It’s recall season in the US, with beleaguered Toyota having to make another recall last week. Already with four massive recalls in its hands – floor mat, stuck accelerator, hybrid ABS, and power steering hose – a fifth issue surfaced last week, forcing the recall of 8,000 Toyota Tacoma pick-up trucks on 12 Feb 2010.

According to PickupTrucks.com, a manufacturing defect might cause the front drive-shaft of the four-wheel drive pick-up to come apart on the move without warning. Fortunately for Toyota, majority of the affected vehicles are still sitting in their stockyards.

Toyota Tacoma (source: toyota.com)

Another report, by The Detroit Bureau, further elaborated that the defective shafts were sourced from Dana, who sold 34,000 with this defect, with Toyota accounting for only 8,000 of them. Of the remaining 26,000 shafts, 17,000 were sold to Ford, who used them in the Ford Escape, Mercury Mariner, and Mazda Tribute. The remaining 9,000 went to Nissan.

Ford Escape: North American version (left, source: ford.com) vs Asia-Pacific version (right)

A subsequent report, also by The Detroit Bureau, reported Nissan is already looking into the matter, with 2010 models of several Nissan and Infiniti trucks potentially affected, speculating that the affected models are the Frontier and Titan.

Once again, consumers in Malaysia have little cause for concern, as the Toyota Tacoma is not sold in our markets, and neither is the Nissan Titan. Owners of the Ford Escape and Mazda Tribute in Malaysia have little to worry either, as the versions sold in North America are completely different from what we get here.

The Nissan Frontier is essentially the Nissan Navara that we get here, though it must be noted that the North American versions are petrol powered, and are thus mechanically different from ours.

Nissan Frontier is among affected model in US, but we expect the slightly different Navara to fare better.

KON

Official Press Release from Sime Darby Auto ConneXion

Ford Motor Company, in partnership with local distributor Sime Darby Auto ConneXion Sdn Bhd (AutoConneXion), has donated RM51,000 to the Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre (SOURC) near Sandakan, Sabah.

Mr Tom Dickin, South East Asia District Manager from Ford’s Export Division, officially presented the cheque to SOURC representative Dr Senthivel Nathan in a simple ceremony at the centre on 2 Dec 2009.

Representatives of Ford and SOURC at the cheque handover ceremony.

Accompanied by Ms Veemala Rethinasamy, Ford’s National Sales Manager for Malaysia and Mr Ling Ing Kyii, AutoConneXion Branch Manager for Sandakan, he later toured the facility.

“The Export division of Ford Motor Company recently took over responsibility for Malaysia and part of our focus is to support environmental and conservation projects in places where we do business,” said Mr Dickin.

He added, “Ford Grants is a major program for us globally, and we are delighted to contribute in a small way to the excellent work done here at Sepilok by Sylvia and her team. We are working closely with AutoConneXion to identify projects in other parts of Malaysia, which we can support in future.”

Ford Motor Company has been supporting environmental and conservation causes in South East Asia since 2002. Today, Ford Grants is one of the largest programs of its kind in the world. The program evolved from the Henry Ford European Conservation Awards established in Britain in 1983. Over the years, it has received more than 23,000 project submissions and involved more than 125,000 people and organizations in 60 countries throughout Europe, Central and South American, the Caribbean, Asia and the Middle East.

Via the Ford Export Asia Pacific regional office, which covers many export markets in South East Asia, the Ford Grants program has been operating in Laos (5 years) and Cambodia (7 years), supporting causes as diverse as the ordination of novice monks, traditional Khmer poetry and elephant conservation.

Aside from the Ford Grants program, Ford Motor Company actively supports environmental and conservation causes in other countries around the region with donations and special arrangements to purchase support vehicles.  Ford is also proud to actively support the work of Flora and Fauna International across the Asia Pacific region.

Recently, BusinessWeek and leading brand consultancy firm Interbrand published their annual Best Global Brands list ranking the world’s top 100 trade marks. For the ninth successive year, Coca-Cola has been ranked the world’s top brand, with IBM, Microsoft, and GE trailing in its wake. The biggest growths were made by Google, Amazon, and Zara, with their brand values increasing by 25%, 22%, and 14% respectively. Not every one had it good though. Notable names such as Merrill Lynch, AIG, and ING were even wiped out from the list altogether.

The world’s most valuable brand.

Perhaps due to the current climate of economic uncertainty, the overall value of the top 100 brands has declined by 4.6% compared to 2008. Brands in the food industry, such as McD, Kellogg’s, and Nestle, registered growth, whereas banks and automakers were hit the worst. You know the news is bad when Hyundai prides itself for having the lowest decline in brand value at 5%. Ferrari registered 0% decline, but everyone else’s brand value took a hit, averaging a 7.4% decline.

The least declining auto brand

Toyota continues to top the list among auto manufacturers, sitting at 8th place with a brand value of US$31b, declining by 8% from 2008. German giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW follow closely at 12th and 15th placing. Toyota’s arch-rivals, Honda, sit three places below the propellor badge at 18th place, with a brand value of US$17.8b.

Still the world’s top auto brand.

American giants Ford, more than US$10b less valuable a brand than Honda, is the 5th biggest auto brand at 49th place. Volkswagen and its subsidiary, Audi, are seperated by ten places at 55th and 65th spots respectively. At 69th place is Hyundai, at US$4.6b, is a more valuable brand than Porsche, Ferrari, and Lexus. Hyundai debuted in this ranking list in 2005 at 84th place, and has been making steady annual growth since then.

“Thanks to eye-catching products like Genesis and the innovative marketing such as the Assurance program, Hyundai is making a big splash in the world market,“ Interbrand said.

Products like the Genesis has helped raise Hyundai’s profile.

BusinessWeek’s “Best Global Brands” special report is featured in the September 28, 2009 issue, on newsstands Friday, September 18th. Expanded content, including full (more) methodology, is available on BusinessWeek.com at www.businessweek.com/go/brand and on Interbrand.com at http://www.thebestglobalbrands.com.

KON

ezi8k6snc9

Sime Darby Auto ConneXion Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Ford vehicles in Malaysia, is running a month long Hari Raya promotion for the new Ranger 4X4 pick-up from now till September 30, 2009. Every purchase of a Ford Ranger XL or XLT in Peninsular Malaysia now comes with free road tax for two years. For Sabah and Sarawak, the new Ranger comes with free one year’s road tax and insurance. For more information, please call Auto ConneXion Voice hotline at 1 800 88 3181 or visit www.ford.net.my .

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE FROM SIME DARBY AUTO CONNEXION SDN BHD

Following consultation with Ford Motor Company, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion Sdn Bhd, the sole distributor of Ford vehicles in Malaysia, would like to confirm that the following Ford models sold in Malaysia are compatible with the newly launched RON95 fuel

For more information, please call Auto ConneXion Voice hotline at 1 800 88 3181 or visit www.ford.net.my.

Discuss this topic in our forums here.

A letter of understanding, jointly signed by Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors, Daimler AG, Ford Motor Company, General Motors / Opel, Honda Motor Co., Renault SA, Nissan Motor Corporation, and Toyota Motor Corporation, was recently submitted to all oil & energy companies and government organizations calling for accelerated development of hydrogen fuelling infrastructure.

It is the stand of the signatory companies that the concerted development of accessible and affordable hydrogen fuelling facilities would enable the successful introduction of fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEV) in the future.

“A hydrogen infrastructure network with sufficient density is required by 2015,” the automakers said in a joint press release today. “The network should be built-up from metropolitan areas via corridors into area-wide coverage.” The companies “strongly support the idea of building-up a hydrogen infrastructure in Europe, with Germany as starting point and at the same time developing similar concepts for the market penetration of hydrogen infrastructure in other regions of the world, with one US market, Japan and Korea as further starting points,” according to the joint release.

Hyundai’s FCEV program, part of their Blue Drive strategy, is on track to expand its demo fleet of FCEVs to 200 units by 2010, with plans to commence limited series production by 2012. As per an official press release published in Autoworld earlier, Hyundai is set to introduce a trio of Blue Drive models at the upcoming IAA 2009 in Frankfurt.

KON

Few cars in the automotive world resonate in the blood of petrolheads quite like the Ford Mustang. A nameplate with forty years of history, the Mustang began a new class of vehicle known as the muscle car, from which competitors like the Chevrolet Camaro, Dodge Challenger and Pontiac Firebird have sprouted. These various marques and models have come and gone, but the ‘Stang has endured uninterrupted since the first generation was launched in 1964.

Now in its fifth model generation, the Mustang’s following is stronger than ever. Alternatives from Europe may be more refined, and rivals from Japan may be more nimble, but none of them can match the Mustang’s level of emotional appeal. The Mustang is a crude piece of technology compared to even a hot hatch, but it makes no apologies for that. Its lack of outright refinement is its appeal. It is a brute and hairy chested monster. Therefore its appeal to us, is not just on an emotional level, but also on an animalistic level.

Which is why it is not surprising that the Mustang can attract such a huge following worldwide despite only officially being sold in US & Canada. Recently the 2010 model year Mustang was launched together with an interactive microsite. The microsite features a customizer, which allows you to design your own Mustang with the resulting image downloadable for you to use as a desktop wallpaper.

Go on and have fun creating your own Mustang.

It was all good fun creating and customizing various decals, rims, spoilers, and even burn out smoke combos for my desktop Mustang. There is also a mode which allows you to create your Mustang together with other random users. A very amusing exercise to see the Mustang change before your eyes an also how the labeled cursors of the other users move about the screen. Unfortunately, there was one slight detail, when it came to downloading the full-sized finished wallpaper, it didn’t work…

Instead of giving me my wallpaper…

This appeared…
(UPDATE: Error has since been fixed.)

Ok, back to work before Jaime catches me.

KON

Visit the 2010 Ford Mustang microsite here.

The fourth Ford model launch of the year just took place last week, with the Everest joining the Ranger, Focus and Escape in the line-up. Based on the mechanicals of the Ford Ranger, the seven-seater Everest goes head-to-head with the Mitsubishi Pajero Sport and Toyota Fortuner both in terms of price and specifications.

Ford Everest

Two engine options are available, both of the renowned Ford DuraTorq TDCi common-rail turbodiesel family, one displacing 2.5-litres, another displacing 3.0. The 143PS 2.5-litre comes with the option of either 5-speed manual or 5-speed auto transmissions, whereas the 156 PS 3.0 comes only with a 5-speed auto. Both engines are offered with a drivetrain featuring electronic shift-on-the-fly between 2WD and 4WD mode.

Interior

Its mechanical relation with the Ranger shows with its styling too, as the front fascia bears more than a passing resemblance with the pickup. Its aggressive styling, however, is significantly toned down compared to the Ranger. The most aesthetically eye-catching items on the Everest would be the quartet of shining six-spoke rims.

Fully imported from Thailand, the first shipment of the Everest has already been snapped up by fleet customers. Signing on the order books now would see you getting your cars at September 2009 earliest, best case senario.

The new fully imported Ford Everest comes standard with a 3-year/100,000 km warranty, whichever comes first.  For more information, please call Auto ConneXion Voice hotline at 1-800-88-3181.

KON

Having rejuvenated Ford’s lineup in Malaysia, Sime Darby Auto ConneXion’s attempt at reviving the blue oval continues apace, with the simultaneous appointment of four 3S dealers throughout the country. In addition, the service centre in Section 13, Petaling Jaya now opens also on Saturday from 8:00am to 12:30pm, a move which seven other service centres would follow suit beginning July 2009.

Auto ConneXion’s outlet in PJ. Now open on Saturdays too.

Contact details for the four new 3S centres are as follows:

Parallel Champion Sdn Bhd,
118 Jalan Permaisuri Bainun off Jalan Kampar,
Ipoh, Perak (Tel: 05-2532193)

Semangat Anggun Auto Sdn Bhd,
32 Persiaran Raja Muda Musa Off Kampung Raja Uda,
Port Klang, Selangor (Tel: 03-31659868)

Seong Hoe Motors,
14 & 15 Jalan Sri Lanang,
Melaka (Tel: 06-2822422)

Trio Mantap,
2 Medan Midah Taman Midah,
Cheras (Tel: 03-91323366)
and
86 Jalan Tuanku Antah,
Seremban (Tel: 06-7629067).

Having seen them launch new versions of the Focus, Ranger and Escape all in the space of four months, we know how aggressively Auto ConneXion is pushing the Ford brand in Malaysia. Their latest marketing stunt is tied in conjunction with the Royal Selangor Club’s 125th Anniversary celebrations in the form of a test drive event held at the said club’s premises in Jalan Raja, KL this weekend on 20 – 21 June 2009.

Ford Focus

All three of the aforementioned new models will be available for test drive over the two days. Folks who test drive any one of the Focus, Ranger and Escape and will receive a special gift (while stocks last), while those who take things one step further with a firm purchase on the day stands to receive a cash rebate worth RM1,250.

Ford Ranger

Auto ConneXion will contribute part of the proceeds from sales made during this event to the Royal Selangor Club’s motorsport arm, for whom AC is the main sponsor. Head on over to the Royal Selangor Club to test drive the entire Ford lineup this weekend!

Ford Escape

For more information, please call the Auto ConneXion Voice hotline at 1 800 88 3181.