YTD sales jump 23.8%
SALES last month improved by 5.1 percent as reported by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines,…
Mishandling Obiena
FIRST, EJ Obiena, the pole vault ace from Tondo, Manila, was called a thief. That he stole the…
Never fall in love with your players
STILL a hot clubhouse topic was the departure of Arwind Santos just days back from San Miguel Beer…
SeaOil’s amazing LFG—and more
IT is always a whiff of fresh air whenever we see a company stepping forward and offering something…
No surprise there
ARWIND SANTOS is 40. Vic Manuel is 34. They made a bit of history two days back. As…
One of a kind
AGAIN, I say you’ve got to give it to Ramon S. Ang a.k.a. RSA, the indefatigable San Miguel…
PBA’s import-spiced second conference offering up
INFECTION surges slowing down. Jab hesitancy diminishing fast. Vaccine supplies pouring in steadily. Alert levels consistently going down.…
Buying confidence stays despite oil price hikes
JUST as we are seeing signs of Covid-19 infections easing up steadily, our joy is somewhat suddenly overshadowed…
Fix it quick, please
WHAT is this alleged brouhaha on officiating that tended to mar Sunday’s Game Three of the ongoing Philippine…
Tremendous jump in vehicle sales recorded
TRADITION seems to be on course as September sales data provide a rosy picture for the industry in…
Why TNT beat SMB
A SHARPSHOOTER famously known to own assassin-like skills fired blanks. And two mainstays succumbed to injuries with an eternity…
Parex pits good versus evil
IN his usual cool demeanor, Ramon Ang is taking things in stride amid mixed reactions to his newest…
Contrasting missions
THE door is ajar for the Magnolia Hotshots. But not yet for either TNT Tropang Giga or San…
Warranty worth watching finally here
AMID the uncertainty due to the pandemic, it pays to be ready, alert. Study the landscape well. There’d…
One game at a time
EXPECT new strategies on Wednesday in Game Two of the best-of-seven Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) All-Filipino semifinals in…
Lexus hits sporting spotlight again
MIGUEL Tabuena scored big for Lexus last weekend as he won America’s Idaho Open Golf championship in runaway…
Mastering luck
IT’S getting to be a habit. Doing it as ordinary, effortlessly, as combing one’s hair. I refer to…
Fame hunters go to Japan, US
NOT only in Japan but in the United States as well. That’s where our Filipino athletes are going…
‘Aughost’ deflects sales growth
THE resurgent virus has dented anew the industry’s recovery efforts as August sales declined by 11.5 percent. Sad,…
Ominous signs in US Open
THE teen revolution is here and the myth of invincibility shattered. Those twin spectacles punctuated the just-ended US…
SMC’s trains from Hyundai coming
THE mass transit system will remain the ultimate cure in easing traffic in the country’s urban centers. Metro…
Fil-Canadian Fernandez chasing tennis history
IN battling Elina Svitolina of Ukraine today, September 8 Philippine time, Leylah Fernandez should be brimming with confidence.…
Toyota in Afghanistan
THE Toyota Hilux has been the favorite ride for nearly a quarter of a century by the Taliban,…
Weightlifting’s future uncertain
DID we see the last of Hidilyn Diaz’s heroics in the Tokyo 2020 Olympics? That her golden lift…
Old Pacquiao makes Cuban Ugás look good
WORD from the corner was he was fast as usual. Tip top shape. Championship caliber. Not true. The world was taken…
50 million Corollas sold
I NOTE with pride the recent 50-million milestone sales of the Corolla that took the motoring world by…
Pacquiao wary of history
MANNY PACQUIAO had been into two humps leading to his fight against Yordenis Ugás on Sunday at the…
Lexus loyalty highlighted
RAYMOND T. Rodriguez, the Lexus Manila president, is all smiles these days. Why? Because Lexus became the highest…
Hidilyn perfect model
THAT’S definitely a good idea. Retain the 19 Tokyo 2020 Olympians for the next mission. The Games in…
GR Yaris is here
IT is really a wonder that Toyota keeps on unwrapping wondrous cars almost unstoppably, pandemic or no pandemic.…
Why Petecio missed gold
NESTHY PETECIO did not fight a boxer yesterday. Who said she did? So, stop wondering why Petecio lost. She fought…
Toyota in Tokyo Olympics
TOYOTA has proven once more that it is not only into motoring business but in sports development as…
Hidilyn makes us all winners
WE are all winners in the victory of Hidilyn Diaz in the Tokyo Olympics. Every nation oozing with…
Tracking the right price
THE part that struck me most when the Chevrolet Tracker was recently launched was its price of P1,142,888…
Game 6 jinx haunts Phoenix?
THEY must win today or face the specter of losing everything in a battlefield that could instantly become…
Blast from New Zealand
MY dear friend, Danny “Sir John” Isla, writes about his new home that is Auckland, New Zealand. He…
Home court keys Bucks’ rebound
THE Milwaukee Bucks bucked a looming sweep when they defeated the Phoenix Suns, 120-100, in Game Three on…
‘Cebu lechon made the trip more worthwhile’
VINCE S. Socco, the much-admired writer-in-residence here, rides/writes again. The long-serving Toyota Motor Philippines hotshot expounds on his…
With Paul as ‘Point God,’ Suns favored
THE wise pick is Phoenix over Milwaukee. Surprised? Not me. Even days before the National Basketball Association (NBA)…
Stunning sales increase
IT is simply stunning. Almost unbelievable. I refer to the 360.8-percent increase in vehicle sales just a while…
LA Clippers alive because of George
IF your star shines in a basketball game, a win is almost as sure as night follows day.…
Not just roads but rivers, too
NOT only is San Miguel Corp. (SMC) set to build another road wonder traversing the Pasig River in…
Gilas five gives us glimpse of future
WHO said the new Gilas Pilipinas basketball team isn’t quality-laden? Think again, fellas. It is now awash with…
Djokovic doing the impossible
NOVAK Djokovic, the world No. 1 from Serbia, is now a Slam away from tying the all-time best…
‘Moving to the New Normal’
I GIVE way again to Vince S. Socco, the impregnable Toyota titan, who is my favorite writer-in-residence here.…
Caddy keys Saso’s historic win
MEN’S golf has four majors: Masters, US Open, British Open and the PGA Championship. But women’s golf now…
CARS cruising on govt help; heart from Isuzu
IT is June, traditionally the “marry” month of the year because it’s been many a couple’s calendar of…
Donaire and Pagunsan shine—but not Marcial
ONE won in America, the other in Japan. In a stunning performance that deftly defied Father Time, the…
Expressway to Quezon on; Toyota ‘kaizen’
IT is obvious. There’s no stopping Ramon S. Ang (RSA) from pursuing his nation-building platform. Not even the…
Mickelson makes memories rush back
WHEN you are 40 years old, you are almost done. When you are 50, goodbye. Not in golf. Phil…
Road to recovery shaping up; Lexus RX 350L
IT’S increasingly becoming obvious that a robust rebound is peering through the clouds. Meaning, the industry is now…
Novel NBA play-in on
THE Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors, two of the greatest National Basketball Association (NBA) champions…
Budget tips for Gen Zs; Isuzu ‘BLOWBAGETS’
MY good friend, Nadinne Capistrano, writes to say she has some tips to help millennials and Gen Zs…
Limping LA Lakers looking to survive
WHEN LeBron James came back, Los Angeles was back. Suddenly, the Lakers’ crown looked secure. Beleaguered as they…
Tugade trumpets traffic success; Nakamura pitch
ONE positive aspect arising from the extended various levels of lockdown in the metropolis is the pronounced reduction…
A PBA idea worth looking into
SOMEONE exceedingly knowledgeable in sports told me recently: Why not hold the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) games in…
BRT is RSA’s new babe; Honda recall
WHO is the lone Filipino patriot today that truly cares about the comfort of the motorist in particular…
Tryouts tinkering with disaster
THE Tats tryouts is meeting an opposition. Some quarters and stakeholders say it’s not yet time for such…
Mitra should crack the whip
THE Mindanao leg of the now-soiled Pilipinas VisMin Super Cup has also been scrapped. Just right. That means…
Saudi’s carless future; Toyota throbs but Jazz junked
IN a recent AFP (Agence France-Presse) report, Saudi Arabia will have a future that will have no more…
Ancajas good, but Magsayo better
JERWIN ANCAJAS won by unanimous decision on Sunday on the strength mainly of a superbly conditioned body. Had…
VW does it again; GR Yaris coming soon
WHY did Volkswagen (VW) AG US unit knowingly issue a false news release claiming it would rename its…
Why not just one conference again?
I THINK it’s just right if the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) moves its opening in May—or even at…
Teamwork elusive as ever; SMC’s P190-million aid & more
WHILE the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) is in force, a curfew of from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.…
Saudi’s carless future; Toyota throbs but Jazz junked
IN a recent AFP (Agence France-Presse) report, Saudi Arabia will have a future that will have no more…
Ancajas good, but Magsayo better
JERWIN ANCAJAS won by unanimous decision on Sunday on the strength mainly of a superbly conditioned body. Had…
VW does it again; GR Yaris coming soon
WHY did Volkswagen (VW) AG US unit knowingly issue a false news release claiming it would rename its…
Why not just one conference again?
I THINK it’s just right if the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) moves its opening in May—or even at…
Teamwork elusive as ever; SMC’s P190-million aid & more
WHILE the ECQ (Enhanced Community Quarantine) is in force, a curfew of from 6 p.m. to 5 a.m.…
Sports also grinds to a halt
IT’S just right. Stop all activities, including training and other similar workouts, of our athletes. It’d be out of…
Tabuena scores big for Lexus; Petron promos
LEXUS scores big consistently on sales through the years but what is not known that much is its…
Scandal-rigged, most expensive Olympics ever
CONTROVERSIES have become a dime a dozen in the run-up to the Tokyo Olympics. First, a bribery scandal. …
Bisita Iglesia no surrender; Okamoto ‘flesh & blood’
SIDESWIPED back-to-back from 2020 by this cruel Covid-19 pandemic is our yearly vow to do the Bisita Iglesia,…
PBA governors make everybody happy
GENEROSITY marked Draft Day of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) on Sunday. In a stunning innovation worthy of…
Volvo child seat, Lexus IS & Honda prices
WHILE a moratorium on the children’s car-seat debate is on, I received a timely piece from Paolo Ella,…
Another one bites bait—or why So defected
WEEP for Philippine sports. Wesley So, the Filipino chess genius, does not fight for his country, anymore. He…
Tiger’s Hyundai crash; BMW unveils 4 series
TIGER Woods, golf’s living legend, wasn’t driving his own car when he figured in a road accident last…
Premium is the honor
IT’S the honor, not the finish. By just being in Belgrade, that’s something to more than crow about.…
Car-seat law & MVIS torpedoed; Lexus ‘omotenashi’
WHO said President Duterte has stopped acting fast? Think again, fellas. In one fell swoop, President Duterte torpedoed…
Revelations in Aussie Open
NOVAK Djokovic did not surprise. But Naomi Osaka was a bit of a surprise. While Djokovic merely reaffirmed…
Lakers in peril
ANTHONY Davis is injured. Will it affect the future of the Los Angeles Lakers? In a sense, yes. …
Car seat vs seat belt; Skyway 3 connector
THE new child car seat law was stopped on its tracks but not after it got pelted with…
Athletes require early vaccination
IT is simple common sense that our athletes for both the Tokyo Olympics and the Southeast Asian (SEA)…
LTO ruling off tangent; Parex & Aerocity projects
THE recent Pampanga case about a vehicle getting inspected gone awry is but one of so many sorry…
The Perez trade
WILLIE MARCIAL has a job that is the envy of all. As commissioner of the Philippine Basketball Association…
We are here to stay–Nissan
WHAT was closed last week was the manufacturing aspect of Almera, not Nissan. Almera is a Nissan model…
Pacquiao-McGregor fight needs 2nd look
WILL Manny Pacquiao still fight Conor McGregor? Only a fool would say, yes. McGregor was knocked out by…
‘Second wind’ at Nlex; more on 2021 forecast
IT happens that in a marathon, the champion also feels energy slipping away. And then, all too suddenly,…
Another Black makes history
AARON Black is another case of a son also trying to rise. Always, that’s a tough act to…
Vaccine gives hope but not DTI’s new tariffs
JUST as hopes of recovery waft in the nippy air—what with the virus-vaccine’s much-awaited arrival—the car world got…
Cream of the crop
THE road has been paved. With 29 players from the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) tapped by the Samahang…
Virus also killed our appetite to buy that dream car
ENOUGH of talk about 2020’s poor showing, sales-wise. We don’t need a Wharton alumnus to tell us that…
Gilas badly needs PBA’s Fil-Ams
WE fear the South Koreans. That’s because in basketball, they’ve always been our kontrapelos (archenemies). How many times…
A new ‘variant’ plus the Yaris & Skyway 3
SUDDENLY, the coronavirus, which has already inflicted so much havoc on the car industry the past 10 months…
Pacquiao to fight for a cause
MANNY Pacquiao is to fight for a cause when he faces Conor McGregor next year. “I think I…
Encounter with a vaccine recipient; endless SMC aid
DEBORAH Dawn Delgado-Ferrer was one of the first Filipinos in America to receive a vaccine shot on December…
Nlex-Gatchalian standoff; BMW R18 launched
AS I write this, there was a deadlock between Nlex and Valenzuela Mayor Rex Gatchalian on the lifting…
Yuka Saso richer by P4.6 million in US Open
YUKA SASO finished tied for 13th spot yesterday in the 75th US Women’s Open in Houston’s Champions Club…
Public servant Rex Gatchalian deserves praise
IF there’s one thing that stood out in Rex Gatchalian’s move to suspend RFID operations beginning this week…
One more for Cone
FROM the start, Tim Cone is on familiar ground. Like fish on water. That’s the incontrovertible truth in…