Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) is 35 years old this August 2023. The country’s top automaker in terms of sales is celebrating this milestone in typically spectacular fashion, ranging from promos on its latest models to its two-day Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival at the Quirino Grandstand. We take a look at five of the Japanese company’s most iconic vehicles since 1988. But why not cars from before this year? The pre-Cory years First, a little history lesson. Older car enthusiasts will know that Toy

The Geely Okavango (Specs | News), when it first launched, took the market by storm thanks to its affordable pricing, space, style, and features. It was a good mix of SUV-like looks, MPV-like versatility, and crossover dynamics all rolled into one with its competitive feature set. After all, it was the follow-up model after the Geely Coolray (Specs | News), so the automaker had to come up with something big. The automaker even bumped up the power from the 1.5-liter motor of the Coolray and added

Buying an electrified vehicle is going to be a whole lot easier, at least in Indonesia. Our friends from AutoFun Indonesia reported that the Indonesian government is finalizing a host of financial incentives for people looking to buy a hybrid-electric or fully electric vehicle (EV). As of press time, an estimated 80 million rupiah (₱283,000) discount may be given to full EV buyers, while hybrid owners may get 40 million (₱141,000) rupiah off. However, these will only be offered to models that ar

The first time the Nissan Grand Livina entered the Philippine market in 2008, it was a three-row hatchback based on the Nissan Tiida platform. It was ahead of its time in many ways, as it offered car-like handling and seating for seven. Typical of what crossovers provide today. As head of the marketing team of Nissan Motor Philippines, Inc (NMPI) at that time, I was tasked to find ways to slot such a strange vehicle concept into the MPV-crazy consciousness of Filipino car buyers. The 2008 Nissan

Since Filipinos are family-oriented people, small MPVs are a hit in the local market, where vehicles like Mitsubishi Xpander, Suzuki Ertiga, and Honda Mobilio compete. But aside from those MPV models, Filipinos are looking for SUV-style MPVs like the Toyota Rush, which comes with the same seating capacity and some elements you see in SUVs, such as body claddings and ground clearance, with the impression that the vehicle has added capability. 2022 Toyota Rush Toyota Rush has always been one of th

It all started with a glorious bang but coldly petered out in an untriumphant finish. Once hailed as the cream of the crop, Ford Ecosport has been a phenomenal success during its initial run in the Brazilian car marketplace in 2003. The stream of revenue was so good in fact, that the former had eventually reached cumulative sales of 700,000 units in 2011; with profits also streaming in from other neighboring countries like Venezuela, Argentina, and Mexico all this as part of Ford Motors’s largel