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November 12, 2015

Isuzu Philippines Breaches 200,000-Sales Mark

Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC), the local arm of Japanese carmaker Isuzu, has recently snatched a monumental feat in the automotive industry as it breach the 200,000-sales barrier last October after more than 18 years in the market.

Ford Motor Company presents a series of entertaining short films that celebrate the theme of Small but Mighty. The shorts, created by emerging filmmakers from around the world, celebrate small acts and ideas that pack a mighty punch. The theme of Small but Mighty is inspired by Ford’s much-celebrated range of EcoBoost engines.

Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC), the official importer and distributor of BMW in the Philippines, turned over a fleet of BMW 7 Series vehicles to the APEC 2015 National Organizing Council (APEC-NOC). As the APEC 2015 Summit’s official premium mobility partner, BMW is sponsoring vehicles to serve as shuttles for esteemed delegates throughout the international summit.

PHL Market 2016 Mitsubishi Montero Sport Specs Leaked

Just leave it to your dealers to have loose lips when it comes to a new model launch. We’re still a good two months away from the official sale of the 2016 Mitsubishi Montero Sport, but brochures and spec sheets have begun to leak out even if the official website has most of its links labeled as “Coming Soon”.

Columbian Autocar Corporation (CAC), the exclusive distributor of Kia Motors in the Philippines, was recently presented the highly-coveted 2015 Kia Zenith Club Award in Livingstone, Zambia. The distinction is conferred by Kia Motors Corporation to a select group of global distributors that have exemplified excellence in their respective local markets.

Nissan Philippines Announces Recall of Selected Frontier, X-Trail, and Teana Models

In an effort to uphold safety and maintain satisfaction among Nissan customers, Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI), has issued a voluntary recall campaign for select vehicle models due to faulty passenger airbag inflators. This effort follows the lead of Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., in light of the defective Smokeless Passenger Inflators (SPI) from Japanese auto parts supplier Takata.

You know it’s the Holiday Season when fuel companies start offering you toys for fueling up. After the success of its previous collectible promotion, Petron is now offering something for all Lamborghini fans out there.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda’s automobile business unit in the Philippines, announces the availability of the New City 1.5 E CVT Special Edition. The New City 1.5 E CVT Special Edition is equipped with new features exclusive to the Philippine market.

After taking it for a spin around Adelaide some months back, Ford Philippines has finally unveiled the 2016 Focus for the Philippine market. The refreshed Focus boasts of a more modern exterior, refined interior, and new levels of sophistication to its class. It also comes in a simplified number of variants all powered by a single engine.

Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Toyota Asks - What Wows You?

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Since taking over in 2009, Toyota Motor Corporation’s President Akio Toyoda had one simple goal for the company: make cars that bring joy to the driving experience. Roughly six years on, the world’s largest automaker has been delivering on this promise by creating cars that are uniquely designed and well-engineered. But what sort of future does Toyota foresee? What kind of driving wonder can people expect decades from now?

Photos by Ulysses Ang

You can’t help but think that all this talk about Dynamic Shield design and Mitsubishi’s SUV vision at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show only served as previews to the main event: the 2016 Montero Sport. Forget the glitz and the glamour of the concept cars and JDM models—this is the one of the most important and most awaited cars of 2016. After a two-hour bus ride to Fujinomiya, a small town near Mt. Fuji, a fleet of Montero Sports stood proud. Contrary to other media drive events, there were no rules here. As long as non-drivers stayed away from the track, you can flog it as hard as you’d like. Flogged it everyone did and everything is right with the world.

Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Mitsubishi Sees Potential in Electrification, SUVs

Sharing the stage with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa is a new crossover painted in an unforgettable shade of retina-searing yellow: the eX or Electric Crossover Concept. It’s bold and dynamic interpretation of the brand’s Dynamic Shield design is sure to capture the imagination of the public worldwide, but beyond that, it signals a new direction for Mitsubishi as a whole.

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Nissan Press

Autonomous driving is the name of the game for manufacturers at the Tokyo Motor Show. Over at Nissan, they presented their vision of automated driving along with zero emissions in the form of the IDS Concept.

Porsche unveiled a new variant of its performance crossover, the Macan at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015: the Macan GTS. Like the rest of the GTS range, the Macan GTS features black accents, unique wheels, seats, and GTS specific badging.

A year after its revival, Nissan has announced the market expansion of its Datsun sub-brand to other markets such as Africa, the Middle East, South East Asia, and more. This announcement was made at a special event at the Nissan Global Headquarters in Yokohama. The announcement coincided with the first anniversary of Datsun’s sales start in South Africa—the fourth market where Datsun was re-launched.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Driven by “The Power of Dreams”, Honda has always been striving to create new values by converging people’s dreams with the dreams of its own engineers and designers. Since the Super Cub’s debut in 1958, Honda has offered mobility solutions that not only provide dependable Point A to Point B transportation, but also allow people to expand their potential. Though lost in the past few years, Honda is again showing that renowned DNA once more.

Another 19 vehicles went through the Car Awards Group, Inc.'s (CAGI) testfest last October 27, 2015 at the Fontana Convention Center in Clark, Pampanga. This third testing day brought the award giving body one-step closer in the search for the 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines (COTY – P) and Truck of Year Philippines (TOTY – P).

Petron, the country’s leading fuel brand, was the the official fuel sponsor of the 2nd Tour de Cebu, held last October 3 to 5, 2015. Twenty-two vintage sports cars manufactured on or before 1972 participated in the event.

Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Subaru Concepts Form Cornerstone of Prominence 2020 Plan

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Subaru Press

Fuji Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, used the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015 to show the first and most important piece of its mid-term “Prominence 2020” corporate vision: the Impreza 5-Door Concept. Although purely a design concept previewing Subaru’s entry-level model, the Impreza 5-Door Concept does show cues that hint at the design direction of the entire future line-up.

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Mazda Press

“Never Stop Challenging” has guided Mazda in everything it has done—from the revival of the classic roadster formula in the MX-5 to the engineering behind Skyactiv technology. Of all their accomplishments though, it’s the mass production of the piston-less rotary or Wankel engine starting with the Cosmo Sport and its application in motorsports, particularly the 787B Le Mans racer, that has made it household name for enthusiasts.

Caltex with Techron Now Euro 4 in Metro Manila, Major Cities

Euro 4 Caltex with Techron gasoline is now available in Caltex stations in Metro Manila and select major cities with full availability nationwide by the end of the year.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) recently lend an i-MiEV (Mitsubishi innovative Electric Vehicle) unit to Visayan Electric Company (VECO) for demo purposes. VECO is the second largest electric utility in the Philippines. It serves the cities of Cebu, Mandaue, Talisay, Naga and four municipalities of the greater part of Metro Cebu - Liloan, Consolacion, Minglanilla and San Fernando.

After an exciting year of aggressive and highly engaging marketing campaigns for its new generation products like Zest, Bolt and GenX Nano, Tata Motors is all set to make huge strides in marketing its new product line-up, inspired by its Horizonext strategy. The Company has signed-up the football player star, 4 consecutive times Best Player of the World, Lionel Messi, in a long-term association as it global brand ambassador to promote and endorse its passenger vehicles, globally. To start with, Tata Motors will first roll-out the association campaign, #madeofgreat, starring Lionel Messi.

Carmudi Philippines, the country’s premier online vehicle marketplace, recently forged a partnership with the Car Awards Group, Inc. (CAGI) that will culminate with Carmudi’s role as presenter of the 2015 Car of the Year – Philippines (COTY-P) and 2015 Truck of the Year – Philippines (TOTY-P) awards.

The awarding ceremonies are set to be held on November 13, 2015 at the Fontana Golden Pavillion as part of the Fontana Clark Auto Motorama 2015. (From left to right): Kris Lim, Head of PR and Marketing, Carmudi Philippines; Subir Lohani, Managing Director, Carmudi Philippines; Robby Consunji, President, CAGI; and Ronnie Trinidad, Corporate Secretary, CAGI.

Suzuki Philippines Welcomes 4 New Outlets in September

Suzuki Philippines Inc (SPH) had a full calendar of events in September, inaugurating no less than three dealerships and holding a groundbreaking ceremony of another outlet across four key cities in Luzon, to continue to bring the Suzuki Way of Life to more Filipinos nationwide.

Review: 2016 Mazda MX-5 2.0 Skyactiv A/T

Photos by Ulysses Ang

It’s amusing how carmakers become obsessed with whoever can build the fastest, most powerful, or best handling car out there. Often, they’ll start quoting things like horsepower, torque, and even Nürburgring lap times. That’s all well and good, but unfortunately, in their quest to build what factually is the best car disregards the most important aspect: the driver. In their plan to build a car with blistering acceleration and rib-hurting lateral g’s, it becomes cold and distant to drive. Yes, it’s fast, but it doesn’t feel enjoyable to the man behind the wheel.

Review: 2015 Toyota Hilux 4x2 G M/T

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Sometimes, you just don’t see the point of pickup trucks especially if they’re used for more than just hauling stuff. Consider this: our roads are overly crowded and then you just had to drive a five-plus meter long vehicle that offers about the same level of interior space as a compact and a versatility factor reduced by about 40 percent given the cargo bed isn’t useful in the urban jungle (unless you want your stuff getting wet or stolen). It makes you think: you should have gotten an SUV in the first place.

Nissan Philippines Adjusts Patrol Royale Price

Nissan’s flagship large SUV, the Patrol Royale is getting a price adjustment for the 2016 model year. Meticulously honed for over five decades, the Patrol (now known as the Patrol Royale) is the first four-wheel drive vehicle, according to Nissan, designed to take on the climatically demanding Middle East region. It packs a 5.6-liter V8 gasoline engine mated to a 5-speed automatic with a 4WD system with a rear locking differential.

Toyota and Lexus Top Auto Focus People's Choice Awards

The Philippine automotive market’s best-selling standard midsize SUV, the Toyota Fortuner and Lexus’ luxury compact SUV, the new NX200t, nailed the prestigious “Automobile of the Year” title in their respective categories at the Awards Night of the “2015-2016 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards” (AFPCA) held last Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Grand Ballroom of the Valle Verde Country Club in Pasig City. Both are first-time winners of the top award.

Mazda customers from Central and Northern Luzon now have a new home as Mazda Pampanga opens the doors to its latest full-service showroom along Jose Abad Santos avenue in San Fernando, Pampanga.

Subaru, known for its rally-bred sporty handling showed off a very different side at the Eco Challenge Adventure Drive: fuel efficiency. Subaru brought out their entire AWD line-up (sans the Impreza) on a fuel economy challenge that spanned more than 100 kilometers through a mix of both city and highway driving conditions.

Volkswagen Passat Now Officially in the Philippines

After 42 years and 8 generations in production, and with more than 22 million vehicles in its series sold worldwide, the Passat is finally available in the Philippine market (this is after a preview done a month ago).

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