YOUR FIRST CAR? COMPACT VS SEDAN VS MPV?

Choosing your first car is usually related to affordability and which one really meets your needs. Oftenly, people who have just newly graduated and get a new job will prefer a compact car especially when working in the city due to easy to get around and less fuel consumption. Let me summarise all three car category advantages




Advantages of compact car:

• Affordable ( Lower monthly payment, insurance and road tax)
• Easy to get around in the city ( Parking and easy handling in traffic jam)
• More fuel efficient
• Easy to do maintainance
• More pickup at low speed

Advantages of Sedan Car :

• More space for your small family (5 passenger and below)
• More boot space for long journey
• More engine space for any performance modification
• Easier to modify exterior with a lot of sedan car accessories
• A safer ride ( Crush zone front and rear)
• More stable in terms of handling especially while cruising
• A faster car in low and top range speed
• A family car which looks sporty

Advantages Of MPV:

• Can carry 7 passenger for a big family
• Have a smooth and relax feeling while driving
• Better suspension which will gives more comfort to all passenger
• Can carry more stuffs by folding rear seat – Can be used for any purpose like business purpose.

How about your choice? MPV? Compact city car? Or a sedan car?

Car Theft in Malaysia

Assistant Commissioner Zainuddin Yaacob - after crippling the 'Geng Panjang' syndicate specializing in luxury cars



It appears that the car theft syndicates in Malaysia have had a doubling of their business over the decade ending 2010.

This interesting statistic from Federal CID director Datuk Seri Mohd Bakri Zinin was published on Monday. He also said that an average of 150 cars – new and old -- are stolen daily.

What he didn’t say was that unless the car companies improve their anti-theft equipment and installation process, the police can’t do much to arrest this growth industry.

Let’s take it from the top. There are two types of car thefts – old cars are stolen mainly to be cannibalised because it’s difficult to find new parts for old car. These cars are seldom insured against theft and the owners bear the burden wholly.

Cars that are newly bought – less than three years old – are stolen to be exported. These cars are insured and the owners have to endure six months without wheels. After six months, if the car is not recovered, the police will declare it as stolen.

Why aren’t the car companies doing more about protecting their cars against theft? There are many reasons.

Firstly, there is an attitude that “never mind, the customer will buy another new car. Good for our sales numbers.” This is the type of feeling that surrounds the companies with strong brands and products. A good example of this is the Toyota Hilux, arguably the most popular 4x4 in the world.

The sales and marketing people know that the Hilux customer is largely a return customer. As a reader who signed off as “Toyota Scared” said: “I’m a CBT reader and I notice that the other English newspaper is highlighting the theft situation. Last year, I lost my Toyota Hilux as I thought that the security system is good and up to Toyota standards. “I bought another Hilux due to its technical specifications but this time around I took it to an accessory shop to fit another system on top of the original system (which I know does not meet the car maker’s standards).

“I was told by the installer that it was a wise decision to fit another system as the latest Hilux security system has not improved. How can that be? When the car maker should know that the thieves are on top of their weak system, it is making it easy for the thieves. “I suspect that the car maker wants you to buy another of their cars when it is stolen. Just like me. I feel so stupid and silly to support their branding by buying another of their cars to boost their sales.

“According to your previous article that said that one Hilux is stolen every day, I say to all the present owners God Bless you and get another system to protect your Hilux.”

To “Toyota Scared”, I can say that it’s not the car maker that is to be blamed. The franchise holder orders the kit from Toyota and they assemble this kit together with 40 per cent local components comprising tyres, battery, windshield, hifi and, yes, alarm system.

Like all franchisees, UMW-Toyota has a procurement system where the local components are selected based on their cost and compliance with minimum standards. It’s obvious that the case to improve the anti-theft equipment and the installation process is not yet compelling for a change. We understand that Toyota Japan is trying to battle the Hilux theft problem but no solution has yet been found.

The second front of the battle against the theft of “new” cars is the Customs Department. We know that the “new” cars are largely stolen for exports and we don’t believe that it’s so easy to smuggle stolen cars out of the country unless there’s an element of conspiracy amongst some Customs officers and freight forwarders.
The car theft syndicates used to ship the containers using the customs code for furniture. The current favourite customs code is understood to be used car parts.

Whatever the customs code is used, it seems that there is a high tolerance for the theft of new cars because it’s perceived as a victimless crime. Unlike car-jacking, car theft is not a violent crime, but it penalises the community of motorists who have to pay a higher premium for their car insurance.
Last month VTREC (Vehicle Theft Reduction Council) chairman Datuk Hadi Ho Abdullah declared that in 2011 there was a loss of RM 1 billion in vehicle theft. He said that vehicle theft constituted 40% of the total crime index.

To reduce theft Datuk Hadi Ho plans to enlist the public to co-operation. As they have done that with public co-operation in snatch and petty thefts. Data from Australia and UK  show that vehicle theft was reduced as much as 50% in two years following the implementation of approved Thatcham UK car anti-theft standards.

Please see attached UK chart provided by Thatcham (UK standards).



The Ministry of Transport attempted to address the theft problems by establishing a standard MS 1742 in April 2010 requiring vehicles manufactured after 01st July 2010 to install anti-theft systems of the said standards.

SIRIM was tasked to enforce and certify the standards. While it was a noble effort of the Ministry, the MS 1742 is outdated by eight years and it is not relevant anymore to effectively deter vehicle theft.

However, that’s not the last of the story because SIRIM told an industry participant that it did not have the funds nor the expertise to certify MS 1742.

So dear readers, protect your new cars with good anti-theft equipment.  It can be as simple as an immobilizer with non-colour coded wiring. And if the franchise holder tells you that fitting an aftermarket anti-theft device will void the manufacturer’s warranty, our insurance advisor says that the customer has the right to protect his property.

4-Year-Old Girl Drives Car In China, Authorities Can’t Stop Her

Here's a bit of troubling footage out of Jinan, China that shows a young girl driving an SUV while her parents encourage her. Mom is filming this video in the back seat, and Dad is in the front giving advice that apparently translates as, "Concentrate! Be careful when passing other vehicles."
ShortList reports that there isn't a whole lot local authorities can do about a child driving around on the streets of China:

A local police spokesman Li Xiaobin revealed that there was very little they could do, under Chinese law.
"Kids absolutely are not allowed to drive," he said. "However, as for drivers under 14 years old, we can't give them tickets."
"If we caught them, we could only educate the parents. In the worse scenario, if an accident happened, we could only ask the parents as guardians to compensate the other parties."

Let's hope this viral video doesn't inspire other Chinese residents to turn this into a dangerous new trend.

Fuel economy in automobiles

Fuel usage in automobiles refers to the fuel efficiency relationship between distance traveled by an automobile and the amount of fuel consumed.

There are no quantities or units for fuel usage defined in the International Standard ISO 80000 Quantities and Units, so the nationally-defined reciprocal quantities fuel economy and fuel consumption are used in this article.

Units of measure

MPG to L/100km conversion chart: blue: US gal, red: imp gal (UK)

The two most common ways to measure automobile fuel usage are:

Fuel consumption

The amount of fuel used per distance; Often an arbitrary distance, most commonly litres per 100 kilometres (L/100 km). This measure is used in Europe, China, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Canadian law allows for use of either litres per 100 kilometres or miles per gallon.^[2]

Fuel economy

Efficiency is defined as output per input. In automobiles it is the distance traveled per unit of fuel used; in miles per gallon (mpg) or kilometres per litre (km/L), commonly used in the UK, US (mpg) and Japan, Korea, India, Pakistan, parts of Africa, The Netherlands, Denmark and Latin America (km/L). If mpg is used the gallon should be identified, since an imperial gallon is about 20% larger than the US gallon.

Fuel economy and fuel consumption are reciprocal quantities. To convert either way between L/100 km and miles per US gallon, divide 235 by the number in question; for miles per imperial gallon, divide 282 by either number. For example, to convert from 30 mpg to L/100 km, divide 235 by 30, giving 7.83 L/100 km; or from 10 L/100 km to mpg (US), divide 235 by 10, giving 23.5 mpg. To convert between L/100 km and km/L, divide 100 by the number in question.

A related measure is the amount of carbon dioxide produced as a result of the combustion process, typically measured in grams of CO₂ per kilometre (CO₂ g/km). A petrol (gasoline) engine will produce around 2.32 kg of carbon dioxide for each litre of petrol consumed (19.4 lb/gal). A typical diesel engine produces 2.66 kg/L (22.23 lb/gal)^[3][4] though typically burns fewer litres per kilometre for an otherwise identical car. Since the CO₂ emissions are relatively constant per kilogram, they are proportional to fuel consumption.

Betul ke masa depan penulis blog peribadi gelap?

Selalu benar saya mendapat pertanyaan sebegini, betul ke masa depan penulis blog peribadi suram berbanding mereka yang menulis informasi. Jujur saya katakan bahawa jawapan bagi soalan itu mungkin ya dan boleh jadi juga tidak, bergantung kepada pembawaan masing-masing.

Kenapa tidak? Sebab sudah jelas terbukti, ramai di antara pemblog yang menulis kisah peribadi sudah berjaya dalam arena penulisan blog. Dan percaya atau tidak, jumlah mereka sebenarnya lebih ramai berbanding wartawan tidak bertauliah yang setiap hari duduk bercokol menanti berita terbaru daripada akhbar online.

Satu yang perlu anda ingat, pembaca sebenarnya dahagakan penulisan yang istimewa. Maksud saya yang luar daripada imaginasi mereka. Dan untuk mendapatkan penulisan sebegitu anda perlu menjadi diri sendiri dengan meluahkan apa yang anda rasa, bukan apa yang telah dibaca atau yang anda dengar. Jangan takut dikritik kerana menyuarakan pendapat luar dari kotak pemikiran. Berpura-pura menjadi orang lain hanya akan membataskan kreativiti kamu sahaja.

Lagipun dengan berbuat demikian skop tulisan kamu akan menjadi lebih luas.

Cuba buka mata dan lihat sendiri perbezaan mereka yang menulis dengan jujur dan sekadar menulis. Walau dengan ayat caca-marba, artikel mereka yang menulis dari hati masih nampak istimewa dan menarik bukan.
Jadi kenapa mesti ya?

Okey, perlu diakui bahawa kebanyakan hasil tulisan mereka yang gagal adalah lemah, terdapat banyak ruang kosong yang menyebabkan pembaca mudah lupa kepada blog golongan ini. Perhatikan juga pada topik yang menjadi perbicaraan, ianya terlalu klise dan acap kali berulang, sehingga menimbulkan perasaan bosan kepada pembaca. Kalau pun ada yang menarik, isi di dalamnya agak sempit dan kadang-kadang terlalu umum untuk dibaca.

Nasihat saya belajar dan terus belajar. Jangan terlalu banyak membuang masa dengan berblogwalking dan memberi komen sahaja. Kalau boleh buat kajian sendiri kenapa artikel Top Malaysian Bloggers disukai dan kupas sedikit demi sedikit resipi rahsia yang terdapat dalam entri tersebut. Untuk pegetahuan anda, blog peribadi lebih cerah masa depannya berbanding menulis berita. Itu jaminan saya.

5 Reasons Why You Should Choose Hybrid Vehicles

We believe that you've observed the term of "hybrid car" or even "hybrid SUV" frequently, but do you know exactly what it signifies? Within our hard work to save our planet, we can't stress enough exactly how essential for you to go for hybrid vehicle rather than standard automobile. The definition of a hybrid vehicle is given when a vehicle has much more than one type of power source to run its engine. "A hybrid car" term typically refers to Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) which combine electric motors together with gasoline engines to attain better travel for the environment. How? Together with the gasoline engine, these electric motors offer assistants to enhance the vehicle's energy which later on resulting in the motor to operate along with significantly less gasoline.

There are top five explanations why people prefer to select Hybrid car or even SUV instead of standard car:

1. Hybrid vehicle works efficiently
Indeed, hybrid car eliminates the irritation of having to recharge your battery especially in time of need. In contrast to fully electric powered car where you need to plug it straight into an electrical outlet to charge its battery pack, utilizing Hybrid, the system will certainly automatically switch on to make use of the gasoline engine as soon as it detects the electric battery is lower.

2. Ease And Comfort
Apart from possessing a tax incentive coming from the IRS, purchasing a Hybrid car can in addition imply obtaining a car parking discount in certain key cities. Having a hybrid car has its advantage. You'll get to save a lot of cash from lowering your fuel consumption as well. Don't worry about the weather, the hybrid battery functions even in the course of severe conditions (cold and warm).

3. Best for the natural environment
Hybrid vehicles and also hybrid SUVs may be categorized as green automobiles as they minimize CO2 emission meaning less pollution within the air we inhale and exhale. Decreasing toxic emission furthermore impacts on our Ozone layer, it's better upon the natural environment. Moreover, through the use of hybrid automobiles, it will furthermore lower your fuel consumption.

4. Easy to maintain
In comparison to conventional vehicles, hybrid provides less moving parts in its system. Consequently the only maintenance expenses you probably need to spend would be on tires, wiper blades, or perhaps shocks. Just what about filter for both oil as well as air? Well, the great thing with regards to hybrid, it doesn't make use of oil. Simple as well as significantly less upkeep, keep you funds save in your pocketbook.

5. Aerodynamic style and design
One of the primary ideas of using hybrid automobile would be to decrease fuel usage by improving the amount of fuel efficiency. This could be achieved by designing aerodynamic architecture body that reduce drag and reduce weight. There are several car manufacturers that start creating hybrid vehicle with distinctive and futuristic body design for this particular purpose.

We write this informative article to not ask you to buy a hybrid car to help save the ecosystem. Actually, there are many methods you can do in lowering emissions such as utilizing bicycle more often or perhaps public transit. However, in the event that you can't live without a car, we strongly suggest you to purchase a Hybrid car instead of standard vehicle.

How to Choose the Car That's Best for You

The car that you drive can say a lot about you. It can label you a practical person, a flashy person, or something in between. Although you may not be intending to be making a statement, there's no question that you'll be certain to be making certain impressions by the car that you drive. So how do you pick the car that's best for you? Let's look at a few things you'll want to consider when making this decision.

The first thing you'll want to do is establish a budget. Consider many things along with just the price of the car payment; you'll also want to think about your car insurance, gas prices, and other extracurricular fees. If you're willing and able to spend a lot of money, you'll need to be less picky than you would be otherwise, but if you're on a tight budget, you'd better start thinking about some things you'd be willing to sacrifice.

Look at your needs. As stated above, you'll likely need to make some sacrifices in order to stay within your budget. Examine the things you feel that you need, and the things that you feel you would like, but could live without. Unless you have a very large budget, the fact of the matter is, you're likely going to have to give some things up. Look at your situation logically, and picture yourself using your car every day. How likely is it that you'll need some of the expensive extra features? Are you willing to sacrifice some of these things in order to fit within your budget? Most likely, you'll need to do some cutting in order to spend somewhere around your desired amount.

After setting a budget, you'll want to do as much research as possible. Figure out what type of car will best suit your needs. Consider things such as gas mileage, resale value, and, even though many people deny caring about such things, looks. You don't want to be driving a car that you don't enjoy driving; ultimately, you're going to be spending a lot of time in your car, so you'll want to get something you'll be comfortable with. Doing research can help you make your search more efficient when it comes time to actually start looking at cars.

After narrowing your choices down, begin your actual search for a car. Take test drives to get a feel for each vehicle you look at. Be sure you ask as many questions as possible. This cannot be stressed enough. Go to the dealer with a plan, and be well informed. Doing so can save you a lot of pain down the road. At this time, so close to "decision time", a lot of people have a tendency to get very nervous. This is understandable, as there is a lot of money and a very big commitment involved in buying a car. However, as long as you've done your homework, you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

The process of buying a new car can be a very daunting process, but one that can be very rewarding. As long as you don't let your nerves get the best of you, and as long as you make a well informed decision, your selection is one that can pay dividends for years down the road.