

For this, Goodyear recommends the “20-sen tyre test”. Insert a 20-sen coin in the groove of a tyre to check the depth of the tread. If the word “sen” is clearly visible, then the tyre is considered “bald” and should be replaced. Alternatively, you can drop by any Goodyear Autocare or Servitekar outlet for a free 10-point check, which includes inspection of your car’s tyre pressure and wear, power steering fluid, air filter, spark plugs, engine oil, transmission fluid, radiator coolant, brake pads and fluid, battery terminal connection and water, as well as fan and air-conditioning belts.

Proton Edar, the marketing arm of Proton Holdings Berhad, held a prize giving ceremony this morning at the Proton Centre of Excellence. Proton Edar CEO Mohamad Shukor Ibrahim was present to give away cash and holiday packages to the winners of the Proton Drive for Holidays campaign, which ran from 1 November to 31 December 2009.

In that period, those who purchased and registered a new Exora or Persona were instantly rewarded with a three-day/two-night hotel stay within Malaysia, while all new customers were eligible to join an SMS contest with seven mobile phones to be won per day. After answering three random questions in the quickest time, the mobile phone winners were entitled to join a MMS contest. This stage required participants to send an image of a favourite part of their Proton, accompanied by a creative caption. Seven winners walked away with 3D2N stays at plush resorts and cash prizes. They are:

7th prize: Yeoh Chian Hui from Kangar
6th prize: Loo Chun Pin from KL
5th prize: Noridah bt Ab Rahman from Rantau Panjang
4th prize: Kee Ming How from Johor Bharu
3rd prize: Lee Yit Ting from Melaka
2nd prize: Mohamad Hadi b Ramli from Seri Kembangan
1st prize: Mohd. Raznan b Johari from Klang

Shukor revealed that registrations was up by 24% year-on-year during the two contest months, proving the effectiveness of the campaign. More “creative campaigns” are being planned, he added. The momentum looks to have been carried to 2010 as well, since Proton’s January figures show an increase of 40% compared to the same month in 2009.

Porsche Asia Pacific has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to appoint Sime Darby the sole and exclusive importer of Porsche cars in Malaysia. In this role, Sime Darby will assume full responsibility for the importation, distribution, sales, marketing, PR and after sales service for Porsche cars in Malaysia, including the right to appoint dealers and service centres.

Sime Darby, which also owns a Porsche Centre in New Zealand, is expected to officially take on this responsibility from Jaseri Automotive Group Sdn Bhd by the end of the first quarter of 2010. Porsche Centre Glenmarie will remain as the base for Porsche Sales and Service while additional Porsche Centres will be added to ensure higher service levels.

“We are pleased to welcome a new partner to our Asia Pacific family, and are confident that the team at Sime Darby are the right choice for us to grow the Porsche brand even further. We are also very happy that Dato’ Mokhzani Mahathir (chairman of Jaseri) will remain as a shareholder in this new partnership, which will ensure continuity and a seamless transition for our customers,” said Christer Ekberg, MD of Porsche Asia Pacific.

As most of you should know if you’ve been keeping up with the news on this site, there has been a recall for the 1st generation Honda Jazz and the 2nd generation Honda City (based on the 1st gen Jazz) worldwide due to a issue where water could possibly enter the power window switch and potentially cause a fire.

Honda Malaysia Sdn Bhd will be participating in the exercise, but they also reported that there are currently no reported incidents in Malaysia. There are currently 12,935 units of 2nd Generation City 2008 YM with 7,713 units of V-TEC and 5,222 units of i-DSI respectively. As for the Jazz, there are 3,090 units of 1.4-litre Japan made 2003 YM.

Honda Malaysia says that when the power window master switch is exposed to excessive amount of water (such as rainwater), especially when windows are left open for prolonged period of time, electrolyte materials from rainwater would sip into the power window switch unit. This would decrease the insulation resistance between the electric circuits, which could lead to current leaks. In severe cases, the switchboard would melt or burn. According to Honda Malaysia, there are a total of 3 burn cases reported so far, 2 in the US and 1 in South Africa.

“We will be writing to all our customers directly and inform them of the preemptive measures to address this situation. We are in the midst of preparing the replacement parts and we will then carry out the necessary inspection and replacement when the parts are ready. All charges incurred in the inspection and replacement work will be borne by the Company. We would like to assure our customers that all current selling models are not affected,” said Toru Takahashi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Honda Malaysia.

For more information, please call Honda Toll Free number at 1-800-88-2020, or visit any authorised Honda dealer. Of course, this recall exercise should logically only apply for customers who bought their Jazz from Honda Malaysia. But being a popular JDM model, there are most likely be grey import units out there as well. These owners have to somehow do something about it as well.

Honda Malaysia says that they will assist owners of grey import cars without discrimination but they are unable to confirm at time of publishing whether any work on grey import customers cars regarding to this update will be subject to any charges or not.

If you’re looking for a Nissan SUV and are bored with the aging X-Trail that’s being hawked here for the longest time, you can check out the Nissan Dualis which is being imported by grey importers.

As part of Naza’s Chinese New Year sale, a 2007 Nissan Dualis can be had for RM151,000, and a newer 2008 model is priced at RM166,000. And from what I hear these prices are negotiable at the showroom if you’re really interested. I don’t expect the Dualis to be available from Tan Chong directly anytime soon as across all ASEAN markets except for Singapore (where it is known as the Qashqai), the only SUV being offered is the X-Trail.

Nissan calls the Dualis a ‘hatchback’. It’s a crossover based on the Nissan C platform. The body does look like a hatchback but its ride height is higher, putting the Dualis right in the middle of the definition of a hatchback and an SUV. It is a proper ‘crossover’ in true form, instead of just slapping any vehicle with a coupe-like roofline with compromised rear headroom and calling it a ‘crossover’.

In the engine bay is the MR20DE mated to a CVT transmission that we are already quite familiar with since it has been introduced in the Malaysian market installed in the Sylphy.

As part of the Dualis launch promo in Japan, Nissan actually commissioned Shoji Kawamori (of Macross and Robotech fame) to design a robot (mecha) version of the Dualis. The robot Dualis stands 3.5 meters tall. Check out these Dualis mecha videos which Nissan produced as part of a promo campaign in Japan – after the jump!

Click here to read the rest of Nissan Dualis – fresh air in M’sian Nissan SUV scene?

UMW Toyota Motor has released an official media statement regarding the ongoing recall issues faced by Toyota abroad. Here is the statement, published in verbatim:

On 21 January 2010, Toyota Motor Sales (TMS), United States released a media statement of safety recall campaign involving 2.3 million vehicles affecting eight Toyota models. TMS also released a follow-up media statement on 26 January, 2010 regarding the suspension of sales of selected models.

We would like to advise that there is no cause for concern on this matter.

Following the introduction of the S40 2.0 Powershift last year, Volvo launched the V50 wagon with the same drivetrain this morning. The V50 2.0 Powershift is powered by a 145 bhp/185 Nm 2.0-litre engine (which is essentially the Duratec engine found in the Ford Focus) mated to a six-speed dual-clutch transmission called Powershift, also from Ford. Like the S40, this variant replaces the 2.4-litre five-pot V50 – fuel consumption is reduced by up to 11% with this new drivetrain, says Volvo.

Compared to the V50 2.4i, this new variant has a few new features, such as Blind Spot Information System (BLIS), Dynamic Stability Traction Control (DSTC), bi-xenon headlights, keyless entry and a new Brilliant Blue colour. BLIS is a Volvo innovation which alerts the driver of vehicles “hiding” in his/her blind spot. A warning light inside of the side mirrors illuminate in such a case, so you know when not to change lanes.

The locally assembled V50 2.0 Powershift is priced at RM185,950 (OTR without insurance), which is RM16,000 more than the equivalent S40. The blue car you see here comes with optional extras such as roof rack, a subtle bodykit and blue dials from Volvo’s R-design catalogue – the latter looks good and works well in breaking up the monotony of an all-black cabin.

More pictures after the jump. For more info on the 2.0 Powershift drivetrain, check out our previous post here.

Click here to read the rest of Updated Volvo V50 2.0 Powershift launched

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars previewed its latest model, the Ghost, at the marque’s brand new showroom in Petaling Jaya this afternoon. Situated along Jalan Semangat, the facility is operated by Quill Motorcars Sdn Bhd, which also owns a BMW dealership in the same building. Rolls-Royce Asia Pacific Regional Director Colin Kelly and Brenda Pek, GM for South & East Asia Pacific pulled off the wraps.

The Ghost is the entry-level and more affordable Rolls-Royce (if there’s such a thing), and at the preview, Rolls-Royce described it as “informal, a car that you can drive every day” while stating that “the Phantom is like a tuxedo, while the Ghost is like a Savile Row business suit”. The Ghost is slightly smaller in size than the Phantom flagship (440mm shorter, to be exact) and features more dynamic styling, which suits its positioning as the most driver-focussed Rolls-Royce yet.

The 2.4-tonne Ghost is also Rolls-Royce’s most powerful car to date, its 6.6-litre twin-turbo V12 delivers 563 bhp and 780 Nm of torque available from 1500 rpm. These figures are about 25% more than the Phantom, which is of course heavier as well. The V12 is paired to a ZF 8-speed auto transmission. 0-100 km/h is done is 4.7 seconds while top speed is electronically limited to 250 km/h. Supreme comfort is a given – the Ghost floats on adjustable height air suspension.

There are plenty of RR signatures on the Ghost, such as the rear coach doors, violin key switches and umbrellas (Teflon coated) integrated within the doors. Other luxuries include lambswool floor mats, a choice of lounge or individual seating (the latter with optional massage function), a 10-channel amp, 16-speaker (including two floor mounted subwoofers) entertainment system.

The Ghost’s first Malaysian customers should get their built-to-order cars in the second quarter of this year. Prices start from RM2.6 million, but can rise with options. Also displayed was the Phantom Drophead Coupe. More pictures of both cars after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Rolls-Royce Ghost previewed in new KL dealership

Peugeot has big plans to increase its presence in Asia, and Malaysia – via its partner Naza – plays a major role in this programme. At a press conference this afternoon, Peugeot deputy managing director Nicolas Wertans unveiled the company’s new identity for the first time outside of France (simultaneous with the launch of the 408 in China) and laid out what’s in store for us in the near future.

Peugeot plans to make Naza’s Gurun plant its right-hand drive manufacturing hub that will not only serve the ASEAN region, but possibly Australia, New Zealand and even South Africa. Exports will start this year, where the T33 compact sedan will be shipped to Thailand and Indonesia.

Peugeot has started the expansion of its ASEAN regional office in Petaling Jaya and Mr. Wertans said that a new team is being sent from France to study the market. This team will be based here to better understand the taste and expectations of Malaysian carbuyers.

Five new models will be launched in 2010, the 3008, 5008, 308 CC, RCZ and T33 sedan. The 3008 is a crossover while the 5008 is Peugeot’s version of the Citroen Grand C4 Picasso. Moving on, the 308 CC is a metal folding roof coupe-convertible while the RCZ is a compact sports coupe that follows the Audi TT’s template, shown in the metal at last year’s Frankfurt show.

These cars are all fresh offerings, even in Europe, and the RCZ isn’t even on sale yet in the UK, so this blitz reflects our market’s newfound importance. No chance of these cars coming in with Peugeot’s excellent HDi diesels however; we’ll have to make do with petrol engines from the Prince family.

The T33’s impending launch has been covered on this blog before. It’s essentially a 206 Sedan with an updated nose, but Wertans won’t confirm the 207 Sedan name. To be launched by the end of the third quarter this year, it will come with a Peugeot badge (not Naza) and a 1.6-litre engine paired to a “Porsche” Tiptronic gearbox, likely to be the same drivetrain as the 308 VTi. With a sales target of 500 units per month, the T33 is set to be Naza’s bulk seller, taking over from the phased out 206 Bestari.

Meanwhile, the 408 that was launched hours ago in China, codenamed T73, could come in the near future. Wertans said that Peugeot “is seriously thinking about it, but it’s too early to tell”. The booted 308 is not a replacement for the 407, and isn’t likely to carry the “408″ name in every market it’s sold in – besides China, it will go to Brazil, Russia, India and other developing markets.

These plans will further boost Peugeot’s Asia sales, which grew by 45% in 2009. The French company hopes to expand in emerging markets, as its core market becomes highly saturated (currently 60% of total sales are from Western Europe, where it holds a 7.2% market share).

The new lion logo, “Motion & Emotion” tagline, and design language previewed by the gorgeous SR1 concept forms part of a “major repositioning for the next decade” said Wertans. The SR1 features styling cues that will be on Peugeot’s next generation of cars (no more “big mouth” grille) while the part car, part scooter BB1 concept is confirmed for production. “It’s not if, but when it’s coming to Malaysia,” said Wertans of the four-seat BB1, although he must have looked very, very far ahead when saying that.

Renaultsport may not be as well known or revered as BMW’s M division, AMG or Honda’s Type R range, but the boys and girls from Dieppe has been in great form of late, turning humdrum standard Renaults into fantastic driver’s cars that makes the keen driver go Whoa! Both the Clio RS and Megane R26 sold in Malaysia are good examples of these; but the latter in particular impressed so much that I voted for it in my previous magazine’s Car of the Year awards, which it won.

Looks like the motoring media in UK, which gets to enjoy Renaultsport’s latest crop of cars, are similarly bowled over too. Renaultsport has been chosen as Top Gear magazine’s Manufacturer of the Year. Conor McNicholas, Editor of Top Gear UK said: “Renaultsport has been impressing us for years but 2009 was the year where the whole project hit a new sweet spot – Twingo, Clio and Mégane all out in hot form and all of them at their best ever. For services to hot hatches, we salute you”.

In addition, the practical folks at What Car? magazine, in their 2009 COTY awards, had the entire Renaultsport range in their shortlist for the hot hatch category, which saw the Mégane Renaultsport 250 Cup triumph over siblings Clio Renaultsport 200 Cup and Twingo Renaultsport 133 Cup.

Realising that it has struck a chord among enthusiasts, TC Euro Cars plans to build the Renaultsport brand in Malaysia, starting with the introduction of the Mégane RS in the third quarter this year followed by the hot Clio and Twingo at the end of 2010, according to a source close to the project. We can’t wait!

I checked out Auto Bavaria Sg Besi for the CNY@BMW event today and came back with more details on the various ‘Edition’ models that BMW are selling right now. There aren’t much details about these online or from the PR agency so I took it to task myself. Find out more about the cars after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of BMW CNY ‘Edition’ models – more details!

Rolls-Royce has re-established an official presence in Malaysia, appointing Quill Motorcars Sdn Bhd as its authorised dealer. Quill Motorcars will set up a showroom and service facility that will be called Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Kuala Lumpur. It will share the same building as Quill’s BMW dealership in Section 14, Petaling Jaya.

“The new dealership re-establishes an official Rolls-Royce retail and aftersales presence in Malaysia, signifying the company’s confidence in the market. With both the Rolls Royce Phantom family and the new Ghost, we are able to offer the pinnacle in luxury motoring to Malaysians,” said Rolls-Royce Motor Cars regional director for Asia Pacific, Colin Kelly.

Quill Motorcars aims to sell between eight and 10 units a year, which shouldn’t be too hard if you count in the royal families. Rolls Royce, which has 18 dealerships in Asia including Malaysia, forecasts Asian sales to triple this year to 450 vehicles with the introduction of the more affordable Ghost, if any Roller can be described as affordable.

Click here to read the rest of Rolls-Royce sets up official presence in Malaysia