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McLaren 720S now available in LEGO form

McLaren’s 720S, which was unveiled at the Geneva Motorshow last month, has been immortalized in the form of a LEGO® miniaturized model. The car joins its its bigger brother, the McLaren P1 in the LEGO® Speed Champions range of model cars that are available for purchase.

Named the LEGO speed Champions McLaren 720S, in the box you get the usual bits that make up the car as well as a car designer mini figure and design studio desk, which comes complete with a coffee cup and original design sketch of the car.

Aimed at supercar enthusiasts aged 7 and up, the model will give young minds some understanding into complexity of assembling a vehicle of this nature. LEGO says that the task of recreating the actual car into a LEGO based model was quiet complex especially when it came to mimicking the actual vehicle’s aerodynamic and svelte body shape. It took a LEGO designer a year to prefect and freeze the design – a lifetime by any kid’s standards.

“The LEGO interpretation of the McLaren 720S reflects the most exciting part of the design process, when a two-dimensional sketch is transformed into a physical, three-dimensional model,” commented McLaren Automotive Chief Designer, Rob Melville. “Building a model like this gives the next generation of McLaren enthusiasts a taste of just how exhilarating that moment is for designers.”

The actual McLaren 720S is a second-generation McLaren Super Series supercar that is powered by a twin-turbo 4.0-litre V8 engine that produces 720bhp. Thanks to that power, the car is able to accelerate to 200km/h from a standstill in just 7.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 341km/h.

Well, if you don’t have the means to afford such a car, you can always go for the miniaturized LEGO version and indulge in the joy of building your own McLaren with your bare hands.

Honda produces 600,000th vehicle at Pagoh Plant

Honda has reached another milestone, but this time, its for the production of the 600,000th vehicle at its local plant in Pagoh, Melacca. Besides this, there was more cause for celebration because the vehicle that allowed the automaker to hit that figure, which was a Honda City, also aided Honda in achieving its 100,000th sale of the current fiscal year (1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017).

It has been 14 years since Honda’s Pagoh plant began operations and in the beginning, it only had a single manufacturing line which could only cater to the assembly of four different vehicles which were, the CR-V, City, Civic and Accord. Since 2014 however, the company added a second line at the facility that allowed it to manufacture more models at the same time to cope with market demand.

Speaking of the milestone, Honda Malaysia Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Katsuto Hayashi said, “The addition of the No.2 Line in 2014 has enabled Honda Malaysia to grow at an accelerated rate. We achieved 300,000 production units in just three years as compared to 11 years taken earlier to reach the first 300,000 units. I believe this was achieved through good strategy and strong challenging spirit from the Honda family.”

Honda says that due to these two manufacturing lines at Pagoh, it has been able to shorten the waiting period for vehicles that are in high demand by rearranging the processes to increase capacity where needed. The automaker has even gone so far as to say that for high demand vehicles like the BR-V, the waiting period for any customer to receive his/her vehicle, is only about 1 to 2 months.

The plant has some of the latest technologies such as the automated Smart Welding Machine to produce high rigidity body frames and a painting facility that features Spray Robots and does under body coating. All vehicles that roll off of the production line are put through the 2.1km long test course to ensure that they pass Honda’s quality and safety standards.

Despite the praise that the automaker lavished on its state of the art facility, it also attributed this milestone achievement to the tireless efforts of its legion of dealers, suppliers, employees and partners.

Hyundai unveils Fuel Cell Concept at Seoul Motorshow

At the ongoing Seoul International Motorshow, Hyundai has also unveiled its stab at the hydrogen powered vehicle of tomorrow. Dubbed the Future Eco (FE) Fuel Cell Concept, the car is meant to provide a glimpse at the actual production ready vehicle, which will be launched in February next year.

This unveiling hints at the possibility of realizing the Korean automakers’s hopes of becoming a global leader of manufacturing mass-produced hydrogen vehicles of tomorrow. The new car, when launched, will feature advanced driver assistance technologies and a respectable 800km range on a tank of hydrogen.

Apart from that, the car will also have clever tech to aid occupant comfort, convenience and safety. One such feature is the ability of this vehicle to take the byproduct of its fuel cell process, which is water, and use it for its air humidifier in the cabin. The added moisture should provide occupants with better levels of comfort especially on long journeys.

But that wasn’t the only tech on display, besides the Smart House concept that blurs the line between the mobility of a car and practicality offered by a house, Hyundai’s VR take on the futuristic Ioniq was also intriguing. The automaker had Virtual Reality simulators at their stand which allowed visitors to peer into the abilities of an autonomous Ioniq. The simulator demonstrates how the actual car can behave with advanced auto-piloting capabilities through the use of its many sensors and radar systems.

Hyundai says that the autonomous Ioniq is one of few such vehicles to have its self-driving systems integrated into the front bumper instead of the big bulky ones placed on the roof of some mainstream automakers’ prototypes. The company will be able to accomplish this by integrating the new systems with existing ones which include Smart Cruise Control’s forward facing radar and Lane Keeping Assist cameras.

Expect more from the Korean giant in the future but until then, its most cherished vehicle here in Malaysia is the hybrid Ioniq which blends both electric and petrol power to offer better efficiency and emissions.

Hyundai reveal new smart connected services

At the ongoing Seoul International Motorshow in South Korea, Hyundai revealed a slew of interesting projects that might come to frustration within the next couple of years. Part if its future mobility strategy, the automaker demonstrated a suite of connected technologies that might find its way into its actual vehicles and help to make things a little more convenient of its customers.

“Controlling vehicles via voice assistant is something that could become common-place in the not-too- distant future,” said Seung-Ho Hwang, Executive Vice President and head of Auto Intelligence Division at Hyundai Motor Company. “We are working with various companies in Korea and around the world to ensure that all of our platforms are compatible and that Hyundai customers will be able to interact with the Internet of Things in ways that have never before been possible.”

The company’s in-house developed Connected Car Service Platform (ccSP) will allow owners of Hyundai vehicles to connect ‘seamlessly’ to other Internet of Things (IoT) services making their daily lives just that much more convenient. There are two systems that are at the heart of Hyundai’s platform which are Home to Car and Car to Home.

Home to Car will allow drivers to interact with their vehicles with just their voice. Through voice commands, they will be able to start up their vehicle as well as close and open its doors.

Car to Home on the other hand, will allow them to operate devices at home such as lighting, climate control and audio systems, while in their vehicles and on their journey home. The Home to Car service is slated for a 2018 release while the Car to Home service will be made available the following year.

Besides this, Hyundai also revealed its Connected Car roadmap that outlines a number of objectives that will ensure smart connected technologies offer better convenience and efficiency to their customers. With Proactive Caring, this system regularly monitor’s the vehicle’s diagnostics and allow for the diagnosis of potential problems and even allow for remote proactive maintenance of vehicles.

Then there’s Smart Convenience. A system that provides vehicles with regular updates to ensure that the software being run is of the latest version with all the proper security updates. Connected Efficiency builds upon this service by making sure connectivity-reliant systems are updated at the most convenient time such as when the vehicle is charging. It can also provide guidance, information or warnings to drivers when necessary. It will be able to check on the weather and let you know when conditions will be favorable for you to have your car washed.

Lastly, Cost Efficiency is a system that will provide cost-saving suggestions to drivers. It will analyse driving patterns and fuel economy then recommend the routes that offer the best fuel consumption or battery life. It will also help to provide a more accurate ‘distance to empty’ figure.

Hyundai’s new systems aren’t that far off and are confident that these technologies should find their way into their upcoming vehicles in the next few years.

Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles gets new Head of Sales Operations

James Douglas has been appointed Head of Sales Operations for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. Douglas who is currently the Head of fleet for Audi, will be filling the role left vacant by Andy Waite who left the automaker last month.

Prior to his four year stint at Audi, Douglas enjoyed a 13-year career at Nissan GB that included board-level roles such as Corporate Sales Director and LCV Sales and Marketing Director. Now, as Head of Sales Operations, he will be in charge of the Van centre network, fleet and direct sales, as well as used vans and special vehicles including conversions.

Speaking of the appointment, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles Director Carl zu Dohna said: “James joins the team at a crucial time in the history of the brand, with the imminent launch of the new Crafter marking the final phase of our range renewal process. I am confident that his wealth of experience in the light commercial industry will be an asset to the team, and I am looking forward to working with him.”

Regarding his new role in the Volkswagen Group, Douglas said, ‘”I’m proud of the work I’ve done at Audi, but excited to be joining Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles at such an important time. The light commercial vehicle market is changing as businesses’ mobility needs change. I’m looking forward to developing new strategies and solutions which enable us to keep pace with, and ahead of, these changes.”

Whether this is the case of “meet the new boss, same as the old boss” is left to be seen. But he will officially be taking up his new role by June of this year. His position at Audi will be filled by someone else at a later date.

MRC signs agreements to provide data and tools for vehicle insurance industry

Motordata Research Consortium Sdn Bhd (MRC) has signed agreements with Thatcham Research, Proton Holdings Bhd and The General Insurance Association of Malaysia (PIAM) at its annual symposium to help improve vehicle repair and claims processing in the country.

Under the new agreement with Thatcham Research, MRC will license software that will be able to aid in standardising claims of motor vehicle insurance. This could help streamline the process, which will make things easier both for consumers and manufacturers. In the agreement that it made with Proton, MRC also has a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the local automaker to research and distribute data on local vehicle repair times. Such data will provide a clearer picture of vehicle repair information in the country and will help lower the cost of repair works but boost quality as well.

Steve Miller, CEO of the MRC said, “The new agreements will bring great benefit in terms of giving us a benchmark and standards for motor vehicle repair and claims processing, especially once the motor insurance is fully liberalized in July. I am very happy to continue extending our collaboration with Thatcham Research, whereby the MRC can leverage the experience and expertise that Thatcham already has in this industry”.

Through the three agreements, MRC is committed to be the sole provide in data collection for the insurance industry. As a means to cement that notion, it has singed an extended agreement with PIAM to provide training and accreditation programs for employees in the motor vehicle repair industry. These accreditations come with an international award from the Institute of the Motor Industry (IMI).

MRC has been conducting regular training programs in vehicle damage assessment since 2012. The programmes are certified by the IMI and are said to be globally recognized. The company is also working towards accrediting the entire industry here in Malaysia by the end of 2017 as part of its ‘Duty of Care’ quality standards.

We can only hope that these efforts eventually trickle down to us, car buyers, making it easier and more affordable to claim for vehicle repair costs from our motor vehicle insurance providers.