Old buses will have to go!

My apologies to the operators of buses that need to be phased out, but my objective view is to really rid the metro, especially EDSA of buses that are dilapidated, unsafe and those that have unacceptable emissions. And going by age, as a starter to produce a short list, is by far the most ideal process in establishing a clearer standard. A process that would involve human judgment would eventually court more graft and corruption than we already have a generous dose of.

Outside of the reasons that I have previously mentioned, I believe that if the ban on 15-year old buses and on those that honestly fail the emission test and that of the MVIS or the Motor Vehicle Inspection System were strictly imposed, the traffic volume in the metro would surely be reduced tremendously.

Now couple this with the ‘single dispatch system’ or any kind of system that would control the number of buses in EDSA, which would be dependent on actual commuters’ need and we would probably have an EDSA with a traffic flow that only happens in our dreams.

And sorry again, just like smoking, I don’t honestly think that a slow phase out of these old buses would work — "cut and cut clean."

Isuzu’s Unprecedented Endurance Drive

The motoring journalists really had a feel of what they really wanted to do most — drive till they drop.

The very successful Isuzu Cloverleaf Endurance Drive was a 3-day event that I missed but heard a lot of adventurous stories about. In this latest 1,000 kilometer per leg Isuzu adventure the Crosswind AUV, D-Max 4x4 and 4x2 pickups and Trooper SUV passed with flying colors the simultaneous tests for their durability, power performance and fuel efficiency together with driver and passenger comfort during the arduous record run.

Four legs were covered by the record-setting endurance test. This included a "scenic and cultural" run with the Trooper, which STV’s vice president and production manager Jenny Bleza and segment producer Arrin Villareal joined that extended to as far north as Pagudpud, Ilocos Norte. STV’s senior cameraman, Raul Promeda took extensive footage of the "aquatic endeavor", which covered the Mindoro area on board the D-Max 4x2. Other legs included D-Max 4x4 hard drive to the Cordillera region and a "food trip" to the Bicol region riding on the Crosswind.

More Isuzu adventures are still on line up to the end of the year.

Battle Of Compact SUVs

The local automotive market has quite a share of the global popularity of SUVs or Sports Utility Vehicles and the keen competition is more pronounced on the compact SUV category, what with the slew of models that are currently slugging it out for the car-buyer’s eye. As a means to help those who are still in a quandary on what to buy and need more inputs to help in their decision making process, allow me to help out by giving you the latest prices of some of the leading models. Authorized dealers as of Monday, August 2, 2004 referred the following prices.

4x2

Mazda Tribute (3.0L) A/T P 1.180 M

Mazda Tribute (2.3L) A/T 1.130 M

Nissan XTrail A/T 1.099 M

Ford Escape A/T 1.080 M

Honda CRV A/T 1.059 M

Toyota RAV4 M/T 1.018 M

Honda CRV M/T 1.009 M

4x4

Ford Escape (V6) A/T P 1.365 M

Nissan XTrail A/T 1.299 M

Mitsubishi Outlander Invecs II 1.270 M

Honda CRV A/T 1.268 M

Toyota RAV4 A/T 1.238 M

Honda CRV M/T 1.218 M

Ford Escape (2.3L) A/T 1.080 M

I still endlessly receive letters from many readers that request to have my personal preference on the models that they are choosing from. My apologies for not obliging to our readers, as I have to maintain my objectivity as a motoring journalist. However, I shall be passing on, every now and then, some vital info that car buyers can conveniently have through this column. Apart from this we also have a "Head-to-Head" segment on our TV show Auto Focus (Tuesday, 11 pm, Channel 4 Manila and broadcast nationwide via satellite on the National Broadcasting Network) where models of the same category and price range are compared feature by feature.

A Whirlwind Romance With The Mazda6

I had a one-week love affair with the Mazda6 and it was indeed memorable.

A yuppie executive will not have enough reasons why the Mazda6 should not be one of the top choices in his list of vehicles for his garage.

I had the opportunity to drive this remarkable medium size luxury car in different driving conditions and varied road surfaces and I found it quite impressive. It’s undeniably responsive and easily maneuverable.

I would find it hard to go for the Mazda6 though if I were chauffer driven. It’s not much for the not-so-easy ingress to the rear seats but because I’m not that generous to let my driver enjoy daily its power-packed driving performance and the turning heads as it drives by.

Thanks to Dave "Mr. Mac" Macasadia, the Mazda Philippines top-notched managing director for the experience and to Tonette Lee for her personal touch.

Pit Lane Notes

BAR-Honda says Jenson Button will undoubtedly be a future World Champion. With the way he’s performing now, that scenario is very probable. McLaren says the same thing about Kimi Raikkonen — in fact, he came mighty close to doing just that last season. Now BMW-Williams is joining in the fray: according to them, young Australian hotshot Mark Webber will be the next big thing in Formula1. It was announced recently that Mark would be leaving Jaguar for Williams in 2005. According to him, he is not looking forward to say goodbye to the friends he made in his former team, and he will still push very hard in the remaining races. This attitude is what endeared this young man to a lot of people around the F1 circuit. To this day, he still remains friends with the people he left in Minardi. Although he shared that he dreads leaving his Jaguar friends, he also said that he could not wait to start out with BMW. His down-to-earth attitude is also one of the qualities that drew Williams to him. They admit, however, that they were originally after Giancarlo Fisichella.

Many people were shocked when they learned that Renault was not going to renew Jarno Trulli’s contract. Jarno has performed very well for his team this season, and his team-up with Fernando Alonso made Renault a strong force in Formula 1. The team defended their decision by saying that they want to push for a championship in the next two seasons, and that’s why they think Giancarlo is the way to go. Big Boss Patrick Faure also said that change would be good for the team.

Teams are busying themselves in this oh-so-boring season by trying to think up more cost efficient ways to racing. Aside from that, the FIA sent their plans to slow down the speed of their cars to make the sport safer. Tires, engines, and aerodynamics are some of the elements that will be looked into to achieve this.

Motoring Tip Of The Week

Yes, the cell phone, a product of advanced modern day technology, has indeed changed our culture in a big way in the past decade. But aside from the convenience and the haste that it has brought about in our means of communication, it also has a negative impact on the safety of its users, especially to those who use them while driving.

Many accidents have been caused by a slight distraction of the driver. What more if you would have to answer a phone call or worse, read a text message while driving.

Should you really need to answer or read an urgent call or message, take the time to safely pull your vehicle to the side of the road where it can be safe and not cause any inconvenience to other motorists, before you do so.

Remember, there is no phone call or text message worth your life or those of others, should you meet an accident while dangerously using your cell phone while driving.

Besides, in many cities and municipalities of the metro, it’s against the law!

Happy Motoring!!!

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