I would like to greet you all a Happy New Year. Well, this is a bit late for the solar year, but I am early for the lunar calendar. 2007 was a great year, both for the local automotive industry and our website. The local industry posted a growth year-on-year from 2006 exceeding the target set by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI). Sales exceeded the auto chamber’s target figure by almost 10%, totaling 117903 units, as the industry breaks the 100,000-unit benchmark for the first time in 10 years. The auto chamber also staged a successful First Philippine International Motor Show, which was well supported by its members and attended by thousands of visitors.
Congratulations is also in order for Toyota for achieving a great year dominating vehicle sales in 2007 with yet another triple with more than 45000 units sold. The automaker also celebrated its 6th consecutive Triple Crown after dominating the medium-sized luxury car segment, SUV segment, and AUV/MPV segment with their vehicles.
We decided to recreate our identity with a new logo to reflect the dynamism of our website, which is to constantly move forward. A total overhaul for the website was also done to reflect this new vision to give readers a more visual experience. We managed to cover some of the important events in the automotive and motorsport industry. To name a few, the Bangkok International Motor Show, the Super GT in Sepang, Malaysia, the Macau Grand Prix, and the Tokyo Motor Show, where we were also able to attend the exclusive unveiling of the new Nissan GT-R.
We also partnered with all the significant automotive events of the past year such as the Philippine International Motor Show, and the Manila Auto Salon. As with our continued support for local motorsports, we partnered with the Philippine Touring Car Championship and the Lateral D Drift Championship.
For 2008, we have started with a salvo of features which you will definitely enjoy reading. Our friends from Autoplus Sportzentrium have shared to us their photos from the recently held 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon, Vince Pornelos test drives the upcoming 2008 Mitsubishi Lancer GT, and Road Safety Youth Council Chairman Vic Rosales shares to us some of the latest safety articles in the automotive world.
For Tuned, we feature a Porsche 997 GT3, Honda EK hatchback, and a Nissan Cefiro Drift Car. We also interview Mr. Michael Rojas of Rota Wheels and do an exclusive feature on oils with Dr. Katsuya Arai, oil engineer for Motul.
We are looking forward to a great 2008 and definitely will have a lot in store for you our loyal visitors. |
