Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Link to Part 1

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Erase everything you know about yesterday’s Hyundai Sonata. Forget those memories, delete those mental images. About the only significant thing the all-new model has in common with its predecessor is the name on the trunk lid. Completely redesigned for 2011, the Sonata dumps the consistent ho-hum nature in favor for something truly dynamic and exhilarating.

Barely a week has gone by, and it looks like it’s going to be yet another banner year for the Philippine automotive industry. Building on the high of record sales last year and the continued robust growth of the economy (this year’s an election year after all), car manufacturers and distributors are setting their sights on 2013 to be an exciting year for those hoping to purchase a new car.

Although there’s no way to be completely certain of what’s going to arrive at a showroom near you, an educated guess (and some luck) is all that’s needed to find out what’s in store for the coming 12 months. Peering into the magical crystal ball, here is CarGuide.PH’s fearless forecast on the new and exciting vehicles that lay ahead this 2013.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

When it comes to vans, particularly the refrigerator van variety, companies shun them to the deep dark corner of their showroom. They have a point after all—who would want to pair a shiny red sports car next to a white box on wheels. It’s like Seal being married to Heidi Klum—an odd union indeed. However, like this Hollywood odd couple, some car makers have embraced it; and one who does it best is Hyundai. Their Starex is now synonymous with the word ‘family van’, sharing garage space side-by-side with much fancier rides.

Petron, the country’s leading oil company, has come up with a value-packed card that rewards its loyal customers with rewards and privileges. The Petron Value Card is available to everyone who patronizes Petron products or services.

To all our readers and supporters,

Let me open first by greeting all of you with a Happy New Year! With the arrival of January 1, it’s clear that the world didn’t end and the Mayans (or at least how people interpreted their calendar) were completely wrong.

2013 marks the first full year since this blog started. Launched in November 2011, CarGuide.PH has slowly made its mark on the Philippine automotive scene. I’m not going to bullshit you—this blog will never be on the same scale as the country’s foremost automotive websites and, and neither will it ever strive to be. Nonetheless, 2012 has been a very fruitful and engaging year for CarGuide.PH (yes, this entire blog is written and maintained by just one person).

Over the course of the past year, CarGuide.PH has seen its readership rise from almost nothing to an average of 80,000 page views and 22,000 unique visitors every month. And all of this was done solely through ‘word of mouth’—no advertisements, no tie-ups, no anything. On top of that, CarGuide.PH launched its own Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and recently, Instagram channels. Now, the blog is accessible through mobile platforms and is available via an alternative URL (carguide.com.ph in case you didn’t you). Of course, the icing on the cake was the blog’s first Henry Ford Award for Automotive Journalism when I won for Best Online Feature Story (CarGuide.PH was also first runner-up in the Best Automotive Blog category).

Through CarGuide.PH as well as my contribution to The Philippine Star, I could honestly say I have already accomplished some feats. But there’s more to come in 2013. This blog will surely undergo changes, all to satisfy your automotive-related urges. I start 2013 with high aspirations, and with your help and support, CarGuide.PH will grow even bigger and will indeed be your guide to the Philippine automotive industry.

Cheers!

Honda group of companies composed of Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI), Honda Philippines Inc. (HPI), Honda Parts and Manufacturing Corporation (HPMC) and Honda Trading Philippines (HTP) under its corporate social responsibility arm, the Honda Foundation Inc. has conducted its 3rd year of reforestation program in partnership with Haribon Foundation to support Road to 2020 project.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

CarGuide.PH deals with anything and everything automotive with the Philippines. So, things wouldn’t be complete without our very own Top 5 Picks of the year. We’ve reviewed and featured quite a number of new cars on CarGuide.PH so picking just five outstanding vehicles launched in 2012 is hard business. At the same time, take note that these cars are mainstream vehicles, so don’t expect anything north of PHP 6-million to appear in this list.

Anyway, the list starts after the break and find out our Top 5 Picks of 2012 in preferential order.

Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd. (FHI), the maker of Subaru automobiles, announced that it has started production of the Subaru XV crossover SUV at a Malaysian assembly plant of Tan Chong Motor Assemblies Sdn. Bhd (TCMA), an automotive assembly company of Tan Chong Group. The official ceremony to mark the production start was held at the TCMA plant on December 19. The attendees included honored guests from the Malaysian government including Y.B Dato' Mukhriz Tun Mahathir, Deputy Minister of Ministry of International Trade and Industry and representatives from FHI and Tang Chong Group as well as Subaru / Tan Chong team members of Subaru's CKD (Completely Knocked Down) production project.

On December 14, a white LFA Nürburgring Package, the last of the 500 planned LFA supercars, left TMC's dedicated production facility at the Motomachi Plant, Aichi Prefecture.

This marks the end of a key chapter for Lexus, one in which people's perceptions and understanding of the brand have been challenged, and perhaps changed forever.

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Success plays mind games on people. Sometimes, it pushes you to do greater things; and sometimes it makes you complacent and makes you do silly things. Take Mel Gibson for example: he may have made a dramatic film about the passion and death of Jesus Christ only to have himself booked for drunk driving, battery and whatever else bad boy thing he does nowadays. Mr. Gibson should learn from the folks over at Suzuki Philippines where the success of the Swift sub-compact has made them climb the automotive food chain slowly, but surely. Now, they’ve set their sights on the compact car segment with their SX4. It may be a pretty tall order considering that the SX4 has a wheelbase shorter than even the Honda City. But, there’s more here than meets the eye.

To all our readers and supporters,

A very Merry and Blessed Christmas to all of you. Thank you so much for all the support you have given this blog through the year and I hope you will continue supporting and reading it through the years to come!

And if you were out partying last night, always remember...don't drink and drive. Stay safe and enjoy the rest of the holidays!

From,

Ford Philippines announced the winner for its innovative consumer pre-launch campaign, ‘All-New Ford Focus…Start it. Share it. Win it.’ and delivered the grand prize – an all-new Focus Titanium+ – in a handover ceremony at the Ford Cainta dealership. The other nine finalists each received a brand new Apple iPad.

The winner, Maria Patriz De Vera Dumlao, a 23-year-old Information Technology professional from Quezon City, received the most votes for her Start it. Share it. Win it. video capturing her reaction to the smart technologies of the all-new Focus. Over 1,500 votes were cast by the general public for the top ten finalists of the campaign.

Leave it to BMW to inject a sense of humor to caroling a Christmas Song. This is perhaps the best way to start the festive week ahead!

BANGKOK, THAILAND—In motorsports, with its various series and variety of cars—some with fenders, some without, some that go on dirt, some on pavement, some with two wheels—crowing a “champion of champions” was once purely a matter of speculation. These days, there’s the Race of Champions—the brainchild of rally legend Michèle Mouton and events production company IMP.

The Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) registers a 14% growth from January to November, with 26,272 units sold from 23,012 units in the same period last year. The Passenger Car (PC) segment lifted overall sales by 21% to 15,320 units sold versus 12,660 units in the prior year. This sustained positive sales performance was attributed to British United Automobiles, Inc. (MINI), The Covenant Car Company Inc. (Chevrolet), and Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) by an increase of 28%, 23% and 8% respectively.

Leading Car Company Ford is offering to make it a greener Christmas with a concept sleigh that would dramatically downsize Santa’s carbon footprint.

Santa’s new ride, packed with cutting-edge Ford technology, would allow Rudolph and friends to enjoy a well-deserved retirement while Santa makes his annual deliveries with style in an environmentally friendly new sleigh.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai in the Philippines, made the Christmas season even more brilliant with its exclusive preview of the Accent hatchback during a series of Christmas celebrations themed: “Sharing the Filipino Brilliance.” Displayed in all its green glory at Hyundai’s Christmas events, the Accent hatchback signaled once more Hyundai’s passion to bring even greater brilliance in the lives of Filipino motorists for the coming year.

Toyota Motor Philippines can’t seem to contain their excitement as they previewed the all-new 2012 RAV4 on the same day as their Toyota Media Christmas Luncheon. Although the unit wasn’t there in the flesh or were any indications about final pricing, they did hand out a brochure which sheds some light about Toyota’s compact crossover.

Here are some details contained in their official brochure (full brochure scan below):

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC) closed November 2012 recording the highest monthly sales since 1995.  In the November 2012 combined Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers’ Association (TMA) report, MMPC registered total sales of 3,840 units capturing a 23.1% market share and keeping a strong post as the second industry leader in country. November 2012 sales also went up to 37.1% as compared to October were MMPC sold a total of 2,800 units. MMPC’s year to date sales of 31,551 units reflected a 4.6% growth as compared to the same 11 months last year.

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) today announced that it has already broke its highest annual sales in just the 1st 11 months of the year.  Based on the most recent CAMPI report, TMP sold a total 58,890 units (including Lexus) with a 34.6% market share.

Moreover, the Manufacturer is poised to take home its 11th consecutive Triple Crown with the top spot in the Passenger Car Segment (30.8% Market Share), Commercial Vehicle segment (36.8% Market Share) and overall sales.