Words by Jose Carlo R. Sapera | Photos courtesy of Suzuki Motor Corporation
The SX4 is one tough cookie. This Japanese compact car has been turned into a crossover, sport hatchback, a WRC rally car, and a Pikes Peak International Hill Climb winner. So after a six-year life cycle, it's time for a new one to fill in its big shoes. And here it is, the all-new 2014 Suzuki SX4 - based on the S-Cross concept that debuted at last year's Paris Motor Show.The concept behind the all-new SX4 is to combine the qualities of a compact car with technologies used in sport utility vehicles. What they came up with is something they'd like to describe as having “bold styling, class leading space for all passengers, outstanding 4WD performance, and low carbon dioxide emissions.”
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Words by Jose Carlo R. Sapera | Photos courtesy of PSA Peugeot Citroen
It was back in 2007 when French automaker Peugeot came out with the 308 - a five-seat five-door hatchback that replaced the old 307. And since these guys use numbers instead of words to name their models, where the last digit indicated the model's generation, we were expecting its successor to be called the 309. But for some reason, they decided to retain the name and made this all-new model a whole lot better than the old one. Let me introduce to you, the all-new Peugeot 308 hatchback.
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Words by Hans Gerald Chua | Photos courtesy of Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A.
Time indeed flies when you're having fun, especially when you work for Lamborghini. Would you believe, the Italian supercar maker started out by building tractors from surplus World War II parts. Then, in 1963, founder Ferruccio Lamborgini decided to switch to building sports cars after a certain Mr. Enzo Ferrari told him that a tractor builder knew nothing about sports cars. And as the say, the rest is history - all 50 years of it.
So in celebration of Lamborghini's 50th birthday, they launched a tweaked and even more uncompromising Aventador called the LP720-4 50° Anniversario, limited to only 100 units worldwide. Of course, each unit is marked by a forged composite badge with the 50° logo and a serial number.
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Words by Christopher Kho | Photos courtesy of the Volvo Car Corporation
It was way back in December of 2012 when we first got word from Viking Cars Inc., the official Philippine distributor of Volvo cars, that the all-new V40 was indeed coming to the Philippines. They said that their most modern five-door five-seater should be here by the “first quarter of 2013.” Well, it's finally here and promises to be “a modern expressive car, with characteristics from larger Volvos wrapped in a sleek, compact package.”
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Words by Carl Trocio | Photos courtesy of Mercedes-Benz
Every run-of-the-mill family usually has a designated enforcer, commonly known as “the bad ass.” For the Mercedes-Benz family tree, laymen have bestowed such title to the G-Class - unarguably a tough looking specimen that was built to do hard work and dirty jobs. With the body aerodynamics similar to that of a Lego® brick, the land speed record is far from its life’s mission. Instead, the G-Wagon enjoys crawling on mud, dirt, and rocks in hostile environments and is a regular mainstay in the military (of some countries, not ours). Yes, in the family of vehicles that caters to the privileged, this brute of a sibling does count as the resident bad ass.Enter the Mercedes-Benz Unimog. Imagine if the G-Wagon had an ugly bigger brother that just came out of prison. Better yet, if Mercedes-Benz opened a can of whoop-ass, the Unimog would come out of the can. The Unimog represents the company’s heavy-duty line of commercial vehicles built to go anywhere and take on the toughest conditions. The name “Unimog” is an acronym for “universal motor device” in Germanese.
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Words by Jose Carlo R. Sapera
It was only a month ago when the Alto 800 and Swift Dzire made a surprise appearance at the 2013 Manila International Auto Show (MIAS). Back then, we were told that these Indian-built subcompacts will be launched by the end of April. And true enough, just days before Labor day, Suzuki Philippines Incorporated (SPI) made both cars officially official.
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Words by Christopher Kho | Photos courtesy of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.
Let it be known that the world's fastest production car is the Bugatti Veyron 16.4 Super Sport. It achieved a top speed of 431.072 km/h at the Volkswagen Group's proving grounds in Ehra-Lessien back in 2010 - a record which still stands today and leaves all other supercars trailing in its wake. But instead of playing catch up, there is one other speed record that has yet to be set: the world's fastest production open-top roadster.
So what’s an engineer to do? Hack the roof off of the world's fastest production car, of course! The 2013 Bugatti Veyron Grand Sport Vitesse World Record Car (WRC) was meant just for this purpose.
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26 April 2013
Honda updates the 2014 Odyssey with a tidy upgrade
Words by Hans Gerald Chua | Photos courtesy of American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
When a car manufacturer gives one of its models a mid-cycle update, they normally put in new bumpers, new wheels, and maybe better safety features. Honda, on the other hand, had other things in mind when they updated the Odyssey for 2014.
Like everyone else, I'm pretty sure the guys at Honda also have to vacuum their cars every so often. And we all know what a chore that is. So they came up with a solution. The revamped Odyssey highlights Honda's first-ever vehicle to be fitted with a vacuum cleaner called HondaVAC. This tie-up with ShopVac composes of powerful vacuum, replaceable filter, canister bag, and attachable nozzles - all located in the cargo area to make clean-ups quick and easy.
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