1967 VW T2

"This sunshine is a split on the road!"

Spotted in Ayala Terraces parking a vintage VW van! Known as the Transporter or Bus in layman terms. Before any other trendy APV (all-purpose-vehicle) nowadays like the most common Toyota Grandia and Nissan Urvan, this vintage is the forerunner of the modern cargo and and passenger vans. Like the superstar Beetle, the van received numerous nicknames worldwide like microbus, minibus, and the hippie van! Following its first generation, the T2 adopted exterior renovations and engine specs upgrade making it a more reliable German creation!

Porsche Cayman S

"German engineers never fails to amuse me!"

The midengine boxster who is nothing more than a poor man's 911, but as to anyone who has driven one can attest the Cayman is no weak link. The character of this sportscar is one of free will; no compromise but to make conscious decisions, to be governed by nothing but one's free will.

It has a 3.4-litre capacity engine than can push its power output to 320hp at 7,200rpm with a maximum torque of 370 Nm at 4,750 rpm. All these achieved by the (DFI) direct fuel injection in the Cayman S, a lightweight construction and a host of other engineering advancements.

German engineers never fail to amuse me. Get in, and the car really fits around you not the other way around. The driving position, pedal layout and gearchange are all smootha nd perfect. Oh and the leather sports seat are definitely perfect to my every body contours. But even more amazing is the Cayman's composure in any surface. The steering and suspension are in perfect sync making handling superb.

Spotted in RED who's apparently owned by one of our local politicians. ^_^

Nissan 370Z GT Edition

"The spirit of that pioneering "Z" lives on!"

Built to celebrate Nissan's global racing success, the new 370Z GT Edition promises to be the best handling version yet. Inspired by its 1970s forebearer, the newborn features a set of eye-catching racing stripes down both sides, darker 19-inch alloys, and a trio of special paint finishes - Pearl White, Kuro Black, and Black Rose.

As the name implies, the GT Edition highlights Nissan's presence in GT racing on the world stage. As well as its continuing commitment to Super GT in Japan. The edition also introduces a number of significant suspension and equipment improvements which have been also adopted by the standardf Coupe. One of the principal modification is the retuned dampers that provides ideal balance between ride comfort and high-speed handling. With a shorter wheelbase, wider track and stiffer shell than its predecessors, the Nissan 370Z has starred on track as well as on road.

Extra kit for the GT Edition includes a reversing camera that appears in the sat-nav screen and a new tyre pressure monitoring system. The advance seven-speed automatic option now has a 'snow' setting mode when which applied, sets the car off in second gear and controls engine revs to prevent spinning the wheels in slippery conditions.

However changes aren't purely cosmetic - the latest addition to the line-up has been fettled by Nissan's UK engineers, who have retuned the dampers to help provide "the ideal balance the ride comfort and high-speed handling" and added underfloor insulation to help increase refinement. The newcomer's price starts at Php2,500,000 ( SP35,000).

NY hails upcoming Taxi!

"A new king will be running the streets of New York!" -hitwheels

Nissan has pulled off a huge coup by winning a contract that will see its one of its commerical vehicles become New York's next yellow taxi. The reason for the change is to find a successor to the discontinued Ford Crown Victoria and the mixed collection of hybrid cars and sport utility vehicles that are temporarily filling in.

Previously the famous cabs were Ford Crown Victorias but Nissan beat the blue oval Ford and Turkish maker Karsan Otomotiv with a purpose-built version of its NV200 Vanette. The 10-year contract is worth around £600m and will start in 2013. The winning design from a Japanese auto maker would ultimately replace the 16 different car models currently used by the city's 13,237 licensed taxicabs! The old cabs will be ultimately phased out by 2018.

Interior Cabin of the NV200

While the Nissan MPV's (multi-purpose vans) looks are hardly evocative of a traditional New York 'yellow cab', the taxi is designed specifically for its role, featuring a glass roof to offer views of skyscrapers, charging points for phones, ample, flexible seating, sliding doors for easy access and satnav. The new king wasn't 'off the rack', but rather custom-tailored to create the best fit for the drivers, owners and passengers of NY city. Of the three finalists, the NV200 was the cheapest at £18,000 (Php 1,272,316) per vehicle and with fuel economy of around 25mpg, much less thirsty than the 12mpg (5.1 km/L) Crown Victoria. By 2017, Nissan will offer electric versions too.

Hey SOUL sister!

"like no other KIA we seen before!"

Another car maker with its eyes set on the so-called "urban on-roader" market. KIA first previewed its challenger at the Geneva Motor Show two years ago (2008) by revealing the SOUL concept car. Look past the glitzy concept detailing because what we have here is a very attractive little runabout with "chunky" styling and a spacious, versatile interior. When the real thing debut this year in the Philippines the response was "Hey what was that oddly good looking thing running around?!"hahaha.

Soul's inside theme is high-end audio components, so the dashboard is arranged around speaker placement rather than vice versa. With this emphasis on interior styling its clear Kia knows its target market, Generation Y (77'-94'). Additionally the souls power lift gate has an integrated configurable backpack compartment that can hold variable items in variable sizes and shapes. Now that's good news for people who bring their closets with them.

Highlighted safety perimeters of the chunky includes detailed information on everything from fuel mileage to seating capacity. Another class on this class is the traction control and the anti-skid system just like Mazda's CX series! And of course the curtain side airbags. The rest are all safety standards. Soul is a front wheel drive powered by a 1.6L 4-cylinder engine that teams with a speed manual transmission and 2.0L variant for both 5speed manual and 4speed automatic transmission. And just what you wanted to know, YES a diesel engine variant is available.

Personally the Soul's funky factor seems more superficial than the quirky-to-the-bone Nissan Cube, and this likeable little box deserves serious consideration in the class. And FYI to those planning to drive this odd looking thing you might want to hold your belts a couple of months more because an insider tipped me that the price will be down a couple of hundreds to three from its market price now. You can do the math I suppose!

2010 PLDT myDSL Speed Circuit Drifting Exhibition

April 11, 2010 - From the nationwide series of speed, shifts, turns, and loud squeeking of drifting tires, BigSeed Media parks the MyDSL Speed Circuit Driftng Exhibition live in SM City Cebu! Topnotch drifter Alex Perez with wonder boy Gio and hot lady drifter Pio Boren made feel to Cebuanos the real deal of drifting this mojos! The fan's need for speed was quench by a series of simultaneous adrenaline pumping drifts of this year's drift tuned cars Mazda RX-7, Toyota Levin AE86, and Toyota Chaser JZX100. So you know, drift cars are light to moderate rear-wheel-drive coupes and sedans with large range of power levels. Meaning your Vios or City for crying out loud won't do! so stop trying!Lol.The drivers took turns in driving this babies as they dust the place!

On the latter celebrity drifter Ryan Agoncillo made grace and showed off his honed skills in drifting as well. Random viewers were also treated a ride and feel of squeeking tires as they shout out loud the thrill and excitement inside the mojos.

Ryan Agoncillo shares his passion and drive on how it all started.

Hot lady drifter Pia Boren

Boywonder Gio posses with mean machine Nissan Coupe GTR

Most celebrated drifter Alex Perez with his crew behind

According to Alex this motorsport is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers causing the rear wheels to loose traction through turns while maintaining control on the vehicle through the use of foot and hand breaks released and locked in simultaneously in high speed.

A word of advice for individuals who wants to try drifting like me, try your maneuvering skills first through these toy cars pimp specially for game drifting. Should cost you around Php10 -15 thousand depending on the modifications you install, i.e., wheels, batteries, remote control, and power motor. Not bad to jump start a new hobby and avoid wrecking a real car. have FUN!

Credits to Doyzkie Buenaviaje for this photo!

Cheers to Ms. Jaja Chiongbian of BigSeed Media for breaking one cool event!

Mazda CX-7

"A truly potent sport crossover SUV"

Designed to blend both sports car and sports utility vehicle, attributes sporting and dynamic features exclusively for every road you're ever going to travel. The birth of the CX7 here in the Philippines draws in crowd of individuals gambling on 5 seater SUV rather the traditional 7 seater. This places CX7 on the same road with Honda CR-V, Toyota Rav4, and Hyundai Tucson.

Though of much no difference to the old CX-7, exterior styling is emotional! Lines and contour blend with each other incorporating the details of a sports car to an SUV. The craftmanship and design is very mindful. and what strikes me most is the sharp and aggressive front contours. The CX-7 rolls on 17inch alloy wheels with a dimension of 4.7 X 1.9m, spacious enough to be a midsize suv. And i should tell you that its HID ready, need not to pimp the eyes!

On the inside the feel is sophisticated. The panel board is equipped with advance control systems including an LCD display for fuel consumption, maintenance record, and vehicle performance. Plus the meter cluster is inspired by the thoroughbred Mazda RX-8. Active auxiliary controls are still available on the steering wheel for the driver's accessibility and comfort. I personally think this should come on all cars today. One thing disturbs me is the cliff-cut on the facia board between the trip LCD display which worst extends all the way to both ends, totally disagrees the concept of continuous flow. Nonetheless, the driver's seat is electronically adjustable giving perfect command to the fit you perfectly want. So no more pushing, sliding and pulling.Lelz. Legroom is good but head room is quite lower than the normal. Upholstery is leather with perforated inserts, and both front seats have heaters. Boot and utility space is excellent. And here comes my surprise! the floor console between the front seats is large enough to hold most notebook computers which means no more notebooks on the seats!

The CX70 represents Mazda'a newly adopted MZR 2.5 petrol engine that delivers sound drivability and fuel economy without compromising the zoom zoom driving performance. Runs in 9km/liter in mixed driving for a luxury SUV sure feels good. In addition driving stability and handling is superb especially when doing sudden stops, high speed on curves, and quick shifts between cars. This is because of the integrated Dynamic Control System (DCS) and Traction Control System (TCS) that greatly attributes to safety, stability, and performance of the vehicle. Techtronic activematic transmission still comes with this baby as well as the rest of the Mazda Pack.

Bentley Mulsanne

"If you have to ask how much??? You cant affort it! "

Ok since I feel classy waking up this morning let me share something classy out of my cache. The Bentley Mulsanne! Some of you might hear of this behemoth but to most let me tell you a story. These days when something means something, the Mulsanne comes in real deal some thing! Descended from an incomparable bloodline of truly potent machines. The word is MORE. Nothing succeeds like excess. If you have to ask how much, you can’t afford it!haha. Its target market comprises individuals who already own a fleet of exotica and regard grand saloons and flagship SUVs as prudent purchases; a kind of person who is likely to say “ let your people talk to my people and sort out the details”. Lelz.

The Mulsanne is essentially an old-style behemoth that unashamedly draws on the marquee’s racing pedigree powered by the most powerful engine, V8, the B has ever created and to apply general criteria when evaluating this product is pointless. The beautiful monster journey towards a top speed of 296 km/h. It powers up to 530hp and a maximum torque of 1050Nm, the highest ever torque output of any V8. The 6.7L twin-turbo charged V8 is capable of reaching 0-100 km/h in just 5.3 seconds. That’s whooping wosh! The fastest 0-100km acceleration car I ever blogged. Fuel consumption is at 25L/100km for city driving and a little lower for country. This is acceptable in V8 powered machines.

At more thatn 5.5m in length and 2.2m wide, the avant garde Mulsanne does little to obscure its portly dimensions. It has grammatically raked front and rear screens, elongated, pillarless glass areas and broad haunches. Bentley claims the “floating rear screen” effect could only be created by its coachbuilders attaching the rear quarter-panels and roof by hand.

The interior layout is absolutely retro, trimmed in genuine wood, seas of smooth sumptuous leather, and wooly thick-pile carpeting. But don’t be deceived, beneath the signature classic look is the best technology available ranging from advanced electronic systems to four-zone air conditioning and soundproofing you can’t hear you mom yelling on you from outside!Lelz. Music enthusiasts like me will love the audio system designed exclusively by Naim, British audio company recognized for its specialist sound systems, for the Bentley Mulsanne. Might not be the concept cars like the Seat Bocanegra and Lamborgini Gallardo, but few machines can match her presence.

The WHEEL deal

On an average man’s life there are two purchases that require a great degree of level headedness, research, head scratching, sweat and all other manner of these clichéd emotions. These are buying a house, and choosing your means of transport. Yes! choosing a girlfriend didn’t make it to the top 2. What I think is that the house is the easier one, reason being that this is largely about location (easily visible) and condition (predominantly easily visible! Lelz) plus of course the price. Not so for Cars, which can have a multitude of skeletons lurking in their cupboards. Believe me Ive tried!Lels. There are two types of car shopping nonetheless. If you can afford it buy Brand New! Here you are pampered with a wide variety of models, glossy brochures, and unbelievably friendly salespeople. Plus whatever you buy you will most likely have a factory of warranties! What fun! As with the multitude of new car models on our market, the used car market is also extensive. But most of us are in a fenced budget and the option for second-hand model or used cars comes in. I have categorized four main ways to buy your steed.

First is from adverts in newspapers or specialist magazines (brand new). Second, you can go to the used car dealers which we have an array along paseo road and maguikay talamban.hahaha. Third is online which basically directs you to classy motor pools or the stalls I’ve mentioned earlier. And fourth, through auction in which the car is sold privately agreed by two parties and no tax included.

And since buying a brand new only recommends surface understanding of the specs and kin taste on what’s good looking, I am certain that discussing more on the second option is reader friendly.

When buying a used car, it is crucial to make sure that it is in sound mechanical condition. Simply saying if you don’t know much about cars, take someone who does. the following are basic tips when hovering for cars:

• Always ask for service records to ensure that the car has been maintained properly.

• Check the vehicle thoroughly for rust. The most obvious places are the door sills, window and headlamp surrounds, and under the carpet, booth inside and the boot.

• Use those keen eyes and check for signs that the car may have been in an accident. Some parts might be dented or there are odd welding seams.

• If a car has been poorly maintained, the evidence can usually be quickly spotted. Look under the bonnet and check for frayed wiring, a oily engine bay, cracked hoses, and corroded battery terminals.

• Remove the radiator cap and start the engine from cold. If bubbles surface from the water, it could indicate a defective cylinder head gasket.

• Check the windscreen for cracks and chips. U should know that a windscreen can be very expensive to replace.

• Stand behind the vehicle and ask the sales person to start the engine. Blue/grey smoke might indicate worn valve guides. If there is a lot of smoke, the engine may need an overhaul and is very costly.

• Inspect the tyres carefully. Unevenly worn tyres can indicate defective shock absorbers or suspension damage. None of which is cheap to repair.

• Lastly always test drive the vehicle with the radio switched off. Check the working of the indicators, wipers, fan, gearbox, pedals etc. Also make sure the car accelerates smoothly, and that there are no misfires.

To note, in the end the decision is always the buyers and don't let the mouth of the sales person distract you. Take time and make no haste. Not deciding on the first day doesn't make you stupid or cant afford, it means you're careful and sure. Nonetheless, bringing your own mechanic would really help us. And you should always bear in mind that fuel consumption may not be your greatest annual expense - it could be maintenance if you chose the wrong car. I hope these tips would not only help those planning to buy a new car but also to those who already has but lacks care for their babies. The above can also be used as gauges if your car is still working right.

Accord ME!

Honda’s revelation of the all-new accord last year is undoubtedly surprising but expected, following toyota’s new camry, mazda’s 6, and the leading BMW 3 series which they all fell on the same category! Honda somehow is adamant that this new model will be competitive in the market and will battle the likes of the above.

With sharper, more aggressive styling and some very bold body contours compared to its predecessor, the new Accord certainly demands to be noticed as I did when I saw it middle last year turning my head around. The squat new appearance is the result of wider front and rear tracks a lower roofline and comes with a rolling 17" hardy wheels.

Inside, the theme "bigger is better!", which only means that there is more than the usual leg room and head space. Not to mention more room for those signature Honda details! There is a dramatic new fascia finished in premium materials plus the Bluetooth system that is becoming a standard for vehicles nowadays. Driver's seat has a 10-way power adjustment including power lumbar support to fine tune your unique fit. The model also comes with a moonroof, another 'thing' for upscale sedans.

Honda claims Accord is the first car to boast an engine line-up that is entirely compliant with the Euro 5 emissions regulations. Environmentally friendly for short!Lolz. Arguably the star of the engine range is the new 2.2L i-DTEC engine that delivers 110kW and 350 N.m. As before, two petrol engines are offered, with the 2.4L delivering slightly more power (149kW). All three engines are matted with a six-speed manual transmission as standard, but a five-speed auto is offered and features Grade Logic Control system that puts an end to gear-hunting when climbing uphill or driving back down.

As all motor company claims that they are committed to providing safety for everyone, so as HONDA! Her "safety" includes a Vehicle Safety Assist system that helps sense oversteer or understeer in an emergency situation, and then adjusts brake pressure at each wheel or reduces engine power to help the "stupid driver" restore control. Other safety standards comes along; ABS, (TPMS) tire pressure monitoring system, and all-around airbags.

I guess that's all about her. Putting more words would make the bitch a star already!LOlz. For more info you can check her at your nearest Honda sites or set an appointment with the lovely Ms. Angela of Honda Lahug (09235345746) or online at www.honda.com.