There are times when you are just stuck in queues and have to wait for your turn. I think society in general tends to make us think that we are in a uber fast paced world but only to hit you back to reality with long queues and lines. Traffic jams are a norm these days and long queues at most outlets such as "ChaTime" or the immigration department seems to be one of these norms.



Anyway, the other day, I sent my car in to the service center and while I was waiting for my car to be serviced, I tapped into the free wi-fi and started trying to figure out some site online to fill my time. Of course in this digital world, emails are one of my key communication tools so I logged in to my email accounts. First mail I read was an automated email from my email administrator informing me that I was reaching the limit for my mailbox size.

I guess I still am not used to having a 150MB limit especially ever since I have been using Gmail. So being the usual curious guy, I went to my Gmail account to check how much space I have actually used.



Yikes! 51% usage for my Gmail account and increasing! The first thing I did like every other normal Outlook user would do, was to try to figure out how to sort my emails by size. And only by then can I select the largest sized ones and delete them. Apparently that didn't work because based on Google's Gmail theory, you don't need to sort your mails with Gmail.

After mucking through the search results, I chanced upon this site, https://www.findbigmail.com/

What it basically does is to help you scan through your Gmail account and then provides you with an email which provides several pie charts to visualize the emails you have archived.



The image above shows the scan results of my Gmail and the top 20 emails are all more than 20Mb in size. Most of them are me sending images about and after clearing them, I have managed to free up quite a fair bit of space within my mailbox.

As a result of the scan, it also creates 3 categories or 3 labels in your Gmail account and labels the emails accordingly.



By clicking on these labels, it pulls out emails that are either larger than 2Mb, somewhere between 500kb to 2Mb and finally any emails that are larger than 100kb.

Personally this tool is somewhat useful, mainly because Gmail does provide us with so much storage space that it would take a lot of emails to delete before seeing large space savings. Any how if you are running out of space on your Gmail account, do try out this tool. You never know how handy it might turn out to be. Best of all, this service is free!

 

With the VW Das Auto Show happening over the weekend, the Bukit Jalil Stadium has been transformed, well not the actual stadium itself but if you happened to drive by it you would definitely notice a huge white dome right in the parking lot. I was quite lucky to get invited together with a bunch of Nuffnang bloggers to attend the media opening of the VW Das Auto Show.



Upon entering the car park, because I was driving a Golf, the guards were nice to lead me towards the Volkswagen Vehicles only parking. At the end of the event I did find out that the sign actually meant that it was for Volkswagen Group Malaysia’s staff but of course my ignorance did get the better of me and I just proceeded to park amongst the other VW marques. There was plenty of parking space available and over the weekend, parking will be free.



I arrived a little earlier and was greeted with the registration counter amidst a huge room.



While waiting for the other bloggers to arrive, I managed to catch up with Nicholas and also meet Tian Chad and Huai Bin. After registering at the counter and receiving our own personal goody packs, we were ushered into a hall right next to the registration counter where light refreshments were served.



After a couple of orange juices, catching with some of my sales advisors from the Wearnes VW branch and also talking to some of the other bloggers, I went about checking out several booths which were selling VW merchandises such as key chains, caps, polo shirts and more.



If you get bored waiting about or are feeling a little bit restless, there are a number of racing simulators available to try out.



This is definitely how Gran Turismo 5 is meant to be played and not using the usual PS3 joystick. I wonder how much would a set up like this cost if I were to get it right in my living room.

After munching through several tidbits which were rather tasty, the group were then ushered into the main dome. I reckon there were about 200+ participants this morning.



We were then seated at the center of the dome while surrounded by large screens.



Elaine Daly took to the center stage as the emcee for the show.



The first speaker, Petra Schreiber, Marketing Director at Volkswagen Group Malaysia,   then presented about the Volkswagen brand and what Das Auto meant. Volkswagen is committed to create high-end cars for every segment hence the true meaning of Das Auto which translate to the The Car.



Then as the speeches continued, the first 3 cars were showcased in a very unique manner, words can hardly describe the event as you really need to be there to fully experience it, the dome, the music, the projections and the cars themselves. 3 guesses on which were the first 3 cars.



The Volkswagen Golf has been around and it truly is an iconic model which truly represents what a hot hatchback should be. Frankly, I think I am in love with the 3-door version of the Golf R. Seriously, a nice sun-roof, 260 horses under that hood, the beautiful Talladega rims and that wicked AWD system, this is the car for me. Now I wonder how long it would take for me to even save up for the down-payment for this car.

After the Golf came the showcase of the Cross Touran and the Sharan. Both of these are MPV’s and as explained, try driving one and you wouldn’t feel as if you were driving an MPV but rather a sporty vehicle.



The moment the MPV’s were driven off, then came the VW Passat. Now this car has been on the radar of the Malaysian public ever since the announcement that this is one of the models which will be assembled here in Malaysia.



And as the Passat arrived at the front, Daniel Tan, the director for Volkswagen Group Malaysia alighted from the car to give the next speech.





The Passat shouldn’t be a real surprise for you all here as I did post previously about the Superbowl advertisement which I thought was extremely hilarious and creative! See the advertisement here.



Petra then returned with an electric scooter which was completely silent and wowed the crowd. There was a huge applause as she then continued to talk about how Volkswagen Blue is the next green. In case you aren’t too familiar with the Blue Motion versions of the VW vehicles, you can check it out here.

Then as she continued with her speech, the main show began as the Volkswagen models started rolling in.



The awesome Scirocco R!



The two Polos, the Polo Sedan will also be assembled here in Malaysia.



The VW Amarok! Definitely very rare in our country.



The new VW EOS with the top down, this car is definitely a babe magnet. Trust me and I can prove it later.



The VW Jetta, the last of the 3 models which will be assembled here in Malaysia

In total there will be 13 VW models that will be rolling in the dome and the finale was a surprise. It was the new VW Beetle!



Decked out in red, this baby really does look like a mini Porsche 911.

And as the event started to close off, we were greeted with a choir of children singing together with a guest appearance by Ella!



At the end of the event, me being the ever curious person decided to go and capture a couple more photos of the Beetle because my earlier shot were blocked by the folks in front.



A full frontal of the Beetle!



The interior really did look sexy, covered in the same red as the car, the styling is really awesome.



A flat bottom steering wheel with red finishing.



Looks very much like the RNS510 to me.



Manual shifters for a bit of fun!



Beautiful looking rims



Ample space in the boot, surprisingly!



Sound system by the guys who brought the world, the Stratocaster, yes, Fender, baybeh!

As we were ushered out of the dome, the display isn’t over yet! We were then brought into a huge area where all of the existing models currently sold at the dealers were on display. At the same time the sales advisors were also there to explain about each model and give you a personal tour of the cars.



Of course I took the opportunity to molest the latest model which was launched a couple of weeks ago, the Polo GTI.





Earlier I mentioned that the EOS was a babe magnet and believe me, it really was.



Non-stop, ladies were climbing into the car, checking it out, having their photos taken! Believe me, I couldn’t even get a photo of the car without anyone in it. I guess the colour of this particular one did help as well.



At the end of the tour, I managed to quickly grabbed a quick photo of some of us who were just around the area. A big thanks to Volkswagen for inviting me to be one of the participants for this fantastic event.



As I walked out to the exit, I noticed a strange and rare sight indeed, a tiger driving through the streets of the Sepang Track.

The Volkswagen Das Auto Show will be going on throughout the weekend, so do swing by
and check it out at:

Bukit Jalil National Stadium
September 10 – 11 (10am – 10pm)
http://www.dasautoshow.com.my

Ever since I moved out of my parent’s house, one of the pleasures of life that I have been missing is television, Astro in particular. So thanks to this situation, whenever I am outside, whether it may be at a pub or at the local mamak store, I tend to watch the television that is displayed on there. Most of the time it’s the usual advertisements but one particular advertisement did catch my eye. It was the Volkwagen’s Das Auto Show advertisement. Being a VW owner myself, I was excited about the event and thanks to a good friend of mine, I managed to catch a sneak preview of the event, live at the Bukit Jalil Stadium.

The main dome overseeing the rest of the structures under the moonlight

So instead of having the event at the usual convention center or a large open air space, Volkswagen instead have decided to build up a huge dome in the middle of the stadium car park area and have it surrounded by more domes. What you have here instead is an area completely dedicated to a full weekend of fun for the family.



At night these domes are lit up ever so beautifully.

A view of the smaller domes at night while workers complete the final touch ups

Upon entering the compound, I am greeted by Daniel who gave us the tour of the built up area. One of the first things that caught my eye was the Volkswagen signs that are located around the parking area.



At the main door we are greeted with a large entrance which leads everyone into the registration room.





After when guests register, they are then ushered into a reception area where there are merchandise stores set up as well as a simulator for you to try out your driving skills.

Upon entering the main dome where the main show is going to be held, the first thing that caught my eye was the incredibly large space. I really thought that the dome looked large from the outside but it is humongous on the inside.

The large VW logo is actually the top of the dome.

Guests will be ushered into the dome and seated down where they will be presented with a special show (I can’t reveal too much otherwise I might just spoil the surprise) for 30 minutes. During this time, there will be 13 Volkswagen models, which will be showcased. Yes, that’s right! 13 models, man, I can only think of the few models we have here such as the Golf, Golf GTI, Scirocco, Polo, Tiguan, Touareg, and the Passat CC. So it’s not going to be a surprise that the local CKD models will be showcased here as well such as the Jetta, Polo Sedan and the Passat. What are the remaining models that are going to be shown? Well, check them out this coming weekend.



 



Once the show is done, visitors are then brought into a showcase room where all the current cars available at the local VW dealers are showcased.



At the end of the tour, I was presented with a very very special preview. At first I thought that I had seen all of the models that were showcased until this baby arrived.



Specially transported on a flatbed truck, the secret is still safe until this weekend of course :) The only preview you can get is a small glimpse of the rims and the bodywork there.

Stay tuned as I reveal more sneak previews very soon!

For more information about the event, check out http://www.dasautoshow.com.my/ 

The event will be held at the Bukit Jalil Stadium on the 10th and 11th of September 2011.