What’s hot? New cars, lifestyle products and a chance to be a spy

Impressive view from outside

It has been exciting times for the motoring industry. Events are happening left and right. But as a shopper, it’s always exciting to hear about promos and new offerings. Here are some events and promotions worth knowing.

First Lotus showroom opens in Manila

Lotus Car Manila opens its first showroom in the country in Greenhills. The British brand is now part of the enviable car marque list of Willy Tee Ten’s AutoHub Group. The list now includes Mini and Rolls-Royce.

According to Tee Ten, being Lotus Manila’s president, “This is another milestone for the Autohub Group, and it is my honor that we are given the chance to be part of this revolution and deliver this unique Lotus pure driving experience.”

Lotus is known globally as a manufacturer of sports and racing cars. The brand, founded by Colin Chapman, has a very successful Formula One career with several constructor championship wins under its belt.

Presently, Lotus is owned by Malaysian car brand Proton, which bought majority of the shares from Bugatti owner Romano Artiolli.

Autohub Group gave a sneak peak during the Globe Slipstream event at Bonifacio Global City showcasing four of their upcoming cars, namely the Elise S Club Racer, Elise 220 Cup, Exige S Roadster, and Evora S Sports Racer.

Out of the first four units brought in, three were already sold before the showroom was opened. According to Owee Cruz, vice president of Lotus Cars Manila, another batch of cars will arrive in September and October.

They were pleasantly surprised with the car enthusiasts’ reaction to the iconic sports car, and because of this, they will bring in some of the higher end models.

Unveiled during the event were four Lotus cars.

This will add more excitement to the already very hot sports car scene in the country.

Peugeot launches La Botique

Before the French brand started manufacturing cars in the 1800s, Peugeot (pronounced as poo-jzho) was making lifestyle products such as coffee mills and bicycles.

Today, as part of the brand awareness campaign by its newly minted president, Glen Dasig, Peugeot is introducing its lifestyle products such as miniatures, leather goods, watches, apparel, and the popular salt and pepper shakers at the La Botique.

I bought a set of their electric salt and pepper mills, and can attest that it is one of the best in the market.

Guests and motoring aficionados during the opening day

According to its marketing director, Dong Magsajo, “We want to communicate to our customers that we are not just a car brand but a whole lifestyle.

“We believe the brand values such as reliability and superb craftsmanship of the Peugeot cars are also present in the items we have been manufacturing before we got into the car business.”

Items will be available at the Peugeot showrooms.

Experience Morocco with the BMW 3 series

In celebration of the BMW 3 Series’ 40th anniversary, Asian Carmakers Corporation is sending a lucky customer to a Moroccan adventure a la Mission Impossible.

One lucky winner will get to retrace Ethan Hunt’s adventure.

Customers who avail of the limited edition 3-series which features gloss black kidney grills, carbon fiber side mirrors and caps, performance rear spoilers and wheels, the BMW dash camera, and Alpine high fidelity speakers, have until Aug. 31, 2015, to possibly retrace the steps of Ethan Hunt on the fifth installment of the blockbuster action movie Mission: Impossible-Rogue Nation.

The five-day adventure includes luxury accommodations, black tie dinners, helicopter tours and other exciting spy worthy activities.

Checkout the BMW Philippines website for more details.

Lexus launches new ES 350

Lexus Manila chair Alfred Ty took the lead in introducing the new look of the Lexus ES 350. He particularly chose to host the media group at the lobby of the new jewel of Federal Land, drawing out the parallelism of both brands’ understated luxury.

The 2016 luxury sedan model is outfitted with 17-inch, 20-spoke alloy wheels that go with the new sharp and daring look of the ES.

Contoured to jut out, a re-sculpted front fascia connects to the hood, adding to the sensation of motion even as the car is standing still.

One lucky winner will get to retrace Ethan Hunt’s adventure.

The sleek shape continues with the ES’s graceful roofline that flows effortlessly to the rear, where an improved, modern taillight design evokes the L-shaped theme for an instantly recognizable night-time glow.

Spanning the rear is a re-stylized chrome license plate garnish that flows visually into the clear elements of the lamps to communicate the vehicle’s on-road stability. Adding a considerable amount of flair to the vehicle’s already sporty attitude are newly sculpted chrome-tipped rectangular exhaust ports.

The New Lexus ES has four new exterior colors: amber, deep blue, graphite black, and sonic quartz. Also available are new interior color combinations, including exquisite multi-color themes that exemplify elegance.

The seats are now offered in four colors: topaz brown, ivory, moonstone and black in genuine (embossed) leather.

The ES 350 is now available, and retails at P3.6 million.

Have car promos and shopping tips? You can e-mail us your suggestions and comments at jnt@chicdriven.com.  Like us on Facebook/chicdriven or follow us on Twitter/Chicdriven and  Instagram/Chicdriven.