By Izah Morales
INQUIRER.net

Getting derailed thrice, crashing into tires and finishing five laps in 2 minutes and 4 seconds at the Sepang International Karting Circuit taught me how karting can be dangerous yet can still be an exhilarating ride.

As one of the media delegates for the Norton Asean Speed Challenge, I had the chance to drive the 1,247-meter-long circuit. The challenge for the media delegates was to finish five laps with the best time.

With my excitement, I forgot to do warm-up exercises before riding the kart. As the green flag was waved, I stepped on the gas pedal, accelerated and made my way through the turns. It was a race and so I drove as fast as I could with my right foot on the gas pedal. But then, I didn’t maneuver the steering wheel well on the curve, driving my way out of the track. It was a bit shameful to be pulled out thrice. But then again, learning is not an overnight process. Yet on my last lap, I was able to smoothly drive through the curves and finished the fifth lap victoriously. Though I didn’t have the best time, I felt like I was still a winner, for karting taught me lessons beyond the four corners of a classroom.

1) EXERCISE. Before karting or doing any strenuous activity, never forget to do a warm-up exercise to prepare your muscles or else you’ll find yourself cramping in pain the day after karting.

2) SAFETY first. Never sacrifice your safety for the sake of winning a competition. Always drive carefully and responsibly.

3) ENJOY. Racing without enjoyment is like eating cake without the icing.

The Go-Kart circuit, one of the five circuits at the Sepang International Circuit, is 10minutes away from the Sepang F1 circuit, where Eddie Irvine, Michael Schumacher and Mikka Hakkinen raced during its inauguration in 1999 finishing first, second, and third place, respectively. Since its inauguration, Sepang International Circuit has been host to world championships in motorsports. Come November 21^st-23^rd, the Sepang International Circuit will host the A1 Grand Prix, a single make open-wheel auto racing series where teams represent a nation.

By Esther Misa Chavez
INQUIRER.net

ON its 100th year anniversary, the world’s largest automaker, General Motors Corp. launched its much anticipated “green” car, the Chevy Volt. Sharp, sleek, and sporty, it is vaunted to leapfrog all competitors in the race to bring the greenest, coolest environmentally correct car in the market.

Proud of its game changing design and performance, GM promptly introduced its lead exterior designer to the press, particularly the Filipino-American media, since, it turns out, Gary Ruiz, 33 is a Filipino-American, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio. This second generation Filipino-American understands Tagalog but can’t speak it well. No matter. His designs speak an international language well understood by all.

Ruiz initially studied pharmacology and was on his final year at Ohio State University when he grew enamored with industrial design. Quite a big shift from chemistry to engineering but Ruiz dove into it and, soon, was in the center of the world of automobile design.

Shortly thereafter, he was assigned to a leadership position in one of GM’s high-priority projects, the E-Flex Design Studio, where he and his team were charged with the aesthetics of the exterior design of GM cars, particularly the Chevy Volt. He was also involved in the initial designs of the GM’s latest muscle retro-car, the 2008 Camaro.

Ruiz is proudest of the fact that GM put in a concerted effort to produce a vehicle like no other — an electric car that’s “beautiful, and that’s going to decrease dependence on oil, reduce emissions, appeal to environmentally conscious drivers as well as to gear heads.”

Here is an electric vehicle that will run for 40 miles on single battery charge before it switches to gasoline use. In an all-electric mode, when the generator kicks in, it will rack up 100 miles to the gallon.

The Chevy Volt has just catapulted GM to world prominence and, in Ruiz’s own words, “long term prosperity.” At 100 years old, GM has left big footprints in automotive history and is leaving fresh new ones at the forefront of the race to save the planet.

(Photo courtesy of General Motors Corp.)

Would you hang on to a Subaru, stand on one leg and raise your arm above your head for six hours without letting go? Well, 28 pople did last Saturday, September 20, at the Greenhills open parking lot in front of the Greenhills Theater in San Juan for a chance to win P50,000.

At the Celebrity and Media Edition of the Subaru Impreza Challenge, 28 contestants from show business and the media placed their right palms flat on certain parts of two Subarus for six hours. This was a teaser for the main event which happens October 10, 11 and 12 in the same area where the winner will be flown to Singapore to compete in the Asian version of the challenge. The winner in the Singapore contest will win a Subaru Impreza WRX.

The record in the Singapore challenge is 77 straight hours, with five-minute bathroom breaks every six hours. In the Philippine Celebrity and Media Challenge, however, the challengers hung on for six hours with a 10-minute break after the first three hours. The winner for Media would get P50,000, then another P50,000 for the Celebrities. Who won? Watch the video to find out!

By Leo Magno
INQUIRER.net

ALTHOUGH the 2008 Toyota Prius can hold its own in terms of stylishness and exterior aesthetics and aerodynamics, it is what lies within this vehicle that strikes me more than its superficial construction.

I’ve never been one to adore form. Rather, I go for substance. And that’s what I found most appealing in this vehicle. My own vehicles are not well-taken cared off on the outside, but their engines are humming like bulls raging to be released on the streets of Pamplona — whether it’s the color-coding car or my own daily road warrior.

Beauty fades. Your cars will get dented and they will get old and ugly. You may even encounter fender-benders and those moronic street kids who steal side mirrors. But with the Prius I couldn’t care less as long as its second-generation hybrid system continues to work its magic whether it’s the high-output electric motor or the internal combustion engine that’s making it move quickly and efficiently.

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Doris Dumlao reports that car loans are growing for Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co., the country’s largest bank.

She has reported a faster-than-expected growth in car loans in the first eight months, suggesting a robust contribution from consumer lending for the rest of the year.

Her report indicates that Metrobank’s car availments in the first eight months expanded by 30.65 percent over the volume generated in the same period last year.

FOR a fee of P500, a student at the University of the the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City can use a Padyak bicycle for a semester. Some 60 Padyak bicycles are now in use on the sprawling campus, providing students an alternative to taking a public utility jeepney or using a car or motorcycle.

The benefits of using a Padyak are many, including helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enjoying the freedom to move quickly around the campus at one’s convenience.

If the students on the waiting list are any indication, there’s an unmet demand for an environment-friendly mode of transportation on the campus.

Compared with the student population of some 23, 300, the number of Padyak bikes is small. Support from the alumni and groups for the UP Mountaineers-initiated program will certainly boost the number of Padyak bikes in the coming semesters.

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DESPITE the unrelenting oil price increases, auto manufacturers reported a 13-percent increase in sales during the first eight months of the year.

The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc. and the Truck Manufacturers Association said they sold a total of 83,196 units from January to August this year, compared to 73,563 units during the same period last year.

However, sales in August fell to 14.9 percent to 9,906 units from 11,636 in July, the auto manufacturers said.