Back to its old ways?

A harassed lady homeowner from BF Homes in Parañaque related her story of how a delivery of two kegs of draft beer for her daughter’s party made her realize that the management of the BF Homes gates is back to what it used to be — bad — not homeowner-friendly and not business-friendly.

She found out that delivery vehicles before entering the BF Homes gates are asked to report to the UBFHAI "clubhouse" so that it can be determined whether the delivery is of commercial quantity or not — based on their discretion, of course. If they decide that the delivery is of commercial quantity, they charge a certain amount depending on the kind and quantity of goods that are being delivered. And all these can take eternity to finish, meaning, don’t have ice cream delivered to your home if you live in BF Homes or you and your guests may have to drink it.

The lady was saying that all these "money-making" schemes are not at all homeowner-friendly because the delay in the delivery of merely two kegs of beer held up her daughter’s party to the family’s embarrassment. And it can be anything else — lechon, soft drinks, catered food, etc., that can delay your party as the delivery vehicle is being held up in the gates and in the clubhouse while all your guests wait.

And it’s not at all business-friendly too for enterprises inside the subdivision. As deliveries are possibly held up or delayed, then business is delayed. As fees are needed to be paid for the entry of goods, then this unnecessarily increases their costs of delivery, which would have to be eventually passed on to the consumers that are mostly homeowners of BF Homes.

Is the management of the gates of BF Homes in Parañaque back to its old ways — bad?

Honda’s "smart" robot is back in town

In celebration of the 50 years of Philippine-Japan friendship, Honda Cars Philippines brings back ASIMO. This real "smart" robot, a result of years of research & development from one of the world’s biggest automakers, in its first visit to the country showed that he can play kick ball, stand on tiled floors walks up and down on a slope and other antics which you would have imagined can be performed by a robot.

Well, he’s back in town and my good friend Arnel Doria of Honda Cars Philippines even had a commercial shot for this "fella". Watch out for ASIMO for possible public appearances.

Petron presents technical side of "eco-run challenge"

Petron Corporation called on the motoring media last week to make a technical presentation behind the recently held "Xtra Mile Challenge" where six teams composed of ordinary motorists set out to break the record of "racing living legend" Pocholo Ramirez of 1,114 kilometers run on a single thankful of Petron Xtra Unleaded gasoline and successfully did it.

All of Petron’s marketing bigwigs were there lead by vp for marketing, Joey Campos, gm for marketing services Lito de Jesus, Albert del Rosario who’s on top of all the Petron dealerships and advertising and promotions manager, Charmaine Canillas together with corporate communications manager, Virginia Ruivivar.

The presentation explained in detail all the work behind the success of the project and that indeed correct driving practices are needed to have a more fuel-efficient use of you vehicles as well as the use of the right fuel to ensure optimized utilization, like Petron Xtra Unleaded.

Come to think of it, there’s better sense and more social relevance in promoting fuel-efficiency during these times of rising fuel prices rather than high-performance driving, which actually promotes fuel wastage.

Pit Lane Notes

The Super Aguri Formula One Team’s only "claim-to-fame" on their maiden appearance in the World Formula One series is a 12th place finish in Australia and they visibly hope to improve on this by way of a "new car and new driver" tandem of improvements.

After tests done in UK going into this Sunday’s races, the 2002 Arrows-based SA05 has been replaced by the SA06 with driver Sakon Yamamoto added to it roster to compliment former Honda badge-bearer Takuma Sato.

The SA06 is 20 kilos lighter, with a new aerodynamics package, has an aluminum gearbox and livery, lower center of gravity and a more optimized rear suspension compared to its predecessor.

Meanwhile, the Germans are all hyped-up for the grand Hockenheim motor sports event this weekend. The German Grand Prix with time trials on Saturday and the main race on Sunday will have pre-event activities like free bus tours around the circuit with former F1 drivers providing the insights to all racing fans on how to manage a flying lap together with "meet and greet" and autograph signings with some of the current F1 drivers. All these will precede the much-awaited performance of local racing idol, Ferrari’s Michael Schumaccer who’s currently making a come back and a real toe-to-toe competition for this year’s title against defending champion Renault’s Fernando Alonzo, F1’s youngest champion ever.

BFGoodrich stays in WRC

We just got word that BFGoodrich may be set to be the sole tire supplier for the WRC or World Rally Championship following rival Pirelli’s decision to quit the sport. BFGoodrich Tires, a tire brand of the Michelin Company, are in the rally cars of all the manufacturer-backed teams with the exception of Subaru, which currently relies on Pirelli.

BFGoodrich stated that the announcement of the withdrawal from the WRC of its rival Pirelli at the end of 2006 does not affect its long term commitment to these teams aimed at reinforcing it brand awareness, notably in Europe and the brand stays with the WRC in 2007. They further stated that BFGoodrich is sorry to learn of the withdrawal of its prestigious rival from the championship.

On the other side of the fence — in the World Formula 1 Series, it’s Michelin that has previously announced that it will not continue supplying tires for Formula 1 teams upon the FIA’s announcement that it intends to have only one tire supplier for the F1 series starting 2008.

A notable motoring magazine’s encore

It’s back! That much sought-after magazine that took a brief leave of absence from the motoring scene would soon be seen again in the magazine stands and in offices and homes of motoring enthusiasts.

One of the founding directors of SPMJ, Society of Philippine Motoring Journalists and currently the motoring section editor of the Business Mirror, Popong Andolong is now the chief editor of REV magazine as it comes back supporting a new look and loaded with new exciting features. Its present staff of writers includes Jude Morte, Raymond Young, Pia Boren, Dino Ray Directo III, Ronald de los Reyes and Lorenz Nipales.

The husband and wife team of Pete and Grace Mendoza of Solid Ink., Inc. are the publishers of this six-year old magazine that’s intended for the average motorist, which features tips, test-drives and other topics of motoring interests and now has a new motorbikes section and a new "Auto Guide" for those contemplating on buying a new vehicle.

Welcome back, REV!

Traffic Buster

If you are in the areas of Pasig when the rush hour sets in and you would rather sit out the traffic than waste precious fuel getting into a stop and go travel mode, there’s now a place where you can sip your favorite juice drink like fresh buko, beer, cocktails or whatever, coupled with classic pinoy pika-pika like sisig, chicharon bulaklak and the likes. You can have these either on a long standing bar or seated in a "viewing bar" facing the panoramic view of the hills of Antipolo or of people frolicking in the club swimming pool. Another option is to while the traffic time away with a friendly game of dominoes, backgammon or chess or just watch the news or sports events on a wide cinema-like TV screen.

It’s named "Sports Den" and it’s located right at the lobby level of Valle Verde Country Club beside the Ultra in Pasig City. Right now the theme of this new hangout is "motor sports" with big pictures of F1, WRC, local racing events and local racing heroes and F1 drivers all over the place. It’s also the venue of the Poker Club of the Philippines for non cash wager Hold ‘Em Tournaments. Check it out one of these days and I’ll probably see you there.

Motoring Tip of the Week

Our friendly tip for this week is in response to a letter sent in by one of our avid readers (her words), Ms. Zenaida P. Guillermo who requested for more road safety tips on this segment of our column and more of the "what to do in case..", and here’s one of her questions, "What to do in case apprehended by the MMDA".

First and foremost is to ask what your supposed violation is. When convinced that you are really guilty of the traffic law infringement being cited, you can probably ask to be forgiven and vow never to do it again but in the event that this is not possible then just accept your fate, take the ticket and pay the fine when you’re supposed to.

If you thought that you were not guilty, politely explain your side but if the explanation would fall on deaf ears, then take the ticket and then have your case adjudicated. You can actually legally question the violation you are being accused of with the MMDA adjudication board. Make sure you have the name of the apprehending enforcer and all the pertinent facts related to the case when you face your accusers.

It could take some of your time and a lot of efforts, but it can teach these traffic enforcers to do their job well. Just make sure you make out a full report to his superiors when you are legally proven right and asked for the enforcers relief or re-education for not knowing his job and maybe even to this writer so we can send the right signal to those enforcers who don’t know their jobs and those who just come up with unfounded violations for their own agenda.

Happy Motoring!!!

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