Nissan Teana 2.0 XE Comfort - Full Test Drive Review

In the mid 90’s and early 2000’s the D-segment car market here in Malaysia has been dominated by the three Japanese brands mainly the Toyota, Honda and Nissan. The Camry, the Accord and the Cefiro have seen dominating the streets of Malaysia where the latter car has seen its Cefiro name change to Teana name here in Malaysia. The rest of other market still maintained the Cefiro nameplate where as in Malaysia the Teana nameplate was used. I’m not so sure why Edaran Tan Chong took this strategy approach as the Cefiro brand name is already synonymous with the Malaysian consumers.

The first generation Nissan Teana was introduced here in 2003 where it has replaced the A33 Cefiro and the car was fully imported from Japan with the price in excess of RM 200K. This exorbitant price has led to a low demand and sales for this model with the design which looks a little bit on the safe side which is not popular to the Malaysian consumer. This has led the other competitor namely the Camry and Accord to reap in the demand and sales for the past 7 years. The second generation Teana has been introduced to the world market in 2009 and I have seen the car for the first time in 2009 in Thailand gracefully strolling the roads of Bangkok. At that time, I was wondering what car is that, and a quick glance I saw the Teana nameplate and wow it leaves a very good impression on me. My first thought is the designs of the rear combination lamp really strike a pose and the overall design of the car looks like a winning formula as compared to the first generation. Kudos to the Nissan designer where they manage to tweak the uncle looks of the first generation to a more gen Y centric kind of look.

 

Looking at the potential of this model, Edaran Tan Chong has made a move to bring in this second generation Nissan Teana to the Malaysian market in November 2010 with a more attractive price due to its CKD assemble here at the Serendah plant. The Nissan Teana instantly has become a sales hit where it has undercuts the sales of Honda Accord in 2011 by a huge margin and trailing the Toyota Camry by a small margin. So what does this new Nissan Teana makes it so special to the customers of Malaysia. Auto Insider Malaysia will unveil in this test drive review.

Ford employs laser guided technology to ensure total vehicle quality - (Video)

In order to pursue total product quality, in this video shows how Ford use new technology to inspect the build quality of their cars and to make sure parts are put together as tightly as possible. The use of laser guided robots to check the tolerance of the car panel will ensure better build quality of Ford vehicles by reducing cabin noise and improve cabin comfort. With the use of laser, the vision system will verify the dimensions of interfaces on the vehicle’s body in a highly accurate measure which go to a tenth of a millimetre. Enjoy the video as I do

Perodua new Myvi TVC scoop on the cyberspace!!!

Searching around the net, I found this TVC for the all new Myvi. Enjoy the TVC..i forgot to mention on the previous post that this new Myvi tagline is "Lagi Best". Well you have to wait till 16th of June 2011 whats "Lagi Best" that has been installed to this model!!!!

New Myvi booking starts today- First driving impression will be coming up soon!!!

Perodua, the Malaysian second national car manufacturer today has open the booking for the all new Myvi that is going to be launch on 16th of June 2011. The launching will be grace by the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Najib Tun Abdul Razak at Putra World Trade Center beginning at 8.00pm on that day. The public can view the car at all sales outlet and selected service center on the same evening after the launch.

For the booking, public can book the car for only RM 400 while the price will be revealed at the launch date. Rumours are circulating that the new Myvi will cost slightly more than the current Myvi, but with the extra features, it should be worthwhile to view the car in for more detail. Perodua MD, Datuk Aminar Rashid expects the new car will be well received by the public and in response with possible good response; Perodua will manufacture an estimated 8,500 units per month. The new Myvi comes with an enchance styling, better fuel consumption and enhance safety features with a total of 6 variant available for the customers to choose. The new Myvi also comes in 6 colours with a special colours name "Mystical Purple".

P/s I have driven the car during the media preview of the all new Myvi. Since the launch in on 16th of June, all the details are embargoed. Stay tune for more updates of the all new Myvi soon!!!

Edaran Tan Chong awards winners of Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 2010- Full Press Release

Shaheizy Sam who emerged as the Most Popular Artiste at the Anugerah Bintang Popular Berita Harian 2010 (ABPBH) recently, was on cloud nine as he drove home a brand new Nissan Teana 2.0L worth RM137, 000 sponsored by Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM). The prize presentation ceremony was held at ETCM Raja Laut Showroom today.

ETCM, which is the proud sponsor of ABPBH since 2008, is also giving away a brand new Nissan Grand Livina 1.6A worth RM86, 000 to the lucky Berita Harian reader, Mr. Rosli Rahmat.

Shaheizy Sam fondly known as Sam, garnered more than 120, 000 votes to win the annual entertainment awards’s top prize. He is known for his portrayals of offbeat characters in several movies such as ‘Jangan Pandang Belakang Congkak’, ‘Adnan Semp-It’ and the latest movie, ‘Kongsi’. Sam was also the first winner of the Special Yasmin Ahmad Award at the Anugerah Skrin 2010 and won the Best Male Supporting Role in the 23rd Malaysian Film Festival in 2009.

Established in 1987, ABPBH is an annual event organized by Berita Harian with the co-operation of Persatuan Akademi Industri Muzik Malaysia (PAIMM) to bestow awards to the most popular Malaysian singers, actors and celebrities who are involved in the Malaysian entertainment industry based on popular votes by readers of Berita Harian and Berita Minggu.

Nasim launches design competition- Full Press Release

Nasim Sdn Bhd and Automobiles Peugeot have launched a design competition with the New Straits Times (NST) aimed at educating college and secondary school students with skills needed to design an automobile.

The inaugural NST-Peugeot Design Competition kicked off on May 29 and will run until Aug 21, 2011. The competition is open to all college and secondary school students in Malaysia.

Participants of the competition will need to submit their design of what they envision to be the perfect Peugeot vehicle for Southeast Asian markets in 2018.

“Design plays a vital part in a consumer’s decision-making process when purchasing a car. As such, all carmakers strive to break new ground when it comes to design and Peugeot in particular has been at the forefront of automotive design for well-over a 100 years.

“With this competition, it is our aim to give Malaysian students a platform to showcase their talent and creativity. It is also an opportunity to the lay the ground work for tomorrow’s automotive designers in Malaysia,” said Dato’ Samson Anand George, COO of Nasim.

The design competition will be split into two categories – secondary school students and university or college students.

“For the NST-Peugeot Design Competition, we will leverage on our strengths in both the education and automotive sectors to offer Malaysian students to do what so many can only dream of: the chance to design a car,” said Datuk Syed Nadzri Syed Harun, Group Editor of NST.

Secondary school students will have to submit a design illustration mounted on an A3 or A2 board which must include a perspective and package drawing (ie: an elevation drawing, including interior design) and a description of the design in English.

University and college students will also be required to submit a design illustration mounted on an A3 or A2 board. However, these students will then be shortlisted to 100 semi-finalists and awarded consolation prizes. The top 10 participants of this shortlisted group will then be required to submit a ¼ scale model of their proposed design.

All design illustrations for both secondary school and college students can be either hand drawn or computer assisted or a combination of both.

Secondary students will have to participate individually for the competition while college students will be required to enter a team of three which must include one tutor/lecturer/professor.

As part of the design competition, Cars, Bikes and Trucks (CBT) and BH Auto will run tutorials on design on a weekly basis to assist the participants in creating their own designs. These tutorials will be available for reference on www.cbt.com.my. Additionally, CBT will host a two-month roadshow beginning in June to over 100 schools nationwide and five institutions of higher learning to promote the design competition.

The winner in the university/college student category will be awarded a five-day four-night expense paid trip for all members of the team to Paris and Peugeot’s design centre in Velizy, France along with RM1,000 in cash, Peugeot merchandise valued at €100 and a three-month automotive internship with the Naza Group.

The second-place winning-entrant will receive a five-day four-night trip with all expenses paid for only two members of the team to Paris and the design centre in Velizy, France, Peugeot merchandise valued at €100 and a three-month automotive internship with the Naza Group.

For third place, the winner will receive RM250 for two members in the team and a three-month automotive internship with the Naza Group.

For secondary school students, the first place winner will receive an iPad 2 and Peugeot merchandise. The second place winner will receive RM500 and Peugeot merchandise while the third-place winner will receive RM250 and Peugeot merchandise.

Besides the top three places, a further 30 entrants will be given consolation prizes.

For both the secondary school and college categories, each entrant will receive a certificate of participation. All winners will be announced on Nov 1, 2011 and the winners list will be published on www.peugeot.com.my, www.nst.com.my and www.cbt.com.my.

Entries will be judged on the relevance to the theme, concept originality, design value and quality and development potential. Dato’ Samson said Nasim or Automobiles Peugeot may decide to develop the winning design into a model for display at motorshows and roadshows.

Entry forms and terms and conditions for the NST-Peugeot Design Competition can be obtained at www.nst.com.my and www.cbt.com.my.