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October 20, 2019

Proud of Your Hyundai Accent? It Can Win You Up to P 125,000 in Cash

In celebration of 25 years of the Accent nameplate, Hyundai Philippines is calling all Accent owners to show pride in their ride with the “Proud of My Accent” video competition.

Review: 2020 Toyota Corolla Altis 1.8 Hybrid

Since its appearance in the Philippine market, the Corolla has built a stellar reputation based on three pillars: quality, durability, and reliability. They may not be the sexiest adjectives to put on a brochure, but they’re enough to convince more than 220,000 Filipinos to spend hard-earned money on one. True enough, everyone knows someone who’s owned a Corolla at least once in their life, and they’ll be the first to tell you that unexciting as it is, they’re built to outlast the apocalypse. And that’s a bit troubling for Toyota’s top man, Akio Toyoda who wants a bit more excitement in his cars.

At Mazda fan events in Japan, it’s always a great idea to snag a souvenir: a cap, a sticker, maybe even a shirt or two. Next time though, skip the usual and keep an eye out for these limited-edition watercolor paintings done by no less than the designer of the original Mazda RX-7, Mikio Nakajima.

Isuzu Philippines Will Run After the Unauthorized Sale of Isuzu-branded Products

Isuzu Philippines Corporation or IPC is threatening to use the full extent of the law to run after the unauthorized use of the trademark, “Isuzu” and all related marks after it has come to their attention that entities have been offering brand-new Isuzu vehicles in the Philippines without proper authorization.

The Subaru XV is getting some “blink-and-you’ll-miss-it” updates for 2020. Rolling out first in its home market of Japan, expect these changes to be implemented as well as part of rolling changes sometime next year.

While this opportunity wasn’t our first visit to the Mazda Headquarters and Museum in Hiroshima, since we had around 100 members of the Miata Club of the Philippines in tow, it was only appropriate that our host, Mazda Corporation put on a show.

Hard to imagine but this is Volvo’s first-ever fully-electric car. With all of the premium carmaker’s talk of going electrified, they only had hybrids and plug-in hybrids in their line-up, not full electric ones. Well, they seem to be making up for lost time because the all-electric XC40 will be the first of any models under its new “Recharge” line.

Another Sub-P 900K Small Crossover Arrives: Meet the 2020 GAC GS3 (w/ Brochure)

Legado Motors Inc., the exclusive distributor of GAC Motor in the Philippines launched the latest addition to its line-up: the GS3 sub-compact crossover. Well-received in markets where GAC is sold around the world, the GS3 is considered by many as a “game-changer” SUV thanks to specifications and features that surpass those in its price range.

The first next-generation Toyota small car has been unveiled: the all-new 2020 Yaris. Toyota’s sub-compact hatchback sees a top-to-bottom redesign and sports a brand-new line-up of engines and a new platform which promises better driving performance and comfort.

Driven to further expand its presence in the country and riding on its growing business momentum, Suzuki Philippines Inc., continues its Dealer Expansion Program and invites more investors across the country into the car dealership business.

What started out last September as Volkswagen Philippines’ 6th year celebration has been extended to October at various SM Malls in Luzon and Visayas, in time for Filipino buyers to get their own early Holiday shopping rolling ahead of the December rush.

Missed the Great Toyota Sale last weekend? Well don’t worry, because you’ll still have this weekend (Thursday, October 17 to Monday, October 21) to get great deals on Toyota’s best sellers.

Tokyo Motor Show is just a week away, so let the teasers begin. What could be one of the most important new models for Honda at the show is this: the all-new Jazz sub-compact hatchback.

Pardon the lack of updates lately. Coming from a string of trips, I found myself with a pretty bad case of the flu. Yup, I have the whole nine yards—fever, cold sweats, achy joints—it’s come to a point that it’s become tiresome to string together a few sentences that make sense before the Nyquil kicks in.

Just a few days after reiterating support for the government’s PUV modernization efforts at theRoads & Traffic Expo, Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI) President and CEO Ma. Fe Perez-Agudo announced that Hyundai’s Modern Jeepney Class 1 and 2 are officially ready to serve the public after receiving Certificates of Compliance (COC) from the Department of Transportation (DOTr).

At the Philippine International Motor Show last year, Isuzu Philippines showed off a lightweight truck concept, the VT02, that’s destined to battle the likes of the Mitsubishi L300, Hyundai H-100, and the Kia K2500 Karga. Not much has been said about it since then, but now it looks Isuzu Philippines has finally locked in a November 2019 launch date.

Toyota Gazoo Racing’s product is a top-down sportscar, but not in the mold you’d immediately imagine: meet the Copen GR Sport. A top-down kei car currently built by Toyota’s affiliate company, Daihatsu, it’s been enhanced by Toyota’s motorsports division thanks to their motorsports knowledge.

No, We're Not Getting the Mustang GT500 or GT350R Anytime Soon

With the Autohub Group announcing that they’ve gotten the distributorship of Shelby parts and accessories for the Philippines, there are high hopes that we’ll finally see the Mustang Shelby GT500 or the Mustang Shelby GT350R. Errr…sorry to burst your bubble, but no.

Signs pointed out, “Welcome home [to] Hiroshima” around Mazda’s Miyoshi Proving Ground. Here, around 2,300 MX-5 descended onto the track in celebration of the roadster’s 30th anniversary; also in attendance were 102 members from the Miata Club of the Philippines and the MX-5 Club of Malaysia. There were other countries in attendance as well from Australia to Thailand to Italy to the United Kingdom, but none as big as the contingent from the Philippines.

This is the Purest Road-Going MX-5 ND According to Global Ambassador Nobuhiro Yamamoto

Glancing through Nobuhiro Yamamoto’s CV is enough to convince you that he’s cut his teeth doing go-fast Mazdas. After joining the Japanese carmaker in 1973, he worked on rotary engines culminating in their 24 Hours of Le Mans winning effort with the 787B in 1991. It was only fitting that after that, he became the program manager for the MX-5 including the current-generation ND.

We’ve outed it as Kia Philippines’s last unboxing of the year, and after that, we’ve managed to drive it too. And now, we finally have its launch date and prices.

The 2020 D-Max Gets All-New Engine, Platform; Looks Mighty Impressive

Isuzu has finally pulled the covers off its much-anticipated 2020 D-Max—the first time their venerable pickup truck has received a full-on model change in eight years. Utilizing a new powertrain and underpinned by an all-new platform, the D-Max now has what it takes to fight in the competitive pickup truck segment.

There just aren’t enough cool blue cars on the road. While Subaru’s made it a point to make it their trademark hue, here’s hoping that potential-future parent company Toyota does the same with Force Blue.

Despite increased competition, Ford managed to fortify its position in the pickup truck market with the announcement that the Ranger achieved an all-time record quarterly sales performance in the third quarter of 2019.

Porsche Design Manila formally opened its latest boutique located at The Shoppes at Solaire last October 2, 2019. Gracing the event and welcoming the guests were Porsche Design Asia-Pacific Sales Director, Ms. Nina Razali and Hans Clifford Yao, Managing Director of Porsche Design Manila.

Peugeot Philippines revealed a new initiative as part of its long-term strategy for the environment. Dubbed, “The Protectors of the Environment” (POE), it is a program designed to involve Peugeot customers and their children in a movement to combat climate change.

Nissan Philippines's "Go Anywhere" Campaign Wants You to Explore

As a way of demonstrating the capabilities of its Nissan Intelligent Mobility features, Nissan Philippines has introduced the “Go Anywhere” campaign to prove to consumers that their vehicles have the power and confidence to travel across locations around the Philippines.

The Autohub Group of Companies announced that Triumph Motorcycles is joining their line-up of motorcycle brands, further strengthening their foothold in the premium two-wheeler segment. Appointed as the official distributor, Sammy Montecastro will take the helm as the General Manager of the brand.

By January 2020, Ford Mustang owners who are looking to add even more oomph to their rides can rely on Shelby. This is after The Autohub Group of Companies announced that they will be adding the iconic American brand to their brand portfolio.

Chevrolet’s attempts to refresh their products in the ASEAN market seem to be limited to mere accessory jobs like the Colorado Trail Boss, Colorado High Country Storm, and the Trailblazer Phoenix. In the U.S. meanwhile, it gets an entirely new front-end that’s basically all grille.

Nissan is hoping three time’s the charm. After the sacking of Carlos Ghosn and the departure of Hiroto Saikawa, the Japanese carmaker is appointing Makoto Uchida as their new chief operating officer (CEO). He will take the top spot no later than January 1 of next year.

Mazda Philippines Sells 3 Mazda3 Per Day Since Its Launch

The 2020 Mazda3 is off to a scorching start. Seven weeks since its official Philippine launch, Mazda Philippines has revealed that they’re almost out of stock thanks to the strong reception by Filipino buyers (read our first impressions).

Nissan Philippines is kicking off its last quarter storm with a bang, giving customers big deals on the Almera, Urvan, Navara, Sylphy, and Terra this entire month of October. With Nissan’s “Go Big” promo, select either all-in low downpayment of just P 23,000 or cash savings as much as P 120,000.

90’s nostalgia is in full swing as Honda Integra Type Rs are now commanding a princely sum as well. The outrageous second hand prices used to be limited to the likes of the Supra and NSX, but now, even Honda’s sporty coupe doesn’t go unnoticed.

With Volkswagen tweaking its corporate logo for the future, it makes sense that they’ll be doing it for their Volkswagen R brand as well. Representing the sportiest model in the portfolio, the R gets its first re-do since the German carmaker came out with it in 2002.

Volvo Cars and Geely intend to merge their existing combustion engine operations into a stand-alone business in order to establish a new global supplier that will seek to develop next-generation combustion engines and hybrid powertrains.

Sometime next year, Audi Philippines will be introducing a heavily refreshed Q7 and with it comes styling heavily influenced by its flagship Q8. But before that happens, there’s this: the 2019 Q7. It’s hard to imagine but 10 years ago, Audi didn’t have SUVs. Sure, they built a name around the quattro all-wheel drive, but they had no high-riding, family-oriented vehicles.

Peugeot Philippines Brings In Malaysian-Made 3008. Prices Start at P 1,890,000 (w/ Specs)

Since Peugeot’s arrival into the Philippines, they’ve always vowed to get the Japanese’s lunch money. They’ve tried it all—from the introduction of a mild hybrid diesel to the expansion of its product portfolio which included the likes of the 208 GTi, 301, and 308. Suffice to say, they weren’t that successful, limited only to niche player status outsold even by the likes of Volkswagen.

The mu-X Boondock is fresh off the assembly line and Isuzu Philippines is already giving massive discounts on their limited edition 7-seater. Launched just last week (complete specs and brochure here), IPC is extending their “I Love Isuzu” promo for the mu-X Boondock as well.

Isuzu Philippines Corporation sponsored the Rally Driving Immersion Project or RDIP where motoring media personalities were able to get behind the wheel of a rally-prepped truck to experience the thrills of rally driving.

Ford Philippines is bringing its experiential test drive event to key provinces in the country to reach more customers and make them experience driving a Ford vehicle using a customized driving course.

Following Volvo’s global commitment to electrify its entire line-up (and to have fully-electric cars making up 50 percent of its sales by 2025), Volvo Cars Philippines is the first carmaker locally to launch plug-in gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles.

Michelin through its Chief Representative to the Philippines Michael Nunag announced that PlayStation has selected Michelin as “official tire technology partner” for its Gran Turismo driving simulator franchise.

This is Your First Look at the 2020 Isuzu D-Max

Here is the 2020 Isuzu D-Max fully unveiled (10/11).

Isuzu has given the world the first glimpse of the all-new, next-generation D-Max pickup truck which will be shown in full in two weeks’ time. Details are scarce at the moment, but what is known is that this model marks a departure from Isuzu’s collaboration with General Motors. Instead, this model will benefit with input from fellow Japanese carmaker, Mazda.

Toyota Motor Philippines is clearing out its inventory, and because of that, big savings are to be had on the Vios, Innova, Fortuner, Avanza, Corolla Altis, Hilux, RAV4, Wigo, Yaris, and Rush. How big? How about getting the Vios 1.5 G for less than P 970,000?

With confirmation that the Mazda CX-8 is arriving to the Philippines (check out our first drive here), it becomes an interesting alternative to the usual suspect of mid-sized SUVs. While the local spec and pricing has yet to be announced, it’s understood that Mazda Philippines is toying to bring in just one variant of its three-row crossover.

Mitsubishi of late has always iterated that they’ll be focusing on two product segments: small cars and utility vehicles. Now, what if you combine the two? Well, that’s what the upcoming Super Height K-Wagon Concept is.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines is rolling out the red carpet for out-of-warranty vehicles with their Mitsubishi Fast Lane program.

Further developing the sales and service experience of its customers in the Southern Tagalog region, Foton Philippines (FMPI) started the month of October with the grand re-launching of its GMA Cavite dealership. This facility is now managed by one of the leading players in the automotive industry, the Autohub Group of Companies.

Caltex and in partnership with HSBC, announces its newest raffle promo ‘Fuel Up and Fly’ beginning today up to December 31, 2019. The promo is open to all primary and supplementary HSBC active credit card holders.

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