THE enormous economic impact brought on by the opening last week of the TPLEx ( Tarlac-Pangasinan-La Union Expressway) is so immense it almost goes beyond description.
But suffice it to say that with this new modern-day road network, courtesy—again—of San Miguel Corp. (SMC), the public’s general welfare is going to be served to the hilt.
With travel time from Tarlac to La Union cut from three hours to almost an hour only, motorists both rich and poor will reap the benefits of comfortable riding from A to Z. Other benefits include slashed fuel costs, plus wear and tear saving vehicles from early demise.
But did you know that the 89-plus km TPLEx was almost aborted?
Thanks to Ramon S. Ang (RSA), the SMC president, who in 2008 bought one-third of the fund-starved company that originally proposed the project in 2007. With RSA at the helm, the dream road progressed steadily until its final completion almost a dozen years later on July 15.
“Today is a historic day as we formally open the last section of TPLEx all the way from Tarlac to Rosario, La Union,” said Ang in his inaugural speech in front of Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III, Transportion Secretary Art Tugade and Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea.
The expressway has 10 interchanges and 11 toll plazas, with exit/entry points located in strategic towns of Tarlac and Pangasinan before ending in Rosario, the first town of La Union.
“Faster transport of goods, increased tourism, more livelihood and better incomes: All of these will help jump-start our economic recovery from this pandemic. TPLEx will help deliver growth to the regions for generations to come.”
An elated Ed Pamintuan, the former jolly mayor of Angeles City in Pampanga, said: “With the much reduced travel time going up North because of TPLEx, Baguio is now almost within spitting distance from our city. Yahooo!”
Notice RSA’s direct reference to the Covid-19 plague as he linked TPLEx’s crucial role in helping revive the economy in that part of the country.
Always, RSA puts his heart to the downtrodden who usually bear the brunt of any calamity.
This was made more evident anew when he recently appeared in Rico Hizon’s The Exchange on CNN.
Said RSA: “We should convince all the Filipino businessmen to start investing and start working. If they are all going to hide in their homes [during the pandemic], the investors or the financiers will all be okay but their employees will lose their jobs.”
Does RSA need to do that on rooftops?
Toyota’s new brother
THE Toyota Hiace has a new brother in the Cargo Variant. But instead of loading customers, it transports cargoes. With its seat-less option, this Hiace further services industries.
After Toyota Motor Philippines introduced in 2019 the full model change of the Hiace with the addition of Super Grandia Elite, and GL Tourer, it recognized the need to transport cargo as well as people.
“The Hiace Cargo caters to customers who have requirements to transport load in a safe and secure way,” said Sherwin ChuaLim, TMP’s first vice president for vehicle sales operations. “Its arrival is timely as it helps transfer goods during this pandemic. The Philippines is the largest Hiace market outside Japan.”
As of May 2020, the Hiace utility van, pegged at P1,101,000 held a 66-percent market share.
BMW 318i Sport
WHO said we would have to slow it down because of Covid-19?
Don’t tell that to SMC Asia Car Distributors Corp.
The country’s official importer and distributor of BMW has just officially announced the arrival of the BMW 318i Sport, a new variant of the 3 Series.
“The modern presence of a true icon,” said Spencer Yu, the affable SMC Asia Car president.
On the car’s salient features, here is Spencer’s able lieutenant, Enrico Antonio D. Ylanan:
“The BMW 318i Sport enjoys the same precisely drawn lines, and strikingly contoured surfaces typical in the BMW 3 Series lineup.
“The front fascia features the BMW kidney grille and instantly recognizable full-LED headlights with extended contents. Both the LED front fog lights and the Air Curtains are integrated into the outer air intakes. The side profile is shaped by a pair of character lines and a side skirt contour together with 18-inch V-spoke style 780 Bicolour light alloy wheels.
“Sport seats for the driver and front passenger feature Sensatec upholstery, and a Sport steering wheel in leather is standard.
“The BMW 318i Sport features BMW Live Cockpit, a combination of an 8.8-inch touchscreen display and an analogue instrument cluster with a horizontal 5.7-inch display.
“Powering the BMW 318i Sport is 2.0-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo 4-cylinder gasoline engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission with Steptronic. This powertrain generates 156 hp and 250 N-m of torque.
“The BMW 318i Sport is priced at Php 3,190,000 and comes with a five-year or 200,000-kilometer manufacturer’s warranty. For more details, call +63917-839-23-63.”
PEE STOP The New Vios will be digitally launched on July 25 amid Toyota’s high hopes of maintaining market leadership for the model. Cheers!… Birthday greetings to Danny Isla (July 21), the former Lexus Manila president now based in New Zealand, and Sol F. Juvida (July 23), Malaya Sol’s beloved NaySoly. Malaya Sol herself also celebrated on July 21. Mabuhay!
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