“In this business, you gotta have a tough skin.” This is what Visor.Ph Editor-in-Chief Vernon Sarne told me at last week's BMW M2 launch event. Chief, as I fondly call him to this day (he got me to join Top Gear Philippines magazine as a cover photographer and writer back in 2010), has seen it all and has been through wars ordinary people would have waived the white flag early on. The mental and physical stress this job entails can be too much for someone who cares about his craft. So when we he

Fledgling Chinese car brand JETOUR is growing its local dealer network at a rapid pace. The company announced in an August 2023 press statement that it has finalized and established its 16 dealerships for this year. “From the beginning, JETOUR Auto Philippines has envisioned making access to its model lineup and services as easy and hassle-free as possible,” said JETOUR Auto Philippines managing director Miguelito Jose. “Guided by our management team’s decades of experience in dealership operati

Chery Philippines has reached a new high for June as the Chinese automaker has surpassed its highest monthly record of 323 units sold, established in May 2023. Despite total industry sales decreasing by 5% from May, the automaker avoided the downturn and grew by 18%, securing the 10th spot in total sales rankings for June. Chery Tiggo 5x leading the charge Leading the brand’s sales success was the Chery Tiggo 5x; note that this is not yet even the pro hybrid variant, which is set to officially l

The 2023 Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) saw many new crossovers launch and officially debut in the Philippine market. The majority of the launches at the show were crossovers, with a few sedans and hatchbacks as well. We had the likes of the Jetour Dashing, which was revealed before the auto show. We also had the GAC Emkoo and the Ford Territory, which publicly debuted at the event. As these three crossovers are new to the segment, we decided to compare quickly to see which one, at least

The 2023 Toyota Agya, also known as the Toyota Wigo in other markets, was officially launched in Indonesia on Feb. 13, 2023. According to our colleagues from AutoFun Indonesia, the new model now rides on the Daihatsu New Global Architecture platform and inherits some of the sporty DNA of Toyota's GAZOO Racing (GR) motorsports division. For its suspension, the small Toyota hatchback gets a new set of shock absorbers and snail springs for the top-spec GR Sport variant. These modifications give it

Local automotive market leader Toyota is betting on a hybrid and performance display lineup at the 8th Philippine International Motor Show to interpret this year's show theme of Mobility + Humanity. Hybrid versions of the RAV-4, Camry, and Corolla Cross, along with the GR Yaris, the GR Supra and the recently launched GR 86 share display space at the Toyota booth. Guided by this year's theme, Toyota Motors Philippines (TMP) joins this year's PIMS to exhibit its wide selection of products and serv