Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI) is adding 2 new additional cars to its local line-up. And while we all thought it was going to be more variants of the Civic, this is actually their big surprise: they're actually launching the all-new Pilot and Odyssey.

For those who remember, both the Odyssey and the Pilot aren't new to our market. However, we can't deny that they were sales duds appearing either too late (Pilot) or too expensive (Odyssey) for our market. However, that doesn't prevent Honda from trying once again.

Based on overeager sales agents, Honda is selling these two vehicles at close to P 3-million. P 2,700,000 for the Pilot and P 2,900,000 for the Odyssey. Though the launch is still a couple of days away, we were able to snag some of the specs for these two vehicles:

Photo courtesy of Jollibee Facebook Page

A couple of months ago, I was fortunate enough to be chosen to embark on a very unique contest involving fast cars, fast food, and the concept that was born from their marriage: drive thru. For 10 days, my chosen partner (Neil Pagulayan aka Neil Almighty of FM station 99.5 RT) and I basically drove through almost the entirety of the Jollibee drive thru network collecting points, completing challenges, and what have you. Unfortunately, the winners won’t be revealed until night, so this story may not have such a happy ending to it.

But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is Neil and I have carried with us some of the most unique experiences we’ll ever have in our entire lifetime. And I can say that with a degree of authority given our pair has the age average (thanks Neil). I could certainly do a list of a thousand lessons we’ve learned from the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge, but here are the biggest lessons we’ve learned:

Hiroshima is often not high on a typical tourist’s list of “must-see, must-go places”. Getting there requires advanced planning since it takes a two-hour Shinkansen (bullet train) ride from the international hub city of Osaka (Kansai International Airport). Plus once you get there, the city center itself has little to offer compared to the likes of Tokyo and Kyoto. However a train transfer away from downtown brings you to the beautiful island of Miyajima and its floating torii gate in one direction, and on the opposite direction, the Mazda Museum.

Photo courtesy of Hyundai Pre

Educating the public about the concept of biodiversity is a crucial long-term initiative for creating proactive steps towards protecting and sustaining the country’s natural resources.
Last April 29, 2012, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), official distributor of Hyundai in the Philippines, recently strengthened its on-going partnership with the Gawad Kalinga Center for Social Innovation (GK-CSI) at the Quirino Grandstand, Manila. In its advocacy to edify the public, especially students, with sound plans to safeguard the environment, HARI committed to support GK in the construction of the Center for Green Innovations which will rise in GK’s pioneering Center for Social Innovation, Enchanted Farm, in Angat, Bulacan. Said center will house a 100-seat venue for seminars or “green camps” to educate the youth into becoming responsible stewards of our natural resources. Educational materials will also be available within the facility to provide references and innovative ideas during lectures and discussions on conserving our natural heritage.

Photo courtesy of Lamborghini Press

Photo courtesy of Toyota Press

Top Gear Philippines has unveiled what seems to be the introductory prices of the upcoming Toyota 86 sports car. And true to the 86's form, it's actually quite affordable. According to Top Gear Philippines, the Toyota 86 will be available in the Philippines in three variants: one in MT and two in AT.

Even if it doesn’t feel like it, driving a car is like doing an intricate ballet routine: it requires concentration physically and mentally—physically, because you’re constantly pressing and de-pressing different pedals, swinging the steering wheel left and right while sometimes operating a lever or a button; mentally, because you’re always looking out in all directions making minute judgment calls and sometimes even anticipating the unexpected that appear apparently out of nowhere. The last thing you need is the additional distraction of a ringing mobile phone or even an iPod that’s proceeded to play an unwanted tune. Thankfully, there’s a technology out there that addresses these distractions. It’s called SYNC and chances are, it’s in a Ford vehicle near you.

CATS Motors, Inc. (CATS) introduces the new Mercedes-Benz Actros in an exclusive driving event at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Two Actros truck variants were available for test drive during the event: A 6-wheeler 20-ton 310 Hp Actros 3 and 10-wheeler 26-ton 350 Hp Actros 3. Guests, composed of the motoring press and haulers, were able to experience the power, safety and capability of the new Mercedes-Benz trucks for the first time.

Everyone’s Vision Petron is a competition for photographers, painters and designers. It is also a venue for filmmakers, musicians, performance artists, art enthusiasts, and all Filipinos to converge and be one through their shared love for Philippine art and culture.  

Themed Lakbay Kalikasan —A Journey of Nuturing Nature, this year’s competition focuses on the different ways of caring for and protecting the environment. Samples may be seen in Petron's own efforts to protect our biodiversity through coastal management, reforestation, mangrove planting, creating fish sanctuaries and artificial reefs, and protecting sea turtles.

We finally made it to Cagayan de Oro--the main stop for Day 7 of the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge.

Please remember to vote for Neil and Uly of Team 2. Show your support for the motoring industry!

Photo courtesy of Mitsubishi Press

Mitsubishi Motors Phils. Corp. (MMPC) is pleased to announce that an Electric Vehicle or EV Cooperation Agreement with the Department of Energy (DOE) and MERALCO is underway which mainly covers the use of Mitsubishi Motors’ zero emission electric car the i-MiEV (i-Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle), for evaluation and demonstration purposes.  MMPC will be the first auto manufacturer to bring in a pure electric car in the country given that its principal Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is in the forefront of EV development.

This collaboration project will entail MMPC to lend demo cars of i-MiEV to both DOE and MERALCO for the purpose of studying EV’s behaviors and performance when utilized in Metro Manila in various conditions, and also examine the impact to power system when EV is charged.  The outcome of the evaluation will enhance the understanding of EV and determine the requirements of supporting charging infrastructure.  It will also be a preparatory step toward the possible future introduction and create greater public awareness of electric vehicles.

So it's Day 6 of the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge and we find ourselves in the Queen City of the South--Cebu! See what we've been up to before we travel to Cagayan de Oro!

Remember to show your support for the motoring industry by voting for Team 2 in the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge Poll.

We're half-way through the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge. This is Day 5, and we've just crossed by ro-ro to the Visayas region.

Don't forget to vote for Neil Almighty of 99.5 RT and Uly of Philippine Star by clicking here. We appreciate your support as the motoring industry's falling behind next to celebrities and athletes!

Toyota Motor Philippines, in what could be the best guerrilla marketing move, has launched the Toyota "86 Sightings" to mark the upcoming launch of the 86 sports coupe in June (we'll be there on June 18-19 for the media track day). If you want to see the 86 in the flesh a full month before we'll get to drive one, the schedule is located after the break.

We head to Southern Luzon, particularly Bicol in Day 4 of the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge. This is actually the day before we all embark on a 4-day journey to Visayas and Mindanao!

Don't forget to vote for Team 2: Neil and Uly in Jollibee's Facebook Poll!

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Photo courtesy of Hyundai Press

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), official distributor of Hyundai in the Philippines, recently inked its partnership with the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in observance of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020. Sharing the DOTC’s advocacy for safer roads for all, HARI collaborates with the DOTC to create a comprehensive road safety strategy (safer roads, safer road users, and safer vehicles) with the end view of helping reduce death and injury caused by road accidents.

HARI bolsters its commitment to deliver Hyundai’s brand of excellence to motorists through the implementation of its car safety and maintenance programs. Together with its 39-strong dealerships in the country, the Philippine Hyundai distributor has been upholding the promotion of road ethics among the public, especially motorists, with Hyundai’s signature programs on responsible car ownership, car safety, and road safety. Among these are the Hyundai Car Wellness, a comprehensive after-sales program that aims to provide Hyundai customers avenues to keep their cars fit and roadworthy at all times and instill in them an attitude of safe driving; and the Summer Motorist Roadside Assistance (SMRA), a special dealership assistance program on major and preventive services while on the road during Holy Week.

Said DOTC Assistant Secretary Dante Lantin, “On observing the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety, we are looking at the thousands, even millions, of lives that we could save from road death and injury. We commend Hyundai for taking to heart and leading by example in tirelessly promoting road safety and responsible car ownership.”

HARI’s partnership with the DOTC was further underscored during the second Hyundai RUN for a Cause held April 29, 2012 at the Quirino Grandstand. There, HARI showcased its key CSR programs for 2012-2013 with its partner organizations. Each cause had a designated color to signify HARI’s involvement in different nation-building endeavors: blue (road safety and responsible car ownership), red (education), green (environment), gray (social entrepreneurship and countryside development), orange (community development through health), yellow (Filipino heritage and pride), purple (youth development through sports), and pink (women and children’s rights protection).

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company is the largest business in Northeast Ohio according to the 2012 “Fortune 500” list, which was released recently.

Based on 2011 sales of $22.8 billion, Goodyear is ranked by FORTUNE as the 126th largest business in the country, up from 139th last year.
 
Compiled since 1955, the “Fortune 500” ranks U.S. companies by sales.  Companies are ranked by total revenues for their respective fiscal years.  Included in the survey are companies that are incorporated and operate in the U.S. and file financial statements with a government agency.

The complete “Fortune 500” listing is in the magazine’s May 21 issue, which is on newsstands, and on its Web site, www.fortune.com/500.  

Goodyear is one of the world’s largest tire companies.  It employs about 72,000 people and manufactures its products in 53 facilities in 22 countries around the world.  Its two Innovation Centers in Akron, Ohio and Colmar-Berg, Luxembourg strive to develop state-of-the-art products and services that set the technology and performance standard for the industry.  For more information about Goodyear and its products, go to www.goodyear.com.ph.

The continuing saga of the 10 teams in the Jollibee Drive Thru Cross-Country Challenge! Don't forget to vote for Team 2 in the Jollibee Facebook Poll.

Remember to show your support for the motoring industry by voting for Uly and Neil of Team 2. Click this link!

And so our 10-day journey begins. Catch us everyday on ABS-CBN, ETC or CinemaOne. And remember to vote for Uly and Neil of Team 2! Click this link.

Performance and Drivers

Compared with the 1% decline in total industry sales, the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) opens the second quarter with a strong 31% growth in total sales from January to April 2012, with 10, 633 units sold from the 8,119 in the same period last year. This is due to AVID’s consistent robust sales of Passenger Car (PC) models, registering an 85% increase in total PC sales—from 3,526 to 6,527 units sold in the first four months of the year.

This year, April’s overall total sales rose to 12% as more consumers purchased models in the PC segment. In the same period, PC sales alone recorded 55% growth, with 1,324 units sold versus the sale of 852 units in the same month last year.

In the world of financial accounting, the term used for the loss of assets between the point of manufacture or purchase from the supplier and the point of sale is called shrinkage.

It is a word that business owners prefer not to hear. Because the sheer numbers of shrinkage, or shrink, resulting from employee pilferage and shoplifting are staggering: 44 percent from employee (or internal) theft and 35 percent from shoplifting. That’s a combined 79 percent loss because the manufactured and/or purchased goods are no longer around to be sold for profit.

PLDT now has a solution to curb this incalculable cause of loss.

It is called “Watcher.”

Ok...this happened a year ago already, but we still can't get over it! Here's a video of the Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience that happened at the Subic International Airport. Enjoy!

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) who are elbow-deep in critical field operations such as transport, logistics and courier delivery operations, can reap big-time benefits in their businesses by deploying PLDT SME Nation’s innovative, simple and user-friendly, web-based asset monitoring system. 

Simply put, F.A.S.Track Online (Field Asset System for Tracking) is a productivity tool that has an accurate and invariable per-minute location monitoring feature that allows business owners, particularly companies with a fleet of vehicles and people, to precisely pinpoint their locations while on the road, nationwide, 24/7. The information can be sent to and read from any favorite online device, such as a desktop, laptop, tablet or smart phone.

Photo courtesy of Shell Press

Filipino drivers show positive attitudes towards fuel economy knowing that this will result to more savings revealed the latest Shell FuelSave Index. According to the study, 94% see fuel efficiency as an important way to save money and to personally help use resources in a more sustainable way.

The Shell FuelSave Index is a Shell commissioned research that looked into the driving habits of motorists in European and Asian countries in order to understand how to help more drivers save more fuel, more often.

Recent findings showed that the Filipinos are willing to change their driving behavior to save on fuel; reflecting 87% of those surveyed while 85% have actually changed the way they drive to reduce the amount of the fuel that they are using.