Disclosure: Astara Philippines, the official importer and distributor of GAC Motor Philippines, kindly lent me a 2023 GAC GS4 for eight days. It arrived with a full tank of fuel and loaded RFID cards. They always say, “Never judge a book by its cover.” But experience has taught me (and perhaps many of us) that carrying preconceived notions about people or things can actually be useful. In my work as a reporter, I generally talk to high-level officials when I want to discuss the intricacies and n

The all-new 2024 Honda CR-V will officially launch in the Philippines on Sept. 13, 2023. AutoFun Philippines was the first to report that the venerable crossover would arrive this year with an all-new hybrid engine. This marks the local return of an electrified model in the Honda Cars Philippines lineup. The previous-generation model made waves locally for two reasons – an available, economical turbodiesel engine and a third row of seats. The former has gone the way of the dodo, while the latter

Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has something special planned for its 35th anniversary and the Gazoo Racing Festival. The Japanese automaker announced in a press statement that it is bringing in a heavy hitter – Toyota Motor Corporation chairman Akio “Morizo” Toyoda will be attending the event from Aug. 23 to 24, 2023 at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila. Morizo, who Toyota calls its "master driver," is also an accomplished racing driver who helped develop many of Toyota's Gazoo Racing (GR) models

The 2024 Toyota Wigo has officially launched in the Philippine market, It comes in three new variants, a new exterior, new features and competitive pricing to keep its position as a top-selling small city hatchback. However, when we were predicting the pricing for the new model, we said it would be higher than before and would push the suggested retail price of the hatchback to the ₱800,000 range. But thankfully, we were proven wrong following its official launch in the country. That said, here

Nissan Philippines is cooking up something really special next month. AutoFun Philippines has received new information confirming the upcoming launch of the Nissan 400Z on March 2023, along with a new Nissan Terra variant called the Terra Sport. On January 2023, the Japanese brand announced at its media thanksgiving party that a performance vehicle was on its way. The information made many believe that the 400Z was coming to the Philippines. To add to this, the head of one of the brand’s larger

The last time we reported on Spanish-based car distributor Astara, it was finalizing its plans to enter the grueling 2023 Dakar Rally. But the company announced more relevant news in a December 1, 2022 press statement following its formal contract signing with Chinese carmaker GAC Motor in the Philippines. Astara began operations locally on January 2022 and distributes the French car brand Peugeot. The firm also distributes GAC Motor in Peru and Chile. “We are truly honored to continue GAC Motor