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February 11, 2020

First Philippine Drive: 2020 Kia Seltos 2.0 SX

With Director Bong Joon-ho and his movie, Parasite winning big at the Academy Awards, it’s yet another visible sign that Korea’s ready for the limelight. Their successful invasion of global popular culture, from gadgets to music to food, and now, to movies has left an indelible mark in the way people think and act. Selling 324 units in two months, the Kia Seltos could very well be that invasive force in the crossover segment.

Staying connected is one of the “must-haves” for Filipino motorists. With more time stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic, infotainment has become integral to help pass the hours-long crawl. And while some are content with the usual AM/FM, what about those who play their personalized Spotify playlist or rely Waze or Google Maps for directions?

Nissan Philippines is offering free checkups for air conditioning, brakes, and suspension at participating dealerships nationwide with its Car Care Support promo which runs today until March 31, 2020.

Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) celebrates the Chinese New Year with its “GR8 Deals!” promo until February 29, 2020.

Isuzu Pasig is the Overall Champion at Isuzu Philippines Corporation’s 15th Dealer of the Year Awards (DOYA). The 2019 DOYA capped off a challenging, but fulfilling year for the IPC dealer network’s sales force and aftersales operations.

The Kia Seltos's Intelligent Variable Transmission Restores My Faith in CVTs

We’re currently resting up in Baler, Aurora giving the 2020 Kia Seltos its first out-of-town shakedown. Oh, and before you ask, yes, we’ll be coming up with our initial impressions soon, and yes, we’ll also be doing a full-fledged review too. But before all that, let’s talk all about the IVT because, holy shit, it blew my mind.

Just two months after its brand launch, Chery Auto Philippines, through its distributor United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI), officially opened its first complete 3S dealership in Mindanao.

There’s a lot to love about Volvo recently. From barely surviving in Ford’s corporate shadow, they’ve now entered a new era of renaissance—one where they’ve managed to come up with winner after winner. While the brand has a compelling range of vehicles, at the core of all this is the XC60. It’s globally their best-selling model, and single-handedly a showcase of what they’ve accomplished thus far.

Lexus is living up to their tagline, “the relentless pursuit of perfection” by announcing a special campaign on selected RX350 SUVs simply because these SUVs shifted too roughly for their standards.

Nissan developed the 2020 Nissan GT-R NISMO to be the pinnacle of the iconic nameplate. For maximum performance, the engine was upgraded, its aerodynamics further enhanced, and weight was shed through the meticulous use of exotic materials.

Monday blues got you down? Well, worry not. Honda’s turned your web browser into a mobile gaming platform with its “Beat That!” driving video game (click here to try it out). The best part is since it runs on HTML5, there’s absolutely nothing to install—all you need is a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox, or Safari.

Goodyear Philippines’s retail and service center, Goodyear Autocare chain of stores, is awarded the Silver winner in the Car Servicing category at the Reader’s Digest 2020 Quality Service Awards.

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc. (HARI), continues its support for the country’s PUV Modernization Program with the turn over of the first batch of Hyundai HD50S Class 2 Modern PUVs to the Public Transport Alliance of Gensan (PTAG), led by PTAG President Robert N. Cang. 15 out of the 326 units orderered by PTAG were turned over.

United Asia Automotive Group, Inc. (UAAGI), the exclusive distributor of Foton vehicles in the country opened its 29th dealership, and its fourth in Mindanao.

Toyota Motor Philippines Recalling Selected 2019 Alphard MPVs and Coaster Buses

Toyota Motor Philippines is recalling selected Alphard and Coaster models due to seat belts which may not lock properly in the event of a crash.

The entire run of the Ford GT may have been spoken for, but that didn’t stop the guys at Ford Performance from releasing a mid-cycle refresh that boosts the outputs of the supercar’s 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6.

To bring the company’s innovative products and services to more Filipinos nationwide, Nissan inaugurated its first dealership for 2020 in Clark, Pampanga in partnership with Innovation Motors.

While Volkswagen Philippines’s plans to bring in the 7-seater Teramont remain up in the air, its North American twin, the Atlas has just seen a refresh.

Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Mong-Koo Chung will be inducted into the Automotive Hall of Fame, the industry’s highest honor.

According to the latest figures supplied by the Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA) and the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. (CAMPI), Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) retains its leadership in the Commercial Vehicle (CV) truck category.

Ford Philippines, together with Fairlane Automotive Ventures, Inc. (FAVI), kicked off the construction of its 50th dealership facility in the country in Talisay City, Cebu with a ceremonial groundbreaking event.

Nissan Shoves a 3.8-liter V6 and 9-speed Automatic into their Pickup Truck

Consider us lucky. While the Philippines has had the Nissan Navara (D23) since 2014, other markets like the United States has had to content with the D40, known as the Frontier over there which makes the pickup truck 16 years old.

You want to know what’s the most searched car by Filipino buyers? It’s the Honda Civic. That’s based on data compiled of all the searches made by customers on online classifieds giant, Carousell.

Toyota Motor Philippines updates the Fortuner SUV and Alphard luxury MPV with more safety features this 2020.

Narrowing its field from a shortlist of 29, the jurors of the World Car of the Year revealed its 10 finalists. Chosen by 86 international automotive journalists, the finalists were selected by secret ballot. This year’s list is interesting to say the least with three Koreans in the Top 10 and only one Japanese brand, Mazda.

Kia has finally unveiled its own sub-compact SUV that’s designed to slot below the Seltos: meet the Sonet.

Starting This February, Toyota PH Ups the Vios's Warranty

With a dizzying array of variants available for its best-selling vehicle, the Vios, Toyota Motor Philippines just made a huge distinction for those opting to buy the upper trim models: a longer standard warranty.

Holy February savings, Batman! Toyota Motor Philippines just slashed the prices of their best-selling vehicles! The offer, part of their Toyota Price Slash is valid only for 10 days (up to February 15, 2020) and covers the Vios, Hiace, Wigo, Avanza, Innova, Rush, and Hilux!

If you happen to ask me what my favorite car brands are, Mazda would definitely be part of the list. With its impeccably clean lines, it’s not difficult to fall in love with it. Add to that their refusal to compromise on the driving experience, and you can bet that Mazda’s “Jinba-ittai” or “horse and rider” as one philosophy will make your everyday commute feel special.

Honda Cars Philippines is continuing its offers on the City, BR-V, Brio, and CR-V this February with their “Drive to 2020” promo. Aside from cash discounts, some models are now available with an all-in low downpayment as low as P 10,000.

Hyundai will be the first carmaker to use active road noise cancelation thanks to a partnership with Harman. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics will roll out Road-Noise Active Noise Control or RANC on the Genesis GV80 SUV first.

Understanding that there’s a large classic car market out there, Japanese tire giant Yokohama now has a specialized range that caters to sizes long gone. This new range, though keeping with the classic style and design incorporates modern technology and performance.

Kia Teases All-New 2020 Sorento

The all-new Kia Sorento is almost upon us. Its global debut is confirmed for the 2020 Geneva International Motor Show in March.

After we posted our musing on driving a Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV) as a pure EV in Manila traffic, Volvo Philippines reached out to us to clarify the aspect of home charging.

Just look at their stupid faces; ah the grin of success. Seems these millennials have found a new use for the unfortunately-named Ford Mustang Mach-E by transforming that front trunk (frunk) into a makeshift Tupperware.

With Dongfeng’s Philippine distributor, Pilipinas Autogroup, Inc. already saying that everything is business as usual despite the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) in China, we also reached out to The Covenant Car Company, the exclusive distributor of MG and asked if they are expecting any disruptions on their end.

Diecast car collectors, listen up: Nissan has just released a special, limited-edition scale model of its Skyline 2000 GT-R to commemorate Godzilla’s 50th anniversary. The catch? You can only buy it at the Japanese Post Office.

I'm Pretty Sure I'm Not Ready to Own an EV Just Yet

Initially, I thought I’d be one of the first to champion electric vehicles. Given the short distance I drive on a daily basis, I could live with the daily routine of charging my car daily in exchange for zero tailpipe emissions, and max torque available from zero rpm. But all that’s changed after I sampled the Volvo XC60 T8 Twin Engine. This is when I figured out: boy, the Philippines isn’t ready to join the EV bandwagon just yet.

Cash strapped Aston Martin will have to delay its push into electric vehicles despite the fact that its first all-electric offering, the Rapide E is almost complete. The news comes as Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll injected some USD 656 million to keep the British carmaker afloat.

Toyota will begin rolling out a unique feature that pretty much makes their cars SUA proof. Best part? They’ll be offering it as a retrofit kit, at least for vehicles in Japan.

With no end in sight to the Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCov) spreading around the world, industries, particularly those located in China might soon be affected. Among the locally available Chinese brands, the one that may experience the greatest impact is Dongfeng.

The Mercedes-Benz X-Class is dead. After reports coming out of Europe last year, the three-pointed star’s first foray into the pick-up truck segment will officially cease in May, and all production will wrap up by June of this year. The reason? Failing to live up to sales expectations.

The Burgos Circle Car Club—a group of sportscar enthusiasts gather once more for the third Sports Car for a Cause. Happening this Sunday, February 9 from 7AM to 12NN at 4th Avenue, Bonifacio Global City, the activity will showcase the members’ prized vehicles for a charitable cause.

The Gram Strategy. It’s an engineering belief that making a car lighter makes them fun-to-drive. It’s something commonly associated with Lotus’s Colin Chapman, and more recently, Mazda. And while it’s typically associated with their two-seater MX-5, the Gram Strategy is present in pretty much their entire line-up, including the CX-5.

Suprise! MG Overtakes Kia, Foton in Full-Year 2019 Sales

One of the more peculiar things with the monthly sales reports of the Association of Vehicle Importers and Distributors (AVID) is that its figures for The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI) only includes their numbers for Chevrolet; it doesn’t include their new brand, MG. In fact, MG’s Philippine performance has been largely secretive until now.

Mini may have taken the 2020 Dakar Rally title, but ever-the-optimist Toyota President Akio Toyoda showered praises for his company’s efforts to complete the world’s toughest endurance race.

One of the early victims of Britain’s decision to exit the European Union is the next-generation Mini. An exclusive report by Reuters says that development over at BMW’s British brand has been slowed down to due uncertainty over Britain’s trade relations with the EU.

Hyundai Philippines opens in Baguio City, marking the Korean carmaker’s first full-service passenger car dealership in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR).

Volkswagen Taps Music Icon Gary Valenciano as Brand Ambassador

Volkswagen Philippines announced that Mr. Pure Energy himself, Gary Valenciano is Volkswagen Philippines’s new face. The partnership between two icons of the music and automotive industries is set to be presented to the public during VW Philippines’s, “We Move You” campaign launch featuring a Gary V concert this February 22, 2020 at the Activity Center of the Trinoma in Quezon City.

When Hyundai Philippines came up with the 5x5 Promo last September, they made history being the first automaker to offer a free 5-year Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) package on top of their 5-year, unlimited mileage warranty.

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