15 years of responsible partnership

Major local auto industry players, members of the Philippine motoring media, franchised dealers, and the men and women and friends of Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) congregated at the Makati Shangri-La Hotel last Monday, July 30 to celebrate its 15th Inaugural Anniversary.

It was in July 31, 1997 when then-President Fidel V. Ramos formally inaugurated the IPC manufacturing plant at the Laguna Technopark in Binan, Laguna. Although established in 1995 in partnership with two of the country’s noted families, the Ayalas and Yuchengcos, each with 15 percent equity and the rest shared with Mitsubishi Corporation and Isuzu Motor Japan, IPC started its operations in 1996 during the peak of the country’s automotive industry performance. However, many still remember that the Isuzu brand has been present in the Philippines since the 1950s through its trucks and durable sedans, most of which run reliably ran as taxicabs for decades on end.

In 1997, IPC started with 11 dealerships, which has almost doubled at present to 21. In 2007 the company built its 100,000th unit, with the 150,000th rolling out of the assembly line just recently.

“Isuzu remains committed in continuing to build and assemble vehicles in the country. We believe in the world-class competence and skills of the Filipinos, and in contributing to the national interest by generating jobs” were the reassuring words of IPC president Ryoji Yamazaki, faced with announced impending closure of other auto manufacturing interests in the country.

During the well-attended evening affair an audio-visual presentation guided the guests through IPC’s decade-and-a-half of remarkable vehicle manufacturing, which stressed the key values of dependability, reliability, cost efficiency, responsibility and excellence as exemplified by the Isuzu vehicles it has churned out.

The AVP also chronicled the numerous achievements logged by IPC since its establishment. These include having periodically led the pickup and AUV (Asian Utility Vehicle) segments and dominating the light-duty truck class. The Isuzu N-Series has topped its category for 13 straight years now, or since 1999. The Isuzu Crosswind has also been the only Philippine-made vehicle to appear at the Tokyo Motor Show when it was displayed there in 2003. That year, the company recorded its best results by delivering almost 13,000 units. Isuzu trucks last year accounted for almost 70 percent of the light-duty segment and almost 25 percent of the medium-to-heavy duty class. 

In its 15 years of existence, IPC has also recorded outstanding CSR projects, mostly environment-protective in nature and has also spearheaded the practice of conducting motoring media test drives in exotic tourist destinations to help promote local tourism by way of journalists’ write-ups.

Isuzu Philippines—15 years of responsible partnership with Filipinos. Congratulations!

A fast and comfortable test drive to Subic

Going out-of-town for a test drive on a taping day is a nightmare for me. It would mean advancing the writing of scripts and waking up early for an advance taping schedule. And as such, I would usually regretfully let such events pass.

But last Wednesday, August 1st was an exception. A personal text from Asian Carmakers Corporation’s lovely lady president and longtime friend, Maricar Parco, which was personally followed up by her marketing director and likewise friend, Glen Dasig meant that I would be in for a nightmare of a schedule—but no regrets.

To begin with, the test drive was for a much sought-after all-new BMW 3 Series. Although I had to catch-up for lunch with the main group of test-driving motoring journalists at the C Italian Restaurant in Clark, it was an excitingly fast drive (within legal speed limits, of course) with one of the variants of the recently launched all-new BMW 3 Series—the 328i Sport Line, featuring a new 4-cylinder petrol engine with TwinPower Turbo technology that’s vaunted to set a new benchmark for driving dynamics and fuel efficiency. The other vehicle test driven was the 320d variant, bannered by BMW for its high performance and having one of the world’s cleanest and most economical diesel engines.         

“If there is such a thing as a quintessential BMW it is without doubt the BMW 3 Series. The 3 Series is everything a sports sedan should be, and for years it has stood undisputed at the summit of the premium mid-size segment,” I recall Ms. Maricar Parco saying when the all-new 3 Series was recently launched. She added, “Since it made its debut in 1975, more than 12 million customers around the world have taken ownership of a BMW 3 Series. Backed up with its impressive heritage, innovations, aesthetics and driving dynamics, we are confident that the Filipino market will greatly welcome the All-New BMW 3 Series just like its predecessors.”

The BMW 328i Sport Line, which was assigned to me to test drive has a 2.0-litre displacement. Upon reaching the test drive group’s lunch venue in record time, Glen Dasig proudly explained the 328i Sport Line’s state-of-the-art turbocharged powerplant that develops 245 hp and peak torque of 350 Nm from as low as 1,250 rpm that enables the remarkably fast vehicle to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 5.9 seconds—no wonder—but with an equally remarkable average fuel consumption of 15.62 kilometers per liter of gasoline.

There are test drives and there are test drives. And for longtime motoring journalists it takes two elements to make one memorable—the vehicle being test driven and the company during the test drive. Fortunately for me, the nightmare of a test drive during a taping day has been eclipsed by this memorable experience with the wonderful people of Asian Carmakers Corporation, exclusive importers and distributors of BMW automobiles in the country and the hands-on experience with the All-New BMW 3 Series—a great automobile!

The local auto industry’s People’s Choice Awards

The public voting to determine the country’s most preferred models in each category like sedans, SUVs, vans, pick-ups and even sports cars in both standard and luxury classes is in full swing. The underlying objective of the yearly staging of the Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards is to give our automobile manufacturers and importers an idea of what the public perceives to be vehicles that are well-designed, safe, durable, reliable and have value for money and perhaps serve as a guide as to what kind of automobiles they should offer to the local market.  

On its 8th edition, the 2012 public polls, which ends on September 30 has some major innovations. Aside from now using the modern social media, the Facebook (https://apps.facebook.com/afpcawards/) as a venue for casting votes instead of through published printed ballots, the organizers, Sunshine Television (STV) have decided to incorporate vehicle sales as a significant factor in determining which vehicles are the popular choice, after all a purchase is “the ultimate affirmation of choice.” However, the public’s aspiration is still taken into account by maintaining the accounting of votes, although with a reduced value of 40 percent compared to the 60 percent weight of vehicle sales.

It has been announced by Gerry Aquino, the non-industry and non-media “comelec” of the awards, that the audited figures of vehicle sales (January to July, 2012) and votes cast during the first month (July) of the voting is out this week in the motoring section of Phil Star. “The Awards Committee will soon complete its audit of January-June sales figures uploaded in the AFPCA Facebook results page. Upon our request, Stradcom provided us with raw data detailing all entries in the AFPCA count. This will enable the committee to pinpoint any gray market entries in the Model and Automobile of the Year categories. Since poll rules dictate the exclusion of such units, any necessary adjustments will be reflected when the forthcoming July sales figures are uploaded,” Aquino said.

Those of you who have been following the polls’ Facebook tally (which updates every time a vote is cast) can expect some radical adjustments, as it appears that a significant number of “gray market” sales have been included, especially in the luxury class.

If you haven’t voted, perhaps you can do it now. Express your choice and help give your favorite automobile win an award and probably see more of its kind in our streets. Besides voting gives you the chance to win valuable prizes in daily and monthly electronic draws, like a free stay at Vistamar Beach Resort & Hotel, a divers’ haven in Anilao, Batangas.

Happy Motoring!!!

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