Vehicle owners should not suffer

Those who just bought vehicles are now suffering even after duly registering these vehicles because the LTO’s plate supplier delivered thousands of defective plates that cannot be used. These motorists are suffering because of an existing “no plate, no travel” policy of the police and are therefore being stopped at almost every corner mostly by overeager policemen, some of them having found a “lucrative business” from the situation.

I learned that although the LTO (Land Transportation Office) gets the logical flak for the miscue, they are not to be blamed for the fiasco because the plate supplier won the bidding that was conducted by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and not by them. Because the LTO had nothing to do with the awarding of the contract, they do not have any legal means to go after the supplier and would just have to grit their teeth and absorb all the flak from the public until a new bunch of plates, that would hopefully be useable would have been delivered.

While this is being awaited, those who have registered their vehicles but have not been issued their plates have two choices—not to use their vehicles at all until they get their plates or use them but risk being always pulled over for traveling without a plate and be a supporter of this new kind of “lucrative business” being exploited to the hilt by many unscrupulous policemen.

The public’s concern is paramount in this isolated and temporary situation that it would logically merit a temporary suspension of the “no plate, no travel” policy by the police authorities. Pity these people that invested their hard-earned money to be able to meet their transport needs and mobility concerns.

For the sake of our motorists, the police should temporarily lift the “no plate, no travel” policy until the LTO gets the long-delayed registration plates! And when the lifting is done make sure all policemen are officially advised to stop them from further harassing vehicle owners.

Hands-on with Chevy’s Trailblazer and Sonic

The idea was for the motoring media to have a first-hand experience with two of Chevrolet’s major vehicle offerings to welcome 2013—the Trailblazer and Sonic. But The Covenant Car Company Inc. (TCCCI), exclusive importers and distributors of Chevrolet automobiles in the Philippines, with the ever-refined and classy Atty. Albert Arcilla at the helm made sure that the 30 invited journalists went through the working exercise together with personalized leisure activities (golf coaching, trail biking clinic, cooking demo or spa) along with great food (prime roast beef and rib eye steaks) as well as cool and comfortable weather—a true merging of business and leisure.

The Trailblazer is a 7-seater diesel mid-size SUV while the subcompact Sonic is the latest entrant to the country’s B-Class automobile category, which comes in sedan and hatchback variants with 1.4-liter engine mated to a 6-speed automatic transmission.

To be able to highlight the features and capabilities of the two remarkable Chevy models, TCCCI commissioned professional race drivers and automobile experts Georges Ramirez in tandem with sibling Louis of the famous Ramirez racing clan of the late motorsports legend Pocholo Ramirez to design a driving course and conduct driving exercises at the Tagaytay Highlands complex in Tagaytay City.

Showcased for the Trailblazer were its much-touted SUV features such as hill descent control, hill start assist, drive select mode, its spacious cabin and 5-link rear suspension.

The Sonic was subjected to maneuverability tests through a gymkhana course with many fun twists both for its hatchback and sedan variants.

“This event is a glimpse of what Chevrolet has in-store for the Philippine market this year. We gained a 20% increase in sales in 2012 (2011 YoY) and these two new models along with our existing product line put us on a solid footing to grow a stronger brand and business this 2013. With the Trailblazer and the Sonic leading the way, we hope to capture the market’s need and desire for performance-oriented lifestyle vehicles,” proudly stated Atty. Albert Arcilla during the event.  

For some reason I couldn’t make it to the event, so instead I sent my son, STV supervising producer, Ray Louis, who was awed by the pampering he and the other journalists enjoyed from his Tito Albert and Tita Lyn Buena.

So guys, I missed me a large slice of Tagaytay Highlands prime roast beef.

Proven chemistry of beautiful women and beautiful cars

Time and again the perfect blend of sexy women and flashy cars has been proven as irresistible. And this was the enticing scene that greeted those who were invited by business tycoon RCJ (Robert Coyiuto, Jr)., chair of PGA Cars, the country’s exclusive importer and distributor of Audi, Porsche, Lamborghini and Bentley, for the multi-launch of remarkable Audi models at their spanking Audi showroom at the BGC (Bonifacio Global City), Friday, January 25. 

The beautiful and leggy women—no less than our very own 2012 Miss Universe 1st Runner-up Janine Tugonon plus 10 lovely finalists in the 2013 search for Miss Czech Republic—were there to grace the event.

The flashy cars—the Audi Q3 luxury compact SUV, the new Audi A1 Sportback 5-door, the re-designed Audi A4, the lighter and faster Audi A6 executive sedan and the improved Q5.  

Audi Philippines president Benedicto Coyiuto was an enviable sight as he stood next to the flashy Audi models surrounded by all the beauties as he made his welcome remarks in a launch that was marked by glitz and glamour, typical of RCJ organized events.

A quick visit to the expansive Audi showroom at the BGC to see all these amazing automobiles can be an exhilarating experience.

More new dealerships for Ford

Ford Philippines continues its expansion of nationwide dealership network with the recent inauguration of Makati Ford in Metro Manila.

The new full sales and service outlet of Ford is the 6th in a targeted 12 new dealerships to an expanded 35 locations by mid of 2013.

“The continued expansion of our Ford dealer network will help drive our product-led transformation and momentum in the Philippines, s well as help support our overall, aggressive growth plans for the ASEAN region,” said Matt Bradley, president of Ford ASEAN who joined Ford Philippines president Randy Krieger in the inauguration.

“With the opening of Makati Ford, we are proud to continue driving the company’s aggressive growth plans in the Philippines. We look forward to welcoming many new customers to our world-class showroom and providing them with the very best customer experience,” was the inauguration statement made by Edmund Lee, dealer principal of Makati Ford, which features a 9-vehicle showroom and a 30-vehicle servicing capacity.

STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge update

The very affable but no nonsense young top local executive of Tagaytay City, the Honorable Mayor Abraham “Bambol” Tolentino has graciously lent his full support as the official host of the 1st leg of the Chevron 2013 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge.

A motorcycle and automobile buff himself, the sportsman Mayor Tolentino, a sibling of the MMDA chairman, similarly supports other tourist-oriented projects. The STV Auto Rally, being a road safety-oriented motor sport event would be on top of his list as Tagaytay City is one of the foremost and most frequently visited road travel destinations of the country. 

Barring anything that would prevent ink from getting into paper for a formal contract, a very visible flag-off would be held in one of the grandest real estate development projects in the all-friendly (tourist-friendly, business-friendly, residents-friendly, etc.) Tagaytay City—the Wind Residences of SMDC located at the ridge.

By far, since the very successful revival of the Sampaguita “on time, all the time” Rally in 2010 when a record of 59 automobiles were on the starting grid, a scene never seen during the motor sport’s glory days in the 60s. This was topped in 2011 and 2012 with 63 vehicles, while this year’s staging may see a record of sixty-eight (68) brand new automobiles from 17 of the country’s major automobile manufacturers and importers.

In alphabetical order, these are the automobile brands that you would see being flagged off on March 23, Saturday in Tagaytay City for the Chevron 2013 STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge, namely; BMW, Chevrolet, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Isuzu, Jeep, Kia, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, MINI, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Peugeot, Subaru, Toyota and Volvo.

Happy Motoring!!!

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