祝你們新年快樂! Happy Chinese New Year!

Even the Lion is trying to get in a Civic Type R, it must be a very auspicious year of dragon!

For this Lunar New Year, Janet Hsieh and 明周娛樂 went to North-Pingxi in Taiwan to release sky lanterns. Towards the end of the video, you can watch Janet’s lanterns slowly drift toward the sky with all the blessings and wishes. In short, Janet wishes everyone a Happy New Year full of success, joy, peaceful and happiness in 2012.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy watching and I wish everyone a Happy (x3) Chinese New Year and 龍年吉祥.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia launched the new C-Class Coupe, SLK and CLS models in Kuala Lumpur on 16 Jan 2012. All the models are niche models and fully imported. All the models are styled with styling with daylight LEDs. More importantly, all three models come in new engines (CGI) with direct injection and seven-speed automatic transmission. For more details, please visit http://www.mercedes-benz.com.my/

C-Class Coupe in Malaysia

C180 BlueEFFICIENCY – RM 305,888.00

C250 BlueEFFICIENCY  - RM 388,888.00

C350 BlueEFFICIENCY (By Special Order) – Upon Request*

SLK in Malaysia

SLK200 BlueEFFICIENCY – RM 460,888.00

SLK250 BlueEFFICIENCY (By Special Order) – Upon Request*

SLK350 BlueEFFICIENCY (By Special Order) – Upon Request*

CLS in Malaysia

CLS 350 BlueEFFICIENCY – RM 760,888.00

CLS 500 BlueEFFICIENCY (By Special Order) – Upon Request*

* The specifications can be highly customisable based on customer liking.

Today, Edaran Tan Chong Motor (ETCM) gives away a brand new Nissan Sylphy during the ‘Test Drive & Win’ Round-2 prize presentation ceremony at ETCM Jalan Raja Laut Showroom. I was there to witness it personally.

The ‘Test Drive & Win’ Round-2 campaign was run from 1^st August 2011 to 30^th November 2011.  The lucky winner, Tengku Norul Karlina Binti Tengku Yunus from Kuala Lumpur drive away a new Nissan Sylphy with Impul aerokit with her family members.

For now to stand a chance for you to win a brand new Nissan Teana or 370Z in Round-3, you can participate the contest by test driving any Nissan vehicles at any ETCM showrooms between 1^st December 2011 to 31^st March 2012. Good luck to all of us!

From the Volvo XC60, to the all-new S60 sedan and now the new V60 Sportswagon.

Volvo Car Malaysia introduces the all-new V60 in 2 locally assembled variants, namely the T4 and the T5, which are priced at RM230,000 (T4) and RM269,000 (T5), both prices on-the-road, without insurance.

Both the T4 and T5 feature a Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injection (GTDi) engine which represents Volvo’s very latest direct injection technology. The GTDi was developed to offer really low fuel consumption without compromising on performance or driving pleasure.

The T5 is a 2.0-litre petrol engine which pumps out a blistering 240 hp and 320 Nm of torque, available from 1800 to 5000 revs a minute, taking you from 0-100 km/h in 7.7 seconds flat, and pushes you to a top speed of 230km/h.

The new T4 is a 1.6-litre, 180 hp petrol engine, delivering a massive torque of 240 Nm from just 1600 and all the way up to 5000 revs a minute. An on-demand overboost function further increases torque to a massive 270Nm. And with its fuel efficient dual-clutch Powershift transmission, the result is excellent pulling power across the entire speed range, providing a particularly comfortable driving experience yet consuming only 7.5 litres per 100km for a combined driving cycle in cities and highways.

“This puts the T4 among the most powerful 1.6-litre engines in Malaysia currently,” said Mr. Peter Johnson, Volvo Car’s Vice President of Sales & Marketing for Asia Region, adding that "small, high-performance GTDi engines combined with our fuel efficient dual-clutch Powershift transmission are our bid to get more energy and efficiency out of smaller engines."

Five colours available for both variants of Volvo V60 are the Electric Silver, Ember Black, Ice White, Seashell and Flamenco Red.

What makes the V60 T5 more distinctive? The new V60 T5 comes with the groundbreaking and world leading technology such as Collision Warning with Full Auto Brake and Pedestrian Detection, and Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC) with Queue Assist and Distance Alert, which automatically maintains a set gap to the vehicle in front. What is new is that the Adaptive Cruise Control operates at speeds below 30 km/h, all the way down to standstill.

Last of all, standard with every Volvo in Malaysia, the all-new V60 includes 3-year warranty and 3 years complimentary Volvo On-Call.

Volvo V60 Price List for Peninsular Malaysia

Photo: Volvo V60 T4 & T5 Malaysia

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From the Porsche Channel in YouTube, one of the Porsche My Daily Magic Film Contest Finalist was “Sweet Dreams”. This video illustrate the magical Porsche Panamera not only deliver driving pleasure to the owner, but also able to provide sweet dreams to the children. How wonderful isn’t?

The range of Draught Beers can be very limited in Malaysia, but happily there are more choices at the bar in recent years.

To all my drunken mates and blog followers, I finally found the best Happy Hour deal for Hoegaarden, Stella, Erdinger Dunkel, Franziskaner, Carlberg Extra Cold and Connor’s Stout in Klang Valley.   The deal: Buy 1 Free 1 (before 7pm) and Free ½ (before 10pm) @ Friendscino Restaurant & Bar in Damasara Perdana.

I have no idea when the promotions will be end and I have never been there, but I found the similar flyers in my postal box [refer to the poster below]. Most likely, I will check out the environment to have a couple of pints and keep you all posted soon. I hope this place is not too dodgy.

After the massive flood in Thailand, Honda Thailand recently posted a video in YouTube to show off the quality and standards that Honda has actioned. The car assembler will be scrapping 1,055 new cars.

According to the Honda Thailand, the damaged cars and parts due to the flood will be dismantled, destroy and recycle. As a result, there will not be any refurbished cars and parts circulating in the market. If you happen/plan to buy a new Honda vehicle that is assembled in Thailand, it will be a new car for sure.

Well, I am now wondering how Toyota Thailand handles those damaged vehicles.

Last Saturday, the new Sony PlayStation Vita portable game machine hit stores in Japan. Just like the Apple iPhone, thousands of game enthusiasts lined up early in the morning to buy it. As a result, Sony sells 321,000 PlayStation Vita units in 2 days in Japan.

The Sony PS Vita is a touch-interface and motion-sensitive handheld seen as a successor to the PlayStation Portable (PSP). The device can go online by connecting over mobile networks and Wi-Fi hotspots, and use GPS location-tracking technology.

The Vita has front and back cameras, a touch screen in front, a touch pad on the back and two knob-like joysticks. It will enable gamers to play against each other using PlayStation 3 consoles over the PlayStation Network (PSN).

In addition, the Sony PS Vita will be launched in the United States and Europe on February 22, 2012.

During my trip to Brisbane this year, I found this George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant in Gold Coast and Brisbane city @ Eagle Street Pier. Since Gold Coast is full of appetizing foods, I never had the chance to taste it. But thankfully before I leave to Brisbane’s Airport, I had my half price lunch @ George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant at Eagle Street Pier, Brisbane.

A little overview to begin, the restaurant feature with a vibrant Greek theme, seat up to 200 guests and offers a wide variety of dishes including the freshest of seafood, traditional Mediterranean, plus steak, chicken and pasta. For my lunch, I ordered a dozen of oysters and a serve of marinara pasta with a total bill around $30. You got to believe me that the oysters are so fresh and the marinara is so delicious!

I am not sure when the promo – “yes sir! Lunch half price” menu will be concluded but it is available and serving every day still. If you happen to be in Brisban or Gold Coast (or planning to go), I highly recommend you to plan a lunch at George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant. I am sure you won’t regret but you will miss it, for sure.

Contact Details

Level 1, Eagle Street Pier
1 Eagle Street, Brisbane 4000
T: +61 7 3211 8111
F: +61 7 3211 8880

Trading Hours

Photo Gallery: George's Paragon Seafood Restaurant at Eagle Street Pier

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In the recent 42nd Tokyo Motor Show, Nissan LEAF has been awarded to be the Car of the Year Japan 2011-2012. The Nissan LEAF is a zero-emission vehicle that emits no CO2 while it is being driven. With optimally-placed lithium-ion batteries, a high-performance electric motor as well as advanced control technologies, Nissan LEAF achieves strong and smooth acceleration performance, excellent quietness, outstanding riding comfort and superb handling stability.

“We have sold 20,000 Nissan LEAFs and also delivered on our promise of affordable, zero-emission mobility on a global scale. This award is as much a win for Nissan as it is for our customers,” said Nissan President and CEO Carlos Ghosn. “All these accolades show that zero-emission vehicles can clearly be competitive alternatives to conventional ones.”

In the other hand, Dato’ Dr Ang Bon Beng, the Executive Director of Edaran Tan Chong Motor Sdn Bhd (ETCM) announced that there will be a pilot program for the Nissan LEAF will be launched in Malaysia in 1st half of 2012. This pilot program is in line with Nissan’s comprehensive efforts toward the realization of a zero-emission society. The test will involve the Malaysian Government bodies, members of the media and public audiences.

Photo Gallery: 2011 Nissan Leaf

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In the latest Autobild TÜV report, it declared that Porsche 911 is a car with the least defects among older vehicles. No matter whether it is 7, 9 or 11 years old – in the latest Autobild TÜV report, the sports car icon was again the model with the fewest defects among all vehicles in its age group. The same as the year before, in each of the general technical inspections, the TÜV inspectors found the least grounds for complaint. Overall, the 911, Boxster and Cayman models occupied five of the ten best rankings across all age groups, which is once again impressive proof of the Zuffenhausen sports cars’ long term quality and ability to hold their value.

The Autobild TÜV Report is based on data from approximately eight million general technical inspections between July 2010 and June 2011. According to information from the Association of Technical Inspectorate Agencies, almost 18% of seven year old vehicles, a good 22% of nine year old vehicles and almost 27% of all eleven year old vehicles exhibited such serious defects that they only received their TÜV certificate the second time around.