It’s Sunday again, which means it’s time for the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup! You read this the day before Independence Day, which is the date when the Philippines was freed from the shackles of over three centuries of Spanish colonial rule (that was then followed by decades of additional colonial rule under the Americans and the Japanese). It’s also the rainy season now – strong showers are now hitting various parts of the country as a counterbalance to the searing heat in the first ha

Missed our best stories from last week? Don’t worry – Sundays are for the AutoFun Philippines Rearview Roundup! We picked the five stories from February 13 to 17, 2023 that you all liked the most. Return of the Tamaraw Like many of you, we were surprised to hear about the return of the Toyota Tamaraw following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s trip to Japan earlier this month. Toyota Motor Philippines said it will invest ₱4.4 billion for the new Tamaraw’s production. And it may be based on a conc

We all know that manual transmissions have fallen more and more out of fashion over the last decade. But it seems even entry-level economy cars are also ditching their three pedals to optimize fuel economy. Our Malaysian sister publication WapCar reported that the all-new 2023 Perodua Axia, which debuted on February 14, 2023, will not come with a manual transmission. The Axia is the Malaysian sibling of the recently launched, next-generation Toyota Agya, which is also known as the Toyota Wigo in

At some point or another, during your elementary and high school days, there was one student who always got a big chunk of the achievement awards. In a similar vein (albeit in the Philippine auto industry setting), that student is Toyota Motor Philippines. According to information gleaned from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI), which is the largest automotive group in the country, Toyota once again dominated in 2022 by having eight of the top 10 models and nine o

A hybrid Toyota Vios? It’s in the works. That’s according to Toyota Motor Asia Pacific chief executive officer Hao Tien. "From the business perspective, we do have plans for hybrid A/B segment,” Tien told our colleagues at WapCar Malaysia at the sidelines of the Idemitsu Super 1500 Endurance race in Thailand. “I can't tell you the date yet, but it's coming soon,” he added. Toyota is fielding two cars in the endurance race: a hydrogen-powered Toyota GR Corolla and a Toyota GR86 running on carbon-

A seasoned motorist would probably have a slight reservation or two in driving a somewhat minuscule car much like the Hyundai Eon along twisting and dangerously steep mountain passes much in the likes of the Kennon Road, AKA Rosario–Baguio Road which is a two-lane 33.53-kilometer (20.83 mi) stretch of grueling roadway leading to the top of the world, er, to the mountain city of Baguio in Benguet province, whose range is at 5,000 feet above sea level. (much too close for comfort we guess?) But do