When you’re the number-one automaker in the Philippines and you’re celebrating your 35th anniversary, nothing less than the best will do. In the case of Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP), it’s kicking off over three decades of local operations with the Toyota GAZOO Racing Festival, which will be held on Aug. 23 to 24, 2023 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. GAZOO Racing (GR) is the Japanese automaker’s motorsports division, producing not only championship-winning racing cars, but also high-perfor

Disclosure: Honda Cars Philippines Inc. kindly lent me a 2023 Honda Civic Type R FL5 for nine days. It arrived with a full tank of fuel and loaded RFID cards. AutoFun Philippines paid for additional fuel, toll, and a carwash. The word “legend” gets thrown around an awful lot nowadays. Social media is awash with so-called legends, supposedly because they achieved some incredible metric online (a gazillion followers/subscribers) or for some insane (and often extremely dangerous) act. A little etym

We at AutoFun Philippines believe that having a narrow car is conducive to couple closeness. One advantage of having four-wheeled means of transport is that the cockpit (i.e., the front interior area) usually seats two and that the means to enhance intimacy (i.e., the air-conditioning and infotainment controls, plus the glovebox and a number of storage bins or cupholders) are within easy reach of either front occupant. That said, it helps a lot if the lateral distance between the front seats is

Almost as soon as it was launched, the Civic Type R has been embroiled in a price-gouging scandal that has honestly turned off a lot of potential buyers from the coveted 4-door sports car. Unwilling to give in, these people are by no means hard up or are unable to pay the exorbitant markups – on the contrary, a cool half-mil to some of these people is simply a proverbial drop in the ocean. What they don’t care about is being cheated out of their hard-earned money for someone else’s gain. So what

If you’re one of the people who miss the little Toyota MR-S, a revival may be in the works. A report from Japanese publication BestCarWeb said Toyota is teaming up with Daihatsu and Suzuki to develop a mid-engined sports car that may be launched in 2025. All three brands will likely have their own versions. The MR-S successor will likely use the same Toyota New Global Architecture platform on the Toyota GR Yaris, with the front end reportedly using the GR Yaris’ suspension. Meanwhile, Daihatsu a

TMP Toyota will be launching a new model on March. TMP has decided to announce that the GR Yaris’s pricing prior to the official launch: The GR Yaris will sticker for P2,650,000 (not covered by safeguard duties) here in the Philippines. Typical of such pre-launch teasers, details are intentionally held back but the tone and manner of the communication suggests something youthful, emotional and sporty. So we can safely rule out cars like the Toyota Fortuner and Toyota Innova, both of which are al