Riding with the stars

Wonder what Malaysian actress Maya Karin, actor and singer Shaheizy Sam, DJ Yoon, Hong Kong heartthrob Him Law, and Bii, the Taiwanese sensation, have in common?

Well, PETRONAS is now giving you the chance of joining your favourite celebrity on a five-day road trip across the country. Not only that - you also stand the chance of winning a cash prize of up to RM100,000 as well as gift cards and Mesra points.

The ‘FUELLED BY FANS, POWERED BY PRIMAX’ contest started on 14 October 2013. However, you still have time to enter as the cut-off date for participation is 24 November 2013.

Each of the five teams will be provided a car, a preloaded Mesra Card and a smartphone with data plan. They have to use these with their own smarts and the aid of fans and Twitter followers to win the challenge. Starting off from PETRONAS Solaris, Serdang, all the way to PETRONAS Kulim in Kedah, the challenge is not about who finishes first but rather, who travels the farthest.

To take part in the contest all you have to do is spend RM30 at any PETRONAS station or purchase a Mesra combo.

You can also download the entry form at www.like2savefor.my/fuelledbyfans and drop it off at any PETRONAS station.

There’s also over 800 prizes worth up to RM 1,000,000 to be given away, including 215 bi-weekly winners for each of the three contest rounds with cash prizes, PETRONAS vouchers, Gift Cards and Mesra points!

If you are undecided on which star to support, just log on to the site and watch the stars tell you why you should pick them.
FYI, PRIMAX was specially formulated by Petronas, for fuel efficiently by producing a finer fuel spray thus giving you smoother acceleration and a more economical drive. This means more savings for things that matter.

You can join in the conversation at facebook.com/PETRONASBrands or @PETRONASBrands on Twitter. Use the tag: #LIKE2SAVEFOR

NOTE: Contest open to residents of Malaysia only.

Car that runs on water

Car that runs only on water from Japanese company Genepax.

Prevent Misfuelling with FuelSure

Phil Cartwright, an inventor and RAC Patrol has invented an amazing device called the FuelSure which prevents misfuelling. It has never happedn to me myself but apparently more than 400 drivers every put petrol into their diesel vehicle by mistake. This translates into 150,000 misfuelling cases per year, 95 per cent are caused by drivers putting petrol into their diesel vehicles due to the wider diesel filler neck and narrower unleaded nozzle.

A very serious mistake indeed as it can cost between £300 upto £5000 to repair, not counting the environmental cost of disposal of this waste fuel, coupled with CO2 emissions generated by towing misfuelled vehicles.

FuelSure replaces the normal fuel cap and is easy to fit and can be used on over 80% of diesel cars and light commercial vehicles in the UK. The device costs £29.95 and is available from RAC Patrols and recovery specialists, as well as selected Halfords stores.

Fuel prices may go down in the UK

According to Sky News, petrol prices may fall in the country. I hope this is true even though I am not betting on it.

It's quite funny to see petrol pumps increasing the prices as soon as World oil prices go up. However, when the World prices go down, they will take their own sweet time to lower the pump prices.

According to the report, the most expensive petrol prices are in London. Even in Coventry itself, prices vary between pumps. The costliest in our area is the Texaco, while the cheapest is Shell.

Ford Fiesta ECOnetic

Ford Fiesta ECOnetic, the latest fuel efficient car from Ford is set to hit European roads soon. Recently unveiled at the British International Motor Show, the car does 65 miles to the gallon (some say 63.5 miles to the gallon). It has been hailed as UK's greenest car.

However, it won't be sold in the US. The reason: it has a diesel engine and apparently the fuel is still not popular with Americans due to a negative image plus the fact that it costlier than gasoline.

Fuel prices down

Finally some good news.

My car was low on fuel and I drove down to my favourite petrol BP station. I was really happy when I noticed the prices have gone down to 113.9p from 117.9p

As I wasn't sure how long the prices would remain down, I filled up the car - full tank. Half an hour later as I was driving past, I noticed that the prices have further gone down to 111.9p and has remained at that price since then.

If you want to find out the cheapest fuel prices in your area (in the UK) check out Petrolprices.com.

However, in order to get the details, you have to sign up for something called the Fubra Passport but that's a minor irritation.

The costliest around my area is the Texaco station at Jubilee Crescent. It is fast to increase it's prices but relaly slow to lower it. Right now the prices over there are still at 117.9p

McCain to issue Clean Car Challenge

Republican John McCain want's to be seen as environmentally friendly. He said that he would issue a Clean Car Challenge to U.S. automakers. If he was elected, he would propose "A $300 million prize for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars."

Read the Reuters report "McCain calls for $300 million prize for car battery".

Fuel prices still up

A few weeks back, I wrote "Fuel prices coming down". Unfortunately I was wrong. Prices are still above the £1 mark. It was 103.9p for unleaded petrol and 107.9p for diesel at the Texaco station near my house. Prices are a bit lower at BP, Tesco and Morrisons.

I can't believe that they were below 90p when we first arrived here in the UK a year ago.

Fuel prices coming down

The prices of petrol has sky rocket the past few weeks and had even crossed the £1 per litre barrier - the first time since we arrived here in the UK.

Fortunately, the prices seem to be going down and today I saw that it was 89.9p/ litre at my favourite BP station near my house.

That's why I am really annoyed by people back in Malaysia who complain about fuel prices there.

Mitsubishi flex-fuel vehicle

According to a press release issued today, Mitsubishi Motors has launched a flex-fuel vehicle (FFV) - the Pajero TR4 Flex in Brazil

It will be launched in July of this year in the Brazilian market by Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) and local production and sales company MMC Automotores do Brasil Ltda (MMCB).

Derived from the Pajero TR4, this is the first full-feature four-wheel drive flex-fuel vehicle (FFV). The use of different materials, modifications to the engine, and changes to the fuel system allow the vehicle to run on any combination of gasoline and ethanol. Modifications to the engine control unit allow for optimum combustion with any fuel mixture, and the redesigned parts of the fuel delivery system add toughness and dependability.

It was reported that the 2.0-liter 16-valve engine that powers the Pajero TR4 Flex delivers similar levels of performance on ethanol-heavy or gasoline-heavy fuel mixes.

The development of FFV is part of Mitsubishi's response to the global trend towards alternative fuel sources.

The company is also currently working on a flex-fuel model it plans to bring into commercial production for the U.S. market in fiscal 2009.