Digital Instrument cluster

Mercedes Benz, Lexus and now Audi has launched cars using LCD displays instead of typical mechanical instrument clusters. This has taken a new dimension to the design and also the information that can be displayed in front of the driver. Lexus was one of the earliest to introduce this in the LF-A but this technology quickly trickled down to the IS model Lexus. the original idea was to replace the analog tachometer because the engine of the LF-A could rev faster than any mechanical tachometer can keep up. the benefits of using the LCD display was very evident as more information could be displayed on the LCD compared to the analog meters.

Mercedes also introduced it in the new W-222 S Class. The entire instrument cluster is also LCD and it gave off the cool exclusive look to the car's interior.

The most impressive of all is the one from Audi which was included in the newly launched Audi TT. the entire instrument cluster can be altered to display the navigation system map and the size of the actual speedometer and tachometer is reduced to make way for the navigation map.

this is the next wave in terms of car design and functionality. I believe many other auto makers will follow suit. It is unlikely that budget cars will see such LCD displays replacing the traditional analog meters but in the next 10 years more cars will be fitted with new LCD displays instead of traditional analog meters. 

The creative use of the LCD display is definitely impressive and it is here to stay.

VEP - Vehicle Entry Permit in Kuala Lumpur

The Kuala Lumpur city council together with the Government proposed to introduce the VEP (Vehicle Entry Permit) for cars entering the city centre in an attempt to reduce traffic congestion and also air pollution in KL City. this is similar to that introduced in London several years ago. However despite the idea being a logical one there little thought that went into its proposed implementation. Neither the city council nor the government actually worked out the mechanism on how to charge the cars that entered the city during the chargeable hours!
this is very typical in the way which Malaysian government related agencies function. Mooting ideas is not the problem but seeing through their ideas is the problem.
It would not be practical to install toll gates as this will increase the traffic problem and slow traffic down tremendously, secondly there is no space to put up toll booths. The permit collection system is simply not available and it is not like how it is done in Singapore where the ERP gantry system works very efficiently to collect fees from the car wirelessly without stopping.
The current Smartag solution available is out of date and cannot be used in such a case. The Smartag system is not effective enough as the cars have to be driven below 10km/h for it to read, this will cause a problem if it was implemented.

It is quite silly to want to impose such rulings without having a suitable solution available in the first place. It is little wonder why the Malaysian public always laugh at the Government as they constantly contradict themselves and have no ideas how to solve problems that are presented to them.

New models from Proton - is it too late?

Proton recently teased the Malaysian public with a few new models, a new EV Iriz model and a new Perdana model and also a new 1.3 turbo engine. The company seems to be going all out to win back some confidence from the public with such announcements but the question remains if this is all in vain and is it really too late for Proton to make a come back?
the damage done over the years is really quite a large hurdle. the public perception of Proton has always been poor and even the die hard supporters of buy Malaysian made has abandoned them. Proton cars are still seen as low value, low quality and low tech cars and Proton does not bring anything new to the table every time. they are always trying to play catch up and have not innovated anything. Unlike the Hyundai which should be the direct comparison since Hyundai and Proton start around similar time has gone on to be a force to be reckoned with. they have done well in US as well as other parts of the world. Their cars are still cheaper than Japanese but they are no longer looked at as low quality and low tech cars.

Hyundai regularly package their cars to be good value since they bundle in a wide range of accessories and new functions to their cars. these new function are usually found in much more expensive European cars or Lexus.
Proton has not made any impact outside Malaysia and with domestic sales dwindling it is a monumental task for them to claw back any kind of momentum. Firstly they need to capture back a larger slice of the domestic market before going on to attack the overseas market. I often wonder if Proton has a 10, 15 or 20 year plan for their development and marketing. It seems everything is haphazardly done and stop gap measures are often introduced to solve some problems. With the cash pile that Proton had during the 1990s Proton should have gone on to team up with foreign automotive engineering companies to develop new models and build on that momentum. Instead a lot was wasted on silly ventures such as on the MV Augusta motorcycle and Lotus. Both companies bled out Proton plus employing far too many useless engineers to do simple jobs.
Dr. Mahathir has to face reality and let go of his huge ego and shut down Proton if it cannot compete. He is already in his 90s and he will not live that much longer. there is no shame in shutting down his pet project that has become a national burden.

All the signs are there to show that Proton should not be in existence today.
1. small domestic market
2. poor engineering and design
3. poor quality control
4. limited technology transfer from Lotus
5. few export markets buying Proton cars
6. Out of date technology
7. dwindling local sales
8. low local confidence
9. poor engineering expertise
10. lack of innovation

currency crisis and car prices in Malaysia

In the recent month the Malaysian currency has plummeted by more than 25% against the US dollar. Earlier in the year the Malaysian ringgit was trading at RM3.50 to USD 1, now it is hovering around RM4.40 to USD1. The drop in the currency will have serious implications on the automotive sector and the prices of parts and cars itself will surely increase. Nearly all cars sold in Malaysia have parts of components that are imported, even cars like the Perodua Myvi or the Proton Iriz there are components that are imported. Not every single part is made locally.
Tyre companies also announced that prices of tyres will be going up by 20%. This knock on effect will naturally have a big impact on transportation and cost of basic necessities since you need transport for all items sold or distributed around the country. The government is in denial about keeping the cost the same since it is impossible for the importers or producers to absorb the price increase. the increase of price will be passed on to the consumers.
Porsche was one of the first to announce that the price of their cars will go up by 15% to 20% depending on model. this may not affect so many since it is a luxury car but if a 15% increase is implemented for small compact cars like the Myvi it will affect the buyers.
The cost of replacement parts will be badly impacted since a lot of the parts of non local cars are imported. People will turn to using second hand parts or turn to salvage yards to find used parts. This is again going against the govt's plans of eliminating the use of second hand parts in the name of safety. Since the cost of new parts will be a lot more expensive the poorer consumers will have little choice but to buy used parts.
Japanese car companies may not see such a big price increase since the drop against the Thai baht and the Indonesian Rupiah is not as big as against the US Dollar. The currencies of the neighbouring countries also dropped significantly against the US dollar.
No one knows how long this will carry on and all hope that the currency will stabilise soon.

Proton blaming their problems on lack of Government support

In a recent interview Proton chairman, Dr Mahathir blamed the company's problems on the lack of support from the Malaysian government. This was criticised by many members of the public as Proton has been on the few companies that enjoyed decades of assistance and protection from the Malaysian government. The company was extremely complacent when it was protected and did nothing to improve itself nor invest in new technology or improve on its quality. the Malaysian public grew tired of being forced to buy Proton cars since the taxed levied on imported cars were well beyond the means of the ordinary working public.
Proton was the brain child of Dr. Mahathir whom many hailed as the man who industrialised Malaysia. He was also the man guilty of making a mess of the automotive industry which drove car makers to thailand to setup regional manufacturing plants. For the sake of protecting one company many billions of dollars worth of investment went to thailand.
In the recent years Proton's market share has slid tremendously and it is now struggling again. Like any government linked company in Malaysia who struggles, they just stick their hand out to ask for support from the Government. this never ending bail out or support will never help the company that is embroiled in so much corruption.

Many Malaysians wouldn't mind seeing Proton close shop and stop wasting tax payer's money on bail out after bail out. Closing down proton would be a slap in the face for Dr. Mahathir. He cannot bare to see his car company fail. His ego could not take it!

Proton should have closed down many years ago and the automotive industry should be liberalised to allow more foreign investment to come into Malaysia.

after market suspension kits

There are hundreds of brands of after market suspension kits in the market now. From big brands to unknown ones are flooding the market. big names such as KW, Koni, Eibach, Bilstein, Ohlins are among the famous ones while the lesser known ones from China and taiwan are also plentiful. buying a suspension kit is dead simple, just pay money for a kit however, how many people really know how to get the best out of the suspension kit.

A simple kit can cost as little as $500 for a coil over kit to over $3000 for a sophisticated premium branded kit. The trick is in tuning the suspension rather that just buying and having it installed. Getting the spring rates right as well as the damper settings to suit the car's weight and how the driver likes the car to handle. this is undoubtedly one of the most difficult things to get right. it is a black art and top race car drivers are able to communicate their requests to the technician to have the setting done right. the difference in getting it done right can easily translate to shaving seconds off lap times. Every driver has a different preference to the way their car is setup and having infinite combination possibilities makes it a real nightmare to setup the suspension correctly.

the layout of the car is also factor in how the suspension should be setup. For example a rear wheel drive car and a front wheel drive car behaves differently and the way the suspension is to be setup has to take this into account. Front wheel drive cars have a tendency to understeer which means that the drivers will most likely want to dial out the understeer with their suspension setup.

the problem with the retailers of the suspension kits is that very few of them really know anything about setting up the suspension. they are just focused on selling it only. A few small group of retailers will have the know-how on setting up the suspension and this will tip the balance in their favour and allow their hardware to shine on the track. Brand and quality does play a part in the suspension since the bigger brands have spent a lot of time and money on racing and research and development to improve their products. Having said that just buying the best Ohlins and not setting it up correctly will not yield much results.
I have heard numerous stories from car enthusiasts who invested money to buy a good set of TEIN suspension and said their cars handled very badly, this was down to the setting of the suspension rather than the hardware. TEIN has been used by many race teams with great success.

Find a good suspension tuning specialist then buy the right suspension kit to suit. You will be smiling when you get the desired results.

Cars getting hacked into

New cars are fitted with more electronics and the security for the electronics is one part that is forgotten. unlike the internet and PCs where anti virus and firewalls are installed to protect the PCs the car's onboard computer is open to hacking. the encryption and security is not very sophisticated as the car companies never expected anyone to want to hack into car.
this is where the car companies' expectations were shattered when a Tesla car was hacked into and recently a Jeep was also hacked into. this of course is only possible if the car is connected online via a wireless network or via the OnStar system.
The other way of hacking that took place much earlier is the tuning of the ECU via OBD ports. Nissan famously declared that the R35 GT-R's ECU was not crackable but within months of the car's global launch the car's ECU's security was cracked and the ECU could be reprogrammed easily.

What does this all mean? the car companies cannot be complacent with their approach to security of the car. As more electronics control the car it allows the hackers to access more functions of the car. Electric power steering, drive by wire throttle, active assist braking and onboard GPS could possible allow a hacker (when connected) to drive the car remotely. this of course may sound like something out of a James Bond movie but it is becoming a reality.

A terrorist could easily mount explosives in an empty car and drive it remotely and detonate it in a crowded location and no one will know who did it. this is a scary thought and could possibly happen. this is just an example of a potential terrorist attack. there are many other possibilities and problems that can occur.
Car companies really need to think ahead in terms of security and plan way to mitigate any potential hacking into the car's ECU and electronic system.

There was also a recent Youtube video of a guy breaking into a car using a simple device to unlock and lock back a car without triggering the alarm system. the device he used looks like a universal lock pick that is much more sophisticated than any traditional lock pick set. it is able to by pass the basic lock and also re-lock the door within seconds.

New cars will come with more electronics with each new generation, the question is whether the security measures are able to be developed as quickly as the car's electronic technology.