Special plate’s letters and numbers stay

We had the official spokesperson of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Jason Salvador, on our TV show Motoring Today (Sundays, 12 noon, Solar Sports, Channel 70, Sky Cable) last week where he enlightened our viewers regarding some developments and issues in the government agency mandated to administer land transport in the country.

Foremost we discussed was the proposed “merit system” that the LTO is planning to implement, wherein drivers that didn’t have any violations previous to the renewing of their license would be rewarded a 3-year license while those with several violations would be punished by being given only a year’s renewal and possibly required to attend seminars depending on the severity of the violations. The LTO is poised to implement the measure before the end of the year.      

Some observers are of the opinion that sanctions may be in order for erring drivers but the intended reward may not be deserved for doing something that is required of a driver to do, which is to obey traffic rules and regulations.

Another issue discussed during the on-cam TV interview was the expressed apprehension of vehicle owners who paid good money to pay for “special plates” to the tune of P15,000 for a combination of three letters and three numbers to P25,000 for the 2-letter and 2-number combination in the light of the LTO pronouncement that all vehicle registration plates would be eventually replaced by new ones. If you remember some years back it was the LTO that “marketed” these plates in order to raise funds. Mr. Salvador confirmed in no uncertain terms that the “special plates” would maintain their letter and number combinations although the plate itself would need to be changed to the new one with all the security features. 

The third issue that was discussed in the Motoring Forum segment of the TV program was the impending implementation of the Anti Drunk and Drugged Driving Law with its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) already recently released. Many drivers have expressed their concern regarding the readiness of the government personnel who would implement the law in terms performing the initial physical tests to be conducted on suspected violators and the equipment and implements needed to perform the tests. Jason gave the assurance that training of the law’s assigned enforcers is presently going on and all the necessary equipment being procured in time for the law’s implementation.

Many are deeply concerned that as long as there are many “grey areas” in the implementation of the law, it could be another cradle for police corruption.

We can only wait, pray, and see.

BMW’s concern for sustainable mobility

A tandem of top regional BMW executives blew into town to meet with a select group of motoring journalists for a roundtable discussion of BMW Group’s expansion plans in the ASEAN region and the future of sustainable mobility.

BMW AG senior vice president of Special Projects, Dr. Kay Segler and BMW Asia president Mr. Sergio Solero alternately explained how various global challenges such as the climate change, depletion of natural resources, and growing urbanization have led people to be more aware of their social responsibilities and change their premise of individual mobility, necessitating new mobility solutions. With transportation and mobility as one of the fastest rising and most important energy consumers today, more and more people have become aware of how vital the push for sustainable mobility is.

They traced part of BMW’s history since the early 1970’s, when sustainability has influenced the BMW Group, allowing them to foresee a future with sustainable mobility, leading to the development of new solutions to respond to changing customer demands. The BMW Group has prepared for the future of mobility by implementing technology projects, as well as gearing their line-up of products and services towards this vision. In 2014, the group targeted investments in ultra-energy efficiency technologies not only in their vehicle line-up, but in innovative mobility services as well. This foresight into the future of mobility has led to the BMW Group establishing itself as the leader for innovations in sustainable mobility in the global luxury vehicle segment.

In the ASEAN region, the BMW Group boasts a long history of sheer driving pleasure, with the first sales activities beginning in the 1950’s and first local BMW assembly plants set-up in the 1970’s. Over the years, the ASEAN region continued to grow, making it one of the strongest and biggest emerging BMW markets worldwide. In the past 11 years, BMW has established itself as the undisputed leader in the Philippine luxury vehicle segment.

“BMW recognizes the importance of the ASEAN region’s contributions to the global business. As technology leaders in the automotive industry, we want to closely look into the ASEAN region and include it in our vision of the future of mobility, focusing primarily on sustainability and growth and its greater effect to our ever-changing environment” said Dr. Kay Segler. “The Philippines alone is expected to rise to the occasion as it is performing well with a GDP almost equal to other countries such as Brazil and India. It is a good indication that this country will be able to continuously create a strong production base for car manufacturers and suppliers,” he added.

“BMW’s sustainability and innovation makes its way to the Philippine luxury vehicle segment with the introduction of various best-selling models such as the All-New BMW X5, the flagship luxury sedan BMW 7 Series and other innovative vehicles that provide joy and sheer driving pleasure” contributed Ms. Maricar Parco, president of Asian Carmakers, the country’s exclusive importers and distributors of the remarkable BMW vehicles. “The BMW brand posts undisputed leadership in the Philippine premium vehicle segment for 11 years straight, in terms of vehicle technology, innovative services, and volume sales,” the lovely lady president added.

The breakfast presentation held at the Fairmont Hotel was capped with a lively open forum and roundtable discussion with questions fielded by the motoring journalists present being ably answered by the visiting BMW executives and their local counterparts joined by BMW Philippines executive director for marketing, the dapper Glen Dasig.

An oasis of young racing talents

Young hotshot Luis Gono of Team Motul-TNE garnered top honors at the prestigious Toyota Vios Cup. Capturing pole position, the champion karter and multi-awarded drift racer gained the respect of his fellow competitors and veteran circuit racers by recording the fastest lap throughout the Vios Cup race. “The kid has a natural talent, he is fast and consistent,” says racing exponent Jody Coseteng.

During the penultimate race of the Vios Cup, the young Gono, son of Carlos Gono, the name synonymous to the brand Motul in the Philippines, was reportedly involved in a blocking incident caused by a teammate but being the young professional racer that he is, he just stuck to the strategy to finish a consistent third place.

Despite being relegated to the 12^th position, Gono fought his way to the fifth spot during the first corner of the Clark Speedway, and smoothly took third place by the fifth lap.

“This boy showed his commitment and sportsmanship at a young age,” says Atty. Cosco Oben, team principal for Team Toyota North Edsa-Autoplus.

The young Gono’s car is tuned by Autoplus and is powered by Motul oils and lubricants.

There were quite a number of racing heroics that have been unfolding since the advent of the Vios Cup, created by Toyota Motor Philippines. It is indeed an event that undeniably hastened the resurgence of circuit racing in the country and turning out to be a rich source of natural and talented Pinoy race drivers.

An error that needs to be rectified

I would like to commend the group of Georges Ramirez, his wife Caroline and Patrick Chua for their transparency and professionalism in conducting the STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge.

After a more detailed review and closer scrutiny of the results that were announced immediately after the event, they found out and they accept that they have committed an error in the computation and would like to rectify it.

The fact though is that the norm in conducting motor sports events, like in Formula One, is that the announcement of the results right after the event, is considered as provisional and not final and subject to closer review and scrutiny.

Having said that, here are the final results of the Tagaytay Leg of the Caltex 2014 STV ARCC.

Team Winners

Champion-Subaru Team

1^st Runner-up-Mini Team

2^nd Runner-up-Toyota Team

3^rd Runner-up-Honda Team

Individual Winners

Champion-Mini car # 8 (Eric Valera/Maochi Aurelio/Jic Valera)

1^st Runner-up-Mini car # 30 (Monch Gupit/Carlo Villanueva/Jan Gomez)

2^nd Runner-up-Subaru car # 20 (Brian Buencamino/Michael Manzanillo/Bryan Zarzuela)

3^rd Runner-up-Subaru car # 9 (Albert Ty/Ralph Mallari/Gilbert Salvanera)

On behalf of our Board of Stewards, my apologies.

Motoring Today turns 27

It was in June 7, 1987 that Motoring Today first went on Philippine television to serve the general motoring public.

Happy 27^th anniversary to Motoring Today.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments email Special plate’s letters and numbers stay MOTORING TODAY Ray Butch Gamboa We had the official spokesperson of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Jason Salvador, on our TV show Motoring Today (Sundays, 12 noon, Solar Sports, Channel 70, Sky Cable) last week where he enlightened our viewers regarding some developments and issues in the government agency mandated to administer land transport in the country. Foremost we discussed was the proposed “merit system” that the LTO is planning to implement, wherein drivers that didn’t have any violations previous to the renewing of their license would be rewarded a 3-year license while those with several violations would be punished by being given only a year’s renewal and possibly required to attend seminars depending on the severity of the violations. The LTO is poised to implement the measure before the end of the year. Some observers are of the opinion that sanctions may be in order for erring drivers but the intended reward may not be deserved for doing something that is required of a driver to do, which is to obey traffic rules and regulations. Another issue discussed during the on-cam TV interview was the expressed apprehension of vehicle owners who paid good money to pay for “special plates” to the tune of P15,000 for a combination of three letters and three numbers to P25,000 for the 2-letter and 2-number combination in the light of the LTO pronouncement that all vehicle registration plates would be eventually replaced by new ones. If you remember some years back it was the LTO that “marketed” these plates in order to raise funds. Mr. Salvador confirmed in no uncertain terms that the “special plates” would maintain their letter and number combinations although the plate itself would need to be changed to the new one with all the security features. The third issue that was discussed in the Motoring Forum segment of the TV program was the impending implementation of the Anti Drunk and Drugged Driving Law with its Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) already recently released. Many drivers have expressed their concern regarding the readiness of the government personnel who would implement the law in terms performing the initial physical tests to be conducted on suspected violators and the equipment and implements needed to perform the tests. Jason gave the assurance that training of the law’s assigned enforcers is presently going on and all the necessary equipment being procured in time for the law’s implementation. Many are deeply concerned that as long as there are many “grey areas” in the implementation of the law, it could be another cradle for police corruption. We can only wait, pray, and see. BMW’s concern for sustainable mobility A tandem of top regional BMW executives blew into town to meet with a select group of motoring journalists for a roundtable discussion of BMW Group’s expansion plans in the ASEAN region and the future of sustainable mobility. BMW AG senior vice president of Special Projects, Dr. Kay Segler and BMW Asia president Mr. Sergio Solero alternately explained how various global challenges such as the climate change, depletion of natural resources, and growing urbanization have led people to be more aware of their social responsibilities and change their premise of individual mobility, necessitating new mobility solutions. With transportation and mobility as one of the fastest rising and most important energy consumers today, more and more people have become aware of how vital the push for sustainable mobility is. They traced part of BMW’s history since the early 1970’s, when sustainability has influenced the BMW Group, allowing them to foresee a future with sustainable mobility, leading to the development of new solutions to respond to changing customer demands. The BMW Group has prepared for the future of mobility by implementing technology projects, as well as gearing their line-up of products and services towards this vision. In 2014, the group targeted investments in ultra-energy efficiency technologies not only in their vehicle line-up, but in innovative mobility services as well. This foresight into the future of mobility has led to the BMW Group establishing itself as the leader for innovations in sustainable mobility in the global luxury vehicle segment. In the ASEAN region, the BMW Group boasts a long history of sheer driving pleasure, with the first sales activities beginning in the 1950’s and first local BMW assembly plants set-up in the 1970’s. Over the years, the ASEAN region continued to grow, making it one of the strongest and biggest emerging BMW markets worldwide. In the past 11 years, BMW has established itself as the undisputed leader in the Philippine luxury vehicle segment. “BMW recognizes the importance of the ASEAN region’s contributions to the global business. As technology leaders in the automotive industry, we want to closely look into the ASEAN region and include it in our vision of the future of mobility, focusing primarily on sustainability and growth and its greater effect to our ever-changing environment” said Dr. Kay Segler. “The Philippines alone is expected to rise to the occasion as it is performing well with a GDP almost equal to other countries such as Brazil and India. It is a good indication that this country will be able to continuously create a strong production base for car manufacturers and suppliers,” he added. “BMW’s sustainability and innovation makes its way to the Philippine luxury vehicle segment with the introduction of various best-selling models such as the All-New BMW X5, the flagship luxury sedan BMW 7 Series and other innovative vehicles that provide joy and sheer driving pleasure” contributed Ms. Maricar Parco, president of Asian Carmakers, the country’s exclusive importers and distributors of the remarkable BMW vehicles. “The BMW brand posts undisputed leadership in the Philippine premium vehicle segment for 11 years straight, in terms of vehicle technology, innovative services, and volume sales,” the lovely lady president added. The breakfast presentation held at the Fairmont Hotel was capped with a lively open forum and roundtable discussion with questions fielded by the motoring journalists present being ably answered by the visiting BMW executives and their local counterparts joined by BMW Philippines executive director for marketing, the dapper Glen Dasig. An oasis of young racing talents Young hotshot Luis Gono of Team Motul-TNE garnered top honors at the prestigious Toyota Vios Cup. Capturing pole position, the champion karter and multi-awarded drift racer gained the respect of his fellow competitors and veteran circuit racers by recording the fastest lap throughout the Vios Cup race. “The kid has a natural talent, he is fast and consistent,” says racing exponent Jody Coseteng. During the penultimate race of the Vios Cup, the young Gono, son of Carlos Gono, the name synonymous to the brand Motul in the Philippines, was reportedly involved in a blocking incident caused by a teammate but being the young professional racer that he is, he just stuck to the strategy to finish a consistent third place. Despite being relegated to the 12th position, Gono fought his way to the fifth spot during the first corner of the Clark Speedway, and smoothly took third place by the fifth lap. “This boy showed his commitment and sportsmanship at a young age,” says Atty. Cosco Oben, team principal for Team Toyota North Edsa-Autoplus. The young Gono’s car is tuned by Autoplus and is powered by Motul oils and lubricants. There were quite a number of racing heroics that have been unfolding since the advent of the Vios Cup, created by Toyota Motor Philippines. It is indeed an event that undeniably hastened the resurgence of circuit racing in the country and turning out to be a rich source of natural and talented Pinoy race drivers. An error that needs to be rectified I would like to commend the group of Georges Ramirez, his wife Caroline and Patrick Chua for their transparency and professionalism in conducting the STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge. After a more detailed review and closer scrutiny of the results that were announced immediately after the event, they found out and they accept that they have committed an error in the computation and would like to rectify it. The fact though is that the norm in conducting motor sports events, like in Formula One, is that the announcement of the results right after the event, is considered as provisional and not final and subject to closer review and scrutiny. Having said that, here are the final results of the Tagaytay Leg of the Caltex 2014 STV ARCC. Team Winners Champion-Subaru Team 1st Runner-up-Mini Team 2nd Runner-up-Toyota Team 3rd Runner-up-Honda Team Individual Winners Champion-Mini car # 8 (Eric Valera/Maochi Aurelio/Jic Valera) 1st Runner-up-Mini car # 30 (Monch Gupit/Carlo Villanueva/Jan Gomez) 2nd Runner-up-Subaru car # 20 (Brian Buencamino/Michael Manzanillo/Bryan Zarzuela) 3rd Runner-up-Subaru car # 9 (Albert Ty/Ralph Mallari/Gilbert Salvanera) On behalf of our Board of Stewards, my apologies. Motoring Today turns 27 It was in June 7, 1987 that Motoring Today first went on Philippine television to serve the general motoring public. Happy 27th anniversary to Motoring Today. Happy Motoring!!! For comments email [email protected]. or [email protected] [email protected]. or [email protected].