Archive for Local News

Our new Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has rolled out his new cabinet today, and the following are the few people of note to motorists, people whose policies affects motorists and car enthusiasts in Malaysia:

• Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of International Trade and Industry – has previously served the EPU. MITI affects industry policies such as automotive industry taxation and incentives
• Datuk Mukhriz Mahathir, Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry – his father hopes he will solve the issue of AP holders who sell their APs.
• Datuk Ismail Sabri, Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs – let’s see if the plan to switch to RON97, RON95 and Euro 2 diesel will happen under this new leadership. Or we could also see fuel moved to the new Green Tech ministry.
• Datuk Tan Lian Hoe, Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs.
• Datuk Peter Chin, Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water – this new ministry replaces the Energy, Water and Communication ministry, will the Green Technology portfolio affect hybrid cars, electric cars, biofuel, etc?
• Noriah Kasnon – Deputy Minister of Energy, Green Technology and Water

As Proton gears up for its Proton Exora MPV to be launched next week, our other national carmaker Perodua is also prepping up its Perodua MPV, set to be launched in Q3 this year. The new Perodua MPV is internally called the Perodua D46T codename and is expected to be priced between RM57K to RM66k, according to Perodua MD Datuk Syed Hafiz Syed Abu Bakar in Bernama.

The new Perodua D46T will be based on the Toyota Passo Sette, also known as the Daihatsu Boon Luminas. It measures 4,180mm long, 1,695mm wide and 1,620mm tall, with a long 2,750mm wheelbase to maximize the interior space (2,550mm long).

It sits 6 or 7, depending on how big the people are, but the intention is 7 of course, because some of the Japanese model pix shows 3 headrests for the 2nd row. The same Bernama report also confirmed it will come with a 1.5 liter engine, likely the 3SZ-VE in transverse-mounted front wheel drive configuration.

There has been an interesting video that’s surfaced on Youtube, but it could be removed soon. Watch it! Also, please read the link below to find out more about the Toyota/Daihatsu car that the Perodua D46T will be based on.

Related Posts:
Toyota Passo Sette 7-seater MPV: full details!

Click here to read the rest of Perodua MPV (D46T) to sell for RM66k and below!

Proton has appointed a new Director of Quality, 56 year old Dr Wolfgang Karl Eppel. Dr. Epple was previously serving in BMW AG as Vice President of Quality Management R&D. He was also previously in charge of Hybrid technologies, and was also the project leader for the E90 3-Series.

“We believe that with his strong technical and managerial expertise and leadership, Dr Epple would be able to drive the Quality transformation process for the PROTON Group,” said Proton MD Datuk Hj Syed Zainal.

Dr Epple has a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. But I wonder how much Dr Epple really can do in Proton. Yes, he can improve the assembly lines. But quality is more than how the car is put together. Proton being Proton, there is always the case of the untouchables… no 23 years of experience in BMW will help with that.

Honda Malaysia today announced the extension of the deadline for submission of applications for Honda Dreams Fund (HDF) to April 15, 2009. The original deadline for HDF is 31st March 2009. This is in order to provide more people with the opportunity to apply. The HDF is a non-binding, full scholarship offered by Honda Malaysia.

The Honda Dreams Fund covers tertiary education fees and provides for allowances to meet living expenses for the duration of their courses. It 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. Strong academic results are encouraged but not a deciding factor.

Candidates must not be receiving any bursaries or financial aid from other organizations, agencies or government. To apply, candidates are required to write an essay on their aspirations in realizing their dreams in not more than 500 words. More details at the HDF website, or download the application form.

Currently in its third year, the Honda Dreams Fund was created to give underprivileged young Malaysians a chance to fulfil their dreams and achieve a better future through education. This year, the HDF team travelled to rural villages in Kedah, Pahang and Sarawak as well as to schools located in the Klang Valley in order to extend the reach of the scholarship and to reach out to more people.

Read more if you like after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Honda Dreams Fund deadline extended to 15 April

If you can’t make time to head to a Honda showroom, Honda will bring the showroom to you with its nationwide mobile roadshow set to be held around Malaysia from March to August 2009. Honda will be showing the new facelifted Civic 1.8, Civic 2.0 and Civic Hybrid, as well as the new City, the Accord, the new Jazz and the new Stream RSZ. The next roadshow (at time of posting) is scheduled for this Friday at Batu Pahat’s BP Mall.

There is one unit of the new Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M at the Naza Italia Ferrari showroom by the side of the Federal Highway. It’s hard to miss really, but if you need the address here it is: Lot 1, Jalan 51A/221, 46100 Petaling Jaya.

Head on there if you want to check it out. It’s one out of 499 limited units that exist in this world, assuming some Hollywood stars don’t destroy a few on their way to the next car showroom. The showroom is open for viewing from 11am to 5pm daily, and the Scuderia Spider 16M will be there until the 6th this month.

The 16M Spider is an odd monster. It’s a hardcore stripped down version of the 430 Scuderia, but the stripped down image feels abit out of place considering the fact that its a convertible and requires additional weight to strengthen the roof-less chassis. So that extra weight is still there.

But then again, the 16M name refers to Ferrari’s 16th F1 constructor title win, and F1 cars don’t have roofs… so maybe that’s the logic, I don’t know.

The car’s engine is a 4.3 liter V8 producing 510 horsepower at 8,500rpm and 470Nm of torque at 5,250rpm. The engine bounces off the redline at 8,640rpm. Its gearbox is a dual clutch dry transmission, but unlike the Ferrari California it only has 6 forward gears instead of the California’s 7. 0 to 100km/h takes only 3.7 seconds. If that’s not enough for you, Novitec Rosso sells a tuning kit for the 16M that bumps up its power to nearly 700 horses via twin turbochargers.

Naza Italia’s Lifestyle Centre isn’t just for potential Ferrari buyers and Ferrari Owners Club members. It houses a full range of Ferrari and Maserati merchandise as well, so perhaps instead of a normal red shirt for next year’s Chinese New Year open house visiting you could go in a Ferrari polo or something.

Look after the jump for a full gallery of the 16M.

Click here to read the rest of Limited edition Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M available for viewing at Naza Italia showroom

No news yet on which engine the Malaysian model will come with but it will be a diesel, so its either the 2.5 or the 3.2 or maybe both. No specs yet either but it will have 4WD and an indicative price tag is pegged at the region of RM170,000, which is the equivalent to the diesel Fortuner 2.5G. The petrol Fortuner costs more at RM178k. The Everest has cheaper models from RM145k to RM168k but the most expensive Everest 3.0 TDCi is also around the RM170k range.

The Pajero Sport will be launched in Malaysia in May 2009, but you can already book the Pajero Sport from tomorrow onwards and I understand there is a special pre-launch booking promotion. There is of course another Mitsubishi 7-seater based on a ladder frame, the Zinger which is an Innova competitor.

Look after the jump for a small photo gallery of the Pajero Sport.

Related Post:
New Mitsubishi Pajero Sport based on Triton platform

Click here to read the rest of Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 7-seater set for May launch in Malaysia at RM170k

Click to enlarge

This is the latest and probably one of the most final in a series of teaser images released by Proton of the Proton Exora 7-seater MPV. If you visited the Proton Technology Week they held sometime back you would have already seen this in real life, but this version shows some of the different metals used in the structure.

The single-piece front end module is made of plastic (but reinforced by metal in some areas) and the front subframe uses a hydroformed sub-frame technology that contributes to helping the Exora lose a few KGs, which means the CamPro CPS will have less to lug around. Being a single piece, it will be easier for the assembly line workers to install the front end module.

This is how part design can affect quality – other than the actual quality of the component itself, if a component is easier to install there is a higher chance for the assembly line works to always get it right the first time around.

UPDATE: To learn more about the benefits of a hydroformed front subframe, check out this link by Subaru. Thanks to reader Fridz.

Read our previous detailed coverage on the Exora:

Related Posts:
Proton Exora set for 15th April 2009 launch
Proton Exora Prototype Test Drive Experience
Proton Exora MPV: Body Control Module and more juicy details
Proton Exora features list teaser scan
Proton Exora MPV meter panel and dashboard textures in high resolution
Proton Exora MPV teaser scans: flat-folding seats
Proton Exora 7-seater MPV interior details revealed

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia now has its first 3S center in Sarawak, located at Lot 2527, Boulevard Commercial Centre, 98000 Miri, Sarawak. The new 3S center by Auto Pacifica spans over 20,000 square feet and was built at an investment of over RM 1 million. The 3S center will house a sales showroom, discussion area, customer lounge, meeting rooms, delivery bay, service reception area and a service workshop with seven dedicated working bays.

A dedicated service center is important for the Mitsubishi Triton to increase its popularity in East Malaysia, especially Sarawak. The Triton holds a market share of 19.1% in the segment, making it the second most popular pick-up in Malaysia, but alot of that is in West Malaysia.

Detroit Electric signed two agreements yesterday actually – we already know of the one with Proton. The other was a Memorandum of Understanding with a local company – Prodis-T Sdn Bhd.

Prodis-T is said to be entrusted with leading the implementation of electric car charging infrastructure in Malaysia. Detroit Electric will provide technical expertise to support R&D activities. They aim to raise USD 50 million in capital through both private investments and financial loans over the next 2 to 5 years.

But who is Prodis-T exactly? While Prodis-T calls itself a homegrown automotive technology supplier, it is quite young looking at their SSM registration number and a quick check on the net reveals another Prodis-T Sdn Bhd which is a distributor for IBM and Lenovo products for SIs that do work for the government and GLCs. That website was dated 2008. They must have changed direction sometime this year.

Anyway, the quicker Prodis-T and Detroit Electric sort this out the faster we will be able to enjoy the electric cars that are going to be assembled here and exported!