What ever happened to the mandatory use of ethanol?

If my memory serves me right there is a law that mandates the inclusion of ethanol in the processing of our fuels in the country. Or all fuels that are being sold in the country should have a certain amount of ethanol.

But what is this I hear that some top fuel brands in the country do not have a single drop of ethanol in some of their fuel variants? Considering the cost of ethanol that now needs to be imported as the meager local production is impossible to meet the needs of just one brand, this particular fuel brand is making a killing in its cash register while not following what’s mandated by law.        

If you remember at one stage during the spiraling cost of fuel in the country a law was passed that made it obligatory to infuse some amount of ethanol in fuels for several reasons, foremost of which was to lessen toxic emissions in the air that are by-products of burning fossil fuels and at the same time to help create and support a sunrise industry—the ethanol industry. 

Quite a number of investors were attracted to the country for this sunrise industry but for one reason or another it never lifted off the ground. There was not enough production to meet the needs and fuel companies had been given the go ahead to start importing ethanol, which turned out to be cheaper with less complications than sourcing it locally. Of course there was also the issue of the quality of locally produced ethanol.

Until some enterprising companies thought that if they could get away with not having ethanol at all, then it’ll be a lot cheaper than to have it—whether locally produced or imported.

So, what fuel company is not abiding by what the law mandates?

I personally don’t know yet, I was only informed by an unimpeachable source that some are engaged in the malpractice, which I deem is a concern that should be written about. I was never told which company or companies are the culprits.

I’ll let you know when I find out. 

“Lemon Law” test case?

Despite the fact that the IRR or the Implementing Rules and Regulations of the new “Lemon Law,” which is supposed to protect the rights of those who buy brand-new vehicles and equally those of their manufacturers, importers or distributors, has yet to be released, it just might be put into a lithium test.      

A prominent importer of premium vehicles is in the midst of a controversy wherein a retired military man is allegedly poised to file a complaint pursuant to the newly crafted and signed “lemon law.”

As reported by the involved importer, the complainant is insisting that the vehicle in question is defective, which is being contested by the importer saying that any qualified mechanic could attest that there is nothing wrong with the vehicle.

We learned that the vehicle was brought in for servicing and minor adjustments, an example of which was a complaint about a CD player that was not functioning, but which was discovered to refuse to read a pirated CD that was inserted. After a through examination and diagnosis it was declared that all concerns had already been exhaustively addressed and the unit was ready for pick up.

However, the unit has been staying for over a month in the importer’s service center with the owner refusing to test-drive it or even take a look at it.

What puzzles the importer no end is that the complainant is not the registered owner of the vehicle.

Okay, let’s see how the “lemon law” would have this situation addressed.   

All’s set for Pre Christmas Test Drive Festival

Representatives from all of the country’s automobile manufacturers, importers and distributors that are set to show their wares for a public test drive at the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds from November 6 to 9 got together recently to determine their actual display locations during the test drive event.

The concept of a multi-brand test drive was first tried and successfully tested last summer when the Auto Focus Summer Test Drive Festival was staged and caught the local auto industry by storm. The actual number of test drives done by the public during the four-day event shattered all existing records.

Having public test drives is actually not a new idea. It has been done over and over again by certain automobile companies to bring their models closer to the market. But a multi-brand endeavor was quite unimaginable as it entailed competing car companies to work in collaboration. It would indeed take a trusted third party to get this venture together with dynamic adhesion.

And nothing’s more convenient for the market than to have a single accessible venue to have all the automobile brands and models together for a quick comparison, of looks and actual driving experience — a one-stop-car shop.

The novelty that was successfully introduced during the public test drive last summer, which shall be adopted again in the Pre Christmas Test Drive Festival in November, is the option of having the test drive done right within the confines of the event’s venue. A test drive course that would bring out a car’s driving features will again be laid out. Of course, test-drives around the MOA for those who would brave the stop and go traffic would still be an option.

If you are interested to do a test drive, which incidentally is free, here’s the list of participating brands and the corresponding models that would be available for your hands-on driving experience, namely; Toyota (Innova and Vios), Lexus (CT200h and NX300h), Mitsubishi (Mirage G4 and ASX), Hyundai (Grand i10, EON, Accent hatch, Accent sedan, Genesis Coupe, Tucson, Elantra, Grand Santa Fe), Ford (Fiesta Ecoboost and Explorer Ecoboost), Peugeot (508 and Expert Teepee), MINI (All New MINI Cooper, MINI Cooper Paceman, MINI Cooper S Paceman), Isuzu (mu-X 4x4 LS-A A/T, mu-X 4x4 LS-A A/T, mu-X 4x2 LS-M M/T, D-MAX 4x2 LS X-Series M/T, Sportivo X M/T), Nissan (XTrail and Sylphy) Chevrolet (Trailblazer and Spin), Honda (City E CVT, City VX +, Brio V AT, Brio S AT, Amaze V AT, Jazz VX CVT, Civic 1.8 Modulo, Accord 2.4 S AT), Mazda (Mazda3 SKYACTIV, Mazda6, CX-5), Volkswagen (Beetle and Touareg) and two remarkable Chinese-made brands, BYD (S6 SUV and FO) and BAIC (A113 Hatchback, A113 Sedan, MZ40 7-seater luxury minivan, MZ45 9-seater luxury minivan).        

Bring the whole family. Let everybody into the decision-making process as to which would be your first or next car. Let your family members see these remarkable brand-new vehicles up close and personal and experience riding in them. 

The Auto Focus Pre Christmas Test Drive Festival opens at 11 o’clock in the morning up to 9pm, November 6 to 9, a 4-day weekend of cars galore!

It is indeed a “must-be-there” event for all car enthusiasts and those buying cars in time for Christmas.

Highlights of all Formula 1 legs

A few more legs to go for the 2014 World Formula One Series and we would know this year’s Champion Driver of the Year with Team Mercedes-Benz romping off with the much sought-after Constructors Award.

In a few weeks time you’ll be able to see all the past F1 legs limited to their highlights, not in their original two-hour format but focused on the fantastic passes and horrendous crashes and other exciting highlights on Motoring Today ONLINE, the cyberspace version of the 27-year old weekly motoring news and features TV magazine — all video on the web.

Happy Motoring!!!

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