Monday, February 22, 2010

Nosy Neighbours with Dark Hearts Beware

Neighbours can be troublesome, especially those who have the tendency to compete with people living around them. Their one-up-manship makes them particularly disdainful and despicable.

Not only do they over do it with "keeping up with the Joneses", they can't stand to see others getting by in peace. Somehow, they must impose their likes and dislikes, as though they are the standard bearers of the neighbourhood.

So, at the slightest imposition by others living around them, they make it a point to bitch and complain, to the extent of finding any excuse to get the town council involved. They forget their own impositions on their neighbours.

One of these people has the tendency to park wherever and however he pleases - him and his family - making it extremely inconvenient for me to get in and out of the house with my car.

Yet another nosy "mightier than thou" neighbour has gone so far as to cause structural damage to my house due to the poor renovation planning and execution of her house.

Have I ever said or done anything to get back at them? No. "We're living in a community", I said to my wife. It's about giving and taking. "So, let it all go," I said.

Unfortunately, my silence has been taken as a sign of weakness. Not content with letting my family be, one of these neighbours has since lodged a report with the town council about my dogs.

Well, that takes the cake. I'll do what I must to sort things out with the town council. From here on, these neighbours with dark hearts (busuk hati) better watch what they do.

I'd be documenting every bit of transgression they commit and I'll be lodging my own periodic reports/complaints with the town council. They want "fire", they got "fire". Let's see how much heat they can stand.

Thursday, February 18, 2010

Proton has Quality Issues, Still


It's not my intention to turn my blog site into a Proton hating site. I just want to share a piece of advice I gave to a friend recently about buying a Waja.

Having been a proud owner of a first generation Waja 1.6L (M), I can say that the car has good acceleration and handling for something bulky that comes with a relatively puny engine. I spent more than RM10K doing it up so that it could go faster and handle corners better, aside from looking better as well.

So, when a friend asked what I thought of the Waja and if I'd recommend buying one, I felt rather mixed.

I like the Waja a lot. Yes, it looks dated now. Still, it has a lot going for it.

At the same time, Protons are known to have annoying quality issues. My first generation Waja had loads of them and, after taking a cursory survey among Proton owners, I've deduced that nothing much has changed.

Yes, Proton has improved somewhat in relation to quality. At the same time, it's not quite there either.

My mother-in-law recently took delivery of a Savvy AMT. Guess what? Something underneath its chassis rattles annoyingly when it's cruising.

This only strengthened my belief, based on my cursory survey, that Protons aren't quite there yet when it comes to quality control.

So, my final advice to my friend was, "Waja is good. Proton has quality issues." If you don't mind spending time going back and forth to the Proton service centre to repair a brand new Proton car, then, go ahead. If you're too busy for that, buy a different marque.

Friday, February 12, 2010

Toyotas Now Worse Than Protons

Who would have thought that, someday, Toyota's reputation would take such a beating that it would be considered as worse than Proton? Well, with the massive recall of Toyotas because of faulty brakes and accelerators, Toyota is experiencing a massive drop in sales and, more importantly for Toyota car owners, massive drop in the resale value of Toyota cars.

It used to be that people would buy Toyotas if they wanted high resale value. Well, not anymore.

These days, you're better off with - hey! What do you know? - a Proton. At least Proton cars don't face brake failure and accelerator problems on a massive scale. And that's quite amazing, considering that Protons are not the best locally-produced cars in Malaysia.

Industry analysts have been quick to point out that the problem with Toyota lies in its corporate culture, which has reached such a state of complacency that, at the first signs of trouble, it went into a state of denial.

Well, Toyota is the vanguard of automotive quality, is it not? Truth be told, had Toyota been quicker to respond, in terms of reviewing its supply chain and quality control processes as well as responding to negative media publicity, it would not be facing as much trouble as it is facing now.

Sometimes it doesn't pay to be the "low hanging fruit" by responding to every single negative media publicity. Other times, foot dragging makes things worse. Clearly, for Toyota, these are the "other times".

Interestingly enough, there were already signs of trouble way, way before the Press caught on to the problems faced by Toyota. In the first episode of the first season of Vampire Diaries, a Toyota Prius was shown skidding and swerving when a crow hit its windshield.

Well, with ABS working properly, that Prius should not have skidded or swerved at all. In fact, it takes a lot for an ABS-equipped car to skid uncontrollably.

Lo and behold! Today, Priuses are being recalled because of faulty ABS.

Anyway, it would take a lot for Toyota's reputation to recover. Meanwhile, consumers would be making beelines for other marques when buying new cars. At the very least, they won't have to worry about brake or accelerator problems.
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Addendum: I can't help but wonder if Nizar's accident, whereby his Camry overturned, is related to faulty accelerator? Camrys are among those being recalled.
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Addendum 2: When it comes to damage control, the game that companies play is basically "wait and see". It's quite normal to hold back for fear of adding fuel to fire. So, the reputation that I am referring to here, as asked by Anonymous, in the comments section below, is one that is hinged on timeliness.
With so much being said about Toyota's woes in America, the same kind of foot-dragging takes place, as it did in the US, in Malaysia. And I don't think that the back-log in order books for Toyota by one month is truly indicative that its brand image has been unaffected. If anything, the fact that the top producer of cars globally plays second fiddle to Honda in Malaysia is indicative that it is not coming out of the brake/accelerator debacle unfazed (despite the supposed fire-prone nature of Hondas, as alleged by Anonymous).
Of course, for people who have been loyal to the Toyota brand, they'll continue to buy Toyotas. Well, good for Toyota. What would have been better is if it came out strongly in support of itself in Malaysia and quickly at that.
For those who don't really care much for the brand, the beating Toyota is taking is just one more reason to look elsewhere.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

End of a PETRONAS Era

One of the most important men in Malaysia has just left the PETRONAS building. Tan Sri Mohd Hassan Marican clocked out for the last time at Tower 1, PETRONAS Twin Towers, KLCC at about 6.15 pm yesterday.

For PETRONAS staff, it marked the end of great era, one that started with the late Tan Sri Azizan Zainul Abidin being appointed as Chairman of PETRONAS and ended with Tan Sri Hassan stepping out of Tower 1 for the last time as President and Chief Executive Officer.

Three fundamental things describe this era - PETRONAS' embarking on a strategic globalisation programme to augment Malaysia's crude oil and gas reserves, adding value to its core business, and providing exciting new challenges to its young employees who form about 70% of the PETRONAS population.

From the rousing send-off Tan Sri Hassan received yesterday from more than 1,000 able bodied staff who filled the PETRONAS lobby to the brim, the consensus among the PETRONAS people is clear. Tan Sri Hassan - the embodiment of PETRONAS' Shared Values of Loyalty, Integrity, Professionalism and Cohesiveness - has discharged his duties with excellence.

Well done, Tan Sri. Well done, indeed.

You will be missed.

We are also happy for you. While we see the sadness in your eyes, from the expression on your face, we also see relief - great and utter relief.

Such a great burden has been lifted from your shoulders. How liberating it must be for you.

Yes, we will continue to soldier on in memory of you and in honour of your sacrifices.

Yes, we will support your successor as you have asked us to. And as you have shown us how, we will continue to work hard for the sake of the nation and corporation.

















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Addendum: The new PETRONAS President came in today. His first message written from his desk was comforting and inspiring.

Here's to a bright future for PETRONAS under Dato' Shamsul Azhar Abbas.

Monday, February 8, 2010

Top Gear Not So Cocked Up After All


You know how Top Gear is filled with a bunch of cocks as programme hosts, with Jeremy Clarkson as Cock-in-Chief. Well, Top Gear online has come up with a predictably cocked-up Top 20 list of the worst cars the Top Gear cocks have had the displeasure of reviewing.

It's interesting to note that some of the things they say are pretty accurate, albeit their cock-eyed view of what's right and proper in this world when it comes to cars.

What's even more interesting is that none of the cars featured in the Top 20 worst list are Protons.

What gives, you bunch of cocks? I thought you all hated Protons so much, nothing could ever surpass Protons when it comes to being the absolute worst.

Don't get me wrong. I don't like Protons either. As a Malaysian, I'm entitled to hate the very car marque that's causing cars in Malaysia to become inordinately expensive because Proton needs protection from free market competition for the longest time.

Unlike Top Gear, I still acknowledge that Proton gets things right and can't possibly get everything wrong, a thing which Top Gear cocks appear to insist on establishing and are failing woefully.

Well, perhaps the fact that Protons are not in the Top 20 list of the worst cars shows that the cocks of Top Gear are not so cocked-up after all, if only just...

See http://www.topgear.com/uk/photos/worst_20_cars?imageNo=19

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Addendum: Anonymous, in the comments section below, wants me to give bright ideas, so that we can have a nice discussion on what to do to help Proton improve. If he takes a bit of time to read more of my entries, he'd see that I haven't been short on such ideas.
So far, there have been no takers...

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Ferrari Powered by Toyota


Fancy owning a Ferrari? Can't afford one? Well, fret not. You can now own a Ferrari powered by Toyota.
Yes, it's a replica. No, it's not available from Toyota.
You have to get it from a custom builder who would take a Toyota MR2, cut it up, bend it in places, bang in a few parts, weld this, weld that and - voila! - one Ferrari replica just for you.
It's not cheap. Upon close inspection, people would know it's not the real deal.
So, what? It's certainly cool!
Recently, Bloomberg gave coverage to a custom builder somewhere in Thailand. For several thousand USDs, you can get yourself a Porsche 911 replica or even a Lamborghini Diablo replica.
Check out YouTube for some of the amazing replicas that car enthusiasts have built, like the Ferrari 360 built from a Peugeot 406 Coupe. Amazing! (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DgGcA5-OnOo&NR=1)
I want one!
This reminds me of the Peugeot 206 advert about some Indian guy transforming his Ambassador into a Peugeot 206 just for the love of the car. (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E7eOVpBCtPo)
Hmm... I wonder if I can shape my Focus into an Audi TT :D

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Wife Buying a New Car - Oh! Be Still My Beating Heart


It's nice to be able to buy a new car every few years. That's what my wife is about when it comes to owning cars.
I consider myself lucky because I'm married to someone who can do this and with cars that are above mid-range.
For instance, after owning a Kia Spectra for just over two years, she pooled her resources to buy the 1st generation Madza6 in mica-black (CBU with 8 airbags) about five years back. Of course, I had a hand in encouraging her to get the car, because I liked it and I'd get to drive it on weekends :P
Still, it's not my car. I can't really drive it to the hilt and, on weekdays, I have to go back to driving my own car.
Don't get me wrong. I love my Ford Focus S2.0 to bits. In terms of performance, the Focus is faster and more nimble than the wife's Mazda6.
It's just that in many other respects, e.g. spaciousness and prestige, the Mazda6 is better than the Focus.
Now that the wife wants to buy a better car, I also feel that I want a new car - I'm thinking of getting the new Kia Forte 2.0L.
Oh! Be still my beating heart. My money is needed elsewhere.
So, for now, I'll just sponge off the wife by driving her new car when she lets me :D