The news these past few weeks were downright scary: The price of crude oil has skyrocketed to nearly $130 per barrel after oil producing and exporting countries (OPEC) decided to cut down production. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine curtailed the delivery of oil to Europe, which further limited global supply and increased the prices. Gasoline prices here in the Philippines breached ...

In November 2020, our good friends at Maxus Philippines scheduled a weeklong test drive of their Maxus G10 passenger van during the week that coincided with my wife’s 50th birthday. The 4-row 9-passenger van allowed me to drive several family members, along with some balloons, party décor, cakes and flowers, to our favorite steakhouse for a heavy lunch and a ...

The 4th-generation Suzuki Jimny debuted in 2018 to such high expectation and huge demand around the world that when it was launched here in 2019, the automobile arm of Suzuki Philippines, Inc. (SPH) announced that there was a one-year waiting list. Suzuki Auto had just one media test drive unit, a Kinetic Yellow 2019 Jimny GLX 4AT but because of the ...

It’s a well-known fact that everything has to evolve to remain relevant in this ever-changing world. Automobiles, for instance, evolve with the times and the tastes of the market. Some car models, such as the Nissan/Datsun Sunny/Sentra, start as small subcompact sedans and eventually grow to become compact or midsize sedans, or even crossover vehicles. Some car models keep their ...

After Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) launched the Isuzu MU-X in September 2014, our family doctor and good friend, Dr. Wilson Cua, placed an order with the Isuzu Inteco dealership. The good doctor thoroughly enjoyed driving his first-generation RF-series MU-X with its 2.5-liter 4JK1-TCX turbodiesel 4-cylinder engine that pumps out 134 horsepower and 320 Newton-meters of torque. He felt that this ...

Even though in 2021 the world was still reeling from the devastating effects of COVID-19, the mutation of the Delta and Omicron variants, and the uncertain pandemic economy, we were very fortunate that we were still able to test drive and review several cars, crossovers, MPVs, SUVs, and pickup trucks, as well as join road trips and long drives. For ...

When Legado Motors, Inc. came up with an online media event to announce an exciting new outlook from GAC Motor – redefining the G-A-C acronym to mean “Go And Change” – the company itself was an agent of change as well. GAC now has an exciting line up of vehicles in the Philippines from compact cars (GA4 sedan) to crossovers ...

Chris Edmonds, entrepreneur, executive consultant, speaker and author of several business books, such as Good Comes First, The Culture Engine, and Leading at a Higher Level opined that you must “smooth the path for those around you” to help foster success. SAIC Motor Corporation Limited, which was formerly Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, a Chinese state-owned multinational automaker and Fortune Global 100 ...

“When it rains, it pours”, so goes the age-old saying. On a Saturday morning (November 6, 2021), my wife Shawie and I were privileged to be invited to participate in the first-ever Electric Vehicle (EV) Eco-Run organized by the Electric Vehicles Association of the Philippines (EVAP). Not only did we have fun and enjoyed catching up with old friends and ...

I was on the phone with my college buddy, Ferdinand “Ferdie” Chan, when our conversation gravitated towards cars. He noticed some ads on Facebook Market Place where the prices of second-hand large and mid-sized luxury cars have considerably gone down. We both surmised that the pandemic economy and the rising fuel prices were the key factors that compelled owners to ...