Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s largest automaker, has established a new five-year global business cooperation agreement with Royal Dutch Shell plc, the international energy and petrochemicals business. The agreement, signed on this week means that Shell retains its status as an officially recommended lubricants supplier for Hyundai vehicle worldwide.

Minutes before the kickoff of Super Bowl XLIX on NBC, Chevrolet shocked 100 million viewers into thinking that their TVs had failed – only to command their attention seconds later to the Chevrolet Colorado, the 2015 Motor Trend Truck of the Year®.

“Let the truck war begin,” stated a visually gleaming Antonio ‘Toti’ Zara, Nissan Philippines’s President and Managing Director. He has every reason to be ecstatic. Just a few seconds before marching up the stage, he literally pulled it, band and all, using the all-new Nissan NP300 Navara. The rock concert theatrics isn’t new (Ford pulled the same feat with the Ranger back in 2002), but Mr. Zara’s warning shot against the competition is well-founded: Nissan is bring its big guns to the fight.

Motor Image Pilipinas Inc., the official distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines, along with Subaru showrooms nationwide join in celebrating with the Chinese community the upcoming Chinese New Year by offering enticing offers on the Subaru XV and Forester from today until February 28, 2015.

PGA Cars will hold the first ever super car motor show this weekend, February 7 to 8, 2015 at the SMX Convention Center in Manila. Dubbed as “The World of Super Cars”, PGA Cars will display the best cars from its luxury stable Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley.

Volkswagen Philippines formally turned over last January 29, 2015 to the Philippines’ Apostolic Nuncio, a Touran multipurpose vehicle (MPV), the same unit Pope Francis used during His Holiness’ visit from January 15 to 19, 2015.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

It’s been a very long time since the executive sedan market saw an American entry. And yet, in recent years, the competition has been getting fiercer with a slew of great models coming from stalwarts and new comers alike. Heck, there are those who’re supposed to be dead in the water, but are now coming back to life. In other words, the Americans aren’t fashionably late to the executive sedan party anymore; they’re ‘the party already ended’ late.

SOLAR Transport and Automotive Resources Corp. (STAR Corp.), authorized distributor of BYD Auto China Ltd. Co., and Areza Motor Sales (AMS) signed a memorandum of understanding recently at the BYD Shaw showroom which will pave the way for the opening of a BYD dealership in Batangas.  This development will make the BYD brand well represented in the southwestern Luzon area as BYD Batangas provides support for sales, after-sales and spare parts and accessories to the growing number of BYD customers.

Yamaha Motor Philippines launched a unique new lifestyle vehicle dubbed the Tricity recently. With two front wheels and one rear wheel, the Tricity certainly looks like a tricycle. However, because of its unique Leaning Multi Wheel (LMW), it leans into corners while taking into account changes in different road surfaces to keep both front wheels with contact on the ground.

After hosting a successful first round of the Northern Series two weeks ago, the National Drag Racing Championship (NDRC) moves to the Batangas Racing Circuit (BRC) today for the start of the Southern Series.

At the recent Toyota Media Thanksgiving Party (which also served as the launch venue of the all-new Alphard and refreshed Prius C), Toyota Motor Philippines President Mr. Michinobu Sugata outlined the company’s banner 2014. In his speech, Mr. Sugata proudly outlined his company’s accomplishments including:

The country’s best-selling luxury van is getting its most daring makeover yet. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the all-new 2015 Alphard. Introduced in its home country of Japan not more than a week ago, the all-new Alphard features a much sharper and aggressive styling to go with a new platform that promises an improved ride and NVH isolation.

Toyota Motor Philippines is giving its subcompact hybrid, the Prius C a minor makeover for 2015 to keep it fresh. It gets both cosmetic and safety-related change which make Toyota’s entry-level hybrid much more value-oriented.

Ford Motor Company honored six of its dealers at the 15th annual Salute to Dealers awards at the 2015 National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in San Francisco.

Kia is now offering huge savings on their Sorento mid-sized crossover from now until February 12, 2015. With Kia’s Fast Break Deals, the Sorento LX A/T 4x2 and 5-seater CRDi and LX A/T 4x4 5-seater CRDi are available with a P 80,000-discount. On top of that, Kia will even throw in an additional P 20,000 if you trade in your old car (on top of the appraised value).

Tripda is modernizing the carpooling experience by allowing drivers and passengers to connect with each other via the web or via its own dedicated app (iOS, Google Play). Originally from Brazil, Tripda is now available in 13 countries including the Philippines. Established in October of last year, Tripda Philippines is the latest venture of PLDT-backed Rocket Internet whose portfolio includes carmudi, lamudi, foodpanda, pricepanda, and Clickbus.

BPI Family Auto Loan pioneers another extraordinary offer in the car and car financing industry with the first-ever Bagong Kotse, 1-Month Libre promo! With this new campaign clients will enjoy big savings with the free 1 month loan amortization they get when they avail of a BPI Family Auto Loan.

BMW motorcycle enthusiasts earned top honors in the first ever Cannonball 1000 endurance run in the Philippines. Cementing his reputation as one of the country’s finest professional riders, 68-year old businessman Max Kienle led the individual category on a BMW R1200 GS Adventure LC. The BMW Motorrad-supported Club PK also displayed a stellar performance and finished ahead of their counterparts in the Group of 10 category.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Perhaps it’s age, but there’s nothing more satisfying than driving an executive sedan after a hard day’s work. Though most will still dream about owning a Nissan GT-R or 370Z, they’re not exactly the best kind of car you’ll want to drive home in traffic after spending the day in meetings in a monkey suit. After all that work stress, you’ll want something that cushions and cuddles you as you drive through Manila’s horrendous traffic, commuting two hours in stop-and-go traffic just to get home. This is the sort of role the Nissan Altima fulfills and fulfills beautifully.

Volvo Cars has once again performed very well in the annual IIHS Top Safety Pick+ Awards. In this year's honors list, four Volvo cars made the Top Safety Pick+ grade: the S60, V60, S80 and XC60. Volvo Cars was the only European brand with more than two models on the list.

A four-core processor processing eight billion operations per second. A virtual tachometer with a needle that is rendered anew 60 times per second to ensure absolutely fluid motion. 3D sound to match a concert hall and appearing to come from every direction, an Audi tablet as a multimedia control panel and simple wireless communication between your mobile devices and your car all demonstrate how diverse the future of the automobile is at Audi. All this and convenience, too: piloted parking and innovative Audi wireless charging (AWC) technology pave the way for electric mobility. A laser headlight shining ahead hundreds of feet and a car lapping the famous Hockenheim speedway at 240 km/h (149.1 mph) without a driver – Audi is a leading and driving force in all technology areas relating to electronics and electrics. At CES in Las Vegas, the world’s most important electronics exhibition, Audi makes a splash with a host of new technologies.