Black X20 Sightings at Pudu, KL

I just had the best lunch at a Chinese corner restaurant called "Wong Kee" in Pudu. Its the best (and expensive & unhealthy) roast meat in town.

There are SO MANY printers (shops that print stuff for you, not laserjet or inkjet printers) in that area.

And there was a Black X20 with a nice number plate, waiting for something/someone. With my stealthy phone cam, although the driver was in the car, I managed to take a shot, directly in front of him... heheh...

Contributed Sightings

A super clean black X20 was spotted.


Please send your contributed sightings to alfee29 [at] yahoo [dot] com.

Interesting Number Plate

The owner of this car should be a resident of Kelana Jaya, or a young politician aspirant.

Protectionism... and our local car makers

Proton (PeRusahaan OTOmobil Nasional) Holdings Berhad, established in 1983 was the brain child of former prime minister Tun Dr. Mahatir Mohamad. The first production car, Proton Saga was manufactured in September 1985. Back then, Proton was at least 20% cheaper than non-national makes in the same 1.3 to 1.5 litre class. By 1988, Proton had overtaken all other makes and grabbed 73% of the passenger car market.

[READ more here]

Perodua (Perusahaan Otomobil Kedua) Berhad, established in 1983, with shareholders:
- UMW Corporation Sdn Bhd (38%)
- Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd. (20%)
- MBM Resources Bhd (20%)
- PNB Equity Resources Corporation Sdn Bhd (10%)
- Mitsui & Co. Ltd (7%)
- Daihatsu (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (5%)

The first production car, Perodua Kancil was launched in late 1994. Perodua mainly produces small-compact cars and therefore does not actually compete with Proton for the same market niche. Perodua does not actually produce any in house designs or engineering for the main components (i.e engine, transmission). All Perodua cars are badge engineered from Daihatsu. Perodua cars have won multiple awards (here).

[READ more here]

=============================================

I used to drive a Perodua Kenari, my wife owns a Kancil and my brother just ordered a Myvi. Perodua has good cars. Proton is government backed. However, that is not enough:

Banks set to increase interest on borrowings for non-national car buyers [source]

Problem: The current reasoning for the hike in loan rates for non-national cars is to make up for provisions set aside for losses and administrative costs. (that means, loans that are not serviced)

Solution: Increase the interest rate for non-national cars.

Genius...

Sightings at LDP

Thanks Mae for the small pic. Ang moh driving a sapphire silver X20:


Caption:
"So what if its 2.0, u still get stucked in a jam."

Black X20 Sightings on LDP

I was going for my sunday evening badminton exercise, when a group of 5 people, I assume a family, was spotted at LDP around 8pm. The driver looked like a middle aged guy, with 3 teenagers in the backseat. Penang plated PHU XXXX.


I aggressively cut into his lane, to make sure he saw me. Here's some 'offensive' driving for you! =)

OZ Racing Record on Mini

Who would buy overpriced Italian (OZ Racing) rims? Only old skool fellas like me and this Mini Cooper driver, using a 4-nut Oz Racing Record:


Photo taken without permission at Ikea car park :)

Btw, the Cooper S is one of the cars mentioned on the OZ UK website:
http://www.ozracing.co.uk/record.htm

1utama X20 Sighting & Spoiler

A Black X20 in 1u on a Friday afternoon. So happened that I parked right behind him.



On another note, boot lips with exposed third brake lights tend to fade. The top red portion is faded away.


I guess this is the reason the X20's bootlip (that comes with the Incus bodykit), tucks away the LEDs in a safe tunnel.

Cheap DIY mini-project

Met DrD at Racing Fit this morning. Their workshop is full, so I won't be installing the security system today. Maybe next week.

1. Do you notice anything different here:


2. Maybe not, but what about this one? Answer: carbon fibre B-pillars stickers. Bought at Brothers for RM 18.50, enough for the B- and C-pillars.


3. Clean the B-pillars. I didn't have alcohol, so its tissue and water. Get the measurements.


4. Cutting out the sticker to size was the most difficult part of this DIY. Sticking it on was easy.


5. The finished product... ta-dah!


Conclusion:
- If you wanna do this, please get good quality carbon-fibre stickers. The ones I got from brothers are not so good quality = will not last long, and has smudges.
- For best aesthetic look, make sure the carbon fibre boxes line up. Mine is slightly off :(
- Get the measurements right. However, when sticking it on, it may stretch, so compensate a little.

For more ideas, check out Korean Auto Imports.

Car Security

This is my first car security posting.

The original X20 car alarm module is pretty decent. These are some of its specs:
- Arm (lock), disarm (unlock)
- Trunk release (some X20s takes about 4 seconds, mine is immediate)
- Auto lock when car speed reaches 20km/h or when brake is pressed
- Signal lights blink when the car door or boot is opened

What I don't like about the alarm:
- The trunk release button can be accidentally pressed, which triggers the alarm
- There is no panic button
- Silent disarm
- No vibration/shock sensor
- No engine auto-start

Today, Steven Chen from THM organized a TT with Kelvin Chia from Global Autotech, at Racing Fit, Sunway. Kelvin is the Sales and Technical Manager, based in Singapore. The purpose of the TT is to demo their 2-way alarm system called Signca. The product is made in Korea, using Samsung electronics, and is marketed in the US as Zenesis Electronics Group ZN-502. Global Autotech (formerly known as Mod My Ride) is the exclusive distributor in Singapore.




The product has loads of features, where the ones I like are:
- Remote start with Timer (eg. Start at 7.30 am)
- Windscreen Security Touchpad:


This nifty touchpad is stuck on the inside of the windscreen. Its touch sensitive, and by entering a code, you can Arm (lock), disarm (unlock) your alarm (car). The blue LEDs just adds to the cool factor.

Other features are:
* Bright backlit liquid crystal display (LCD)
* Starter Kill - disabled the starter when the alarm has been activated. It also disables the starter if you have already started your car (remotely or manually). This is to prevent user from accidentally cranking their engine again. Runs on Alternator / Tachcometer Sensing Technology. This Feature is not found in other competitors.
* Alarm clock feature on remote.
* Panic mode - activates alarm, kills engine, prevents cranking.
* Remote Start Engine run time - Remote start can be programmed to run from 5 mins – 25 mins.
* Valet mode - useful if your vehicle is sent for servicing / washing which you do not want the alarm to trigger off. Valet mode can be enabled by Remote and Keys.
* 2 x Aux outputs - control window or mirror module once activated.
* Dual Shock Sensor - option to set the warning sensitivity and alarm trigger sensitivity seperately.
* 1 x Additional Input module - for microwave / ultrasonic sensor. Once activated it will trigger the alarm. The Dual Shock Sensor is an example of an input module. A motion sensor is also a common optional input.
* Active / Passive Arming - the vehicle may autolock the door when the Remote is accidentally pressed while no doors are opened and autolook the door when the last door is closed but user did not arm the vehicle in 25 secs. The vehicle will beep with flashing parking lights every 5 secs and on the 5th occurrence, the system will auto lock the vehicle and arm it.
* Remote Lock - "Hold" all buttons to prevent any accidentally pressed command. Its like handphone's keypad lock.
* Built in turbo timer - Variable running time.
* Long/Dual Pulse of Lock/Unlock - door lock and unlocking time pulse can be set ranging from 0.3 secs to 3.5 secs when Remote is pressed.
* Temperature Display indicator (Fahrenheit/Celsius)
* 6000 ft. (open range)
* RS232 data port – FORTIN / CANbus Module
- The system is fully compatible with Fortin CAN and Immobilizer bypass module. More Information HERE.
* Clock Display indicator
* Transmitter battery level indicator - uses 1 x AAA battery
* Alarm notification - chime or vibrated mode
* Comes with a 1-way remote:


Now, the PRICING is very attractive. The introductory price is lower than the Zenesis price of USD$350. The lowest I saw online is USD$250 at a group buy.

So far, 3 buyers, with 2 installations done today. DrD will be installing it on Monday. I'm still considering this purchase and may install it on Monday. My concerns are:
- reliability, dun play play with car security
- touchpad may not work with V-cool elite tinting. May require to cut front windscreen tinting to install the Security Touchpad.

Pics from our TT today here, courtesy of Kumar and Steven Chen.

UPDATE:
This is from the Zenesis User Manual. Assume that its the same with Signca:

Sightings

This X20 was spotted by my wife in Section 14, PJ. Took a sneaky shot from inside the car, and later walked closer for a better view:

BMW Sightings

Having Sapura Auto (BMW distributor) opposite my office, I get to see more than a few BMWs. Yesterday morning was a BMW 740 Li, code named E66 LWB (Long Wheel Base).


This car is super long and naturally a super long wheel base:


Some more wiki specs:
- V8 4.0 L (4000 cc/244 in³) heart
- 306 hp @ 6300 rpm
- 390 N·m (288 ft·lbf) @ 3500

Check it out HERE.

Sightings (Walton and I)

This post is very interesting, as Walton (X20 owner) spotted an X20 at LDP, near SS2, and e-mailed it to me (through a friend) yesterday. Here it is:


And on the way home, at Jalan University, just outside UIA (Section 17), there was a Sapphire Silver X20 on the other side of the road. Was too slow to take a pic.

Lastly, at Mosin, TTDI, mamak session, saw a Malay family come out of the car below:


Please send in your sightings, but remember to be safe on the road.

BMW 1-series Sighting

The 1-series has a butt? I thought BMW only had 1-series hatchbacks. Anyway, this one is a 135i Coupe brought to M'sia by Sapura Motors (Jln Tun Razak).


Some online information reveals that this relatively small car has:
- A 2979 cc twin turbo v6 petrol heart.
- 6-speed manual/auto
- Only 300 HP
- About 1.5 tonnes in weight, 41 kg less than the 335i Coupe, making it a power-to-weight ratio beast
- 0-to-100km/h in 4.7s (Auto) and 4.8s (Manual)
- torque at 306 PS (302 hp/225 kW)
- a limited top speed of only 250km/h (*sigh*)
- Fuel efficiency of 7.66 L/100 km
- M-sport kit (Click "M-sports Package" tab)

This is the PERFECT COUPE!

The only thing that I don't like, point out by Paul Tan, is the droopy line at the bottom.


Visit this link to view a digital plastic surgery on the droopy line.


Info taken from Wiki.

Another sighting

Black X20 spotted by a friend today, near the MAS building at Kelana Jaya.


If you happen to get a shot of a X20 sighting, do drop me an e-mail at alfee29 -at- yahoo -dot- com.

Sightings... and no kissing

Saw 3 Elantra's in the last week. Managed to capture 2 of them on camera. Sorry for the poor quality:

1. 26 March: Two guys in a Silver X20, probably after work, around 7pm at Sprint Highway, coming from Eastin Hotel.


2. 28 March: A red Avante (Singapore) in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail.


3. Saphire Silver X20 with PHP number plate in SS2. No pics.

...and a random sign that I saw at lunch today at Kwan Cafe Ice Cream and Coffee: