A Show of Speed: NISMO Festival 2015 (w/ 60 Photos)

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Commemorating its success on the racetrack over the course of the past year, NISMO, Nissan’s specialized motoring division, holds the NISMO Festival as their way of expressing gratitude to all their fans. One day in autumn since 1997, the Fuji International Speedway comes alive and transforms into a living exhibit dedicated to anything and everything Nissan.
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A Walk Through Time: The Nissan Zama Heritage Collection (w/ 33 Photos)

Photos by Ulysses Ang

With a history spanning over 80 years, Nissan is currently the sixth largest automaker in the world and is home to some of the most iconic models ever made such as the Skyline GT-R, Fairlady Z, and Sylvia. With a name originating from “Nihon Sangyo” meaning Japan Industries, Nissan has a distinction of being one of the few automakers not named after its founder, a nod to its social responsibility.
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Nissan Confirms Arrival of GT-R, NISMO to Philippines

By Ulysses Ang and Nissan Press

Aiming to bring some spice and excitement to its line-up, Nissan Philippines, Inc. (NPI) has confirmed the impending arrival of the high-performance GT-R sports car into the country by the second half of 2016. The revelation was made by NPI President Antonio ‘Toti’ Zara at the NISMO Festival held at the Fuji International Speedway.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Toyota Asks - What Wows You?

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Since taking over in 2009, Toyota Motor Corporation’s President Akio Toyoda had one simple goal for the company: make cars that bring joy to the driving experience. Roughly six years on, the world’s largest automaker has been delivering on this promise by creating cars that are uniquely designed and well-engineered. But what sort of future does Toyota foresee? What kind of driving wonder can people expect decades from now?
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First Drive: 2016 Mitsubishi Montero Sport GT-Premium (w/ Video)

Photos by Ulysses Ang

You can’t help but think that all this talk about Dynamic Shield design and Mitsubishi’s SUV vision at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show only served as previews to the main event: the 2016 Montero Sport. Forget the glitz and the glamour of the concept cars and JDM models—this is the one of the most important and most awaited cars of 2016. After a two-hour bus ride to Fujinomiya, a small town near Mt. Fuji, a fleet of Montero Sports stood proud. Contrary to other media drive events, there were no rules here. As long as non-drivers stayed away from the track, you can flog it as hard as you’d like. Flogged it everyone did and everything is right with the world.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Mitsubishi Sees Potential in Electrification, SUVs

Sharing the stage with Mitsubishi Motors Corporation Managing Director and Chief Operating Officer Tetsuro Aikawa is a new crossover painted in an unforgettable shade of retina-searing yellow: the eX or Electric Crossover Concept. It’s bold and dynamic interpretation of the brand’s Dynamic Shield design is sure to capture the imagination of the public worldwide, but beyond that, it signals a new direction for Mitsubishi as a whole.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Nissan's Idea of Autonomous Driving, Performance Showcased

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Nissan Press

Autonomous driving is the name of the game for manufacturers at the Tokyo Motor Show. Over at Nissan, they presented their vision of automated driving along with zero emissions in the form of the IDS Concept.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Porsche Shows New Macan, 911 Models

Porsche unveiled a new variant of its performance crossover, the Macan at the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015: the Macan GTS. Like the rest of the GTS range, the Macan GTS features black accents, unique wheels, seats, and GTS specific badging.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Honda Shows What Sweet Dreams Are Made Of

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Driven by “The Power of Dreams”, Honda has always been striving to create new values by converging people’s dreams with the dreams of its own engineers and designers. Since the Super Cub’s debut in 1958, Honda has offered mobility solutions that not only provide dependable Point A to Point B transportation, but also allow people to expand their potential. Though lost in the past few years, Honda is again showing that renowned DNA once more.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: Subaru Concepts Form Cornerstone of Prominence 2020 Plan

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Subaru Press

Fuji Heavy Industries, the manufacturer of Subaru automobiles, used the 44th Tokyo Motor Show 2015 to show the first and most important piece of its mid-term “Prominence 2020” corporate vision: the Impreza 5-Door Concept. Although purely a design concept previewing Subaru’s entry-level model, the Impreza 5-Door Concept does show cues that hint at the design direction of the entire future line-up.
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Tokyo Motor Show 2015: RX-Vision Concept is Clear Sign of Mazda's Never Stop Challenging Spirit

Photos by Ulysses Ang and Mazda Press

“Never Stop Challenging” has guided Mazda in everything it has done—from the revival of the classic roadster formula in the MX-5 to the engineering behind Skyactiv technology. Of all their accomplishments though, it’s the mass production of the piston-less rotary or Wankel engine starting with the Cosmo Sport and its application in motorsports, particularly the 787B Le Mans racer, that has made it household name for enthusiasts.
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First Drive: 2016 Subaru Levorg 1.6 GT-S

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Repeat after me: turbocharged wagon. That should be reason enough why you should consider getting the Subaru Levorg over any other executive car offering out there, but allow me to explain further. See, the executive tourer/shooting brake/wagon segment was pretty much cornered by Subaru with their Legacy GT wagon a few years back, but its demise meant you could only get that fix with a Mazda6 Sports Wagon or an Outback. Sure, these are pretty good machines in their own right, but they’re not turbocharged wagons. Now though, everything is back to normal and you finally get a sort-of-Legacy wagon.
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What Makes the Cummins 2.8 ISF Engine So Special?

Earlier this month, we took a closer look at Foton’s first-ever SUV, the Toplander, in, of all places, the USA. Though their venue to globally launch the Toplander or Sauvana as they call it elsewhere seemed odd, it merely cements the Chinese brand’s strong partnership with American diesel specialist, Cummins. In fact, Foton is single-handedly the biggest customer of the 2.8 ISF light-duty diesel engine, accounting to about half of Cummins’s annual output (200,000 out of 400,000 units). But what makes the Cummins 2.8 ISF so special? Well, that’s what we found out next.
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UPDATED: Subaru Confirms Levorg for Philippines, Sales Start January 2016 (w/ Specs, Brochure)

UPDATE 3: We added the official brochure below (10/25).

UPDATE 2: Read our first drive of the Subaru Levorg 1.6 GT-S here (10/20).

UPDATE 1: Motor Image Pilipinas has confirmed a price range of the Levorg (indicated below); we have also included more photos from the launch (10/17).

The end of the turbocharged Subaru wagon is greatly exaggerated as Motor Image has finally confirmed the arrival of the Levorg for the Southeast Asia region, including the Philippines with reservations sales to start by January 2016 at all Subaru dealerships nationwide.

While you wait for our First Drive impressions, here’s what we can tell you.
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Foton's Game Changer: Upclose with the Toplander

During one otherwise uninteresting afternoon, I received a rather peculiar phone call. “Sir, would you be interested in driving the Foton Toplander in Indiana?” Given the quality of our cellular service in Manila, I was almost sure I misheard the other person on the line. “Sure,” I said. When will you need me to submit my Chinese Visa requirements? “No sir. You won’t need it. This drive will be in Indiana, USA.” A long pause ensued. A Foton drive in the Midwestern US? They must be kidding, I thought. Lo-and-behold, two weeks later, I was actually on a 31-hour plane ride to Columbus, Indiana to see the Toplander.
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Innovate Not Imitate: the MiLi Story

Photos by Ulysses Ang

Harry Zhu is not your typical company CEO. Eschewing a suit for polo and slacks, he arrives five minutes early after driving himself from his company headquarters to meet us for dinner. Relatively quiet, he’s passionate and animated whenever he talks about innovation. Then again, you don’t expect anything less from the guy running MiLi—the Chinese company that made a name for itself with power banks. Mr. Zhu, or Harry as he prefers to be called, isn’t here to talk about power banks. With just about every Tom, Dick, and Harry producing it, he understands that for MiLi to grow, they must remain innovative.
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This is Who We Are: The Mazda Story

Photos by Ulysses Ang

One integral personality that sets the people of Hiroshima apart is their resilience. Though, the Mazda people were all smiles, deep down, they have hearts of defying convention and overcoming challenges. This very attitude is what defines Mazda is as a company and it shows in everything from their products to their philosophy.
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Six Awesome New Features of the 2016 Ford Focus

UPDATE 1: Read our First Drive here (9/4).

Ford just let us drive the new 2016 Focus over 260 kilometers here in Adelaide, Southern Australia. We’ll have our full impressions soon, but for now, let us offer a sneak peek of what to expect. The current Focus has always been a technology leader for Ford and it has debuted a lot of cutting-edge tech for the compact car class. This one brings that to the next level.
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Four Characteristics of Mazda's Jinba-Ittai

Mazda has frequently used the word Jinba-Ittai to describe the driving feel of their cars. Although everyone knows this by now as the Japanese word for “Horse and Rider as One”, what does this actually mean? Mazda engineers have actually narrowed it down to specific characteristics found in all of their cars.
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