Motoring Today Column: Busy Motoring Week

Oct 02, 2019

Busy Motoring Week

Last week was busy for the automotive industry with five new vehicles launched in the Philippine market.

They were an old favorite - the Mitsubishi L300, the really cool new car on the block - the Geely Coolray, the classic elegant all-new Honda Accord, theall-new Suzuki Carry, and Suzuki's signature sedan, the DZire GA.

The young motorists will likely get attracted to the Geely Coolray SUV with its striking design, technology and performance.

Sojitz G Auto Phillippines , the importer and distributor of Geely cars in the Philippines, entered the local market with three variants of the Coolray SUV - the sport, premium and comfort.

Geely Coolray

"The Coolray is a small SUV packed with cool and state of the art features which gives meaning to its name. It is powered by a 1.5 Gasoline Direct Injection 3-cylinder Engine equipped with turbocharger and Dual Variable Valve Timing. It churns out 177 Ps of power and gives 255 Nm of torque, zero to 100 km/h in 7.9 seconds and is paired with 7 speed Wet Dual Clutch Transmission," Froilan Dytianquin, GM for Sales and Marketing of Geely Philippines said during the launching ceremonies held at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in BGC, Taguig City.

One of the really attractive and innovative features of the Coolray Sport is the G-Pilot system. It includes the Auto Parking Assist system which lets you do parallel and perpendicular parking with a touch of a button with the help of four cameras to give that 360-degree view of the car.

It also has a blind spot detection system that alerts the driver on incoming vehicles.

Another cool feature is a remote start feature that lets owners turn on the engine and airconditioning system to cool the cabin especially if the vehicle is parked outside.

10th generation all-new Honda Accord

From the lineup of the elegant classic cars comes the All-New 10th Generation Honda Accord which was launched by Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) last week.

Honda's newest luxury sedan offers a premium and bolder design, a more powerful 1.5-liter VTEC TURBO engine and the advanced Honda sensing safety technology. Introduced in 1976, it is the second longest running nameplate in Honda's global lineup.

What is the heart of the list of technologies in this All-New Accord is the Honda SENSING system which helps the driver o prevent or effectively respond to dangerous driving situations. The system provides an array of advanced safety features such as Collision Mitigation Braking System, Adaptive Cruise Control with Low Speed Follow, Lane Keeping Assist, Road Departure Mitigation, and Auto High Beam.

Honda Accord

"Honda SENSING receives information from two different devices; one is a millimeter-wave radar that can be found in the front bumper and the other is a monocular camera mounted on the upper, inside part of the windshield. Both devices work simultaneously to monitor and asses various conditions in front of the vehicle and give feedback to the driver by providing corrective actions to aid in preventing the collision," a Honda official explained.

This Accord is powered by a new1.5-liter VTEC Turbo engine developed under Earth Dreams Technology. The engine puts out a maximum power output of 190PS at 5,500 rpm and 243Nm of torque from 1,500 - 5,500 rpm. With its higher horsepower and torque output, it is at par if not more powerful compared to its 2.4-liter predecessor.

All-New Suzuki Carry

Suzuki Philippines Inc. (SPH) launched the Suzuki Carry to meet the needs of commercial businesses.

The all-new Suzuki Carry now has a stronger and fuel-efficient K15B1.5-liter engine, delivering more output power at 96hp/5,600rpm and torque at 135N.m/4,400rpm over the entire range.

Suzuki Carry

It has a wider and longer body with access to side gates opening from all sides. It has a bed with a bigger loading capacity of 940kg.

This new Suzuki vehicle can be modified to suit any business requirement. It can be used as a utility van, cargo truck, or pick-up truck with the same reliability and functionality expected of a trusted workhorse.

With the Suzuki Carry, Suzuki Philippines also introduced the latest variant of the Suzuki Dzire GA, its signature compact sedan.

SPH said that its signature sedan gets a "fresher look with easy-to-handle compact dimensions and expanded storage capacity, making it an ideal addition to a taxi fleet business."

The Misubishi L300

The iconic L300 Cab and Chassis of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation ( MMPC) has returned!

I call that vehicle "iconic" because it has sold over 190,000 units and it has been around in the motoring scene for decades as a reliable family van, an entrepreneur's workhorse, a school bus, a company shuttle service, plus many more.

The new L300 now has a Euro-4 engine, 40 percent more power and torque for more payload and pulling power.

MMPC said the "new L300 will definitely be able to cater to the various demands of the MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprise) market and other personal needs."

Mitsubishi L300

"The L300 is one of our products that we are very proud of. Its legacy roots from the years of dependable quality performance and affordable cost of ownership that the L300 provides the market. The improved features and fuel efficiency will, without a doubt, be one of the key highlights of this unit that will help drive the Filipino business forward," MMPC First Vice President for Sales & Marketing, Alvin S. Dalida said.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments & inquiries:

(email) sunshine.television@yahoo.com

(website) www.motoringtoday.ph

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Butch Gamboa graduated from the College of Arts and Letters of the University of Sto. Tomas. It was a course that should have been preparatory to a law degree, but the call of broadcasting aborted his plans.

At the age of 16, while still a student, Butch tried his hand at disc jockeying, landing a job at Mareco Broadcasting Network’s AM stations DZBM and DZLM. From there, Butch moved on with his illustrious career as a popular disc jockey, riding the airwaves of Bob Stewart’s middle-of-the-road music at DZXX, and ending his disc jockeying career at ABS-CBN’s DZYL and DZQL.

From there, he stayed on with ABS-CBN, covering live the proceedings at the Manila Stock Exchange and eventually entered into the world of television sales as an account manager for the premier channel of ABS-CBN Channel 2.

In the early 70’s, at the outbreak of Martial Law, Butch was one of the thousands of professionals who woke up jobless when then President Marcos declared the new status of the nation. With the closure of ABS-CBN, Butch ventured into different fields outside of broadcast. He tried his hand and with ease and success at export (Costume jewelry), real estate (brokerage), and restaurants (fast food).

In 1987, after the revolution, with the broadcast industry back to its free state, and with its irresistible call ringing in his ears, Butch made his inevitable comeback and pioneered in a local motoring show, producing Motoring Today on Channel 4 and co-hosting with local motor sports’ living legend Pocholo Ramirez.

After 4 years, he ventured into another pioneering format by producing and hosting Business & Leisure, which was originally aired on ABS-CBN’s Channel 2. The format eventually espoused similar ones in other different channels. But the clones in due course faded away leaving the original staying on airing on Channel 4 and eventually on Shop TV on Sky Cable’s Channel 13.

The following year, the pioneering spirit in Butch spurred him to produce another TV show, Race Weekend, also on Channel 4, covering circuit racing at the Subic International Raceway after the motor sport’s hiatus of 17 years. But when similar shows with duplicated formats sprouted, he decided to give way and ended the program after a year, although still enjoying unparalleled viewership.

In 1998, when the local automotive industry was in a slump, Butch contributed his share to help the ailing industry by producing another popular motoring-related show, this time exclusive to the automobile and its industry—Auto Focus, which became a vehicle for local automotive assemblers and importers to showcase their products and dwell on the industry’s latest technological developments.

In 2003, Butch teamed up with his brother, Rey Gamboa who was a former Shell executive and presently one Philippine Star’s business columnist to co-produce and co-host the TV show Breaking Barriers on Channel 13. It is a talk show that features guests who are in the news and in the middle of controversies. The program ventures to draw deeper insights into current issues to learn how they impact to our daily lives.

Today, Motoring Today on its 28th year of service to the general motoring public still enjoys its unprecedented loyal vierwership nationwide while Auto Focus, after 16 years has firmly established its niche viewership among automobile enthusiasts and on the other hand Business & Leisure is on its 24th year dishing out current business issues and lifestyle features.

Today, aside from writing weekly columns for the Philippine Star (Motoring Today on Wednesdays and Business & Leisure on Saturdays) and executive producer / host of weekly TV shows (Motoring Today, airs Sundays on Solar Sports Channel 70, Business & Leisure, airs Tuesdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13 and Auto Focus airs Thursdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13, Ray Butch Gamboa is currently the Chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television Production and Marketing Services Corp., President of Gamcor Management and Development Corp., Chairman of Asia-Pacific Realty Corporation, President and Chairman of Socio-Communication Foundation for Asia and Founding Chairman of the Society of Phil. Motoring Journalists (SPMJ)