Jeremy Clarkson has defeated Hollywood legend Steve McQueen to be crowned screen’s greatest automotive icon. This is the finding of a study by Hyundai Motor which surveyed 2,000 people in Britain recently.
While McQueen is known as ‘The King of Cool’, thanks to his effortless style and tough guy persona, Clarkson has been ridiculed over the years for his dedication to stone-wash denim. But it’s the ex-Top Gear presenter who topped the list.
Clarkson has been involved in some of the most impressive (and outrageous) TV moments over the past 25 years, whether it was driving to the North Pole or riding motorcycles from Ho Chi Minh to Ha Long Bay in Vietnam.
McQueen, meanwhile, starred in films such as Bullitt, The Great Escape, Le Mans and On Any Sunday. And in his films, the memorable action scenes were actually done with real cars and motorcycles, not by using CGI.
Fast and the Furious leading man, Vin Diesel, beat 007’s Sean Connery, with the tough guys making up the top five.
GREATEST AUTOMOTIVE ICONS
1. Jeremy Clarkson
2. Steve McQueen
3. Richard Hammond
4. Vin Diesel
5. Sir Sean Connery
6. James May
7. Paul Walker
8. Daniel Craig
9. Sir Roger Moore
10. Jason Statham
“The best cars and films are always the subject of fierce and fun debate and thanks to the internet and streaming services, there is no shortage of shows and websites to keep us occupied,” said a spokesman for Hyundai.
The very best car film, according to the 2,000 people surveyed in Britain, was The Italian Job, followed by Steve McQueen-starring Bullitt and the Fast and the Furious series. In addition to being named the greatest car movie, The Italian Job also features the most popular car chase to ever appear on the big screen.
James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 was named greatest movie car ahead of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the De Lorean from Back to the Future.
Following our earlier report about Proton producing face shields for frontliners, the carmaker has started shipping out the first batch of 8,000 units to Kelantan and other East Coast states.
The face shields are an initiative by the company which designed and tested prototypes as well as obtained feedback from end-users to ensure the final product met their needs. While that process was underway, a project team planned for a production line that was both safe and efficient to meet with health protocols.
50 people, picked from a pool of volunteers, work on an assembly line in the factory at Shah Alam, Selangor, which had been quiet since March 18 when the Movement Control Order (MCO) started virtually all factories and businesses had to cease operations.
Up to 3,000 face shields can be produced in a single day, and Proton is expected to take approximately 20 days to produce the 60,000 units it has committed to deliver. Face shields are part of the Personal Protective Equipment frontliners need to protect them when attending to COVID-19 patients. They have to be constantly replaced and the Health Ministry said that at this time, the stocks available can last for 25 days.
Contributions from other companies
While Proton is responsible for the assembly and distribution of its face shields, the company has received contributions from its vendor community who are eager to get involved. One such contributor is Pos Logistics Sdn Bhd, one of the biggest logistics service providers in Malaysia, which supplied over 2,000 large carton boxes to pack the face shields. and make it easier to transport them.
Automotive component supplier, HICOM-Teck See Manufacturing Malaysia Sdn Bhd, contributed 1,500 kgs of polypropylene, one of the main components in the car bumpers which it makes, that will be used to produce the frame of the face shields.
The original design for the face shield was contributed by Universiti Teknologi MARA (UITM). The designers at Proton Design then developed the frame based on feedback from users and also added the slogan ‘STAY STRONG! We will get through this!’.
“Proton is humbled by the response received both internally and outside of the company to our face shield project. The number of staff volunteering their services was overwhelming, despite inherent risks involved in leaving home and coming to work. Therefore, we have taken steps to ensure everybody is kept safe by providing Personal Protection Equipment and maintaining a minimum distance between each workstation to maintain social distancing,” said Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed, Deputy CEO of Proton.
War on COVID-19: Proton to produce 60,000 face shields for frontliners
With activities in the auto industry having come to a standstill and people in many countries having to remain at home, it’s a good time for car enthusiasts to find out more about the history of their favourite companies. For Honda fans, there is ‘Honda Origins’, which retraces the life of company founder Soichiro Honda through an animated series combining Japanese-style manga cartoon drawings, audio and historic photographs.
The audio-visual journey from the beginnings of Honda through to its achievements and legacy is presented over 6 episodes each lasting between 10 and 20 minutes.
The series uses the original manga comic ‘Honda Soichiro Hon Den’, published by Shogakukan Inc., to interweave the founder’s life and unique philosophy on life and business with the evolution of the company from its origins to the successful multinational that it is today.
Click here to go to the Honda Origins video series
A story to pass on
The first episode of the series, ‘Bouncing Back’, tells how Soichiro Honda began after the Second World War to found the Honda Technical Research Institute in 1946 in the city of Hamamatsu. His journey towards motorisation started with a generator engine attached to a bicycle. This venture, together with Takeo Fujisawa, his partner, became the Honda Motor Company two years later in 1948.
The other chapters (A Dream is Born; Crisis on the Way to the Isle of Man Declaration; American Advance; Veni, Vidi, Vici: We Hate to Lose) describe key moments of his life and values, and the history of the company, making special reference to Honda’s commitment to motorcycles, cars and racing.
The last chapter in the series (Epilogue) recounts the company’s beginnings as a multinational through its expansion in the USA, and ends shortly afterwards with the joint retirement of the company’s two founders on the same day.
What is ‘success’?
One of the most important values highlighted in the series is perseverance and learning from failure; this is embodied by a quotation from Soichiro Honda that defines the spirit of the company: “’Success’ represents the 1% of your work which results from the 99% that is called ‘failure’”.
With its latest ‘Renault Relax’ campaign, TC Euro Cars (TCEC) is offering its customers savings to on two important wear and tear parts: tyres and batteries. The tyre deal which offers a 25% discount is valid for Captur and Fluence owners, while the battery deal offers a 10% discount.
Owners who make a ‘lock-in’ fee of RM100 from April 15 to May 15, 2020 will be able to secure the promotional price of RM345 per tyre. Redemption for the deal can be made anytime from May 15 to August 31, 2020. The lock-in fee will be deducted from the total invoice at the point of redemption. The promotion applies only to ContiEco Contact 5 205/55R17 tyres. Limited stocks are available on a first come, first served basis.
Additionally, during the campaign period from May 15 to 31 August 2020, all Renault customers will receive free tyre balancing for two tyres and above.
As for the battery deal, the offer is until June 30, 2020 and is only for Atlas BX batteries. The savings would be welcome if your vehicle’s battery cannot be revived after the period of under-utilisation during the long Movement Control Order (MCO).
Book using the Renault E-Store
But the MCO is in effect, so owners can’t go to the showroom or service centre. Not a problem as there is the Renault E-Store at www.renault.com.my which can accept booking and payment online.
During the MCO, the Rencare team will also continue to support customers who need emergency assistance. The team is contactable at 1800-88-8663 (24 hours, 7 days).
Deferred servicing/warranty extension
Renault owners who have had to defer their vehicle servicing due to the MCO need not worry about non-compliance which can affect their warranty. TCEC is providing additional time for servicing until May 28 2020 for all vehicles that were due for periodic servicing between March 18 and April 28, 2020. All service appointments will have a 30-day extension to catch-up on their service intervals.
There is also a 30-day extension until May 28, 2020 for all warranties that expire during the MCO period.
Customers can use the Concierge Service to request for door-to-door delivery within Klang Valley (within a radius of 30 kms from the service centre). This delivery service, previously available only to new and subscription customers, is now being offered free of charge for pick-up and return of serviced vehicles, during and after the MCO period.
Customers can now also schedule their service appointments online by registering for a Renault E-Store account and then use the Concierge Service feature or call 1800-18-8663 (8 am – 8 pm daily).
TC Euro Cars offers full online purchasing process for Renault vehicles
With many countries having lockdowns or restricted movements, traffic levels have dropped as people travel less. Waze data shows that across the world, Waze users are driving 60% fewer kilometres compared to the February daily average for a 2-week period (February 11 – 25 2020).
In Malaysia, which has had a country-wide Movement Control Order (MCO) since March 18, Waze users are driving significantly less (80% fewer kilometres), compared to the same February daily average.
Despite the overall decrease in the number of people on the road, there are still essential journeys that need to be made every day, such as purchasing necessities, seeking medical care, or to perform official duties for those under essential services.
Understanding that there are places, eg Malaysia, where the authorities are using various measures such as roadblocks to ensure compliance with the regulations, Waze Map Editors and the Waze Crisis Response team are currently working with 58 countries (and counting) to add region-specific relief efforts including road closures, red zones, and more, to the map.
This crisis response will help those who have the travel for legitimate purposes to get to their destinations promptly and home again safely.
Waze has also launched a COVID-19 Landing Page asking governments around the world to contribute data on medical testing centre and emergency food distribution centre locations to help improve its maps for users. Once the data is received, Waze will validate and add the details to the map, and then inform drivers accordingly.
Another initiative that Waze has quickly rolled out is support for drive-throughs and curbside pick-up to help provide users with minimal contact access. This will help compliance with social distancing guidelines. With new Location Personalities badges and search features, businesses which need to update their information can do so in a few simple steps or contact Waze’s support team for help.
For more information about Waze and its community as well as partners’ COVID-19 relief efforts, click here.
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