Piston.my

Latest News

BMW Financial Services Malaysia today announced the service extension of the BMW Engage feature to the all-new BMW Premium Selection digital experience – in line with their commitment to digitalise touch points early last month.

The BMW Premium Selection digital experience offers a wide selection of pre-owned vehicles from the BMW portfolio. From now on, prospective customers in the BMW Premium Selection range will also be able to use the BMW Engage platform to initiate the financing pre-approval process.

With the BMW Engage platform, they can calculate the monthly instalment, generate a quotation, submit an application and obtain pre-approval. The fully-digitalised financing application platform enables customers to tailor the financing of their vehicle to their own needs, and to apply through a contactless process from the comfort of their own home  or office.

“When BMW Engage was introduced early this year, it was a reverberation of our commitment to our loyal customers to continue delivering the Premium Ownership Experience – no matter the distance. The digital feature became a timely and necessary solution for customers during that period of physical divide at the height of the pandemic, and it continues to further enhance their purchasing journey,” said Tobias Eismann, MD of BMW Group Financial Services Malaysia.

“As we enter a new normal, we are proud to extend BMW Engage to the pre-owned vehicle segment by expanding its coverage to the BMW Premium Selection portfolio. At the same time, we are also proud that through this, we are able to extend another avenue for customers to join us in our ongoing efforts to assist the B40 community in attaining the highest level of safety for their children while on the road, via the BMW Safety 360° subsidy programme,” he added.

Related links: BMW Premium Selection range of models | BMW Engage platform

Covid-19
Fighting COVID-19 is our joint responsibility. Protect yourself and others: make these 6 simple precautions your new habits.

For those who will be motoring to Desaru, Johor, for their holidays in the coming weeks, there should be a smooth and easy drive via the Senai-Desaru Highway (E22) which connects from the North-South Expressway (NSE). E22 is accessed from the Senai Utara Interchange and a 45-minute drive along the highway will bring motorists to the Bandar Penawar Interchange. From there, a short 10-km road (FT92) will lead to their destination. So the entire journey after exiting from the NSE should take about an hour.

PLUS North-South Expressway

As on all the highways operated by PLUS, the E22 route will also have a safety team patrolling and ready to offer assistance. They complement the 221 highway patrolling teams and 548 officers of the PLUSRonda team on the NSE round the clock.

We would like to remind those planning to embark on their year-end holiday trips to always adhere to traffic laws and regulations. Keep to the speed limit, drive carefully and avoid tailgating. Stop and rest every 2 hours of driving at the rest areas. Make sure your Touch‘NGo cards and eWallet balance is sufficient to ensure smoother passage at the toll plazas,” said PLUS Managing Director, Datuk Azman Ismail.

Sungai Johor Bridge
The 1.7-km long bridge over Sungai Johor on the Senai-Desaru Highway.
PLUSRonda and E22 Safety Teams will be patrolling the highways to offer assistance to motorists.
The Touch’NGo tollcards can be reloaded in many places (convenience stores, petrol stations, etc) and if you use the self-service machines, you don’t have to pay any extra fee.

“Rest areas provided on both highways allow customers to travel comfortably and provide the perfect pit stop for long distance travellers to break their journey. PLUS’ R&Rs such as Seremban, Ayer Keroh, Pagoh and Machap, coupled with E22’s Layang (Eastbound and Westbound) R&Rs provide F&B outlets, suraus, rest shelters (wakaf), petrol service stations, public restrooms and ample parking bays,” added Senai-Desaru Expressway Berhad CEO, Jamal Abd Nasir Taharim.

The highway concessionaires also remind highway users that they must strictly follow the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) set by the National Security Council (MKN) and the Ministry of Health (KKM). These procedures include wearing of facemasks in public areas and social distancing in areas where there are a lot of people.

Land Rover will be involved in the coming 2021 Dakar Rally, traditionally starting in the first week of the new year. The company has assigned two units of the latest Defender 110 model as support vehicles for the Prodrive-backed team, Bahrain Raid Xtreme (BRX), which will be among the participants. The team drivers include 9-time World Rally Champion Sebastien Loeb and 2-time Dakar Rally winner, Nani Roma.

Production standard models
The two Defenders will be production-standard models and used by the team’s support staff. The Indus Silver models are powered by Land Rover’s 400-ps straight-six Ingenium petrol engine which has Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle technology. They have the Explorer Pack which includes an Expedition Roof Rack, Raised Air Intake, Wheel Arch Protection and Exterior Side-Mounted Gear Carrier. In addition, a Deployable Roof Ladder provides easy access to a roof box, which will help BRX carry all the necessary kit.

Land Rover Defender 110 for Dakar 2021

Land Rover Defender 110 for Dakar 2021

The fact that these vehicles are unmodified is testimony to the intrinsic capability and durability of the legendary 4×4 vehicles of the brand. The latest Defender is said to have undergone the most demanding engineering test and development programme in the company’s history.

“The crew need to know our support vehicles will be able to carry all of the necessary kit and be relied upon to get to the next service location, whatever the conditions. New Defender provides a unique combination of all-terrain performance, rugged practicality and comfort – a crucial combination for the unpredictable Dakar conditions and after long days behind the wheel,” said BRX Team Principal, Paul Howorth.

The BRX rallycar developed by ProDrive for the 2021 Dakar Rally.

About the Dakar Rally
Though called the ‘Dakar Rally’, the event – billed as the toughest off-road event in the world – will be run in Saudi Arabia, the same country as in 2020. The event did have Dakar as its finish point between 1997 and 2007 and during those years, the participants would race from Paris and down the west coast of Africa to Dakar. However, security concerns forced the organisers to find a new and equally challenging route, which was in South America.

From 2009, (the event had to be cancelled in 2008 when terrorist threats were too serious), it was held on the western side of South America in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Peru. The name was retained as it had become legendary.

Dakar 2021 route
The route for Dakar 2021.

However, the teams have found logistics complex and the cost of travelling to South America has been high. The host countries have also been unhappy with the extremely high fees charged by the organisers for the event. This led to the event moving to Saudi Arabia for 2020 as the Kingdom has been willing to sign a multi-year contract. The shorter distance from Europe is also more acceptable to the teams.

The 2021 route will see the participants starting in Jeddah on January 2 and then doing a clockwise route around the country to finish in the same city 13 days later. There will be 12 stages and the total distance will be 7,646 kms.

2020 will be remembered for many things and it has certainly been a year of much change for lives and for businesses. Perhaps it was already coming but e-commerce using online facilities accelerated this year, partly driven by the need to provide contactless communications and interaction. Car companies began ‘opening’ stores online, and provided owners with a new channel to book appointments for servicing and request other services.

Additional Shopping Tools function
Honda Malaysia is among those companies which has been steadily enhancing its online services and today announced a New Car Pre-Booking Online Platform for customers. The additional function is embedded in the Shopping Tools on the company’s official website. Other shopping tools include a loan calculator, models comparison and Honda Insurance Plus.

Just 4 steps needed
Using the function, customers just need to go through 4 simple steps and the booking fee can be as low as RM99 (terms and conditions apply). They can make the pre-booking for any of the models shown on the website as well as select variants, colour and available accessories. When they have made the pre-booking payment, a confirmation email with all the necessary information including details of the dealer handling the transaction will be sent. Within 72 hours, the customer will be contacted by a designated Sales Advisor from the dealer.

Customers who make the pre-booking can also track the status of the booking at any time. The function will be available in the HondaTouch application by early next year.

All the models available from Honda Malaysia can be pre-booked using the new function in the Shopping Tools.

“This New Car Pre-Booking Online Platform is part of Honda Malaysia’s effort to provide greater accessibility to customers to own a Honda car in this digital era via an online car purchase process. It allows Honda customers to stay ahead of the crowd and pre-book their preferred Honda model through a most convenient and user-friendly process which is right at their fingertips, anytime and anywhere,” said Honda Malaysia’s Managing Director & CEO, Toichi Ishiyama.

“Through this online process, we aspire to offer greater convenience and a safe experience for our customers, no matter which part of Malaysia they are at,” he said.

Of course, making bookings can still be done at authorised Honda showrooms but with the Pre-Booking function, you won’t have to rush to a Honda showroom to place a booking if you want to be among the first to own a model about to be launched.

You can access the function directly by prebook.honda.com.my. Links are also provided from the various models displayed on the website at www.honda.com.my.

Five years ago, Petronas was the first petroleum company in Malaysia to upgrade its RON97 Primax petrol to the higher Euro4M standard (the ‘M’ referring to a specification adapted for the Malaysian market). Thereafter, other companies have followed and today, all brands are at the same standard.

Now, the company has improved the formulation of Primax 97 and it becomes Primax 97 with Pro-Race. The new formulation is said to help engines run cleaner with reduced friction as well, meaning they can run more efficiently.

Removing 99.9% of deposits
With the claim of 99.9% of deposits removed from key areas, fuel delivery can be better as there will be less blockages in the injectors and other parts of the fuel delivery system. The spray of fuel can therefore be optimized to maximise combustion.

Smoother and more responsive performance as well as increased efficiency are claimed for the new Primax 97 petrol.

At the same time, combustion can also be smoother because deposits can create ‘hotspots’ inside the combustion chambers. These cause mini explosions which cause roughness so if they are removed, then the engine will have less of those explosions inside.

Of course, it takes a while for the benefits of the new formulation to be experienced, especially if the engine has a lot of deposits already. They need to be gradually ‘washed’ away, a process that used to require disassembly of the engine after some years. However, once they are removed and if Primax 97 is used regularly, it can also prevent deposit formation again.

Removal of deposits in the combustion chambers (left) and the Advanced Dual Friction Modifier (right) help to make the engine run more efficiently and smoothly.

Advanced Dual Friction Modifier
The new formulation also has the world’s first Advanced Dual Friction Modifier which cuts down the friction levels between surfaces. This makes response better and as the engine can save energy that was used to overcome the friction, leading to improved fuel economy. Petronas claims that this new dual friction modifier can reduce friction by up to 25%.

There is also a unique fuel and oil interaction formulation to enhance efficiency as fuel and oil tend to have issued when coming in contact with each other. By eliminating this, carbon emissions are also lowered, which is better for the atmosphere.

Petronas fuels and lubricants have technology that was developed from its involvement in Formula 1 racing with the Mercedes-AMG team.

Technology from F1 involvement
The development of the new petrol was carried out with learnings from Petronas’ involvement in Formula 1, via the world championship-winning Mercedes-AMG team. For many years, fuel development has benefitted from extreme testing in racing conditions with the motorist being the ultimate beneficiary.

The new Primax 97 is available at all Petronas stations nationwide and cost the same as other RON97 petrol which currently is set at RM2.08 a litre until December 25, 2020.

‘GAZOO’ has been in international motorsports news for a number of years and in more recent years, it has also gained increasing presence in Malaysia. In the context of TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, ‘GAZOO’ means ‘garage’ but this was not how it started.

Back in early 2000, Akio Toyoda (current President of Toyota Motor Corporation) was back in Japan to join the Board of Directors after having served in various roles at different Toyota subsidiaries around the world. Among his responsibilities was the creation and supervision of a website that was given the name ‘GAZOO.com’ and the name was derived from the Japanese word ‘gazo’ which means ‘image’ or ‘photo’.

GAZOO.com, which still exists today, is a website gathering images of the vehicles in stock at each of the dealerships. It also contains dozens of virtual shops for consumer goods and services and provides information about new and used vehicles. This is, of course, a common thing today but 20 years ago, the internet was still in its infancy so it was quite a revolutionary idea.

The Gazoo.com website goes back some 20 years and though its content looks common these days, it was revolutionary when it started.

The first use of GAZOO in racing
In 2007, a team of Toyota test drivers, including Akio, were to participate in the Nurburgring 24-Hour race. For various reasons, they were not allowed to refer to their team as ‘Works Toyota Racing’ and perhaps because Akio was in charge of GAZOO.com, he suggested and could authorize the use of the name to be used by the team. That would probably be the first time the GAZOO name appeared in motorsports.

From then on, GAZOO Racing began to develop and its racing activities increased. The team was like an unofficial affiliate of Toyota and usually ran development models like the FT-86 and LF-A to carry out testing in extreme conditions.

Akio Toyoda is one of the very few car company Presidents who races and he also personally gets involved in testing and development of new models.

After Akio became President in 2009, GAZOO Racing began to expand as it was given new roles related to motorsports. Being a racing driver and car enthusiast, Akio wanted to generate more excitement for the sport among the young and GAZOO Racing was to expand the role of promoting motorsports beyond that of traditional automakers. Its mission would also be to carry out grassroots activities aimed at creating new generations of car enthusiasts.

TOYOTA GAZOO Racing has been active and successful in the World Endurance Championship, World Rally Championship and also the Dakar Rally.

The GAZOO Racing Company is born
Until 2015, Toyota had different racing organizations and a decision was made to unify them under the GAZOO Racing banner, with brand differentiation as TOYOTA GAZOO Racing and LEXUS GAZOO Racing. TOYOTA GAZOO Racing, which was in charge of vehicle development for motorsports activities, was renamed GAZOO Racing Company in 2017 during the restructuring of Toyota Motor Corporation.

The newly created GAZOO Racing Company was thus a more business-focussed unit and would start to develop GAZOO Racing or ‘GR’ as a performance brand like AMG for Mercedes-Benz and M for BMW. It would be independent in one sense but also an important contributor to Toyota’s R&D with experience and information gained from motorsports activities.

GR Garage
As part of its business activities, the GAZOO Racing Company established the GR Garage, a new dealership channel which would not only sell performance parts and high-performance models such as the GR Supra and GR Yaris but also be ‘the most fun car shop in town where enthusiasts can gather, talk, and enjoy cars together’. It was another approach to creating greater interest in motorsports and motoring in general that Akio was trying to generate.

The GR Garage concept was introduced in Japan and dealerships opened in many cities. As GR models start to be offered in many countries, the GR Garage concept is also following and the first country outside Japan to introduce it was Malaysia at the end of 2019 when the GR Supra was launched in the market. Selected authorized Toyota dealerships (5 at this time) have incorporated the GR Garage concept on their premises and specialize in GR products.

GAZOO Racing comes to Malaysia
Malaysia is in fact one of the first countries to have a strong GAZOO Racing presence which began about 3 years ago. Before then, in Thailand and the Philippines, TRD (Toyota Racing Development – an in-house division specializing in performance products) was prominent in motorsports but not in Malaysia. So when GAZOO Racing Company stepped up its activities, it was also timely for the Malaysian market to instead use the GR platform.

The TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival began in 2017 and had a carnival-like atmosphere with motor and motorsports-related activities, including the Vios Challenge one-make series.

The first activity in Malaysia was the TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Festival (TGR Festival) held in 2017, replicating an annual event in Japan which was created by the GAZOO Racing Company in its initial years. The TGR Festival has a carnival-like atmosphere with a motorsports and auto-related theme. The highlight of the TGR Festival has been the Vios Challenge, a one-make series run on specially-prepared street circuits in Penang, Terengganu, Johor and Kuala Lumpur/Selangor, as well as the Sepang International Circuit. This successful series has completed three seasons and enters its fourth one in 2021.

Additionally, UMW Toyota Motor also got involved in digital motorsports or eSports with the Toyota GR Velocity eSports Championship series which began in 2018. This Malaysian event inspired the running of the GR Supra GT Cup ASIA 2020 as the first virtual motorsport racing championship in Asia. The regional event, held in October this year, saw the best sim racers from 5 countries – Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and India – competing against each other.

The GR range in Malaysia started with the GR Supra and this month, the GR Yaris and Vios GR-Sport have been added.

The GR cars
And, of course, there are the products – the GR Supra, GR Yaris and the Vios GR-Sport (presently only available in Malaysia). These models bring to the Toyota brand a sporty and livelier image that supports the promise of ‘fun-to-drive’. They can help diminish the perception of Toyotas being reliable and durable but lacking the performance sparkle. It’s not that Toyota has never produced performance models, but most have never reached our market due to high import taxes making their prices unappealing. But times have changed and with the GR models, the brand now has a side that can appeal to the younger and future generation of customers.

Archive

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on YouTube