Right Hand Drive Camaro

Fancy a Camaro but not willing to tolerate the inconvenience of driving around in a left hooker in a country that drives on the "right" side of the road? A solution can now be found in Australia. Aussie car conversion specialist Performax International recently launched the world's first right hand drive Chevy Camaro.

There have been reports and even confirmation from GM that limited numbers of RHD Camaros will be exported to Europe, with a mix of convertible and coupe body types. But the plan have since been put on the back burner given the current state of GM's balance sheets. So for the moment, if you want a right hook Chevy Camaro - you have to import it from Australia. Performax sells the flagship V8-powered SS variant retails for AUD 139,000 but a cheaper V6 version is also available for AUD 129,000.

The conversion job is far from being a dubious effort of any backlane garage. Performax claims that the conversion complies to the stringent Australian Design Rules (ADR) regulation and is road legal on all Aussie states, although official ADR certification papers is still being processed. But it needs to be pointed out that the ADR rules that are applied here are slightly different from those applied to mainstream high volume vehicles. Being a niche market car, the Aussie government provides some exemptions to the ADR regulation under a "Low Volume New System" scheme.

Computer-aided design and plastic injection-moulding technology were used to recreate the fascia, door panels, centre console, ventilation ducts, wiper cowl and other parts of the vehicle. General Manager of Performax International Performax Nicholas Vandenberg assures the public that the converted car drives just like it does when it first rolled out from GM's plant in Oshawa, Canada. That's right the Camaro is made in Canada.

What many do not know is that the underneath the Camaro's sheet metal skin, it has more Aussie lineage than American. See, the Camaro is built on GM's new Zeta platform, or more commonly referred to as GM's Global RWD architecture. Development work on the Zeta platform was commissioned to GM's Holden division in Australia and the first result of this was seen in the Holden VE Commodore. Thus it is very ironic that Australian petrolheads were denied of the chance to own a Camaro, despite that the fact that the car's underpinnings originated from Down Under.

So despite the American image, the Camaro is actually underpinned by Aussies and put together by Canadians.


Eventually, grey importers in the region are bound to get their hands on a couple of these units. The sight of an edgy yellow Camaro in full Bumble Bee livery cruising to a halt for the many red lights along Orchard Road of Singapore will surely cause a stir. Not even an Audi R8 is able to hold that kind of attention. Ferraris, Porsches and Lamborghinis don't seem to have quite the wow factor anymore. The Camaro is probably the only model within GM that is selling very well. Dealers simply can't keep enough stock to meet demands.

Peformax International also offers right hand drive conversion for various American domestic market SUVs and trucks, i.e. Chevy Silverados, Corvettes, Suburbans.

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Brake override feature on all Toyota and Lexus models in 2010

Toyota have made quite a bit of a mess of themselves recently - brake issues with Chinese market Camry, frame rust issues with US market Tundra and jammed throttle pedals mainly affecting in US market Lexus ES and Camry. But the new boss of a Toyota; Akio Toyoda, descendant of the founding Toyoda family, is quite unlike any other the company have ever seen. In July, Toyoda-san made a candid statement in his blog saying that he is very impressed with the VW Scirocco, and is very jealous that VW can create such an exciting car. But he also vowed to change Toyota's stoic image and intends to create an even better car than the Scirocco. It takes a lot of guts and a hint of positive rebellion to go against conservative management practices to admit that a competitor's product is superior. After all, isn't knowing your own weakness and sizing up your competitor's strength is a basic teaching of the Sun Tzu's Art of War? Employees will not be demoralize, far from it. Rather I believe employees will be even more motivated knowing that their leaders speaks his mind and do not tolerate warm cuddly bullshit, oblivious glaring reality.

Last year, Toyoda stunned Toyota executives in USA by flying over there in secret to see for himself the extent of Tundra's frame rust issues. He literally went down on his knees and peered underneath the cars to inspect the vehicles himself, living up to the principle of genchi-genbutsu. In the aftermath of the runaway Lexus ES350 that killed 4 people, he gave a public apology.

Following the much publicised accident and a massive recall involving 3.8 million cars that follow, Consumer Report did replicated the situation of a jammed throttle pedal, using Toyota Venza crossover and a VW Jetta Wagon as comparison. Watch the video below. The humble VW surprised many, that it has an unpublicised safety feature that overrides the throttle whenever brakes are applied. It was later revealed that most German models are equipped with a brake override as a standard feature, though most owners are not aware of it. Watch the video below.


It seems that Toyota have been listening and is acting fast. Today TMC issued a press statement saying that beginning January 2010, the Lexus ES and Toyota Camry will be equipped with a brake override. Other models to follow as well and by end of 2010, most models will already have the feature.

In addition, as a separate measure independent of the vehicle-based remedy, Toyota will install a brake override system onto the involved Camry, Avalon, and Lexus ES 350, IS350 and IS 250 models as an extra measure of confidence. This system cuts engine power in case of simultaneous application of both the accelerator and brake pedals. Read more here.

I hope this applies not just to North American market models, but globally as well. This cannot be confirmed at this point of time. The one perplexing thought is that jammed throttle pedals only afflict American drivers, but not neighbouring Canadians. The same model of vehicles affected, namely Camry, Lexus IS and Prius are also sold in many other seasonal countries like Europe, Australia and even Japan. These countries use all-weather floor mats as well. But none of these markets have reported any similar incidences. Google sudden acceleration and you will see that the same problem affects many other manufacturers as well. But Toyota's case attracts more attention because it resulted in several deaths. So...is it the way American owners drive? Or is it related to the culture of a nation that allows smokers to sue tobacco companies, customers to sue McDonalds for failing to warn them that the hot cup of coffee can burn them and house owners guilty if burglars get injured inside their houses?

Another note - most German cars use floor hinged throttle pedals, those organ pedal types where it is less likely for anything to get stuck underneath it.

Clarkson's in trouble, again. Over jokes about Romania.

Those of you who have watched the first episode of Top Gear season 14 will know what I am referring to. But it is to be expected isn't it? When Clarkson opens his mouth, it's either TV media decency watchdogs, environmentalists, Morris Marina owners club, British lorry drivers, Malaysian government and Perodua, etc etc will get upset.

Producers of the popular BBC Two series have been asked by the Romanian government to remove “offensive” remarks made about the country.

When Mr Clarkson and his co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May visited the Romanian countryside, he put on a pork pie-style hat and talked of entering “Borat country”. More on that here.

For those who have yet to watch it - torrent links are available here.

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Tan Chong to purchase Ford's former AMI plant?

When Ford Malaysia Sdn Bhd existed from the Malaysian market (handling over the distribution of Ford vehicles to Sime Darby's AutoConneXion), it's manufacturing subsidiary Associated Motor Industries Malaysia Sdn Bhd (AMI) plant in Shah Alam was shutdown as well. The plant have been languishing there ever since.

Within that period of time various companies were rumoured to be interested in buying the plant - including Volkswagen. But as we all know, months came by and nothing materialised. Now however, the distributor of Nissan vehicles in Malaysia and Singapore - Tan Chong Motor Holdings, via its local manufacturing subsidiary Tan Chong Motor Assemblies is rumoured to be seriously looking into purchasing the property. It's existing plant in Segambut is sitting on prime location and the company might consider to liquidate its assets there to raise cash and moved to a more suitable industrial estate. TCMA's Segambut plant currently assembles Vanette half-tonne commercial van, Urvan one-tonne commercial van as well as aging models like Frontier pick-up, Sentra sedan, and the X-Trail SUV. The newer Nissan models are assembled in TCMA's plant in Serendah, which currently assembles that Latio, Grand Livina and Sylphy.

The former AMI plant is located nearby 2 other assembly plants - Volvo's Swedish Motor Assemblies which the Volvo S40, V50 (both of which are exported to Thailand) and XC90 as well as Volvo and Renault trucks and Toyota's Assembly Services Sdn. Bhd. which makes the Vios, Innova, Fortuner, Hilux and Hiace (which is also exported to Thailand).

The news is rather surprising considering the general state of over-capacity in manufacturing plants around the region. Still, consider this as nothing more than a rumour.

The Tan Chong group is not the only one that is making some changes to its assembly operations. Proton is also expected to sell off its Shah Alam plant and consolidate its operations in its newer facility in Tanjung Malim, Perak. Again, this is driven by the rationale that the plant is sitting on prime area that is probably worth more than the cars the plant produces.

VW new appointments and Akio Toyoda's fascination with the Scirocco

VW have made no secret of its intention to unseat giant Toyota Motor Co. as the world's largest automaker by 2018. But an organization is only as good as its people. Just in the month of November alone, there have been 3 major high profile appointments within the VW Group's top management team.


First to hit the headlines was the appointment of Karl-Thomas Neumann as VW AG's chief of VAG's electric vehicles group. Karl-Thomas Neumann was a former VW executive between 1999 and 2004, where he was the group's head of electronics research and electronics strategy. He later moved to automotive parts supplier Continental where he assumed the role of chief technology officer. In Conti, he played a key role in the opening of Conti's lithium-ion battery plant in Nuremberg, Germany, which currently supplies lithium-ion batteries to the Mercedes-Benz S400 Hybrid, the first production lithium battery powered hybrid car. When Continental was acquired by smaller rival Schaeffler KG, Karl-Thomas Neumann was involved in a bitter board room struggle with Schaeffler's management. He left Conti due to "irreconcilable" with Conti's new owner and was replaced by Elmar Degenhart, the former head Schaeffler's automotive division. VW AG's numero uno Ferdinand Piech was quick to snap him up as Piech sees electrification of vehicles to be a very important trend in the future. Neumann has a doctorate in electrical engineering and was educated in Dortmund and Duisburg universities in Germany. In his early years with Audi, Neumann was praised the then Audi CEO Martin Winterkorn (current CEO of VW Group) for fixing many electrical glitches in Audi vehicles.


Audi CEO Rupert Stadler was also appointed as chairman of Audi board of management. He still retains his current role as CEO of the fastest growing premium brand in the world. Stadler is a finance expert and a recipient of the 2009 Automotive News Eurostars award. Prior to joining Audi, Stadler ran Ferdinand Piech's office in Wolfsburg.


The most recent appointment is Christian Klingler, who will assume the role of VW AG's global head of sales and marketing. Klinger was previously attached to Porsche Holdings, which despite the name, is actually a multi-brand car dealership in Europe (the largest in the continent) which not only sells VW group vehicles but as well as Renault and Peugeot. Porsche Holdings is controlled by the Piech and Porsche families and is based in Salzburg, Austria. Klinger is referred to as one with a very deep understanding of the retail business, having ran dealerships of various car brands. Part of Klinger's war chest is a 4.4 billion euros ($6.5 billion) budget that VW plans to spend annually on its model range over the next three years to expand into new segments, refresh existing products and develop powerful, low-emission engines.

In a related news, Toyota's current chief of staff Akio Toyoda made some very candid statements in his Japanese language blog at gazoo.com. Akio Toyoda races cars and blogs under the pseudonym Morizo. After testing VW's new Scirocco, Akio Toyoda (Morizo) wrote that he was very impressed with the car and would spur to built more "fun to drive" Toyota vehicles.

"I'm jealous!" he blogged in July after test driving one. Besides having "cool styling, it runs incredibly well, to the extent I can't believe it is a 2000cc engine." He also added that, "I cannot afford to lose. I will tackle the challenge of creating a car with even more splendid flavor than the Scirocco."

Morizo also commented on how boring the last Tokyo Motor Show was. He said "It was all green. But I wonder how many inspired people to get excited." He added "Of course, eco-friendly cars are a prerequisite for the future, but there must be more than that." Akio Toyoda have previously explained his opinion that he believed the reason for low interest in cars amongst today's Japanese youth (they are more interested in gadgets, plus an ultra efficient public transport system and high cost of vehicle ownership puts cars well at the bottom of a typical Japanese youth's to-buy list) is because car companies have lost touch with their younger customers, not because they are no longer interested in cars.

Gazoo.com is a brain child of Akio Toyoda and was launched with no assistance from the management of Toyota. The conservative management of TMC did not agree with Toyoda's idea but he stuck on and raised funds on his own to setup it up. Today, Gazoo.com is a leading automotive and lifestyle web portal in Japan.


In relation to Toyoda's intention of building more fun to drive cars, gazoo.com have published a few articles on the topic of "automotive seasoning" - the philosophy of giving cars a unique "taste" and character. At the centre of this article is Hiromu Naruse, Toyota's master test driver, engineer and referred to within the Japanese motoring press as Meister. His work included the classic 2000GT, Celica, AE86, MR-2 and Altezza. According to Gazoo, even Ferrari acknowledges Haruse's expertise and calls him "Nur-Meister" (one and only master craftsmen) and "man who knows all the world's roads." Men like Haruse, who during previous TMC President Katsuaki Watanabe's time (who stopped all sports / performance car development) spent some years in the proverbial desert, with nothing to breathe their master talents upon will see some form of revival in their influence under Toyoda's leadership.

Kia Forte Arrives in Malaysia

Just after yesterday's post on a baby girl named Kia, we found out that the local distributors of Kia automobiles Naza-Kia, have quietly slipped the Forte into showrooms, albeit about a year after the Forte's domestic market launch in August 2008. Calls made to some outlets show that some dealerships already have a display car while others are expecting it within the next day or two.

Oddly, only Autoworld carried a story on the Forte. I am not sure if this is a case of a publication going rogue and breaking a media embargo. The article was published on Nov-20. Correction : Found out that CBT too did an article. The vehicles are already now available in some showrooms beginning today though. Maybe it has to do with the timing of the launch - don't you think that it is overshadowed by the Alza? Not that they target the same segment but I am looking at ad space clutter. Understand that a roadshow is also scheduled to start on Wednesday in the Pavillion KL, where the Forte will be officially launched.

Below is a TVC for the North American market Forte.



Anyway, read more about the Malaysian Forte at Autoworld.com.my here. Had to say the pricing is very competitive. OTR price with insurance for the base 1.6 EX is at RM75,800, 1.6 SX at RM81,800, and 2.0 SX - RM93,800 Even the base EX model comes decently equipped. And if I read Autoworld's article correctly (no info on Naza-Kia website) - the mid range SX trim level even comes with electronic stability control (ESC) or ESP. I believe this is the cheapest car in Malaysia that comes equipped with ESC, the most important safety feature since seatbelts.


If you think the design of the Forte looks superb - that's because the Forte is designed by Peter Schreyer. If that name doesn't ring a bell, he is the man who designed the original Audi TT.

While recent Kia products have made great strides in terms of quality and design, locals have come to expect the usual boo-boo from distributor Naza-Kia. The Forte's launch is no different - at point of writing this, even Naza-Kia's official website mentions nothing of the Forte, but the cars are already available in some showrooms in Klang Valley. Update : A new microsite for the Forte was launched today (Wednesday 25-Nov). But the Forte is still not listed in Naza-Kia's main website's product line up list. Hope Naza-Kia will also update the microsite with a more detailed specs list / online brochure. At the moment, you can't tell for sure what features is only available in what trim level. Am very impressed with the inclusion of ESC, auto dimming rear view mirror, keyless entry, electric push-start ignition button, as well more airbags than I have pillows in my house (again, not sure if this is only for 2.0-litre model only) etc etc. You must check out the fancy reverse assist feature.

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Baby girl named Kia. I am not kidding you!

Kia Motors has just added a new baby to the range. Smaller than the Picanto, the latest Kia, launched on Sunday, weighs just 6lbs 7oz and comes only in pink.

When mum-to-be Sam went into labour on Sunday morning, she was looking forward to meeting baby Tilly for the first time. Tilly, however, had other ideas and decided she was coming sooner rather than later – in the back of Granny’s Kia Carens!

Proud parents Sam and Tony decided to ditch the name Tilly and mark the unusual birth-place by naming her Kia instead.

When Kia Motors found out about the unusual introduction to the world, they decided the occasion couldn’t pass without celebration and have contacted the family with the offer of a Kia Carens of their own.

The parents have been given a top-of-the-range seven-seat 2.0 CRDi Carens by the car company. Delighted mum Sam said “I’m just so chuffed. I can’t believe it. At the moment we only have a four seat car so this will mean we can get the family about in comfort. Thank you to Kia for arriving and to Kia Motors for the car!”

Michael Cole, Kia Motors (UK) Ltd., said “All of us at Kia are delighted for Tony and Sam and flattered that they have called their new baby Kia after she was born in Granny’s Carens.

“We know how good the Carens is for families – especially growing ones - so we thought we should help them out by giving them a Carens of their own! We would like to welcome Kia to the Kia family and wish her a wonderful life.”

Source: Kia

I have come across a number of really weird names given to babies. Pity these poor young minds. To grow with the name Kia is utterly embarrassing. It doesn't really matter how much progress will the Kia brand make in 20 years time. The baby could be named Lexus and it will be just as traumatising (by the way, there is a porn star actress who goes by the stage name Lexus, as is also the name Carrera). A friend once told me he met some rich dude who named his sons Levin and Lamborghini. Some Star Trek geek was once featured on the local newspaper and was very proud that his kids were named after Star Trek characters. Think having "T Kirk" as your middle name, I would cringe at that thought. What if I was given the name but decide to be a Star Wars geek instead? I would be murdered at Star Wars geek meetups. Glad my dad didn't name me after Beatles or Bee Gees band members.

When baby Kia grows up and wishes to pursue a carrer with a Chinese / Japanese car company, she would surely need to change her name before she can be taken seriously. Gasp, what if she decides to join Greenpeace or the European anti-car lobby?

I think dads should never impose their personalities nor their own ambitions / will onto their children. Children are independent young minds who need to be given space to develop their personality and identity. Why should they even be expected to like the same thing as their fathers? It is already traumatising to go through high school and adolescent years. To do that with a really weird name is going to give the kid some really major issues to deal with.

I have a friend who named his daughter Elise, but it was chosen by his wife who didn't know there was also a car with the same name. I think Elise is right at the limit of acceptable car inspired names to be given to babies. While Elise is better known as a two seater mid engine sports car from Hethel based Lotus, it is also a French version of the English name Elizabeth. Enzo sounds fine in Italian context but when given to anyone outside Italian cultural sphere, it just sounds too much of a wanabe.

Leaked Details on Perodua Alza - Perodua's new MPV

Update : Alza have been launched today (Nov-23). Full details here. Most of the info received from readers like Tiara were spot on.

An anonymous reader who chooses to be known as "Tiara" dropped a mail with some highly detailed info on Perodua's first MPV - which according to this reader will be known as the Alza. The name Alza is derived from a Spanish word for "rise."


We have already seen some "leaked" images of Perodua's new MPV model in an earlier entry.

As suspected earlier, the Alza will not be marketed as a bona fide full size 7-seater MPV (like Proton's Exora). But rather it will more of a 5+2 seater cross-over like vehicle, with the tagline "Versatile As You". So don't expect the rear 3rd row seats to fit anything other than small kids or adults who are contortionist by profession. Even if you were to fit your children in the 3rd row, it will be for the kids that you love the least.




4 model variants of the Alza will be available - Hi-specs and Lo-specs, both available in 5-speed manual and 4-speed automatic transmission. Powertrain will be shared with the existing Perodua assembled Toyota Avanza 1.5 (Daihatsu Xenia in Indonesia) and 7-seater Indonesian made SUV Toyota Rush (7-seater Daihatsu Terios in Indonesia).

Differences between the Hi and Lo specs models are seat fabric, fog lamps, instrument illumination colour and steering wheel mounted audio controls.

Perodua have a reputation of exceeding expectations of buyers with all their major new models. The MyVi was the first budget national car to come with LED tail lamps and wing mirror mounted indicators. The Alza will be no different. One interesting feature is that the Alza will feature a bench format front seat layout. As such, the parking brake will be foot operated - in the same way many premium cars like Mercedes-Benz models as well as Toyota's Camry are. Presumably, this is only applicable on the automatic transmission models only but we could be wrong. The trip computer will also feature additional functions like distance to empty and average fuel economy. Unlike the latest facelifted Myvi, the Alza's audio unit is an integrated head unit type. In the case of the Myvi, Perodua changed the launch model's integrated unit with a 2-DIN type version. Again, this is presumed to be because Perodua's market research data shows that Myvi customers are more keen to use after-market audio units compared to Alza's potential customers.


One thing I noticed from the various "spy" shots out there is that the hazard light switch is located on the head unit. Thus the audio unit cannnot be swapped with an after market version. Wonder if any after market companies will come out with a solution for that. As features like Bluetooth and MP3 format support are already available in the cheaper Myvi, expect these to be included in the Alza as well.

Fuel consumption of the Alza is rated at 12.3km/l for the automatic transmission variant and 15.7km/l for the manual transmission version. No info on whether this figure was obtained using the Japanese 10-15 mode cycle methodology done on the Alza's Japanes clone; Daihatsu Sirion Luminas / Toyota Passo Sette. Or if it was the result of lapping around Perodua's oval test track. In any case they are not accurate representation of real world driving so don't read too much in the manufacturer's figures. Unless they are independently verified, for all you know the figure could be obtained on a dyno.

6 colours will be offered, most of them already featured on the Myvi and Viva (due to economics of scale and to maximise utilization of Perodua Manufacturing's limited paint tanks. A new purple colour however is said to be offered and this could be the Alza's signature colour.

Optional accessories package is rumoured to include leather seats, bodykit and a portable GPS unit and a reverse camera. Although not available as a standard item - the reverse camera is the first of its kind to be offered in a national type car. The reverse camera is operated wirelessly, with the visual output at the GPS unit.

Below are some of the Modelista design bodykits available for the Passo Sette in Japan.



You can be sure that our local bodykit fabricators will start their copy work immediately. Unfortunately, sad to say that this what most local autoparts store are good at. That and fitting dustbin size exhaust pipe.

Below is a TVC for the Passo Sette - the Alza's close cousin in Japan.

If you wondering what's with the many female characters, that is because the Passo Sette is positioned as an urban female / mother's car in Japan.

Below is a promo video from Toyota for the Passo Sette.

Not sure how many of these features will be carried over in Perodua's Alza but not expect much.

Prices for the Perodua Alza will start from :
RM 56k for Lo-MT
RM 61k for Lo-AT
RM 59k for Hi-MT
RM 64k for Hi-AT

Official launch of the vehicle will be on 23-Nov 2009. Bookings can be placed at any Perodua sales outlet for just RM100.

Thanks to anonymous reader "Tiara" for the info.

Malaysia Begins Export of Volvo S40 and V50 to Thailand while Geely announces big plans for Volvo

Thailand is often referred to as the Detroit of the East for a very good reason. In 2008 alone, Thailand produced 1,391,728 motor vehicles (excluding motorcycles). Out of these, 775,652 units were exported (according to The Thai Automotive Industry Association). In contrast, Malaysia produced only 530,810 vehicles in 2008 (Malaysian Automotive Association). Only approximately 60,000 of these were exported. We are quite used to having cars imported from Thailand via the AFTA (ASEAN Free Trade Agreement). Under AFTA's CEPT (Common Effective Preferential Tariff) scheme, cars with 40% ASEAN sourced content are eligible to be imported at between 0%-5% import tariff. As such, we are quite used to having cars imported from Thailand. Besides Protons, the only mainstream vehicle that I know is being exported to Thailand is the Toyota Hiace, which is made by UMW Toyota's ASSB plant in Shah Alam. Now however, Volvo joins the list of vehicles exported from Malaysia. Since October, Swedish Motor Assemblers (SMA) have been exporting the new facelifted S40 and V50 2.0 with PowerShift to Thailand. SMA is the oldest car plant in Malaysia that currently produces Volvo S40, V50 as well as Volvo and Renault trucks.


Previously, the S40 and V50 was only available in 2.4-litre guise and was never made available in Thailand because the large 2.4-litre engine will attract heavy taxes. The car would have been priced 30% higher than Volvo Cars Thailand wishes to. Volvo Cars Thailand was chugging along with only the XC90 and S80. A smaller 2.0-litre petrol engine is available in Europe but not with an automatic transmission - which is hyper important in Asian markets. To put this into perspective, for Asians to have an automatic transmission option is even more important than for Europeans to have have a diesel estate option. Spend some time in Beijing, Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur traffic and you will understand why. It's not exactly the same reason as Americans being lazy to drive stick shift. As mentioned in a previous post, Volvo was seriously marginalized under Ford ownership and only until recently that the 2.0-litre engine was mated to an automatic transmission. But as a consolation, the tranny is a 6-speed twin clutch unit made by transmission specialist Getrag. It is also the only twin clutch transmission vehicle assembled in Malaysia. The engine has also been tuned to accept E10 gasohol fuel, which also makes it eligible for a lower tax rate. Which also implies that SMA makes the only locally assembled E10 gasohol compatible car. So does this mean all Malaysian S40 and V50 are E10 gasohol compatible? Using gasohol fuel would require modifications to the fuel system and engine control unit software as alcohol corrodes rubber and plastic components as well as require a slightly different ignition timing.

The reason for Volvo Cars Thailand to choose Malaysia as its source for S40 and V50 is simple - these two models have already been assembled here since 2004 (pre-facelift version which was never sold in Thailand). All the jigs are already in place currently the plant is grossly under utilized given the low sales volume of Volvo cars. Volvo's sales performance in Thailand is dismal and it does not make any sense to invest further in jigs and tooling equipments. It's a combination of legacy and cost issues.


Following an earlier post regarding Geely's intended acquisation of Volvo Cars, Geely reported that it plans to more than double Volvo's sales to near 1 million vehicles a year by 2013. Under the plan, Geely will build a new Volvo plant in China with annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles to draw on China's market potential and inexpensive labor. Geely will also use Volvo's manufacturing capacity fully in Europe to sell 600,000 vehicles there and in North America. The Wall Street Journal also reports that Geely will add two or three bigger and more luxurious models to Volvo's lineup over the next three to four years. As mentioned earlier, don't listen to the Sino-phobes. It is not that Ford is doing particularly great things with Volvo at the moment. It's sad to see an illustrious brand that build its foundation on very noble values (Volvo is all about the well being of people) dying a slow death. Sales performance of Volvo Cars is so low in the dumps that the they have nothing much to lose by partnering with Geely. The opportunity to purchase an automotive brand comes very rarely, maybe a few times in a century. Chinese car makers are seizing this opportunity to snap up whatever troubled Western car makers wishes to unload. Let's give Geely the benefit of the doubt.

Below are some driving footages video of the new S40 and V50. I have to admit that I have a secret fetish for modern day Volvos. To say that you love Volvos is not going to win you admiration or many friends amongst petrolheads. Many might call them boring. But unlike many petrol heads, an everyday car is to me nothing but a tool. It's not an extension of who I am. Volvos are honest, sensible and unpretentious tools. The recent styling direction makes them just being pleasant enough to the eyes, but nothing shouty. A pity that folks here don't quite appreciate Scandinavian values.

NHTSA investigates into Honda's recall on 2001 - 2002 Accord and Civic

Honda will be recalling 440,000 units of Accord, Civic and Acura models in America made between 2001 and 2002 due to a potentially fatal airbag defect. According to the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the defective driver's airbag inflator module could produce excessive internal pressure. If an affected airbag deploys, the increased internal pressure may cause the inflator to rupture, sending metallic fragments tearing through the airbag material, potentially injuring the driver. At least 1 fatality have been reported that is linked to this defect.

NHTSA is investigating into American Honda Motor Co. into some alleged discrepancies in Honda's declaration of defective vehicles under US Federal laws. Earlier in November 2008, some 3940 Accord and Civic models made in 2001 were recalled for the same airbag defect. In June 2009, American Honda Motor Co. issued a second recall to include more 2001 year models, and this was later expanded again in July 2009 to include a number of 2002 models. NHTSA is now investigating into Honda on why were the vehicles involved in the second recall only done some 8 months later. The way NHTSA sees it, there is no difference in the airbag inflator module for the vehicles affected between these two recalls. You may read the partial transcript made between HMC and NTHSA here.


A list of VIN plates of affected North American market Honda Accord and Civic models can be found here. The technical service bulletin to replace the airbag module can be found here. Note that the VIN list in the TSB were updated again later (refer to the earlier link).

Later in the week it was revealed that the recall is not just limited to American market Honda models. Honda Australia too issued a recall for 1323 Accord and Civic models for the same defect. For the Aussie models affected, the vehicles are of the VIN plate range :
MRHCK16401P010001 to MRHCK16401P010810
MRHCK16501P010031 to MRHCK16501P010180
MRHCK25601P010002 to MRHCK25601P010060
MRHCK26601P010001 to MRHCK26601P011050
MRHCK26602P040011 to MRHCK26602P040060

China also issued a similar recall but unlike Australia and America, Chinese market Accord recall is for the current generation Accord, and according to news reports, the defective part is located at the passenger side airbag (rather than driver's airbag). Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co. Ltd started to recall 9,464 Accord models since September 2009. The affected Accord models in China were made between April-8 to June-8 2009. The defects have been reported to China's quality and consumer safety watchdog General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ), which was setup to restore the image of Chinese products following many recent public health and safety scare involving Chinese products. Earlier this year, one of Toyota's Chinese JV operations Guangzhou Toyota had some unpleasant experience with AQSIQ as the Chinese body starts to flex its muscle. Toyota had intially refused to issue a full recall for Camry models fitted with defective brakes.

So far Asian Honda Motor; the ASEAN regional office of Honda Automobiles have remained silent on the issue. Neither has Kah Motor, Honda Malaysia or Honda Automobile Thailand released any official statements to date. Airbags are high precision devices and there aren't many companies in the world that are able to manufacture them. There are some minimal differences between American market Accords and Civics compared to those sold in China and Australia - these are mostly to do with the size of rear view mirrors, fitment of amber front side indicators and 5-mph bumpers to meet US Federal regulations. The airbag module itself should be the same, in terms of the design, propellents used and manufacturing processes. The airbag modules that affected the American market Honda models were made in Takata's plant in Mexico, while those that affected the Australian models were made in Thailand. Which brings me to the next question - if Honda Australia issues a recall for the same cars made in Thailand, wouldn't Singapore be affected as well? Since Accords (and Civic) sold in the two countries are from the same country of origin. Accords and Civics sold in Malaysia are made locally, at Honda Malaysia's plant in Alor Gajah, Melaka. Prior to 2003, Honda cars were assembled by Oriental Assemblers plant in Johor, when the distributorship of Honda cars were still under Kah Motor. As I know, the airbag modules come from Thailand as well, as Takata does not have any production facilities here. Logically, the Accords and Civics sold here should be affected as well, as the defective parts originate from the same plant. The defective airbag modules in Chinese market Accords were made in Shanghai.

But being a developing country with lax consumer protection laws, car companies here are not bounded by law to publically announce a recall. Having a public announcement is crucial to notify owners who bought their vehicles used or those who have changed their contact details and no longer visits the authorised service centre, thus the car company have no way of contacting the owner. Asian Honda Motor's silence on the issue raises some concerns. Car companies, including Japanese makes have a tendency to sugar coat a recall in some nicer sounding terms like a "special service campaign / product improvement or upgrade." Part replacements and inspection are then done as part of the vehicle's scheduled service, sometimes with the knowledge of the owner but sometimes no.

Comparatively, Toyota Motors Asia Pacific (Toyota's regional ASEAN office) were quick to issue clarifications on recent recalls - the Yaris seatbelt (does not affect Thai made models) and Lexus floor mat (only North American models fitted with all weather floor mats).

Related links
Product recalls
Toyota Camry recall in China
Largest Safety Recall Ever for Toyota - prompted after 4 deaths in a Lexus ES crash

2010 Volvo S60 and Geely's Bid for Volvo

Following the recent publicity stunt of the 2010 S60 prototype in Copenhagen, Volvo Cars have released two official pictures of the series production 2010 model year Volvo S60. The car will be officially unveiled in March 2010 during the Geneva Motor Show.


Detailed specifications are still unclear but we already know that Volvo's much publicised pedestrian detection collision warning system will be available on the higher range variants, as is Volvo's BLIS Blind Spot Indication System. An estate version (very important for European markets) will be released later in its model life, but will be badged as a V60. This is slightly off from Volvo's current naming convention for its estate models - which are all odd multiples of ten; i.e. V50 and V70, while their sedan counterparts are badged S40 and S80. Volvo 5-cylinder turbo diesel engine will also be available and a new 1.6-litre Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDi) engine is expected join the line-up by its mid-life model cycle. Production will begin in mid-2010 in Ghent, Belgium. Asia-Pacific and ASEAN markets will only receive the car by Q4 2010 or early 2011.

A quick seach of Volvo in Google however, will suggest that the public as well as the media is less interested in the S60 than Geely's acquisition of Volvo Cars. There have been much criticism regarding Geely's bid for Volvo. Sino-phobes have been posting a lot of rubbish on low rate automotive forum threads and blogs - saying that Geely will destroy the Volvo's brand value and that the Chinese will turn Volvo into a maker of cheap low quality Chinese cars. Even Volvo's union are protesting against Geely's acquisition.


These are concerns which this site's editor would like to address by asking a simple question - has Ford been a good custodian of the Volvo Cars brand? Many decades ago, Volvo was a Tier-1 luxury brand in many markets, including ASEAN region of Malaysia and Singapore. The older folks will remember that Volvo 140 and then the 240 series was the car of choice for government bureaucrats as well as high income professionals. This was at a time when BMW was a little known Bavarian automaker who makes dinky little small cars. It was a decent alternative to the default luxury brand - Mercedes-Benz. When Ford acquired Volvo Cars in the 1990s and parked it under its now disbanded Premier Automotive Group (PAG), Volvo's brand value continue to slide further behind the Germans, being overtaken by BMW and even Audi. The Swedish car maker failed to remain relevant to an increasingly extroverted luxury car buyer market and kept banging on the old and well worn unique selling point of safety - which has since been bested even by Renault and Peugeot, not to mention the regular German marques. Volvo may have benefited from Ford's platform and drivetrain, but as a custodian of an illustrious and unique brand (which is critics of Geely main argument), Ford left Volvo out in the cold to fend for itself.

Geely is an entirely different animal from the regular Chinese domestic car brands like Chery or SAIC - Geely is an entirely private and independent car maker, founded by Li Shufu, dubbed as China's Henry Ford. Being a private company, Geely makes its decisions a lot faster. Geely is currently China's largest privately controlled car maker.

Like it or not, the money is now in Asia, and we are not talking about Japan. We have seen how this year's Shanghai Motor Show pushed Tokyo Motor Show into irrelevance. Tata took over Jaguar and Land Rover and while the current economic slump have complicated matters a little, there is no reason to think that Tata will replace these brand's British heritage with India's interpretation of upper class aristocratic automotive style. Like wise, why would Geely, after bidding so hard and paying so much to own the Volvo brand - decide to flush everything down the toilet by driving the brand to down market? Geely is a highly ambitious car company and it knows the value of a brand - of how many decades it takes to build up a brand. The Chinese are not interested in waiting for another 50 years to build up their brand the way Western car brands developed themselves. More importantly, I believe the main reason for Geely to acquire Volvo is to gain access to technology as well as marketing channels into Europe and United States. Designing a vehicle is one thing but exporting it to a developed market and meeting all the regulatory compliance and vehicle homologation is another matter all together. And this is where Volvo comes in. But the part about technology will be a rather tricky issue because many of Volvo's technology is developed using Ford's money, and Ford may not be so keen to hand over these intellectual property rights to Geely.

While Geely's founder is ambitious, it is not blinded by any misguided faith in themselves. They acknowledge their limited experience in managing a global brand. Geely have even pledged that Volvo will continue to be run by an independent management team operating out of Gothenburg, Sweden itself rather than China. They will also maintain all existing Volvo dealer networks, R&D facilities and honour all existing contracts with the union. Volvo have been falling behind the German marques in the technology race, partly due to Ford's marginalization of the brand. Geely on the other hand recognised the problem and has even acquired bankrupt Australian transmission specialist Drivetrain Systems International.

"I'm fighting for what's in overseas automakers' rice bowls instead of their leftovers, I want to build Geely into a global first-tier automaker," Li Shufu, founder of Geely Holdings Group Co.

Watch the documentary below of Li Shufu below.

The rest of the videos can be viewed here. I would recommend to watch all 9 parts of the video before brushing off Geely.

Ford had their chance with Jaguar and Volvo, and both brands spent a large part of their years there lagging behind the competition, marginalized by a lack of critical investment and talent injection. At the rate things are going, Volvo Cars don't have much else to lose by going into bed with Geely, other than losing their already weak sales. If Volvo wishes to restore its brand to its former glory and give the Germans a good run for their money, their next best bet now is to leverage on Geely's financial backing and connections to put more models into production in domestic China, now the largest car market in the world.

VW Amarok Pick-up Teaser Site

VW have launched a teaser site for its upcoming Amarok pick-up truck (previously referred to as RPU / Robust Pick-Up). Images of the car are mosaic-ed at the moment. Full details of the Amarok will only be released during the Amarok's world premiere on December-15 2009. The Amarok's main production site will be in General Pacheco, Argentina. VW was reported to have invested USD340 million in adapting the production line to produce the Amarok. The Wolfsburg based German car maker currently controls 26% of the Argentinian car market, and is the dominant car maker in the Latin American region. The Argentinian plant will export the Amarok to Brazil, Germany, South Africa and Australia. No word yet on ASEAN region markets. The planned annual production volume is said to be 100,000 units.

The Amarok is said to break many new world records, among them - a 1,000km driving range on a single tank of fuel, thanks to VW's famed TDI common rail diesel engine. A hill start and hill descent assist feature will also be included (presumably only on the higher range variants). ABS with ESP and an optional "heavy duty leaf spring" that is able to maintain perfect control with a 1-tonne load is also available. VW claims the Amarok offers the widest load area in its class and "different all wheel drive" concepts for on-road and off-road driving. Presumably this means the AWD system offers a fully automatic 2WD-4WD selection, which also continuously vary the power split between front and rear axles depending on available traction. As I know, all pick-up trucks in the 1-tonne segment only offer part-time 4WD, with 3 selectable range (2WD for tarmac, 4WD Hi for off-road and 4WD Lo for "crawl" mode).

Unofficial sources speculate the engine line-up will be shared with VW's T5 Transporter / Caravelle, meaning a 4 or 5 cylinder TDI diesel engine mated to a 6-speed manual or 6-speed automatic transmission. A DSG-box was considered but cannot be confirmed. Judging from the 1,000km between refueling claim, a 6-speed transmission is highly likely. A 4x2 version as well as single cab body style version is expected to be released around 10 to 12 months later (early-2011). A cab chassis body style will also be made, mainly for Australia's huge ute market.



VW have previously previewed the Amarok pick-up, thinly disguised as a concept car - the VW SAR (Search and Rescue) Pick-up Concept in the September 2008 Hanover IAA Commercial Vehicles Expo. The car looks pretty production like. Notice the SAR Concept was already adopting VW's new corporate grille that we have already seen in the new Polo and Golf models.


Looking at the dimensions of the SAR Concept, the SAR's 5.18 metres length and 1.9 metres width is slightly shorter than market leader Toyota HiLux's 5.25 metres length but is wider than the Hilux's 1.83 metres width.

Though it wears the VW badge, the Amarok is actually marketed under a different sub-brand of the VW Group - VW Commercial Vehicles (known in Germany as Volkswagen Nutzfahrzeuge, VWN). VWCV is an entirely separate division from VW passenger cars but in markets like Thailand and Singapore where VW have a very small presence, its Transporter, Caddy and Caravelle commercial vans are being sold from the same dealership as VW's passenger cars.

The word Amarok means "wolf" in the language of the Inuit, an indigenous people of the Artic. The Inuits are commonly mistaken by many as Eskimos. The use of the term Eskimo is considered disrespectful by natives of Canada and Greenland. The Canadian constitution recognises the Inuit as a distinctive group of Canadian aboriginals. VW also says the word "Amarok" can also mean "He who loves rocks." I just wondered why don't they just decide on one official explanation?

The Amarok is not VW's first pick-up truck. Back in 1989, VW sold a badge engineered version of the Toyota Hilux. The car was sold as the VW Taro. There are also rumours that a SUV version of the Amarok is also in the pipeline, codenamed Namib. But there is very little credible evidence to support this for now.

On this side of the world, it is the Hilux that still reigns supreme. In Thailand, ASEAN's capital of pick-up trucks, the Hilux commands 40% of the market share. There are no plans to assemble the Amarok in ASEAN as VW does not have any production facility here. Plus, VW's traditional German Tier-1 suppliers also have very limited production sites in this region. Correction - I have completely forgotten that VW has a new plant in Indonesia that is coming online around 2011. But there was no mention that the plant will produce anything other than Touran in the initial stages of the plants operations. So it is unlikely that we will see the Amarok making its debut in this region in the near future. But we also know that CEO Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn has set the ultimatum for his company to dethrone Toyota by 2018, don't count them out so soon. They need to be present in every single major car market to achieve their aim.

By the way, the VW name, its pronounced as "fox-wah-gen" and not "Vox-where-ghen." The character "v" is pronounced as "f" in German.

SEMA

Ouch my eyes hurt. The SEMA (Specialty Equipment Market Association) tuner and after market auto show in USA - where a nation gathers to celebrate poor taste.







No Veilfires / Alphards are not sold in North America. Look carefully it's a right hand drive car.

Personally, I would much prefer Tokyo Auto Salon, whose next installment will start on Jan-15 2010. Given the poor turnout at this year's Tokyo Motor Show, I am surprised that the organizers are still proceeding with it.

For more SEMA images, visit AutoSpies.com.