Power Wheels Magazine A Notch Above

Last March 11-12, Nissan Philippines Inc. (NPI) was planning to take members of the local motoring media, including yours truly, to a ride-and-drive experience at the Clark International Speedway (CIS) and around the former American airbase in Pampanga to introduce the 2020 Nissan 370Z two-seat sports car into the market. The official launch was supposed to be this April but ...

Toyota Motor Corporation made their debut in the highly competitive world of Formula One (F1) in 2002 with their TF101 race car.The Panasonic Toyota Racing team came from Toyota Motorsport GmbH (TMG), which had previously competed in the World Rally Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Despite earning a point in their first-ever F1 race, they never won ...

In October 1969, Nissan Motors, Ltd. of Japan introduced the first-generation Datsun 240Z to the American market as a 1970 model. Internally designated as the Nissan S30, the 240Z was designed by a team led by Yoshihiko Matsuo, the head of Nissan’s Sports Car Styling Studio. The Japanese sports car’s introduction in the American market was spearheaded by Yutaka Katayama, ...

One of the most popular American muscle cars that appeared in television is the General Lee or the modified orange 1969 Dodge Charger that was driven by the cousins Bo and Luke Duke in the hit television series “The Dukes of Hazzard” that ran from 1979 to 1985. General Lee is known for the chases and stunts, especially high jumps, ...

In 1993, I found myself suddenly without a ride when the privilege of taking home my company car was suspended because of petty office politics. At that time, I was in a supervisory position and I only had a small amount of cash in my personal account. With the meager funds I had, I could buy a used Japanese sedan ...

After spending three weeks quarantined in our home during the global COVID-19 pandemic, I began to terribly miss my 1971 Chevrolet Camaro Rally Sport (RS), which is undergoing a total nuts-and-bolts restoration at JSK Custom Paint and Auto Works in Valenzuela City. The Luzon-wide lock down stopped work at the JSK shop and I couldn’t visit my beloved Camaro, which ...

Since the lock down started on March 15, 2020, I began contemplating on the importance and relevance of my work as a motoring journalist and entrepreneur. I decided to look back at my past experiences to find inspiration and motivation. When I was working as a sales trainer for the old Nissan Motor Philippines (NMPI) in the 1990’s, I often ...

Sometime in November 2015, I went to the farm of my friend, The Philippine STAR columnist and political satirist Cito Beltran, in Lipa, Batangas to help him sell some of the vintage project cars in his collection. After suffering some back problems, Cito decided to clean up the garage in his farm and finish some of his other project cars ...

What does the 1910 Ford Model T, the 2019 Jeep Cherokee, the 1911 Marmon Wasp race car, and the 2019 Penske-Chevrolet race car have in common? Aside from the fact that the Ford and the Jeep are vehicles you can buy from the dealership and the two race cars won the Indianapolis 500, they have nothing much in common… except ...

In the opening credits of the 1969 movie “Easy Rider”, actor Peter Fonda, who  played Wyatt, the lead character, rides off on his custom motorcycle that he named “Captain America” to the tune of Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild”.  Along with his pal Billy (played by Dennis Hopper), the duo ride their motorcycles across America in this ground-breaking film that ...