Archive for Local News

I have some preliminary details on the Proton MPV due to be launched in the first half of 2009. According to a source in Proton, the Proton MPV is on schedule and one of the first chassis prototypes was shown at the Proton Technology Week.

14th October 2008 UPDATE: Proton MPV Spyshots - photos of the actual Proton MPV being tested on public roads!

The chassis reveals quite a bit about the car. There is also a model of the interior hidden in a box with holes cut into it, much like the peekaboo promo that Proton did for its previous two models. The following are what I gathered on the MPV:

Exterior

• Overall shape is like the Toyota Wish but the rear section of the roof does not slope down slightly like the Wish to improve headroom for the third row.
• Tail lamps use LEDs and have a vertical design extending from the top to down, unlike the Wish’s which do not extend into the D pillar. The tail lamps are slimmer at the top but curve out a little at the bottom, similiar to the Volvo XC90’s design. The signal lamps in the light cluster are positioned towards the top for better visibility. You can actually see this in the previously revealed sketch and the teaser video above.
• There is a swage line on the side profile of the MPV.
• Regular swing doors instead of sliding doors.
• The spare tyre is installed outside under the chassis instead of kept in the car so that you can get access to it easily when the luggage space is occupied.

Interior

• The peekaboo box revealed a two-tone beige interior, but sources in Proton say the colour of the interior has not been finalised. It may be either beige or grey.
• Luggage space is not that great with the third row of seats in place, but can fit one large golf bag. This means balik kampung with 7 people loaded and luggage for 7 will be a challenge.
• Second row splits 60:40 while the third row is a 50:50 split. The seats fold flat.
• Interior roof height is designed to be quite decent to accomodate people who want to ride with songkoks and turbans.
• The shifter uses a gated shift and is dashboard-mounted rather than mounted between the front two seats, a common modern trend with MPV-like vehicles.
• The in-car entertainment is a 2-DIN unit. There are options for a DVD player with an LCD display for the movie mounted at the second row roof area. There is also an option in the future for GPS navigation.
• The 2-DIN head unit is at the top of the center dash area below the aircond vents, and below it comes the air conditioning controls which are three knobs arranged in a triangle shape. Below that is the shifter.
• There are aircond blowers for the second and third row situation at the top left and right of the cabin roof (near the grip handles). Proton source says after testing this produced the best airflow.
• There is no armrest between the front two seats but the armrest is instead a fold-down type integrated into the seat itself.

Chassis

• The wheelbase of the chassis is estimated to be more than 2,700mm but less than 2,800mm. In comparison, the Honda Stream has a wheelbase of 2740mm, the Wish is 2,750mm, the Innova 2,750mm, the Livina 2600mm, and the Mazda5 2750mm.
• The front suspension design uses MacPherson struts and the rear design uses a torsion beam to minimize suspension system intrusion into cabin.
• The front end is designed, supplied and assembled as a single module for weight reduction and ease of installation to minimize QC problems.
• The MPV is said to have very good crash safety design from Proton internal crash tests. A few MPVs will be sent for official crash testing and rating soon.

So there you have it. If you want to look at the interior and chassis for yourself you can head to the Proton Technology Week event tomorrow. The event is happening at the Proton plant in Shah Alam. On the KESAS highway heading towards Klang, turn left after the Center of Excellence and then turn left into the Proton plant.

An initial concept sketch of the Proton MPV interior, but the production version will be tamed down.

Proton MPV teaser video gets attention…

Day 1 visitors having a peek at the new MPV’s interior.

Click here to read the rest of Proton MPV exclusive initial details revealed!

Click to enlarge

Hyundai Sime-Darby Motor has launched the new Hyundai i10 5-door hatchback in Malaysia. The i10 replaces the Atos in the Hyundai global line-up but in certain countries like India, both the Atos (Santro) and the i10 is offered, with the latter being the more premium product. In fact, the i10 we get here comes from India where both the Atos and i10 are very very popular products, instead of Korea.

All the basics that will make the new Hyundai a popular runabout are there: a small luggage space extendable via the foldable rear seats and a 4-speed automatic. It chugs along via a 1.1 liter Epsilon family engine (sadly not the new Kappa 1.2 liter) putting out 65.8 horsepower at 5,500rpm and 99.1Nm of torque at a lower than usual 2,800rpm which should allow it to feel pretty zippy around town.

Safety features include a 4-star Euro NCAP body, dual SRS airbags and anti-lock brakes. In-car entertainment is an integrated 2-DIN audio CD player with MP3 and aux input support. The interior is rather monotonous and basic with endless fields of grey but there is a slight touch of “high-end” thanks to the dash-mounted shift lever instead of it being in the conventional position between the two front seats.

So you have decent safety specs, an acceptable level of in-car entertainment, an automatic gearbox, an engine that puts out peak torque at a low-mid RPM, and a price under RM50k. This should theoretically be very popular with city dwellers, especially since its claimed to have a 17.2km per liter combined fuel economy. It’s also got nice styling, being the first Hyundai car in Malaysia with the new naming scheme and design language that debuted with the i30. But Malaysians are just too brand conscious.

The 4-speed auto model retails for RM48,888 OTR with insurance and comes with a 5-year (300,000km) warranty. It is available in five colours: alpine blue, blushing red, stone black, sleek silver and champagne gold. A 5-speed manual version (that is claimed to get 20km per liter) is also available but strangely Hyundai’s press kit does not mention its price. This story will be updated later when the price is available.

The badging on the car is a little confusing but somehow expected. It has a combination of both Inokom and Hyundai logos and badges around the car.

More images after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Hyundai i10 compact hatch launched in Malaysia

For those who have renewed their road tax for this period and have been delaying collection of the RM625 rebate because of lack of time or any other reason, there is good news for you. Pos Malaysia Berhad now allows collection of fuel rebates through its online portal at Pos Online.

All one has to do is sign up for a Pos Online account and login with your username and password. Then go to Cash Rebate Online and click on Cash Rebate. Key in your number plate and the other information required. You can then select either Money Order or Bank Account Deposit as your mode of payment. Just fill in whatever they ask and if everything goes through you will receive an online receipt which you can print for future reference.

For the Money Order option, a Money Order will be posted to your registered address within 7 working days of the online transaction. For the Bank Account deposit option, your money will be credited directly into your bank account within 3 working days. For those who renewed their road tax before it expires, you can only perform the rebate transaction online 3 days after the road tax renewal. If you experience trouble with the system, give 1-300-300-300 a ring.

Kudos to Pos Malaysia for developing this win-win system where motorists are now able to claim their subsidy without wasting time at the post office, and at the same time Pos Malaysia gets more exposure for its new Pos Online service. There is no additional service charges to the motorist for using the online system.

Proton is currently having a promotion for the Proton Savvy where if you book one between the 25th July 2008 to the 25th August 2008, you will get a special package with the car that Proton calls the Savvy Unbelievable Deal at no extra cost over the OTR price.

The special package is worth RM4,500 and includes an Extended Warranty program which extends the car’s standard 2 year warranty to 5 years or 175,000km, free service for 2 years or the first 50,000km, a bodykit consisting of a front lip, rear bumper and side skirts, and a RM1,000 prepaid petrol card.

For this promotion, Proton will be organizing a “Savvy Fun Ride” convoy, where 10 pimped up Proton Savvys will be going around the Peninsular Malaysia to promote this 2-month deal. The pimped up Savvys have been given names according to its theme: Performance, Urban, Gizmo, Angel, 50th Anniversary, Stylo, Fun O Fun, X-Treme, Mr. DJ and i-Care (shown above).

Check out the other pimped up Savvys after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Proton Savvy Unbelievable Deal worth RM4,500

Proton will be opening its doors to the public at the Proton Technology Week this weekend. Members of the public will be able to have a look at some of Proton’s R&D facilities and future initiatives at Proton’s plant in the Hicom Industrial Estate, Section 26 Shah Alam.

- 2nd August 2008 2:00 PM to 5:00 PM
- 3rd August 2008 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

In the technology area members of the public will be able to get a glimpse of Proton’s upcoming 2009 Proton MPV as well as R&D facilities like styling studios, safety labs, VR rooms, prototype studios, noise labs and others. I’ll most definitely be there to share with you what can be seen on Saturday night. Then you can decide if its worth checking out on Sunday which has longer opening hours.

UPDATE: Sheikh Muszaphar will be there on the 2nd of August, so this may be one chance for you to meet him in person for whatever reason you want.

In the carnival area there will be free go-kart rides, a precision driving showcase by Proton’s R3 team, a remote control car championship, a drifting demo, show cars and a demo of a driverless Lotus. It should be quite interesting as the driverless Lotus has been flown in all the way from the US.

The Lotus Autonomous Vehicle is based off the Lotus Elise and was an entry to the DARPA Urban Challenge in 2007. It was developed by the North Carolina State University, Insight Technologies, Advanced Vehicle Research Center and Lotus Engineering. It uses laser measurements sensors, high accuracy GPS, and radar.

For those who have children there’s also a children’s fun area. Look after the jump for videos of the autonomous Lotus Elise.

Click here to read the rest of Proton MPV sneak peek at Proton Technology Week

Honda Motor Co has stepped into the Malaysian motorcycle market, taking over the Honda motorcycle business currently run by Boon Siew Sdn Bhd like it did a few years ago with the Honda car business, moving Honda cars from a franchisee brand in Malaysia to one run by the principals.

Kah Assemblers Sdn Bhd currently manufactures Honda motorcycles in Malaysia. Sales is handled by Boon Siew Sdn Bhd, 100% owned by the Boon Siew family. Honda will buy 50% of the shares of Kah Assemblers Sdn Bhd in September 2008, currently 100% owned by Oriental Holdings Berhad.

The new company will be called Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd and will be a 50-50 joint venture between Honda Japan and Oriental Holdings. The sales function will be transfered to the new Boon Siew Honda Sdn Bhd in January 2009.

Honda models produced in Malaysia currently include the Honda EX-5, Honda Wave100, Honda Wave125, Honda Click and the Honda CBR150R.

Anwar Ibrahim has been using fuel prices as ammunition for his government reform campaign (see debate between Anwar and Ahmad Shabery), but this latest move by the ruling government may just force Anwar to look for something else.

Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Datuk Shahrir Samad told Bloomberg that the government may consider dropping fuel prices of petrol and diesel in Malaysia if the cost of crude oil drops below US$125 and stabilizes and is sustained for at least 3 weeks. The government may also continue subsidizing fuel for the next 10 years instead of cutting off fuel subsidies much earlier as planned.

However the report is just full of “may” and “maybes” and “why nots”… nothing is concrete, so no one should get their hopes high. Even if prices drop, it may go up again.

Source

The self-service petrol station system was introduced by the government in the Klang Valley 11 years ago in 1997 but we all know that until now it has not really been implemented fully, not even in the Klang Valley. There are plenty of petrol stations around more often than not having a foreign worker asking you if you want to use cash or card, merah or hijau, and then pumping your fuel for you.

PDAM acting president Abdul Wahid Bidin said they intend to fully implement the self service system nationwide from the 1st of August 2008 onwards - this Friday. This was to reduce dependence on foreign workers and to reduce the burden on operators. Petrol station workers are still allowed but only to help the disabled, senior citizens and pregnant women. They are also allowed in small unbranded petrol stations in rural areas.

Truth be told I don’t think many people are affected by this or even bother, and both PDAM and the government seem to be in denial about the self-service system not being fully/properly implemented in the Klang Valley despite the 11 years that have passed since the original ruling, but it’s still related to motoring.

Personally I have no issues pumping my fuel myself and I don’t see why anyone should have a problem with it. But what pisses me off are pumps that have a ridiculously slow flow rate - there was once I had to fill up a large fuel tank and it took me a good 15 to 20 minutes! The other would be credit card terminals that seem perpetually down.

Station owners should ensure all of their hardware are working properly at all times to avoid inconveniencing customers!

Source

The Terengganu state government is offering taxi drivers who are currently using old Nissans and Toyotas a subsidy of RM10,000 if they want to replace their aging cars with a new Proton Saga or Proton Wira taxi. For taxi drivers that are already using Proton taxis, the government will reimburse up to RM4,000 for refurbishment costs. This is for taxi drivers who have not repainted their vehicles.

Terengganu Rural Development, Entrepreneur and Cooperative Committee chairman Datuk Mohamed Awang Tera said that this subsidy is part of the state’s efforts to reinvigorate the image of Terengganu taxis, but some say that repelling criticism that the Terengganu is not supportive of the national car is part of the reason.

Datuk Mohamed Awang Tera also revealed that a circuit for car and motorcycle races in Mak Lagam Chukai Kemaman is in final stages of construction.

This is quite interesting… what use has the federal government for Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution cars? Are these police cars? A report in MySinChew reveals that fleet management company Spanco signed a deal in June 2008 to supply the government with 2,500 units of Proton Waja and 10 units of the Mitsubishi Evolution. It should be an interesting sight to see government/police Evos around.

Related Posts:
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 9 Short Test-Drive Review

Source