Strong sales across the entire Ford lineup in the Philippines helped drive full-year retail sales in 2013 up 41 percent to an all-time record of 13,285 units.

The record year was powered by all-time best full-year sales in the Philippines for the all-new Ford Ranger, Ford Explorer and Ford Mustang nameplates, as well as the second best-ever full-year sales for the Ford Everest.

Peugeot has chosen Novak Djokovic, a worldwide tennis icon, as its international ambassador. With this partnership, Peugeot confirms and strengthens its strategy in the tennis world, in a year that also marks the 30th anniversary of the partnership with Roland Garros, the French Open. Novak Djokovic’s worldwide fame, in particular his reputation in China, the largest car market on the planet, was a decisive factor in establishing this partnership.

Petron Corporation, the country’s leading oil company, is kicking off the new year with even more rewards for its loyal Petron Value Card holders.  Fueling up with Petron Blaze 100 Euro 4, Petron XCS, Petron Xtra Advance, Petron Super Xtra Gasoline, Petron Turbo Diesel or Petron Diesel Max allows you to earn one value point for every P250-worth of fuel spend. And, unlike other loyalty cards that only earn points for future redemption, Petron Value Card allows you to earn points and pay for your Petron purchases with points, thus giving you real savings on your fuel spend.

Even before its unveil at the 2014 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), Subaru has revealed that its all-new Subaru WRX STI is going racing. It’s going to compete in the 2014 Nürburgring 24-Hour Race slated for June 19-22. Subaru and its in-house tuning arm, Subaru Technica International (STI) aims to win its third victory in the SP3T class following its win in 2011 and 2012.

Happy New Year! This is the first edition of the monthly Philippine Car Price Guide. Though it's generally a slow month for the auto industry, there are some notable additions/deletions/updates in this price guide including:

• Honda City (added MUGEN model, updated pricing)
• Honda CR-V Modulo
• 2014 Hyundai Accent, 
• 2014 Hyundai Elantra
• 2014 Hyundai Tucson
• 2014 Suzuki Grand Vitara
• 2014 Toyota Corolla Altis

Subaru has brought in Kouteisennin and Time Machine, along with beat boxers Tatsuya and Rinka to let you experience the spirit of the Impreza without even seeing the car. The result is a rather eclectic mix of interpretative dance and movement. Quite unique if you ask me. Have a great weekend!

Mercedes-Benz has lifted the veil off its high-performance compact crossover, now christened the GLA 45 AMG, before its official debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show. Targeted for a younger demographic, the GLA 45 AMG is dubbed as the “all-rounder with driving performance” thanks to its powerful motor and 4MATIC all-wheel drive system.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) attained a new sales record with 75,587 units sold for 2013 tallying its highest annual sales performance since its start of operations in 1988. In the Passenger Car segment, TMP sold a total of 25,847 units while its Commercial Vehicle segment made up for the balance with 49,740 units.

In a very unique move, Audi first showed off the interior of its next-generation TT Coupe at the 2014 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) even before the rest of the car. However, it seems fitting given Audi wants to tout several new technologies.

Volvo is showing off its future with the Concept XC Coupe which is set to debut at the North American International Auto Show. Even before the show doors open however, Volvo has released a flood of information about its exciting new concept crossover.

UPDATE: Subaru officially unveils the 2014 Subaru WRX STI

The thing about the internet is that it’s always hard to plug in every leak. Case in point: the 2014 Subaru WRX STI (2015 for the North American market). Supposed to grace the Subaru of America stand for its global debut at the upcoming North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), several clubs including the Subaru Club of the Philippines and Subaru Society have already started circulating photos of Subaru’s flagship performance car.

The 2013 Isuzu Truck Fuel Eco Run Challenge has demonstrated the advantages offered by the Isuzu N-Series trucks’ excellent fuel efficiency to the transport needs of various companies.

The 50th 7-Eleven store based in a Caltex station opened today marked a new milestone five years into the partnership between Chevron Philippines Inc. (CPI), marketer of the Caltex brand of fuel and lubricants, and Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC), franchise holder of the 7-Eleven convenience store chain.

UPDATE 2: The Grab a Porsche promo has been extended once again to January 15, 2014.

UPDATE: Petron has just announced that the Grab a Porsche promo has been extended to December 15, 2013. Good news for those looking for a great and affordable gift this Christmas season!

Petron Value Card holders have another exciting treat in store with the “Grab a Porsche” promo running from November 1 to 30, 2013.

Mercedes-Benz has announced a strategic partnership with Pebble Technology in the run-up to the 2014 International CES, the largest consumer electronics show in the world. These invaluable partnership gives Mercedes-Benz early access to some of the newest hardware and early releases of application programming interfaces (APIs) offered by the Silicon Valley-based company, allowing it to develop innovative integrated applications that pave the way for the future of in-vehicle use cases.

Extending the success of the Android ecosystem, which has seen over one billion devices activated to date, a coalition of auto and technology companies announced today a new industry alliance aimed at bringing the Android platform to a device that's always been mobile: the car.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

The moment the Toyota FJ Cruiser parked into my garage, I couldn’t help but grin like a high school kid. It’s like seeing my first Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, only this time it’s with a two-ton (1,948 kilograms to be exact) SUV. Naysayers will immediately point out that the FJ Cruiser isn’t practical: it’s huge, cramped, and thirsty; but this SUV manages to transcend these adjectives. Driving the FJ Cruiser is like dating a Victoria’s Secret Angel—you don’t go out with her because of her cooking skills; you date her because she’s hot. That’s the kind of magic spell the FJ Cruiser casts on you. It makes you live your childhood dreams of driving a real-life Tonka truck.

Gran Turismo fans, rejoice. Chevrolet is giving you the chance to live your gaming fantasies in real-life, assuming of course you can accord a 2015 Corvette Stingray. Announced at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), it’s a fully integrated system that enables users to record high-definition video with telemetry overlays.

Ford Motor Company has released the C-Max Solar Energi Concept, an electric car that takes electric cars to the next level by being independent on the electricity grid for fuel. Instead of powering its battery from an electrical outlet, the C-Max Solar Energi Concept harnesses the sun by using a special concentrator on the roof that acts like a magnifying glass. This magnifier then directs the sun’s rays onto the solar panels located on the roof.

Lamborghini unveiled the successor to the highly-successful Gallardo—the Huracán. Like other Lamborghini models, the Huracán is named after a famous Spanish fighting bull—this one named after the Spanish Conte dela Patilla breed that fought in August 1879.

The US army is looking to replace the aging AM General Humvee with something a bit more robust and, perhaps a sign of the times, a bit more environmentally-friendly. One front-runner is the Ultra Light Vehicle (ULV) developed by the Tank Automotive Research Development and Engineering Center or TARDEC. Of course, light-weight is a misnomer since it weighs in at 6,312 kilograms. Priced at US$ 250,000 each, the ULV is a diesel-electric hybrid powered by…a Subaru engine!

Happy New Year! It’s now officially 2014—the year of the horse. And like that graceful animal known for its speed and agility, this year is bound to be filled with new and exciting cars for every budget. Though car manufacturers are known to be tight-lipped about their whole-year plans, we just had to peer into our magic crystal ball to give you 12 fun-to-drive cars in 2014.

As 2013 comes to a close, it’s actually a great opportunity to look back at the year that’s gone by and to gauge where CarGuide.PH has gone.

This site started out as my personal take on the Philippine automotive industry. Though automotive websites and blogs have become much more crowded compared to when I started 15 years ago, I feel blessed by you, my loyal readers, who sought out my voice amidst the choir of voices. Therefore, I’d like to open this message with a big thank you from all of us at CarGuide.PH. I hope you all continue to stay with us to we see what exciting stuff we have in store for this year.

2013 has been tremendously successful for CarGuide.PH. This year, we’ve gone to more places and driven more cars than ever before. Throughout our journey, we’ve met new friends and got re-acquainted with old ones. This year, we’ve finally gotten an invitation to attend the Tokyo Motor Show—considered to be the most sought-after assignment in the automotive industry. We’ve also gotten recognized once again. At The 2013 Henry Ford Awards, we won Best Smart and Safety Feature Story and Best Published Photograph while being nominated for Online Blog of the Year yet again.

The most important milestone, however, is an explosion in our readership. This year, we’ve seen our best numbers. We now average 44,000 unique visitors (a total of 69,000 individuals) and more than 210,000 page views a month. These numbers are enough to cement us as the third most-read automotive website in the Philippines. And yet, CarGuide.PH is run and maintained by one, yes, one person. Moreover, we’ve seen a drastic increase in our Facebook presence with more than 8,500 Facebook likes on our official page. And our car manufacturer friends can request verified, third-party certified information on our hits at any time.

Through all the successes, 2013 was also beset by tragedies such as the Visayan earthquake as well as the destruction brought about by Super Typhoon Yolanda. We’ve done our part by donating both in cash and in kind to various relief agencies. We’ve also extended help to our personal friends and relatives who were affected by these two natural calamities.

We don’t know what to expect this year, but we’re very excited. We’re pleased to let you know that CarGuide.PH is remaining independent in the near-future. We’ve secured our domain name for the next 5 years. We also remain steadfast in giving you the most up-to-date and most relevant news on the Philippine automotive industry.

In closing, we would like once again to sincerely extend our thanks to all our readers and supporters. Without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Happy New Year from us at CarGuide.PH!

Cheers,

HARI Foundation, Inc. (HFI), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc., (HARI), in partnership with HARIBON Foundation, unveiled its fully-customized classroom-on-wheels dubbed the “HARI Ecovan” last December 16, 2013 at the Hyundai Headquarters in Makati City in Hyundai’s continued effort to promote environmental awareness and biodiversity among students in the Philippines.

Enthusiasts were crying, "sacrilegious" upon hearing news that BMW is splitting the M3 sedan and coupe into the M3 and M4. A nod to BMW's current model nomenclature, the M3 stands for the 4-door version while the M4 is the 2-door version of BMW's popular high-performance compact. Still, they've successfully silenced the critics with the performance characteristics which BMW has just released.

UPDATE: Eagle-eyed readers will notice the absence of Hyundai / Kia in EPA's list of fuel-efficient manufacturers. This is because of an on-going investigation by the EPA that Hyundai and Kia may have bloated their fuel-efficiency figures. However, based on preliminary data, Hyundai's values are 28.3 MPG (12.3 km/L) and Kia's at 25.8 MPG (10.96 km/L). This could mean Mazda could have its thrown usurped by Hyundai.

Despite not having a single gasoline-electric hybrid or plug-in electric vehicle in its line-up, Mazda has scored the title of being the most fuel-efficient automaker in the US according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)'s Light Duty Fuel Economy Trends. Mazda improved its 2013 model year line-up to 27.5 MPG (11.69 km/L), a 0.5 MPG improvement compared to last year. At the same time, Mazda is also the lowest CO2 emitting car maker with just 324 grams of CO2, down 4 grams from last year.

Fifty—that’s how many new cars were launched in 2013; and that number is certainly on the conservative side. So picking the best five among the newly launched is a hard task, but one that we’ve been doing for the last two years (2012, 2011). As always, we only have two rules to be eligible for CarGuide.PH’s Top Picks of the Year: first, we should have driven it and second, it must be mainstream—so don’t expect to see cars selling above PHP 6-million to appear in this list.

Let’s get it on for CarGuide.PH’s Top Picks of 2013. The list begins, in preferential order, after the break.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

The last time anyone took a serious look at the Mazda MX-5, the Toyobaru twins haven’t been conceived and the Hyundai Genesis Coupe was nowhere in sight. At the time, it was solely the only Japanese sports car you can buy, unless you count the ridiculously overpriced Nissan 350Z. That was some eight years ago, and now, the market place is very different. You’ve got the Toyota 86, the Subaru BRZ, the Hyundai Genesis Coupe, the Honda CR-Z and to a lesser degree, the Mini Roadster, the Peugeot RCZ, and the Ford Mustang all gunning for the same less than P 3-million sports car crowd. What hasn’t changed? The Mazda MX-5.