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• Proton Prevé – test drive vehicle a sign of arrival soon?

  In Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton, Proton Preve / By Chris Ng / 3 April 2012 / 343 comments

  

  Well, it looks like the wait for the Proton Prevé is almost over, if the photos seen on funtasticko are right – the ‘test drive’ stickers and the phone number at the rear cannot hint it any clearer.

  What is set to be certain is the name, Prevé. It means ‘to prove’ in Spanish; just in case you don’t already know. Incidentally, I googled up its pronunciation and it is said as ‘preev’ and not ‘preff’ or ‘perve’. Let’s say it right the first time, shall we?

  

  In any case, we’ve already compiled a whole encyclopedia on the topic – from the leaked spec sheet to videos – and you only have to key in ‘Proton Preve’ in our handy search box. Or, just click here.

  So, all that’s missing from the jigsaw is the official price and when it’s going to be launched.

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  
  

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• Final two My Proton Makeover cars revealed – Saga, Satria

  In Cars, Local News, Malaysian Makes, Proton / By Anthony Lim / 2 April 2012 / 53 comments

  

  The My Proton Makeover programme’s last two makeover vehicles have been announced, and they are a 2001 Satria belonging to Amirul Azim Mohd Hussain and a 1991 Saga owned by Lee Koon Gaik.

  For 36 year-old IT consultant Amirul, his devotion to his Satria is obvious – it has been his one and only car, serving him through his bachelor days, into his marriage and now fatherhood, 11 years on.

  While she has had a different experience with her car, 54 year-old home maker Lee shares the same sentimental values towards her Saga, a gift from her husband 20 years ago. The car has been her loyal and trustworthy workhorse and companion, helping her see her sons to school, college and their early working life.

  

  A one-car owner, Lee believes that her Saga is the car of a lifetime, having even declined the government’s voluntary scrapping incentive for a new Proton in 2009.

  “With my Saga, I do not need any other car,” said Lee proudly, when handing it in for the makeover. “Even with the common wear and tear over the past 20 years, I am still able to rely on it to get me around – and I’m happy to be able to treat it to a little pampering with this wonderful makeover opportunity.”

  The two cars, essentially the fifth and sixth vehicles in the programme, will each receive a new breath of life as they enter the R3 workshop for a period of refurbishment. Tengku Djan Ley, head of engineering at the R3 unit, said that the team has their work cut out for them for the finale of this programme.

  

  “The two cars have served their owners well, and are in need of major refurbishment. However, to keep on schedule, as much as the team is enjoying themselves revamping these old cars, they will be pushing themselves to ensure these cars get the best treatment and are delivered on time to their owners.” he said.

  “As both owners utilise their cars daily with their families, our focus will be to make certain that the cars perform with greater reliability, efficiency and safety, and that they will stay on the road for a long while to come,” he added.

  When completed, the 1991 Saga and 2001 Satria will join Fadly Hisham Roplay’s 1992 Saga, Sashideran Radha Krishnan’s 1994 Wira, Norzamzarini Mohd Bajuri’s 1996 Iswara Aeroback and Hafiz Mohd Hashim’s 2001 Satria GTI as the six makeover specials.
  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• Buy a Shell Helix, get a chance to win a trip to Italy. Simple.

  In Cars, Local News / By Chris Ng / 2 April 2012 / 2 comments

  

  Fancy visiting the home of the Prancing Horse, get acquainted with the glitz and glam of Milan, and rub shoulders with the Tifosi just like a VIP, with your trip fully paid for? Well, Shell Helix is looking for five lucky persons to get that once-in-a-lifetime experience.

  Interested? Good. All you need to do is to take part in this year’s Shell Helix ‘Get Your Heart Racing’ contest, which began on March 15 and will end on May 31, 2012. The contest is split into two tiers, and there are more than 500 prizes worth over RM200,000 to be won.

  

  In Tier 1, you’ll need to buy a minimum of four litres of either Shell Helix Ultra, Shell Helix HX7, Shell Helix HX 7 E or Shell Helix HX7 Diesel. Get the contest form (which you can also download here) and drop your entries at participating Shell Stations, Shell Helix workshops or spare part shops. Alternatively, you can also snail mail your entry to the address printed on the contest form. By the way, every four litres purchased in a single receipt is eligible for one entry.

  The first 15 winners of Tier 1 will not only win RM2,000 cash, but qualify for the next tier. If you choose to continue on to the next tier, you’ll get an additional RM1,000. Details for the Tier 2 challenge are still shrouded in mystery and only will be made known when all 15 winners are selected.

  

  Be victorious in both tiers and you’ll win an all-expense paid VIP trip to Italy, where you will be exploring the Ferrari HQ in Maranello, discovering the sights and culture of Milan and share the passion of the Scuderia Ferrari team at the Italian Grand Prix in Monza in September, 2012.

  There are also other prizes for those who don’t make it past Tier 1 – 15 second prize winners will get RM1,000 cash, and 15 third prize winners will receive RM500 cash, while 500 consolation prize winners will get to take home a Shell Helix Ultra 4L pack worth RM218.

  

  If you’ve been holding out to get some Shell Helix lubricant, now’s the perfect time to buy it. After all, it might get you on that plane to Italy.

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• VIDEO: Android-powered Clarion Mirage shows its talent

  In Cars, Local News, Videos / By Danny Tan / 2 April 2012 / 35 comments

  Last week, we were in Penang for the world debut of the Clarion Mirage ICE system. What’s special about the Mirage is that it’s the first Android-based full automotive grade car stereo in the market. ‘Full automotive grade’ means OEM-grade, and Clarion is targeting car manufacturers and assemblers for now, before stating retail sales in Q4 this year.

  Conceived and developed at Clarion Malaysia in Penang, the Mirage is equipped with a 6.5-inch LCD hooked up to Android’s touch-screen graphical user interface (GUI). It runs Android 2.2 Froyo, but customised for a car platform. As with an Android smartphone, the “appatunities” are limitless with the Mirage.

  

  We’ve already explained what it can do in our launch report, complete with full gallery, but here’s a video to show you what’s possible. Like the Mirage, these stereo girls are proof that barangan buatan Malaysia can be very good

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• Toyota Camry – brochure leaked, and pix of Thai-market version offers a preview of the upcoming all-new car

  In Cars, Local News, Toyota / By Chris Ng / 31 March 2012 / 421 comments

  

  Toyota needs to fix the plumbing, because the brochure of the all-new Camry just got leaked to us. The brochure means only one thing – the official launch should not be too far off. Actually, it’ll come in June, to be exact.

  Coincidentally, the new Camry – which is different than the US-version of the seventh-generation sedan – is on display at the ongoing Bangkok Motor Show, and Anthony managed to snap a few photos of the Thai-market car.

  Based on the pix and the brochure, it confirms what Danny speculated last year, that the car first seen as an Ukrainian market version is going to be the Camry we’re getting.

  

  From the brochure, it looks like we’ll be getting three variants – the 2.0 E, 2.0 G and the top shelf 2.5 V. In Toyota’s grand scheme of things, the E will be the base-spec car, the G will get some of V’s kit and V will be the Camry with all the bells and whistles.

  The 2.0 E and 2.0 G shares the same engine – a 2.0 litre VVT-i engine that produces 148 PS at 6,000 rpm and 190 Nm at 4,000 rpm. The letdown here is that the 2.0 litre is paired with a four-speed Super ECT automatic transmission with sequential shifter. At a time when everyone else is going six-speed, why is Toyota sticking to the four-speeder? What about its CVT gearbox?

  The 2.5 V, like the number in its name, gets the 2.5 litre Dual VVT-i with ACIS that generates 181 PS at 6,000 rpm and 231 Nm at 4,100. This variant gets the six-speed Super ECT automatic transmission with sequential shifter. Already, you can guess that the 2.5 V is the Camry to get.

  

  What the previous post also proved right is the amount of wood that will be found in the interior. All variants will be decked out in wood grain interior; it is only the 2.5 V and the 2.0 G variants that will be getting chrome finishing for the air-conditioning knob, inside door lever and door scuff plate. The V and G will also get a black interior, according to the brochures – that’s interesting.

  Other notable differences between the 2.0 litre and the 2.5 litre variants are the 6.1-inch touchscreen display with DVD player and reverse camera, sun shades for the rear and side windows and a push-start feature found in the latter.

  You’ll find all the necessary info on the new Camry in the brochure scan below. What do you think about the car?
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• BMW F30 3-Series launch: BMW M Performance kit display

  In BMW, Cars, Local News / By Paul Tan / 30 March 2012 / 17 comments

  

  BMW showcased this kitted up BMW M Performance F30 328i at the Malaysian launch of the new 3-Series. From what we can observe, there are a few BMW M Performance items fitted onto the car, which you’ll eventually be able to order to fit onto your F30 from the local BMW dealerships. This is BMW’s attempt at entering the retrofit accessory market.

  

  It’s not the full range though – the car wears the normal Sport line bodykit instead of the BMW M Performance look that’s full of carbon fibre, and there aren’t even the carbon fibre wing mirrors or the carbon fibre rear spoiler.

  Not all is lost – the car wears the BMW M Performance black strips on white paint, and those wheels are the 20 inch Style 405M Bicolour BMW M Performance wheels, which cover BMW M Performance 19″ brakes with 4-pot calipers at the front and 2-pot calipers at the rear.

  

  On the interior, we sighted the BMW M Performance Alcantara steering wheel, the variant with the red marking indicating the centre position, but there’s also another version with a race display which is a little LCD at the top of the steering wheel which can act as an additional multi-function display. The interior also has BMW M Performance parts on the dash trim, gear lever and handbrake lever. There are a few things missing here as well such as BMW M Performance pedals, etc.

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• GALLERY: BMW 3-Series lineage display at the F30 launch

  In BMW, Cars, Local News / By Danny Tan / 30 March 2012 / 12 comments

  

  At the F30 3-Series launch last week, BMW put on display the rich lineage that the sixth-generation car has, just like what they did for the F10 5-Series launch some years back. The previous generations and history of the BMW 3-Series also appeared in full page ads in local dailies.

  On display at the Mines Convention Centre were all five previous generations of the sports sedan. The first 3-Series (E21) made its debut back in 1975, followed by the replacement E30 that we still see on the road today. Speaking of that, our Harvinder will be parting with his beautiful E30 Coupe very soon, with a heavy heart. Don’t worry bro, we will be there for you!

  

  The 1990s saw the introduction of the E36 3-Series, which was significantly larger than the 3er of the 80s. The modern era continued with the curvy E46, before the baton was passed to the E90 that came out in 2005. Fast forward seven years, and we have a new chapter.

  Also invited to the family party was the BMW 2002, which was part of the Neue Klasse models that propelled BMW on to the world stage, cementing the Munich firm’s reputation as a maker of sporty cars. The 2002 was the precursor to the 3-Series.

  

  Click here to read about the rich heritage of the BMW 3-Series. Not as titillating as the one posted by colleague Anthony earlier, but I hope you enjoy this gallery nonetheless

  Continue reading to check out the full gallery.
  Read more ›

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• Goodyear Eagle EfficientGrip launched – priced from RM400

  In Cars, Local News / By Chris Ng / 30 March 2012 / 21 comments

  

  There are three crucial letters that car manufacturers take into consideration when making a car. These letters are ‘N’, ‘V’ and ‘H’, which stand for Noise, Vibration and Harshness. Most cars come with decent levels of NVH that adds to the enjoyment of the drive and ride.

  Goodyear has launched a new tyre that takes those standard NVH levels and makes it better. It is called the Eagle EfficientGrip and Goodyear says that it is the company’s quietest and most comfortable tyre ever. It all comes down to a feature called the Quiet Tred Technology that minimise road noise and maximise a smoother ride without compromising safety.

  

  The Quiet Tred technology achieves this quiet ride through a closed shoulder design to help reduce tyre wear and audible radiated noise inside and outside of the car. A balanced block distribution lowers the impact noise and the perpendicular edge blading reduces block stiffness over time, lowering vibrations and further reducing the radiated noise.

  The Eagle EfficientGrip also gives a smooth and comfortable ride. The tyre is built with an active vibration dampening carcass, which is a stiff base under the tread. It also has an absorbing rubber gum strip that soaks up tyre vibrations that lessens the impact coming from the variations on the road.

  

  A quiet tyre is not much use if it does not have grip in the dry and in the wet. The tyre is built with a high number of biting edges that provide a high blade density, resulting in more contact with the road. It translates to more grip in all driving conditions and a safer cornering levels.

  The Eagle EfficientGrip also possesses a high loaded silica blend, which reduces the friction between rubber molecules resulting in less energy loss and lower rolling resistance. The overall tyre vibration is also reduced through the stiff base under the tread, which prevents unnecessary block movements. This means that the Eagle EfficientGrip offers better fuel consumption.

  

  During the launch, I had the opportunity to test the tyre. It was fitted on a new Toyota Camry with just 103km on the odometer. Granted that the Camry isn’t the noisiest or the most uncomfortable car on the road, but the tyre almost completely deletes the road noise from invading the cabin, even when driving at speeds of 120 km/h that would have generated a copious amount of road noise. And, it performed impressively silent when I drove over pebbled and cemented roads.

  The drive was too short – just 10 minutes around Cyberjaya in a convoy escorted by the police – so there was no firm opportunity to try out the grip. Still this is a Goodyear and should perform as expected.

  

  The Eagle EfficientGrip is actually fitted as standard in certain mid-luxury cars in Germany and Goodyear is targeting owners of the same mid-luxury cars here in Malaysia.

  The tyre is made in Germany and China with no immediate plans of manufacturing it in any of the ASEAN countries. The Eagle EfficientGrip is available in 21 sizes from 195/60 R15 to 255/45 R18 and every popular size in between. It is priced from RM400 per piece; it is high but if you value a quieter, more comfortable ride then this tyre is worth your consideration.

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  
  

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• Chevrolet Colorado launched – 2.5L and 2.8L from RM90k

  In Cars, Chevrolet, Local News / By Danny Tan / 30 March 2012 / 44 comments

  

  Naza Quest officially launched the Chevrolet Colorado pick-up truck yesterday night. The Colorado, which is made by GM in Rayong, Thailand, rolls in with two engine options (2.5L and 2.8L Duramax diesels) and two gearbox choices (5 M/T and 6 A/T). Only the double cab is available, and only in 4X4.

  The three variant range starts with the 2.5 LT manual. This common-rail diesel unit makes 150 hp and 350 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, good enough to push the two-tonne truck from 0-100 km/h in 12.2 seconds. No automatic transmission option for the 2.5 litre engine – for a self shifting Colorado, one has to look at the 2.8L engine.

  

  The 2.8L Duramax engine pushes out 180 hp and 440 Nm of twist from 2,000 rpm in the 2.8 LT manual. This one does the century sprint in 11.4 seconds.

  The 2.8 LTZ automatic is the range topper, and the sole variant with an automatic transmission, which is a six-speeder with Shiftronic. The engine is not identical to the 2.8 manual’s – unlike the other two, this one is fitted with a variable geometry turbo. Power remains at 180 hp, but torque is bumped up to 470 Nm, the highest torque figure for a pick-up truck in Malaysia for now. 0-100 km/h is done in 10.2 seconds.

  

  Spec wise, the LTZ trim of the 2.8 auto brings 17-inch alloys with 255/65 rubber (245/70 R16 for the rest), projector headlamps, power folding wing mirrors, fog lamp chrome garnish, LED tail lamps, roof rails, side steps, chrome gear knob, six-way powered driver’s seat, cruise control, auto door lock, buttons and leather on the steering and climate control. The latter is presented in a donut-style ring, while manual air-con continues with a three-dial layout.

  Standard equipment across the board includes a USB/Bluetooth factory stereo, Driver Information Center, dual-airbags, ABS, EBD and Brake Assist. The 2.8 auto adds on ESP and a list of acronyms. They are Panic Brake Assist (PBA), Hydraulic Brake Fade Assist (HBFA), Cornering Brake Control (CBC) and Traction Control System (TCS).

  

  The Colorado is priced from RM90,267 for the 2.5 manual. The 2.8 manual goes for RM96,008 while the 2.8 auto will set you back RM106,008. All prices are OTR without insurance. Note that the outdoor pics in the gallery feature non-standard equipment for demo purposes.

  We’ve driven the Colorado already – click here for a test drive report and full gallery.

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  

  

  

  

  

  
  
  

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• Google Maps now contains Traffic and Transit information – Bahasa Malaysia interface also introduced

  In Local News, Public Transport / By Anthony Lim / 29 March 2012 / 20 comments

  

  Google Malaysia has introduced three major enhancements to Google Maps which will allow Malaysian commuters to better plan their journeys and to look up real time information – the enhancements consist of two new layers called Traffic and Transit as well as a Bahasa Malaysia interface.

  Traffic, as its description suggests, provides data on real time road congestion right on the map. By turning on the Traffic layer on Maps, users can quickly see whether roads are congested or flowing freely, all based on colour coding — red for choc-a-bloc, yellow for slow moving, and green for smooth flowing. Drivers that are fairly well-versed with the roads can also use the information to plan alternative routes to their destination.

  As for Transit, this one provides information on travel via the Malaysian public transportation system on Maps. Now, in areas with available transit data, if a user selects point-to-point directions, there is a third new option in addition to the familiar walking and driving directions.

  Maps users will be able to view the step-by-step public transportation information, which includes bus, LRT, monorail and Komuter travel options. Users can also see where bus stops and train stations are located.

  

  Traffic and Transit for Maps data comes from a variety of sources, including government departments of transportation, private data providers, and users of Google Maps for mobile, who contribute anonymous speed information through Google’s traffic crowdsourcing feature.

  Lastly, Google Maps is now available in Bahasa Malaysia, giving Malay native speakers better accessibility and the option of interfacing and navigating with Google Maps using the language they are most comfortable with.

  With 60% of Malaysians using Bahasa Malaysia as their primary language and with over 90% proficiency in the language nationwide, the localisation initiative should make it easier for Malaysians to get the most from Maps, says Google. All the enhancements are available on the desktop and mobile versions of Google Maps.

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