Thursday, 11 April 2013 15:50
HCPI issues Safety Recall for 2001 - 2002 Civic and CR-V
Well this is unfortunate. After Mitsubishi issued a recall for the all-new Mirage last Friday, this time, it's Honda's turn to send out a recall of their own. Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) just annouced a voluntary safety recall of 2001 to 2002 Civics (7th generation) and 2002 CR-Vs (2nd generation) because of a faulty front passenger airbag. This campaign affects 9,743 units locally and over 1.1 million vehicles worldwide.
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News
Tuesday, 09 April 2013 07:03
Honda now offers detachable 3rd Row Seat for the CR-V
Words by Christopher Kho
Ever since its 3rd generation model, the CR-V has been strictly a 5-seat crossover. They've tossed out the 3rd row seating found in the first two models in favor of more luggage space. But Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) was reminded that there are some families out there with extra members that want to go along for the ride too. So, starting this April 2013, the Japan-made 2.0 LX and 2.4 EX variants will now come with a Detachable 3rd Row Seat accessory at no extra cost.
Honda claims that the new 3rd row seat is lightweight, making it easy to attach or detach depending on the load requirement. It can even fold flat in case you're too lazy to take it out.
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News
Friday, 01 February 2013 07:28
Car of the Year 2012 - 2013 Day 9: The Last Hurrah
Words by Jade Lu | Photos by Hans Gerald Chua
Last Saturday, January 26, 2013, was the final day of the qualitative testing for the 2012 - 2013 Car of the Year Philippines (COTY-P). It was a day for big brutes once again, as Hyundai sent the Santa Fe R-2.2 GLS 6AT 2WD and Premium 4WD, which were matched by Toyota’s Fortuner 4x2 G DSL AT and Hilux 4x2 G MT and Mazda’s CX-5 and BT-50. The Honda CR-V made its reprise with the 2.0 S and 2.4 SX variant, this time made in Thailand with local specs (Honda sent the Japan-made CR-V last time).
It was the fitting ending for this chapter. The cars weren’t too exciting to leave us done and fulfilled at the end of the day; they were mellowed down to leave us wanting more. Of course, “more” would come to us during the technical testing at the Clark International Speedway on February 25 to 27, when the cars will once again converge for the acceleration, braking, and handling tests. But until that comes, we were satisfied enough with the cars we’ve driven to keep us at ease until the end of February. Hopefully, the sky will stay clear of rain clouds and strong winds until then.
With that last hurrah, here are some final words from our writers about the cars of Day 9:
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Car of the Year
Friday, 18 January 2013 08:16
Detroit: Honda tailor-fits the Urban SUV Concept for your active lifestyle
Words by Ferman Lao | Photos courtesy of American Honda Motor Co. Inc.
Well, whaddya know? Honda is now the latest victim of what we'd like to call the “Goldilocks syndrome.” Not too big and not too small, they've created a compact crossover that fits the bill just right, and it's something they'd simply like to call the “Urban SUV Concept.”
Making its world debut at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, this small SUV is based on Honda's well-received and strong selling Global Compact Series platform, from which both the Jazz and City are derived. Their philosophy behind the Urban SUV Concept is that it will be their next wave of smart, fuel-efficient, and fun to drive vehicles - traits that Hondas of today are already well known for. Still, Honda feels it's the answer for a new wave of road users with “active lifestyles” (Are they hinting that we're starting to get a bit too sedentary?).
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Concept
Wednesday, 16 January 2013 09:56
Honda's new year treat offers AMAZING DISCOUNTS with Financing Options
Seriously, when was the last time Honda ever offered discounts? In recent years, they've followed the list price down to the last cent and all you can do is haggle for more freebies from the dealership. But from the looks of things, the New Year has changed the heart of Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) as they now offer AMAZING DISCOUNTS with their Honda Financing Options (HFO).
Their claim is that HFO provides true savings through low downpayment, low interest rates, and all-in packages - contrary to the usual financing schemes that offer huge discounts but comes with astronomical interest rates. And as an added treat this January 2013, customers can now get between P25,000 to P150,000 in discounts. Here's how.
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Contest and Promos
Friday, 04 January 2013 07:43
Honda builds new 1.6L i-DTEC diesel engine for the 2013 Civic
Words by Hans Gerald Chua | Photos courtesy of Honda Motor Co. Ltd.
In its commitment in preserving the environment, Honda unveils its newest 1.6L i-DTEC diesel engine. Designed from the ground up, the new block promises high performance, better fuel efficiency, and lower emissions. The Europeans should be feeling pretty lucky, as this new diesel engine will be resting under the hood of the Euro Civic come 2013, followed by the CR-V in the near future. While there are no hints that it will come our way anytime soon, it's still worth knowing what makes this new power block so good.
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News
Thursday, 06 December 2012 08:08
Honda serves 4 new Thai-made 2012 CR-V variants
Words and photos by Christopher Kho
Now that production has normalized in the once flood-hit Thailand, Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) has added four new Thai-built variants to the all-new 2012 CR-V line-up, adding to the two Japan-made versions launched back in April. Welcome the latest members of the crew: the CR-V 2.0V MT and AT, 2.0S AT, and 2.4SX AT.
While there should technically be no difference in build quality with these new batch of Thai-sourced CR-Vs, there are however some changes in the aesthetics department. The most obvious of which is the revised lower chin that has grown some very pronounced corners. Then there's the new piano-black front grill which replaces the previous matte-black piece. It might be hard to notice, but the fresh batch no longer comes with daytime running lights (DRL). And finally, the door handles of the S and ST variants are now covered in chrome.
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Newly Launched
Tuesday, 06 November 2012 07:46
Jack of All Traits | 2012 Honda CR-V 2.4L EX AT
Words and photos by Christopher Kho
I can still clearly remember when, back in 1996, my dad and I saw the CR-V for the very first time. They were grey-market imports sold by Greenhills Autohaus at their old place along Wilson Street, way before Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) got their hands on them. I was only about 11 years old then, but I fully agreed with my old man that these new things called “crossovers” were just a trend and won't last very long. Not quite car and not quite SUV, they were impractical and thought that no one in the right mind would buy them. Well, I guess we were wrong. And now that the fourth generation all-new CR-V is here, I can't help but think that this is one of, if not the, most versatile car to drive today.
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Crossover
Wednesday, 24 October 2012 11:40
COTY 2012 - 2013 Test Fest Day 4: Battle of the high-rolling brutes
Words by Christopher Kho | Photos by Hans Gerald Chua and author
Now that we've finished a third of the Qualitative Tests, it's finally time to take on the big boys of the 2012 - 2012 Car of the Year Philippines (COTY-P). At the break of dawn, nine behemoths lined up at this year's official test venue at the Eton Centris, Quezon City last October 20, 2012. It was a tough battle between the Americans, Japanese, British, and surprisingly, the Chinese. Summing up all their values, we had more than P20 million worth of sheet metal to play with that day.
CATS Motors, Inc. returned with their luxurious Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited and Dodge Durango Citadel. Also making their second appearance at testing this year is Honda, this time bringing the all-new CR-V 2.0 LX and 2.4 EX. And despite being a Japanese automaker, the Odyssey 3.5 V6 AT and Pilot 3.5 V6 AT that Honda brought with them were undoubtedly American. Meanwhile, all eyes were on the firenze red Range Rover Evoque. Priced at well above P5 million, this compact crossover was a toy we all couldn't get our hands off. But the real surprise of the day were the Great Wall Hover H5 and Wingle H5. First tested in 2010, the two Chinese utes came back after a fresh facelift and a new CRDi engine.
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Car of the Year
Saturday, 21 July 2012 05:01
Honda Cars Philippines issues voluntary recall for 2012 CR-Vs
Honda Cars Philippines Inc. (HCPI) just issued a voluntary recall of their 2012 model Honda CR-V. Some 834 vehicles, sold between the period of April to July 2012, are affected by this campaign which will replace the inner door handle and/or door latch assembly with countermeasure parts.
Findings show that if the manual or power door lock is activated while an interior front door handle is opened by an occupant, the cable connecting the interior door handle to the door latch mechanism may loosen and move out of position. There is a possibility that the cable can move far enough out of position and make the interior door handle inoperable. In a very extreme case, it may even prevent the door from properly latching and cause the door to open while driving.
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Industry Update
