Following Hyundai Accent's 3D projection ad in Malaysia, Lexus too is jumping on the outdoor 3D art projection bandwagon. In conjunction with Earth Day, Lexus wowed the public with a 3D visual fest highlighting the new Lexus CT200h. The ad was done outside Roosevelt Hotel, Hollywood, in the hope that it will become viral. Watch the video below.
Not sure about everyone else, but the video left me underwhelmed. The eye candy was very impressive, but at the end of it, I am not even sure what is the message that Lexus wants to send out. The product concept for the C200h is a compact, entry level luxury hybrid with the design and driving dynamics that will appeal to the younger crowd. The sort of people who would otherwise have gone for a VW Golf GTi, Audi A3 or a BMW 1-series. Throughout the entire video, I can't catch any of these elements / message. I think the reaction from the public, or rather, lack of reaction from the public says it all. Watch the Hyundai Accent's presentation, the applause, the oohhs and ahhs from the public, both during and after the presentation says it all on which manufacturer succeeded in striking the right emotional cord.
Watch the Hyundai Accent 3D projection ad here. To date, this video have been viewed over 380,000 times on Youtube.
Below is an ad from the main rival of the Lexus CT200h, the Audi A3 TDI. Like Lexus, Audi is also banging on the environmental credentials of the car, as well as the Audi's driving dynamics.
The message was short and simple, and I bet more people got the message.
But there is however one very good ad for the Lexus CT200h, that we think got the right message across in a catchy manner. It was done by Saatchi Saatchi Sydney, for Lexus Australia. The message of driving precision and balancing the two seeming opposing requirements of performance and environmental sensitivity is very clearly put across by the CT200h balancing itself, somewhat precariously, on a rotating platform set on a rocky edge by the sea. The title of the ad is "A beautiful contradiction."
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In an earlier post, we have mentioned about Mercedes-Benz's 125th Anniversary celebration. Well we won't mention the classics that most sites have / will be talking about. What we will be discussing however, are two Mercedes-Benz models that we are pretty sure you won't see them being displayed in any of Mercedes-Benz's public events - Herr Adolf Hitler's Mercedes. For better for worse, the Führer actually had pretty fine taste in cars, which in itself is not unique trait amongst dictators. Idi Amin had a fleet of Mercedes 600 Grossers and Citroen SMs. But what made Hitler different was that for whether we like it or not, that shit Hitler played a pivotal role in Germany's lead in the automotive industry. Part of Hitler's Aryan race supremacy propaganda was for Germany to dominate all sporting events, including motor racing. Silver Arrows grand prix racers and Streamliner bodied road racers, by Mercedes-Benz, as well as Auto Union were soon dominating racing circuits and road races around the world. Tax advantages were arranged for German car companies and the German auto industry took off. German car companies don't like to talk about this part of their history, but whether we like it or not, it did took place.
Hitler had a particular fondness for Mercedes-Benz vehicles. He had two special models built primarily for the exclusive use by the Third Reich; the W07 770 Kompressor limousine and the 4-wheel drive 6-wheeler (6x4) W131 G4 Grosser cross-country limousine. In most cases, these models were all armoured. But the Führer also have a particular fondness for convertibles. In almost any public drive by events, he is always seen in a convertible, which is kind of illogical for a man who known for his paranoia on personal safety. So the floorboards were bomb proof, body panels and windows were bullet proof but the man would stand in an open-top armoured car. So all the 770K and G4 Grossers designated for the Führer's official and private use were made in convertible bodies. A number of his official G4 Grosser's however had closed top body construction, these served either as a radio vehicle (which doubles as his emergency ambulance) or a luggage vehicle. These trio of cars would normally accompany Hitler's extended trips on the road.
Mussolini and Hitler in a 770K, Berlin, September 1937.
Mussolini and Hitler (seated in middle row) in a G4, Colonel Friedrich Hoßbach seated behind Hitler in Mecklenburg and Pomerania, Germany, Sep 1937.
A G4 parade car
Both 770K and G4 Mercedes are probably the some rarest Mercedes-Benz models in history. 57 units of G4 were built but only 3 remained after 1945. One of which still survives until today under the care of the Spanish Royal family, who took over the vehicle from the late Spanish dictator General Francisco Franco. Hitler presented one of his G4 to Franco, when the Spanish dictator volunteered his troops to fight against Stalin on the Russian front. The G4s were in reality luxury off-road lorries! It twin axles in the rear, both driven. It is not a proper off-road vehicle because its front wheels were not driven. Because of the armour, it weighed over 3500 kg and had a top speed of only 65km/h.
Dictator Franco's restored G4.
The W07 770K
A 770K armoured convertible was presented to Hitler by Mercedes on his 50th birthday on April 1939. The massive limousine weighed over 4760kg and had a fuel economy of 1.75km per liter. Its wheels were multi-chambered anti-explosion to prevent against gunfire, but as a result it can go no faster than 80km/h. At that speed, it doesn't seem like a very good way to protect oneself.
There were many claims by classic car traders claiming to have Hitler's car. But it needs to be pointed out that none of these claims have been confirmed by Mercedes-Benz Classics. There are various adjusters by these supposedly classic car experts, but as any seasoned classic car collector will tell you, a lot of it is just highly paid guess work, especially in dealing cars like these where tracking down the exact history is extremely tricky. The last 770K sold in 1973, allegedly claimed to be Hitler's 770K was proven to be false. Tracking down the exact chassis number of Hitler's private and official cars is rather difficult as those documents are considered war time records. Hitler's main parade car had the license plate IA 148461.
Below is a short excerpt from a documentary mentioning Hitler's 770K
Incidentally, two of the three WWII villains fancied Mercedes-Benz. Emperor Hirohito also had a Mercedes 770K, but his had a closed body construction. Mussolini was the odd one, as he choose to be chauffeured in a Lancia.
Mercedes-Benz had a complicated role in WWII. The company was ran by a board, not a one man show. Member of the Daimler-Benz board Hermann Koehler was critical of the Nazis and was convicted by the Nazis and shot in 1943. Another board member Jakob Werlin however was an ardent Nazi supporter and his compliance ensure Daimler-Benz's continued access to the government's highest levels.
Anyway, modern day Germans are overly sensitive about their Nazi history. The German people and government of Germany today are still deeply sorry over the events of WWII. Even sale of Nazi theme materials and memorabilia is banned in Germany and places like Auschwitz are kept to remind the public that never again must the world allow such evil to rise. German history books never white wash their role in WWII. Plus, it wasn't that the whole of Germany went along with Hitler. Even within the German army and military intelligence, there were various separate attempts, to assassinate Hitler. Tom Cruise even acted in a movie along this theme in "Valkyrie." Even a Christian pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer took part in the assassination attempt. The rest of the world have accepted a closure on that chapter of history and society have forgiven, reconciled and moved on. In any discussion about Nazi history, it is usually the Germans who are more upset than anyone else. At a time of great evil, a few good men rose up against what is morally wrong - Oskar Schindler who protected the Jews and John Rabe who protected the Chinese in Nanjing from the rampaging Japanese army. Till today the legacy of John Rabe continued to be remembered by the Chinese people. Like wise Oskar Schindler by the Jews all around the world. May the future remember that in times of great evil, a few good men can still rise up. This is why history must never be allowed to be distorted by self serving nationalists. We can't changed the past and the only way to right the wrong done by the previous generation is to apologize, reconcile and move on. Only then can the chapter be closed and for the future generation to learn.
The same however cannot be said about Japan, who continues to distort their public school history books on Japan's role in WWII, and Japanese politicians continue to pay respect to dead war criminals in an annual semi-religious ceremony at the Yasukuni Shrine. The minority Japanese citizens who wanted to push for reconciliation with Japan's war crimes are ridiculed, threatened and considered to be disgraceful to Japan. China, who suffered the biggest casualty at the hands of the Japanese Imperial army in the Nanking Massacre is understandably massively upset and would launch an almost annual diplomatic offensive with regard to the Yasukuni Shrine visit by any Japanese Prime Minister. Tachikawa which later became Prince, which was later acquired by Nissan along with Mitsubishi and Fuji (Subaru), as well as Toyota, all made fighter planes that bombed Pearl Harbour, as well as the rest of Asia. But these companies were never subjected to the same inquiries that Daimler, BMW and Volkswagen were subjected to for their roles in assisting the Axis powers. The occupying American forces setup military base in Japan and a few years later used it as a base to launch campaigns during the Korean war. Both Nissan and Toyota were supplying military trucks to the American army fighting the Korean War. And that, was part of the reason the Japanese imperial system remained and Japanese companies were not subjected to the same inquiries as the Germans. History is written by the victor. You are not going to read this in either Toyota or Nissan's official history, but it was the American military contracts that pulled both Nissan and Toyota, especially Toyota out of the post-war years and allowed it to pull ahead of its competitors.
But like Germany, not all of Japan were in support of the things done in the name of Emperor Hirohito. A Japanese medical officer Hiroshi Yamasaki was so disturbed by the things he saw, and decided that he had to stay back in China to help attone for the wrongs done by the Japanese people. Read more about his story here and here.
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Mazda wants to ask you "What do you drive?" Forget about Honda or Subaru or Mitsubishi. Mazda is an enthusiast driver's new favourite brand. The MPS series is the new Type-R / WRX / Lancer Evolution. What are we smoking you ask? Please do hear us out.
Consider the facts. The Civic Type-R, both in Japanese domestic market FD2 and European variants is now dead with no replacement in sight. So is the Integra Type-R. The current Subaru Impreza WRX has gone mainstream, not too different from a Corolla, barely a shadow of the original GC8 model that wanabe rally drivers used to go Banzai!! in them. The next Lancer Evolution will be an eco-greenie car. At this point, Current BMWs are not as viscerally stimulating as the cult classic E30. Joy that makes you drive to the golf course, is not the same joy that makes you want to take the little Miata around the further, twistier back roads. Lotus has decided to go upmarket to fight the Germans, so no more affordable Elises.
For the enthusiast driver, apart from holding on or getting your hands on the last generation of these driver's cars while you fight away rust and mechanical wear, short of selling your kidney to get a proper performance Porsche, what option do enthusists have in the near term?
Recently Mazda have been shouting its brand louder than ever. Late last year, the bleeding Ford reduced its stake in Mazda from 33% to 11.8% and eventually to just 3.5%. Publicly, Mazda says pursuing greater synergies with Ford is one their key pillars of growth, but we can be safely infer that Mazda will have to rely more on its own resources for future product development. And that can only come from selling more cars. And that can only be achieved by shouting themselves louder, in ways that are more different than the big players in the industry.
Mazda knows that it is small and to run with the big boys it has to take greater risk and be different. It must be pleasing to hear quotes like "If It's Not Worth Driving, It's Not Worth Building" from Mazda, emphasizing the pursuit of driving pleasure is a must in all Mazda models, even their future pick-up trucks. Building less, building better for the discerning few sums it up nicely.
Personally, I find a lot of similarities between Mazda and Porsche, no not in their cars, but their motivating spirit. For one, both are extremely stubborn. Seriously how hard must your head be to ignore everyone else's failure and good advice and continue perfecting cars with the engine in the wrong place for 40 over years? But that's not all. Porsche not only refused to move the engine to the front, but also insists that 911's basic design does not need changing, for 40 over years! So for 40 over years the 911 continued to carry on with the same basic silhouette.
The rotary engine is Mazda's version of Porsche's stubbornness. Every single manufacturer that has dabbled with rotary engines have given up. German car maker NSU was even bankrupted by it. Mercedes experimented with rotary engines in the C111 Concept and concluded that it was a stupid idea. NSU was Mazda's rotary engine partner, even when NSU folded, Mazda soldiered on alone. To answer criticisms that rotary engines are unreliable, Mazda built the 787B Le Mans and raced the rotary engine for 24-hours non-stop and win it outrightly, just to shut everyone else up. Today, Mazda remains the only Japanese manufacturer to ever win the highly coveted Le Mans title. The supposedly more reliable conventional engines Toyota and Nissan too have tried, but failed, ironically. Today, the most stubborn sports car maker (Porsche) is one of the most profitable car companies and the only independent car company (merger with VW is still under scrutiny), while Mazda is one of the fastest growing car brands. I guess tenacity will be rewarded. Hence the title of the video below - The "Challengers"
Our lives are complicated enough. And our cars are a reflection of our lives, and they certainly aren't getting simpler. Thankfully, Mazda, in their typical head strong attitude, snubbed the horsepower game favoured by everyone else, and pursued the path of lightness. Even Mazda's cheapest Mazda 2 hatchback is lighter than the car it replaces, one of the few cars in the world that is actually ligther than its predecessor. The Miata MX-5 is another good example that horsepower and speed does not equal joy. In the same way as money and fame never equals joy. The best things in life are simple - company of friends, a good beer, clear blue seas, and of course, sex. I mean how complicated can it be and how many things are better? You don't really need electromagnetic adjustable dampers or electric powered everything to enjoy driving. Harmony between driver and car is what is important, just as harmony in relationships between humans is the key to happiness, it's not about what you own or how others see you.
Harmony between machine and driver is something that Mazda strives very hard to achieve not just in sports cars like Miata MX-5, but also in all its cars. Even the non-performance oriented family car like the Mazda 5 MPV, harmony is with all its users, including children and the elderly. Amazing that so much attention is paid to the impression gained from opening a humble sliding door.
So the question remains, why did Honda abandoned its hallowed Type-R brand? Same reason why did Mitsubishi closed down RalliAart and wants to stop the Lancer Evolution in its current format, and the reason Subaru toned down the Impreza and Forrester's racer boy image. And why current BMW M models are more heavyweight wrestlers rather than nimble flying swordsmen. The short summary is that hero cars / halo cars exist to shout the company's flagship technology and purpose. They are built based on the same standard car that you can afford. It's existence is supposed to hopefully shed some gold dust down to the regular run of the mill models, to give the range some street creed.
Performance and driving dynamics have been the USP of these brands for many years. But these companies are now finding that it is increasingly difficult to harmonize this with their future growth path. Governments are coming down hard on vehicular emission and the buyers are increasingly CO2 conscious. Even Ferrari and Porsche are forced to reinvent themselves to project a more eco-friendly PR face.
Honda has identified its IMA hybrid technology to drive its growth for the next decade. Mitsubishi is throwing its resources to be the No.1 in electric vehicle technology. A hero / halo car must always be in line with the company's flagship technology. Thus the CR-Z and Insight are now Honda's technology flag bearer while Mitsubishi is keen to remind the public that its i-MiEV is the world's first mass produced electric car. A Type-R or Evolution or WRX won't fit well in such operating conditions. BMW's customers have grown older (and fatter), its customers demand more and more toys. They are not the sort of people who drive for fun anymore, during their younger days. They now drive to make themselves feel important, to elevate themselves, to shoo people out of their way. It's a socialite's car. Hence a stripped down M car in the spirit of the original E30 is not a viable business proposition today, although the M135i is in the plans with the intention to bring down the average age of BMW owners, but don't expect this to be cheap.
The bigger you are, the more difficult it is for you to be different and take the less trodden path. It is inevitable that companies will want to grow bigger, and cars will have to get better with every successive generation (more toys, more space, more everything). In the pursuit of earning more, they become just like everyone else, forced to become normal, mainstream, pleasing to the masses.
Mazda on the other hand, is still small and young enough to do these unconventional things. So we want to make a call to all enthusiasts out there, to give your attention and support to the Mazda brand, the little underdog needs all the support it can get. And who doesn't like seeing an underdog throwing up surprises in a game?
By the way, quality and reliability is something traditionally associated with Toyota. But a little known fact is that independent research data puts Mazda just as reliable, if not more reliable than Toyotas. Probably the video below explains why. Takumi is something you read about in Lexus press release materials. Not something for a small car maker like Mazda. Of course, everything that is explained by Mazda's Takumi is more or less done by all the big players, but oddly, this is one PR hype that I don't mind being convinced.
For more information, visit mazda.com.my or if you are from another country, visit the Mazda's global site for more information on your local Mazda distributor.
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Guerrilla marketing is a loose term to describe unconventional methods of advertising and promotion, using very little resources, relying mainly on time and creativity, just like its military combat namesake equivalent. Everyone loves to hear a story of how creativity can achieve big results with very small budget. Well here is one from Mercedes-Benz Netherlands. This is the story of a Dutch advertising agency N=5, who created a viral ad from just 150 Euros. The brief given by Mercedes-Benz to N=5 was to address the issue that Mercedes-Benz Sprinter commercial vans were perceived to be very expensive, probably due to association with Mercedes-Benz luxury cars. Mercedes-Benz's target buyers think that they cannot afford the price of a new Sprinter and thus go shop around for a second hand van. Since this is the case, N=5 followed the potential buyers to where they go to shop for second hand vans, Markplaats, Netherland's largest automotive classifieds.
Two fake ads were placed, and if you look carefully at the pictures, a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter can clearly be seen in the background, with the words "The new Sprinter is already available from 19,800 Euros."
Prospects who made calls to the telephone number advertised will only hear a recorded answer saying "I assume you are not calling about my van in the advert. Your call is probably about the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in the background. That is not my van so if you are interested you should go to the Mercedes-Benz dealer or visit www.mercedes-benz.nl. Bye!"
While emails sent to the address advertised were answered with an autoreply message saying "I am no longer using this email account because I keep getting e-mails about the bloody Mercedes-Benz Sprinter. It's not mine! So leave me alone and visit www.mercedes-benz.nl or go to the Mercedes-Benz dealer. Bye."
The ads were viewed over 20,000 times a day, versus a typical average of 2 times a day. The fake ads were picked up by Netherland's largest car blog, autoblog.nl and was spread further via Twitter. All these from just 150 Euros. Watch the video below.
This year, two iconic brands will be celebrating their 125th anniversary; Coca Cola and Mercedes-Benz. Not surprisingly, given their heritage, both these brands are some of the most valuable brands in today's market. According to NST's motoring pullout Cars, Bikes and Trucks, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will be organizing a concours style event titled Historics Mercedes-Benz Concours in conjunction the company's worldwide celebration. Numerous global and local marketing events have been lined up all over the world to celebrate not just Mercedes-Benz's 125th birthday, but also, 125 years of motoring, because Mercedes-Benz is the considered to be the inventor of the modern automobile.
I love this tastefully done video, titled "I believe in the horse," compiling quotes of some of the greatest understatements in history, against the backdrop of progress in automotive technology. The story of Mercedes-Benz is a reminder that history belongs to those who make their dreams happen. By the way, does anyone knows the title of this song?
Mercedes-Benz maybe the inventor of the automobile, it is however not the oldest car company in the world. That honor goes to Peugeot. whose history can be traced back to as far back as 1725 when the Peugeot family was active in the industrial milling business, before venturing into bicycles, and eventually motorcars using Daimler engines.
Noticed that we mentioned Mercedes-Benz is "considered" to be the inventor of the modern automobile, implying ambiguity in the area. This is if you were to ask the question who invented the automobile, you may get a different answer, depending on who you ask. The quest for personal freedom and mobility has been pursued from as back as the 15th century.
Sometime around 1478, Leonardo Da Vinci conceptualized a spring wound car about 5 feet long and 4 feet wide, with three wheels. Like all of Da Vinci's designs, it was never actually built. However in 2004, Institute and Museum of the History of Science in Florence, Italy decided to make an actual working design of Da Vinci's "concept car." It was probably the world's first concept car. The car could actually move on its own power, for about 100 meters. So if you would define a car as a vehicle that could move on its own power, then Da Vinci's 1478 design is probably the world's first car design.
In France 1884, Edouard Delamare-Deboutteville patented the design of a 4-wheel steam powered vehicle. But it only managed to be driven half the length of the workshop before exploding spectacularly. Edouard gave up and went into oyster farming. Italian Enrico Bernandi also patented a small engine in 1882 and fitted it to a three wheeled vehicle. But at 0.25 hp, it barely moved.
There were many other inventions that were critical in leading us to the eventual invention of an automobile. The inventors of the car were not inventors of the engine. And how can you have a car without an engine. It was Jean Joseph Étienne Lenoir who invented the first commercially viable atmospheric engine in Belgium in 1860. There were patents for internal combustion engines prior to this, but none were feasible commercially. Lenoir built the world's first the first single-cylinder two-stroke engine that ran on mixture of coal gas and air, ignited by a primitive version of today's spark plug.
But Lenoir's invention was far from being powerful enough to power a vehicle. It was German engineer Nicholas Otto who perfected the design further. Otto hired a certain Gottlieb Daimler, and later, Wilhelm Maybach as his engineers. The 4-stroke cycle piston engine was unveiled in the 1878 Paris World Fair. In the pre-Internet and pre-Motor show era, the World Fair is where all the greatest new inventions will be unveiled. At the same time certain Carl Benz was also developing a 2-stroke piston engine and will eventually go on to patent what is accepted by today's standard as the first automobile.
The basic foundation in the collective knowledge of humanity is now complete to foster invention of the automobile. Ferdinand Porsche, father of the VW Beetle and Porsche cars, will also spend a good number of years in Austro-Daimler, precursor of today's Daimler AG. To read about the history of Mercedes-Benz is to read the Genesis of the automotive world. We will cover these in more detail in the subsequent posts.
The video shown earlier appeals to the intellectual group, however Mercedes-Benz also knows how to appeal to pop culture. After all, R&B artists regularly swear by the three pointed star as their ride of choice. During the 2011 Super Bowl, Mercedes-Benz USA commissioned a TV commercial featuring Sean Combs, better known as P. Diddy.
The ad however is still eclipsed by VW's "The Force" ad for the new Passat, which became one of the most watch TV commercial in history. Watch the ad below. How many classic Mercedes models can you Mercedes connoisseurs out there identify and name? Watch the 57 second mark, where the first car in the world, the Carl Benz 1886 patent motorwagen, drives alongside the Mercedes Biome concept. The origin of automotive history, and the future, side by side.
Read the next part of this series, Hitler's Mercedes here.
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Did you guys catch the world launch of the 2012 VW Beetle? At point of writing, the vehicle has been unveiled in Shanghai, with Black Eyed Peas performance in New York to come online by the time we go to sleep on this side of the world. Catch the live unveiling at worldstage.mtv.com. It looks VW's website is overwhelmed by traffic that VW's offical blog is down at point of writing this. So for now, we relied on a VW fan site VWVortex.com for the press release.
There have been rumors that VW will be purchasing a stake in Isuzu, via VW's heavy duty trucks brand MAN. The rumor first surfaced in a report by German magazine Manager Magazin. However Isuzu have quickly denied existence of such talks.
In response to the rumor, Isuzu said in a press statement "There was a report concerning plans for our stock to be acquired by another company, but there is no truth to that."
VW did not respond to the press but German industry analysts denied credibility of the rumor, citing VW's not so good experience with Suzuki. Insiders have mentioned that VW is increasingly frustrated with intricacies of the consensus seeking Japanese management culture. To date, very little progress have emerged from VW's highly publicized deal with Suzuki. March this year, VW Group's CEO Dr. Martin Winterkorn revealed that the VW Group has hit some snags in its long term goal of overtaking Toyota due to the slow progress of its small car development programs with Suzuki. Dr. Martin Winterkorn said, “We here in the western world are sometimes more decisive . . . the Japanese culture of achieving consensus is difficult. But I can promise that the co-operation will improve.” So it is unlikely that VW will be speaking to another Japanese partner anytime soon.
Like most merger deals, we have always suspected financial institutions to be the ones releasing these so called "insider news" to push stocks. Of course this is illegal but it is difficult to prove. Afterall, aren't all stocks purchase speculative?
Update from Reuters : What is being discussed is an engine supply deal and not equity stakes. "Isuzu would supply seven-litre-class diesel engines for midsize trucks and three-litre-class diesel engines for commercial vans and small trucks produced by the Volkswagen group.
In return, Volkswagen will supply engine control and body safety technologies used in its passenger cars for Isuzu's next generation pickup trucks"
Isuzu is the oldest vehicle manufacturer in Japan, since 1916 when the company was created as a joint venture by Tokyo Ishikawajima Shipbuilding and Engineering Co. and Tokyo Gas and Electric Industrial Co. to manufacture rebadged British Wolseley CP trucks. Today, Isuzu is one of the largest heavy duty vehicles and diesel engine manufacturers in the world. Isuzu makes light to heavy duty trucks, buses, pick-up trucks and industrial diesel engines. Its core markets are in Asia-Pacific, Ocenia, Middle East and Africa. The company is among the top selling, if not the market leader in pick-up trucks and light-heavy duty vehicles.
MAN meanwhile, is short for Maschinenfabrik Augsburg. The company has over 250 years of involvement in heavy industries. Most people know that Rudolph Diesel invented the diesel engine, but what most people don't realize is that Herr Rudolph Diesel's invention was only possible with support from MAN, thus making MAN builder of the world's first diesel engine. Today, MAN manufactures heavy trucks, buses, marine and industrial diesel engines and even power plants. MAN doesn't dominate the vehicles market like Isuzu but they are involved in a wider range of industrial applications. MAN's core market is in Europe, where MAN trails behind Daimler trucks, and in South America. In Brazil, MAN is the No.1 heavy vehicles brand. MAN was acquired by VW Group in 2006.
You have to check out this outdoor 3D projection made by Hyundai! Because my jaw nearly dropped off my face when I first saw this! This is an advertisement for the new 2011 Hyundai Accent. Sorry wrong term, I think stunt is more appropriate. Forget whatever you think you know about Hyundai or the previous generation Accents. Because just by virtue of pulling off something like this, Hyundai has made every single car brand, from Toyota to Honda to Nissan, even punching above its weight right up to a BMW or Mercedes or Audi, it made every other car seemed sooo last decade. Watch it for yourself below.
And you know what's even more surprising? This stunt was not made in New York or Berlin or Shanghai or Tokyo, but right here in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia! Jalan Bukit Bintang to be exact. Just right next to Sungai Wang.
Watch the making of this stunt below. Somewhat inspired by Tron Legacy, maybe little bits of Inception?
The applause from the crowd at the end of the video says it all.
Still no word on the launch of the Accent locally though. The mega high budget required for this stunt suggests that this was not an effort by the local distributor. In fact I doubt if the local distributor Hyundai Sime Darby were even involved in this at all, aside from maybe arranging for the vehicle importation, customs clearance and logistics. There isn't even any teasers either on their official website or even on HSD's Facebook. The video was posted on official Hyundai global Youtube channel, so this suggests that it is an effort by the principal Hyundai Motor Co. to produce a global marketing material to be used by all its overseas markets.
The latest generation Accent, code name RB series, is also sold under various different names; i25 (Australia, Europe), Verna (China) and Solaris (Russia).
The RB series Accent was first unveiled last April, during the 2010 Beijing Motor Show. In a previous post, we have explained the trend of how mainland Chinese consumers are increasingly exerting their influence in determining what we drive. The current Nissan Teana, Peugeot 207 sedan, upcoming Peugot 408, Ford Fiesta sedan and Mazda 2 sedan, Chevrolet Spark, Chevrolet Aveo sedan, were all developed either primarily for the Chinese market or came as a result of lobbying by Chinese distributors. The new RB series Verna / Accent is no different, as if its global debut in Beijing is not obvious enough.
In fact, during the Verna's (as the Accent is known in China) global launch in China, Euisun Chung, the Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor said "Developed over a five-year period expressively for the Chinese market, product planners conducted exhaustive market research of Chinese consumer tastes and trends to ensure every detail meets local requirements. Built on an all-new platform at the company's highly automated plant in Beijing, Verna is targeted at China's strategically important C1 (Ed: Due to the many proliferation of cross-segment straddling cars in China, European market segmentation is not adopted in China, the Verna is a better explained to us as a B-segment car, similar to Vios / City) segment and fully reflects Hyundai's philosophy of quality.
"Today is a really special day for us, not only because we're launching a new car, but because it's one of the very few times we've done a world-premiere outside of Korea: And we chose to do it right here in China because it's our way of recognizing how important our Chinese customers are to us,"
In China, the Hyundai-Kia Group is among the top-3 highest selling car brands, even higher than Toyota or Honda or Nissan. The other two top selling brands are GM owned brands and VW Group (including Audi).
The Verna is about the size of a Honda City. In fact, it is just 5mm longer (4340mm) and 5mm wider (1700mm) than the City. In China, the Verna is offered with two engine choices, a 1.4-liter petrol and 1.6-liter petrol. According to Hyundai's manufacturer's figures. Fuel consumption is rated at 5.7-liter per 100km for the 1.4-liter 5-speed manual, while the 1.4-liter CVT automatic with Fuel Economy Package (China market) achieves 6.2-liter per 100km. No official figures were provided by HMC for the 1.6-liter petrol version although distributors in certain countries have published them, but we think these are their internal figures, done independently from HMC so it's not right to lump them together. As the fuel consumption testing methodology used is not defined, we caution against taking these manufacturer's figures seriously. We have explained before previously that different companies / countries have different methods of measuring fuel consumption, each of them can deliver wildly different results on the same car.
Trump card for the Verna / Accent is its best in class wheelbase length, at 2570mm versus 2550 for both the Honda City and Toyota Vios. The longer wheelbase is obviously a result of Chinese consumers' demands. However, its bootsize, at 454 liters, is still smaller than either the City (506-liters) or the Vios (475 liters). But we need to caution that it many not be fair to do a direct comparison, as none of the manufacturers can confirm if these measurements were done using the VDA methodology.
Pictures below were from the Verna / Accent / i25's global debut in the April 2010 Beijing Motor Show.
So, do you want one?
By the way, about the video we just saw, does anyone how did they make car somehow disappear from the wall? Or was still there and somehow the projected image hid it? The production crew, as well as the creative agency that did this deserve the highest recognition for pulling this off, as well as Hyundai for being brave enough to do this. Not many car companies are willing to try something so new. I cannot image someone like Honda or Toyota or Nissan doing this. They are just barely coming to grasp with social media, yes there are using it, but they are far from knowing how to capitalize on it. Social media does not mean just putting up your TVCs on Youtube or announcing your promos on your Facebook page. That's no different from transferring your ads from print media to online media. Unfortunately social media sites of the most car companies here are doing merely just that. Hyundai does live up to the tagline "New thinking. New possibilities." The video has now gone viral worldwide, attracting almost 170,000 views on Youtube in just a little over a week.
Think this is an out of world idea? Check out the intro ad of their page newthinking.hyundai.com. Visit the page to find out more. Think it's enough to convert to anyone bar the most stubborn Korean-car-phobe to be a Hyundai fan?
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This was an image grab from an in-car video camera that caught a smash-and-grab robbery in progress, caught in KL. A black Perodua Myvi was stopping in traffic when two men on a motorbike rode up alongside, smashed the passenger side windows and grabbed what appears to be a handbag. It could happen to anybody, in any country be it women with their handbags or men with their laptop bags or iPads etc etc. While the title may suggest the content below is aimed at females, but crime does not recognize gender and everything that is mentioned below is applicable to both male or female motorists. However women drivers do tend be singled out more often and thus we hope the tips below will help our mothers, wives, daughters and female friends to be more vigilant.
1. Keeping of handbags
Handbags should always be kept away from sight. At the floor, preferably underneath the dashboard or under the seats. However we also know that women are not likely to put their Coach Leatherwares on the dirty floor mat. So your next best option is to wedge them between the front seats of your car. However some cars do have utility trays under the front passenger seats. So make use of them. Certain cars are also more female friendly than others. The Nissan Latio (Tiida / Versa in some markets) has one of the largest glove box around, 12.8-liters big, even bigger than many higher end cars.
While the Nissan Sylphy has its handbrake repositioned to the foot well, so it is now foot operated rather than hand operated like most cars. The advantage is that this frees up space in the center console, which now houses a utility box than fit small handbags.
However looking at the size of handbags women carry these days, I think the best option is still to wedge them between the seats.
2. Invest in a security tint
At the mention of window tinting, most people will think of solar tinting, which reduces solar radiation from entering the cabin. There is however another type of tinting which many consumers are still unaware of - security / safety tint. On top of functioning as solar tints, these tinting films also doubles as a security protection preventing the windows from shattering easily. These window films hold the window in tact and significantly increases the effort and time required to break them. Of course they are not exactly shatter proof. All security features, be it bank vault or a car works on the underlying principle of increasing the "effort vs reward for the risk." They just give less reason for robbers to keep trying and more reason to abandon the break in attempt. There are various brands out there offering such solutions, but with varying level of performance so shop around wisely. 3M, LLumar and V-Kool are the usual trusted brands used by car manufacturers. The benefits of a security tint cannot be more evident than in the smash-and-grab video below that has been circulating around Youtube and Facebook. Chances are two or three failed attempts to smash the glass, they would have fled.
3. When driving back to into your house
a) Always park in reverse
Look at the CCTV grab below. Had the car was reversed into the house rather than driven in forward, the driver would have been alerted earlier.
By reversing your car in, you are in a better position to react to an ambush and you are looking at the direction of entry. Should any attempt be made to rob you, you can speed off. Run down the doors and these scumbags too if necessary. You can always plead your case in self defense later! At least you live to fight another day. Dark jokes aside, we are serious about parking in reverse. Readers who work in high risk occupations or industries will know that organizations with strict health and safety regulation require all their company vehicles within their compound to be reversed into a parking spot. This aids quicker escape in the event of an evacuation or emergency. Even down south in Singapore, almost all cars are parked in reverse.
b) Alert to your home surrounding
If you live in an area where there are shrubs or trees or even large uncovered drains outside your house where men can hide in it, it is a good practice to flash your high beams and take notice of any unusual shadows, before driving into your house. Also look out vehicles that are not common around your housing block, especially motorbikes which is easy to miss them. c) Shutting down your engine / Unlocking the gate
An automatic electric gate is not a convenience feature, but a safety item in these time and age. After reversing into your house, always keep your lights on and engine running and only get out of your vehicle after the electric gate closes. Of course, your vehicle is now facing forward, out into the driveway, for reasons mentioned earlier. Do the reverse when driving out. Only unlock the gates once you are inside the vehicle with the doors locked. These are very simply logical things to do but for most of us don't think much about it and do any of the above in a random order.
4. In a car park complex
a) Walking to your car
You are alone, leaving your work place or a shopping mall late at night. Again, be alert of unusual things. If this is your daily routine, especially in your work place, you ought to know what are the familiar cars that always park in that area. If you don't well maybe you should! Be on the look out for commercial vans or MPVs with sliding doors, as well as large SUVs. These is because sliding doors and large vehicles like an SUV has a wide door opening area and make it easy to force a small vulnerable women into the vehicle. If you spot anything suspicious, take an unusual direction, like entering your vehicle from the passenger side, make use of obstacles around you like keeping yourself between cars (allows you to play catch-me-if-you-can-merry-go-around with an attacker, do not underestimate the advantage of an obstacle), or go back to your office block / shopping mall to call for security. It is better to be paranoid than to be sorry.
b) Have your keys in hand
Do not fumble for your key only when you reach the car. Take out your car keys well in advance, before you enter the parking area, and hold them firmly.
In every car key is a panic button, usually marked in red. It sounds the car alarm when pressed. Usually, this button is used to locate your car if you forgot where you park them. But you should also be ready to use this to attract attention. Try it a few times and be familiar with the distance from the vehicle for this function to work. If there are suspicious individuals or cars around your vehicle, hit the panic button to draw attention. A key can also be a weapon, which is why we said you should hold it firmly. If grabbed from behind, use it to jab the attacker, as hard as you can. Hard as if your life depends on it and fight yourself free. Aim for weak areas like the neck, eyes.
5. When driving a) Do not stop for anything suspicious
I have a friend who went for an offensive (yes offensive, not defensive) driving training course by his company to prepare him for a job in a high crime country. The most memorable thing he told me was, if you are coming down a stretch of road, an old lady or even a women with a baby pram starts coming out in front of you, blow your horns and floor the throttle and get away fast. If you see a garbage can rolling out, floor the throttle! Do not ever ever stop! Run into them if you have to. The moment you stop is when you are going to have guns pointed at you. He was not thought to be reckless, but to think logically. Anyone with a baby pram don't get off a kerb and walk out into the direct path of an SUV barreling down the road.
While I doubt our country have reached that stage, but there are some tips worth sharing out. The most common modus operandi of car-jacks or kidnaps is for either men on a motorcycle riding alongside you and flagging you to stop while pointing at your wheels, as if something is seriously wrong with your car. Or a stage accident, the crash-and-rob method.
Once I was in a taxi on the way to the airport, the taxi overtook a Volvo sedan driven by an elderly Caucasian lady. Two men rode up alongside her and pointed at her tires. She slowed down, but I can clearly see that there was nothing wrong with her car. I didn't know what happen but I hope she didn't stopped. The same advice by my friend still applies. While you don't need to floor your throttle and prepare yourself to run over anything in your path, the same rule of thumb still applies; that you never ever stop your vehicle for suspicious individuals. If there is anything seriously wrong with your vehicle, you wouldn't have able to drive the distance you already drove. If there are problems with your tires, it would be vibrating and making noises well before anyone told you. If your tire pressure is low, your steering will be heavier than usual, but even so it is still safe for you to continue to low speeds to the nearest gas station. But like we said, you should have already noticed all these way earlier. So do not ever slow down. If there's something wrong with your brakes, a warning light would have flashed in your dashboard.
There are also syndicates that apparently throw pebbles or stones at vehicle's windscreens, and in some countries, I have also heard of eggs being thrown at car windscreens in a bit to stop motorists. Do not use your windshield washers because it would only make things worse by smearing things over. So again, do not ever stop, keep moving and drive with your head out the window if necessary.
b) When someone is tailing you
The most basic thing anyone can do is to be alert of your surroundings. We cannot emphasize this often enough. Know the cars around you, especially if you are driving alone late at night. If you suspect anyone is tailing you, drive slowly, and later pick up your speed, you will know that you are being tailed if the pursuer matches your pace. There is a reason why secret service agents and presidential motorcades always drive fast, not because they are in a hurry but a fast moving vehicle is a difficult target and it is far easier to tell if someone is trying to keep up with you if you are driving fast. If you suspect you are being tailed, make an emergency call and quickly drive to the nearest safe location. Of course, we also cannot emphasized enough on judgment of appropriate speed. We have mentioned this before here, and this have to paired with a fairly high level of driving discipline, which we have also touched on before. There is no such thing as driving safe fast. Anyone who believed otherwise is only over estimating himself or is grossly uneducated. It's all about making trade-offs vis-a-vis other factors.
c) Crash-and-rob
Most genuine rear-ender collisions happen on the fast lane. Plus if you have been alert, you ought to know at the gut level, if the crash looked suspiciously staged. While crash-and-rob tends to happen on the slow lanes, at suspiciously low speeds. There are two common modus operandi used, some involve motorcycles some cars. Motorcycles will intentionally brush against the side of your car, or may involve a motorcycle intentionally "bumping" into you while you pull away from a traffic light. These bikers will then flag you down, fake injuries and demand that you compensate them. Once you get out of your car, you will be set upon by accomplices. The general rule of thumb again applies. Do not ever stop, do not get down from your car. Especially if you are in a vulnerable position, keep driving away, floor the throttle if you have to, and make a report at the nearest police station.
Modus operandi involving cars will have someone bumping into your rear, and then signaling you to pull over to inspect the damage. The moment you stop, you will either be set upon by a few guys from the offending car or sometimes another car will suddenly appear and box you in, blocking your escape, even before you get out of your vehicle. Hence again have to emphasize, do not ever stop. If you are in a situation where you are already boxed by another car blocking you. Do not be affraid to ram your way out. Keep reversing and accelerating forward and ram into the cars blocking you. Go slow at first, once you hit the car, floor the throttle to push it away. The side corner ends of your car bumper is the strongest so ram it an angle so you don't damage the critical radiators. You just need a small gap and you will be out of your way. Your car means nothing compared to your life. If you suspect the accident is stage, do not stop but drive to the nearest police station. If you are already at speed and someone cut in front of you, trying to box you in, match the vehicle's speed, again use the side of your car, touch the rear left sides (if you drive in a right hand drive country, else do the oppossite side) at the edge of the bumper, floor the throttle and push it away to send the offending car into a spin. The videos below will show you how to do it.
Some further tips on offensive driving in the following videos.
Pass these along, not only to your wife, your mother, your daughters but also to your sons and fathers. Like we said earlier, everything here applies to everyone.
And of course, if there is enough people who want to rob and kill you, you may want to consider a Mercedes Guard series or BMW Security series.
But after all said and done, everything learned here will come to naught if you can't keep yourself calm. And that is the hardest thing to do. Most of us, bar pilots, military and rescue personnel are not thought to react under such circumstances. Keep cool, ignore the noises and the threats and look for a way out.
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General Motors Co. is moving up production of its next-generation Malibu to early 2012 — about four months ahead of schedule, a GM official said Monday.
The automaker originally was to start production of its popular midsize car in mid-2012. But at the urging of GM CEO Dan Akerson, production has been moved up by about a quarter, GM spokesman Dave Darovitz told The Detroit News.
"Mr. Akerson requested we study the program to see if we can move quicker and faster," Darovitz said.
The Malibu, a crucial high-volume vehicle for GM, is the automaker's first midsize global car and will be sold in more than 100 countries. It will be unveiled Monday at the Shanghai auto show and shown next week at the New York auto show.
Darovitz said GM took advantage of greater manufacturing flexibility at its factories and efficiencies built into its global platform to accelerate the car's production schedule.
The new Malibu will be built at GM's Fairfax, Kan., and Detroit-Hamtramck plants. Source : Detroit News
Oh well, this just means that vehicle will be launched with numerous unresolved defects. Shortened by 4 months! Wow! And to expect that these time were gained by increased in efficiency and flexibility is just bollocks! CEOs and managers never learn. But their decisions and actions are only a reflection, a symptom of the problem of how we reward our leaders. Despite what their corporate propaganda says, companies always put short term interest ahead of long term benefits. The stereotype used to be that American companies are most guitly of this. But we have always disagreed with such stereotypes and the recent problems with Toyota proves this. March this year, Toyota announced its Global Vision and one of the reforms to be implemented is extending development schedules by 4 weeks. Toyota have previously admitted that unrealistic development schedules has caused insufficient testing done on its cars and contributed to its recent quality woes.
The problem with cutbacks on field testing and development schedules is that problems will not be uncovered immediately, but years later. As we can see from Toyota's experience. You could almost chart their meteroic rise in the world's sales charts, under then President Katsuaki Watanabe who embarked on massive expansion into new markets and new segments. Audi too learned its lessons when the first generation Audi TT was rushed into production. The car was later found to be unstable at high speeds, resulting in a several high profile crashes and recall had to initiated to install rear wings and recalibrated ESC to the vehicle. The Mercedes W210 E-class was also another classic example of how quality suffers when cost and resources are cut, all made by the over-ambitious then CEO Jurgen Schrempp. Then there is the famous Ford Pinto's exploding fuel tank issue.
Truth is that you can never maintain quality while cutting down on cost and development / testing time. It's all a balancing act between pleasing shareholders and to meeting minimum standards, and cross your fingers that nothing serious will be uncovered. Increasing efficiency, improved quality, at lower cost, in shorter time; that's just the kind of rubbish management consultants will tell you when trying to sell some management tools. There is very little evidence that cutting down on time and resources while maintaining quality can be sustainable to an organization. Sooner or later, the faults will show and the staff will be hurt. I said staff, because at the end of the day, the lower ranking employees are the ones tasked to solve a problem that they didn't create in the first place.
What most people miss during Akio Toyoda's annoucement of Toyota's new Global Vision was that Vice-Chairman Katsuaki Watanabe have been dropped from the board, along with 16 other board executives. The position of a vice-chairman is largely ceremonial and exists as part of the oddities of Japanese corporate culture to show respect to their past presidents / leaders, and they still enjoy fat perks from the company while the company hires underpaid temporary workers to get the actual job done. Over reliance on cheaper, temporary contract workers was also one of the reason identified as the cause for Toyota's woes. Critics of American management against the big fat paychecks enjoyed by American CEOs often forget / don't realize this similar unfair arrangements also exist in more subtle forms in Japanese organizations. Greed is an original sin of human nature. It does not recognize ethnicity or nationality. Widening gap between haves and have-nots is happening across all nationalities and culture.
Hans Cheong is a former automotive industry executive. In another life, he was a former motor industry consultant. He can be contacted at autoindustrie[at]gmail[dot]com
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