Dream Car Expo 2015

One week before Christmas, there was an expo in Mid Valleys called the Dream Car Expo 2015. I think it was the last car related event before the year ends and I have been to the last Dream Car Expo in 2014. Let me say that this is not exactly what I would consider as an Expo and the "Dream Car" term is quite misleading. I remembered my first visit in 2014, I had expectations but I was soon disappointed and I even went there on the sole purpose of going to the expo. It was just a small hall filled with your regular every day cars that you can view just by going to any showrooms of each brands. I soon realized the purpose of this Expo and it is to help folks who wanted to purchase a car and get some good deals and maybe freebies on that day. I think calling this expo a sales event for every brand would be much more accurate. So you would most likely ask, why was I there again in 2015 ?

Well, this time I did not go there on purpose but I had to do some last minute Christmas present. I thought since I was already there, I might as well take a look at this year's expo. I went without any expectation but I was shocked, surprised to see something I did not expected. I was greeted by a bright red Audi R8 at the entrance. You would have thought it was the 2nd generation R8 that was said to launch soon and it was because Audi participated in the Expo. As you can see from the photo below, it is the 1st generation V10 R8. I found out that this supercar was brought in by a company that sells reconditioned and used cars.

The same company also brought along a BMW i3 and its written on a paper on the windscreen, "1st in Malaysia". BMW Malaysia happens to only sell the i8 here and so this company might be right about this unit being the first but is it really the only one here ? I definitely do not like the i3 but being curious what kind of car is this electric vehicle and decided to take a look. On the outside, I have to say it is butt ugly. Definitely, you can never ever get me to buy this car, much less see me drive in it especially with that price.  However, I do have to say that the suicide doors are awesome. 

Time to head inside the cabin to see what it looks like because this is the first i-series car of BMW that I am in and I was curious to see how futuristic it would look like. When I finally got in, I had mixed feelings. Sure, there are some cool future elements like the blue accent on the steering wheel (Tron inspired maybe ?) but it sure is boring like how all BMW interiors are (no offense here). After a minute the exciting parts get drowned by the "simple" elements of the cabin. 

Next, I found a sports car that makes regular appearances in many car related shows in Malaysia, the Subaru BRZ. This is a car that I both like and hate at the same time but I have met the BRZ almost every time I go to a car show. If you are happy to see the BRZ, you should thank Subaru for officially selling the car here. Nothing much to talk about it because the BRZ has made it into some of my posts in 2015 and I believe every time I see the BRZ it is the same car. You usually have showroom unit but are you interested in this event unit ? If Subaru is selling it cheap, I might just take up on that offer. 

After some exciting entries, I began to walk around and realize that although this year's expo has the same theme but there are some new cars that was only made available in 2015 that I have yet seen on the road such as the Chevrolet Malibu, the new Peugeot 308 THP and the MK7 Volkswagen Golf R caught my attention as well. I am not a fan of Golfs (GTi and R too) but I liked the fact that Golf Rs are AWD with a 2 liter turbo engine. The MK6 models had nice Recaro seats but I was disappointed to find out that the MK7 does not  have Recaros. 

The expo only took 15 minutes of my time (some of it was to wait so I can sit inside the car) but this year I walked out with some nice photos. Definitely did not expect these cars to show up and this shows that maybe I should check out the expo every since it is free admission and you will never know what would be on display the next year. So, see you again in 2016.

Korean Trend

During the first week of September, I was once again in the land of Kimchi. The only car that remains on my to see list is still the Hyundai Genesis Coupe because it is the only proper sports car, not bad looking and most importantly, not available in Malaysia. I did managed to spot a few and one with aftermarket bumper and Brembo brakes in the front. I liked the 2.0 Turbo variant but it seems that they cancelled it just last year and now only the 3.8 V6 variant is available now.

While I was in Seoul, I noticed that there is an increase of hybrid cars roaming the streets, especially the Hyundai Sonata Hybrid. I have known that they do have hybrid models and Hyundai was developing Hydrogen technology with their Hyundai Tucson but I did not expect the awareness has increased to this extent. I thought it would be like in Malaysia, where sales would not be high.

Another trend would be the diesel trend that is hot in Europe. I felt the rising of this trend because of all the Volkswagen Golf that I saw while I was traveling was the GTD variant. For those who are not familiar with the GTD or you are situated in a country where it is not available, it is the Golf's diesel variant's fastest model. Much like a GTi but with a diesel engine. On the exterior it looks the same everywhere with the GTi except the exhaust tip where the GTi have 2 exhaust but GTD has a single twin tip design and different rim designs (I prefer the GTD ones). Both spots a turbocharged engine but the GTD has 36 hp lesser than its cousin but has an extra 30 Nm of torque (depending on market). I would have thought the GTi would be more popular due to its power and driving feel but many GTDs were roaming the streets of Seoul.

GTi (Left) vs GTD (Right)

GTD (Left) vs GTi (Right)

New Technology

Back then in the 80s to the 2000 era, it used to be just manual and automatic transmissions. However as technology becomes more advanced, new development was made. The result is the dual-clutch gearbox among many other new inventions or innovations. There are different variants (wet vs dry) and different names from different brands such as the DSG from Volkswagen. I have not driven one yet but I have heard various stories especially from Volkswagen owners all over the Internet. I remember watching 2 videos that compared manual and dual-clutch variant of the same car. It really tells a lot about the difference and what the still new dual-clutch gearbox can do.  Really an eye-opener.

Video #1 for Volkswagen Golf GTI MK5

Video #2 for Mitsubishi Evolution Lancer X  (Time 35:33).

If you have watched the videos like I did, you will realize why it is the trend of the new automotive world where supercars, sportscars and even your everyday cars are using dual-clutches. I am sure you could look it up on the Internet for the benefits of this transmission. So, I am not going to give you an elaborate introduction on this great invention. The only thing about it that catches my attention is the fact it is faster than the traditional manual gearbox. That is until my friend bought a Nissan GT-R R35 that uses a 6-speed Dual-clutch transmission. Since his graduation, I seldom see him because of his work but one day I was visiting his house and talked about his GT-R. He surprised me by telling me he has not driven the GT-R for 2 weeks and the cause is none other than the transmission.

GT-R Dual Clutch Gearbox

According to him, one piece of clutch is for the 1st, 3rd and 5th gear while the other clutch is for the 2nd, 4th and 6th gear. It so happens that one of his clutch is burned and needs to be replace. He could not do it for 2 weeks mainly due to work but also because he could not drive as the gears won't shift. My main concern besides the troublesome feature is the price. One piece of clutch for his GT-R cost about RM 15,000 and when you replace one, it is better to replace the other one too because it is most likely quite thin. I am not sure whether it is just the GT-R or that every clutch for dual-clutch transmissions are that expensive. That is the price for new inventions. I might as well drive a traditional manual car or perhaps leave the expensive toys to the more financially able crowd. Nevertheless, a great invention.