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June 9, 2015

Honda Cars Philippines Introduces Genre-Bending HR-V (w/ Brochure)

Editor's Note: this is how the Honda HR-V squares up against the competition.

With bold and sporty coupe-like styling, SUV versatility, and Honda’s packaging magic, the all-new HR-V is set to challenge the growing small crossover segment. The HR-V delivers incredible value with a long list of standard features and technologies including 17-inch alloy wheels, LED headlamps with daytime running lights, a push-button engine start/stop, electronic parking brake, rear view camera with multiple views and guidelines, and a 7-inch touchscreen audio system among others.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Remember when the Sony PlayStation 1 launched? I did. It was dubbed the next-generation video game console even before its debut, and yet, no one had any idea how it will revolutionize entertainment. From simple graphics during the Nintendo Family Computer days, the PlayStation opened up the possibilities brought about by its impressive graphics. What the PlayStation did for video games is exactly what the Nissan NP300 Navara’s doing for pickup trucks.

Chevrolet Philippines Expands to Ilocos Norte

The Covenant Car Company, Incorporated (TCCCI), the official distributor of Chevrolet Cars in the Philippines, continues to boost its presence in the Northern parts of Luzon with the ground breaking ceremony of Chevrolet Ilocos Norte last April 24, 2015. As one of the fastest economic and commercial growth municipality of Region I, the Ilocos province is expected to be a substantial market for Chevrolet.

Online game enthusiasts have until June 16, 2015 to join Michelin’s Right 2 Race (R2R) 2015 promo, an online game that tests players’ racing knowledge accurately, resulting in a fun and exciting experience.

Suzuki, a world leader in subcompact cars, is finding more fans in the Philippine market by selling 162% more cars in the first three months of 2015 compared to the same period last year.

Petron Takes Lead in Euro-4 Gasoline Compliance

Market leader Petron Corporation achieved an industry first as it announced today all gasoline variants produced at its Bataan refinery are now Euro-4 compliant. The Euro-4 gasoline products are now available in Petron service stations in Mega Manila and will soon be available nationwide, meeting the government’s mandate ahead of schedule.

Enjoy a steady stream of savings through Kia’s latest rainy season promo!

From May 15 to June 15, 2015, save as much as P 195,000 through Kia’s Splash of Savings promo.

Taking off from the good market response of Honda car owners in Taguig City and its nearby areas, Honda Cars Global City (HCGC) continues to carry out its night service operations starting from 6 PM to 12 MN, Mondays to Fridays. Customers may still enjoy the convenience of bringing their cars for service after regular office hours to attend to their cars’ Preventive Maintenance, Rustproofing and Detailing needs. Likewise, customers are still entitled to free Nitrogen refill for every preventive maintenance service availed while detailing services are also open to all car brands.

Honda to Open Soon in Zamboanga

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) is set to open a new full service dealership in Zamboanga by the 4th quarter of 2015. Honda Cars Zamboanga (HCZM) will be located in Mayor Vitaliano D. Agan Avenue, Camino Nuevo, Zamboanga City.

Ford recently organised its second annual Technical Skills Competition held at the Ford V.P. Auto Enterprise service centre in Bangkok, Thailand, helping to build on its commitment to deliver a world-class customer service experience to its customers across the region.

Monster Jam is about to take over Manila, so you better gear up with the necessary know-how.
Let’s get started with the basics. The show highlights six Monster Jam trucks: Grave Digger, Max-D, El Toro Loco, Zombie, Dragon, and Son-Uva Digger. Their heavy-duty body which is approximately 12’ tall and about 12’ wide sits atop 66-inch tires. Not wild enough for you? Built for short, high-powered bursts of speed, Monster Jam trucks have 1,500 horsepower and are capable of speeds up to 80 miles per hour. Monster Jam trucks can jump more than 30’ high and travel a distance of about 130’ flying through the air. That’s longer than 14 cars lined up side by side! Now, that is impressive. Each truck costs more than $600,000 per year to build, tour, staff, repair and transport from city to city. They have their own drivers, mechanics and specialized transport vehicles, which also houses a mobile repair shop.

First Drive: 2015 Mitsubishi Strada GLX V A/T

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Our ride and drives follow a certain formula: hop on a vehicle and drive to an exotic locale for some R&R. Along the way, we’re fed with bottomless food and if the carmaker feels generous enough, a massage. There are some variations along the way, but the bottom line is we’re shown a good time. This looks hedonistic to an outsider looking in, and I can’t blame them. After all, is eating to your heart’s content an appropriate way to spend some seat time when we could instead make a difference? Well, Mitsubishi did just that. The 2015 Strada’s first shakedown is a ride and drive activity like no other. It’s one with a purpose, with a heart. It shows what a Strada can do, and consequently, what its owner could possibly achieve.

Let Me Introduce You to Peugeot

Growing up on a steady diet of Car and Driver, Road and Track, and Automobile Magazine, the typical Filipino car enthusiast will probably not know what to make of Peugeot. After all, it’s mostly a European-only affair since the 1990’s. Hence, when it arrived here back in early 2000’s and remerged once again a few years back, the brand recall, admittedly, wasn’t so great. It didn’t help that Filipinos had a hard time pronouncing the name thanks to the lengthy string of vowels. Imagine, therefore, the mountain for its distributor to climb just to get recognition in the sea of growing upscale Japanese and American brands, and new entry-level European brands.

MiLi Innovates Storage Solutions

Developed as a solution to eliminating the inconvenience of data gathering by way of a multitude of connectors needed to connect to personal computers (PC) and to simplify software configuration, the purpose and design of the USB has come a long way since its launch in the mid-nineties.

UPDATED: Nissan Philippines to Launch NV350 Urvan in June

UPDATE 1: The Philippine-spec Nissan NV350 Urvan is here. Check it out! (6/15)

After retiring the long-serving Frontier pickup truck with the launch of the all-new NP300 Navara, it seems Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) is doing the same with its Urvan. According to a report by The Philippine STAR, NPI will be bringing in the NV350 Urvan in June in a move to drive its sales higher.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

It was an unequivocal show of strength for Toyota Motor Philippines as the country’s number one automotive company shared the waku-doki spirit to racing enthusiasts down south. Last May 16 to 17, Toyota successfully staged Second Leg (Race 3 and 4) of the 2015 Vios Cup.

Monster Jam Poised to Heat Up Manila

When it comes to motorsport competitions, nothing can get bigger and livelier than Monster Jam. Witness four-meter tall, five-ton monster trucks wreak havoc in the special race track set up only for them. Monster Jam trucks will face off in two major competitions. The first one is the traditional bracket racing. The first truck to cross the finish line will be declared the winner, but it won't be as easy. The race track is planted with metal boulders, crash vans and more. The second competition gives the drivers and their monster trucks a chance to show-off their astonishing stunts, twists and jumps in the freestyle competition. No other competition will have your heart pumping as hard. These monster superstars are out to give their fans a show they won't forget.

As the issue of climate change gain momentum on the world stage, zero-emission electric trikes (e-trikes) shared the limelight at this year’s APEC 2015 summit hosted by the Philippines.

Caltex Lubricants Philippines held the fourth and final leg of Havoline’s Drive to Protection: Tune Up for the Ultimate Road Trip Experience campaign at the 2015 Toyota Fest Philippines last May 23 at the Philippine Arena in Bulacan.

Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH), the only integrated motorcycle and automobile company in the country, officially opened its first 3S automobile dealership along East Avenue in line with its aggressive expansion efforts. The new dealership, which is Suzuki’s 31st 3S dealership in the Philippines, will offer Sales, Spare parts, and Services. Suzuki Auto East Avenue is a one-stop shop that can now provide a complete array of Suzuki services to motorists around the Quezon City area.

Mazda CX-5 Reaches Production Milestone

Just three years and five months since production started in November 2011, the Mazda CX-5 has reached a production milestone. Just a few days ago, the 1,000,000th (yes, one millionth) CX-5 crossover has rolled off the assembly line. This makes it the second fastest Mazda model to reach the milestone—the first being the Mazda3.

PGA Cars, the exclusive importer and distributor of Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini, and Bentley cars in the Philippines will be holding the PGA Cars Premium Festival weekend. The event will be held at the PGA Center in Global City from Friday, 29 to Sunday, 31 May 2015.

Experience the most exciting premium cars from PGA Cars such as the Audi A3 sedan, the Audi Q5, the Porsche Boxster, the Porsche Macan, the Bentley Flying Spur, and the Lamborghini Huracan. Attractive financing options will be available in partnership with BDO and Prudential Guarantee.

For more information please contact +63-2-727-0381 to 85.

Isuzu Philippines Rewards 100,000th Crosswind Owner

On May 12, 2015, Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) officially awarded the winner of the P100,000 cash rebate for the 100,000th unit owner of the Isuzu Crosswind - the winner, a lucky family man from Cagayan De Oro City, Mr. Nestor A. Bagaporo, who together with his family received the award at IPC’s local dealership in CDO.

The Yokohama Philippine GT Championship is finally back with the 2015 season, starting with the first race of the year held last May 16 to 17 at the Clark International Speedway (CIS).

Philippine Car Price Guide: May 2015

Contrary to popular belief, we weren’t sleeping on the job. We were just waiting for launch of key models to update the May 2015 edition of the monthly Philippine Car Price Guide. Here are the new or updated entries. Remember, entries with clickable links means that there is a review.

BMW 2 Series Active Tourer (new)
Ford Everest (new)
Ford Mustang (new)
Honda Mobilio (new)
Honda Odyssey (price adjustment)
Isuzu D-Max (new)
Kia Picanto (new)
Lexus GS 350 (price adjustment)
Mazda3 1.6 Maxx (new)
Mazda6 Skyactiv (new)
Mazda CX-5 (new)
Toyota Hiace Super Grandia LXV (new)
Toyota Innova (price adjustment)
Toyota RAV4 (price adjustment)

When BMW unveiled the 2 Series Active Tourer, it felt like an arrow straight through the heart of purists. For so long, they held on to treasured brand values like sporty designs and of course, rear wheel drive. They tolerated Chris Bangle, but this? BMW’s first-ever MPV, first-ever front-wheel drive car, and first-ever use of a three-cylinder engine? It isn’t just an arrow—it’s an arrow through an arrow through an arrow. It’s a move that makes Robin Hood proud. Imagine the other German brands snickering, “Whut iz wrong with ze water in Munich? Too much Paulander?!”

The Subaru XV Gets a Price Adjustment

Subaru is now offering its XV compact crossover at a more attractive price point. Starting today, the XV can be yours for just P 1,198,000—that’s a savings of P 100,000 over the previous price of P 1,298,000. Motor Image Pilipinas, the distributor of Subaru vehicles in the country, believes that its XV can easily compete with compact sedans/hatchbacks and is aggressively re-pricing its offering as such.

After months of intense speculation, leaked spy shots, and the entire hullabaloo, Toyota has officially revealed the all-new 2015 Hilux in at least two markets: Thailand and Australia (note: in these photos, the silver Hilux is the Thailand model while the blue is the Australian SR5 model). The eighth-generation model will be sold to over 180 markets, including the Philippines. Building on the nameplate’s loyal fan case and legendary reputation, the all-new 2015 Hilux has set the goal of “redefining tough”.

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Mazda Press

“Race on Sunday, sell on Monday”—that’s the line used by car manufacturers when asked why they delve into motorsports. The technology developed on the track (not to mention, the resulting marketing and publicity it generates) is beneficial in making their road cars better. That’s exactly what Mazda Philippines is hoping for as they officially enter the 2015 Philippine GT and Philippine Touring Car Championship (PTCC) by providing factory support to division titlist Edwin Rodriguez for the season.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) recently conducted a groundbreaking ceremony for its newest car dealership, Honda Cars Manila Bay. Soon to rise along Bradco Avenue, Aseana Business Park, Paraňaque City, residents and customers working around the area will enjoy more convenient access to Honda’s products, services and facilities.

Following three runs of the Volkswagen Fuel Eco Fun Run, VW Philippines in partnership with Shell Companies in the Philippines, ups the ante a notch by embarking on a challenging yet fun championship round, pitting all the winners from the past three legs against each other. To make the event even more interesting, the champions were given different vehicle assignments from their last runs.

Isuzu Philippines Posts 54 Percent Growth Amidst Slowing Car Demand in April

Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) continues its growth with a 54 percent increase in the first four months as it reached 6,369 units compared to the 4,154 units in the same period last year – in spite of a 25 percent decline in April.

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