There’s a need to stop gov’t dilly-dallying

It appears that the Japanese car assemblers in the country have already found themselves pushed to the edge if some reports were true that no less than the Japanese Chamber of Commerce has made mention of the prospect of some car plants closing shop in the light of the continuing and unabated importation of second-hand vehicles into the country.

As you may already know, all local auto assemblers and even car representative firms – Japanese, European and American – have been howling in protest against these second-hand vehicle importations mostly done through auctions.

Their concerns are simple. To begin with, they are citing the unfortunate experience of the New Zealand car industry. It had its eventual demise after the government adopted the policy to freely import second-hand vehicles into their country. The industry’s downfall inevitably caused serious labor displacements and reduced government revenues, considering that the automobile industry unquestionably contributed a bigger share to the government coffers compared with the minuscule collections from taxes on second-hand vehicles. The second-hand vehicles, undoubtedly a lot cheaper than the brand-new ones manufactured and distributed locally, have registered a fantastic share in the local market to the consternation of the assemblers which have sunk in huge investments and are employing thousands of plant workers. According to all the industry players, if this goes on unabated, there will surely be plant slowdowns and worse, plant shutdowns as the demand for what they assemble and distribute goes down and shifts entirely to the imported second-hand vehicles.

The car firms are also wary about the roadworthiness of these vehicles as most of them are originally "right-hand drives" and subsequently converted into left-hand after importation to be able to legally run on our roads. Records of recent accidents, mostly fatal, show many unsafely converted right-hand vehicles wherein conversion kits are not used but pieces of metal merely welded tentatively together.

The other serious concern is the emission levels of these second-hand imports. Are they within the allowable limits set by the strict provisions of the country’s Clean Air Act?

The latter two issues have been satisfactorily addressed by no less than the present chief of the LTO, Gen. Roberto Lastimoso, during my exclusive one-on-one interview aired on our TV shows Auto Focus and Motoring Today where he attested that all these second-hand vehicles have to run through and pass the MVIS or the Motor Vehicle Inspection System before they are allowed to be registered with his agency.

It is the issue of industry instability and possible subsequent labor displacements that really need to be addressed here. And that’s how concerned the Japanese Chamber of Commerce appeared to be when it mentioned the possibility of plant shutdowns and, the worst scenario, the possibility of a total pullout by the Japanese carmakers which have been continuously adversely affected by the unabated importation of these second-hand vehicles.

The government needs to act on this the soonest. Whichever way it decides, it should be immediate. If it would be in favor of the importers, let it be, so that if the threat of plant shutdowns materializes, let’s give our displaced workers time to look for new jobs before Christmas or before 2004.

Queries on automatic transmission

Reader Jaime Tiopianco, writing through mozcom.com, asks if he can just shift from "D" or Drive to D2 or D1 and backwards even when the vehicle is in motion or going either uphill or downhill with an automatic transmission.

Yes, Jaime, you can. Except that you would notice that in most cars you need to push a button or a lever when you downshift or go to a lower gear. You need more caution and should be deliberate in doing so, because in some cars you can over-rev your engine if you do this while at high speeds. In some modern-day and upscale cars there are now computers that prevent the over-revving. But if you shift to higher gear, like from D1 to D2 to D, you can do this with ease and don’t need to push on any button or lever.

Reader Paul, who would rather not have his full name published, asks if he can do to an automatic transmission what he normally does when driving a manual, and that is to shift to neutral when driving down the slope.

Well, Paul, whether on manual or automatic I would suggest against shifting to neutral when driving downhill, even if both kinds of gear would allow you with ease. It’s not safe to do so as shifting to neutral immediately sets your gear free from the engine and in the event that something goes wrong while you are at it, you lose the added advantage of engine-breaking to slow you down.

Gasoline octane rating should be posted

I received an e-mail signed by Ms. Milen Sison-de Quiros and sent thru Rex Hirang on meridiatelekoms.net regarding the failure of many gasoline stations to post the octane rating of all their gasoline grades. This, despite a supposed circular to all gasoline dealers and retail outlets to do so to help consumers make a choice from the various brands and grades that you now find in the market.

Well, we just hope that my setting aside some column inches today would, in my little way, remind all the petroleum companies about this requirement being imposed by the Department of Energy. I do agree that especially now that we have a deregulated industry, with the oil companies benefiting by not having much of the past’s limitation on their prices, the consumers should also have their just fill of the advantage of, at least, having the option to make a choice.

More model launchings

By the time you read this column, Nissan would have launched its new van that would take the place of the Vanette – the all-new Nissan Serena Q-RV – last night at the Dusit Hotel, while Honda is unveiling its 2002 Honda CR-V at the Hotel Inter-Continental this morning. Frankly, I have not seen any of these two new offerings in the local market, although I saw the CR-V at the last Tokyo Motor Show. But I’m clueless as to how Honda has tailored it to the aesthetic-conscious Philippine market. I’ll have something for you on them next week.

Sampaguita Rally revival well on its way

The local car companies are well represented in the Shell Helix-Motoring Today Motor Sports Challenge (Sampaguita Rally) featuring the "Subic Experience" set to flag off on May 4, Saturday, from the Shell North Tollways Plaza. Participants include Honda, Toyota, Cats Motors, PGA Cars, Ford and Isuzu. Mitsubishi, General Motors and BMW had begged off due to conflict of schedules. We still have to hear from Nissan, which is actually still in the midst of their Pan Philippine Marathon with the Exalta Superio.

Despite not really being a race, but more on precision driving, route and time navigation, Chief Steward Pocholo Ramirez and Grand Marshall Ike Borja, who are technically running the rally through SVI, have included a "special speed stage" right within the newly renovated and redesigned Subic International Raceway. This added attraction brought more excitement that was written all over the faces of all participants during the briefing held at the Valle Verde Country Club last Saturday.

This exciting motor sports action would be televised on the TV show Motoring Today, the producers of which, STV, Sunshine Television Ventures, are the organizers of the event.

Happy Motoring!!!

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