Test Drive of Cars @ Leng Kee

Happiness. Today, I went to several car showrooms @ Leng Kee and tested several models, including 2 of which I had wanted to drive long ago, i.e Honda Civic and Kia Cerato Forte. The feeling is SHIOK, although I encountered some “bo chap” salesperson.

Stop 1:
Mazda 3

Likes: Aggressive exterior, head and tail lamps
Dislikes: Small interior cabin, noisy and sluggish engine, high pricing
Salesperson Performance: 3.5/5
Price: ~$75k

Stop 2:
Honda Civic 1.8

Likes: Fierce and stylish exterior and interior, performance
Dislikes: High pricing
Salesperson Performance: 1.5/5
Price: ~$88k

Stop 3:
Hyundai Avante 1.6 S

Likes: Responsive engine, value for money, fuel efficient, top selling model for 2009, comfortable
Dislikes: Outdated design, brakes, no controls on steering wheel
Salesperson Performance: 4/5
Price: ~$56k

Stop 4:
Kia Cerato Forte 1.6 SX

Likes: Responsive engine, super value for money, new sporty exterior and interior design, ipod connector, engine start/stop button, auto folding mirrors, 4-speed automatic transmission with Shiftronic feature, volume control on steering wheel, 17″ rims, message centre, brakes, comfortable, steady feeling
Dislikes: -
Salesperson Performance: 4/5
Price: ~$57k

Hyundai, Kia and Volkswagen have quite alot of viewers today, definitely thanks to the better designs and better service rendered by the sales person and also these brands are now more value for money. Toyota, Honda, Nissan are brands which are known for its reliability and performance for a long period of time. However, there will still be drop in sales volume due to the poor excitement of japanese cars and being turned off by the bad service rendered by some of the salesperson.

Statistics have shown that brands like Kia, Hyundai and Volkswagen reported huge increase in sales while Toyota, Honda, Nissan reported drop in sales.

In conclusion for my test drives today, if I am to make my decision, it will be Kia Cerato Forte as it is most valued for money and the car gives me the best overall feeling. I simply love the design of the car! Maybe I should keep a lookout for 2011 Hyundai Avante or Kia Soul.

[Via http://wilbursuen.wordpress.com]

iPhone, uPhone, We All Love The iPhone

Christmas came and went in its usual manner – five or six days of familial films, pine needles in the socks and the exchange of gifts squirreled into the house under jumpers, in plastic bags and camouflaged by elaborate cloaking devices. One of those gifts given to me was a huge surprise: An iPhone 3G S. This, I was informed, was a combined birthday (which was in May), graduation (which was in November) and Christmas present. While it led to my having to abandon the excellent Meteor network after four and a half years of service, it nevertheless excited me beyond belief. The element of surprise was only one reason for this excitement.

See, I have that same envious side to me that inhabits the minds of children who holiday in the country but who see their friends jetting off to exotic climes. I have that jealousy which twentysomethings with Toyotas feel towards fatcats in Ferraris. I bear that grudge which exists between Bebo and Facebook, MSN and Skype, TV3 News and RTÉ News, Steve and Alec Baldwin, Pluto and the other planets, Bert and the other Sesame Streeters. Yes, it’s true: I have the PC-user’s heartfelt desire to be an Apple.

Apple are just the coolest of cool. They look sleek and sexy, bright and shiny, with pretty ways of operating, fancy futuristic programmes and they are the computers of Douglas Adams and Stephen Fry for whom my admiration is detailed elsewhere. They are the anti-clunk of Microsoft and PCs, with their constant need for Ctrl-Alt-Deletes and restarts. They are the sports car of computers, the Lambourgini to PC’s Volvo. They have been see-through and glistening white, they were flatter, thinner, quicker than any previous computer we’d seen. And they have a cool logo!

The only thing stopping me from converting to Apple was the fact I was brought up with PCs and, having reached the level of proficiency on Windows at which I am currently, I didn’t have the patience or time to make the change while in college with essays to do. But now I have finished my college education, I’m questioning my computer-sexuality. And the gateway to that conversion came in the form of my new iPhone. It’s touch-screen. You can drag the Apps about. It makes future-into-whooshing noises when you send messages. It IS the future.

Having been brought up with Star Wars as a central cultural reference point in my life, before moving on to the anything-goes future-vista of The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy, the sci-fi world has always fascinated me. Not in the Trekkie-anorak way, not in the pedantically-correcting-someone-when-they-give-the-wrong-circumference-of-the-Death-Star way, not in the World-Of-Warcraft-is-my-life way. But I loved programmes like “Tomorrow’s World” – yep, flying cars and TV glasses, all that stuff was eye-candy to my pre-teen eyes.

I grew up during the advent of mobile phones. I’ve watched them shrink from bricks to Lego. I remember when Nokias only had the BIG point on their chargers. I’ve made that coming-of-age journey from Nokia 3210 to iPhone. When I opened that present on Christmas Day, it was like I leapt into hyperspace. And when I discovered the Bump application (where you simply bump two iPhones together to send files) I was giddy with glee. This is surely how Luke Skywalker would send photos to Han Solo. Of course, he might not spend as much time updating his Twitter as I do…

@bazmcstay tweets: Just written a blog post. Lol.

[Via http://bazmcstay.wordpress.com]

Toyota Yaris VIP Style

Jakarta – Mungkinkah Anda berpaling mata jika melihat Toyota Yaris yang satu ini lewat di
depan Anda? Soalnya bagian depan hingga belakang sudah tersentuh tangan
pemiliknya, Surya Dharma.

Sang empunya barang menggambotkan tubuh si Yaris, bagaimana tidak? Lihat yang satu ini, mobil Yaris terlihat ciamik dengan pengaplikasian bodi kit W7 Carsmetic costum. Begitu lelaki yang biasa disapa Surya itu memberlakukan mobil kesayangannya.

“Konsepnya VIP Style, jadi pengaplikasian bodi kit disesuaikan dengan konsepnya yakni VIP Style berikut interiornya,” tanda Surya kepada detikOto, Kamis (21/1/2010).

Dan untuk menyelaraskan konsep VIP style, Surya menggunakan stiker bodi transparan. Penggunaan bahan yang tergolong baru di dunia modifikasi itu untuk menyatukan visi desain dengan warna bodi yakni warna silver medium.

Sementara di bagian kepala, dibenamkan Surya headlamp merek HID Evolution 6.000 kelvin. Yang anehnya jika orang membubuhi lampu yang terang di bagian atas tapi Om Surya menaruh sebaliknya, yang lebih terang sebesar 8.000 kelvin untuk
foglampnya. Tapi gimana hasilnya bro?

“Kalau dilihat dari hasil pencahayaan terang dan enggak pecah. Pokoknya bagus banget, lagian untuk mempertahankan angel eyes -nya tidak susah,” lanjutnya.

Sedangkan untuk penunjang ban, pria yang aktivitasnya bekerja di salah satu perusahaan swasta di Jakarta itu tidak kalah mentereng. Sebab pilihan air suspensi di 4 titik rodanya juga menjadi acuan utamanya. Dan untuk menambah polesan eksterios, Surya mengaplikasikan pelek merek egois ring 19 dengan lebar
plek 8,5.

Sementara penapak langkah Yaris digunakanya merek lokal dari Accelera dengan ukuran 215/35ZR19 Forcium HEXA. “Cukup produk lokal yang kembangnya drifting,” paparnya.

Untuk interiornya, Yaris yang dibangun dalam waktu 3 minggu itu cukup mumpuni untuk diajak gaul, soalnya fitur-fitur segar tersepil di dalamnya, sebut saja GPS, bluetooth. monitor AVT 2 biji pada headrest yang keseluruhan menghabiskan biaya Rp 50 juta. Sedangkan untuk joknya, kaos MBtech warna putih dan hijau didisain hingga menampilkan aura kenyamanan.

Dari keseluruhan ide yang ia terjunkan pada mobilnya, tak kurang dari Rp 95 juta
telah dihabiskan Surya untuk membangun Toyota Yaris miliknya, dan dengan dana
tersebut.

Tak urung 3 kategori yang diembatnya dalam ajang Yaris Show Off yang diadakan PT Toyota Astra Motor di 2009 lalu yakni Runner Up 1 region jakarta, glorius dengan penerapan kaki-kaki terbaik dan Groovy Choice.

Well selamat ya. “Terima kasih brother ,” sahut Surya yang tidak sabar mengikuti kontes modifikasi di Malaysia dan Singapura tahun ini. ( ikh / ddn )

Sumber: (http://oto.detik.com/read/2010/01/21/120600/1283221/642/toyota-yaris-vip-style)

[Via http://smg15.wordpress.com]

Toyota Financing, Repossession & Unethical Auction

An acquaintance had his car repossessed after losing his job and not being able to keep up with payments.  He kept hoping that things pick up and he could start making his payments again but then one day there was a pounding on his front door.  A man had already hooked up his car to a tow truck and was ready to cart it off but just wanted to give him his business card “just in case”.

He told my friend that the car would be at a certain location for at least a month in case he could catch up with his payments.  A last ditch effort phone call to Toyota’s financial department to stop the repossession was in vain. They refused to take the last bit of money on a credit card my friend had and off the car went.

Well not only did the car not remain at the location specified by Toyota’s tow truck driver (some 50 miles away from my friend’s present location), it was transported 200 additional miles away making it totally impossible for him to get it back.

Within a week and a half of the tow, Toyota sent him a letter informing him he would have to pay all the back payments, plus “cleaning” costs, more magical fees and then they sprung it on him that they moved the car to some city he had never heard of.  They didn’t take the car back to the dealer from whom he purchased it – 50 miles away, in a town where he used to live.  They didn’t keep the car at the location specified by the tower – in the county where he was now living.  They took it to never-never land!  So even if he could catch up on his payments, how on earth was he going to make the journey to the new location?  He couldn’t.

The reason I say Toyota Motors financing department sucks is the manner in which they went about auctioning off the car.  They deliberately sold it for less than half it’s fair market value and expected him to pay for their losses.  That’s insane!  The law usually understands the concept of fair market value but apparently not in the case of a repossessed auto and how car companies play the repo game.  At least not in California.  It’s unethical.  And the law should be changed to provide a measure of fairness to the poor chap who gets his car towed away.

I know you could argue that he was his own fault for not making his payments.  Well it wasn’t his fault that he lost his job because of the unethical actions of banks in creating this crapping economy! (KS, San Francisco)

[Via http://usaviews.com]

Diminishing Returns: When Product Placements Compete with Hulu's Banner Ads

The above image features a scene from ABC’s Modern Family where Mitchell returns home with his adopted daughter, Lily.  Although, Modern Family, much like many other scripted ABC programs, relies heavily on product displacement, the Toyota logo on the back of Mitchell’s car lingers for a few seconds while a Chevy Malibu banner ad is displayed on screen. I don’t remember if a 30-second spot for Chevrolet ran as I watched the episode, but based on my Hulu experience, I’m pretty sure one did. I tend to watch shows in “fullscreen mode,” but naturally minimize my screen to the normal web view for a number of reasons. I would be interested in knowing what percentage of Hulu users watch shows in fullscreen or toggle between various views.

Regardless of my curiosity, I find it interesting that two competing car companies would appear simultaneously on the same screen. I’m not sure if the Toyota occurrence was a paid-for placement, but regardless, the logo is visible and probably decreases brand recall and awareness of the Chevy Malibu ad. Typically, during TV ad purchases, advertisers and networks go through great lengths to ensure that ads do not air during programs that feature heavy integrations of a rival brand. For example, you’re never going to see a commercial for Pepsi during Fox’s Coca-Cola-inundated American Idol. Including ads for competing companies within the same, program, commercial pod, scene or frame cannibalizes viewer attention and blurs brand messages.

While Hulu is primarily a video content hub, the company should begin encoding its content with information that might prove useful to advertisers. Annotating or tagging segments/scenes that contain brand names or logos can help determine which “program moments” deliver better ad performance. Pairing a Chevy Malibu banner ad with a scene that features a Toyota vehicle used by principle characters is just a bad idea. To me, Hulu is rich in data. I absolutely love the Captions Search feature and know that the data it generates will likely make Hulu more appealing to advertisers. I see the annotating/pinpointing of product integrations working on a backend level and possibly even being provided by the content owners themselves (ABC, NBC, Fox…). If a brand is integrated into a television show, it makes sense for that same brand to be integrated into a viewer’s Hulu experience as they enjoy their content.

[Via http://gladyssantiago.wordpress.com]

Toyota fuel cell vehicles by 2015, battery R&D stepped up

You are here: Home / Car News / Toyota fuel cell vehicles by 2015, battery R&D stepped upToyota fuel cell vehicles by 2015, battery R&D stepped up

January 14, 2010 by Tim Beissmann

6 Comments

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If everything goes according to plan, Toyota will make hydrogen fuel cell vehicles available to private buyers within six years.

Toyota’s executive vice president of product planning and advanced technology, Takeshi Uchiyamada, said that fuel cell vehicles could be less expensive than hybrid and electric vehicles in selected markets that have the appropriate refuelling infrastructure.

Speaking at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Mr Uchiyamada would not speculate on the type of vehicle that may enter the market by the scheduled 2015 entry date, but said it would need to be affordable and have a great fuel range.

The announcement is backed up by Toyota’s recent commitment to introduce more than 100 fuel cell vehicles into its demonstrator fleet test program in California and New York.

Previous testing with the Highlander FCHV (fuel cell hybrid vehicle) achieved an estimated range of 693km on a single full tank of compressed hydrogen gas and an average fuel economy equivalent to 3.4 litres/100km.

Toyota is also boosting its global research and development resources, with a new electric division of around 50 engineers working on next-generation battery technologies.

Toyota’s managing officer in charge of developing batteries, Koei Saga, said battery technology needed to improve significantly heading into the future.

“We believe a key to the electrical mobile technology lies in innovation of battery technology.

“Lithium-ion batteries will already be a step forward, but we need batteries that offer far superior performance,” he said.

The current version of the Prius uses nickel-metal-hydride batteries but Toyota has confirmed the Prius PHV (plug-in hybrid vehicle – due for release in 2012) will be powered by the more energy efficient lithium-ion units.

[Via http://allcarnews.wordpress.com]

4 Runner Has Better Value than Highlander

Toyota 4 Runner compare with Highlander.  The 4 Runner is stronger in look and outdoor functions but price lower around $1000.  The new design of the 4 Runner makes it more powerful look, telling you how strong it is.  In some way looks a little like the FJ18 but bigger, like the older brother of FJ18.  It is a little bigger than the highlander in all dimensions.  The car will give you power before you step in the driver’s room.  And it is real outdoor truck base SUV. You can trust it in the tough condition.  The new model have new look and some new technologies like Transfer Case, Suspension system, KDSS, Hill start assist control, Vehicle stability control, Active-TRAC, X-REAS, Backup camera, ECO.  And these features make it stronger, safer and smarter. I think it is more valuable than the highlander.

[Via http://autotree.wordpress.com]