While digging through the Power Wheels Magazine archives, we found a Driven article about the 2011 Mazda MX-5 with the PRHT or power retractable hard top. Former Power Wheels Magazine Editor-in-Chief Dino Directo III, who’s now the Motoring Editor of Manila Times and Editorial Director of Autocar Philippines, wrote about his time behind the wheel of Mazda’s phenomenal roadster that put a smile on his ...

After successfully penetrating the local market for affordable three-row subcompact multi-purpose vehicles (MPV) with their BAIC M40/M45 series, Bayan Automotive Industries Corporation, the Philippine distributor of BAIC automobiles, is setting its sights on a loftier goal – the Asian utility vehicle (AUV) market. This pseudo-sport utility vehicle (SUV) cum MPV cum mini-van segment of the automotive industry is currently being dominated ...

Here’s a fun fact: “Prius” is a Latin word meaning “first”, “original”, “superior” or “to go before”, which is quite apt because the Toyota Motor Corporation was the “first” major car manufacturer to offer a mass-production hybrid electric vehicle (HEV). The “original” body style of the first-generation Toyota Prius (NHW10), which was introduced in 1997, was a 4-door sedan, while ...

The Suzuki Vitara has been winning hearts and minds across the globe since 1988. The original Vitara became popular as a “lifestyle vehicle” – a compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) designed to fill the slot above the subcompact Suzuki Jimny. The Vitara became so popular that General Motors sold it as the Geo Tracker in the United States and as ...

When the FOTON Toano high-roof passenger van was first introduced to the Philippine market, we heard some talk about it being an “imitation” of the second generation Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van. In spite of the fact that the Sprinter has been sold under various nameplates aside from Mercedes-Benz like Dodge, Freightliner, and Volkswagen (as the VW LT and VW Crafter), some ...

While driving the latest iteration of the Honda CR-V, I was reminded of my long association with Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) as a motoring journalist. You see, one of my first test drives was that of a first generation CR-V, which was introduced in 1995. The second generation CR-V was introduced in 2002 and I was one of the ...

A month ago (March 28-29, 2019), Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) invited us to drive the all-new third-generation Suzuki Swift from their Suzuki Auto Kalookan dealership to Bagac, Bataan, spend the night at the Las Casas Filipinas De Acuzar resort, and then drive back to Metro Manila the next day. During the drive, we observed that the “… Suzuki Swift has ...

From November 18 to December 10, 2005, I rode a Yamaha Sniper 135 around Indonesia along with a convoy of riders from other ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, and the Philippines – mounted on similar motorbikes for the Yamaha Pan-ASEAN Touring series. During our ride, which started from Jogjakarta in Java and ended at Medan in Sumatra, ...

Science has proven that siblings share about 50 percent of the same DNA on average. Each brother gets one half of his DNA from each parent, since the father and the mother only donates half of their DNA. The shared DNA can produce some similarities in the appearance of the siblings, like – in the case of celebrities – the ...

It seems just like yesterday when we picked up our brand-new 2014 Suzuki Ertiga 1.4GLXi A/T multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) directly from the Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) factory in Canlubang, Laguna. After we did a cover story on it for Power Wheels Magazine, we fell in love with the first-generation Ertiga Life Utility Vehicle (LUV), as SPH was marketing it then. On ...