The truth about automotive reviews,...

[C24]

I think sa C! ata yun, yung specs ng suzuki super carry ilang taon na 3 cylinder pa rin ang nakalagay! tapos yung fortuner 1.2 to 1.4 tons lang ang gross weight!

[bayonic]

great thread ...

if you think car reviews are for the most part bs stories ... you should read " audiophile equipment " reviews

to be fair , let me quote Bruce Horsnby; " that's just the way it is ... some things never change , that's just the way it is ". car reviewers have symbiotic relationships with car manufacturers. it's not only in the philippines where this sort of scratch-my-back-if-you-scratch-mine arrangement happens.

i think what should be pointed out ( which has already been done in this thread ) is which reviewer or which magazine is the least impartial , most objective and accurate in their reviews.

if in the audio business , they say "Audition,Audition,Audition" when shopping for gears then in the car business , it should be "Test Drive,Test Drive,Test Drive"

which leads me to a question , perhaps OT , typically how long and how far can a prospective buyer test drive a car in the Philippines?

[budyong92]

Do dealers here in Phils. always offer test drive to prospective buyers?

Anyways both useful yung magazine reviews at owner's review...kelangan nga lang ay INTERNET para ma inform. Good resource itong Tsikot.com kasi pang-masa talaga...

If you have money to buy...wag magmadali para di magsisi in the end..

[DacoTyan]

I sometimes spot Kia Picanto and Sorento test units here in Davao. Hyundai offered the Matrix for test drive. Ford has a 'request a test drive' on their website but haven't tried it. Last car I had for a test drive was Toyota's Echo. It was a, roughly, 4 km drive along JP Laurel Ave.

[mazdamazda]

Hmmm... I stumbled upon this on the Motoring section of the Philstar... sounds like an infomercial to me.

Best foot forward
By Dong Magsajo
The Philippine STAR 11/15/2006

If there is anything that creates and breeds irate customers, it’s a stagnant and unimaginative sales force. A passive sales force is in fact one of the telltale signs of a sub-par institution. Truthfully, in this day and age, with so many institutions offering the same products and services, going the extra mile and putting one’s best foot forward is the only way to encounter success. Moreso in the auto industry, where the basics that come with cars and their peripheral services vary little from one dealership to another. The challenge is for each car dealership to find ways to woo customers into their fold, given the fact that apart from location, little separates them from each other.

In progressive countries like Japan and the United States, where the auto industry is healthiest, car dealerships rarely have problems motivating their personnel to go the extra mile. This is so because everyone is dead-set on making that sale — and giving the customer his money’s worth. Quite simply, there’s passion involved. Creative sales pitches, therefore, are a dime a dozen. And the customer is naturally the absolute winner. Here in the Philippines, unfortunately, we tend to wallow in mediocrity. It’s almost impossible to find the atypical gem of a deal — even in the most professional of car dealerships. Almost.

Every so often, strokes of genius present themselves to us. Take the case of Autohub. In the small world of the Philippine auto industry, Autohub has been discussed many times over. This is so because apart from the war-chest-heavy national manufacturers, this conglomerate of independent car dealerships has been the most aggressive corporate animal we’ve seen in years. Composed of Klassik BMW in Araneta Avenue, Ford Global City in Taguig, Ford Manila along Otis, Ford Cagayan de Oro, Nissan Gallery Ortigas along Libis, Nissan Gallery Quezon Avenue, Nissan Gallery Cagayan de Oro, the newly opened dealerships Kia Binondo and Hyundai Global City, and Autozone in Pasong Tamo, Autohub presents itself as a collection of dealerships that has come together to become a single, compelling force to reckon with.

And, true to form, in what seems to be an effort to signal its arrival as a serious player in the auto industry, Autohub has put together an aggressive marketing effort that puts the advantage squarely on the shoulders of its would-be customers. In their "Beat Our Insurance Challenge", Autohub customers promise to "beat" any qualified insurance policy premium by P1,000. Basically, you can go to any of Autohub’s dealerships and you have the option to get your car insurance for at least P1,000 less than if you were to have it insured elsewhere — provided that your car is 12 years old or younger. Talk about building customer loyalty from the onset.

The best thing about this entire effort is the fact that, given the desire to grow the business, you can actually see the conglomerate’s enterprising nature come out in the open. In other words, as consumers ourselves, it’s the kind of effort we’d like to see more of. Like we said, it’s great to see passion (and not just greed) involved in making us part ways with our hard-earned money. The initial savings the customer gets (which results in less initial gain for the dealership) might well translate into long term gains in terms of returning business for Autohub. But that is beyond the point. The effort to go the extra mile and take some of the load off the consumers’ backs is reason enough for many to want to keep coming back. It’s no guarantee. But it’s a great gesture from Autohub to think about and subsequently address our needs. Who knows? Perhaps by putting their best foot forward, Autohub can trigger a car insurance price war? Wouldn’t that rock many a car buyers’ world? Hmph! Now they’ve made me sound like the greedy pig…

[OTEP]

Ano iyan, advertisement posing as article? hahaha. Crap.

[GmZ]

Ano iyan, advertisement posing as article? hahaha. Crap.

yah, advertisement in the form of article. hehehe. =) I wonder how much Dong Magsajo get from Autohub..

[GaLynxmo]

hmmmmmmm....

"Thank you Isuzu! I love the Alterra!"


bwhahahahahahaha!

every wednesday, PDI hahahaha

And that is exactly what it is.... a freedom to choose. But I admire the initiative to divulge industry secrets, as it intends to educate the unwary and uninitiated. Kudos.

[kevinp]

Si RBG, kaya siguro di pumapayat kasi kain ng kain sa mga car launches! Hahaha!!!

[MAXBUWAYA]

And si rey butch gamboa lang ang nakita kong nagsuot ng helmet na hindi nagulo ang buhok!

(SiR test drive at subic)

[carlocaraddict]

Para naman puro eye candy yun.

My standard for an automotive TV show is still MOTORWEEK by Maryland Public Television. They used to show it locally. My uncle in Canada sends me VHS copies of the show.

Sobrang simple lang ng format. Test the cars, show the strengths and weakness, ok na.

http://www.mpt.org/motorweek/

Sample video (Kia Optima Road Test): http://mpt.org/motorweek/video/roadt...0a_flash.shtml

Motorweek Isuzu Vehicross Road Test:


Hindi ba kaya ng local shows iyan? Wala namang ginamit na special effects, ha.

I did watch this tv show (gradeschool pa ako nun). They even tested the Citroen XM (yes, it was sold in the US) and the Mazda AZ-1. Hmm..gandang ganda ako sa Buick Skylark when they tested it. Sa Ch.25 ata yun, tama ba Otep?

[mazdamazda]

Talk about shameless plugging. Who the heck cares about Isuzu's team building activity? Isn't that suppose to be an internal thingy?

Isuzu’s 3rd year of Team Building
It was in Antipolo City where Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) held its third staging of its Sales Rally last Thursday, January 11.

The event convened sales force representatives from its 19 authorized dealerships nationwide into a two-day, team building and motivational array of activities. It focused on team cohesiveness in building a more competitive and standardized sales skills where dealerships vied for awards.

Team Makati emerged victorious in the Team Building Activities while Team Pasig won the main event — the Sales Skills Presentation.

Mr. Art Balmadrid, IPC’s vp for business development was describing to me how difficult and also amusing to judge as their top-notched salesmen tried to maneuver positively out of negative situations presented to them to test their skills in handling tough customers. But then he’s confident that Isuzu Philippines has some of the best sales personnel after going through the exciting exercises.

MOTORING TODAY By Ray Butch Gamboa SPMJ
The Philippine STAR 01/17/2007

[wakin]

Talk about shameless plugging. Who the heck cares about Isuzu's team building activity? Isn't that suppose to be an internal thingy?

thats maybe to show us that they are united and that they communicate with one another. so pag nag reklamo ang mga customers, meron na silang isang response. scripted ba.

[mazdamazda]

thats maybe to show us that they are united and that they communicate with one another. so pag nag reklamo ang mga customers, meron na silang isang response. scripted ba.

Get this... they featured this again in yesterday's Motoring section of the Philippine Star. What a sharp contrast to the good review by Deakin on the Q7.

And yes, Isuzu was yet again mentioned in RBG's (SPMJ) weekly article.

On the show’s Q&A segment questions from one of the viewers about the newly launched Isuzu Altera would be answered by no less than the senior vice president for business development of Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC), Mr. Art Balmadrid.

Newly launched? :rofl01:

Baka naman bagong model ang Altera sa Alterra? :innocent:

[carlocaraddict]

facelifted alterra yun m2. hehehhe

[Alpha_One]

if you think car reviews are for the most part bs stories ... you should read " audiophile equipment " reviews

OT: Oh you mean stuff like "oxygen free high purity gold-plated copper wire" for guaranteed distortion free transfers", best when connected to a "warm natural sounding" tube amplifier? For only $5000! Long live vinyl!

...or you can go get some 12AWG wire from the nearest hardware store for $5?

[powertool]

of all the so called "motoring journalists" we have here in the philippines, only two come to mind when i am looking for frank, credible and knowledgeable car reviews: james deakin of C! and drew asuncion of Top Gear Phils. deakin is far and away the best automotive writer in town bar none. he mixes intelligent humour with sharp, concise and (often times) spot on observations about the cars he reviews. truly in a class of his own.

drew does have his own brand of self deprecating humour but is not the wordsmith deakin is. however, he tells it as it is, regardless of brand (look at how he bashed the '07 toyota camry for all the fake wood it uses in its interior!); this is what readers appreciate.

ray butch gamboa is so old school, he's like motoring journalist's version of "trapos" or traditional politicians.

tito hermoso (exec editor of C!) sounds too pedantic and "pa-impress" lagi with his stock knowledge and extensive travels that more often than not, he is the only one who understands what he is writing. dude, we know you're smart, quit lecturing already!

vernon sarne (exec editor of TG Phils) is an english teacher's nightmare with his kilometric sentences, fractured phrases and mismatched verb tenses. his brown nosed, name dropping writing style doesn't help either. dude, don't try to hard, keep it simple and stop brown nosing!

[mazdamazda]

What do we have here...

Isuzu a quiet achiever

Without much drum-beating while achieving, Isuzu Philippines Corporation (IPC) has chalked some sales milestones in the year past.

In particular, it has been reported that the sales of Isuzu Trucks have registered unprecedented dominance in the following categories; in Category 3, Isuzu’s N-Series have an huge 61.6 percent share of the market, in Category 4 the Isuzu F-Series registered a dominating 91 percent share of the market while Isuzu’s heavy trucks (18 tons and heavier) a lopsided 85.7 percent share came out in the sales charts.

The Isuzu Alterra was not to be outdone in the impressive line-up of remarkable vehicles in the Isuzu stable ... a 19.5 percent growth from the preceding year with a total sale of 913 units in 2006.

Isuzu top executives were also proud to point out another of their sales milestones by way of their company’s outstanding sales in December 2006 of 860 units, which is a very significant 29.1 percent improvement from the November sales of 666 units.

Isuzu attributes all these sales milestones to the Filipino market’s continued unwavering trust in and support of the brand.

MOTORING TODAY By Rey Gamboa
The Philippine STAR 02/07/2007

:rofl:

[Asus700]

one guy actually wrote top gear magazine in the Sept 2006 issue asking when will they do a comparison of the Jazz 1.3 and vios 1.3. he pointed out that these are everyday cars and not the luxury SUVs that TG keeps on featuring. He said in quote "let's be realistic".

TG answered "If you want realistic, we'd start racing edsa buses against the MRT".

now, what kind of reply is that from a top car magazine? The guy has a point and i'm sure that TG could have replied in a nice manner.

maybe they are not doing a feature on what the guy has suggested because that is not what car manufacturers want them to feature.

after reading that i just stopped buying their magazine.

[niky]

one guy actually wrote top gear magazine in the Sept 2006 issue asking when will they do a comparison of the Jazz 1.3 and vios 1.3. he pointed out that these are everyday cars and not the luxury SUVs that TG keeps on featuring. He said in quote "let's be realistic".

TG answered "If you want realistic, we'd start racing edsa buses against the MRT".

now, what kind of reply is that from a top car magazine? The guy has a point and i'm sure that TG could have replied in a nice manner.

maybe they are not doing a feature on what the guy has suggested because that is not what car manufacturers want them to feature.

after reading that i just stopped buying their magazine.

Ouch. :hysterical:

Isuzu top executives were also proud to point out another of their sales milestones by way of their company’s outstanding sales in December 2006 of 860 units, which is a very significant 29.1 percent improvement from the November sales of 666 units.

So the extra cash the malls made in December was a significant increase, too? Do tell... That's, that's... unprecedented!