Latest Insights

Why Mazda Thinks Everyone Is Wrong About EVs, And Here’s Their Solution

Insights

Hans | March 20, 2018

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that Mazda is being a Luddite, let’s be clear that Mazda will be introducing fully-electric vehicles in 2019 and plug-in hybrid models from 2021 onwards.In fact, Mazda’s first attempt at a full-hybrid vehicle, the...

Five Things We’ve Learned From Toshio Asahi, Chief Engineer For The Fifth Generation Lexus LS

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Hans | March 16, 2018

At the sidelines of yesterday’s launch of the all-new fifth generation Lexus LS in Malaysia, we caught up with Toshio Asahi, chief engineer of Lexus’ latest flagship limousine. Prior to his current position, Asahi-san was the chief engineer for the...

How Lexus Owned Customer Service, And Redefined Quality

Insights

Hans | March 14, 2018

In the realm of marketing, some brands own and control a particular narrative better than others. Coca Cola equates to soft drinks and Rolex to luxury timepieces.BMW is best known for driving pleasure while Mercedes-Benz still commands luxury...

The Story Of Mazda's SKYACTIV-X

Insights

Aswan | March 03, 2018

A year or two ago, word on the street was that Mazda was developing an engine that operated on the principles of HCCI. It’s an acronym that stands for Homogenous Charge Compression Ignition – in simple terms, it’s making a petrol engine function like a...

How Volkswagen Gambled With A Young Outsider To Create The Golf Legend And Rewrote The Rules

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Hans | March 02, 2018

The year was 1968. The Volkswagen Beetle had been in production for 23 years already but despite its age, sales weren’t slowing down at all. In fact, production numbers for the Beetle would continue to increase, peaking in 1971 with 1,291,612 units made...

Borneo Safari 2017: A Test Of Isuzu Metal and Mettle

Insights

Arvind | February 12, 2018

I always try to resist this temptation – to be overly philosophical or emotional when trying to surmise my thoughts or to tell my story, this one in particular.And, I tell this story for the third time. And no two years have ever been the same.What...

X-Mode In The All-New Subaru XV - A Quick Look At The Tech

Insights

Siew Weng | February 09, 2018

The all-new Subaru XV was launched with standard fitment of their superior terrain driving system called X-Mode.X-Mode Demonstration In this specially made roller-ramp demonstration, three out of four wheel contact corners are on free spinning rollers,...

This Ice-Cooled, 736 PS Mercedes-Benz W125 Hit 432.7 km/h, Back In 1938!

Insights

Hans | February 01, 2018

Slightly less than a week ago was the 80th anniversary of racing driver Rudolf Caracciola’s record setting drive on the German autobahn, where he was clocked at 432.7 km/h in a 5.6-litre V12 736 PS Mercedes-Benz W125 world speed record car.To put the...

The Legacy of Bridgestone’s Founder Include The Nissan Leaf and GT-R

Insights

Hans | February 01, 2018

Born on this day 1-February in 1889 to a family of tailors in the city of Kurume, Japan, Shojiro Ishibashi’s name is often lost in the footnotes of any discussions involving icons of Japan’s automobile industry. Many are aware of names like Soichiro...

We Visit The World’s Only Source Of Honda Hybrid Dual Clutch Transmissions

Insights

Hans | January 03, 2018

Established in 1960, Honda Motor’s Suzuka plant is its third oldest. Only the the Saitama plant (opened in 1950, now combined with Saitama Factory) and Hamamatsu Factory (currently known as Hamamatsu Transmission Factory) predates the Suzuka plant. Today...

Reasons To Exist, We Drove Honda’s Clarity Fuel Cell To Learn The Meaning Of Ikigai

Insights

Hans | January 02, 2018

There are companies who exist to make money for their investors, and there are companies who exist to solve problems of our world. The former prefers to public relations, announce token electrification projects to keep up with trends, and are usually...

Resurrecting Number 57 - Barn Find Porsche 911 Becomes Storied Museum Piece

Insights

Arvind | December 18, 2017

One August morning, Alexander Klein, Manager of the Classic Car Collection at the Porsche Museum received a phone call after 50-years of waiting.Well not him solely, let me explain.For 50 years, the Porsche factory collection had lacked an early-model...

Conversations With Mercedes-Benz’s Head of Autonomous Driving and Active Safety

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Hans | December 15, 2017

When Bertha Benz commandeered her husband Karl’s 1886 Patentwagen and made that history-making drive from Mannheim to Pforzheim in 1888, roads were populated by horses. Instead of car parks, establishments had horse hitching posts. There were no petrol...

Honda Type R – Origins And How Malaysia Succeeded When Others Said No

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Hans | November 29, 2017

February 1989 in Suzuka circuit with F1 legend Ayrton Senna behind the wheel of a prototype Honda NSX. "I’m not sure I can really give you appropriate advice on a mass-production car, but I feel it’s a little fragile," commented Senna to Honda engineers....

Adventurer Extraordinaire And G-Class Ambassador Mike Horn Makes Pit Stop In Malaysia

Insights

Hans | November 25, 2017

Unless your idea of a holiday involves scaling up the Himalayas or braving the Pacific Ocean on a sail boat, chances are you might not have heard of Mike Horn. In 1999, Mike became the first person in the world to sail solo around the equator with no aid...

The Skyline Legend Was Born Over 50 Years Ago

Insights

Aswan | November 23, 2017

When you talk about legendary Japanese cars, there is one particular line of cars that you cannot avoid discussing. It's Nissan's Skyline GT-R, and it's a series of cars that became a hit- at first within the Japanese domestic market and, in later...

One Ford Dealer In Arizona Is Personally Teaching Customers About Their Cars

Insights

Aswan | November 20, 2017

With the sheer number of features that cars come equipped with these days, it's no surprise that many customers can feel a little overwhelmed in trying to learn how everything works; the result is a lot of these features may end up going unused as...

Perodua Myvi D20N A.S.A. – What It Can And Cannot Do

Insights

Kon | November 17, 2017

The recently-launched all-new Perodua Myvi makes headlines for its impressively competitive levels of equipment which, to recap, comes with LED headlights and keyless entry as standard for all model grades.But perhaps the biggest stride was made in the...