Not in one fell swoop
The move to clean our streets of illegal or colorum vehicles have been attempted by many in government, especially those who were with the MMDA, LTO and the LTFRB in past administrations—but have failed miserably time and time again. This is the closest we have come to see its fruition; but judging from what’s developing we might still botch it—again.
The transport groups are up in arms, bringing their concerns up to the highest court of the land because of what they term as unreasonable fines mostly for “moving†violations (illegal swerving, illegal loading and unloading, reckless driving, etc.) but reportedly not really for “non-moving†violations (operating illegal or colorum vehicles, switching plates, plying unsafe vehicles, operating out of line, etc.). Those who are into operating colorum vehicles are perceived to be riding on the protest against the radical sweeping reforms in implementing traffic rules and regulations. Common sense tell us that the legitimate transport operators would be more than glad to have the streets to themselves, bereft of colorum vehicles, which form part of the stiff competition.
I think the problem lies on the manner of implementing the sweeping reforms—it didn’t have to come in one fell swoop. The issues should have been taken one at a time. Colorum vehicles first and clear the streets of them and then move on to the next issue of undisciplined drivers.
Don’t get me wrong, like the Automobile Association Philippines (AAP), the country’s biggest motorists association, I strongly support the idea of coming up with the strict implementation of traffic laws mated with pocket-hurting penalties—it’s about time. From where I am standing, having covered the motoring beat for almost three decades, which includes transportation and traffic management issues, I have seen an oft-repeated scenario whenever the traffic authorities announce or are poised to strictly implement traffic rules—drivers and operators stage protest rallies—time and time again. And at all times, the government blinks.
And this is no time to blink. At the rate the illegal vehicles are being towed out of the streets, EDSA may still see the day when we don’t have an oversupply of buses that go around the whole day, wasting so much fuel and spewing deadly toxins into the already highly polluted air of the metropolis.
Guys from the MMDA, LTO and LTFRB, please don’t blink, just go one bird at a time.
Here comes the new MINI
MINI Asia and Willy Tee Ten’s British United Automobiles, Inc. launched last week the latest version of what’s considered as the leader in the premier small car segment—the MINI.
The variants that are presently in the country, the MINI Cooper and the MINI Cooper S have registered improved driving performance figures while fuel consumption and emission levels are down by an astonishing 27 percent compared to their predecessor.
They both have 6-speed automatic transmissions with automatic stop/start function for ensured fuel efficiency.
They also have new engines (3 and 4-cylinders) but similarly have the vaunted MINI Twin Power Turbo Technology.
Another unique feature of the new MINI are its driving modes—MID for comfortable and well-balanced driving, SPORT for very sporty driving and GREEN for a more fuel-efficient driving.
We have a mouthful to say about these new road spitfires but we suggest you take them out yourselves for a test drive by dropping by the very elegant and sporty MINI showroom at the Bonifacio Global City.
Let’s express our choice
It’s that time of the year once again when the public is given the chance to express its choice of vehicles to provide them safe and reliable transport at an acceptable price and for the discerning ones the opportunity to single out which automobiles best combine luxury, comfort and safety.
The public polls for the 10th staging of the Auto Focus Automobile of the Year—People’s Choice Awards (AFPCA) officially starts on the 1st of July, when everyone is enjoined to cast their votes on Facebook to determine which automobiles on each category of sedans, SUVs, pickups, sports cars, MPVs, vans, etc. are most preferred and to proclaim the year’s most popular automobile, the People’s Choice for 2014-2015 Automobile of the Year.
Conceived, organized, and managed by Sunshine Television (STV), producers of long-running developmental TV programs, Motoring Today, Auto Focus and Business & Leisure, the AFPCA is the country’s only award system for the automotive industry that determines the winners based on a unique selection process that combines online public votes and unit sales. Since its inception in 2005, the objective of this yearly exercise is to give the country’s automobile exporters and manufacturers an idea of what the public prefers so as to guide them on what vehicles to manufacture or bring to our shores. It is also aimed at improving the quality, safety, and even value for money of automobiles that are being offered in the local market with the voting results’ expressed preference or non-preference for some automobile models.
Similar to it last staging, the online poll will again be hosted on Facebook. After a simple procedure of “liking†the page and registration, the voter will be prompted and guided through a convenient process of selecting individual models in the designated categories, and from these, choosing a particular model as the “Automobile of the Year†pick. Within seconds, any submitted vote will appear and ranked accordingly on the AFPCA page of Auto Focus ONLINE (www.autofocus.com.ph), the first “all video online auto magazineâ€, the Auto Focus TV show’s online version. Just like last year, a 40 percent weight factor on online votes will be applied in calculating a particular model’s total score.
Following the established procedure, for unit sales, a value of 60 percent will be factored in determine a particular model’s combined score. STV will again work hand in hand with STRADCOM with official sanction from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to determine the number and kind of brand-new vehicles registered in the country this year from January to September, excluding those from the gray market. This shall be based on reports to LTO Regional & District Offices via the Manufacturers, Assemblers, Importers, Dealers Reporting System of the LTO.
Two years ago the AFPCA organizers realized that this process in determining the most popular vehicles in the country, with unit sales factored in, placed the low volume high-end cars at a disadvantage. Thus, a distinction has been in place between votes cast for Standard Models from those that are for Luxury Models in the automobile categories. And this year, to further delineate the dissimilarity, such distinction has been extended to the ultimate Automobile of the Year—People’s Choice Award for the Standard Model apart from that for the Luxury Model title. If the awards were kept at status quo, the organizers felt that the high-priced automobile models would stand no chance of gaining the prized “Automobile of the Year†award simply because their sale volume is understandably at a much smaller scale.
Another change in the rules to this year’s AFPCA poll process involves the frequency of online votes. When casting one’s vote was only allowed once per week last year, anyone can now vote for one’s favorite models once daily. With this current innovation we foresee tighter contests and constant nip and tuck battles within the various Model of the Year categories, separate among standard models and luxury models and there’s no model that will be a cinch for an Automobile of the Year win.
And to further encourage frequent voting, a daily “computer-generated†raffle giving away valuable prizes shall be conducted among those who cast their votes daily apart from three monthly draws (July, August and September) for all names registered as voters for each month. As in previous years, prizes rage from clocks, coffee mugs, cellphones, loot bags, and merchandizing items from participating auto companies shall be given away to lucky ones who cast their votes daily while overnight stays in luxurious beach resorts await those that win in the monthly raffles.
Having been empowered to express your choice and given the right to suffrage, I strongly suggest everybody to go for it starting July 1st through the Facebook page of the 2014 - 2015 Auto Focus Automobile of the Year—People’s Choice Awards and vote for your favorite automobile models. And you can do this daily and in the process stand the chance to win valuable prizes.
Let the country’s automobile manufacturers and importers know what the motoring public wants and prefers so we can help guide them as to what they should offer the rapidly growing Philippine automobile market—let’s all go and vote!
Happy Motoring!!!
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