Laxity of law enforcement

My first article on this column for the year 2012 centered on the laxity of traffic law enforcement at the SLEX. I mentioned how buses wantonly linger on the innermost lane, which is exclusive to vehicles that want to pass or overtake a slower vehicle. These buses exceed their speed limits most of the time too. And the operators don’t seem to have the time of day to strictly enforce their own prescribed traffic rules and regulations.

One of our readers, Mr. Rico Ledesma, confirms such laxity at the SLEX when he wrote, “I traverse the SLEX almost daily, from Magallanes to Eton exit and back. Aside from speed violations, there are numerous other offenses such as broken vehicle lights, tailgating, littering and worst of all, smoke belching. It is disturbing to watch a jeep or bus belch smoke throughout the typical 30 to 40 minute travel time. This could be prevented if the toll operators would take corporate social responsibility seriously and declare the entire expressway a smoke-free zone. Smoke belchers can be apprehended upon exit. Commuters can call or text a hotline to report these violators. Besides, it is the law and there are grounds to apprehend these violators. The problem though is exactly what you wrote about – enforcement.”

In contrast, another regular reader, Mr. Tim Ackerman, writes about some overzealous traffic enforcers at the Bonifacio Global City as he narrates, “I have video of the perhaps the latest trick of some traffic enforcers who work for BGC near St. Luke’s Medical Center who stop law abiding citizens under the guise that they have committed a traffic infraction when in fact no traffic infraction has been committed. I have video of an enforcer clearly admitting that they do not give tickets for the supposed traffic infraction, but they do check the drivers license and car registration to see if they are expired and certainly do give tickets for that.”

Well, if the management of BGC would be interested to find out the veracity of this experience, Mr. Ackerman is just too willing.

Toyota’s 10th Triple Crown

It’s no easy task to become the country’s top-seller of passenger cars, top-seller of commercial vehicles and top-seller over all and all at the same time in a given year and achieve this feat for 10 years and consecutively at that!

It’s called the Triple Crown and Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has made a habit of achieving this year after year after year, almost like a way of life.

In its traditional “thanksgiving night” exclusively for the media that was held last Friday, January 20 at the Sofitel, TMP’s president Mr. Michinobu Sugata expressed his appreciation of the role that the Philippine motoring media has played in helping them again achieve this milestone in the local auto industry with his meaningful keynote speech, which said in part, “this was in part helped accomplished by your honest words and passion in your craft”. Later on in the evening the gregarious Sugata-san made a “rock star” performance on stage and also graciously stayed on with the journalists up to the late of the night.

Aside from the fabulous prizes (Macbooks, iPads, etc.) that all the invited guests won after competing in hilarious challenges, the other highlight of the evening was the launch of the all-new compact hybrid vehicle, the Toyota Prius C – where “C” stands for COMPACT, CLEAN, CLEVER and CITY.

Since the introduction of the first generation Prius in 1997, the name itself has been distinguished to be the pioneer in ECO (Hybrid) vehicle technology.

Raymond Rodriguez, TMP first vice-president points out during the launch, “As every Prius is known for, the Prius C is also equipped with the same HSD technology that produces excellent drivability and unparalleled fuel economy. It is powered by a 1.5-liter 4-cylinder 1NZ-FXE VVT-i Atkinson cycle engine that complies with standard regulations of EURO V emissions.”

For his part, TMP executive vice president Yuji Goto apprised us that the all-new Prius C’s engine efficiency is also enhanced through the adoption of EGR (Exhaust Gas Recirculation) system and electric power pump. The step-up converter increases the voltage from the HV battery from DC144 V to a maximum of DC520 V to compel the high voltage motor and generator thus, producing better engine response. The characteristics of the hybrid system include the ability to accurately use the gasoline engine and electric motor based on the current driving conditions which offers smooth and reactive driving while significantly minimizing fuel consumption and gas emissions.

We also learned that the Prius C doesn’t need to be plugged into a power source to be recharged. The HV battery is reloaded through the use of the regenerative braking system that allows continues recharging as you drive.

As would always mark every Toyota event, food and drinks freely flowed for every guest to enjoy. The favored drink among the known “gulpers” for the evening was a “single-malt” whiskey whose hard-to-pronounce brand escapes me as I write, which Lexus-Manila president, Danny “Sir John” Isla graciously and generously (don’t ask me how many bottles) offered to Al “Sir Paul” Mendoza (note their AKAs as card-bearing Beatlemaniacs) and myself and the rest of “endlessly thirsty” journalists from the early start of the evening until the end of the party, which accounts for all three of us plus TMP vp Jing Atienza staying and having coffee at the hotel’s PAGCOR lounge until three o’clock in the morning to allow all of us to sober up, especially “Sir Paul” as he was the only one going home without a driver that night – no sir, no driving while under the influence!

Congratulations to Toyota Motor Philippines for such unprecedented achievement!

The Kia Rio is indeed attractive

Upbeat Samba music pervaded the Sunset Pavilion of the Hotel Sofitel Manila last Thursday evening, January 19 as Columbia Autocar Corporation (CAC), exclusive distributors of the remarkable Kia vehicles in the country threw a Brazilian-themed thanksgiving party for the motoring media and simultaneously launch the all-new Kia Rio.

Ms. Ginia Domingo, the dynamic president of CAC opened the festivities by saying, “Tonight, we in the CAC family are especially excited that you are here to witness the launch of our newest addition to the Kia family, the all new Kia Rio! And as our key partners in the business, you will be the first to see the all-new Rio up close and personal.”

Standard in all variants of the all-new Kia Rio is an in-line MPI, 4-cylinder, 16 valve DOHC engine plus new design instrument features like an intelligent new trip computer, the “three cylinder” instrument cluster and precise instrument graphics. The Rio Hatchback boasts of keyless entry paired up with an ignition button and also unique to the 5-door model are audio and cruise control and even a glove box cooling function.

By party’s end, Mr. Boying Soriano, CAC marketing services manager thanked all the motoring journalists present by saying, “2011 has been a great year for all of us here at Columbian Autocar and you are one of the main reasons for it to happen. Here’s to 2012 and to another successful year for all of us.”

And as many were saying that evening, “The Kia Rio is indeed attractive and pretty too.”

BMW continues to grow in the country

Ms. Maricar Parco, the lovely lady-president of Asian Carmakers Corporation (ACC) recently invited for an intimate lunch a small group from the motoring media as a year-opening presentation. Though I failed to come to the well-attended lunch due to a previous commitment, I was apprised by Sunshine TV’s vp for production and auto industry news writer, Jenny Bleza of the presentation, foremost of which was what was termed as 2011’s “dominating performance” of BMW vehicles in the country’s premium luxury segment.

Some of the figures cited included a 19% increase in year-on-year sales for 2011 with 792 units sold as against 664 in the previous year, which actually represented an enviable 33% share in the premium luxury segment – a leadership record maintained for 9 consecutive years.

Maricar, ceaselessly carving a good name in the auto industry despite her young age, gave insights into ACC’s continued growth and success in her on-cam interview for TV shows Motoring Today and Auto Focus by saying, “The BMW products are the core of our momentum, driving the brand forward in the Philippines. We strive to bring joy to our customers by continually improving our products and pushing the boundaries in order to meet the ever changing demands of customers. It is this focus on innovation and dynamism that has fueled our success and enabled us to achieve our present position in the market.”

It was also pointed out during the presentation that in 2011 BMW retail sales was driven by what was referred to as “solid performance” of the 1Series, 5Series, 7Series and the X-Series.

As ACC Executive Director Glen Dasig explains, “The All-New BMW 1Series is a resounding success for us. This second generation BMW model has definitely achieved maturity, equipped with numerous state-of-the-art technological features and equipment previously available only in higher segments.”

The BMW X-Series still proves to be the best-selling SUV in the premium segment, with 218 units sold in the year, resulting in a 33% share in the segment. The success of the X-Series is led by the BMW X3 which registered a year-on-year unit sales increase of 154% from 2010.

The BMW 5Series also performed exceptionally in 2011 with a 67% increase in year-to-date sales. Similarly, the BMW flagship model 7Series continues to be the frontrunner in its category with 37% of the segment and year-to-date sales growth of 11%.

Actual sales to count in next year’s People’s Choice Awards

To make for a more exciting Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards for 2012, Sunshine TV have sought the invaluable assistance of the LTO or the Land Transportation Office to provide official and documented data regarding the actual registration (which translates to sales) of brand new vehicles.

Through Stradcom, LTO’s IT Provider and custodian of data files relevant to vehicle registration, access to these information would make for a more convincing results of the yearly search for the country’s most preferred automobile models and the most popular, the “automobile of the year” with the perfect combination of actual sales figures and those of “aspiration votes” or votes of preference from the public that do not necessarily make a purchase.

We are just waiting for the official endorsement of LTO head, DOTC assistant secretary Virgie Torres who undoubtedly appreciates the importance and relevance of this yearly exercise that actually serves as a guide to automobile manufacturers and importers as to what the motoring public prefers in terms of value for money, safety features, etc. of vehicles that should be offered to the Philippine market.

Automobile sales that would count start in January, 2012 while public voting begins in July of this year.

Happy Motoring!!!

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