While we are all waiting for the long-delayed (two years and counting) Philippine Automotive Manufacturing Industry Roadmap of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), Indonesia has leaped ahead with $3.5 billion in investments from around 80…
Nowadays, pickup trucks are no longer workhorses used only in farming, construction and other outdoor industries. Modern pickups have become a lifestyle statement for urban dwellers who dare to be different from the hoi polloi driving passenger…
Not many Filipinos are familiar with French cars, what with the market being saturated with Japanese, German, American and Korean brands plus a few Italian (Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini), British (Jaguar, Land Rover, MINI Cooper, Bentley, Rolls Royce)…
For the first time since it was begun in 1954, the Tokyo Motor Show’s (TMS) symbol this year is a small dark blue car with a red heart beating at its center, ringed by bright orange, yellow,…
Owning and operating a motor vehicle involves not only the acquisition cost, but also the cost of maintenance and repair. Most new car buyers have the Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) performed at the dealership where they bought…
A not-so-funny thing happened in the morning of the Oct. 16, 2013, Usapan AAP, the interactive media lunchtime forum regularly held by the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP). The topic of the forum was “Fuel quality and prices.”…
Last year, when I wrote about the 2-liter, 162-HP Mazda CX-5 (“SkyActiv Technology sets Mazda CX-5 apart,” Motoring, 8/15/12), I noted that “while the CX-5 weighs less than its competitors, its horsepower rating is also lower than…
A seismic change in the global automotive industry is looming as the future points to mobility that is electronic, computerized, increasingly petroleum-free and zero-emission. As global warming and severe changes in weather patterns afflict the world, scientists…
As an emerging market for automobiles, the Philippines has its share of entry-level, seven-seater multipurpose vehicles (MPVs), usually diesel, that are known as AUVs (Asian utility vehicles or all-around utility vehicles). The segment leader in terms of…
When the Volkswagen brand was launched last weekend with a festive public display of its cars at Ayala Corp.’s Greenbelt Makati stomping grounds, the theme was “The Time is Now.” Europe’s biggest automaker (12 car brands,…
