Motoring Today Column

Aug 16, 2017

The hottest issue in the country's transport sector currently is the inevitable phase out of the iconic jeepney by starting with the ban of PUVs (public utility vehicles) that are 15 years old and older.

One of the major objectives of the long sought-after move is to lessen pollution levels in the country by drastically reducing the number of vehicles with unacceptable or illegal levels of carbon emissions, which is dominant in the ranks of these old jeepneys. The alternative being pushed is the use of electric-powered engines. Another objective of the phase out is to greatly upgrade the standards of safety, comfort, convenience and reliability of PUVs for the benefit of commuters, which when achieved may convince many private vehicle owners to shift to PUVs instead and dramatically reduce vehicle density in the metro to help lessen traffic congestion.

When a phase out is introduced a worthy substitute is logically expected. You don't just declare something unfit, especially a cultural icon at that, without introducing something that is a lot better than what you are getting rid of.

In achieving the first above-mentioned major objective, the most practical option being considered is the use of e-Jeepneys, which have zero emissions.

As for the second objective, several designs have been submitted but as one of our readers has opined, the design that would best meet the aim of upgrading the standards of safety is that which would have the passengers facing front, instead of the present configuration where they are in a row while to meet the required standards of convenience and practicality, that which havethe entrance on the side near the front instead of the back is best recommended.

Requesting not to be named, to avoid the ire of those who submitted contrary designs, our reader explains that seated facing forward lessens injuries should a collision happens, aside from the fact that seats can even be fitted with lap belts for further passenger protection when such an accident occurs.

Now having the entrance on the side near the driver would have better ingress and egress control preventing passengers' wanton disregard for illegal loading and unloading areas. It would also be easier for fare payments and the giving of change and would be perfect should the electronic card-payment scheme be implemented.

The phase out is a quantum leap for the country's transport sector. We might as well do it right.

Two weeks ago we started in this column listing the top twenty automobile manufacturers and importers in terms of their vehicle registration during the first half of 2017 as reported to by the LTO ( Land Transportation Office) and documented by STRADCOM, its official IT provider, which we figure would best represent their actual sales for the same period. We followed this up last week with the list of top-selling models in each vehicle category under the Standard classification. We end the series this week by listing the top-selling models under the Premium Luxury classification.

Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI) last week took the covers off the much-anticipated All-New CR-V, the first ever model with a diesel variant in Honda's automobile line up in the Philippines.

The 5^th generation CR-V shall be offered in three 7 -seater diesel variants and a 5-seater gasoline variant.

The 7-seater variants come with 1.6-liter DOHC i-DTEC Diesel TURBO engine with max power of 120Ps and peak torque of 300Nm mated to a new 9-Speed Automatic Transmission with Electric Gear Selector and Paddle Shifters.

On the other hand, Honda retains on the 5 -seater variant its 2.0-liter SOHC i-VTEC gasoline engine that produces a max output of 154Ps and peak torque of189Nm mated to a new CVT ( Continuously Variable Transmission).

There are quite a number of new features and enhancements not only in the all-new CR-V's technical specs but in its exterior, interior and safety aspects as well, which we strongly suggest you check out yourself in any Honda dealership located nationwide.

All 36 HCPI dealerships have started accepting reservations for the All-New CR-V with the 5-seater gasoline variant already readily available while the 7-seater variants will start delivery by end of September 2017.

The all-new CR-V comes in the following variants and SRPs:

1) SX Diesel 9AT, AWD, 7-seater - Php 2,049,000.00

2) S Diesel 9AT, 7-seater - Php 1,759,000.00

3) V Diesel 9AT - Php 1,569,000.00

4) 2.0S (gasoline), 5-seater - Php 1,539,000.00

As a follow up to the exclusive Lamborghini toy car collection for motoring enthusiasts, now comes the exclusive Petron Lamborghini Lifestyle Series.

For every Five Hundred pesos (Php500) of single or accumulated purchase of specific Petron products, the customer is entitled to buy one of the following; an original Lamborghini cap, a Lamborghini anti-spill mug or a Lamborghini umbrella.

This limited exclusive offer runs from August 15 - 31, 2017 only.

The best of both worlds for all motoring and car enthusiasts with any of these two websites:www.motoringtoday.ph or www.autofocus.com.ph

You can watch the 'streaming' of all the weekly past and present episodes of the TV shows Motoring Today and Auto Focus in their entirety. Or if you don't have that much time you can just feast on all the latest news items about traffic management and the auto industry or the latest car reviews and head-to-head comparisons of the latest models and other motoring or auto features selectively.

All those news and features-only a click away.

Happy Motoring!!!

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