Car, auto & motoring news in 2007

Road closures for 'Little India' launching will cause severe jams

At the recent “Global Walk to Cure Diabetes”, organised by Ford Malaysia for a fourth time, RM22,000 was raised which will be donated to the Juvenile Diabetic Research Foundation, Universiti Malaya Medical Centre and Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia

Ford Motor Company will cease having an active role in its Malaysian operations in 2008, and Sime Darby, its partner in the Ford Malaysia joint-venture will take over the business as exclusive distributor and importer. As part of the restructuring, the 39-year old AMI plant in Shah Alam, Selangor, will be closed down as well. Assembly of Ford vehicles will continue at nearby Swedish Motor Assemblies after June 2008.

Fuji Heavy Industries chose Christmas Day to launch its all-new Subaru Forester in Japan. The third-generation is said to be a new-generation crossover SUV designed around the concept of ‘Best Package for Active Life’

UMW Toyota Motor recently opened its premier branch in the Klang Valley at Subang Jaya, Selangor, The new 3S facility combines the outlets at Jalan 219 in Petaling Jaya, Taipan Subang Jaya and also the small Jiran Anda service outlet which was located near The Summit complex.

Keizo Ono has been appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM), taking over from Fumihiko Minami who has taken up a new posting in Italy after having set up and managed MMM for four years.

The long-awaited Nissan MPV is finally here and by launch day,  some 1,800 people had placed their orders for the new rival to the Toyota Avanza and Innova.

It's rare to hear a recall announcement from Proton but it is now doing so when necessary, perhaps showing that things are indeed changing for the better at the national car company. The recall concerns the jack in certain units of the Gen2 and Satria Neo models and though no accidents have been reported, Proton is asking owners to bring them in for replacement as a pro-active safety measure.

The Naza Sutera has been improved substantially since its launch and the changes made are so significant that Naza decided to give the car a new name.

Following the recent developments in the Proton-Volkswagen discussions and the Malaysian Government’s announcement, Volkswagen is currently reviewing its business strategy for Malaysia.