THIS is a different kind of corporate social responsibility (CSR). With Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) becoming a chief partner of the FIBA (World Basketball Federation), Toyota will play a hugely significant role in the country’s hosting of the World Cup in August-September that features the Top 16 basketball powers in the world.
HE did not drink. He did not smoke. He did not take coffee.
ISN’T it nice to note that of late, many of our industry players have become environment-conscious?
YOU had a coach waving 24 titles going to a Game 7 decider of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Commissioner’s Cup trophy.
MY guest today will educate us on what Toyota Motor Philippines’ (TMP) Mobility platform is all about. As the founding head of TMP’s newly-minted project, Cristina “Tini” Arevalo is perfect for the lecture, navigating for us the road map to Mobility’s thrust towards a new era in motorization. Here:
THERE are two questions worth pondering on in Wednesday’s Game 6 between Barangay Ginebra and Bay Area.
DON’T fret over an industry report that the Philippines ranked fifth among six Asean (Association of Southeast Nation) economies in overall vehicle output from January to November last year.
ADJUSTMENT is the name of the game. That’s always the battle cry in almost all championship clashes disputed then and now.
BARANGAY Ginebra is chasing history. The Dragons of Hong Kong are trying to make history. And San Miguel Beer is ruing history.
IF the title is on the line, you can’t afford to miss free throws with ridiculous regularity.
A car giant that forgets not to share the Yuletide’s festive mood through an intimate lunch with media folk is Toyota, with no less than the company’s top honcho never failing to grace the occasion.
VOLVO continues to expand as it announces the opening next year of its dealership in Pampanga, another robust proof that the industry is on a redoubtable rebound.
It is a move not as common as rain. But seemingly, it is justified.
IT is barely 90 days before Christmas. That means almost every car buff is itching to buy that dream car before December 25 comes along.
WILL Devon Scott continue to deliver?
MY son-in-law drove a Conquest recently from Manila to Lucena and back on a full tank.
UNIVERSITY of the Philippines (UP) grabbed last weekend’s spotlight by inflicting a 76-71 overtime loss to Ateneo in the University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball tournament before a roaring crowd of more than 12,000 at the MOA Arena in Pasay City.
ELECTRIC vehicles not yet safe?
IS it getting serious? Meaning, is the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) now being plagued by a virus with two variants that are both proving to be virulent and extremely harmful—as recent events would suggest?
NOT known to many is the fact that President Marcos Jr. has been a Formula One fan for the longest time.
IMPORTS will always dominate a conference that features foreigners in the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA). That’s a truism as old as the Pasig River.
THE Russia-Ukraine war is driving car giants out of Russia. Toyota leads the batch, according to Nikkei Asia.
MANNY Pacquiao will climb the ring again.
WHAT caught my attention in the just-ended 8th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) was Spencer Yu’s pre-event statement. As quoted by Inquirer’s Tessa R. Salazar, Stephen, my good friend cum president of SMC Car Asia, said: “The BMW iX is the first battery electric vehicle (BEV) that BMW introduced here in the Philippines last April and the reception has been overwhelming for BEVs.”
EMOTIONS usually shoot up when a nervy issue crops up—such as the case of Will Navarro.
THE motoring sector is now fast coming back to life as the Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), whose four-year interruption was aggravated by the pandemic, has been revived.
TOO many firsts in the just ended US Open tennis but, definitely, Alex Eala’s own feat ranks high in the pantheon of great accomplishments recorded in the two-week event.
IT won’t be long, yeah, when electric vehicles will finally ease out fossil fuel-fed cars out of our garage. The earliest prediction is 1935.
IT began with Chot Reyes getting felled by Covid-19.
I MISSED Leg 2 of the 2022 TOYOTA GAZOO Racing Vios Cup recently held again at Clark International Speedway but no worries, though. Sunshine Cabrera ably subbed for me and thus, here is her report.
WILL San Miguel Beer (SMB) realize revenge or will TNT win again?
WHY must we become impersonal?What’s the point in penalizing someone you have not personally seen violating a traffic rule?
WHEN a Game Seven arrives, expect mayhem.
THERE is no defense against luck. When luck strikes, goodbye.
THE best deserves only the best. That seems very natural for both Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) and Petron Corporation.
MONUMENTAL missions for Meralco and Magnolia. But routine runs for TNT and San Miguel Beer (SMB)—supposedly.
INDUSTRY performance continues to rebound as sales hit a whopping 26.8-percent increase last month. This can only be attributed again to the so-called “spending vengeance” car clients had been resorting to as the pandemic appears consistently to be on the wane.
EJ OBIENA is a class act, period. Mental messes will never mess his focus. He gets the job done despite bumps.
THE All-New Lite Ace that was launched to a smashing success last weekend can be had at P2,903.50 per week. If that’s not a steal, what is?
OPPOSITE the sanctimonious story of Cameron Smith’s victory in the just-ended British Open is the sob story of Tiger Woods’s debacle on the home of golf that is St. Andrews in Scotland.
TOYOTA has not stopped surprising us, coming up anew with another game-changer today, July 15, by launching its latest Lite Ace model at the iconic Ali Mall in Cubao, Quezon City.
NOVAK Djokovic won Wimbledon on Sunday because of two reasons.
ISUZU has just joined the industry’s elite achievers by scoring another scintillating milestone, recording its 10 millionth sale of its much-admired Traviz.Launched in late 2019, the Traviz lightweight truck quickly became a favourite among choosy business owners nationwide, surging to that 10-million sales plateau in June this year. Noted for its last-mile delivery operations—arriving to destinations almost without fail on time—Traviz continues to enjoy its lofty position as a game-changer in its segment.
“WHAT the team needs is another big. That’s a problem that we have to continue looking at,” said Gilas Coach Chot Reyes after Gilas’s decent 79-63 win over India last weekend for an ego-booster shot following New Zealand’s 106-60 bamboozling of the national quintet.
THE much-missed live action of the TGR Vios Cup will blast off on Saturday, July 2, at the famous Clark International Speedway in Angeles City, Pampanga, featuring the Circuit Championship and the Autocross Challenge.
WIMBLEDON is on and the world pauses anew to savor tennis’ third major unfurl on the famed grass courts of royal England.
THE industry is on a blazing rally, recording a 20-percent increase in vehicle sales in May.
MOST golf championships are won with one magical shot. At times, it happens at the most unexpected places. It is something so surreal you’d think an unseen power had manufactured it.
IT is still practically a new kid in town but already, it has assaulted the market in maverick fashion. I refer to Rush that was rolled out of Toyota’s massive assembly lines not too long ago.
NOT to brag, but I know they are going to win. The Golden State Warriors, I mean. They beat the Boston Celtics with plenty to spare yesterday, 104-94, to move one game shy of winning their fourth National Basketball Association (NBA) title in seven Finals in their last nine seasons.
SAN Miguel Corp. (SMC) just won’t stop on its infrastructure-building spree.
CASPER RUUD considered himself a victim and he was absolutely right.
THE good news is, the world-class airport project of Ramon S. Ang (RSA) has gotten the approval of a crucial export credit insurance (ECI) scheme in the venture’s land development phase.
WHEN Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic duke it out today (Wednesday), it would seem like this is the French Open Finals already.
DANNY “Sir John” Isla, the founding president of Lexus Philippines, writes about his vacation in his birthplace. He has been living with his entire family in Auckland, New Zealand, since he retired some years back. Here:
WE competed in 38 of 40 sports in the just-ended 31st Southeast Asian Games in Hanoi, Vietnam. We finished fourth overall and that’s considered commendable already.
VINCE Socco, the perennial pillar of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), writes to say about his recent trip to Cebu, gushing over his “three lechon-filled” meals during his new-found “freedom!” Here:
WITH 100 seconds left in the game, Ateneo held a 69-64 lead over University of the Philippines (UP).
A FRIEND of mine has four vehicles with four different numbers for an ending
WIN it today (Wednesday) or University of the Philippines (UP) faces the specter of an abyss too deep and too dangerous to slog.
WHILE we were “asleep,” the subway system for Metro Manila was launched without much fanfare. In case you haven’t noticed, it began in 2018.
WHO said sports is politics-free?
A hidden wonder from the slew of Toyota models old and new is the latest Hilux—the GRS 4×4. It is such a find that blew my mind. Two members of the family were also mesmerized, amazed by its performance as it stood out from even among its closest rivals in the market.
LEXUS will announce its first dedicated Battery EV (electric vehicle) model, the RZ through a digital online program, on April 20, according to Jade B. Sison.
TIGER WOODS and Jack Nicklaus were both 46 years old when they gunned for their sixth majors. The commonality ends there.
WITH the arrival last month of the 2022 MG HS SUV, it becomes the newest MG model to join MG Philippines’ growing stable of global, British heritage MG vehicles.
THERE is not a doubt that Ginebra will enter the court on Wednesday—that’s today—as the heavy favorite to defeat Meralco in Game One of their first-to-win-four showdown for the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) Governors’ Cup at the Smart Araneta Coliseum.
IT is barely a week before the nation sees the much-awaited return of the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) on April 7 to 10 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.
THE tired cliché, “when it rains, it pours,” comes to mind again.
THE world hates Russia. Include Belarus, a willing stooge of Russia. Both countries are involved in trying to militarily occupy Ukraine starting Feb. 24.
UNSTOPPABLE in its vehicle-development binge, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) will unveil the All-New Avanza on March 7 in an event seen as another proof of the company’s undisputed industry leadership.
THE barber shop talk hasn’t died down: Why must Gilas suffer that 88-63 rout at the hands of New Zealand?
NO reason to panic. The 11.2-percent decline in the January sales of 20,765 as compared to the 23,380 units sold in the same period last year was almost expected.
WHAT has Tab Baldwin done to deserve the coveted post as Gilas coach?
IT is heartwarming to know that Toyota has scored another milestone by recording the highest market share of all time of 46.3 percent in the Asean region. The accolades just won’t stop coming for the world’s No. 1 automaker.
NICE to know that EJ Obiena is finally amenable to a mediation. In fact, his precious yes has long been overdue.
COMING shortly is another Toyota wonder worth our while. Curiously named Raize, it is a five-seater SUV that will be unleashed in a market already crowded by similarly situated variants. Still, it deserves just not a second look but a keen gaze from only the most discerning car buffs this corner of the globe.
RAFAEL Nadal made tennis history on Monday (January 31) partly because of Novak Djokovic.
THERE is reason to rejoice as the industry rebounded tremendously in 2021. Amid the punishing pandemic, it recorded a 20-percent jump in sales. That’s easily a spectacular feat for the auto world and deserving of a champagne cork to pop out.
WHY did Mark Magsayo fail to knock Gary Russell Jr. out on Sunday?
TOYOTA is coming up roses this February as it unveils its new RAV4 HEV (Hybrid Electric Vehicle), boosting its electric-driven tomorrow with its second hybrid SUV.
MY heart also goes to Novak Djokovic. He knew he had a losing cause. Still, he fought for it all the way to the ramparts of a court not totally under his control: the court of law. Had the battle been contested in a tennis court, he might have won it—by even a rout, maybe.
YOU think The Beatles’ three-part, six-hour “Get Back” documentary massive enough to transcend the limits of creativity?
WHICH battle would be foremost in Novak Djokovic’s mind right now: (1) the one in a tennis court, (2) in a court of law, (3) in a movie in his mind?
ONE Toyota dealership that has made a mark in the automotive industry is Toyota Alabang owned by Cesar T. Lee, fondly called CTL. If there’s someone who has seen firsthand how the outfit grew to what it is today—for one, it now has expanded its service station as the biggest in Toyota Far East in terms of land area—it is Danny “Sir John” Isla, for years CTL’s most trusted ally before Sir John became the founding president of Lexus Manila on January 14, 2009. Sir John shares us a glimpse of the man who did it all.
MONICO PUENTEVELLA, the former chairman of the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC), sounded biblical in bidding 2021 goodbye.
This story is by Danny Isla, former president of Lexus Phil. So here it goes: The following is a piece read by Celyn Lee-Severino during the birthday celebration of Toyota Alabang’s Cesar T. Lee on December 19, 2021.
MAY I suggest that our top sports officials do something about it?
HONDA has made history by winning its first Formula One (F1) in 30 years. The F1 is the ultimate test of man and machine partnering to achieve car racing’s pinnacle.
NO boxing and weightlifting in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
THE good news is that vehicle sales in November jumped to 26,456 from 22,581 in October—an increase of 17.2 percent which is the highest monthly performance so far for the year. Campi president Rommel Gutierrez said: “Recovery is underway as restrictions started easing, and economic activities have resumed at improved levels.” Year-to-date, Campi and TMA sold 240,642 units, a 22.7-percent growth compared with the same period last year. Wait till we’re done with the season.
IS it true EJ Obiena doesn’t want to join the mediation to resolve the Obiena-Patafa (Philippine Athletics Track and Field Association) financial row?
IS it true that Volvo Philippines leads in the country’s race for the best-in-class plug-in hybrids?
HERE’S a scene in the Basketball Association (PBA).
THE merry season is here. Taking the lead in spreading joy to our less fortunate brethren is Chevrolet Philippines of the Covenant Car Company, Inc.
WHAT ethics are we trying to establish here?
SALES last month improved by 5.1 percent as reported by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (CAMPI) and Truck Manufacturers Association (TMA). October results saw 22,581 units sold as compared to 21,493 units recorded in September.
FIRST, EJ Obiena, the pole vault ace from Tondo, Manila, was called a thief. That he stole the salary of his Ukrainian (not Russian) coach, Vitaly Petrov.
STILL a hot clubhouse topic was the departure of Arwind Santos just days back from San Miguel Beer (SMB) to Northport. That was followed by Alex Cabagnot getting himself shipped to Terrafirma.
IT is always a whiff of fresh air whenever we see a company stepping forward and offering something to help ease the hardships of both our toiling motorists and plain riders as well. And in a grand way yet.
