Camry head-to-head against the luxury Euro-sedans

Cyberspace surfers listen up, "The Toyota Camry you see in the internet that’s being sold in the US is not exactly the same as what Toyota Motor Philippines launched last week — the Philippine version is better!"

Those were the exact words of Mr. Danny Isla, first vice president for marketing of TMPC during our on-camera interview for our TV shows Motoring Today and Auto Focus, which was done during the launch of the all-new 2006 Toyota Camry held the other Monday, September 4.

Danny, who’s also fondly called "Sir John" by very close friends like Al Mendoza, who know him as a dyed-in-the-wool "Beatlemaniac", was quick to add though that there is such a difference because of the very exacting taste of Pinoys when it comes to their cars, more so for such a Camry model that has been elevated to a premium luxury sedan that’s designed to give the European brands presently in the country a hard run for their money.

During the event we also had the opportunity to have an on-cam interview with the very unassuming president of Toyota Motor Philippines, Mr. Hiroshi Ito, who was kind enough to give us a brief history of the Camry. Ito-san recalls in his mild-mannered way of speaking, "It was first known as the Toyota Celica Camry, when it first debuted in 1980 as a rear-wheel drive sedan. Two years after its introduction, it was positioned as a global vehicle as exports of the luxurious front-wheel-drive sedan started. A cumulative global sale of more than 10 million units has been achieved by the Camry and it continues to be Toyota’s flagship model in Asia. At present, it is being produced in eight countries including Japan, and is being sold in more than 100 countries and regions."

Looking at the technical specs of the Camry, some of the unique features that it offers include in the safety department, ABS and Brake Assist System that’s coupled with the new Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) technology, which detects tire slippage and automatically helps stabilize the automobile when driving on slippery roads. It also has Adaptive Front Lighting System (AFS) that enhances nighttime visibility by automatically regulating the headlamp beam pattern in response to steering and driving conditions. There are driver and passenger SRS Airbags offered across all variants with the top-of-the-line 3.5Q model added with side airbags.

Now for performance, the all-new Camry’s 3.5Q model offers a 3.5 liter V-Type, 6-cylinder, DOHC, 24-valve Dual VVT-i engine that provides maximum output of 277ps @ 6,200 rpm and max torque of 346Nm @ 700 rpm.

The 2006 Camry’s Technical Information Sheet contains a lot more that what’s mentioned here and I leave that for you to find out for yourself when you take a closer look at it and a test drive at any Toyota showroom located all over the country.

No, I have not test-driven the all-new Toyota Camry but the data I have just mentioned not counting those that I did not, make for quite an impressive offering, which I truly believe may cause some sleepless nights for its European competitors in the country.

Congratulations to Toyota Motor Philippines for a very successful launch.

"As long as we can deliver…."

Is this a pure case of "the end justifying the means"?

I couldn’t believe it until I heard the radio commercial myself. There was already too much word going around and letters that I have received just short of condemning the radio ad, for me not to listen to it and find out for myself what’s the beefing all about. The message of the advertisement seemed to be simple — "I don’t care what motorists and pedestrians say or what they feel, as long as I’ll be able to deliver the ordered chicken on time." I guess that’s also tantamount to saying, "I don’t care what happens in the trail I leave behind, I need to deliver on time, no matter what it takes."

The aim of the owners of the chicken fast food chain or the idea of the ad agency that may have conceptualized the advertising campaign was obviously to make an impression that if you order their chicken, you’ll get it on time — warm or even hot enough for a satisfying meal. But in wanting to stay ahead of competition, what they obviously overlooked was the negative message of the radio commercial. That the radio ad that they conceived to pass on this message of quick delivery of their chicken leaves "a bad taste in the mouth" — no pun intended.

It’s possible that at one time or another many of you may have noticed how many delivery boys on motorbikes dangerously weave in and out of lanes and wantonly disregard red lights in intersections — all with a single-mindedness of delivering whatever food products they have on time or risk a reprimand or even probably a fine for being late. After all, the dare of most of these fast food chains in their delivery services is that you don’t have to pay if they came late in their delivery. The fact is this practice of one upping the competition in being quick in delivering goods or services poses a danger to everyone on the road exposed to the "express attitude" of these delivery personnel as encouraged if not mandated by their employers.

Whatever, the radio commercial "must" be pulled off the air, if only to stop what seems to be a bandwagon negative outlook that it seems to be successfully creating against the chicken brand itself. I don’t think the radio ad is really serving its purpose, on the contrary, I see some possible efforts by the owners or their advertising agency that may be needed for "damage control’ in the very near future as created by the radio advertisement.

Can you imagine the efforts being presently exerted and the enormous costs it entail to educate our youth to become "responsible road users" only for our young people to be given the contradicting signals like, "Wala akong pakialam sa inyong lahat, basta on time ang delivery ng chicken namin" — sad.

Pit Lane Notes

The great Schumy only has three races to work on to make sure he leaves the sport that he has exceptionally excelled in, establishing records that may not be equaled, much more surpassed in our lifetime in great style and admiration.

Michael Schumacher made known his plans for retirement after snagging the victory in the Italian Grand Prix from pole-sitter Kimi Raikkonen of McLaren-Mercedes by way of well-timed pit stops.

The announcement in Monza did not really come as a surprise to some of those who closely follow the "behind the track" goings on in Formula One. Many were even saying that the "Prancing Horse’s" lead driver should have retired as early as registering his 7th unprecedented F1 championship in 2004. It could have spared him the humiliation of being beaten by an upstart — Fernando Alonso of Renault, the youngest Formula One Champion Driver of all time, who’s still presently 2 points ahead of the German racing record holder in this year’s title contest on account of last Sunday’s DNF in the home ground of the Tifosi.

The 2006 World Formula 1 Series still has three races to go and anything can happen. Aren’t we all Formula 1 fans lucky to have such an exciting series this year?

Up close with the Auto Industry

Very soon on our TV show Auto Focus (Thursday, 10 pm, Sports Plus Channel) we would be running a series that would make known the leaders, shakers and movers of the local automotive industry and the corporate entities they represent. This will be our own little way of bringing closer the populace to the industry that serves their transport needs. Hopefully this would establish a closer relationship that starts with an almost intimate knowledge of the people who run the industry. We hope to project the people or the "human" behind the big industry names like Toyota, Honda, Isuzu, Mitsubishi and the other players in the auto sector. The segment shall also dwell on the different automobile manufacturing and assembly plants that are located in the country.

Watch out for the series that can be not only informative but quite interesting as well.

Happy Motoring!!!

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