July 2, 2011- Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. proudly announces winners of its online photo contest entitled, “Lovin’ My Civic.”
Lovin’ My Civic creatively captured the owners’ strong fascination and memorable experiences with the Honda Civic, across model generations.
Lucy Dy, Jericho Antiporda and Raphael Francisco bested entries across the country and won HTC Desire S android phone, Nintendo 3DS and Sony 2GB W Series MP3 Walkman, respectively.
Just like the other entries, each of the winners had unique and interesting stories to tell. Lucy Dy shared how her family simply can’t get enough of the Civic. Buying their first Civic in 1997, they continued to acquire four more in 12 years’ time, without disposing any of it. “There is simply no alternative to the reliability, dependability and comfort provided by the Honda Civic,” said Lucy. Meanwhile, Jericho Antiporda and his family looked at the Civic as an achievement. His parents were a bit emotional when they initially drove it. After all, it was Jericho’s first brand new car. The Civic served as proof of Jericho’s success and how his parents raised him well. As for Raphael Francisco, his strong admiration to his Civic inspired him to coin the words ‘comfiably sweentense’ to best describe its winning features. “Traveling from Tagaytay to Manila everyday, I just love its comfortable ride on both winding and straight roads; its ability to deliver the power I need; its sweet looks; and its intense personality that stirs and never bores me,” said Raphael.
Lucy, Jericho and Raphael are part of over 100,000 civic owners who share the same passion for excitement and innovation. Schedule a test drive and experience first-hand what the rave is all about. For more details, visit www.hondaphil.com and ‘like’ the photo entries at HCPI’s Civic Facebook page (keyword: Civic Republic)
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Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI) experienced strong demand of its passenger car line-up, consisting of the Jazz, Accord, City and Civic models, with 1,030 unit sales in May. Launched last March, the refreshed Honda Jazz increased sales by 39% from March to May as compared to the same period last year. Presenting dynamic and vibrant styling plus legendary spacious interiors and fuel efficiency, the new Honda Jazz is clearly the hottest premium lifestyle hatchback in the market. And in keeping its products always fresh and updated, Honda subsequently revitalized its Accord model in May. With the introduction of the 2011 Honda Accord that promises absolute refinement and power beyond compare, sales nearly tripled as compared to sales in April.
Regrettably, the parts supply problem that resulted from the powerful earthquake that shook Japan last March still persists. Production volume of Honda’s regional network has been affected and has yet to normalize. Consequently, stock availability of all models, in certain engine displacements, transmissions and color options, remains to be an area of concern.
“Our sales performance is pleasant news. However, what is more important and what remains to be our top priority is to quickly serve customer requirement as much as possible, given the current situation,” said Mr. Voltaire Gonzales, HCPI’s Vehicle Sales and Corporate Communications Head.
"In behalf of HCPI, I would like to extend our sincere apology for the inconvenience being experienced by our waiting customers. Kindly bear with us as Honda makes every effort to normalize operations and deliver the joy of driving a brand new Honda at the soonest time possible," he added.
In the meantime, Honda's 28 dealerships nationwide will keep its customers posted for the latest developments on the delivery dates of their requirements.
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Favorites rely on Bosch diesel technology
Bosch diesel technology once again proves its leadership in diesel technology at the Le Mans 24-hour endurance race last June 11 and 12 in France. The Audi Sport team took the Le Mans title from 2006 to 2008 with its diesel-powered cars. Last year, Audi Sport took the top three spots with its Audi R15 TDIs –each time with Bosch technology on board.
Bosch is also the development partner for the common-rail injection system of the current Audi R18 TDI. This system comprises the high-pressure pump, injectors, high-pressure rail, and a customized engine control unit (ECU). Other components supplied by Bosch Motorsport include the starter and alternator as well as the vehicle's data logging and telemetry system, which transmits all the relevant data from the car to the pits during a race.
Another of this year's favorites is Peugeot Sport – the 2009 winner – which has introduced the new 908 to replace its 908 HDi FAP. The team has been participating in the race since 2007 and took first and second places in 2009. Bosch works as a development partner for this team, too, supplying a full range of diesel injection technology including high-pressure pump, injectors and rail. Other components supplied by Bosch Motorsport include the driver box for the piezo injectors and the rail pressure control as well as the starter and alternator.
24-hour races put a tremendous strain on the technology used in the racing cars, which are expected to cover almost the same distance as all 19 races of the entire 2011 Formula 1 season put together. The task of making each component durable enough to last the race is a major challenge – as is the integration of the hydraulics, electronics, and data acquisition components into one overall system.
Diesel-powered vehicles have triumphed in Le Mans every year since 2006. “The teams have learned to fully exploit the key benefits of diesel technology – high torque combined with low fuel consumption,” says Dr. Gerhard Turner, president of the Bosch Diesel Systems division. “And of course many drivers already enjoy the advantages of diesel engines on a daily basis on regular roads.” 42 percent of all new passenger cars registered in Germany in 2010 were diesel-powered – and the figure was even higher in France at 70 percent.
As an experienced systems and components supplier for multiple racing series, Bosch Motorsport and its experts have built up the systems competence and integration know-how required for motor sport applications. Bosch Motorsport is part of Bosch Engineering GmbH, a Bosch subsidiary that specializes in engineering services. Bosch Motorsport can draw on 110 years of motorsport tradition – Bosch technology has been helping racing drivers to victory ever since 1901.
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Volvo Car Corporation is taking the next step in active safety by developing a system that alerts and automatically brakes for animals on the road. The new system will be launched on the market in a few years' time.
The project to develop a safety system that reduces the risk of collisions with wild animals is part of Volvo Car Corporation's vision for 2020 - that nobody should suffer serious injury in a new Volvo. The new system is based on technologies from the Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, introduced in 2010.
Camera and infra-red light
"The system consists of two parts - a radar sensor and an infra-red camera that can register the traffic situation," relates Andreas Eidehall, technical expert in the field of active safety systems at Volvo Car Corporation.
It is essential for the system to also function in the dark since most collisions with wild animals take place at dawn and dusk and during the dark winter months. The camera monitors the road ahead and if an animal is within range the system alerts the driver with an audible signal. If the driver does not react, the brakes are automatically applied.
"The goal is for the system to function at the normal rural highway speeds. In cases in which it cannot help the driver entirely avoid the collision, the system will slow down the car sufficiently to help reduce the force of impact and thus of serious injuries," continues Andreas Eidehall.
Data interpretation
One challenge facing the engineers is to teach the system to recognize different animals. A development team from Volvo Car Corporation spent an evening at a safari park digitally logging film sequences of animals and their various behavioural patterns. On this particular evening the focus was on moose, red deer and fallow deer. By driving very slowly along a trail where fodder had been laid out to attract the animals, a lot of data was recorded and this will later be used to evaluate and develop the sensor system.
In the first stage, the system will respond to large animals that risk injuring the driver or passengers in an impact, such as moose, deer and reindeer.
Immense risks from collisions with wild animals
Many car drivers are highly concerned about the risk of collisions with wild animals. There is good reason for this concern. In Sweden alone, more than 40,000 accidents involving wild animals are reported every year. The greatest danger is from collisions with moose.
"In an impact with a moose there is a relatively high risk of personal injury since it is common for the animal to end up on or roll across the front of the car and its windscreen," says Andreas Eidehall.
As regards the system and its various functions, Andreas cannot be more specific. The project has been under way for just over a year and a lot of work still remains to be done. Various technologies are currently being evaluated, software is being developed and while the system "learns" to recognize various animals, development is also under way on the necessary decision-making mechanisms, that is to say how and when the protective system is to respond.
"We can see in our accident statistics that this is an important area to prioritize. What is more, we know that there is considerable market interest in this type of safety system. During demonstrations of Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake, we were often asked about protection from accidents with wild animals. We will present a market-ready system within a few years," concludes Andreas Eidehall.
Facts, road accidents with wild animals:
• The number of road accidents involving wild animals, Sweden: in 2010 just over 47,000. Source: Swedish Advisory Council on Accidents Involving Wild Animals
• Accidents with moose: About 7,000. Source: Swedish Advisory Council on Accidents Involving Wild Animals. Statistics based on Volvo's accident database reveal that collisions with moose involve a high risk of injury.
• The US Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has compiled statistics for the period 1993-2007. All told, 2,499 people died in road accidents involving animals during this period. The report also states that the number of road accidents involving wild animals increases by almost 30 percent in November. The largest insurance company in the USA, State Farm, reports that the number of compensation claims for road accidents involving wild animals rose by 14.9 percent between 2003 and 2008.
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MANILA, Philippines, June, 2011 – The globally popular All-New Ford Fiesta makes its way around the busy streets of Metro Manila with one of the country’s leading radio networks, 99.5RT. The partnership with Ford Philippines and 99.5RT showcases a stickered Ford Fiesta to be used by the Awesome crew of 99.5RT as their official vehicle for upcoming events and campus tours.
Just like 99.5RT, the new Ford Fiesta is increasingly being recognized as one of the clear leaders in the highly competitive small car segment – and this makes it a perfect match for the country’s leading radio network that brings cutting edge music to the radio waves each day. “The Ford Fiesta is the perfect match for the crew of 99.5RT – not only because of its head- turning looks, but also because of its class-first features and technologies such as Bluetooth Voice Control. With this smart feature, the 99.5RT crew can safely call-in for live feeds while on the road,” says Anika Salceda-Wycoco, FGP AVP for Communications.
“We are excited for our two brands to come together – the all-new Ford Fiesta and our crew at 99.5RT. We are certain that this unique partnership will create a one-of-a-kind radio listening experience for our customers,” says Bernie Buenaseda, Vice President of 99.5RT.
Spot the 99.5RT Ford Fiesta around town and tune into 99.5RT to catch the latest happenings around the metro. For more updates, be a fan of the Ford Fiesta in the Philippines Facebook page (www.facebook.com/FordFiestaPhilippines).
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