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Toyota Philippines has unveiled the Prius C in the market. And with prices starting at PhP 1.475 million, going green won’t necessarily meaning breaking the bank.

The larger, 3rd-generation Prius costs more than PhP 2 million, which has probably turned off green-minded individuals in the country to go for cheaper alternatives. As such, sub 1-million subcompacts have proliferated, and city streets are teeming with the Toyota Vios, Honda City and Hyundai Accent, along with a host of other ultra-compact cars.

But with the new Toyota Prius C boasting of a 40 Km/L mileage, it’s probably the best choice for green-enthusiasts, considering rising fuel prices and worsening metro traffic.

Powered by a 1.5 L 1NZ-FXE VVT-i engine (similar to the Vios), the Prius C is likewise powered by a Hybrid Synergy Drive electric motor, which accurately adjusts output from the gas-fed engine and electric motor, depending on driving conditions, while minimizing consumption. The car’s regenerative braking system and exhaust gas recirculation system adds to efficiency, charging the batteries while the car is running.

It’s not as cheap as other subcompacts would be. The Prius C starts at PhP 1.475 million for the Standard and PhP 1.540 for the Full variant. For this price, you could buy a pickup-based SUV like the Montero Sport or Fortuner. But if you want fuel savings, and if you want to contribute to saving the Earth, then the Prius C would be a smart choice.

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Nissan has announced that the brand is now the second most popular brand in the Americas, which includes North, Central and South America. Nissan gained a 0.6% increase in market share over its 2010 figure, advancing the automaker as the #2 Asian automotive brand in the region.

Nissan America has totaled 1.56 million units sold in 2011, while the brand sold 1.33 million in 2010. Nissan trails behind Toyota, which sold 1.85 million units in 2011. Honda, Hyundai and Kia follows, with 1.29 million, 1.03 million and 659,000, respectively.

“2011 was a breakthrough year for Nissan in the Americas in a multitude of ways,” said Colin Dodge, chairman, Nissan Americas.  ”We outperformed our key Japanese competitors in every market throughout the Americas while the Nissan brand became one of the fastest-growing Asian automotive brands in the region.”

Other highlights:

• In the U.S., Nissan gained market share for the sixth consecutive year, ending 2011 with 8.2 percent of the U.S. market, up from 6 percent just a few years ago;
• In Mexico, Nissan has been the market leader for three consecutive years and ended 2011 with a record market share of 24.8 percent, up 1.7 points from the prior year;
• In Brazil, Nissan’s business has been rapidly expanding with sales that nearly doubled in 2011.  Nissan was Brazil’s fastest-growing automotive brand in 2011 and is now the 7th best-selling car brand in the country;
• In Latin America, Nissan finished 2011 with 10 percent market share for the first time, up 0.4 points from the prior year.

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Millions of people around the world utilize cars for their daily lifestyle. Your car gets up to and from work, allows you to drop the kids off at soccer practice and take family vacations. Meanwhile, hundreds or even thousands of car manufacturing companies are releasing newer and better versions of these sedans nearly every week. With millions of vehicles on the market, one may think that the wide collection of cars have nothing more to offer when it comes to design as there are thousands of drivers who have the same exact vehicle on their garage. However, there are certain high-profile cars that can be considered invaluable due to their rising popularity, regardless of their ordinary make or model. These kinds of cars take driving from merely a chore to a luxury.

So how did these cars become famous?

Simply put, these high-profile cars have achieved their popularity due to their role or part in blockbuster films or movies. Whether they’ve been driven by the bad guys or the good guys, the following 3 cars have been well recognized by people all over the world because of simply performing and driving on screen.

1.The 1976 Chevy Camaro from the 2007 hit movie Transformers.

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While prices of goods are going up, job salaries are stagnant. Most businesses are tight and everyone is looking for ways to live economically. One way to save money is to keep your car’s proper maintenance. And where’s the best place to start than the tires that supports the motion of the car? This article will tackle the things that we can do to preserve our tire tread for a longer period of service.

1. Always check your tire pressure.

Friction from driving down the road increases the heat or air pressure in a tire. Make sure that you’re still driving with the suggested tire pressure provided by the car’s manufacturer. By having a regular upkeep, you help cut down on the friction between the car and the road you are driving on, consume less fuel and prevent you from hurting the tires.

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The best car insurance in the Philippines for 2012 is a comprehensive insurance policy. Third party liability insurance is mandatory by law, but that is not enough to eliminate all the risks involved in driving. A comprehensive policy will cover bodily injury, property damage and unnamed passenger personal accident. The car is protected and the people in it are protected.

photo credit: woodleywonderworks

There is also total protector insurance that includes the compulsory third party liability and loss or damage of car and theft as well as protection from acts of nature such as an earthquake, typhoon or flood. Then there is also finance available for loans for people with bad credit. It can also give legal assistance and bail bond, road assistance, towing expenses, a waiver of deductible and depreciation as well as many other options.

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I’ve been busy these past few weeks, but we’ve been fortunate enough to have test-driven a handful of cars during that time. So far, we’ve been through the usual review rounds with a Ford Fiesta S, Mazda2 and Hyundai Tucson. These next weekends, we have the Hyundai Santa Fe and Chevy Spark.

Checking out fuel efficiency, carrying capacity, proper inflation of car tires, different engine displacements, trims, features and models does take some time, especially for writers like us with deadlines and assignments. Reviews are coming soon, so watch this space.

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Chevy has just launched its latest model Spark, and is inviting everyone to join the virtual carpool. Simply mosy over to the Chevy Spark Virtual Carpool Club Facebook application and you get the chance to win five iPad 2s.

All you have to do is “like” the Chevy Philippines Facebook fan page and register in the Spark Carpool Club application. Upon registering, you will automatically be designated as the virtual carpool driver of the account. The objective of the game is to add as much Facebook friends to be your carpool buddy.

Of course, aside from just Liking the page, you will need to have friends join your carpool club, as well. The more friends you invite, the more entries you get to the raffle. A winning “car” with five members will be picked each week, with the members receiving movie tickets and Chevy merchandise. Meanwhile, the winners of the final draw get an iPad 2 each.

Chevy’s latest Spark comes in two new variants, particularly the 1.0 liter 4-speed automatic and 5speed manual, which have the same design as the 1.2L MT. According to tests, these new models can give you as much as 22 km/L for the manual 1.2L and 1.0L variants, and 19 km/L for the 1.0 automatic. How’s that for a fuel-efficient pocket rocket?

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It’s pretty weird to be giving the Nissan Teana a go when Angelo has already driven it a while back and he has done quite an exhaustive review of the car. However, since Nissan has been kind enough to give another PinoyAutoBlogger another go at its flagship luxury sedan, I’m more than happy to give my two cents worth on the Teana.

Power

The unit’s still the same 250XL unit that Angelo drove a while back. The car packs a 2.5L V6 engine under the hood and the engine is mated to a CVT transmission. Power is sent to the front wheels. The engine supposedly produces 182 hp which means that should theoretically be more than enough but the sheer size and weight of the Teana makes the car seem wanting at times.

Literature pegs the 0 to 100 kph sprint time at 9.6 seconds which is, by 2.5L V6 standards, is quite slow. And 182 hp from a 2.5L engine seems to do the displacement quite the injustice. It also seems to have a problem getting off off the line which I presume is no thanks to the max torque being accessible at the 4,000 rpm rev area.

In normal driving mode, the engine seems to produce power in lumps and you have to rev past 2,000 rpm to get any decent response. The CVT transmission seems to temper how the power is put on the road. With all those ponies to tap, I was expected some torque steer but there was none. The gear changes were sublime enough but this is expected of any modern automatic transmission these days.

Only when pressing the Sport button (which is basically the overdrive switch), does the Teana comes alive. This allows the engine to rev happily past 3,000 allowing the car to really start tapping those ponies to work. Pretty handy when overtaking other vehicles or simply just getting up to speed.

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Driving is such a nonchalant type of activity nowadays that most people don’t give it much thought. But despite its outstanding prevalence, driving is still a dangerous activity in many ways. High speeds, heavy vehicles, and different driving skill levels, among many other factors, all contribute to potential danger on the roads. If you’re seeking out the safest possible trip for you and your family every time you drive, you’ll need to depend on a few key car components designed to make every drive safer. Some are obvious safety features, while others are less clear. Whatever they are, however, you want to keep these safety components in good shape, so that you and your passengers always make it safely from Point A to Point B and beyond.

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Nissan Motor Philippines is currently running a low-downpayment promo for various models, which also include upgraded features for the same price, like leather seats, parking assist camera and multimedia system. Check it out.

• Nissan Sentra 200 6MT – PhP 99,999 d/p
• Nissan Sentra 200 CVT (now with leather seats) – PhP 118,000 d/p
• X-TRAIL 2.0 AT 4×2 – PhP 160,000 d/p
• X-TRAIL CVT 2.5 AT 4×2 – PhP 220,000 d/p
• X-TRAIL CVT 2.5 AT 4×4 – PhP 260,000 d/p

Low monthly offers are also available for 30% and 50% downpayment options.

Check out the press release after the jump. Continue reading …

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