Perodua MPV - a crossover or an MPV?

On the Perodua MPV, he hinted that it would be priced between RM56,000 and RM67,000, available in both manual and automatic transmission and powered by a 1.5-litre engine.

The MPV would be targeted at both first-time buyers and “individuals with families,” he said, adding: “It is a car when you want it and an MPV when you need it,” said Syed Hafiz in a press statement here.

What I want to draw attention to is at the last part of the sentence "It is a car when you want it and an MPV when you need it". It might seem nothing much at a glance, but read between the lines and it will give you hints of Perodua's marketing strategy / product positioning for their first MPV model.

In other words - the car will not be a direct competitor to any of the existing true blue MPV models, simply because it can't offer the same utility space as a full sized MPV (i.e. Proton Exora). Information from those who have seen the car in its Japan Domestic Market form suggests that the car is a lot smaller than it appears on paper, though the second row area is very spacious but the third row seats are one of those that can only accommodate those who are either very tiny or is a contortionist by profession. Luggage area is pretty much non-existent with the third row seats in use. This is a common problem for MPVs that are developed off existing passenger car platform. I am no chassis engineer but I understand that this is due to certain critical safety parameters like seatbelt and seat mounting points are fixed on any platform and these cannot be altered much. One can't simply extend the rear overhang without incurring very significant engineering cost. Thus, most budget passenger car based MPVs have disproportionately spaced second and third row area.

The car has been sold in in Japan for more than half a year already so it is nothing really that much of a secret that Perodua likes to assume it is. The local Perodua rebadged version will not differ very significantly from its JDM cousin. Plus, it is understood that Proton did import one unit of the Passo Sette for their own evaluation (unregistered though, possibly imported with R&D AP).

Back to the quote by Syed Hafiz, I am not suggesting that one tries to read too much into what others are saying, it only applies to certain people. Japanese company bosses in particular, are not known to speak their mind and their comments are usually very orchestrated to sound very politically correct. I first realised that Syed Hafiz is one of those corporate guys whom you can read between the lines of their official statements to make some intelligent guesses on their stance when he said that he prefers driving his Perodua Myvi rather than his official company car - the Lexus LS460L (Perodua is a sister company of the UMW group, which also controls the distributorship of Toyota and Lexus vehicles).

He said this is an interview sometime back,
Although Syed Hafiz has a Lexus LS 460L as his official ride, he is very down to earth and practical when going downtown for dinner – he drives the Myvi instead.

I don’t like driving the Lexus downtown because there are a lot of motorcycles zipping around. The car is quite large and difficult to park. Compact cars are the best since you only need an opening in parking bays to park it. Besides, there is no way you can get five persons into the Lexus but you can do that with the Myvi. A MyVi over a LS460L. C'mon, need I elaborate further?

Of course you can't be that naive to think that he is really that down to earth! It's just that the company culture is such that he is not allowed to speak his mind. Of course he has to promote his own products.

Related link
Leaked Details on Perodua Alza - Perodua's new MPV
Passo Sette / Sirion Luminas - preview to Perodua's MPV
Passo Sette / Sirion Luminas hints to MyVi based MPV?

Monster Tajima Wins Pikes Peak For The 4th Time In A Row

It has been a very busy successive weeks and updates have been short coming. Much is still happening with the industry. Hopefully things will normalize after two more weeks.

Not your mum's Suzuki SX4.



Congratulations to Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima for winning the 87th Pikes Peak Hill Climb Rally for the 4th time in a row. Monster Tajima, as he is more famously known, have previously conquered the Pikes Peak in a heavily modified Suzuki XL7. This time however he raced in another hillclimb specialist machine loosely based on the SX4.


In 2007, Monster Tajima, driving a Suzuki XL7, broke a 13-year old course record previously held by Kiwi rally superstar Rod Millen's Toyota Celica, with a time of 10:01.408. Below is a video of his record breaking run.


Congratulations to Tajima-san. Previous rally greats who have conquered the Pikes Peak include 80s era Group B World Rally legends like Walter Röhrl and Ari Vatanen.
There was a very famous video made featuring Ari Vatanen in his Peugeot 405 T16 tackling the Pikes Peak.


Walter Röhrl in his Audi S1 Quattro


Via NihonCar.com

Toyota Hilux Hybrid In The Pipeline?

At least that's what Autocar UK's contributor Ollie Stallwood seemed to suggest based on comments from a company source. According to the source, every single Toyota model will include a hybrid option within the next 10 years.

If anyone has any doubt of the effectiveness of hybrids over frugal diesels try telling Toyota. Speaking with a source at the company today he re-iterated that every model in the range would include a hybrid option “within ten years”.

This would include the usual array of C-segment and D-segment cars of course, but interestingly it would also be extended to hybrid Hilux pick-ups (Hy-lux anyone?), Land Cruisers, and Rav4s.

Nothing surprising about the first part as Toyota have announced this long term plan for their hybrid push a couple of years ago. My eyes just popped wide open when I read the part about Hilux hybrid.

Personally however I am not convinced of the news, no not about the long term hybrid model expansion plan in general. I more keen to believe Stallwood's source made that comment in the context of Toyota's domestic Japan or maybe including its North American market (Toyota's two largest market) model line up. The Hilux is not sold in Japan you see. As far as I am aware of, there is only one pick-up truck on sale in Japan - Mitsubishi Triton. The pick-up truck market in Japan is almost non-existent. Yes there will be hybrid C-segment Corollas and there will be hybrid trucks, but I speculate it will be for the full-size Tundra rather than Hilux.

If you remember, a concept Toyota hybrid truck inspired by the Tundra (A-BAT Concept) was unveiled about 2 years back. The market requirements and usage conditions of a Hilux would make it not an ideal platform to market the advantages of a hybrid powertrain. A Tundra however is targetted a different market. It is not realistic to expect every single Toyota models sold around the world, including those made by its sister company Daihatsu (i.e. Daihatsu Xenia / Toyota Avanza, Daihatsu Sirion / Toyota Passo) and those designed for third world country markets (i.e. Innova, Fortuner) to also be chosen candidates for hybridization. The upcoming low cost Toyota Emerging Family Car (EFC) is definately not a candidate for a hybrid powertrain.

Toyota previously had a joint partnership with Isuzu to develop diesel engines but ever since Akio Toyoda came took the helm of the company as President, he has terminated the deal and decided the throw all of the company resources to what it does best - hybrids.

Related link :
The great powertrain debate - diesel vs hybrid.
Busting Myths About Hybrid Battery Reliability

Which Hyundai "R" U. I am Nissan CRA2Y

Most of you would have noticed the "Which Hyundai R U" ad campaign banners running on many websites and blogs, including this one. It is not just a local effort but is actually part of a global effort by parent company Hyundai Motor Co (HMC). One of the parent company HMC's initiative for this year is to actually increased ad spending despite the on-going economic downturn and also to be more innovative in their marketing. HMC is following a typical advertiser's mantra - when others are cutting, you spend more on advertising and reap the rewards when the market picks up.

Locally, the local distributor of Hyundai vehicles Hyundai-Sime Darby started one of those "Snap-N-Win" contest offering a grand prize of a trip to Europe.


I can't help but noticing that this is one of those marketing efforts that looked good on paper but not enough thought is given on it and the end of the day, I doubt if it was money well spent at all.

Look at some of the photos submitted - some of these were obviously taken off the Internet, one even had China registration plate and is a left hand drive model. There should be a moderator to identify and remove these disqualified images.


Oh dear...

It would have been so much better if the contestants were asked to include a caption to the photos as well. Now the gallery is just filled with pictures after pictures, some of them are of really horrible looking souped up cars with tacky after-market parts. And I am not too sure what exactly is the story behind them or what was the photographer's idea / message? Shouldn't the objective of such a campaign is to build the brand profile? But all we are seeing is a gallery of poorly shot pictures with a Hyundai car in them. How different is this from what the public currently think of Hyundai cars on the road? Cars have an intrinsic appeal to them, people buy them not only for transport but also because they want to make their life better, and to make them feel better. Why not tell the story of how some people's Hyundai have somehow made their life better, how was the car being part of their life? Any car can tell that story, from a couple's first Kancil to high school student's first driving lesson in a Datsun.

Wouldn't it be better if the contest is about making a short video shot using a video-camera cellphone and a Hyundai car? Nokia did one such contest about a year ago. I also remember many years ago, the former DaimlerChrysler Malaysia held a short story writing contest on their memories of a Mercedes-Benz, I remember one was involving a Mercedes-Benz lorry! Nissan is now doing a similar thing with the "I'm Nissan Crazy" campaign.

But the problem with Nissan's campaign is that the testimonies sound like thinly disguised corporate advertisement and they all only feature the current latest models carried by ETCM. Companies and creative agencies need to realise that people, especially the Web 2.0 generation are increasingly suspicious of corporate sponsored endorsement. I read through I am Nissan CRA2Y "Real life Real stories" section and I don't find anything particularly "real" about them. Some of them have so many references to Edaran Tan Chong. Does anyone think real people talk like that in real life about their cars? Could have been easily written / scrippted by an ad agency / marketing guys. I don't see anything particularly negative about featuring older Nissan cars, I see it as a chance to remind the public of the company's heritage and the brand has grown along with them over the many decades. That sounds more real.

This is my favourite I am Nissan CRA2Y video of all. It sounds authentic and has a dose in humour in it. See what I mean that by any plain boring car can have an interesting story. It's all about the life that revolves around the vehicle. Many of the other videos make their owners sound more like Nissan salesman than a genuine owner.

Hyundai has been growing from strength to strength and it is one of the few car companies that actually registered positive growth last year. While its domestic market South Korean market has crashed, Hyundai sales performances were pretty encouraging in main export markets such as Australia, North America (up from 5.0 per cent light vehicle market share to 7.3 per cent), Europe (the only top-10 brand to lift sales this year) and China, where sales increased 69 per cent in what is now the world’s biggest market. The Avante / Elantra X20 is one of the best selling cars in China. Locally however, the Hyundai brand have suffered much neglect, with the brand seeing through 2 different distributors over the last 20 years (Berjaya Group, Kah Bintang) and at one time CKD and CBU Hyundai models were sold via different outlets and distributors. How the heck is average Joe Public going to know which dealer to go to? Some form of order was only brought back recently when Sime Darby assumed full control over the Hyundai franchise.

But the damage to the brand is too serious to be fixed over a short period. In its better days, the Sonata was seen as a decent cheap alternative to traditional Japanese mid-size sedans. But these group of early adopters to the Hyundai brand were not rewarded for their "faith" in a relatively new upstart in the market. There was little consistency and direction for the Hyundai brand locally when the brand kept changing hands and the negative effect of this can clearly be seen today. Sales of Hyundai vehicles is a far cry from its more successful early generation Sonata and Matrix days. Most of the early customers have since moved on to other family brands. Remember that it costs 3 times as much to attract a new customer than it is to retain an existing customer. Hyundai is faring quite well in neighouring Singapore, so there is nothing wrong with the product (the new generation of Hyundai models). But are local consumers ready to warm up to the Hyundai brand again?

2008 Top 10 Vehicle Companies by Sales : VW On A Roll To Overtake Toyota

VW Group CEO Martin Winterkorn have every reason to smile. Latest data shows that VW Group has once again inched closer towards challenging Toyota's world domination. Two years ago, Martin Winterkorn has set a challenge for the VW Group to surpass the current gargantuan of the automotive world Toyota Motor Co., by 2018. VW Group's total sales volume increased by 1.3% from the previous year. Sounds very little until you consider the fact that Toyota contracted 4.2% and Volkswagen is among the only 4 out of the top 10 car companies that bucked the negative industry trend by registering positive growth. The other companies that grew are Nissan, Honda and Hyundai-Kia.


Source : Automotive News Data Center and company sources, via Automotive News Europe.
Sales tally for Toyota is inclusive of Hino and Daihatsu subsidiary while Volkswagen includes Audi, Seat, Skoda, Bentley, Bugatti and Lamborghini.

GM's position at No.2 does not mean much anymore considering its European Opel (American Saturn) and Saab brands are being sold while Hummer has gone to the Chinese and Pontiac is already dead. It's sales tally in the subsequent years will be substantially reduced.

Volkswagen also announced today that sales in its China market (including Hong Kong), which is also VW's largest single market, jumped 22.7% from the year before. Volkswagen's subsidiary Audi is China's No.1 selling luxury brand and it registered 11% growth from 2007. Skoda jumped an even more staggering 46.2%. Volkswagen's dominance in the current world's largest automotive market have no doubt helped it close the gap with Toyota, which relied heavily on its North American market which has since tanked.

Three key Volkswagen Group executives were recently awarded the Automotive News Eurostar Award 2009.

Globally, Audi has registered 13 years of consecutive growth have since overtook BMW and Mercedes-Benz as Europe and China's leading luxury car brand. Its CEO Rupert Stadler was awarded Automotive News Europe's "Eurostars Award" for Car Division.


VW Groups's Head of Group Design Walter de' Silva was also awarded the same for Design Eurostar, largely for his work with the new Polo, said to be an almost perfect car for the current time - economical yet sophisticated enough. His work with the Audi A5 was also recognised.


VW Groups's Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Poetsch also received an award for Finance Eurostar. Under his leadership, VW posted a new sales record and also its best ever operating profit.


Let us not forget also that Volkswagen also dominated this year's 2009 International Engine Of The Year Award. The 1.4-litre Twin Charger TSI engine was crowned with three awards - the Overall Engine of the Year title as well as for the Green Engine of the Year and also in the 1-litre to 1.4-litre category. Audi's 2-litre TFSI engine also bagged the award for 1.8-litre to 2.0-litre category.

Carlos Ghosn : 2010 to be just as bad as 2009

I'm expecting 2010 to be as difficult as 2009. I am not expecting an immediate recovery, said Ghosn in an interview with French Europe 1 radio station.

Ghosn also said he expects Europe and Japan to be the last automotive markets to recover from the current slump, by Q1 2011. He is more optimistic about United States and other emerging markets, which he expects to resume positive growth by Q1 2010.

He also expressed his concerns about the eventual end to the current old vehicle scrapping scheme that has temporarily boosted automotive sales in Western Europe, adding that a gradual end to the scheme is important to shield the industry from a brutal, sudden shock.

VW have also previously cautioned that it expects 2010 vehicle sales in Western Europe to slow again as the market normalises after the end of the scrapping scheme. The current record sales in Germany is artificially boosted by financial incentives from the German government to boost domestic automotive sales by encouraging users to trade in their old polluting clunkers.

All new 2010 Jaguar XJ Launch Gala

Not too many months ago I was out on a not so early night out with some buddies, a sleek white Jaguar XJ pulled out of a junction, and then wafted away as if it was carried on a magic carpet, glistening under the orange street lamps ever so elegantly in a way that only a Jaguar can pull it off. I wowed at the XJ, and then the rest of the guys in the car laughed at me saying that the fact that I find a Jaguar XJ appealing is another sign that I am getting old. That has always been the problem of Jaguars isn't it? Yes we have the fabulous modern looking XF sedan and XK coupe, but in the minds of the public Jaguar is still a car for old farts. I don't think I find Jags appealing because I am old, at least that's what I like to think. You see, I like to think of myself as a nice guy. I don't like barreling down the road bullying others in my angry looking car that screams "get out of my way I am more important than you." Thus I always feel very detached, very "not myself" when I am in a luxo-barge German limousine that is as imposing as a sea cruise liner on the road! I don't fancy Baroque-like heavy and imposing looking cars. I like things to be harmonious and blends in. But obviously I don't make enough money to be chauffeured in a German limousine. And those that do, want to shout their status, ego and impose their presence, which also explains the way these luxo-barges are designed.

So when celebrity car-designer Ian Callum took over the responsibility to redesign the new XJ, he made it very clear that Jaguar needs stop looking too much into its glorious past and make a car that is fitting for a 21st century Jaguar. I was afraid that he will make the XJ into another one of those luxo-barges.



So when the new XJ was finally unveiled on July-9 in a glitzy gala event, I wasn't quite sure how to react to the new XJ when I first saw it. The overall silhoutte and glass area has hints of an Audi A6 and Citroen C6 to it, which is not exactly a bad thing. Jaguars XJ are always known for a characteristically thin C pillar. The snout grille looks a bit odd at first but I do understand that this is partly due to crash safety regulation compliance. Every other new car from a small Peugeot hatchback to the "smiley face" Mazda 3 to Audi models have grown a monstrous whale like grille. What I am surprised to see most is that Ian Callum managed to avoid the "Bangle-butt / duck-tailed boot lid that sticks out from almost every modern large sedan (it's unavoidable - need to reduce aerodynamic drag by having a higher tail but yet to maintain overall proportion and maintain a low trunk height for easy luggage loading).

It's not exactly a design that will immediately win new fans. In fact I think Ian Callum made it that way on purpose. All new innovations are meant to push boundaries of acceptance, and change is not easily accepted by all. Just look at Chris Bangle era BMW models. When it first came out - purists moaned and started angry petitions. 5 years on everybody wants to follow it, even the Honda Accord carry very strong traces of the E60 5er's influence. And BMW's sales actually increased with these "ugly" cars. It is better to have a controversial design that polarises opinion and generates market buzz rather than one that is safe and is ignored by everybody. The keyword here is polarize - which means there has to be two camps. Just don't do what Ssangyong did with their Stavic and Actyon models, that's not polarizing, that just simply scares everyone away.

The earlier conservative Geoff Lawson era designed Jaguar cars played too safe, carrying over the decades old XJ6 lines, and as mentioned above, we have seen the effect of playing too safe in a luxury segment. Playing safe and appealing to the mainstream is the way to go if you are making a Corolla - something that has to appeal to a very wide range of people. But this is an XJ, it has to make people slightly uneasy with its presence, in the same way that you are never quite comfortable if Her Majesty the Queen of England is in the same room as you.

Previous generation XJ. Unlike most people, I actually quite like it.

Though the new XJ does not tick my feelings immediately, I have a strong feeling that this is one of those cars that I will grow to like eventually, and that will look a lot better in real sheet metal than on pictures. The new XJ was launched in a star studded event in UK, at the Saatchi Gallery in Chelsea, London. The glitzy hosted by American comedian, car nut and Jaguar fan Jay Leno. Supermodel Elle MacPherson was also there to unveil the car. Below are pictures of the new XJ launch gala. Watch the launch gala video here.




Elle MacPherson and Jay Leno


Elle MacPherson again.


L-R : Jaguar Design director Ian Callum, American talk show host Jay Leno, Jaguar Managing Director Mike O'driscoll.


David Hasselhoff

No idea who are they.




Ian Callum was most famous for his work on the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish. He was also said the lay down the foundation for the DB9, which was then finished by his successor Henrik Fisker when he left Aston Martin for Jaguar. The first Jaguar to be completely designed under his direction was the XK coupe, followed by the XF, which left the world in awe. A little known fact is that his brother Moray Callum was responsible for the Mazda MX-5, first generation Mazda 3, 5 and 6. All of which were very beautiful cars which turned around Mazda's reputation. Morray has since return to parent company Ford (Mazda is now independent) and was been succeeded by Laurens van den Acker. Car design genius runs in the Callum family.











The geeks can find the vehicle spec sheets here.

Toyota Camry Minor Change Sales Manual (Indonesian market) - Differences between old and new

The good folks from IAB dropped a note to share this particular Indonesian site which posted what seems to be images taken from a Toyota Camry Minor Change (a.k.a facelift) sales manual. Folks who read Indonesian can go directly to here. Note that the Camry below refers to the "Asian-Flagship Camry" sold in Taiwan, China, ASEAN grouping countries, and also in Australia as the 3.5 V6 guise only Toyota Aurion. This should not be confused with the "Global Camry" sold in Japan, North America, Australia and certain parts of the Middle East. For more details - read this post.

Click to enlarge.

New dynamic yet elegant "X" themed design. Whatever that means. Note the lower airdam design and the opposing lines that extend from the hood through the chrome grille.


3D effect headlamps. "Velg Racing" (again...whatever that means) design sporty and trendy wheels. New "lines" for the tail lamps. New chrome surrounds for the front fog lamps. New design for the upper and lower portion of the grille.


Blah blah blah no changes to the interior design.


New positions for the instrument cluster gauges.


Audio with AUX jack and MP3 / iPod support (standard across all models). Massager rear seats and LED illuminated roof ambient lights for 3.5Q model.

The Camry Minor Change have already been launched in Taiwan and China. Introduction in ASEAN markets should begin by end of Q3 2009, the exact month may vary depending on individual markets. It is not a difficult job to obtain a sales manual. All sales person will receive a copy of it prior to the vehicle launch. A bit leg pulling and cajoling with the regular contacts is sufficient to get you a copy. I suppose the Indonesian distributor for Toyota cars - P.T. Toyota Astra Motor just had their sales training session. Which means actual launch in Indonesia should be less than a month away.

Next generation 981 Boxster / Cayman to have Audi power?

From this earlier post, we already know that Porsche is seriously looking into a cheaper 4-cylinder Boxster and Cayman more to further expand the Boxster's mainstream appeal. I am sure most readers are aware that Porsche desperately needs to arrest its critical financial situation right now. Whether will this be a new flat-four or a conventional inline 4 cylinder is unsure. But the latest news coming out of Germany is suggesting that Porsche is considering the VW Group's 4-cylinder turbo TFSI unit that currently powers the Audi TTS. A joint Audi-Porsche product planning committee is said to have been formed and is looking into the model. Currently the base Boxster model starts at 46,000 Euros and the target is to lower the base model price to sub-40,000 Euros.


The engine is very important of Porsche's compliance with the upcoming European Union fleet wide CO2 emission regulations directive that will come into effect by 2012. Porsche's new entry level model is said to its first model to achieve CO2 emission of below 200g/km.

What we are still unclear of is whether will Porsche's new base model be a 4-cylinder Boxster or a so-called "5th model line" within Porsche - said to be a small speedster like model to slot below the Boxster.


VW have previously unveiled its Blue Sport Concept. The car is said to be production ready but VW is holding back in making a decision to produce the car because it is not convinced of the car's market potential and profitability. In order to make the Blue Sport Concept viable, VW would have to greatly increase the car's volume potential and to spread out development cost to other sub-brands like Seat, Skoda, Audi and Porsche.

Artist impression of a Seat version of the Blue Sport Concept.

However Porsche AG board member and vice-president of sales and marketing, Klaus Berning, have previously denied any talks of a small "speedster" saying that there is no business case for such a car for Porsche. However Porsche's production manager Michael Macht, in a separate interview with German magazine Auto Motor und Sport have said that the lowest price limit for a Porsche brand is 33,000 Euros. Because of this gap in price between the cheapest Boxster and the 33,000 Euros limit - rumours of a "5th model line" Porsche refuse to die down.

There are concerns on the perception towards the Porsche brand by increasingly using non-Porsche developed engines and parts. But the Cayenne is doing fine with a VW developed V8 and V6 diesel. But although Cayenne is the company's best selling model, sports cars like 911 and Boxster are the company icons and flagship models. The customer profile for these two markets also differ greatly.

From this, some are choosing to believe that Porsche is waiting to evaluate response for its upcoming Panamera V6 variant, which will be launched by 2010, before deciding further. The "hypothesis" is that buyers of lower powered Porsches (i.e. Cayenne V6 and Panamera V6, 4-cylinder future Porsches) are less concerned on the source of the engine. As long as made to a high quality standard, fuel efficient and meets the expected driving performance, whether the engine was developed by Porsche or VW is not an issue. Personally I am more inclined to believe this to be true. If Porsche buyers are concerned of the vehicle engineering origins - the Touareg would have outsold its twin sister Cayenne. And Skodas would have outsold Audis, etc etc. Sure there might be purists who will moan and whine, but like everything else, what matters most is the opinion of the majority of people who actually buy these products.

Related link :
Porsche - upcoming future models (2009 - 2012)
VW-Porsche 914 Celebrates Anniversary