As an avid watcher of cable television show, Air Crash Investigation, I find it hard to believe that majority of crashes that happened, happened because of simple human error—specifically, a conflict between man and a piece of technology (that was supposed to keep him safe) which he didn’t understand. Indeed, the aviation industry has continuously learned from these mistakes and has repeatedly amended pilot training and plane technology to take into account the somewhat faulty “human logic”. More than that, there’s a serious lesson to be learned for the automakers as well, especially those who hope to make cars safer by taking the controls away from the driver: don’t do it.
March 15, 2013
March 12, 2013
Review: 2013 Mitsubishi Lancer EX GLX A/T
 |
| Photos by Ulysses Ang |
Review: 2013 Subaru XV 2.0i Premium
 |
| Photos by Ulysses Ang |
However, in both those cases we were handed the keys to the 2.0i, the base model that’s all well and good but not truly representative of the entire XV line. Instead, that distinction goes to the 2.0i Premium, which is the better selling XV. Yes, it’s slightly more expensive but it also comes better loaded with features. Is the additional price tag worth it or are Subaru buyers getting it wrong? Let’s find out.
March 11, 2013
Toyota Motor Philippines Awards Top Performing Dealers
Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation (TMP) recently hosted its Annual Dealer Conference and Gala Awards at Shangri-la’s Mactan Resort and Spa, Cebu last February 22, 2013 to recognize the remarkable performance of its dealer network. The event was held to honor individual achievers and top-performing dealers in the areas of Sales, After Sales and Customer Satisfaction and Overall Dealer Operations. Moreover, TMP was also awarded by Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC), Toyota Motor Asia Pacific (TMAP) and Mitsui & Co., for its achievements from the previous year. One of which is attaining its 11th consecutive Triple Crown Title.
Goodyear Launches EfficientGrip SUV: Goodyear's Quietest SUV Tire Ever
Building on the technology from its successful and award winning tire for luxury passenger cars, the Eagle EfficientGrip SUV, Goodyear has broken new ground again with the introduction of Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV – Goodyear’s quietest SUV tire ever.
Strong and robust, Goodyear Efficient Grip SUV is engineered with QuietTred Technology to give an exceptionally quiet ride without compromising grip and handle capabilities.
March 8, 2013
Toyota Offers Free Vehicle Safety Inspection this Summer
Furthermore, for your peace-of-mind, Toyota Motor Philippines Corporation will once again launch the Toyota Motorists Assistance this coming Holy Week – a service tradition for the past 22 years. From Maundy Thursday to Easter Sunday, service teams will be deployed in eight major destinations across Luzon to assist the motoring public in Bantay, Ilocos Sur; Rosario, La Union; Baguio City, Benguet; Urdaneta, Pangasinan; Tagaytay City; Calamba, Laguna; Lucena City, Quezon; and Sipocot, Camarines Sur. The service teams will provide free roadside assistance and repairs to all vehicles with emergency concerns, regardless of makes and models.
BPI Family Auto Loan Holds Online Auto Madness
 |
| L-R: Mr. Teodoro Limcaoco, BPI Family Savings Bank President, Mr. David Sarmiento, Jr., Senior Vice-President of Auto Loans Head, and Mr. Ramon Altamirano, Loans Product Marketing Head officially opens the BPI Family Online Auto Madness |
From the bank that brought to you the original Auto
Madness (the now common term for irresistible deals on new car financing) comes
another unique product: the country’s first-ever Online Auto Madness. In conjunction with the BPI Family Auto Madness that is happening from today until March 10, 2013 (the first of four this year) at the Glorietta Activity
Center, BPI Family is extending their Auto Madness promotion until March 31
through the website www.bpiautomadness.com. Through this unique website, BPI
Family offers the convenience of buying a car and getting a loan 24/7 online.
In addition, qualified buyers will get free insurance with acts of nature
coverage and of course, unbelievable low loan rates.
Ford Expands Ranger Line-Up with Wildtrak
Ford Philippines today announced it will expand the lineup for its class-defining all-new Ford Ranger at the 2013 Manila International Auto Show with the official launch of the range-topping Wildtrak variants.
The all-new Ranger Wildtrak will be available in three variants - the Duratorq TDCi 2.2L VG Turbo 4x4 in both manual and automatic transmission, and the top-of-the-line Duratorq TDCi 3.2L VG Turbo 4x4 in automatic transmission.
The addition of the Wildtrak will expand the all-new Ford Ranger lineup in the Philippines to six highly-competitive models featuring an unmatched combination of power and safety, fuel efficiency, comfort and capability in its segment.
Vent It Out Friday: Dipstick Future
Technology, along with laziness is killing the oil dipstick. Is this important? Should we care? Will we miss it when it’s gone? The answer to all three is an emphatic yes.
Consider the lowly dipstick: it lives in a dark, hot cave known as the engine bay. It gets covered by liquefied and processed dinosaur remains and nasty, carbon sludge on a regular basis. Once every few thousand kilometers, it gets forcibly yanked out of its home, wiped down, shoved back into its house, and then yanked out again. Its world is build of inconsistency, shock, and extreme conditions.
Consider the lowly dipstick: it lives in a dark, hot cave known as the engine bay. It gets covered by liquefied and processed dinosaur remains and nasty, carbon sludge on a regular basis. Once every few thousand kilometers, it gets forcibly yanked out of its home, wiped down, shoved back into its house, and then yanked out again. Its world is build of inconsistency, shock, and extreme conditions.
Volvo Cars Introduces Active High Beam Support
The new Volvo S60, V60 and XC60 - shown to the public for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show - can be fitted with an innovation that makes driving in the dark safer and more comfortable. The renewed Active High Beam Control makes it possible to use high beam continuously thanks to an ingenious mechanism that prevents dazzling of oncoming drivers. At a press conference in Geneva, Volvo Car Group will also present a new world-first collision-avoidance technology.
Driving at night presents car drivers all over the world with challenging conditions. "Our aim with the renewed Active High Beam Control technology is to enhance visibility in the dark by making it possible to use high beam permanently, without having to switch to low beam when meeting or catching up with other cars," says Prof. Lotta Jakobsson, Senior Technical Specialist Safety at Volvo Cars Safety Center.
March 7, 2013
Ford Philippines Sales Double in Best-Ever February Performance
Ford Philippines today reported its best-ever February performance with overall retail sales jumping 108 percent year-over-year to 865 units. Continuing the company’s best start to any year, and building on the momentum from its best-ever January, the exceptional month was driven by strong sales of vehicles across the Ford lineup.
“We’re off to a very strong start to the year, as customers continue to respond positively to our full lineup of Ford vehicles,” said Randy Krieger, president, Ford Philippines.
Honda Cars to Open in Tacloban City, Leyte
Following its commitment to bring products and services closer to its customers, Honda is set to open a new dealership in Tacloban City, Leyte, with operations targeted to start by the second half of 2013. Said dealership is owned by the Mercado Group of Companies and will offer the full line-up of Honda products and services to customers in the Eastern Visayas region. The Tacloban dealership will be the 5th authorized Honda dealer in the Visayas.
Lexus Dominates 2013 JD Power Survey
Lexus ranked highest in vehicle dependability among all nameplates for a second consecutive year in the 2013 J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS). The study tracks the number and type of problems owners have with their three-year-old vehicles. In the study, Lexus RX had the fewest reported problems in the industry, which is the first time in the history of VDS that a crossover or SUV has achieved this accolade.
Lamborghini Launches Veneno Super Sports Car
In the year of its 50th anniversary Automobili Lamborghini presented an extremely exclusive model at the Geneva Motor Show 2013. Only three unique units of the Lamborghini Veneno will be built and sold. Its design is consistently focused on optimum aerodynamics and cornering stability, giving the Veneno the real dynamic experience of a racing prototype, yet it is fully homologated for the road. With a maximum output of 552 kW / 750 hp, the Veneno accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.8 seconds and the top speed for this street-legal racing car stands at 355 km/h. It is priced at three million Euros plus tax – and all three units have already been sold to customers.
March 5, 2013
Review: 2013 Honda Insight
 |
| Photos by Ulysses Ang |
March 1, 2013
Late Breaking: Motor Image announces all-new Subaru Forester pricing
Bali, Indonesia—Motor Image Pilipinas has just announced the pricing of the all-new Subaru Forester for the Philippine market. It will arrive in two variants: 2.0 i-L and 2.0 XT. The entry-level model will be priced at P 1.398M and the turbo variant will be pegged at P 1.868M. It will be launched at the 2013 Manila International Auto Show running from April 4-7. Meanwhile, the XV will slash its pricing to P 1.298M for the 2.0i. The 2.0 i-Premium will still be at P 1.478M but will have leather seats as standard equipment. More details soon.
Vent It Out Friday: These Bumpers Don't Work
Modern car bumpers are, in the majority of cases, beautiful but utterly useless. They just don’t work. From experience, it often takes huge amounts of money to repair damage from fairly minor accidents—sometimes requiring a replacement—from a relatively minor shunt. And that’s the fundamental problem: modern car bumpers are designed to break.
But before heading there, it’s a good idea to qualify first on how bumpers should work. Basically, a car bumper should be that part of a car that satisfies a simple criterion: it should be able to take some, without you giving any. The ideal car bumper should allow you to crash into another car or object, stationary or moving, at speeds below 8 km/h with zero visible damage. A good bumper design should provide the driver with a sort of buffer zone where small errors in judgment can be absorbed and forgotten. Of course, the modern bumper fails at doing this. However, there was a time when bumpers were able to achieve this ideal, but sacrifices had to be made in one area: aesthetics.
But before heading there, it’s a good idea to qualify first on how bumpers should work. Basically, a car bumper should be that part of a car that satisfies a simple criterion: it should be able to take some, without you giving any. The ideal car bumper should allow you to crash into another car or object, stationary or moving, at speeds below 8 km/h with zero visible damage. A good bumper design should provide the driver with a sort of buffer zone where small errors in judgment can be absorbed and forgotten. Of course, the modern bumper fails at doing this. However, there was a time when bumpers were able to achieve this ideal, but sacrifices had to be made in one area: aesthetics.
February 27, 2013
ACC Seals Partnership to Build BMW Flagship in PHL
Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), the official importer and distributor of BMW vehicles in the Philippines, has officially formalized its partnership with the Armed Forces & Police Mutual Benefit Association, Inc. (AFPMBAI) for the long-term lease of an AFPMBAI property located in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig. The lot will be the future site of the BMW Flagship Dealership, envisioned to be the largest and most modern BMW showroom in the country. The deal, amounting to over Php 1Billion, was made official through a MOA signing ceremony between Mr. Jose Ch. Alvarez, Chairman of ACC, and Brigadier General Ricardo C. Morales, President & CEO of AFPMBAI.
Volvo Cars Asia-Pacific Heads Visit Volvo PH
Volvo Philippines’ optimism for 2013 is made even brighter as Volvo Cars Asia Pacific (VCAP) top executives visited the country recently. VCAP President, Mr. Carl Goran Larsson, VCAP Chief Finance Officer Miss Roslin Ooi, and VCAP Regional Business Manager Ai Phing Teh expressed their continued support for Volvo Philippines and its programs to push the Scandinavian luxury brand in the local market.
February 26, 2013
Review: 2013 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 V6
 |
| Photos by Ulysses Ang |
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
