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War on COVID-19: Proton to produce 60,000 face shields for frontliners

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is vital for our frontliners who are working in hospitals with patients infected by the COVID-19 coronavirus (4,228 nationwide as of yesterday). In PPE, facial protection is one of the crucial items and while surgical face masks offer protection, the eyes also need protection.

If a patient coughs, there is a possibility of the virus being blown across and nurses or doctors treating the patient can be infected. This is one of the reasons why social distancing (standing at least 1 metre apart) is very important but the healthcare personnel have no choice when treating patients. This is why you see them fully wrapped in PPE which they keep on for hours each day.

To protect their faces, face shields are also used. It’s a simple item, something like a motorcycle visor, but the stocks available did not take into account a surge in demand as the pandemic spread so rapidly. Various carmakers around the world have utilised their R&D and engineering facilities to design and produce face shields and Proton is doing likewise here in Malaysia.

Production is set to begin on April 13 at the carmaker’s headquarters in Shah Alam, Selangor, with a target of 60,000 face shields within approximately 20 days. The face shields will be delivered in batches and Proton will work closely with the Ministry of Health to distribute them according to the level of need in each district.

Assembly will be undertaken by staff members who volunteered their services. Proton has obtained permission for a small number of staff to be at the production site.

“To keep within the rules of the Movement Control Order, Proton has limited the number of staff involved in the production process. The safety of everyone is of the utmost importance and therefore social distancing and sanitising practices will be strictly enforced on the production line,” said Dato’ Radzaif Mohamed, Deputy CEO of Proton.

“As a national automotive brand, Proton is driven by its responsibility to develop the local car industry and to support Malaysia and its people in their time of need. We have the know-how to produce cars so we are using that knowledge to produce PPE to support the brave men and women at the frontline of the battle against the spread of COVID-19,” he explained.

Proton provides 50 units of X70 to Ministry of Health for frontliners in the war against COVID-19

Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational rallycross series is on this Saturday

With real-world motor racing on hold, simulator racing is beginning to see increased involvement from carmakers. The latest is Subaru of America which has a sponsorship with iRacing, the leader in PC simulator racing, to field the Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational rallycross series.

A world-class field of drivers from a variety of racing disciplines – rally, rallycross, Indycar, NASCAR, motocross, Formula Drift and more – will compete alongside esports pros in a 6-round championship series held entirely online and starting from this Friday (Saturday in Malaysia). The drivers will compete for a US$10,000 (around RM43,350) purse to be donated to charity on their behalf.

Subaru Motorsports USA will field a 3-car line-up featuring the team’s full-time stage rally drivers: 5-time national rally champion and action sports icon, Travis Pastrana, and mountain bike legend and rising rally talent Brandon Semenuk.

They will be joined by 4-time U.S. rallycross champion Scott Speed, making his competitive rallycross return after a 2019 season cut short by injury, and fresh off a podium finish in last weekend’s iRacing Indycar Challenge round. Subaru rallycross star Chris Atkinson will also participate in a Team Yokohama WRX STI, and several other all-star drivers will compete in the WRX STI rallycross Supercar as independent entries.

“With so many people staying at home and missing racing, now is the perfect time to try new things in esports,” said Pastrana. “For this series, we’re going to bring together some of the biggest names from different types of racing and put them on virtual rallycross tracks with dirt, tarmac and jumps. It’s going to be a blast, and I can’t wait to see what happens!”

Subaru iRX All-Star Invitational events will be begin at 6 pm Eastern Time in America each Friday (6 am Saturday in Malaysia), and will be streamed across iRacing’s social media platforms. Fans can also watch via live streaming simulcasts on the Subaru Motorsports USA Facebook page and the pages of other competitors, teams and sponsors. Additional events may be considered as schedules permit.

The expanding universe of eSports

War on COVID-19: GoCar and Shell Malaysia team up to make frontliners’ commute easier

UPDATE: The offer has been extended to April 28, 2020 which is the extended expiry date of the MCO.

The nurses, doctors and other healthcare personnel are the frontliners in the War Against COVID-19. They are working long hours and placing themselves at risk of being infected but they do so for the sake of the rest of us.

To help ease their daily challenges, GoCar Malaysia and Shell Malaysia are joining forces to make travel easier for healthcare frontliners. From now until April 14, 2020, GoCar is offering 200 Nissan Almera located at 127 Shell stations across Peninsular Malaysia for free to such personnel, with Shell providing RM30 vouchers to fuel their journeys.

Safer journey for frontliners
This initiative aims to make their commute from their place of stay to hospitals and other facilities easier and safer. Registrations can be done via GoCar’s website upon verification of healthcare personnel status online. Once successful, registrants will receive a GoCar promo code worth RM483 that can be used to book a Nissan Almera followed by a Shell Fuel e- voucher worth RM30, delivered via email, on a first come-first served basis.

Commenting on this collaboration, Alan Cheah, CEO of GoCar Malaysia, said: “At GoCar, we strive to act fast to give back to the community in any way possible, now more than ever. We are excited to work on this with one of our biggest partners, Shell Malaysia who shares and supports the same value too. As our frontliners continue working tirelessly for us, we are doing our part to keep them safe by helping them travel in isolation in GoCars with Shell supporting the necessary petrol needed.”

Since the outbreak began, GoCar has seen the need to ramp up frequency for cars to be cleaned and disinfected. “It is our main priority to ensure our cars are continuously cleaned for all GoCar members to use, especially in a time like this. This also means we have to monitor our own frontliners’ well-being closely and make sure they are safe on the job,” Mr. Cheah said.

“Aside from taking body temperature and monitoring their health daily, all on-ground staff are given a comprehensive cleaning kit consisting of face masks, hand gloves, hand sanitisers, disinfectant sprays, and anti-bacterial fabric sprays to be used while on duty. They have also been placing and replenishing anti-bacterial wet tissues in each car for the convenience of all GoCar members to use whenever needed,” he added.

“Shell Malaysia is pleased to join forces with GoCar to offer a more convenient and safe way for our healthcare frontliners to travel. With our wide network of Shell stations across the country, we are able to make these GoCars easily available to our frontliners at 127 stations nationwide and, at the same time, fuel their journeys to where they must go. We are all striving to do what we can to heed the nation’s call to flatten the COVID-19 curve, and Shell is undertaking this initiative to ensure our nation’s health frontliners are able to go well in their journeys to the battleground of this pandemic,” said Shairan Huzani Husain, MD of Shell Malaysia Trading Sdn Bhd and Shell Timur Sdn Bhd.

He added that while Shell continues to show support towards the healthcare frontliners, the well-being of its site staff and customers remain a priority. “Thanks to our own frontliners, Shell is able to give customers a peace of mind when they are at our stations,” he said, explaining that the company has been implementing several safety measures and prevention guidelines.

War Against COVID-19: Shell contributes to frontliners, the nation’s heroes

Kia Telluride is 2020 World Car of the Year

It’s been a long journey for the 15^th World Car of the Year Awards, with the Finals having been announced in India (at the Delhi Auto Show) in February when the Top 10 and Top Five finalists in 5 World Car Awards categories were announced.

With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the announcement of the winners for the 2020 event took place online via digital media – perhaps a sign of how automotive events will be in future. For the 2020 World Car of the Year, Kia’s Telluride SUV was picked by the judging panel made up of jurors from around the world.

The Kia model, named after a city in the American state of Colorado is the largest model the carmaker has ever sold in that market. It is also manufactured there and according to data available, over 58,000 units were sold in 2019.

*Kia Telluride & Kia Soul EV are the first Korean models to win awards in the World Car of the Year event.*

The winner was chosen from an initial entry list of 29 models from all over the world. They were selected and voted on by 86 prominent automotive journalists from 24 countries who formed the judging panel. Each juror was appointed by the World Car Steering Committee on the basis of his or her expertise, experience, credibility, and influence. The international accounting firm KPMG tabulated the jurors’ ballots.

Besides the Telluride, the winners in the other categories were:

World Car Design of the Year – Mazda3

World Performance Car – Porsche Taycan

World Luxury Car – Porsche Taycan

World Urban Car – Kia Soul EV

Of note is the sixth win for Porsche in the World Performance Car category, having previously won the category in 2017, 2014, 2013, 2012 and 2006. It is also the first award for Porsche in the World Luxury Car category.

The World Car Design of the Year received by the Mazda3 is the Japanese carmaker’s fourth award in WCOTY. It joins the Mazda MX-5 and Mazda2, both having been overall winners in 2008 and 2016, respectively, with the MX-5 also winning the Design award in 2016.

The 2021 World Car Awards will be announced later in the year with a preliminary list of eligible vehicles for the event.

To date, Volkswagen has won the most overall awards (4) while Audi, which won the very first overall award in 2005 with its A6, has the most awards when including the other categories.

PREVIOUS OVERALL AWARD WINNERS
2019 – Jaguar I-PACE
2018 – Volvo XC60
2017 – Jaguar F-PACE
2016 – Mazda MX-5
2015 – Mercedes-Benz C-Class
2014 – Audi A3
2013 – Volkswagen Golf
2012 – Volkswagen UP!
2011 – Nissan LEAF
2010 – Volkswagen Polo
2009 – Volkswagen Golf 7
2008 – Mazda2
2007 – Lexus LS460
2006 – BMW 3-Series
2005 – Audi A6

Click here for the full list of winners in other categories

More roads in Selangor to be closed off from this Friday (April 10)

In a ‘perfect’ world, police roadblocks would be unnecessary because everyone would be law-abiding. When told that there is a Movement Control Order (MCO) in force to protect the general public and reduce the spread of coronavirus infection, they would adhere to the conditions set. Unfortunately, such a ‘perfect’ world does not exist and there will still be people who are disobedient, so the authorities have to set up roadblocks to check and manage traffic flows around the country.

Initially, when the MCO started, there was leniency and the approach taken was to advise motorists that they were not following the conditions. That was the ‘carrot’ which was necessary since Malaysians have never experienced such widespread control. But then the police found that there were many who drove around for fun when that is not allowed at all.

Travel is only permitted for buying essential items, medical supplies or for medical treatment and emergencies. And because some people purposely went far just to get extra driving time, a limit was set – 10 kms from your home. This too would not be necessary in a world where everyone abides by laws so the ‘stick’ is needed.

To manage the traffic flow more effectively and enable more thorough checking, the police closed off a number of roads to channel vehicles to specific areas. Though this meant jams as vehicles queued up, it was more efficient for the police instead of using more personnel to set up many roadblocks.

This Friday, April 10, more roads will be closed off in the Klang Valley, specifically in the area of Mutiara Damansara, Flora Damansara and Damansara Perdana. The closure will remain until the end of the MCO period, presently scheduled for April 14 unless extended.

Affected routes

Jalan PJU 8/1 (Damansara Perdana) turn-off to Penchala Link/Kepong.

Penchala Link (towards Damansara) turn-off to Damansara Perdana and Mutiara Damansara.

Turn-off from LDP to Mutiara Damansara and Damansara Perdana.

Turn-off from LDP to Jalan PJU 8/8 Flora Damansara.

Turn-off to Jalan PJU 7/8 (the road to IPC/IKEA).

Roadblock at Jalan PJU 7/11 (Mutiara Damansara MRT station) in both directions.

Alternative routes
To exit these areas, motorists are advised to use these alternative routes:

For those with valid reasons to travel and need to drive through the areas, you can go from Damansara Perdana to the Penchala Link through Jalan PJU 7/9 Mutiara Damansara (near the BHPetrol station). There is also another route from Damansara Perdana to Persiaran Surian through Jalan PJU 7/1 in Mutiara Damansara.

Meanwhile, the IGP has said that taking pictures or video of police activities at roadblocks is forbidden. Although some may want to take pictures for ‘memories’ of this distressing period, there are also some who take pictures or video with intent to cause trouble for the police. This is senseless, especially when the police are the ones taking risks by having to interact with motorists.

RM1,000 – RM10,000 fines, no appeal
The COVID-19 pandemic is very serious and to show how serious it is, there is now a fine of up to RM1,000 or 6 months in jail for offenders – and there is no provision for appeal and certainly no discount at a later date. A maximum of two weeks is given to settle the fine otherwise the offender will be taken to court.

If the offender causes more problems, he or she can also face other charges (eg obstructing a public servant on duty) and could be fined up to RM10,000, 2 years in jail or even both penalties.

Times are bad enough already so don’t make it worse for yourself by not following the simple conditions of the MCO. The basic ones for motorists, besides travel only for essential purchases and emergencies, one person in the vehicle, and a maximum range of 10 kms from your home. For the last condition, you may be required to show evidence of where you stay. If your MyKad address is somewhere else far away, then you need to show a TNB or water bill from the address you are presently staying at.

At all times, be polite and respectful at roadblocks – and patient too. The police and soldiers are also frontliners in the War on COVID-19 and we should be grateful to them. Maybe you’d also like to buy an extra carton of drinks (if you can afford it) to give to them on the way home to show appreciation.

Movement Control Order (MCO) – only up to 10 kms to get essential items

Proton provides new communication channel with X70 Whatsapp chatbot

The current COVID-19 pandemic crisis is depressing and everyone is uncertain about the future. Hopefully, it will come to an end before long and we can return to normalcy although we may need to be more conscious of personal hygiene and care more for each other’s safety.

Where cars are concerned, some may be considering buying a new vehicle, perhaps as an overdue replacement to their old one which may be costing too much to maintain. Or there may just be a need for an additional car in the home.

Proton X70 — *The latest X70, made in Malaysia.*

You can’t go to the showrooms at this time due to the Movement Control Order (MCO) which, hopefully, ends on April 14, 2020. In the meantime, if you are considering the latest Proton X70, the carmaker has launched its WhatsApp chatbot which can provide information on the details, promotions and features of the popular SUV, now made in Malaysia.

The chatbot serves as an alternative channel of communication with Proton and is one of several initiatives the carmaker is taking to provide convenience for customers – while also keeping in mind their safety. It does not, however, respond to natural language or questions from users. Instead, users just need to send replies in the form of numbers to get more information on corresponding topics.

Through the chatbot, accessible via https://bit.ly/HiProtonX70, customers can learn more about X70 variants and their prices, specification, sales offerings, trade-in offers, and Proton Financing. They can also register their interest in making a purchase.

Incidentally, for those who wish to make a booking at this time, you need to pay only RM99.00 for a new X70 and RM.9.99 for an Iriz, Saga,Persona or Exora. This offer is applicable only for online bookings at www.proton.com.