Hybrid Cars for the Philippines?
Written on Monday, August 25th, 2008 at 4:39 pm | by Carlo "Wauks" Ople
Toyota Hybrid Car
I went to a Motor Show at the World Trade Center last Sunday afternoon to check out the new Honda Jazz 2009. The main focus of the convention was the promotion of cars that use alternative sources of energy. This includes the Hybrid, electric, and various fuel-driven engines. The vehicle that stood out the most was the Toyota Hybrid, which really looked like something that came from a Transformers movie! Apparently the Hybrid has 2 engines. You start it with the usual gas-based engine then it switches to electric afterwards. This saves oil consumption but you have to pay a lot for it at the start because of all the new technology incorporated into the vehicle. According to Toyota, their Hybrid will cost around P3,000,000.
Here’s a picture of the interior of the Toyota Hybrid:
The problem with this car is that it just costs too much. The idea is sound but I don’t see a lot of Filipinos forking over P3,000,000 for a car - even if it will save money on gas in the long run. What would be a good move for Toyota is if they can strip this down to the bare essentials so they can offer a low-cost Hybrid car that’s more for function than style. If they do that, then this will easily be adopted by a lot of Filipino consumers.
Mitsubishi also came up with a unique product offering. This one looks more sporty and apparently you have to plug this in to charge the engine. You’ll definitely save up on gas but I don’t know how this will affect your electrical bill.
Mitsubishi Electronic Car
This one reminds me a lot of the electronic jeeps that Mayor Binay launched in Makati. This is a pretty smart move. We can keep the costs down of public transport if the government supports and subsidizes purchases of Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles - including jeeps and buses. We have too many taxi cabs going around so I think they should focus on the mass transport vehicles more.
Other than the booth babes, the car companies also displayed the latest models of their new offerings. I loved the new Jazz, but I still love the BMW more. There’s no harm in dreaming right? Here’s a pic of me with my dream car, hahaha!
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[…] the way guys, please check out my recent post on Filipino Voices about Hybrid Cars in the Philippines. This is also something that I got from the Motor Show at the World Trade […]
Hybrid Cars for the Philippines?…
“I went to a Motor Show at the World Trade Center last Sunday afternoon to check out the new Honda Jazz 2009. The main focus of the convention was the promotion of cars that use alternative sources of energy. This includes the Hybrid, electric, and va…
[…] World Trade Center. The main theme was promoting cars with alternative energy sources, especially Hybrid Cars. I took a lot of photos of the cars that I found interesting like this Audi R8 which probably costs […]
well, who can afford a hybrid car? And the last time I remember, this site was called “Filipino Voices”, right? It’s supposed to feature opinions, views and what-have-you, but cars? I mean, come on! Featuring a car on this site? And a 3-million peso car at that!
I have nothing against Carlo Ople. He’s a nice guy as what my friend Ding told me (I have’nt met him). But, this entry deserves to be featured in a car blog, not in this site. It’s pure PR for Toyota or a car brand.
Hi Patricio!
Sorry if it gave the impression that it’s PR. If you check the entire post there are aspects of the Philippine economic situation. If you read the entire thing, you’ll see that I’m actually not endorsing Hybrid cars because yes - they are too expensive.
“This one reminds me a lot of the electronic jeeps that Mayor Binay launched in Makati. This is a pretty smart move. We can keep the costs down of public transport if the government supports and subsidizes purchases of Hybrid and alternative fuel vehicles - including jeeps and buses. We have too many taxi cabs going around so I think they should focus on the mass transport vehicles more.”
Hybrids and alternative fuel vehicles can be classified as a topic of public interest - otherwise the entire car show wouldn’t have been about it.
From what I’ve gathered from Ding’s description of this blog during one of our meetings, FV is not just about pure politics. It’s about current events, technology, etc. - anything under the sun that’s relevant to the average Filipino. The issue of alternative energy for cars has been around for the longest time.
Thanks for the comment!
Re. Mr. Magubat’s comment:
Parang wala naman atang “PR” tungkol sa post ni Carlo Ople. The issue of how hybrid cars and other cars that run on alternative fuel can enter the Philippines is indeed an issue that the government has grappled with for the longest time. Cost ang pinag-uusapan sa buong post na ito, kung hindi ako nagkakamali. And issue talaga yan. Hybrid cars cost almost three to four times their benchmark models, siyempre hindi makakapasok sa Pilipinas yan, at alam yun nung mga manufacturer mismo. Ang isa pang isyu ay ang infrastructure na kailangan ng ganyang mga kotse. But there’s no denying na diyan na papunta ang trend ng mga kotse ngayon dahil sa taas ng presyo ng langis. So the thing now is everyone’s trying to figure out how to bring down the prices and ease the entry of those vehicles here years from now.
Maganda na may ganitong pinag-uusapan sa blog na ito. Technology is also a vital issue for us Filipinos. Ang pagpapahiwatig na pulitika lamang ang mahalaga sa mga Pinoy ay isang pagmamaliit ng kanilang karapatang makaalam ng ibang mga isyu at balita. Hindi umiikot ang mundo ng Pinoy sa pulitika at problema.
Mabuhay ang Filipino Voices. More power.
yup. technology is indeed a refreshing topic. and yes, probably, a car show is a social topic–for those with lots of dough, hehehe. and i’m not saying that politics is the only topic that we need to discuss. I’m not even belittling the Filipino.
Yet, try to ask around Mich and Carlo if Filipinos are really talking about hybrid cars. Or, this car show. And yes, the Pinoy world does not revolve around politics and problems. Of course, no. Yet, it does’nt even revolve around cars.
Easing the entry of these vehicles into the Pinoy market? yeah, right. And talking about costs? The only entry I saw about “cost” is that 3-million price tag.
Enough said. As I wrote in my post over at NPR, i respect the opinions and views of my colleagues. If they think it’s time to discuss about hybrid cars, then, do it.
Correct me if I’m wrong but the main point of this article is not just about cars. It also talks about public transportation and how the government can use this technology for the benefit of the Filipino people. With all due respect to Mr. Mangubat, the post is all about cost and not just “cars”, especially if you go beyond the pictures.
The pictures are a bit distracting though, but I definitely can understand that you can’t talk about cars without using pictures. Maybe that’s why it looked like it was PR.
@Patricio, point noted.
@Carlo, point noted too.
passionate minds, passionate hearts.. one goal.. a better Philippines. Opinions vary, methods vary, however, we cannot judge Carlo with one post.
Patricio, I may have met someone more passionate than myself about our nation. But I can probably say the same with Carlo himself…
For this current issue that we find ourselves in, I must, and will, take full responsibility.
As new media is still in its infancy stage in The Philippines, FV is at an even younger stage than that, and so we are experiencing much growing pains, this is the only way I can think of it. But I hope we all realize, that this is far more important than any of us. Because FV is a responsibility towards contributing to the uplifting of The Filipino people, through knowledge of the issues, and discussion of these issues.
To Carlo and Patricio, I hope both of you are not disenchanted, we have much room for growth and learning.. let’s work towards that growth, because any worthy endeavor is never made easy.. and this current stint of comments and blog posts on this issue provides proof.. both in how hard it is to remain cohesive, but also provides proof that what I have said before, that the only criteria for FV writers and contributors is passion.
We may disagree on things, but having a group think alike, can sometimes lead to a lack of critical thinking that is important..
So, I am not taking sides. I refuse to. Write and be counted. Speak your mind. That is the beauty of new media. and that is the beauty of FV. In any other old media, this whole discussion would have been censored. And this whole article, if it was “PR”, which I wholeheartedly disagree with, would have been a PR nightmare..
But if we are truly passionate about our contribution to this collaborative, I hope we can still remain intact, while remaining passionate in our disagreement, discussions, debate, and dissent.
i agree, ENC. well said.
of course, if we must, we can always put forth our own stands — vitriol, if warranted, even — on our personal sites. patricio has done so, and i don’t for one think that i won’t have to later on.
that said, i think it is fundamentally healthy that there are such discussions. groupthink in this space is BAD — we will be unable to look at all angles of any issue of the day if we fall into that trap.