Essential Motoring 101

After returning the Toyota Vios J in a Toyota facility in Shah Alam, I spotted a white Prius! Yes, it was THE infamous Toyota Prius indeed, right here in Shah Alam, looked weathered and used. It could be a test model in Malaysia, whether it could take the torture of Malaysian roads and driving conditions. Is there a surprise looming ahead for us all?

Not the usual fuel burner you would expect

I dont know whether UMW, the assembler and importer for Toyota cars in Malaysia, will be bringing in this car or not. If they do, it would make the Honda Hybrid look outdated all of a sudden, or maybe the other way round, coz the Prius was first introduced in Japan back in 1997 and was mass-produced for worldwide consumers in 2001.

Gear knob on the dash with the usual letters that of an auto box

A little tech specs on the Prius. The car is fitted with a 1.5L petrol engine combined with electric motors to drive the wheels. The motor is powered by an onboard battery that charges itself when the car is in motion. I have not test driven the car nor any further details of it, but, you can view the story of how the Prius came about HERE.

Looks easy to operate it

Lately, the CEO of Honda Malaysia, Atsushi Fujimoto, has been in the media in his ‘fight’ for lower taxes on hybrid vehicles in Malaysia. Honda Malaysia has been in the forefront in the local scene to propagate the use of hybrid vehicles due to rising fuel prices.

Probably the new kid in town?

It may probably be a CSR effort by Honda to respond to the woe of the rakyat for forking out too much for fuel, and it could as well be a marketing strategy to promote the Honda Hybrid car itself. But, nevertheless, it is a win-win situation if the Hybrid be sold much cheaper than its current price of RM162,800, which is more expensive than a normal Civic 2.0L (at RM128,800)

Butt’s flat on the Prius

Anyway, back to the Prius, I have been quite a loyal fan of the TV show aired in 8TV called Reaper. I like the whole idea of the story that revolves around a human grim reaper whose soul was sold to the Devil by his parents when he was born and was commissioned by the Devil himself, to bust ghosts that got escaped from Hell.

He does the rounds, catching ghosts with the Prius

But whats it got to do with cars? Believe it or not, this Reaper drives a Toyota Prius! And he uses it to get to places in search for ghosts to catch. Apparently, the reaper’s dad bought the Prius as a ‘compensation’ for selling his son’s soul to the Devil…

Don’t forget to catch Reaper on Fridays, 10.00pm and the repeat on Thursdays, 12:15am, on 8TV, to catch the Prius in action.