As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations, Auto Bavaria has been organising a series of “Joyful Events” at its various showrooms throughout the country. The celebrations kickstarted on 20 Sept in the Penang branch, and since then they have been throwing these parties in Segambut (27/28 Sept), Kuantan (31 Oct / 1 Nov) and most recently Glenmarie this weekend.

I attended the one organised by the Segambut branch over a month back and was absolutely blown away by the experience. After going through a brief safety driving clinic, my mate and I set off in a BMW 525i, heading straight for the nearby Matrade Center parking lot to experience what was called the BMW Performance Drive, where we were each given a 320i to do braking, slalom and skidding tests. Later, back at the showroom, we were then treated to a buffet catered from DeCanters.

Memories of the Segambut event.

I have been to more BMW events than I can remember. I have test driven a 645Ci and a Z4 3.0 top down. I have driven a 545i up to 180kph in pursuit of a similarly powered X5 4.4i only to be stopped by a Kancil suddenly coming into our lane. I have even attended an event that served abalone sushi, but suffice to say, the “Joy” event in Segambut trumped them all. There’s nothing like driving a car in a no-holds barred situation.

Seeing what Glenmarie has in store.

Therefore, against the backdrop of the “joy” I had in my last time out, the Glenmarie edition was rather disappointing. Though admittedly, this one seemed to be catered for existing BMW owners, as they were given free 20-point checks for their BMWs. There was also a mini treasure hunt, dubbed the “Joy Hunt”, open to 50 BMW cars on Saturday and Sunday each.

For us non-BMW owners, besides viewing lineup of BMW cars, which on that day included an M3 Coupe, a 325i Sports, and a 525i Sports, we also had the chance to speak to some of their technicians who showed us the difference between a normal tyre and run-flats, how they diagnose faults in the latest electronic laden BMWs, and also AB Glenmarie’s reknowned impressive BMW body repairing capabilities.

Normal tyres vs run-flats – both tyres are deflated

Displaying their impressive arsenal of tools

Going straight into the brains of your car…

This machine reads out your car’s faults like a book

After looking through all the admittedly impressive exhibits, it was all just viewing and photographing the cars on display. Despite the advertisement on the website saying “Test drive and view the latest BMW cars”, there seemed to be more emphasis on the ‘view’ rather than the ‘test drive’ part, my mate and I were pretty much left alone after putting down our names on the front desk.

All in all, it wasn’t really an event which I considered to be worth my time, which is a shame, considering the edition at the Segambut branch earlier was absolutely amazing. It was quite obvious that this event seemed to be catered to existing or prospective BMW customers, with little room for us mere enthusiasts.

 
Crowd was good though

The 325i Sports with aggressive details

Under the hood of the BMW M3

M3’s S65B40 sings up to 8,250rpm redline, producing 420hp and 400Nm along the way

To be sure, this coming weekend is going to be a real busy one for car nuts, with a plethora of events scattered all throughout the Klang Valley. So much so that I felt it would be a worthwhile endeavour to summarize them all into a list.

Peugeot 407 ‘Test Drive Me’ Campaign

If you had missed it the first time round, worry not – a second time is forthcoming, in no less than seven different showrooms to choose from. Nasim Sdn Bhd is really drumming up the publicity for the 407. Participating Blue Boxes include Glenmarie, Bangsar, Klang, Chan Sow Lin, JB (Plentong), Penang and even the Naza Automall along the Federal Highway.

According to the Peugeot press release, the event will run on 15th and 16th Nov from 10am to 7pm at all the said branches. Visitors will be treated to mystery gifts and refreshments.

Link: Press statement from Peugeot

Naza Carnival 2008

The Naza group is indeed making itself busy this weekend. It’s also having a carnival at its Automall on both days, 10am to 5pm. Highlights include an event listed on the schedule as ‘Premium giveaway by GT Queens‘, photo booth with the Aston Martin DB9 and Ducati 1098, and product presentations for the Ferrari 430 and 599.  

Link: Event website

The Joy Factory @ Auto Bavaria

Celebrating their 20th anniversary, AB has been throwing up test-drive events at several of its branches. One of them was at Segambut a few weeks back, where this writer was given the chance to thrash an E90 320i in a brake test, slalom and skid test in what was termed the BMW Performance Drive. Not this time though, the Glenmarie edition features a Joy Hunt (mini treasure hunt) for BMW owners and also a free 20-point inspection for BMW cars. You can also test drive the latest BMW models here too.

Link: http://www.autobavaria.com/joy

Proton Campro Drag Battle in Sepang

Motorsports enthusiasts can also go to the Sepang circuit in the evening of 15 Nov to see various Campro-powered Protons battle it out in a drag battle. Originally open for all 1.6NA Protons, this event is now closed to only Protons running on the Campro engine.

 Link: Post on AW forum

Toyota Festive Moments Celebration

ALL Toyota showrooms nationwide will be participating in on this one. The newspaper ad promised refreshments, activities and gifts for everyone. Customers signing up for a new Toyota gets an 8Gb Sony Video MP3 player. Here’s the catch though, your new car must be registered by 31 Dec 2008.

I have personally pencilled the Campro Drag Battle as ‘certain to attend’, and I’ll see how I can fit the rest into my schedule. It’s going to be a busy weekend….