Editor’s Blog

There is truly a bright light shining at the end of the dark tunnel. Despite the fact there is actually a recession, the local automotive industry is still active with new model releases here and there, albeit on a smaller scale. It is still nice to see something new in the industry nonetheless. Sales figures aren’t all that bad either as performance is still within the forecasted flat growth levels.

The more active brands are interestingly the luxury brands. One of the more active brands has been Mercedes-Benz through its distributor CATS Motors which has released two models already (CLS and S400 Hybrid) and will be introducing another model next week, their third car in the last three months; the E-Class Coupe.

Lexus recently introduced the IS300 Coupe to go against the Mercedes-Benz SLK and the BMW 325i Coupe.

Asian Carmakers Corporation, the distributor of BMW recently came out with their new flagship 7-series and more recently introduced the new Z4 Roadster. Meanwhile, its sister company Columbian Autocar Corporation, rolled out the new Kia Soul last month.

Toyota has made some model introductions with the facelifted Camry, a new Fortuner variant and some improvements to its Innova and Hilux.

There are also brands that have performing very well despite the crisis, which is very positive in times of trouble. Mitsubishi has managed to climb to the second spot in the overall vehicle sales charts led by its popular Montero Sport. Still on a high from successful sales figures last year, Motor Image Pilipinas, distributor of Subaru is once again expected to post record sales figures this year.

Last but not the least, congratulations is in order for Top Gear Philippines which recently celebrated their 5th anniversary at the NBC Tent highlighted by a quiz show entitled “Are you smarter than The Stig?” of which I was actually part of and won. So there, I am smarter than The Stig. But he’ll outdrive me on any given day.

Do you remember the smell of your car when it was new? I vaguely remember mine, as my truck has clocked in more than 20,000 kilometers already in just a year. Talk about mileage! I recently got reunited with the new car scent in the form of a relatively low-mileage Montero Sport test unit lent to me by the good people at Mitsubishi Motors Philippines, who have been very nice and accommodating hence the number of Mitsubishi topics in my blog lately.

The new car scent has got to be one of the most expensive scents there is, as you need to buy a new car to get one. It is also interesting to note that scent or odor preferences are not the same in all markets. As revealed by Volvo, Asian markets generally like a more neutral scent to their new cars, while European markets prefer a stronger scent for their new cars.

Scent is such a factor in cars, that Volvo actually has its own “smell team” composed of 8 specially selected individuals with standard noses which guide designers in their choice of materials and production methods the environment of a car’s interior, a place which you will probably spent most of your life in because you’re a car enthusiast. More recently the “smell team” has been doing its part in helping make cars safer by helping identify harmful emissions in order to help engineers reduce these.

But take caution, the best scent in the auto industry may not exactly be safe for you as what you are sniffing might be toxic chemical gasses emitted by the mixture of plastic, lubricants, carpeting, paint and chemical adhesives used in the production of your new car. It is however good to know that some manufacturers are taking the initiative of lowering the levels of toxic chemicals in its vehicle interiors.

Even those new car scent products are not exactly safe as some might think. Some of them can contain artificial leather odor, plus aldehydes, ethers, esters, ketones, which may be organic or chemical compounds – according to fragrance industry experts.

Even though there are dangers involved, you do have to admit that you will miss that new car scent each time you get into a new car, because nothing says new car better than “the scent”. It is however nice to know that car manufacturers are doing something about making them safer.

Run-Bike-Drive

Labor Day is when you kick off those leather shoes and strap on your sneakers. That’s what Universal Motors Corporation (UMC) did during the recent Labor Day weekend as it hosted the Navara PurSUiT Summer Multi-Sport Challenge, gathering together eleven multi-sport teams to challenge themselves in a one-of-a-kind multi-sport event. The teams were pitted against each other in a sequence of intense running, biking and driving no ordinary vehicle but a Nissan Navara around a dirt course. (more…)

I’m back in Bangkok for the 2009 edition of the Bangkok Motor Show. This year is extra special because it marks the 30th anniversary of the annual event that was started by Dr. Prachin Eamlumnow, head honcho of Grand Prix International (GPI) which organizes the Bangkok Motor Show. (more…)

Having been doing a string of successful driving events for their new cars, Mitsubishi once again invited a select group of the motoring media to a driving event for their new 4×2 Montero Sport. Dubbed “The Montero Sport Challenge”, the event was patterned after popular reality show “The Amazing Race”, with a different twist, as we had to arrive at our checkpoints at exactly the given time (no more, no less). (more…)