Motoring Today Column

Sep 26, 2018

One of the first things I learned in school while still a very young boy was about how to be safe while on the road, like walking facing the direction of vehicle traffic flow. This allows the pedestrian some time to react in case an oncoming vehicle loses control and goes straight into your path. A split second advantage compared to having your back turned.

Another basic thing was about emergency vehicles like fire trucks and ambulances having the absolute right of way compared to other vehicles on the road, simply because when a fire truck has its siren on with bells ringing it simply means it's on its way to put off an ongoing fire that may mean loss of lives. In the same token for an ambulance with sirens wailing on an emergency transport to either pick up or bring a patient to the hospital with its life on the line.

So I find it strange that there have been reports backed by actual videos some having gone vial on social media, of morons behind the wheel competing with fire trucks and ambulances for road space.

Aptly, the MMDA recently came up with specifics from the Land Transportation and Traffic code, "The driver of a vehicle upon a highway shall yield the right of way to police or fire department vehicles and ambulances when such vehicles are operated on official business and the drivers thereof sound audible signal of their approach .

"The driver of every other vehicle shall immediately drive the same to a position as near as possible and parallel to the right-hand edge or curb of the highway, clear of any intersection of highways, and shall stop and remain in such position, unless otherwise directed by a peace officer, until such vehicle shall have passed."

A word of warning to the clueless morons, is that under the MMDA's policy, a ticket for reckless driving may be issued to those who violate this rule with a fine of P500 while the LTO ( Land Transportation Office) at the same time may issue a ticket for violation of a joint administrative order on yielding to emergency vehicles that comes with a fine of P1,000.

Morons beware.

There's an ongoing Honda Auto Expo at Ayala Malls Trinoma, which ends tomorrow, September 27.

According to Honda Cars Philippines (HCPI) the selling expo features Honda's sporty and advanced line up that includes the Honda City Sport, the BR-V Touring, the Civic RS and the CR-V 7-Seater Diesel Turbo SUV.

HCPI promises Low Cash Out and All-in Bundle packages for select models on display as well as special prizes and treats for lucky inquiring customers.

Nissan Philippines , Inc. (NPI) in a statement announced having posted record monthly sales in August with an all-time high of 4,500 units sold earning the 3^rd rank in the country's auto industry overall sales performance.

The statement added that Nissan sales in the said month mark the highest monthly sales for the brand in the Philippines since year 2000 posting a 104% increase versus the same period last year.

NPI also revealed that driving this performance is the Nissan Navara, which amounted to 38% of sales in the country, making it the best-selling pick-up for August. While accounting for 21% of the brand's monthly sales is the new Nissan Terra.

"The strong sales performance is the result of a diligent focus on customer service and a strategic product portfolio that meets the requirements of the Filipinos. The positive reception of the new Nissan Terra is testament to this. We remain committed to exceeding expectations of our customers and the market," says NPI managing director Ramesh Narasimhan.

Hyundai's Kona gaining market momentum

Hyundai Asia Resources, Inc . (HARI), the official distributor of Hyundai vehicles in the country declared that it has consistently maintained a conservative growth trajectory for 2018. Nevertheless, the brand has remained competitive with the popularity of the recently released Kona gaining momentum in the subcompact SUV market. The brand showed a minimal dip of 8.3% or 22,223 units from last year's 24,233 units as it closed its 2018 eight-month sales. August performance alone was exceptional given that it is the third best performing month for the brand with 2,987 units sold.

In a statement HARI says the Passenger Car (PC) segment maintains its frontrunner status of the brand by covering two-thirds of its total vehicle sales, or 13,935 units from January to August 2018. Led by the Accent, the model has remained as "a favorite among the passenger cars in the industry," the statement added.

HARI added that Light Commercial Vehicles (LCV) takes the remaining share with 8,288 units, but has grown significantly from the same period of 2017 with10.4%. With the introduction of the Kona, last month saw monthly LCV sales surpassed that of PC for the first time.

Public voting to determine the most popular car models and be crowned the 2018 -2019 Automobile of the Year—People's Choice distinct for Standard and Luxury models ends midnight of September 30.

Those who cast votes stand the chance to win daily valuable prizes like coffee mugs and T-Shirts with the proprietary Auto Focus logo with grand prizes from the Grand Raffle at the end of the voting period for all those who voted from Day 1like a Vivo Y53C, a Huawei Nova 2 Life and a Samsung Galaxy J8. This is of course on top of voicing your choice as to what car models deserve to romp away with the prestigious awards and titles.

Happy Motoring!!!

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