Singapore car-themed feature film
Touted as Singapore’s first car-racing movie, Oversteer was shot in Singapore and Malaysia by Singaporean director Derrick Lui, who conceptualised the story in 2004.
This is the second local feature film directed by Lui. His debut feature film 1400, a romantic drama, won a number of awards, including best feature film at indie film festivals in Sydney and Los Angeles in 2015.
In a telephone interview with The Straits Times on Jan 10, Lui, 47, said the major car scenes were shot in Malaysia.
The locations include Bukit Bintang, an area that is home to one of the busiest roads in Kuala Lumpur, and Bukit Tinggi in Pahang, about 50km farther north, where a crucial drifting scene was shot.
The shoot concluded in 2018, but the film was then stuck in post-production.
Lui declined to say how much the film cost to make.
Oversteer stars actors Aden Tan, Jannassa Neo Jia Ling and Hanrey Low.
Lui said no computer-generated imagery was used, so all the close-up drifting shots were done in real life.
He added: “This is a movie that is made with real sweat, blood and sacrifices. Hopefully, people will come and support us.”
Cars featured in the film include the Nissan Silvia (S13), the Audi R8, the Lotus Exige S, the Porsche 911 (997), the Honda Civic Type R (EK9) and the Honda Integra Type R (DC5).
The first public screening will be held at Golden Village VivoCity on Jan 31. Go to str.sg/7KtQ for updates.
Switch on the air-conditioner at home from a Hyundai or Kia
Hyundai and Kia are working with Samsung Electronics to make it possible for drivers to control home digital appliances through their vehicles’ in-car infotainment systems.
On existing vehicles, the feature can be installed with an over-the-air update or by loading the program into the system with a physical memory drive. New cars will have the capability built into the infotainment system.
Owners can also operate some vehicle functions using Samsung’s digital televisions or smartphone app. For example, owners of electric vehicles (EVs) from the two South Korean car brands can use Samsung’s integrated home energy management service to check the energy usage of their homes and EVs, and set the optimal charging times.
Dakar Rally under way in Saudi Arabia
The Dakar Rally, which kicked off on Jan 5, has attracted 343 participants competing in seven categories over difficult terrain. Including the distance between the competitive stages, the event, which ends on Jan 19, covers more than 7,800km.
Although named after the capital of Senegal on the western African coast, where the first event in 1979 was held, the Dakar Rally has been held in Saudi Arabia in the Middle East since 2020.
Competing vehicles include motorcycles, cars, trucks and specially built prototypes. While some are professional outfits, others are amateur entries.
Among the professional teams is Audi, which has entered three specially built RS Q e-tron models. These are EVs with a range-extender to charge the batteries on the move.
New Nio ET9 flagship unveiled
The Nio ET9 is the latest model from the luxury Chinese electric vehicle brand. With a length of more than 5.3m, it is slightly longer than the Bentley Flying Spur.
With the ET9’s 900-volt electric architecture, the four-seater boasts charging speeds of up to 600kW. At the fastest charging speed, a five-minute charge is said to add 255km of operating range.
As with Nio’s other models, the ET9 can use the brand’s battery-swopping stations, which is able to complete a swop in three minutes.
Delivery in China is expected to start in the first quarter of 2025.
In 2023, Nio delivered 160,038 units. The company has research and development facilities in China, the United States, Britain, Europe and Singapore.
In May 2022, Nio successfully listed on the Singapore stock exchange, its third listing after New York in 2018 and Hong Kong in March 2022.
Nearly 6,500 deaths in fatal road accidents in 2023 in Malaysia
Malaysian news agency Bernama reports that the number of deaths in fatal road accidents in Malaysia in 2023 has increased by about 350 to 6,433, compared with figures from 2022.
Out of 598,635 road accidents in Malaysia recorded between Jan 1 and Dec 30, 2023, 5,984 were fatal ones.
In 2022, according to an earlier announcement by the country’s transport ministry, there were 545,588 accidents with 6,080 deaths recorded.
Based on the 2023 data, Selangor had the highest number of accidents with 173,129 cases, followed by Johor with 87,370 cases and Kuala Lumpur with 72,701 cases.
Selangor also had the highest number of fatalities from traffic accidents (2,092), followed by Johor (2,010) and Perak (1,321).
Online reservation for Volkswagen EVs opens
Volkswagen Singapore is taking reservations for its ID.4 and ID.5 EVs before deliveries begin in May.
The ID.4 Pro is priced at $129,900, while the GTX variant, which is more powerful and has two motors instead of one, costs $152,900.
The ID.5 Pro, which is a coupe version of the ID.4, goes for $139,900 and its GTX version is priced at $162,900.
These prices do not include the cost of the certificate of entitlement. A reservation deposit of $5,000 is required.
The ID.4 Pro and ID.4 GTX will be at Volkswagen’s roadshow at VivoCity Central Court 1 until Jan 14.
Correction note: An earlier version of this story misspelled actor Aden Tan’s name. This has been corrected. We are sorry for the error.
