The Mitsubishi Concept G4, which debuted at the recent 5th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, will be put on display for the Malaysian public at four selected locations throughout the Peninsula over the next one month. Making its first appearance at MidValley Megamall this week, the concept vehicle will then head to Penang and Johor Bahru before returning to Klang Valley a month later to be displayed at 1 Utama shopping mall on 17-21 July.

The Concept G4 previews a new compact sedan which Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) plans to roll out globally. International reports have identified the new model’s name as the Attrage, and we understand that the vehicle will be motivated by the same mechanical components that also underpin the Mirage. Its RISE (Reinforced Impact Safety Evolution) body incorporates extensive usage of high-tensile steel to reduce overall weight, and the vehicle is powered by the Mirage’s 1.2-litre 3-cylinder MIVEC engine mated to a CVT driving the front wheels.

While the actual production vehicle is unlikely to feature the concept’s elaborate and futuristic front fascia, expect the overall silhouette, which features a short front overhang and rising belt character line, to be retained.

If you’re interested to check it out in person, the G4′s schedule over the next month is as follows:
- 19-23 June: MidValley Megamall Centre Court, Kuala Lumpur
- 5-7 July: Sunway Carnival Mall Main Entrance, Penang
- 12-14 July: Sutera Mall Centre Court, Johor Bahru
- 17-21 July: 1 Utama GF Rain Forest, Petaling Jaya

Results of the annual 2013 International Engine of the Year Awards, voted by a panel of 87 motoring journalists hailing from 35 countries around the world, have just been announced at the Engine Expo at Stuttgart, Germany. Engines are sorted into eight categories based on displacement with a further three special categories created for new engines, green engines, and performance engines. The category winners then qualify to be in the running for the Overall Engine of the Year Award.

Repeat winners from past years are possible as the award is open to engines that power vehicles still on sale in most parts of the world, and for only the fourth time in the award’s history, a defending winner successfully retains the Overall Engine of the Year crown. Amassing a total of 479 points from the judges, the Ford’s 1.0-litre 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine held off the challenge of Volkswagen’s EA111 twin-charged engine, itself a two-time winner, to take home the big prize.

Ford’s 1.0-litre triple, boosted by a Continental-developed turbocharger, also retained its Sub 1.0-litre crown from last year and was placed fourth in the Green Engine category. The BMW and Volkswagen Groups were big winners too, taking home a combined five awards and having a total of 19 engines (including Porsche and Lamborghini under the VW Group) nominated in the entire award. These two makers monopolized the 2.5 to 3.0-litre category, with Porsche’s 2.7-litre flat-six in first place and Volkswagen’s 3.0-litre V6 TDI in sixth place sandwiching a quartet of BMW 3.0-litre six-cylinder engines.

Volkswagen was particularly strong in the 1.0 to 1.4-litre category, its TSI engines occupying all of the top four places. Interestingly, the newly-introduced 1.4-litre turbocharged EA211 engine with cylinder deactivation (ACT), which won the New Engine award, is placed fourth in its category behind three versions of the EA111 engine, which is ironically the engine that the EA211 is meant to replace in the long-run. Whilst the EA211 remains firmly an engine for the future, the present belongs to the twincharged 1.4 TSI engine which retains the category award for the eight successive year.

BMW’s 1.6-litre Prince engine is another serial winner of the award, picking up the 1.4 to 1.8-litre category gong for the seventh successive year. Its haul of 317 points in the category proved sufficient to keep Volkswagen’s 1.8 TSI and Ford’s EcoBoost T4 engines at second and third places respectively. Mazda’s new SkyActiv engines are also fast gaining recognition from the panel. Despite not winning a single award, Mazda engineers had every reason to walk home with their heads held high, as a trio of its 2.0- and 2.5-litre SkyActiv-G petrol and 2.2-litre SkyActiv-D diesel engines generated a combined tally of five nominations between them.

Newly introduced in this year’s award is the Engine Technology Development of the Year award, which is separately evaluated by a panel of 11 journalists with technical background plus one leading academic to serve as judges. This category is aimed to honour innovations made by powertrain component suppliers had 12 nominees and from that pool, the each judge was asked to name and rank his/her top eight innovations and score them accordingly with eight points awarded to the judge’s own choice of first place, seven points for second place and so forth. The winning innovation was Bosch’s hydraulic hybrid powertrain, which edged out Continental’s EMS3 engine management system by a haul of eight points.

List of results after the jump

The Amazing Toyota Value sales campaign, which offered attractive down payment rebates and free accessories, has been extended past its original deadline of 31 May, with a series of no less than 47 roadshows being planned nationwide from now until the month of June.

Down payment rebates (amount depending on model) and e-service vouchers worth RM500 are applicable for the majority of Toyota models officially sold by UMWT, namely the Vios, Corolla, Prius, Prius c, Camry, and Hilux. The Rush gets the e-service voucher without the down payment rebate.

Selected variants of the Camry and Hilux are offered free original Toyota accessories in addition to the down payment rebate. Both 2.0-litre variants of the Camry will receive the Toyota premium solar and security film that is standard on the 2.5V but a RM1,900 cost option on the aforementioned variants. Meanwhile, the Hilux 2.5G and 3.0G receive the DVD-AVN system with reverse camera (which is a highly recommended option) worth RM2,990 for free.

Locations and dates of the roadshows after the jump:

Ford has announced the entire month of June as Ford Heritage Month in Malaysia, celebrating the 110th anniversary of Ford Motor Company’s founding, the 150th birthday of founder Henry Ford, and 88 years of Ford presence here in Malaysia.

To celebrate, all Ranger and Everest customers are being offered a free 27-point vehicle health check and a 10 per cent discount on Motorcraft diesel engine oil, oil filters and labour costs. To enjoy these special deals, eligible customers will need to register at www.fordconsumer.com to receive a free e-voucher that must be redeemed to receive this promotion, which runs from 1 June to 30 June. This promotion, named ‘The Works’, is an international campaign funded by Ford Motor Company itself.

The Motorcraft engine oils are specially formulated by Ford and blended in USA. The heavy duty diesel engines used by the Ranger and Everest are best suited for use with the 10W-30 Super Duty premium grade oil. Ford prescribes 5,000km intervals for oil and filter changes for these engines.

Locally, Ford’s distributors in Malaysia, Sime Darby Auto Connexion (SDAC), will be putting a large ‘birthday cake’ in its showroom as a display ornament, and customers are invited to decorate it with handwritten goals on how to better satisfy their needs as customers of the Ford brand. The postings will be reviewed on 11 June, and on 13 June, winners will be announced and awarded a Garmin GPS unit each.

Ford arrived in Malaysia in 1909, and today, the company is represented by a network consisting of 45 showrooms and service centres, with a further seven planned in the near future.

Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM) is offering free maintenance programmes up to 2 years, cash rebates up to RM 10,000 and free Mitsubishi genuine accessories for selected 2012 models until 31 August 2013 or while stocks last.

Offers vary from model to model and they are listed below:
- ASX: Free accessories worth RM1,300 and a choice between two years free maintenance plus cash rebate up to RM8,000 OR a pure cash rebate of up to RM10,000.
- Lancer Sportback: Choose between two years free maintenance plus cash rebate up to RM1,000 OR a pure cash rebate of up to RM3,000.
- Mirage GL CVT: Two years free maintenance, free tonneau cover, and Petronas gift card worth RM1,000.
- Pajero Sport VGT: Two years free maintenance plus cash rebate up to RM5,000 and free accessories worth RM1,800 OR pure cash rebate up to RM7,000.
- Triton 2.5 M/T: Two years free maintenance plus cash rebate up to RM5,000 OR pure cash rebate up to RM7,000.
- Triton VGT: Two years free maintenance plus cash rebate up to RM6,500 OR pure cash rebate up to RM8,000.

The two-year free maintenance package outlined above offers free maintenance on parts lubricants and labour costs. Parts covered by the package include engine oil, fuel filters, air cleaner, brake fluid, coolant, differential oil and transmission oil (based on the recommended scheduled service).

BMW first dabbled into the Sports Utility … ok, fine … Sports Activity Vehicle market segment in 1999 with the original BMW X5. Other X sports activity models such as the X1, X3, and X6 have since been added to the range, and they will soon be joined by the all-new X4.

The second generation E70 X5, launched in 2006 then facelifted in 2010, is due for its full model change this year, and it will be replaced this year by the third generation X5, code-named F15 in Munich’s internal communications.

Rolling out from BMW’s Spartanburg plant in South Carolina, USA, the all-new X5 is scheduled for a November 2013 market launch in Germany, where it will debut with three variants – a petrol V8 flanked by two six-cylinder diesels, all engines turbocharged and compliant to Euro 6 emission standards.

Full story after the jump

One of the biggest obstacles preventing electric vehicles to become truly viable transport solutions is their well-documented range limitations. Unlike vehicles powered by internal combustion engines, you can’t pull over at a petrol station and just refuel your EV. The reasons for this is simply because the deployment of EV charging stations are still not widespread, and the actual process of charging an EV takes a lot of time.

Users of electric vehicles need to take the range factor into account every day on the road, and if there is a need to journey far in an EV, they must plan their journey in such a way that they will reach an EV charging station along the way before their batteries deplete. To help address this inconvenience, international automotive supplier Continental has therefore created the “Simplify your Drive for Electric Vehicles” concept vehicle, which showcases a new system that not only calculates the vehicle’s available range, but also assists in managing energy consumption and also suggesting detours to nearby charging stations if necessary.

Full story after the jump.

Some 500 Toyota Merit members and their guests in Klang Valley and Kuching, Sarawak, were invited to catch the latest adventure of the Starship Enterprise and her crew in the Merit Movie Day that was held last weekend.

A total of eight screenings of Star Trek Into Darkness were held for Toyota Merit members on 18-19 May in the Platinum Suite of Cathay Cineplex, eCurve, Mutiara Damansara. At the same time, MBO cinema at The Spring Mall, Kuching, also held a screening of the same movie for Kuching-based members.

In addition to the thrill of watching Captain Kirk take on his latest nemesis, the lucky moviegoers were treated to food and drinks and were also given the opportunity win merchandises by answering simple quizzes before the movie screenings, completing a premium and memorable movie experience.

The Merit Movie Day is a regularly held customer relationship activity organized by Toyota Merit. Members were previously treated to screenings of X-Men: First Class in 2011 and Taken 2 in 2012.

Shell Malaysia has launched the Shell Nationwide Survey last week in an initiative to gather feedback from customers on its products and services to help the company better understand the needs of its customers.

Customers just need to visit any Shell station nationwide and perform a sales transaction, fill in a survey form, attach the transaction receipt and drop it in the box provided. No minimum transaction is required.

Infiniti has rolled out the first of its new generation ‘Q’ vehicles from its Tochigi production plant last week. The all-new Q50, which premiered at the Detroit Motor Show in January, will replace the Infiniti M sedan and go head on against luxury compact sedans such as the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4, Mercedes C-Class, and Lexus IS.

“The first Infiniti in our new line-up had to reflect the brand’s core values of seductive design, passionate attention to detail, precision in fit and finish, exhilarating performance and a provocative challenge to the status quo. The Q50 certainly does that,” said Nissan Motor Co. Ltd., and Johan de Nysschen, President of Infiniti Motor Company Ltd.