UMW Toyota Motor (UMWT) will be making a major announcement on Monday, September 27, 2021, which it says will be ‘inviting Malaysians on a journey that will give them the opportunity to experience a part of the future, today’. According to the company’s Deputy Chairman, Akio Takeyama, this development will have ‘a big impact on not only the brand but the industry as a whole, and the lifestyle as well as choices that we have become so accustomed to’.
Details of the announcement are not revealed but Mr. Takeyama associates it with Toyota Motor Corporation’s global commitment by 2050. This would refer to the Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 (Challenge 2050) which has 6 challenges that are the most demanding and most inspiring environmental commitments the world’s No.1 carmaker has ever made. The goals of Challenge 2050 apply to all Toyota subsidiaries around the world, including UMWT which is a joint-venture between United Motor Works (UMW), Toyota Motor Corporation and Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
It is therefore likely to be related to the July announcement about UMWT planning to invest RM270 million for assembly of Toyota hybrid models in Malaysia. The investment will be additional to the RM2 billion that was made the construction and commissioning of a second assembly plant in Bukit Raja, Selangor, which began operations in January 2019.
As we gradually return to normalcy – but with a New Normal – activities in the auto industry are picking up again. Showrooms are resuming business and customers can visit them and even take test-drives (subject to the SOPs, of course). MN Wheels Sdn Bhd must be happy with the restrictions being lifted as it has been waiting to open its new 3S (sales, service and spare parts) outlet in Bukit Raja, Klang, Selangor.
Announcing the opening today, Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) says it is the second Mitsubishi Motors showroom for the authorised dealership which has one more in Kuala Selangor. Both showrooms incorporate Mitsubishi Motors’ new corporate brand with the global tagline ‘Drive Your Ambition’. The corporate tagline underlines Mitsubishi Motors’ commitment to the values and aspirations of its drivers.
Latest models like the Outlander 7-seater SUV are available at the new Mitsubishi Motors dealership.
With a built-up area of close to 5,000 square feet, the new 3S Centre incorporates a comfortable customer lounge with wifi and displays of vehicles for visitors to view from any angle. As the ‘3S’ suggests, aftersales services are also available in the same location and there is a fully-equipped workshop with 3 service bays and trained technicians.
“Congratulations to MN Wheels for opening another Mitsubishi Motors showroom in Selangor. We have been in a very challenging business environment and despite that, MN Wheels have managed to complete the build-up of this impressive showroom with our new visual identity. This goes to show MN Wheels’ commitment to further strengthen Mitsubishi’s brand presence in Malaysia,” said Tomoyuki Shinnishi, CEO of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia.
“With Mitsubishi Motors’ sales growing quickly and expected to increase over the coming years, we aim to open a new showroom in every quarter for Financial Year 2021 (ending March 2022),” he added. “This is part of our strategy that as we continue to grow, we put our customers at the forefront and as our utmost priority especially since we progressively work towards delivering the new XPANDER and Triton Athlete. We aim to serve our customers better in terms of sales and aftersales especially in the Klang Valley.”
SOPs for the protection of customers and staff will be followed in all areas of the dealership.
For more information about Mitsubishi vehicles in Malaysia and the locations of authorised dealers, visit www.mitsubishi-motors.com.my.
With electric vehicles (EVs), many of the heavy or bulky components that were needed by a traditional internal combustion engine drivetrain are no longer present. Not only is there weight-saving but less space is also wasted. For designers, there’s a new freedom, just as the switch to front-wheel drive gave interior designers more volume for cabin packaging.
Depending on how bold they are, the designers can now depart from traditional forms that have been used for decades and introduce new styles that may or may not catch on. Perhaps that’s what the designers at SAIC-GM-Wuling Automobile had in mind when they came up with this new compact EV.
Remember the Multipla?
Known as the Kiwi EV (previously designated E300), it joins the 11-year old Baojun brand’s line-up which is made up of low-cost models for the Chinese market. The new interstellar geometry design language of the brand is used for the avant-garde split body styling which may bring to mind the Fiat Multipla. The split body design incorporates a front bumper style which echoes the pattern of radar waves.
Like the Multipla, which was regarded as one of the ugliest cars produced, the Kiwi EV has the sort of appearance that will ‘make or break’. The designers probably made a case that its ‘distinct and personalized appearance’ will appeal to younger consumers who may be tried of the conventional look.
Fiat Multipla
Priced from RM45,000
Customers can choose from 6 exterior colours and each one features its own decorative scheme, taking full advantage of the ‘suspended cab’ concept that gives the vehicle its unique look. Depending on the colour choice, the combinations span up to 3 body tones with contrasting accents on the roof, grille, mirrors, trim and wheels. There are two versions with prices ranging from 69,800 RMB (about RM45,000) to 78,800 RMB (about RM51,000).
Baojun highlights the tech features in the Kiwi EV, and besides its own telematics 2.0 system, it has an artificial intelligence voice interaction system, real-time road navigation, voice-controlled WeChat function and a mobile app for convenient management of functions.
Shorter than a Perodua Axia
The Kiwi EV is 2894 mm long, 1655 mm wide and 1595 mm high, with a 2020 mm wheelbase, which makes it shorter than a Perodua Axia. It comes with a McPherson independent suspension and double wishbone independent suspension design, for a comfortable rid
The powertrain employs synchronous fixed ratio gearbox and the electric motor is mounted behind for rear-wheel-drive. It can generate up to 40 kW of maximum power and 150 Nm of maximum torque which comes on instantaneously. The top speed is claimed to be 100 km/h with a range of just over 300 kms. The battery pack, which can have a capacity of up to 31.9 kWh, supports DC fast charging and an hour is said to be the time needed for charging to full capacity.
Air has been used to fill tyres and give them their form for over 133 years, used for bicycles and then motor cars. The use of air has been a simple and cost-effective (air is free) solution to providing hard wheels with an outer layer that could absorb bumps and other road irregularities. Pneumatic tyres, as such tyres are known, are used for all sorts of vehicle today – from two-wheelers to family cars to Formula 1 racing cars and even aircraft.
However, there has always been one disadvantage of having air inside – a puncture will allow the air to leak and the tyre cannot function properly. Depending on the speed at which the air leaks, the tyre might remain usable even at lower pressures than normal but rapid and sudden loss of air – and therefore pressure – can be dangerous and loss of control might occur.
Over the years, tyremakers have found various solutions to the problem of pressure loss by developing stronger tyres with special structures. This has led to run-flat tyres which can continue to be used even when there is no air in the tyre, allowing the motorist to reach a place where it can be replaced or repaired.
Making air unnecessary
Still, the majority of tyres rely on air inside to support them and so long as they are made of rubber, there always remains the possibility of a nail or sharp object causing a puncture. So researchers have long searched for a tyre that does not have to rely on air. Many ideas have been tried but few have been able to go beyond concept stage.
One idea that has shown promise since being presented to the world in 2019 is Michelin’s Unique Puncture-proof Tire System (UPTIS). The system eliminates the need for air with a revolutionary structure capable of supporting the vehicle, while also delivering a safe, comfortable ride. Without air, flat tyres and pressure loss are no longer an issue.
Genuine technological breakthrough
UPTIS is said to represent a genuine technological breakthrough thanks to its unique structure and materials. Ushering a new generation of airless solutions developed by Michelin, it combines an aluminium wheel and a flexible load-bearing structure made from glassfibre reinforced plastic (GFRP), a high-tech material.
The UPTIS concept is also a fundamental step towards more sustainable mobility. It can generate significant benefits for motorists, fleet owners and the environment. Apart from peace of mind for motorists as being immobilized or inconvenienced by flat tyres will no longer be a worry, UPTIS can enhance efficiency for fleet owners by reducing the risks of vehicle downtime and eliminating tyre-related maintenance needs (pressure checks and inflation).
Punctures can be of all sizes and when they are too large, the tyre cannot be repaired. It is then thrown away. Michelin says that every year, 20% of tyres are discarded as scrap due to flats and rapid pressure loss (12%) or irregular wear and tear caused by poor tyre pressure (8%). Extrapolated on a global scale, this is the equivalent of 200 million tyres, or 2 million tonnes – that’s 200 times the weight of the Eiffel Tower! This airless technology can help drastically reduce the number of tyres that are scrapped.
Prototype tyres with UPTIS are now being run in a joint programme with General Motors using the Chevrolet Bolt EV. Data collected will be used to improve the tyre for commercialisation by 2024.
Real-world testing
The development programme has now reached the stage of producing prototypes in volume for real-world testing as the final test before the tyres are offered to the public. The data collected by engineers during this period of testing will enable them to perfect the prototype in preparation for its market launch in 2024.
For many who have been in a car when it has been involved in a serious accident, the safety features that they may thank for having saved their lives would likely be the seatbelt and perhaps the airbag as well. There’s no doubt that these two safety features have saved tens of thousands of lives and reduced the severity of injuries for many thousand more.
However, just as vital to preventing deaths and reducing injuries has been the structure of the car itself. This is what has first contact with another object – a vehicle, a tree, a lamp post or even a building – and it receives the enormous forces of impacts. These forces are transmitted through the body and each the cabin where they can cause injuries as various parts are smashed into humans.
Thanks to pioneering work by a Daimler Benz engineer in the late 1940s, modern car structures have been engineered in such a way as to diminish the impact forces so they do not cause great harm. The engineer was Béla Barényi and his innovation – called the passenger car safety cell – is a fundamental feature of passive automotive safety to this day. It was patented in Germany by Daimler-Benz and described as ‘a passenger car body with a passenger safety cell’. The Patent No. 845 157, which also identified Barényi as the inventor, had the title ‘Motor vehicle, specifically for personal transport’.
The engineer was fortunate to work at Daimler-Benz which was just as passionate about safety as he was. There were other carmakers at that time who carefully avoided topics about crash safety; particularly in the post-war period, nobody wanted to be reminded about the dangers of driving. The topic was viewed as a sales killer right up to the 1970s.
Barényi’s innovation had completely changed how vehicle construction should be with regard to occupant protection. For decades, engineers had taken the approach that the more rigid the body could be made, the better the protection would be during an accident. So a tank would have been very safe – but rather impractical on public roads.
Barényi’s studies showed that that the forces generated during an impact were transferred to the occupants with hardly any prior absorption. And with no seatbelts to retrain them (airbags would come 30 years later), they would also be thrown about the cabin, if not out of it.
These findings led Barényi to find a way to have absorb the kinetic energy built up during a collision. He came up with an overall vehicle concept which consisted of three cells: the safety cell in the middle where the occupants were seated, and cells at the front and rear which were connected to it. This concept was developed some years earlier when Barényi did his own ‘Terracruiser’ and ‘Concadoro’ studies, and when he joined Daimler-Benz, he was able to realise them.
The text of the patent application explained the purpose of this design as follows: “The forces generated during a collision are […] absorbed by the [front or rear] cell section.” Later on, a catchy expression was coined for these areas of controlled deformation: crumple-zones. The safety cell that encircled the occupants and protected them from the impact forces acting on the vehicle structure also came to be referred to as a ‘safety cage’.
The 1959 Mercedes-Benz W 111 model (referred to as ‘Fintail’) was the first car to have the safety cell concept in its design.
In 1959, the safety body with its rigid passenger cell was used for the first time in a production model – the Mercedes-Benz W 111 series which had the distinctive ‘fintail’. Mercedes-Benz also increased the awareness of developers where automotive safety in general was concerned. The W 111 model also had a new safety steering wheel (also developed by Barényi) with a large impact plate and a deformable connecting piece between the plate and the end of the steering column, which was moved forward.
With new technologies, especially computer-aided engineering, the concept of the safety cell has evolved further. The impact forces are not just absorbed but also dissipated by carefully designed structural members to provide ‘paths’ around the cabin area. Nevertheless, the fundamental objective remains and that is to prevent or minimize the forces that reach the occupants. Béla Barényi received more than 2,500 patents for his inventions, most of which related to automotive innovations and enhancements.
Today’s cars have even better protection all round, not just at the front and back, but Barényi’s fundamental idea of having a strong safety cell around the occupants remains.
Vaccination does not make you immune to COVID-19 infection. You can still get infected and although you may not show symptoms, you may be spreading spread the coronavirus to others. Do not stop taking protective measures such as wearing a facemask, washing hands frequently and social distancing.
Police forces on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean are showing interest in using the all-electric version of the Ford Mustang – known as the Mustang Mach-E – for patrol and other duties. In response to the interest, Ford specially built a concept unit that it is loaning for evaluations. Some seven police departments in the UK have either tested the new e-SUV, or will soon be doing so.
The Metropolitan Police Force has already assessed the standard Mustang Mach-E and has now requested a full evaluation of the marked concept. A full ‘blue light’ livery test car was built following enquiries from UK police forces looking for greener solutions to the vehicles currently available to them.
RWD and AWD available
The initial concept is a demonstrator Mustang Mach-E Standard Range with all-wheel drive (AWD). Subject to testing of this model, Ford is planning to offer Extended Range version of its rear-wheel drive and AWD versions. The extended battery types would give the police even greater range, and therefore versatility and capability, for police operations.
The new Mach-E, with an output equivalent to 480 ps, is claimed to be capable of 0 – 100 km/h in 3.7 seconds (GT version) and can reach a top speed of almost 180 km/h. Its instant and super-quick acceleration – and quietness – will be useful in a pursuit situation while it is also economical and environmentally-friendly in operation.
The all-electric Mustang Mach-E which has been on sale since the end of 2020.
Lowest energy consumption
The Mustang Mach-E is already a Guinness World Record holder after having achieved the lowest energy consumption on a journey in an electric car. It’s capable of travelling up to 610 kms between charges.
The issue of where the power to operate the concept car’s blue lights, sirens and other high-tech equipment would come from, has been addressed by Ford technicians. “The vehicle range is uncompromised as the blue light equipment is being drawn from the vehicle’s 12V battery and not the drive battery,” said Terry Adams, Blue Light Direct Sales Manager, Ford of Britain and Ireland. “In future developments, we will look to increase this battery capacity to allow for additional equipment to be fitted.”
Some of the items in the equipment fitted to the concept car are bespoke mounting pods and brackets to ensure suitable locations are found for operational use, with minimal damage to the vehicle. All lighting is LED with very low power consumption to reduce current draw from the vehicle’s 12V power system. The 999 livery is a first-off design which utilises high specification material to maximise day and night visibility requirements.
Tested by American police too
Over in the USA, Ford has been helping to pave the way for electric police fleets with all-electric, purpose-built law enforcement vehicles. To demonstrate that a vehicle with an electric powertrain can deliver strong performance and stand up to demanding police duty cycles, the company is submitting an all-electric police pilot vehicle (pictured above and below), based on the latest Mustang Mach-E for testing by police in the company’s home state of Michigan.
