Official - Cancellation of plan to market the Brio in Malaysia

Honda Malaysia officially confirmed the cancellation of plans to market the Honda Brio K-car in Malaysia. This was made in a response to a question about this matter made by me during the press conference of the 4G Honda City launch. 

There was no direct reason given for the cancellation but rather a reference was made to the fact that Malaysian national car makers Perodua and Proton both have offerings in this sector. 

Further explanations also highlighted the potential for large sales figures of 100,000 or more units if the Brio is to be sold in Malaysia and while this should logically be good news for Honda Malaysia's ambitious 70,000+ quota for this year, a concern was also voiced about Honda's current (in)ability to provide satisfactory after sales support for such a large number.

So for Honda fans looking forward to this car in Malaysia will unfortunately be disappointed. No comments were made if this cancellation is for good or whether Honda will re-look into this matter again in the future.

Answer to CVT 'Start Clutch' Failures for the 4G City

One of the most significant change in the new 4G Honda City is the change of the gearbox from the 5AT back to the CVT gearbox that was first used in the 2G City. Unfortunately, seasoned Honda fans will remember well that this rather 'infamous' gearbox has a rather bad reputation for unreliability. Whether this reputation is rightfully or wrongfully given, it cannot be denied that a search on the internet will reveal numerous stories of 'start-up clutch' (its actually called the 'start clutch' but mechanics at Honda's authorized service and repair centers added the 'up' and many have called it 'start UP clutch' since) failures with early batches of the 2G City and even 1G Jazz.