Transformers-themed muscle car, tuned-up vehicles ignite Apoclaypse Auto Show
KUCHING (July 20): From a Transformers-inspired Camaro to a Spy Family-themed four-wheel drive (4WD), the Apoclaypse Auto Show Vol 3 shifted into high gear today.
Car enthusiasts and participants rolled into CityOne Megamall basement carpark as early as 8am today to proudly showcase their heavily tuned-up machines, with the revs of roaring engines could be heard from a distance.
Among the show-stopping cars was a yellow Chevrolet Camaro with black stripes, clearly drawing inspiration from the 2007 'Transformers' film.
Under the hood, it sported an Autbots logo on the engine block, with stacks of miniature Camaros and a Volkswagen Beetle placed on it — a nod to the beloved Autobot character Bumblebee.
Also turning heads was a 4WD decorated with three anime action figures and a plushie of Yor Forger — one of the iconic leads from hit anime series Spy Family — adding a playful touch of pop culture.
Other eye-catching entries included a sleek Lotus Elise, a Toyota GR86, and a fleet of meticulously modded Subarus.
The event was officiated by Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sarawak chairman Michael Kong, who represented DAP Sarawak chairman and Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen; as well as Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (Dapsy) Sarawak secretary George Lam, who represented Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii.
Kong said: 'While we celebrate this passion for the automotive world, it is equally important that this hobby is pursued responsibly and within the bounds of the law.
'As we all try to enjoy our hobby and explore the limitations of creativity, let us always be reminded of public safety.'
Highlights from the event included 32 competition categories and a lucky draw with prizes such as car accessories and audio systems.
Tickets were sold at RM10 each at the organiser's booth, with limited edition event stickers available at RM5 each.
In the spirit of giving back, event organiser Apoclaypse Car Club of Kuching announced that 30 per cent of proceeds from ticket and sticker sales would be donated to charity. Apoclaypse Auto Show Vol. 3 car show cityone megamall lead
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
9 hours ago
- The Star
Singapore rail operator to pay lower fine of S$2.4m for line disruption; must invest at least S$600k to boost reliability
SINGAPORE: Rail operator SMRT will pay a lower fine of S$2.4 million (US$1.87 million) for a major six-day disruption on the East-West Line in September 2024, after it submitted representations to the Land Transport Authority (LTA). This is down from the financial penalty of S$3 million that LTA intended to hand out in June when the investigation findings into the incident were released. Announcing the updated penalty in a statement on July 25, LTA said the penalty will go to the Public Transport Fund to help lower-income families with their public transport expenditures. The authority added that it had directed SMRT to invest a minimum of S$600,000 to strengthen its capabilities, and address areas for improvement from the incident, so as to improve service reliability. 'In reaching this decision, LTA took into consideration the considerable challenges SMRT had faced in planning and executing their overhaul regime for the Kawasaki Heavy Industries (KHI) trains, particularly in procuring the necessary spare parts for the overhaul due to global supply chain disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.' The incident, which involved a faulty part on a first-generation KHI train, downed MRT services between Jurong East and Buona Vista stations and affected about one in six train trips daily from Sept 25 to 30 in 2024. An LTA spokesperson told The Straits Times that SMRT will need to channel S$600,000 towards improving its capabilities within a year, and submit a declaration and documented proof of this. In a Facebook post shortly after LTA's statement, SMRT Trains president Lam Sheau Kai said the operator will strengthen its direct engagement with original equipment manufacturers of trains and systems. The operator will also deepen its technical and engineering expertise through closer collaboration with these companies. On LTA's directive to invest a minimum of S$600,000 in beefing up its capabilities, Lam said the development and upskilling of its workforce have long been SMRT's priorities. In addition, the operator will continue supporting the secondment of LTA engineers to SMRT – an initiative introduced in 2018. It will also work closely with LTA and Alstom, the manufacturer of the new R151 trains, to roll out the fleet progressively. By 2026, there will be 106 R151 trains on the North-South and East-West lines. As at June 29, 61 of these trains were in service. The last of the KHI trains will be phased out by September. Investigations into the disruption showed that SMRT had extended the interval between overhauls for the faulty train without a detailed engineering and risk assessment. On its part, the operator had flagged supply chain disruptions arising from the pandemic, which delayed the delivery of new trains meant to replace the first-generation models and spare parts needed for overhauls. LTA had originally notified SMRT of its intention to impose the S$3 million penalty on May 30, and gave the operator two weeks to submit its representations. SMRT did so on June 6. While the details of SMRT's submission were not disclosed, representations may include reasons why the operator believes it should not be penalised as well as other applicable mitigating factors. LTA reviewed SMRT's representations before a notice of the penalty was sent to the rail operator on July 25. SMRT has 14 days to appeal to the transport minister if it wishes. If that happens, the final decision lies with the minister, who can opt to reject the appeal, or allow it and change LTA's decision. Responding to ST's query, Lam did not say if SMRT would lodge an appeal with Acting Transport Minister Jeffrey Siow. But he said the company had received LTA's notice to impose the penalty and noted that LTA had considered its representations. LTA reiterated that Singapore's rail system continues to be one of the most reliable worldwide. Since 2019, the mean kilometres between failure of the MRT network has remained above the one million train-km target, it noted. This means MRT trains travelled for more than one million kilometres between delays of more than five minutes. The revised S$2.4 million penalty is the second-highest to be levied on a rail operator, after the S$5.4 million fine that SMRT incurred over a 2015 disruption that crippled the entire North-South and East-West lines for more than two hours during the evening peak period. In June, LTA said a S$3 million penalty for the September 2024 disruption was 'proportionate' to the circumstances surrounding the incident. The authority said it also considered the cost that SMRT had borne from the repairs, and from providing free bus and shuttle train services at the affected stations. Investigations pointed to degraded grease as the likely cause of the incident. This led to a faulty part of the train's undercarriage falling out on the morning of Sept 25, 2024. The part – an axle box, which holds the train's wheels to the axle, a rod connecting a pair of wheels – was dislodged near Dover station while the train was being withdrawn from service to Ulu Pandan Depot. This caused one of the train's 12 bogies – a structure below the train carriage – to derail. The six-carriage train could continue travelling, as the other 11 bogies remained on the rails. But the derailed portion of the third carriage caused extensive damage to 2.55km of track and trackside equipment, such as power cables and the third rail, which supplies power to trains. Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, told ST that in the context of rail operations, the $600,000 requirement for improvements is not a very significant amount. It could fund reviews and process improvements, but would not suffice for any substantial engineering work. He also said new trains are 'not a cure for reliability by themselves', as they will result in better reliability only after teething issues have been sorted out. Prof Theseira also believes LTA should examine its own capability to judge the quality of a maintenance regime. 'While the operator is on the ground and has first-hand knowledge, it may also be that the regulator should have a well-formed second opinion.' - The Straits Times/ANN
Malay Mail
3 days ago
- Malay Mail
Tokyo's Nikkei leads Asian rally after Japan-US trade deal
HONG KONG, July 23 — Tokyo stocks surged toda after Japan and the United States finally hammered out a trade deal to slash Donald Trump's tariffs, including those on the crucial car sector. Investors were also cheered by news that Washington had reached agreements with Indonesia and the Philippines, stoking optimism that other countries will also follow suit. Despite a lack of deals ahead of Trump's August 1 deadline, equity markets have been on the march in recent weeks on optimism that governments will eventually get over the line. Investor sentiment in Tokyo had been subdued as Japanese trade envoy Ryosei Akazawa travelled seven times to Washington since April in a bid to persuade Trump to scrap the levies. But the US president announced yesterday a 'massive' deal lowering tariffs on some Japanese goods to 15 per cent, down from the threatened 25 per cent. Tokyo also cut a deal to reduce tolls on its autos — a sector accounting for 8 per cent of Japanese jobs — to 15 per cent, compared, with 25 per cent for other countries. 'Japan will invest, at my direction, US$550 Billion Dollars into the United States, which will receive 90% of the Profits,' Trump said on social media. He did not provide details on the investment plan, but claimed the deal 'will create Hundreds of Thousands of Jobs.' With car shipments deal in the bag, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said: 'We are the first (country) in the world to reduce tariffs on automobiles and auto parts, with no limits on volume.' Akazawa wrote on social media: 'Mission accomplished.' However, he later said the 50 per cent levies on steel and aluminium were not part of the deal. Traders poured back into the market, pushing the Nikkei up more than 3 per cent to a one-year high thanks to soaring automakers. Toyota rocketed more than 14 per cent, Mitsubishi 13 per cent and Nissan jumped more than 8 per cent. 'With the reciprocal tariff rate at 15 per cent, our base case view that tariffs should have a limited direct impact for most industries in Japan is unchanged,' said Lorraine Tan Morningstar's director of equity research in Asia. 'The key risk remains the indirect impact of slower global demand given ongoing tariff uncertainty.' 'Win not clear-cut' The yen strengthened to 146.20 per dollar — compared with close to 148 yesterday but it lost some weight after a top Bank of Japan official indicated it was not in any rush to hike interest rates. However, analysts were cautious over the agreement. Stefan Angrick at Moody's Analytics warned the deal 'is unlikely to be the final chapter in a saga that has bruised Japan's economy'. 'Japan's apparent 'win' is not that clear-cut; the country faced US tariffs in the low single digits before April and a 10 per cent tariff since mid-April. It's unclear when the new tariff rate will take effect,' he said. 'It's too early to assess the economic ramifications based on the superficial information available at the moment; the most that can be said at this point is that the 15 per cent tariff is worse than what Japan had but better than what was threatened.' Trump also hailed an agreement with Manila to lower the toll on Philippine goods by 1 percentage point to 19 per cent, while tariffs on Indonesia were slashed from 32 per cent to 19 per cent. Shares in Manila and Jakarta rallied. The announcements boosted hopes of other deals before next Friday's deadline, though talks with the European Union and South Korea remain elusive. Still, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he would meet his Chinese counterparts in Stockholm next week, as a separate mid-August deadline approaches for US levies on China to return to steeper levels. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong hit its highest level since late 2021, while Sydney, Singapore and Taipei, Seoul, Mumbai and Bangkok all enjoyed healthy buying interest. Shanghai was flat. London started the day in the green with Paris and Frankfurt. The advances came after a broadly positive day on Wall Street where the S&P 500 hit another peak but the Nasdaq snapped a six-day streak of records. Eyes are also on the release of earnings from Google parent Alphabet and tech giants including Tesla and Intel. — AFP
Borneo Post
6 days ago
- Borneo Post
Transformers-themed muscle car, tuned-up vehicles ignite Apoclaypse Auto Show
Kong (left) and Lam (right) take a look at the engine of a tuned-up car. KUCHING (July 20): From a Transformers-inspired Camaro to a Spy Family-themed four-wheel drive (4WD), the Apoclaypse Auto Show Vol 3 shifted into high gear today. Car enthusiasts and participants rolled into CityOne Megamall basement carpark as early as 8am today to proudly showcase their heavily tuned-up machines, with the revs of roaring engines could be heard from a distance. Among the show-stopping cars was a yellow Chevrolet Camaro with black stripes, clearly drawing inspiration from the 2007 'Transformers' film. Under the hood, it sported an Autbots logo on the engine block, with stacks of miniature Camaros and a Volkswagen Beetle placed on it — a nod to the beloved Autobot character Bumblebee. Also turning heads was a 4WD decorated with three anime action figures and a plushie of Yor Forger — one of the iconic leads from hit anime series Spy Family — adding a playful touch of pop culture. Other eye-catching entries included a sleek Lotus Elise, a Toyota GR86, and a fleet of meticulously modded Subarus. The event was officiated by Commercial Vehicle Licensing Board (CVLB) Sarawak chairman Michael Kong, who represented DAP Sarawak chairman and Stampin MP Chong Chieng Jen; as well as Democratic Action Party Socialist Youth (Dapsy) Sarawak secretary George Lam, who represented Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii. Kong said: 'While we celebrate this passion for the automotive world, it is equally important that this hobby is pursued responsibly and within the bounds of the law. 'As we all try to enjoy our hobby and explore the limitations of creativity, let us always be reminded of public safety.' Highlights from the event included 32 competition categories and a lucky draw with prizes such as car accessories and audio systems. Tickets were sold at RM10 each at the organiser's booth, with limited edition event stickers available at RM5 each. In the spirit of giving back, event organiser Apoclaypse Car Club of Kuching announced that 30 per cent of proceeds from ticket and sticker sales would be donated to charity. Apoclaypse Auto Show Vol. 3 car show cityone megamall lead
