By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

DUE to space constraints, Inquirer Motoring can only print one sob story this week. In the hope that car manufacturers and the motoring public would learn a lesson or two from these real experiences, we share with our readers what others were unfortunate enough to have lived through. All names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Edgar dela Cruz was visibly pleased when the sales agent handed over to him the keys to his wife Kathy’s brand-new 1.8-liter automatic transmission sedan last July 5 at a Shaw Boulevard dealership. But as soon as he opened the car’s door to savor the look and feel of a brand new car, he almost literally smelled a ratty deal had taken place. Edgar noticed that the car seats and sidings were no longer covered with plastic, as was customary with straight-off-the-factory deliveries, and he recalled that the interior “smelled like an old book in the library.”

He initially refused to accept the vehicle, and asked the agent for another unit. No other stock was available, the agent reasoned. Edgar, too eager to deliver the “brand new car” to his wife, settled with the unit and took the vehicle home the next day.

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By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE 2006 launch of the 8th generation Civic meant a lot of things for many people. For Honda the car made a statement that a product that grows up can still be fun to drive. To the competition, a benchmark was again be set for the tricky compact sedan market. Everyday motorists got a bigger car, with an efficient engine and styling that lived up to the times. For some of us though, a new Civic only meant one thing.

While 90 percent of the population will consider the Honda Civic as an entry-level sedan that seats five comfortably and does the daily commute without fussing or missing a beat, smaller niches in the market sees it otherwise. Another nine percent see this car as a blank canvas, a car that allows them to express their individuality and passion for tinkering with cars.

Tragedies in personal expression can be seen rolling the streets of Manila on a daily basis, festooned with every conceivable aftermarket trinket and bauble. The remaining one percent, see the Civic for what it really is.

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By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

ONCE in a while, it is great to suspend all manner of practical thinking. Every day it seems like a necessity to pinch pennies, to think of long-term feasibility and the function of the things we use. Testing cars cannot be oblivious of this frugal frame of mind. The emphasis in media on fuel efficiency, cargo capacity and value for money deals is a clear indication of the motoring public’s clamor for ways to help reduce the cost of the way they motor.

All this focus on economy can get to be tiring in all honesty. One can only suspend their love and enthusiasm for the automobile so much. Thank heavens then for cars that are expressions of striking design, inspired engineering and passion for the open road. Thank heavens for cars like the BMW Z4 Coupé.

It was more than two years ago, at the 2005 Tokyo Motor show that the preproduction model version of this hard-topped Z4 caught my eye. Bathed in a flat gray hue that added more drama to the already theatrical flame-like Chris Bangle design, this was a car that just seemed to absorb light, process it and exude attention as the by-product.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

(First of two parts)

INQUIRER MOTORING receives letters and phone calls from readers relating their casa (manufacturers’ service center) horror stories from time to time. Usually, it’s the complainants’ word against the car manufacturer. In the hope that our motoring public (and other car manufacturers, as well) would pick up a few lessons from these “sob stories,” we will be printing them — sans real name and company name of the parties involved, of course.

The aberrant alternator

Adela dela Cruz (not her real name) relates that her five-year-old, 2-liter 4×4 A/T SUV engine suddenly turned off and wouldn’t restart. Thinking that her two-year-old battery conked out, Dela Cruz changed it. To her dismay, the battery indicator, let alone the engine, still wouldn’t turn on.

Dela Cruz brought her vehicle to the casa and was given a quotation of P42,566 to cover the cost of the labor and parts for replacing what the shop said was a problem involving the entire alternator assembly

The technical department explained that the vehicle’s alternator assembly malfunctioned. She was told that since the warranty had lapsed, she had no choice but to shoulder the cost. She later found out that the alternator wouldn’t malfunction without a cause.

“We tried to gather information from friends and friends of friends who owned the same car model, and true enough, from inside sources, they had had several complaints that year involving the same parts,” she said.

In an e-mail to Inquirer Motoring, she wrote that the cause of the problem was the defective design or placement of the alternator — the reason the new model’s design had been changed. She added that what the other owners did with those that had the same problems fixed by the casa was to put an insulator to merely delay its inevitable malfunction.

Dela Cruz added that the engine manufacturer claimed “a four-year lifespan of an alternator assembly was acceptable and normal.” She retorted that her other SUV, which was already 10 years old, still had its original alternator running well and never replaced, and her friend’s SUV, also 10 years old, still had its original alternator assembly intact.

Dela Cruz lamented that she has had to resort to the media to air her complaints, as her calls to the Department of Trade and Industry consumer complaint hotlines and her e-mails to DTI NCR have never gotten a response or even an acknowledgment.

Hot under the hood

Another complaint comes from an owner of an overheating eight-year-old mini SUV (odometer reading: 55,000 km).

After driving it into the casa for the routine 55,000-km checkup and to have the overheating fixed, she was informed by the customer service staff that the additional work would cost P78,700.

Included in the cost was the replacement of the front shock absorbers, and some other work which she claimed the same casa had already completed last year. She recalled that her bill reached over P40,000 last year for such replacements.

She was then faxed a revised quote, deleting the cost of the front shock absorbers, reducing the total additional cost to just over P64,000. By then, however, she said she was already becoming suspicious, so she informed the casa’s customer service via SMS to hold all the work for her SUV, for which she received an SMS (text) confirmation.

A friend recommended another service center in the Alabang area. There, she got a quote of P14,530 for the radiator assembly replacement, compared to the casa’s P37,783.22 charge for the same work. She made an appointment to bring her car in first thing in the morning the following day.

The Alabang shop’s customer service representative explained the work they did on her SUV, showed her the replaced radiator and the new one they installed. She was told that radiators had an average life span of four years. Hers lasted almost eight years.

She was also told that her front and rear shocks, indeed, needed to be replaced.

“Considering I just drove 10,000 km in the 12 months since the shocks were replaced — I cannot understand how I could have busted my shocks that quickly unless I got substandard, defective shock absorbers in the first place. And how can I get substandard parts from the casa. Am I not paying premium just to make sure I do not get ripped off?” she asked.

Her final bill at the Alabang service center, which included radiator, coolant, hose clamp, shop materials, labor with pressure test and with VAT included was P8,548.59. The entire radiator assembly didn’t need to be replaced, after all.

This complainant sent Inquirer Motoring the detailed list of parts quotations from both the casa and the Alabang service center. Both claimed they were using original parts.

By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THEY say the best measure of a product or service’s quality is its ability to thrive even when its competitors are having a tough time. And such is evident in a highly competitive market as the automotive industry, where consumer loyalty can be retained or swayed as swiftly as car manufacturers can produce new vehicle models.

Honda Cars Philippines Inc., however, has two models that prove that when you hit the bull’s eye of your target market, loyalty and consequently continued sales are almost always assured despite the influx of competitor models. The Honda Civic has captured a 63-percent market share of the compact class sedan, while the CR-V has gained a 25-percent share in its class. The two vehicles have bolstered HCPI’s No. 2 position in the automotive industry.

In a statement released by HCPI citing Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (Campi) report, Honda led the passenger segment in January with a 35-percent market share. HCPI sold 1,045 units in January out of the total passenger car unit sales of 2,961.Arnel Doria, HCPI VP for marketing, said that with continued positive sales trend, Honda hopes to significantly contribute to Campi’s 125,000-unit year-end industry sales target.

HCPI registered a 65-percent increase over the same period in 2007.

Doria pointed out that despite the 23-percent downtrend in the passenger car market compared to the December 2007 performance, Honda even managed to post a 19-percent growth.

Industry historical trends show that the industry normally experiences a sales slump at the beginning of every year due to advanced demands in December when buyers take advantage of aggressive year-end promotions.Honda credits its passenger cars dominance with its iconic Civic model, which has registered a 14,000-unit accumulated sales since its introduction in April 2006. Mirroring buyers’ approval, various industry awards have been heaped on the Civic for its superior engine performance, fuel economy, dynamic styling and overall value. Overall, the Civic emerged as one of the top three best-selling models in 2007.

The CR-V is also credited by HCPI as adding a significant contribution in sustaining its position with 431 unit sales.

By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE NEW Toyota Corolla is out. Much awaited by the public and the rest of the industry, it is rather curious that a product of this importance hasn’t broken cover with the fanfare and fuss expected of such an established model. Roughly 30 million Corollas, in 10 iterations, sold over 42 years is a lot to shout about. The relative silence over the tenth generation launch says so much.

This is a car that will definitely find itself in the garages of many Filipino families. There are those out there who will buy a Toyota Corolla, sight unseen, just on blind brand loyalty. You cannot really fault these faithful, over the years several of the past versions of this car have really been reliable, value for money automobiles. Two models — the KE7x series and the AE8x series, both of the ’80s — were actually fun to drive. Add to that the inexpensive nature of Corolla parts and you can see why many are still hooked.

Pending a test drive of the 10th Generation Corolla, a definitive verdict cannot be laid down. Although, a quick read of the specification sheet will show that very little has mechanically changed from the previous 2001-on model.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

PASSENGER cars still take the backseat when it comes to Filipino motorists’ choice of vehicles.

Although passenger car sales showed almost a 30-percent improvement in January compared to the same period last year, and commercial vehicles grew 12 percent for the same period, overall sales of commercial vehicles continue to dominate overall market sales with an almost 70-percent market share.

Carmakers see this trend continuing for the year, as revealed in a statement by Elizabeth Lee, president of the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc (Campi).

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By Andre Palma
Philippine Daily Inquirer

I HAVE to admit to cringing when Ford Philippines’ Glen Dasig mentioned the word, “Expedition,” over the phone. Admittedly, biases and preconceived notions about certain cars are difficult to suspend, even when one tests them for a living.

It is hard to forget a six-month spell, years ago, when this writer had to fuel a first generation 5.4-liter Triton V8 specimen. It felt like personally sponsoring a petroleum company, honestly. At some point, every pump attendant’s courtesy smile started looking eerily sinister. It got that bad.
It is now two generations later, a long period of time in any process of automotive evolution and even the tamest of cars can change a lot over 10 years. Is the third-generation Expedition any better than the first? Let’s just say that the 2008 Ford Expedition experience is generally a familiar one.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
INQUIRER.net

AFTER SATISFYING over 32 million owners around the world and undergoing nine “generational” changes, the Toyota Corolla is ready to take another step up in the evolutionary ladder.

So, 42 years after the first Corollas came out of the assembly line worldwide, the 10th generation Corolla Altis makes its debut in the Philippines in March. And basing on raw measurements: the overall look can now be described as sportier, but roomier. That seems contradictory at first, but read on and you’ll get the picture.

It may not look as sporty as the 5-door Corolla Auris hatchback, the one that you will see in Europe and Japan, but at least the 10th generation Altis is sportier than its local predecessors.

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By Tessa R. Salazar
Philippine Daily Inquirer

THE AUTOMOTIVE buzz last week was that US automaker General Motors Corp.’s “solid sales growth” gave it a slim lead over Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp. in 2007 global vehicle sales, allowing it to keep its top spot for the 77th year.

GM sold 9,369,524 vehicles last year — a measly lead of 3,000 over Toyota’s 9.366 million vehicles sold last year. Automotive business analysts are expecting a more intense rivalry this year as the two compete for emerging markets like China and India.

But the No. 2 placer, it seems, isn’t complaining.

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