Motoring Today Column

Mar 29, 2023

Summer Festival

Summer is here and it feels like it's going to be another hot one.

Also going to be a hot one is the Auto Focus Summer Test Drive Festival which is coming soon.

The annual event brings together in one venue the country's biggest and best brands to showcase and provide test drives of their local lineup of vehicles.

The much awaited festival takes place on May 4 to 7 at the SM Mall of Asia.

Already brands confirmed to participate in the festival are, in alphabetical order, Ford, GAC Motor, Honda, Hyundai, MG, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Subaru, Suzuki and Toyota.

Electric Evolution

After a long build-up, the Kia EV6 is finally and officially here.

Kia's groundbreaking full electric mid-size SUV has been making waves globally not only with its design but also in market acceptance and sales.

The EV6 gained such awards as2022 iF Design Award and2022 Red Dot Award and has also been named the2022 European Car of the Year and 2022 US Car of the Year.

Kia hopes such accolades will further boost acceptance of full EVs.

Kia Philippines president Manny Aligada said it best in his message during the formal launch of the EV6: "It is truly our honor to introduce this latest innovation by Kia: A sustainable car with zero emissions, and a step toward Kia's ambitious yet important transition into a future mobility solutions brand.

"Our one true message to the public aims to open their eyes to the reality and potential of Fully Electric Vehicles, and that Kia PH is here to make EV ownership convenient, worry-free, and enjoyable."

More significant than the formal launch of the EV6 is the EV ecosystem being developed and strengthened by the Ayala Group of Companies.

Kia Philippines is one of the brands being carried by AC Motors, Ayala Corporation's automobile business company that is one of the country's largest multi-brand vehicle distribution groups.

Said Ayala Corporation President and CEO Bong Consing during the launch: "We made sure to put the charging architecture in place long before the arrival of the EV6.

"Our strategically located charging stations are proof of our commitment to electrification. We are using the whole Ayala ecosystem to support the growth and adoption of EVs in the Philippines. We expect EV take-up to grow rapidly, and EVs to be the dominant transport technology in a few years."

An expanding charging system network is being established by Ayala Land using charging options manufactured and developed byIntegrated Micro-Electronics, Inc. , also a part of the Ayala Group, and its partner Greenstrum.

This is giving Kia Motors confidence of growing the brand as well as its EV initiative locally.

Said Joey Hong, Head of Sales of Kia Asia Pacific: " Kia Philippines-with the EV6 as its flagship vehicle, will lead other Kia models in showcasing the brand's technology, innovation, design direction, and the overall package that Kia has to offer to its market.

"I am confident to say that with the Ayala Group's strong EV ecosystem, the EV6 will be warmly welcomed by the Filipinos-as we head towards a sustainable and zero-emission road in the Philippines."

Honda Innovation

Honda is known for its innovations in both automotive and robotics technology.

Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) is helping foster that spirit of innovation in the country by supporting an competition for young Filipino innovators in Senior High School.

HCPI is partnering with Department of Science and Technology - Science Education Institute (DOST-SEI) in the imake.wemake:create.innovate.collaborate program.

Other partners include C&E Publishing, Inc. and Gokongwei Brothers Foundation.

The program aims to enable high school students to solve problems in respective communities or achieve a particular purpose using critical thinking, experimentation, risk analysis, engineering, and technical skills.

This year's contest gathered a total of 89 project proposals from public and private high schools from all over the Philippines, the biggest number of proposals received since the program started in 2017.

Twenty finalist schools were chosen to have respective teams undergo a five-day Technical Training, Workshop, and Mentoring.

Then the teams are given 90 days to finalize the design, build, and complete their working prototype, including test deployment in their chosen community.

The winning schools will receive a Youth Innovation cash grant of P200,000.

Louie Soriano, HCPI vice president , said: "Honda Cars is honored to be a part of the imake.wemake program. What you are doing here truly resonates with us. As the students use their creative energies and smart ideas to craft solutions to many of society's problems, Honda, the Power of Dreams, is unwavering about greater value through superior safety and environmental performance. We appreciate how this program promotes the application of science and technology in creating solutions and pursuing big dreams."

Holy Week Exodus

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is processing special permits for 712 bus units to augment the number of buses going from Metro Manila to the provinces and vice versa in time for the Holy Week.

The special permits will be valid from March 31 to April 17.

LTFRB Technical Division chief Joel Bolano said bus terminals in Metro Manila will be inspected to ensure ample facilities for passengers.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments & inquiries:

(email) sunshine.television@yahoo.com

(website) www.motoringtoday.ph

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ray Butch Gamboa graduated from the College of Arts and Letters of the University of Sto. Tomas. It was a course that should have been preparatory to a law degree, but the call of broadcasting aborted his plans.

At the age of 16, while still a student, Butch tried his hand at disc jockeying, landing a job at Mareco Broadcasting Network’s AM stations DZBM and DZLM. From there, Butch moved on with his illustrious career as a popular disc jockey, riding the airwaves of Bob Stewart’s middle-of-the-road music at DZXX, and ending his disc jockeying career at ABS-CBN’s DZYL and DZQL.

From there, he stayed on with ABS-CBN, covering live the proceedings at the Manila Stock Exchange and eventually entered into the world of television sales as an account manager for the premier channel of ABS-CBN Channel 2.

In the early 70’s, at the outbreak of Martial Law, Butch was one of the thousands of professionals who woke up jobless when then President Marcos declared the new status of the nation. With the closure of ABS-CBN, Butch ventured into different fields outside of broadcast. He tried his hand and with ease and success at export (Costume jewelry), real estate (brokerage), and restaurants (fast food).

In 1987, after the revolution, with the broadcast industry back to its free state, and with its irresistible call ringing in his ears, Butch made his inevitable comeback and pioneered in a local motoring show, producing Motoring Today on Channel 4 and co-hosting with local motor sports’ living legend Pocholo Ramirez.

After 4 years, he ventured into another pioneering format by producing and hosting Business & Leisure, which was originally aired on ABS-CBN’s Channel 2. The format eventually espoused similar ones in other different channels. But the clones in due course faded away leaving the original staying on airing on Channel 4 and eventually on Shop TV on Sky Cable’s Channel 13.

The following year, the pioneering spirit in Butch spurred him to produce another TV show, Race Weekend, also on Channel 4, covering circuit racing at the Subic International Raceway after the motor sport’s hiatus of 17 years. But when similar shows with duplicated formats sprouted, he decided to give way and ended the program after a year, although still enjoying unparalleled viewership.

In 1998, when the local automotive industry was in a slump, Butch contributed his share to help the ailing industry by producing another popular motoring-related show, this time exclusive to the automobile and its industry—Auto Focus, which became a vehicle for local automotive assemblers and importers to showcase their products and dwell on the industry’s latest technological developments.

In 2003, Butch teamed up with his brother, Rey Gamboa who was a former Shell executive and presently one Philippine Star’s business columnist to co-produce and co-host the TV show Breaking Barriers on Channel 13. It is a talk show that features guests who are in the news and in the middle of controversies. The program ventures to draw deeper insights into current issues to learn how they impact to our daily lives.

Today, Motoring Today on its 28th year of service to the general motoring public still enjoys its unprecedented loyal vierwership nationwide while Auto Focus, after 16 years has firmly established its niche viewership among automobile enthusiasts and on the other hand Business & Leisure is on its 24th year dishing out current business issues and lifestyle features.

Today, aside from writing weekly columns for the Philippine Star (Motoring Today on Wednesdays and Business & Leisure on Saturdays) and executive producer / host of weekly TV shows (Motoring Today, airs Sundays on Solar Sports Channel 70, Business & Leisure, airs Tuesdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13 and Auto Focus airs Thursdays on Shop TV, Sky Cable Channel 13, Ray Butch Gamboa is currently the Chairman and CEO of Sunshine Television Production and Marketing Services Corp., President of Gamcor Management and Development Corp., Chairman of Asia-Pacific Realty Corporation, President and Chairman of Socio-Communication Foundation for Asia and Founding Chairman of the Society of Phil. Motoring Journalists (SPMJ)

 

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