This Saturday is the Day!

That’s right! We get to find out this Saturday, April 30, the most popular automobile in the Philippines among the 2005 models as chosen by the public via text voting.

The Michelin-Auto Focus Automobile of the Year — People’s Choice Awards shall be given out at seven o’clock in the evening at the Fort in the Global City of Taguig after more than a month of "voting via texting". Vehicles that garner the most number of votes in each of the 13 categories (Sedans — sub-compact, compact, mid-size & large / SUVs — compact, mid-size & large / AUVs — gas & diesel / Vans — mini & large / pick up / sports car) shall be handed out "People’s Choice Awards" with the vehicle registering the most number of votes to be declared as the "2005 Automobile of the Year".

If you have not voted for your favorite automobiles in each category, the ones that best suit your driving needs and your taste, those that meet your transport requirements and most especially your budget, you still have a chance as the voting would not officially end until midnight of today. If you are a SMART GOLD, BUDDY and TALK’N TEXT subscriber just text the word "AUTO" to 283 and for Globe to 2214. There are "free instant loads" to lucky texters drawn electronically amounting to a total of 200 Thousand Pesos.

The ‘grand display’ of the Michelin-Auto Focus Automobile of the Year — People’s Choice Awards, unquestionably the biggest auto event of the year, where all the 2005 models of different brands are on exhibit all at the same time in one place will have its last day this Saturday at the Fort and more than 30 automobiles will again be available for test drive to the public until just before the proclamation of the winners.

To the surprise of many of the automobile companies who gamely dressed up their booths proudly displaying their market offerings, quite a number of vehicles were actually sold, with many very serious buyers ready to sign in the dotted line and a long list of people who actually had test drives during the first two weekends of the event. More are expected this Saturday.

With the smashing success of the event a lot of inquiries have come up regarding the holding of next year’s event so that better preparations can be made by the auto manufacturers and distributors to maximize their exposure ad improve their chances of closing actual sales in the venue.

Believe me, when I first thought of these awards with the sole aim of helping perk up the auto industry, I didn’t realize how much of a moving force in the sector it can be.

Let’s all be there at the Fort this Saturday and witness the crowning of the country’s most popular vehicles.

Sun, Surf And Sand Plus CRV Equals Fun

The Honda CRV Test Drive had breakfast and assembly time set at 8 am at the Pancake House in Magallanes. Very logical because aside from its "proximity" to the Honda Cars Offices & Assembly Plant in Sta. Rosa, it also is located very near Honda Cars Makati, where the flag off of seven brand-new CRVs bound for sun-drenched Lingayen Beach was going to be held.

Being always a late sleeper and a late wake upper, I opted not to have breakfast but then Sheryl delos Santos of Honda’s PR group made sure our Sunshine TV (Motoring Today / Auto Focus) group composed of our vp for production Jenny Bleza, cameramen Raul Promeda and Dodong Desamero had our packed breakfast to see us all through our gastronomical needs until our first stop, which was in Luisita, Tarlac. Surprisingly, our TV co-host for Motoring Today, Pocholo "living legend" Ramirez, a late sleeper himself, was in time for breakfast, as he joined us in one of his rare appearances in test drives.

The Honda Cars Philippines CRV test drive, which was dubbed as "Sun, Surf and Drive" was a two-day driving activity designed to highlight the performance of the CRV’s 2.4li i-VTEC engine performance together with the new variant’s driving comfort.

As early as the first day, the motoring journalists have shared a common opinion as to the CRV’s driving comfort as we traveled with ease and relaxed from the start off point in Makati to our first stop for lunch at the famous MAX’s in Tarlac and on to Pangasinan.

Our fast but comfortable trip came to a very hospitable end as the brothers Herman Chong and Melchor Co of Honda Cars Pangasinan were in their usual selves warmly welcoming all of us and literally stuffing us with delicious merienda of native delicacies. I admire the business acumen of these two brothers as I saw a much bigger dealership with more equipment and a lot bigger space for servicing as compared to what I previously saw as already impressive several years ago. Congratulations guys.

After a night of food, drinks and "competitive" singing, where Jenny, Sunshine TV’s production manager, was proclaimed as "diva", we all rested well in the well-appointed rooms of the Leisure Coast Resort, in eager anticipation of the next day’s grueling "competitive time trials" right by the historical Lingayen Beach.

After a hearty breakfast, we all headed for the much-awaited beach foray with the CRV. The straight-from-the-plant brand-new CRVs that were brought for the test drive had its baptism of "water" when some of the motoring journalists decided to test its mettle while driving them through the foamy water that lick the beachfront. What a splash! The others just made the CRVs drift from side to side frustrated though because I suspect they wanted to see the CRVs roll but they didn’t and instead held firmly tight despite the punishing drive. Honda Cars deputy head for marketing, Arnel Doria can only smile and say, "They can try their hardest and the CRV will surely stand up to the challenge."

Well, the competitive time trials were a big success if only from the point of view of the motoring media that had a first hand experience of how the CRV’s 2.4 VTEC engine, it real time 4-wheel drive and study suspension came as a complete package that handily coped with the punishing competitive driving through the sandy beach of Lingayen.

Not the simmering sun, the grainy sand nor the salty water can match the new sturdy Honda CRV and our good friend Arnel seems to have a confident smile ever-present on his lips.

More Offerings From Hyundai

Fe Agudo, the managing director of Hyundai Asia Resources, was all aglow and blooming during the launch of its latest market offerings held recently at the NBC Tent at The Fort when she said, "With the launch of these exciting models, we hope to offer a wider range of choices to value-conscious customers and build on the market success of our bestselling Starex van."

The top-of-the-line NF Sonata luxury sedan, the sporty 4WD Tucson and the compact Getz were all unveiled in the presence of some members of the automotive industry, Hyundai dealers and loyal customers and quite a number of motoring journalists in fitting tradition.

Congratulations to Hyundai Asia Resources for the successful launch of these three new market offerings and to Fe for keeping herself so young-looking as she really is and for being ever so vibrant.

Pit Lane Notes

It’s four in a row for Renault and three straight victories for Fernando Alonso! They are having an incredibly amazing run, and in spite of a great effort from Michael Schumacher, he just couldn’t put a stop to it. He deserves some props though — he was two seconds faster than any other car on the track despite having a nearly full tank of gas, and who knows what could have happened if not for that crucial mistake he made in the qualifying session. He started out 13th on the grid and ended up in 2nd place. BAR Honda’s Jenson Button did all he could, but he just couldn’t stop Schumi from speeding past him.

Kimi Raikkonen’s impressive qualifying performance was negated by what appears to be the comeback of the McLaren gremlins — he pulled into the pits on lap 9 and wasn’t heard from since with the exception of a small tantrum. This time it was transmission failure. Kimi’s doing his part, but he can’t win races all by himself — he needs absolute cooperation from his car.

Minardi’s much-hyped PS05 didn’t make that big of an impact as both their drivers retired shortly after Raikkonen. Looks like the kinks in their new machine still need to be ironed out. They should take their cue from the F2005 because Michael certainly likes the way his new car is running now.

Was the San Marino Grand Prix an indication of how the rest of the season will go? The first three races of 2005 didn’t go Ferrari’s way, but Imola was a different story. We’re in for an exciting stretch in Formula 1 as we will be having almost one race a week for the next month or so. That doesn’t give Renault much time to get ready for what seems to be a Michael Schumacher comeback. Is it time for Renault to push the panic button?

Motoring Tip Of The Week

During these summer days many out-of-town and countryside trips are made, which calls for a lot of highway driving, some during the night. On many occasions while driving at night we encounter drivers who are either inconsiderate or just don’t know any better, that stay on their high beams despite the presence of on coming vehicles. When you encounter one of these morons, the fist thing to do is to twice flick your headlights, which should be already at low beam at this time, to signal to him to dim his headlights. If he fails to react to this, flick you headlights again, this time three to four times, in the event that he may not have noticed the first time. If this still fails, just curse the stupid driver, silently if you have your family with you or loudly to your heart’s content if you are alone, but never put on your lights at bright just to get even. Remember, one blinded driver is less dangerous than having both of you having difficulty seeing the road just a few seconds before almost being head on.

Happy Motoring!!!

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