I found what I was looking for very quickly!It was Awal Muharram today. A public holiday. I spend lunch at a cousin s wedding - from my large Penang clan, and had a free afternoon. Puan Anita and I had been meaning to visit KLIMS - Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show - since we learned about it a couple of months ago. We did not have much expectations as this would be the first time we would attend such event here in Malaysia. We had been to the UK version on numerous occasions when we there and sort of understood what the deal was. Reading the tweets from the morning, it soon become clear that traffic is always going to be an issue. PWTC was but around 25 years back and traffic getting in and out of the place has always been a problem back then, and waiting for 25 years without doing much would not improve matter. Public transport is actually poor to and from the venue. Getting a cab? Forget it.
a RM20 entrance fee, and no tit-bits
At the main ticketing boothAfter getting the boys ready to stay at home with the maids, we ventured out. We planned to go to Bukit Bintang, but was willing to take the chance to drive by PWTC to survey the traffic. As we approached the place, there were hardly any queue. We took the turn and got a parking spot at The Mall, opposite PWTC without much hassle. Out we went, queued up for tickets - cost us RM20 each - will comment about that later. There was no floor plans provided with the ticket, but we soon learned that there was no real need for one.
Hmmm! Where to go?
The Perodua concept car. Pretty neat!The Perodua prototype was quite a looker. And I was not referring to the female model!The exhibition was held over five large halls. The first one was dominated by Perodua, with some accessories stalls at the back end. The second hall was Proton as the main host. Third floor was where the Harley-Davidson stalls were located - full of people as we expected, plus exhibit from Naza - on a look but no touch basis of course. Nobody there can really afford to pay close to RM500K for the Brabus models on show. Upstairs to Hall 4 was mainly by Mitsubishi and Hyundai. Mitsubishi had a few new models of electric vehicles. The new Pajero also looked quite nice. We spent some time at the Starex booth before proceeding to the last hall. Dewan Perdana hosted Honda, Toyota and Hyundai. This was where the Hybrid models were put on show.
The most popular booth on show - 'Kaunter saman PDRM'Before I go on, everybody must be thinking where the photos of the female models were. Well, since we only half-hearted in planning to go to see the exhibit, I did not bring my dSLR. So, all the pix here was from my trusty iPhone 4. The models can also be divided into two groups. They were all good-looking. The ones at the car manufacturer booths were very decently-dressed and decently-behaved. They were very tasteful and some of them introduce the car model to the public with a mike through the PA system. The ones at Proton booth were classy even. The tacky ones were actually by accessory booths. First of all, they were not even necessary there. Their main purpose was to attract attention and personally, I feel sorry for them. It did not stop the guys snapping away with their cameras though - I thought at least 60% of the male visitors there have SLR on them!
I must credit Proton for making their presence felt in a classy wayThe TuahAs one of the anchor exhibitor, I thought Proton did a very good job. Their booths were simple but elegant. They had many new upcoming models on show, including the five of the Malacca Warriors - The Hangs Tuah, Jebat, Kasturi, Lekir and Lekiu. The sales team was also very polite in answering questions. They answered almost all of my queries concerning the engine capacity and expected roles of each models. There was also a few Lotus cars, with a long-suffering Mat Salleh by its side. Long-suffering as he is an Ipswich Town supporter and Proton sponsors Norwich City, their local rival. He also hates Roy Keane, the current Ipswich manager. Poor man!
The classy-looking Proton showspace
Showcasing the Tuah
The KasturiThe Proton booth also handed carry-on bags for each visitors, but they were empty. For me, it was a missed opportunity as ideally it should be filled with brochures and product informations.
The scary-looking Green Zone
The Mitsubishi electric hybrid. Careful it stares back!The Green ZoneThe scary-looking Mitsubishi electric carNavigating through the place was not a problem, due to the combination of well-placed signage and an uncluttered layout of the the venue. The fact that there was not that many exhibitors also helped - more about that in my later entry. There was also plenty of emphasis on green technology which can only be a good thing if one knows how to use it. Mitsubishi s electric car hybrid was quite interesting. Proton also produced a hybrid concept, but according to the sales team, is still a prototype. However, the hybrid champ was still Toyota which brought in a few new models to add to their already popular Prius. Honda was also not far behind with their green model and the one which caught my eyes was the CR-Z, a hybrid sport coupe. Gorgeous car, but not much information as to when it will be available - if ever - locally. I will definitely give it a serious look should in the future as the hybrids enjoy some tax benefits. Another product which caught Puan Anita s eyes was the Honda UX-3 unicycle. I did not get a chance to see a demo, but more can be read in this article here from the Star article - Honda dazzles visitors with U3-X
The Honda CR-Z - I want one!
Close-up of the hybrid engineOn a personal level, even though the exhibition was no UK Motor Show, it was not as bad as the publicity suggested. Yes, there were a few tacky attraction - I did not much attention to Bumblebee - minus Megan Fox of course - and the Batmobile. If I new about it earlier, I could ve come over in the Joker s make-up! Granted, there were many weaknesses, but we as the public should support such an event. Please read my next couple of entries - The Bad and The Rest.
The KLIMS is open until 12th December until 10pm. For more information, please click here.