Is it or is it not good?

It appears that transport officials, for one reason or another, had a change of heart in adopting a transport mode, which for a while they were pushing Congress to approve as they found it then as an immediate and cost effective solution to Metro Manila’s traffic problems.

The complete turnaround by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) regarding its interest in setting up the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system reportedly baffled lawmakers to whom this concept was aggressively presented and successfully justified not long ago. Instead, the DOTr is now reportedly pushing for a rail project, which many have opined to be a lot more expensive.

Before the reported withdrawal of the DOTR, two BRT projects have been lined up in Metro Manila, with Line 1, which was suppose to run from the Quezon Memorial Circle to Manila City Hall via Quezon Avenue and España Boulevard and Line 2 that was to run the length of EDSA.

The congressmen who were convinced by the DOTr to have the proposed projects acted upon and endorsed to the NEDA for approval and funding were reportedly puzzled no end by the mind-blowing 360-degree turn in the project for reasons known only to the DOTr.

 So why did the DOTr suddenly find the BRT system not worth the funding after it has been endorsed and would rather have a more expensive and longer-to-finish railway project?

Dzire’s Media baptism of fire

It had its public viewing debut during the last staging of the Manila International Auto Show last April. Immediately following was the public’s actual hands on experience during the Auto Focus Summer Multi Brand Test Drive Festival at the Mall of Asia, counting as one of the models most test-driven during the event. And finally, Suzuki’s all-new Dzire gets its closest scrutiny by way of a test drive by the motoring media at the Batangas Racing Circuit.

Suzuki PH’s Odie Gan, this columnist, Suzuki PH VP and GM for Automobiles Shuzo Hoshikura, Jenny Pineda and Cecil Capacete.

Suzuki Philippines gave top-notched motoring journalists the opportunity to take the all-new Dzire on a 3.7 kilometer racing circuit drive to experience firsthand the latest technology applied on their latest market offering — the Auto Gear Shift (AGS). A revolutionary first in the Philippines, the AGS technology combines the convenience of automatic transmission and the fuel efficiency of a manual — a best of both worlds scenario.

The all-new Suzuki Dzire will be coming out in two variants. The top of the line, which has the AGS technology, shall be very competitively priced at P698,000.00 while the entry-level manual variant shall have a surprising SRP of P638,000.00.

This columnist with Suzuki Philippines’ Shuzo Hoshikura.

Its official launch shall be on June 27 together with another exciting new Suzuki offering, the Swift at the Marriott Hotel.

BMW Philippines’ corporate shuffle

An intimate lunch was hosted last Friday, June 8 by three newly appointed company presidents at the President’s Room of the Manila Polo Club for a small group of motoring journalists.

Shifting of the Guards: Spencer Yu and Maricar Parco

There was Maricar Parco, the longtime president of Asian Carmakers Corporation (BMW Philippines), which assumed the name of SMC Asia Car Distributors in July upon acquisition of its 65 percent by San Miguel Corporation. Maricar has just been recently appointed president of the soon-to-be-named biggest SMC Asia Car Distributors-owned BMW dealership in the country, which is opening its doors by the second half of the year in Greenhills, Mandaluyong City.

There was Spencer Yu, who was Lexus Manila’s marketing director and now recently appointed president of SMC Asia Car Distributors Corporation, succeeding Maricar.

And there was also Karl Magsuci, former marketing director of BMW Philippines who’s now president of Autoallee in Quezon City, one of the leading BMW dealers.

Karl Magsuci

As the old saying goes, “They can never put a good man (or woman) down,” as we delightfully view this chapter in the career of Maricar, a much-respected auto industry lady executive who got her friends worried upon the sudden change in the management landscape of BMW Philippines where her leadership shone brightly with figures to back it up. And Karl always had the demeanor of someone who’d go places. And Spencer’s marketing savvy is legendary, spot on where he’s now.

Congratulations and all the best to you, guys.

Mitsubishi Xpander’s fuel performance goes under scrutiny

Results from a recent test supervised and overseen by the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP) have shown that the Mitsubishi XPANDER is the most fuel efficient car in its class.

Two XPANDER variants — a GLX MT and a GLS Sport AT — were driven simultaneously with four other competitive models along Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX) and Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway (TPLEX). The methodology and parameters used on this activity were based on the Fuel Economy Drive used by the Department of Energy.

To ensure fairness in conducting and obtaining the results, the Automobile Association of the Philippines (AAP), represented by Mr. Francisco Reyes, Jr., monitored and supervised the whole run.

Each of the six vehicles ran an average distance of 236.58 km and the results showed XPANDER’s superiority among its competitors when it comes to fuel efficiency and performance. The XPANDER GLX MT recorded an impressive 21.01 km/liter fuel consumption while the XPANDER GLS Sport AT recorded an amazing 22.94 km/liter after the run.

This was reportedly better than all of the XPANDER’s competitors, including diesel models. The third-place model recorded 19.8km/liter and the least fuel efficient of the group was measured at 17.4 km/liter.

According to Mitsubishi Philippines with these findings, XPANDER’s 1.5L 4A91 MIVEC (Mitsubishi Innovative Valve timing Electronic Control System) DOHC 16-Valve engine was proven to be fuel efficient without compromising the performance of the vehicle, which makes it an ideal vehicle for Filipino customers.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments and inquiries, email [email protected].