Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the Philippines, ends 2012 on a positive note with 8% growth in total sales. HARI registered a total of 21,996 units sold for the whole year from 20,297 units sold in 2011.

Toyota revealed the Corolla Furia Concept at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. This exciting compact sedan concept hints at the styling cues consumers can expect to see on the next-generation Corolla. The concept represents an exterior styling study by Toyota designers, and it builds on the brand's product development priority to develop more dramatic, expressively designed vehicles.

An all-new Honda "Urban SUV Concept" vehicle made its world debut today at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. The dynamic and youthful concept hints at the styling direction of an all-new small SUV slated to launch in Japan by the end of 2013.

As Chevrolet takes the wraps off the all-new Corvette Stingray, fans of Sony Computer Entertainment's PlayStation®3 (PS3™) system will have the first chance to push the car to the limits in the critically acclaimed Gran Turismo®5 racing game.

The Volvo S60 sports sedan can add another award to its list of accolades after the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) announced the winners of their new Top Safety Pick+ awards.

IIHS created the Top Safety Pick+ award to recognize good or acceptable performance in the new small overlap collision test. The S60 is one of two midsize luxury vehicles to currently earn the Top Safety Pick+ award.

IIHS rates vehicles good, acceptable, marginal or poor based on performance in a moderate overlap frontal crash, small overlap frontal crash, side impact and rollover, plus evaluations of seat/head restraints for protection against neck injuries in rear impacts. Top Safety Pick+ winners must earn good ratings for occupant protection in at least four of five evaluations, with no less than acceptable in the fifth test.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

People of a certain age certainly remember the Willys Jeep—the formidable, but diminutive off-roader that conquered seemingly unconquerable terrain and in the process, was key in the liberation of countries, the Philippines included. The image of Douglas MacArthur, sporting his Aviator sunglasses and riding the Jeep was synonymous with the fight for freedom and democracy. It shouldn’t come as any surprise why the Jeep enjoys such a following; given the key role it played in helping the Philippines gain its independence.

Chevrolet is redefining modern performance with today's debut of the all-new Corvette Stingray. And only a Corvette with the perfect balance of technology, design and performance can wear the iconic Stingray designation.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray is the most powerful standard model ever, with an estimated 450 horsepower and 610 Nm. It is also the most capable standard model ever, able to accelerate from 0-60 in less than four seconds and achieve more than 1g in cornering grip. It is expected to be the most fuel-efficient Corvette, exceeding the EPA-estimated 26 mpg of the current model.

Holidays may be over but Honda Cars Philippines, Inc is offering improved treats for New Year. With more banks signing up, Honda has now expanded financing schemes that customers may avail through the Honda Financing Options (HFO). BPI Family Savings Bank, RCBC Savings Bank, BDO, PS Bank, Eastwest Bank and Unionbank are proud partners of the Honda Financing Options Program.

Although the all-new Lexus IS compact sport sedan is expected to make its world debut at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on January 15, 2013, Lexus has released some photographs as a sort of teaser.

Ms. Universe First Runner-Up Janine Tugonon returns to Manila in the luxurious Audi A8 last January 7, Monday. Ms. Tugonon visited her alma matter University of Sto. Tomas for a motorcade and to receive the University’s Outstanding Achievement Award for bringing honor to her country. Ms. Tugonon has not only shown beauty, grace and exceptional intelligence in the recent Ms. Universe pageant but is a true winner which perfectly represents the innovative design and advanced technology of the Audi brand.

Starting today, the fate of the Scottie dog, race car, top hat and the five other beloved tokens in the classic MONOPOLY game is in the hands of fans through a worldwide vote that will determine which token will be eliminated from the game. Will the shoe outpace the racecar? Will the battleship cruise past the wheelbarrow? Will fans be pressed if the iron is removed? Don't leave this one to "chance" - it's up to fans to make sure that their favorite token will pass "GO!" and not "go directly to jail" by voting every day at Facebook.com/Monopoly, now through February 5, 2013.

Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc. (NMPI) is welcoming 2013 with the official introduction of Nissan’s much-anticipated best selling global sedan – the Nissan Almera. NMPI will launch the all-new Almera on January 16th, formalizing its entry into the highly competitive B-segment.   

The Nissan Almera has been enjoying acclaimed success particularly in the U.S., Thailand and China, and has sold more than 500,000 units worldwide. NMPI is confident that its success will also be reflected in the Philippines.

Happy New Year! This is the first edition of the Philippine Car Price Guide for the year. Normally, January is a very slow month for the motoring industry, but do not worry. There are some movements both up and down as well as some models that were sneakily introduced. Here are the updates for this month:

• Honda Accord 3.5 EX (Japan Model)
• Hyundai Accent CRD VGT
• Hyundai Genesis 2.0 T
• Hyundai Genesis 2.0 T Brembo
• Hyundai Genesis 3.8 V6 Brembo
• Hyundai Sonata 2.4 GLS Premium (price adjustment)
• Hyundai Tucson 2.0 Limited 4WD
• Kia Carnival LX (price adjustment)
• Kia Forte 1.6 LX
• Kia Forte Koup 2.0 EX
• Kia Rio 1.2 LX
• Kia Rio 1.2 SLX
• Kia Rio 1.4 EX (price adjustment)
• Kia Sorento (facelifted model)
• Kia Sportage (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Montero (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Pajero (price adjustment)
• Mitsubishi Strada (price adjustment)
• Nissan Almera
• Nissan Navara (price adjustment)
• Nissan Urvan (price adjustment)
• Suzuki Celerio 1.0 DX
• Toyota Land Cruiser (price adjustment)
• Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (price adjustment)
• Toyota RAV4

Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Link to Part 1, Part 2, Part 3

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo was Keynote Speaker at the 37th Annual Convention of the Philippine College of Hospital Administrators (PCHA). Held at the Century Park Hotel, Ms. Agudo aligned her presentation with the convention theme, “Beyond Vision—Knowing to Plan Your Hospital’s Future.”

Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Link to Part 1, Part 2

Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Link to Part 1

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Erase everything you know about yesterday’s Hyundai Sonata. Forget those memories, delete those mental images. About the only significant thing the all-new model has in common with its predecessor is the name on the trunk lid. Completely redesigned for 2011, the Sonata dumps the consistent ho-hum nature in favor for something truly dynamic and exhilarating.

Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

When it comes to vans, particularly the refrigerator van variety, companies shun them to the deep dark corner of their showroom. They have a point after all—who would want to pair a shiny red sports car next to a white box on wheels. It’s like Seal being married to Heidi Klum—an odd union indeed. However, like this Hollywood odd couple, some car makers have embraced it; and one who does it best is Hyundai. Their Starex is now synonymous with the word ‘family van’, sharing garage space side-by-side with much fancier rides.

Petron, the country’s leading oil company, has come up with a value-packed card that rewards its loyal customers with rewards and privileges. The Petron Value Card is available to everyone who patronizes Petron products or services.

To all our readers and supporters,

Let me open first by greeting all of you with a Happy New Year! With the arrival of January 1, it’s clear that the world didn’t end and the Mayans (or at least how people interpreted their calendar) were completely wrong.

2013 marks the first full year since this blog started. Launched in November 2011, CarGuide.PH has slowly made its mark on the Philippine automotive scene. I’m not going to bullshit you—this blog will never be on the same scale as the country’s foremost automotive websites and, and neither will it ever strive to be. Nonetheless, 2012 has been a very fruitful and engaging year for CarGuide.PH (yes, this entire blog is written and maintained by just one person).

Over the course of the past year, CarGuide.PH has seen its readership rise from almost nothing to an average of 80,000 page views and 22,000 unique visitors every month. And all of this was done solely through ‘word of mouth’—no advertisements, no tie-ups, no anything. On top of that, CarGuide.PH launched its own Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and recently, Instagram channels. Now, the blog is accessible through mobile platforms and is available via an alternative URL (carguide.com.ph in case you didn’t you). Of course, the icing on the cake was the blog’s first Henry Ford Award for Automotive Journalism when I won for Best Online Feature Story (CarGuide.PH was also first runner-up in the Best Automotive Blog category).

Through CarGuide.PH as well as my contribution to The Philippine Star, I could honestly say I have already accomplished some feats. But there’s more to come in 2013. This blog will surely undergo changes, all to satisfy your automotive-related urges. I start 2013 with high aspirations, and with your help and support, CarGuide.PH will grow even bigger and will indeed be your guide to the Philippine automotive industry.

Cheers!

Honda group of companies composed of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda Philippines Inc. (HPI), Honda Parts and Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) and Honda Trading Philippines (HTP) under its corporate social responsibility arm, the Honda Foundation Inc. has conducted its 3rd year of reforestation program in partnership with Haribon Foundation to support Road to 2020 project.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

CarGuide.PH deals with anything and everything automotive with the Philippines. So, things wouldn’t be complete without our very own Top 5 Picks of the year. We’ve reviewed and featured quite a number of new cars on CarGuide.PH so picking just five outstanding vehicles launched in 2012 is hard business. At the same time, take note that these cars are mainstream vehicles, so don’t expect anything north of PHP 6-million to appear in this list.

Anyway, the list starts after the break and find out our Top 5 Picks of 2012 in preferential order.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, announced that it has started production of the Subaru XV crossover SUV at a Malaysian assembly plant of Tan Chong Motor Assemblies Sdn. Bhd (TCMA), an automotive assembly company of Tan Chong Group. The official ceremony to mark the production start was held at the TCMA plant on December 19. The attendees included honored guests from the Malaysian government including Y.B Dato' Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, Deputy Minister of Ministry of International Trade and Industry and representatives from FHI and Tang Chong Group as well as Subaru / Tan Chong team members of Subaru's CKD (Completely Knocked Down) production project.

On December 14, a white LFA Nürburgring Package, the last of the 500 planned LFA supercars, left TMC's dedicated production facility at the Motomachi Plant, Aichi Prefecture.

This marks the end of a key chapter for Lexus, one in which people's perceptions and understanding of the brand have been challenged, and perhaps changed forever.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Success plays mind games on people. Sometimes, it pushes you to do greater things; and sometimes it makes you complacent and makes you do silly things. Take Mel Gibson for example: he may have made a dramatic film about the passion and death of Jesus Christ only to have himself booked for drunk driving, battery and whatever else bad boy thing he does nowadays. Mr. Gibson should learn from the folks over at Suzuki Philippines where the success of the Swift sub-compact has made them climb the automotive food chain slowly, but surely. Now, they’ve set their sights on the compact car segment with their SX4. It may be a pretty tall order considering that the SX4 has a wheelbase shorter than even the Honda City. But, there’s more here than meets the eye.

To all our readers and supporters,

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas to all of you. Thank you so much for all the support you have given this blog through the year and I hope you will continue supporting and reading it through the years to come!

And if you were out partying last night, always remember...don't drink and drive. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of the holidays!

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