Mazda recently launched their new MX-5 which is one of the most basic form of sports car. It is aimed at providing real driving pleasure with maximum driver involvement while reducing all the fancy electronic aids. It is not the most powerful nor the fastest sports car out there but it is direction is very simple, bring the pleasure back in driving a sports car. Many car companies get caught up with adding more power, more electronic aids to keep the car on the road, more safety features and all this ends up with a lot more weight on the car than it really should have.
A pure sports car is a simple, sharp handling car with good brakes and lots of driver feedback. Mazda has kept true to its tradition and the new model is no exception. The car is light, agile, sharp handling and easy to drive. It only has 156hp on the 2.0 litre model. Sure, the car can do with a lot more power, like say 100hp to make it go faster but in true sports car sense it is not about going faster but the fun of driving it.
The new generation MX-5 is a big step up from some of the previous models as some of them have gotten a little too fat and too heavy. Similarly with sports cars made by other car companies all have ended up being too heavy.
This new MX-5 has plenty of room for enhancements such as turbo kits, brake upgrade, suspension upgrades and etc. Come 2016, the Tokyo Autosalon will have a flurry of new tuning products for this car. The Toyota GT 86 is getting old and people are getting bored with it so the introduction of the new MX-5 is timely.
At the end of the globe European car makers are making their sports cars more powerful and adding a tonne of driver aids to keep the car safe. Seems strange that they don't want to focus more on driver involvement rather than outright power. Yes, most guys would wish to have more power but how many can really handle the car with 500hp?! It definitely looks good on the sales brochure that the car has 500hp but in reality how many of us get to use all 500hp? The horsepower war has gotten out of hand and seems to be endless. It is just about bragging rights or all about ego?
Wednesday 26 August 2015
Sunday 23 August 2015
Ride Sharing and Uber
The ride sharing concept Uber seems to be popular in the US but it seems to have many hiccups worldwide. As usual we would expect the commercial vehicle licensing bodies to have a hard time with Uber since it is not regulated and the drivers are not validated. Sure it is a good way to make extra income for those who have a car and free time. I still cannot comprehend how Uber can raise so much funding when it is not really worth that much!
The next issue comes with safety and security. Since none of the vehicles on Uber are checked for safety compliance and the drivers are not personally screened through for character checks it is quite dicey to get into a car late at night with an unknown person, especially if the passenger is female. The recent incidence in India where a woman was sexually assaulted by a Uber driver gave rise to this potential problem.
Several countries have banned Uber completely and have gone so far as to arrest anyone who is caught offer such services without a commercial license. Sexual assault is just one, there are other potential issue such as murder or even accidents resulting from reckless driving. In such cases naturally Uber will remove itself from responsibility.
I would consider taking Uber rides as a risk.
The next issue comes with safety and security. Since none of the vehicles on Uber are checked for safety compliance and the drivers are not personally screened through for character checks it is quite dicey to get into a car late at night with an unknown person, especially if the passenger is female. The recent incidence in India where a woman was sexually assaulted by a Uber driver gave rise to this potential problem.
Several countries have banned Uber completely and have gone so far as to arrest anyone who is caught offer such services without a commercial license. Sexual assault is just one, there are other potential issue such as murder or even accidents resulting from reckless driving. In such cases naturally Uber will remove itself from responsibility.
I would consider taking Uber rides as a risk.
Tuesday 11 August 2015
Cars getting hacked!
Tesla recently had an incident where one of their cars got hacked into and forced to stop. The hacker was doing it not as an attack on Tesla but to show that the car is vulnerable to such potential threats. It is a good demonstration and reminder that with all the new cars becoming increasingly more electronic and dependent of computers such attacks can easily take place in the future. The Tesla is currently the most advanced car on the planet with online software updates and advanced design. Elon Musk's team quickly contacted the hacker not to slap him with a legal suit but to hire him to be part of the Tesla team. Smart move as this person obviously is talented and have the ability to help Tesla improve its online security and also potentially help push the car's development further.
This hacking exercise would also turn many observers to stick to traditional cars that are more mechanical and less dependent on electronics. The cars will be less complicated and would provide a better sense of security knowing that no one can hack something that is not connected digitally.
Like any evolution of technology there will be hurdles and also new challenges to face. Tesla's team took the right direction to pull in the talent rather than throw the law book at them. Had it been a large car maker, the situation would be quite different and the hacker would almost certainly be slapped with a legal suit.
This hacking exercise would also turn many observers to stick to traditional cars that are more mechanical and less dependent on electronics. The cars will be less complicated and would provide a better sense of security knowing that no one can hack something that is not connected digitally.
Like any evolution of technology there will be hurdles and also new challenges to face. Tesla's team took the right direction to pull in the talent rather than throw the law book at them. Had it been a large car maker, the situation would be quite different and the hacker would almost certainly be slapped with a legal suit.
Thursday 6 August 2015
motoring magazines
I grew up reading all kinds of car magazines such as Road & Track, Evo, Autocar, Car, Performance Car, Motor Trend and Fast Car. I also watched a lot of Top Gear, Best Motoring (Japan) and many other motoring programs. I grew to appreciate the amount of work that goes into the journalism and also the comments whether they are a true reflection of the car itself or it was paid to say good things about the car. International magazines such as Motor Trend and Autocar seem quite neutral about their views regarding a car and provide good and honest feedback regardless if it is good or bad. To me this is true journalism.
If you read some magazines like Top Gear the reviews are generally quite good but often it is skewed towards British cars. Similarly for motoring shows like Best Motoring from Japan, the comparisons very often look questionable when they pit Japanese cars against European cars and make the Japanese cars look better than the European cars. There will always be a certain level of patriotism in journalism. It also applies to Americans too where test driver Randy Pobst will always favour an American made car.
In countries like Malaysia where the motoring journalists are expected to say good things about local made cars such as Proton, as a consumer it is down right frustrating to read the publication. This applies to the local newspapers that periodically do car features. This is one of the reasons why people love Jeremy Clarkson so much, he will tell it like it is... despite his usual bias towards British and European cars but he will comment fairly if the car is badly designed. Jeremy Clarkson has an army of fans in Asia and appreciate his brand of humour and brutal honesty about a car. No one really wants to read some story about a car that is all prepared by a marketing team from a car company. The readers want to read the real comment and feedback from journalists who has driven the car.
I always feel cheated if I read an article about a car that has been padded up but does not live up to what it was described in the article.
I would part with this piece of advise, do not buy a car just because you read good reviews about it in magazines. Always test drive it and get your own opinion about it. Not everyone shares the same opinion. Magazine car reviews are very subjective and somethings may appeal to a journalist but it may not necessarily appeal to you.
If you read some magazines like Top Gear the reviews are generally quite good but often it is skewed towards British cars. Similarly for motoring shows like Best Motoring from Japan, the comparisons very often look questionable when they pit Japanese cars against European cars and make the Japanese cars look better than the European cars. There will always be a certain level of patriotism in journalism. It also applies to Americans too where test driver Randy Pobst will always favour an American made car.
In countries like Malaysia where the motoring journalists are expected to say good things about local made cars such as Proton, as a consumer it is down right frustrating to read the publication. This applies to the local newspapers that periodically do car features. This is one of the reasons why people love Jeremy Clarkson so much, he will tell it like it is... despite his usual bias towards British and European cars but he will comment fairly if the car is badly designed. Jeremy Clarkson has an army of fans in Asia and appreciate his brand of humour and brutal honesty about a car. No one really wants to read some story about a car that is all prepared by a marketing team from a car company. The readers want to read the real comment and feedback from journalists who has driven the car.
I always feel cheated if I read an article about a car that has been padded up but does not live up to what it was described in the article.
I would part with this piece of advise, do not buy a car just because you read good reviews about it in magazines. Always test drive it and get your own opinion about it. Not everyone shares the same opinion. Magazine car reviews are very subjective and somethings may appeal to a journalist but it may not necessarily appeal to you.
Wednesday 5 August 2015
Female drivers
This story may sound a little sexist but I am still going to say my piece about it. Female car ownership is on the rise world wide as more women enjoy the independence that come with it. It is good that women drive since it helps them in many ways. Car companies also realise this and have added many extra accessories to cater for this segment of the market. Simple examples being the mirror on the sun visor on the driver's side and the bag hooks attached to the headrests. These accessories were previously missing from older cars.
We also hear many claims or statements made that women and better drivers then men. This is completely untrue and this statement is made by a woman!
The reality is that women drivers can be very erratic and unpredictable and may have poor spatial awareness and coordination while men are often very reckless and drive too fast making them dangerous drivers. We have all seen many Youtube videos of women drivers destroying gas pumps by driving off without removing the gas pump, then there are cases of women crashing their cars in car parks or driving their cars into pillars or bollards!
Saying all this the point goes back to driver education and the testing criteria in order to obtain a driver's license. In Asia there has been many accidents caused by female drivers who were oblivious to their surroundings opt to stop in the middle of the freeway because she was lost! One can obtain a driver's license by bribing driving test officers in South East Asia bringing into question the level of competency of the drivers on the road.
There is nothing wrong with having female drivers... I believe all drivers regardless men or women should really undergo defensive driving and should be subjected to more stringent test before the driving license is issued to them.
We also hear many claims or statements made that women and better drivers then men. This is completely untrue and this statement is made by a woman!
The reality is that women drivers can be very erratic and unpredictable and may have poor spatial awareness and coordination while men are often very reckless and drive too fast making them dangerous drivers. We have all seen many Youtube videos of women drivers destroying gas pumps by driving off without removing the gas pump, then there are cases of women crashing their cars in car parks or driving their cars into pillars or bollards!
Saying all this the point goes back to driver education and the testing criteria in order to obtain a driver's license. In Asia there has been many accidents caused by female drivers who were oblivious to their surroundings opt to stop in the middle of the freeway because she was lost! One can obtain a driver's license by bribing driving test officers in South East Asia bringing into question the level of competency of the drivers on the road.
There is nothing wrong with having female drivers... I believe all drivers regardless men or women should really undergo defensive driving and should be subjected to more stringent test before the driving license is issued to them.
car enthusiast vs an ordinary commuter
There two groups of drivers out there.. the ordinary commuter who buys a car just to get from point A to point B, they don't care so much about the car's performance and is more concerned about fuel economy, reliability, safety and price. These are the same bunch of people who would opt for a very safe Toyota or Honda (non sporty models), Daihatsu, low end Chevrolet, entry level Renault or entry level VW. These cars literally can put you to sleep while doing long distance driving.
On the other hand there are those who will only buy fun and exciting cars to drive. Being seen in a Toyota or a Honda will make them feel embarrassed or ashamed! They do not care so much about fuel economy. The key element is excitement and the fun factor. Quite often the buyers will opt for a BMW, Porsche, Subaru (performance models), AMG Mercedes, sports model Renaults and performance Audis or VWs.
Unfortunately the bulk of the population fall into the ordinary commuter category thats why car companies design the bulk of their cars to be boring! some companies such as Kia and Hyundai invested heavily in pinching top tier designers which has made the cars look much more appealing. The investment has paid off handsomely with both Kia and Hyundai attracting more buyers who would previously shy away from these two brands. Of course to the car enthusiasts they would still snicker at the thought of buying a Kia or Hyundai since these cars have never been exciting to drive.
A simple aesthetic redesign can change the way a buyer perceives a brand. Car companies cannot be blamed for pursuing this direction in car development. Companies like Toyota are the best at making boring cars and just alter the exterior and interior parts of the car to make it look new but underneath the car is still using the same old engine and same old transmission. The introduction of a new engine or transmission is usually more than 10 years apart. They keep holding on to the ideology of "if it is not broken don't fix it". This has served Toyota well for the past 3 decades but the problem now comes with the competitors introducing better engines and better transmission system which has eaten into Toyota's market share. Toyota is now scrambling to redesign their cars and introduce new innovations to the new models, they are quite late to this but Toyota has the financial capabilities and resources to make it work for them. One of the key changes will be engine down sizing with turbo. While the Europeans have been doing this for the past 20 years Toyota now only decided to join the party.
The next time you see a car pull up next to you at the traffic lights, take a look and see what car it is. Often you can tell if the owner of that car is an ordinary commuter or a car enthusiast.
On the other hand there are those who will only buy fun and exciting cars to drive. Being seen in a Toyota or a Honda will make them feel embarrassed or ashamed! They do not care so much about fuel economy. The key element is excitement and the fun factor. Quite often the buyers will opt for a BMW, Porsche, Subaru (performance models), AMG Mercedes, sports model Renaults and performance Audis or VWs.
Unfortunately the bulk of the population fall into the ordinary commuter category thats why car companies design the bulk of their cars to be boring! some companies such as Kia and Hyundai invested heavily in pinching top tier designers which has made the cars look much more appealing. The investment has paid off handsomely with both Kia and Hyundai attracting more buyers who would previously shy away from these two brands. Of course to the car enthusiasts they would still snicker at the thought of buying a Kia or Hyundai since these cars have never been exciting to drive.
A simple aesthetic redesign can change the way a buyer perceives a brand. Car companies cannot be blamed for pursuing this direction in car development. Companies like Toyota are the best at making boring cars and just alter the exterior and interior parts of the car to make it look new but underneath the car is still using the same old engine and same old transmission. The introduction of a new engine or transmission is usually more than 10 years apart. They keep holding on to the ideology of "if it is not broken don't fix it". This has served Toyota well for the past 3 decades but the problem now comes with the competitors introducing better engines and better transmission system which has eaten into Toyota's market share. Toyota is now scrambling to redesign their cars and introduce new innovations to the new models, they are quite late to this but Toyota has the financial capabilities and resources to make it work for them. One of the key changes will be engine down sizing with turbo. While the Europeans have been doing this for the past 20 years Toyota now only decided to join the party.
The next time you see a car pull up next to you at the traffic lights, take a look and see what car it is. Often you can tell if the owner of that car is an ordinary commuter or a car enthusiast.
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