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Monthly Archives: May 2021

Goodyear AutoCare Wins Gold in the 2021 Reader’s Digest Quality Service Awards

Goodyear AutoCare, the retail and service center of Goodyear Philippines, Inc., recently took home Gold, winning the 2021 Reader’s Digest Quality Service Award under the tire retailer category. The achievement highlights the commitment and dedication of Goodyear AutoCare’s dealership network in delivering the best level of service to its valued customers. After capturing the Silver award last year, the 2021 ...

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1983 Mercedes-Benz 500SE Part 4: Decoding our Project Car and Planning Our Next Move

After the COVID-19 pandemic hit the whole world in 2020, most businesses catering to the publication and entertainment industries suffered a sharp decline in their earnings. Our company was not immune to the worldwide economic slowdown. One of the initial measures we took to save our dwindling precious resources was to temporarily mothball our project cars, including our Mercedes-Benz W126. ...

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Launching the 2021 Nissan Navara in a Bold, Exciting and Socially Responsible Way

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in the country on March 2020, almost every aspect of life that involved face-to-face activities came to a screeching halt. Car launches and out-of-town drives were discouraged due to health  and safety protocols. Most car brands pivoted to a New Normal and started launching new models online, mostly through via Zoom digital conferences. A ...

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2021 Suzuki XL7: Multi-Purpose Vehicle Defined and Updated

“Do it your way. Make the most of every moment and don’t settle for anything less. The XL7 complements your adventurous attitude with robust styling.” – This is how Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) markets the Suzuki XL7 multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) in their website. I somehow tend to agree with their ad copy about “making the most of every moment” and ...

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2021 Toyota Vios 1.3 XLE CVT: The Beauty of Simplicity and Ubiquity

Merriam-Webster defines the word “ubiquitous” as “existing or being everywhere at the same time; constantly encountered; widespread”. Ubiquitous is an accurate word to describe Toyota Motor Philippines‘ front-wheel drive (FWD) four-door subcompact sedan, the Toyota Vios. Now on its third generation, the Vios is one of the most popular and best-selling nameplates in the local automotive market. Everywhere you look, ...

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Bridgestone Philippines Breaks Ground on Classroom Donation Project in Mangaldan, Pangasinan

The hot balmy Friday afternoon of May 14, 2021 witnessed the ceremonial groundbreaking of the three-classroom, single-story building at the Talogtog-Bateng Elementary School in Mangaldan, Pangasinan, which is donated by Philippine Allied Enterprises Corporation (PAEC), the official importer and distributor of Bridgestone tires in the Philippines. The construction of the classrooms was done in coordination with the Department of Education ...

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2021 Maxus V80 Comfort: Driving to a Mission of Hope in Pangasinan

Our job as motoring journalists often brings opportunities to help our less fortunate countrymen. Before the National Capital Region (NCR) was placed under the so-called “NCR Bubble” lockdown towards the end of March 2021 to stem the spread of the Coronavirus, we were tasked to chronicle Bridgestone Philippines’ donation of classrooms to the Talogtog-Bateng Elementary School in Mangaldan, Pangasinan through ...

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2021 Kia Stonic EX A/T: Speedy Tonic Against The Common Crossover

A portmanteau is a blend of words in which parts of multiple words are combined to form a new word, such as “motel”, which was coined by blending the words “motor” and “hotel”. It was not surprising that Kia Motors, the Korean car brand with “The Power to Surprise” motto, used a portmanteau blending “speedy” and “tonic” to name its ...

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2017 Toyota 86 M/T: Scratching An Itch That Needed To Be Scratched

Sales records show that private vehicles with automatic transmissions (A/T) currently outsell vehicles with manual transmissions (M/T), especially after vehicular traffic in the country has turned from bad to worse. The number of A/T units in the car manufacturers’ test fleets also reflects this sales phenomenon and buyers’ preference. Most of the new vehicles sent to us for evaluation have ...

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2021 Chery Tiggo 7 Pro: And The Hits Just Keep On Coming!

Despite the pandemic situation in 2020, we got to test drive the entire crossover/sport utility vehicle (SUV) model line-up of Chery Philippines. We were quite impressed with all the models, starting with the entry-level Tiggo 2 subcompact crossover vehicle, to the more-upmarket Tiggo 5X Lux compact SUV, to the fully-equipped Tiggo 7, and up to the top-of-the-line Tiggo 8. After ...

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