Good news for those looking to get a new car for this upcoming CNY, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM), the official distributor of Mitsubishi vehicles in here, is offering a “prosperity bonus” for this Chinese New Year (CNY) 2019….
“Kick-off the prosperous year with absolute peace-of-mind driving. The award winning Mitsubishi Outlander comes with 2 years free maintenance and 5-years unlimited KM warranty. Customers who book and register a new Mitsubishi Outlander 2.0-litre and 2.4-litre will enjoy prosperity bonus up to RM8,000! The Outlander 2.0-litre is priced at RM137, 888 and the Outlander 2.4-litre is priced at RM152, 888.” – MMM.
Customers who book and register a Mitsubishi Triton 18MY will enjoy prosperity bonus up to RM12,000! Promotions for all Triton 18MY variants are as follows:
No
Model Variant
OTR Price without insurance SST inclusive (RM) in Peninsular Malaysia
Prosperity Bonus (RM)
Warranty
1
Triton VGT Adventure X
129,270.00
12,000
All Triton variants except Triton Quest: Five years warranty or 200,000km
Triton Quest: Five years warranty or 100,000km
2
Triton VGT AT Premium
118,560.00
12,000
3
Triton VGT AT GL
105,990.00
12,000
4
Triton VGT MT
109,600.00
11,000
5
Triton MT
95,610.00
8,000
6
Triton Quest
78,890.00
5,000
Remark: Promotions are not applicable for New Triton 19MY (below).
The New Mitsubishi Triton 19MY (above) is now open for booking and be one of the first 1000 customers to receive an exclusive Thule Subterra luggage worth RM2000! Book online: http://mitsubishi-motors.com.my/new-triton-booking/ and stand a chance to win GoPro HERO7 Black from now until 20 January 2019!
Last but not least, the Mitsubishi ASX Compact SUV 4WD or 2WD is also up for grabs with prosperity bonus up to RM8,000! The ASX 4WD is priced at RM133,336.00 while the ASX 2WD is priced at RM118,866.00. Not forgetting our loyal patrons, Mitsubishi customers who service their vehicle from 15 January to 15 February 2019 will stand a chance to win an iPhone XS! T&C apply.
· Prices are quoted on-the-road without insurance (10% SST inclusive) for individual private owners only in Peninsular Malaysia and not applicable in duty free zones.
· CNY Prosperity Bonus is valid until 28 February 2019 only, while stocks last.
As covered by Piston.myearlier, fans and representatives of Scuderia Ferrari Clubs from all over Europe were flocking to the Ferrari Museum recently for the opening of the ‘Michael 50’ exhibition on the occasion of the champion’s 50th birthday. Maranello has put together a special exhibition telling the story of Michael Schumacher’s extraordinary record-breaking F1 career: the German champion won an as yet unequalled seven world titles, 91 victories, and 155 podiums.
The Hall of Victories displays some of the most important Ferrari single-seaters driven in his eleven years with the Scuderia. They range from the F310 of 1996, with which Schumacher won three GPs in his first season with the Prancing Horse, to the F399, the car that won the Constructors’ title in 1999 to set Formula 1’s oldest team off on an exceptional run of victories.
There is also the F1-2000 of the legendary ‘Alba Rossa’ (‘Red Dawn’), when at Suzuka Michael secured Ferrari its first the world title since Jody Scheckter 21 years before. Then of course there are the record-breaking F2002 and F2004, and the 248 F1 of 2006, in which he triumphed at the Chinese GP for his 72nd and final victory with Ferrari.
Fans will also be introduced to a lesser-known side of Schumacher, that of developer. Indeed, after leaving Formula 1, the German driver remained at Ferrari not only to help the Scuderia but also to contribute to the development of various road cars, such as the 430 Scuderia in 2007 and the Ferrari California in 2008.
The exhibition will run alongside ‘Driven by Enzo’ and ‘Passion and Legend’, which are already open at the Maranello Museum. ‘Michael 50’ has been organised in partnership with the Keep Fighting Foundation.
Three years after the premiere of the first Cayman GT4 Clubsport, Porsche now unveils its successor: The new 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport represents a consequent further development of the successful model from Weissach. For the first time, the near-standard mid-engine racer comes in two versions ex-works: the “Trackday” model for ambitious amateur racing drivers and the “Competition” variant for national and international motor racing.
In developing the new 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, the focus was put not only on further improved driveability and faster lap times but also on the sustainable use of raw materials. The 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport is the first ever production race car to feature body parts made of natural-fibre composite material. The driver and co-driver doors and the rear wing are made of an organic fibre mix, which are sourced primarily from agricultural by-products such as flax or hemp fibres and feature similar properties to carbon fibre in terms of weight and stiffness.
Powering the 718 GT4 Clubsport is a 3.8-litre flat-six engine producing 313 kW (425 hp). Compared to its predecessor, this represents a 40-hp increase in performance. The power is transferred to the rear wheels via a Porsche dual-clutch gearbox with six gears and mechanical rear axle differential lock. The lightweight spring-strut front suspension is taken from its big 911 GT3 Cup brother. The impressive racing brake system features steel brake discs all round measuring 380 millimetres in diameter. Tipping the scales at 1,320 kilograms, the 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport, delivered ex-works with a welded-in safety cage, a racing bucket seat as well as a six-point harness, is a real lightweight.
The basis “Trackday” version is aimed at amateur drivers who want to take part in private track and clubsport events without major effort and outlay. The vehicle features a fixed shock absorber setup. The ABS, ESC and traction control assistance systems ensure forgiving handling at the limit and can be deactivated. Also delivered ex-works is the air-conditioning system, a rescue hatch in the roof, a handheld fire-extinguisher and an 80-litre FT3 safety fuel cell. The non-road-homologated vehicle can be serviced at all Porsche Centres.
The “Competition” model features a raft of details relevant for racing. The shock absorbers can be adjusted in three stages. The safety fuel tank with a capacity of 115 litres is suitable for long-distance events. Thanks to a brake balance system, the balance bias can be infinitely adjusted between the front and rear axle. An integrated air jack system guarantees fast pit stops. The quick-release racing steering wheel adopted from the 911 GT3 R ensures a range of adjustment options for the individual needs of the drivers. An automatic fire extinguishing system adds another safety feature for the racetrack.
“The new Porsche 718 Cayman GT4 Clubsport possesses significantly more racing genes than its successful predecessor,” says Porsche’s head of motorsport Fritz Enzinger. “The power of the engine has increased considerably. At the same time, we were able to increase the downforce and the cockpit is now even better suited to drivers’ needs. I’m confident that we can build on the excellent sales figures of the predecessor, of which we have delivered 421 cars.”
Concept
• Single-seater, near-standard production-based race car, not road homologated
Engine
• Aluminium six-cylinder mid-positioned boxer engine with rigid mounting
• 3,800 cc; stroke 77.5 mm, bore 102 mm
• Max. power: 313 kW (425 hp) at 7,500 rpm
• Max. rpm: 7,800 rpm
• Max. torque: 425 Nm at 6,600 rpm
• Compression ratio: 12.5:1
• Racing optimised water cooling with thermal management for engine and gearbox
• Four-valve technology with adjustable camshaft phasing and variable valve timing VarioCam Plus
• Fuel quality: Super Plus unleaded, minimum 98 octane
• Racing optimised electronic engine management (Continental SDI 9)
• Integrated dry sump lubrication
• 100-cell metal catalytic converter complying with DMSB specifications
Transmission
• Rear wheel drive
• 6-speed PDK gearbox with rigid suspension and electronic control unit optimised for racing
• Reinforced dual mass flywheel
• Internal pressure oil lubrication with active oil cooling
• Differential lock optimised for racing
I’m getting ready for a massive hit soon. Well, not to me physically per se, but more toward my bank account, and it’s all because of our ridiculously archaic road-taxation system for private registered vehicles. But first, let’s take trip down memory-lane shall we?
A long, long time ago, in a galaxy… well, right here actually, cars, and more to the point, large capacity cars with big engines, were seen as ‘luxury goods’. Ownership of these ‘big-engine-big-body’ cars were seen as items that only the wealthy could afford. I’ll give you an example, in 1982 a Mercedes-Benz 280SE (above) cost a whopping $90,000. I’ve used the ‘dollar’ symbol because back then the designation ‘RM’ for our currency didn’t even exist yet. To put that price into perspective, my old family house in Kelana Jaya (then known as Ladang Seaport) at the time cost $47,000. Yes, you could technically buy two houses for the price of one luxury Merc.
Photo from Wikipedia
As such, the powers that be levied a hefty road tax on any privately registered car above a certain cubic-capacity (cc), like the gargantuan Mercedes W140 S320 above, its owners had to shell out more than RM3,000 for road tax every year. Road tax is somewhat liveable up to 2,000cc, and it gets a bit more painful up to 2,499cc. It’s anywhere above that mark when things go from painful to downright suicidal, especially in this day and age. Above 2,499cc, the cost of annual road tax for privately registered cars goes up exponentially, and is calculated per cc.
Image from Lelong.my
So now you know why typically in the past (and even till today), luxury carmakers, or rather any carmaker in the D-segment would always try to keep their cars’ cubic-capacity below 2,500cc, for example the Toyota Camry 2.4 (above). For that engine displacement, the road tax is a somewhat liveable RM879 per annum. However, increase that cubic-capacity to just 400cc more, and the road tax is a whopping RM1,630 a year.
Image from Top Gear Philippines
Does anyone remember the Honda Accord 3.5 V6 (above) that was sold here for a brief spell a decade or so ago? I do. I loved it. It was the ultimate sleeper. It also came with a yearly road tax of RM4,380! I’ve purchased whole, complete, running cars for less than that. No wonder it’s all but disappeared over here. Shame really. And that leads me nicely into the crux of this triade…
Automotive technology has progressed by leaps and bounds in the last few decades, and collectively carmakers the world over have unceremoniously dispensed with the old adage of “No replacement for displacement” in lieu of smaller engines with forced-induction in the form of turbochargers and superchargers. It was now possible to achieve better power and better fuel-efficiency without the need for big cc engines. Case in point, the new Mercedes-Benz C200 (<–link) C-Class (above & below).
It’s capable of producing 184bhp and 280Nm of torque from a 1,500cc, 4-cylinder turbocharged engine. Let that sink in a while. Here’s the clincher: it’s a luxury car with the cubic-capacity of a Toyota Vios that’s going to cost owners a paltry RM90 a year in road tax. Let that sink in even further.
While on this subject, how about a supercar that pays the same? None? Have you forgotten the BMW i8 below? With its hybrid-powertrain, technically the i8 only has a 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder ‘engine’, and thus… it has the same yearly road tax as the aforementioned Vios. How ridiculous is that?
Image from Wired
Now price wise, the Mercedes C200 costs RM249,888 and the BMW i8 retails for more than ONE MILLION Ringgit. So let’s rewind a bit now, back to 1983 actually, when the Mercedes-Benz W126 280SE (below) was brand spanking new, a car that I personally own today. It cost circa 90k Malaysian dollars in 1982, big money in the 80’s, and perhaps it was justified back then to call it a big-ticket luxury item. However, that was 36-years ago.
Fast-forward to 2019, and in a few weeks I’ll be shelling out a whopping RM1,630 for a year’s worth of road tax for the W126 above, which is enough to keep both the BMW i8 and Merc C200 on the road for the next eighteen years. So yeah, owners of newer luxury cars – with smaller force-fed engines – that cost many, many times more than my W126, will be laughing. Hysterically. To say that our Malaysian road tax system is overdue for a revamp is a major understatement.
Now don’t get me wrong, I personally think that smaller force-fed engines in luxury cars is a brilliant move. They’re less polluting and more efficient, but long-gone are the days when a luxury car was defined by the cubic-capacity of its engine, that much is very evident with the current crop of luxury cars for the masses, like the BMW 1-Series above. It only needs a 3-cylinder 1,499cc engine to produce a healthy 136bhp and 220Nm of torque. Not too long ago you’d need an engine in excess of 2-litres and 4-cylinders to do the same. And again, this BMW only costs RM90 a year to keep road-legal.
What can we do for older cars still on the road?
One idea I came up with some time ago when the ill-conceived blanket end-of-life “scrapping-policy” idea for cars over a certain age was mooted, was a yearly inspection for all cars over 20-years of age, to ensure that they were all still roadworthy. And to compensate owners for this mandatory yearly inspection, a reduction in annual road tax could be implemented, i.e. a 50% immediate reduction in annual road tax for all privately owned cars 20-years and older that pass this yearly inspection, 75% reduction for cars 25-years and older. Not only will this eradicate cars that are too badly maintained from entering public roads, but it will also inspire owners to take care of their cars better, ensuring they are roadworthy. How’s that for a start? – Chris Wee.
UPDATE: My good friend Bobby Ang of EVOLTNsaw this article today and made a very good suggestion! Base road tax on the cars’ value as mandated by INSURANCE paid yearly on any privately owned vehicle. “You need to buy insurance, it is mandated, and you have your insured value against your loan amount, or how much you think it’s worth, and this value goes down yearly. Thus following insurance price (a.k.a. insured value) is the best method for road tax .” – Bobby Ang, EVOLTN.
This is actually quite brilliant for newer cars, and might I add: As an incentive, discounts on yearly road tax for new cars can be given based on NCD / NCB as well. No claims, slightly lower road tax. This will ensure motorists drive safer too. Since nobody likes losing their NCD, now with no claims they can benefit from lower road tax as well. Nice one Bobby! – Chris Wee.
Looking for a smaller and more refined G-Wagen of sorts? Well, say hello to the upcoming all-new Mercedes-Benz GLB, which was spied testing by AutoExpress recently. It’s part of a massive new-model offensive by Mercedes-Benz, which will see no less than fifteen new models emerge before the end of 2021.
“Mercedes is in line for a bumper 2019 and will reveal a host of new models this year, plus its first all-electric cars under the new EQ nameplate. Continuing the most rapid product offensive in the company’s history, a total of 15 all-new, new-generation or facelifted Mercedes products will emerge before the end of 2021. They will range from commercial vehicles and new SUVs to electric models and a flagship hybrid-powered hypercar.” – Auto Express.
Slated to fit somewhere in the grand scheme of Mercedes-Benz’s expanding range of SUVs and Crossovers, the GLB will complement the upcoming GLS (below), which is expected to debut at this year’s New York Autoshow. For the FULL article from Auto Express, click this link.
Perodua Aruz, the national carmaker’s much-awaited three-row seven-seater Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), is now open for booking with estimated prices of between RM72,200 and RM77,200 (on-the-road before insurance in Peninsular Malaysia).
“The Perodua Aruz is our fourth transformation model, setting new standards for us in quality, space, fuel efficiency and safety – the latter bolstered by a 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating. With these qualities and more, the Perodua Aruz is among the best-value SUVs in Malaysia,”Perodua President and Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Zainal Abidin Ahmad said, adding that the vehicle comes with a five-year/150,000 km warranty (whichever comes first).
“The Perodua Aruz is expected to complement our existing product line-up and based on our value proposition, we expect sales of this new model to average 2,500 units monthly or 31,200 units by end-2019,” Dato’ Zainal added. Two variants of the Perodua Aruz are offered, namely the 1.5 X and 1.5 Advance, with five colours available – Ivory White, Glittering Silver, Electric Blue, Granite Grey and a new Amazon Green.
Contributing to the Perodua Aruz’s 5-star ASEAN NCAP safety rating are Vehicle Stability Control (VSC), Hill Start Assist (HSA), ISOFIX and 6 airbags, which are all standard across the range. Furthermore, the Advance variant debuts an upgraded version of the Advanced Safety Assist (ASA) active safety suite, called ASA 2.0 (above).
ASA 2.0 adds pedestrian detection (up to 50 km/h) to the safety suite and increases the operational speeds of Pre-Collision Warning to 100 km/h and Pre-Collision Braking to 80 km/h. The safety suite continues to incorporate Front Departure Alert and Pedal Misoperation Control. ASA is a driver assistance system that helps to reduce the risk of collisions and is by no means a substitute for safe driving. Always be alert and cautious behind the wheel.
“The Perodua Aruz is perfect for families and those with active, aspirational lifestyles. The elevated driving position affords great visibility all round, while the abundance of space and flexible seating layouts make the vehicle extremely versatile and adaptable to any activity you wish to undertake,” Dato’ Zainal said. The Perodua Aruz’s efficient powertrain, built in Sendayan, Negeri Sembilan, consists of an aluminium-block 1.5 litre four-cylinder engine with Dual VVT-i and an electronically-controlled automatic transmission (E-AT).
These join forces with Eco Idle to give a best-in-class rated fuel efficiency of 15.6 km/l, allowing it to be government-certified as an Energy-Efficient Vehicle (EEV). Featuring bold LED headlamps with follow-me-home function (auto lights on Advance variant), the Perodua Aruz sits on 17-inch two-tone alloys, with a ground clearance of 220 mm. Smart Entry with Push Start/Stop Button is also standard, while the Advance variant adds fog lamps and roof rails for extra style points.
The interior is at once functional, stylish and practical, with the Perodua-developed anti-snatch hook to deter handbag thieves and fold-away utility hooks on the backs of the front seats. All variants get a touch-screen radio with reverse camera display, digital air-con with two memory settings, air vents for the rear passengers and a built-in toll card reader. The second row is split 60:40 while the third row is split 50:50. Both rows can slide, fold and tumble, yielding a multitude of seating and loading configurations to suit every occasion and lifestyle. There are charging ports in all three rows.
Interior equipment exclusive to the Advance variant are leather seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with call-receive controls, plus an integrated driving video recorder. The top variant also gets HDMI, Smart Link, Bluetooth and Navigation added to its touch-screen system. “For more information on the Perodua Aruz, we welcome the public to speak with our authorised sales advisors at any of our sales outlets nationwide. The Perodua Aruz will appear in showrooms very soon, but don’t wait – book now to elevate your life in an instant and start 2019 riding high!” Dato’ Zainal said.
