DOTC about to blink?

I hope I’m wrong but the way things are shaping up, we may just about to see another demonstration of the government’s lack of political will.

In one of my previous columns I made mention of what I have seen several times over as a motoring journalist for the more than 2 decades past. That is, the government makes a move to increase outdated traffic violation fines and penalties and then the transport groups come up with a threat to stage a nationwide strike if it were implemented and then the government blinks and aborts.

Presently, the DOTC has implemented an increase in traffic violation fines and penalties and the transport groups are threatening to stage a nationwide strike – now, who’s going to blink?

Department of Transportation and Communications secretary Leandro Mendoza maintains that the increase in fines and penalties for traffic violations is not a question of revenues. “The increase in fines and penalties aims to instill discipline and encourage responsible driving. If drivers do not violate, then they do not pay the fine. Safety on the road is the primary concern.”

Aside from considering the old schedule of fines as obsolete, the DOTC justifies the implementation of the new rates in order to prevent road accidents that have been on the increase lately. “Eighty percent of the accidents were caused by drivers’ error, such as bad overtaking, bad turning, disregarding traffic signs, etc.”

It’s about time!

Montero Sport’s novel variant and novel challenge

Ride an airplane, an “ultra-lite” and drop a “flour bomb” to a bull’s eye from about 50 feet and above and get enough points for your team’s sure win.

That’s the ultimate challenge for motoring journalists who joined in the recently held test drive for the Montero Sport’s 4x2 version.

The series of challenges prepared by our good friends from Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, Froy Dytianquin and Arlan Reyes also included several stages of “on time” precision driving from their Mitsubishi Balintawak dealership to Clark with an “ala Fear Factor” type of gastronomical challenge in a popular Pampanga restaurant in between.

The driving portion was a breeze for comfort aboard the Montero Sport 2.5 GLS 4x2. After all, like its 4x4 brother, which was successfully introduced last year and chalked up remarkable sales that helped tremendously Mitsubishi Motors retake the number 2 slot in the industry, the new variant has the same ride quality. One of the Montero Sport’s greatest selling points is its comfortable ride made possible by its front double wishbones with coil springs, a rear 3-link coil suspension with long trailing arm design and with both ends of the mid-size SUV also fitted with stabilizer bars to reduce body roll during cornering. And the journalists, all having the previous experience of driving and riding the 4x4 variant just couldn’t put their fingers on its difference from the new version even from the point of view of engine performance. And that only means a unanimous “thumps up” for the newly launched Montero Sport 4x2 model.

Now, the gastronomical challenge was a walk in the park - eating stuffed frogs and crickets was more of a delicious discovery for many than what most expected was an “ala Fear Factor” kind.

Now, the “bombing” challenge aboard the airplane turned out to be a nightmare for many journalists. However, the experience of riding these “ultra-lite planes” and savoring the fantastic panoramic view of Pampanga from the air were more than enough to make up for the lack of aiming talent to hit the bull’s eye from a plane 50 feet or above.

A milestone in promoting road safety

Last Wednesday, March 25, HSDC or the Honda Safety Driving Center marked the 2nd anniversary of its founding and the first year of its meaningful operation.

In a short presentation that preceded the luncheon to mark the event, Mr. Arnel Doria, general manager of HSDC enumerated the various enviable achievements of their road safety foundation in teaching quite an impressive number of people how to properly and safely drive automobiles and ride motorcycles.

But despite the impressive numbers, Arnel feels that HSDC still has a much bigger potential in order to achieve their lofty goals of making our roads safer or at the least create awareness regarding the importance of road safety.

Members of the motoring media were invited to what turned out to be a spirited and at the same time a moving affair as Mr. Kazuhiko Ikezoe, president of HSDC and one of its recognized founders and president of Honda Philippines, Inc (motorcycles) also took the occasion to announce the end of his “tour of duty” in the Philippines.

Ikezoe-san’s more than five years of stay in the country was marked by the phenomenal meteoric rise in the sales of Honda motorcycles and the setting up of Honda’s motorcycle manufacturing facility in Batangas that has the capacity of producing a million motorbikes a year.

During my on-camera interview and off-camera chat with Ikezoe-san, he expressed his sadness about leaving the country, which he has regarded as his second home and the people that he has learned to love and respect. And the fact that he has a pin of the flag of the Philippines, instead of his country’s, proudly attached to his shirt near his heart leaves little for the imagination of the cynics.

Congratulations to Honda Safety Driving Center for its 2 years of greatly relevant existence and our best wishes to Ikezoe-san as he ventures to meet new challenges in his career.

More kudos to Columbian Autocar

A great way to start the year for our good friend Mr. Felix J. Mabilog, the highly experienced and indefatigable president and COO of Columbian Motors Corporation, the exclusive distributor of KIA vehicles in the Philippines by being presented the Top Award for distributors in KIA’s “Act Smart” campaign.

“Act Smart” is a global campaign implemented by KIA Motors Corporation (KMC) for its distributors and dealers to encourage improvements in the areas of facilities, brand image and quality.

Felix was presented the award by no less than KMC’s Asian Regional Manager, Mr. Il Won at the recently concluded KIA International Sales Conference held here in the Philippines.

With such achievements and more feathers in your cap, how can you retire, my friend?

Media tour of Chevron’s E10 facilities

What used to be the Caltex refinery in San Pascual, Batangas has been turned into a finished-porducts import terminal by Chevron Philippines, Inc. (CPI) in 2003.

Recently (November, 2008), upgrades to CPI’s Batangas Terminal facility to receive, store, blend and distribute bioethanol blended gasoline were completed.

Caltex E10 with Techron was launched in December of the same year when 22 sites in Metro Manila and Southern Tagalog were offering the fuel blend.

The media was recently given a guided tour of the world-class facility complete with updates on the development of E10 and the plant’s blending facility.

A ride on the new BMW Z4

By the time you read this column, Vernon Sarne, editor of Top Gear magazine and I together with Ms. Maricar C. Parco (now happily back to the mainstream of the auto industry) of Asian Carmakers Corporation would be in Europe to attend the “World of Experience of BMW” in Munich, Germany and the International Press event of “The New BMW Z4” in Alicante, Spain.

Part of the trip is a guided tour of the BMW Welt, which is a very modern automobile delivery center that’s presently considered the new architectural wonder and core of the BMW world and a visit to the BMW Mobile Tradition, a historical collection of more than 400 BMW vehicles and engines that trace the company’s rich heritage from 1916 to the present.

The highlight is the close to 6 hours of test driving the new BMW Z4, which many of our country’s 2-seater sports car enthusiasts are looking forward to be available in the Philippines to proudly own and drive.

We have Mr. Demosthenes “Bobby” Y. Rosales, president of Asian Carmakers to thank for this highly informative and exciting European sojourn. Bobby indeed made sure that our itinerary would give us the opportunity to understand better the BMW philosophy behind the production of their high-quality automobiles and experience one of the ultimate thrills of every motoring journalist, which is to test drive the latest awesome automotive creations.

I’ll have a detailed account of our experience in our future columns here at the The STAR and on our TV shows Motoring Today and Auto Focus.

TV Tribute to Pocholo Ramirez

Next week we shall air the television tribute to the country’s motor sports legend, Jose “Pocholo” Ramirez, my long-time friend and co-host of TV show Motoring Today.

We shall try to bring forth the persona behind the well-loved racing icon – as a loving husband, caring father, hardworking and efficient manager and a true and loyal friend.

You can catch the TV special on Sunday at 11 o’clock in the morning on Makisig Network (Sky Cable) and on Sunday afternoon at 4 o’clock on Solar Sports (Destiny Cable) with replay on Thursday evening at 11 o’clock again on at Makisig Network.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments: (E-Mail) [email protected].