Renault Dacia Duster

Renault's Romanian arm, Dacia, seems to be a small brand born being a simple car manufacturer, but its determination seems to be huge, even when Dacia was under the ownership of Renault.

As crossover utility vehicles became a top priority to European people, including families, it seems that the Romanian brand of Renault launched their first crossover targeted for the adventurous Europeans with the price that matches the pricing of the Chery Tiggo and the Foton Blizzard. The Dacia Duster is not the kind of a crossover you expect from the others. Despite being new to the public since its launch and began sales since spring, the Duster is quite obviously their kind of crossover partner when they were ready to travel all over the vast landmarks from Europe. The Duster's primary target is the Skoda Yeti because from what I can see, both the Duster and the Yeti are competitive in terms of ruggedness and power. The outer view looks more of a carbon copy of the Renault Koleos, but the looks can be as simple as the Skoda Yeti.

On the inside view, the Duster seems to be a bit normal, with no other feature you can find but just the plain-looking seats, audio system, climate control, and the capacity to seat five passengers. There is nothing more to describe the Duster's average interior look but what you feel is what you think.

Depending on your adrenaline and your adventure level, the Dacia Duster comes with different Renault-made engines available for your different tastes of adventure, ranging from the 1.6L, 16-valve engine with 105PS of power output and the 1.5L dCi diesel engine. The Dacia Duster's status as a off-road machine is a major task for the owner via the system similar to Nissan's All-Mode 4x4-i found on the X-Trail and soon to be on the Juke. It can be set at AUTO for the recommended setup at various areas and corners, LOCK for power cruising on tough areas, and 4x2 for economical use.

My thoughts about the Duster:
A probability to own a Duster is a good start for the budget-conscious customer, even when the introductory price starts at 12,000 Euros or about a predicted pricing, which matches the pricing level of Chery Tiggo and Foton Blizzard. It might seem to be a European car with the price of a cheap Chinese car, but the Duster is not a good match for this country dominated by Fortuners, Monteros, Alterras, and other successful SUVs, because it is not well-known in the eyes of a Filipino car enthusiast. What I can say is leave it at the Europeans because Europe is where the Romanian arm of Renault enjoyed its fair success.

Kaichou Wa Maid-Sama! OST

Kaichou Wa Maid Sama OST 1

Imagine you, as Misaki Ayuzawa, a student council president who has a secret identity as a maid at some maid cafe, think you can handle this double task? It is tough being either a student council president or a maid at the maid cafe, but with this soundtrack, from the fresh 2010 anime series, "Kaichou Wa Maid-sama!" (日本名:会長はメイド様!), you can relive the sweet moments not just from the life of times of Misaki Ayuzawa, the student council president/maid, but from the rest of the students and fellow maids surrounding her life. With the TV-sized versions of the anime's opening and closing theme included and some of the anime's BGM handmade by Wataru Maeguchi, this is sure that these tracks will make Maid-sama fans relieve the life and times of the part-seitokaichou, part-maid, all-perfect gal, Misaki Ayuzawa, and the rest.


1. My Secret (TV size)
2. メインテーマ
3. サブタイトル1
4. 美咲順調マーチ
5. 一人じゃないよ
6. すさんでBLUES
7. 碓氷拓海
8. 碓氷の光と影
9. 特にゴージャス
10. 傍若無人
11. アイキャッチA
12. これでこそじゃないか!
13. SAMBA AQUA SKA
14. 激しいね
15. 重たい気分
16. どうせこんなもん?
17. 穏やかなのが好き
18. アイキャッチB
19. これはこれで呑気です
20. 負けるものか
21. 男子だって面白くないよ
22. 振り返って見つめて
23. サブタイトル2
24. 軽くゴージャス
25. 美咲も高校生
26. 調子に乗ってる?
27. 懸賞が当たると良いな
28. 無力?孤立?
29. 相当シリアス
30. スッキリ帰り道
31. 急いで会長
32. 戦いの予感
33. 会長さまのお通りだ!
34. やさしい気持ち
35. 穏やかな日々
36. 予感 (TV size)

What's Great: The secret's story's safe with them with these tracks...

What's Not So Great: Can you spice these up?

....Baklang Grasa again...

This night's Bubble Gang turned out to be OK, but aside from the rescue gags, fifth Sabi-Sabi episode, someone who is attracted by something round, shoplifter, more IyoTube madness with Moymoy Palaboy, first aid tutorial gone awkward, and for this episode...

Oily (Michael V) and Greasy (Ogie Alcasid), the "Baklang Grasa", showed up for the second time! In this Baklang Grasa episode, who cleaned up Oily's place?

BTW: The idol-fan tandem appearance from Hole In The Wall Season 2 is complete. What characters will these two hosts be for next week? Could it possibly Oily and Greasy from the Baklang Grasa sketch? Or someone else?

More brainless, more Jejemons, and more Case to Case?! Lokomoko U Rules!

Last night's Lokomoko U on TV5....

It's darn hilarious! Aside from those haunted gags served, there is round 2 of Lokomoko U-gagged version of Pinoy Henyo, called Pinoy Brainless. That's right, the one with the opening number sounded like Tropang Trumpo's Caronia dance, and hosted by those guys named Christoper (JC De Vera) and Fermin (Rainier Castillo). With 60 seconds of wrong guessing, it leaves me laugh endlessly because of their hilarious guesses! LOL

Later, another round of j3j3m0n koowiz b33h (Jejemon Quiz Bee) hosted by j3j3b4b3 (Tuesday Vargas) and j3j3b3@r (Empoy) is on the way.

Then after the gags, episode 3 of Lokomoko U-gagged version of Face To Face, called Case To Case involving a repairman beaten by, you guessed it, a blind man (3rd time?!) because of the bills from repairing TV.

For the first time, no one's getting hit by a beer bottle due to the anger point, even when the plaintiff (the beaten-up repairman) and the defendant (the blind man apparently been here for the third time) reached their anger point and calmed down to the end.

Oh Yeah! Long Live Lokomoko!

Nissan Second-Generation X-Trail -Revised-

It is so much for NMPI's tactic when the second-generation X-Trail arrived in the Philippines a few weeks ago. It seems that NMPI only obtained just the pre-facelift model of the second-generation X-Trail. In Japan, the second-generation X-Trail received a minor treatment to made things complicated for Pinoy Nissan fans, except Japanese adventurers looking for more at this blazing hot summer Japanese vacation.








With temperatures in Japan are getting hotter and hotter, the second-generation X-Trail's Second Phase just keeps getting hotter and hotter thanks to its revised headlamp and the grille that looks similar to the upcoming Nissan Patrol Royale (coming soon to the Philippines this year) and the Nissan Juke. What captures in the eye of an off-road cruiser is Nissan's innovative All-Mode 4x4-i system. The All-Mode 4x4-i system can be adjusted from all-wheel drive to front-wheel drive, depending on the type of terrain you are. It also features Vehicle Dynamics Control for enhanced stability of the X-Trail. A Brake LSD (Limited Slip Differential) is equipped on the X-Trail, providing the most out of braking and distribution, depending on various corners.

Three available engines are offered on the X-Trail, such as the MR20DE, QR25DE, and the ecological M9R clean diesel engine. The MR20DE is the entry-level engine because this 2.0L engine can go within 13.2-14.0km/L of fuel economy, while the QR25DE is a high-performance engine that releases 170 PS of power output. The fuel-efficient M9R clean diesel engine is the top-of-the-line engine that is 3 PS more than the QR engine and fuel efficiency rose from 14.2-15.2km/L. It comes with 6AT, 6MT, and CVT as available transmissions offered for the X-Trail.

My thoughts about the X-Trail:
Timing was the worst kept bet for those who obtained the second-generation X-Trail at their nearest Nissan Philippines dealerships because what they obtained is their Phase 1. What in Japan Nissan launched is the Phase Two of Nissan's second-generation X-Trail and this should be at its boiling point. Oh well, it is better to be late than never obtain the new X-Trail. In Japan, the second-generation X-Trail Phase Two comes in regular (20S, 20X, 25X), clean diesel (20GT 6MT and 20GT 6AT), and the special edition "X-tremer X by Autech Japan" suited for the adventurer type.

Honda Freed Spike

While we are waiting for the Freed to arrive in the Philippines, the JDM Honda Freed uncovered its "big brother" and this sportier version is the fresh fit for the long Japanese summer getaway, despite the scorching hot weather Japanese families faced.

With temperatures rising from the streets of Tokyo and most Japanese people are heading through the hot springs, beaches, and other famous destinations, Honda has just unveiled the Freed Spike, the newest addition to the multipurpose Freed minivan.

It seems that the naming is quite obviously a "fan service" because the Freed Spike is the main successor of the squarish Honda Mobilio Spike, but the looks remain an oddity. The new Freed Spike sports the same Freed rear side and the front side combines the sporty look of the StepWGN Spada and Zest Spark, resulting into an unique sports MPV for the adventurous Japanese people on the go.

What covers most in the Freed Spike is the unique interior. At its first glance, the interior is most likely the Flex version of the Freed, which means it can only sit five people inside. Despite the capacity, the Freed Spike has a wide array of seating arrangements, with the optional rail and the cargo tray, so you can find out which arrangement is perfect for your next adventure. For those who are looking for some fun at the sun, the Freed Spike is your perfect adventure partner. It can be perfect not just for adventure, but great for small business owners as well. Imagine various possibilities when you are with the Freed Spike, which is hundreds of possibilities you can do with it!

The Freed Spike is equipped with the well-balanced 1.5L SOHC i-VTEC engine that produces 87 PS of power output, the fuel economy of 14-16.4km/L, and it includes two available transmissions such as the 5AT and CVT as well.

My thoughts about the Freed Spike:
Still as plain as the Mobilio Spike it replaces, but the Freed Spike has a wide array of seating arrangements that can be mixed and matched for your adventurous purposes. With these seating arrangements, you can find which suited for your next adventure, like for instance; on a beach trip, a hunting trip, a trip to the hot springs, a rescue mission, a delivery, or various trips you can do for the Freed Spike. We might or we might not be getting the Freed Spike to the Philippines but despite this, the Freed Spike is the good match for the scorching hot summer vacation in Japan.

Few pointers before the Zettai Karen OVA debut...

With the new Zettai Karen Children OVA titled "Zettai Karen Children Aitazosei! Ubawareta Mirai? (日本名:絶対可憐チルドレン -愛多憎生!奪われた未来?-) coming out in Japanese stores this July (not far from next week), most fans of this series are going to prepare most before taking a gander of the grand comeback of the crime-fighting heroines known as "The Children", Koichi Minamoto, and the rest of B.A.B.E.L. Oh, and we also forgot to mention Kyosuke Hyobu as well, showing his sinister attitude again.

CASE ONE: 

If they said they already watched the entire Zettai Karen Children episodes from the start to finish, then, they're ready to watch the OVA coming this July. For those who are new to the series, best to watch the anime series first before getting your newbie hands on the OVA. I wish I want to see the anime series first before the OVA, any ideas? It's a long show and it is not going to be that easy watching the show from the start to finish.

CASE TWO:

Who listened the entire Zettai Karen Children songs from opening themes, ending themes, and character songs? That's an interesting question. With opening themes like Over the Future, ending themes such as Zettai LoveXLove Sengen, to character songs done by our favorite Zettai Karen Children characters, you might be welcomed more than your sixth sense. Also, a few weeks after the OVA's debut, there will be a powerhouse of Zettai Karen Children CDs to collect such as this:

Considering a limited edition packaging, the "Ultimate Songs" package features these:

The Zettai Karen Children "All the Best" CD contains the entire opening and closing theme songs as heard in the anime, including the OVA's opening theme Seventh Heaven (by Aya Hirano, Ryoko Shiraishi, and Haruka Tomatsu, the voices of Kaoru, Aoi, and Shiho) and ...Out of control... (by Yuichi Nakamura, Kisho Taniyama, and Koji Yusa, the voices from the men of Zettai Karen Children; Koichi, Syuji, and Kyosuke) as well. Also included in the special "Ultimate Songs" packaging is this:

The Starring Collection CD contains every single character song from your favorite characters, including new character songs only available on this CD. Seems to be perfect for a fan to get a quick start.


CASE 3: Do I need to put another case for a fan to be prepared before the anime's OVA debut? Well, there's only one way for this case, enjoy yourselves!

Courting gags, jejemon rehabilitations, and a Korean idol?

That episode of Bubble Gang turned out to be exciting. There was some courting gags, the motivator, angel and devil at the office, saving the ship from sinking, sleep talking near the wife, more Iyotube fun with Moymoy Palaboy and Roadfill (I wonder what was the title of that song), new rules at the city hall, rehabilitating Jejemons (another jejemon sketch in Philippine gag comedy?), saying good night, and for this episode, the Korean idol sketch!

On that sketch, fans are excited to meet Korean idol Kim Min Yung (played by Ogie Alcasid), then there's Bianca (played by Michael V), the number one fan of Kim Min Yung. As so many fans appealed, the ruffians appeared, trying to mug some to Kim Min Yung, but Bianca fends them off with her, um, some martial arts! Leaving the Korean idol's personal assistant out cold and fired and henceforth making Bianca as the new personal assistant for Kim Min Yung! LOL!

Word from everyone is we can also see the idol-fan tandem on the second season of Hole in the Wall on GMA! Who knows they'll be again on BG for more..

Eh? Case to Case?

Rewind back to June 17's episode of TV5's Lokomoko U, and when you skip past the gags, and the hilarious Talentadong Family sketch, you might realize that TV5's first talakserye, titled Face To Face, gets gagged by Lokomoko U, and its called Case To Case, their "tagayserye". From this Lokomoko U-gagged version, this case involves there's a blind man accused as the "Peeping Pervert" from the female victim. I've enjoyed that angry "tagay-payo" blasts some hot-headedness to the victim, and later, the blind man appeared and too much hot-headedness throws in Case To Case! LOL

On last night's episode, this case was involved on the woman who was the victim by some massager/pervert, then later, the psychologist (one of the tagay-payo) throws one angry word about massaging, then later, the blind man, apparently the massaging pervert, appeared and hot-headedness flies on Lokomoko U's gagged version of Face To Face! What do you think? Too hot-headed for you?

And if that wasn't enough, Lokomoko U did some version of Eat Bulaga's Pinoy Henyo, called Pinoy Brainless. Hey, the opening number kinda sounds like the Caronia dance from Tropang Trumpo. Still too hot-headed when time's up.

Guess hot-headedness never thought to be hilarious...

STILL (Panting....) More bad case of Toyota's mass recall

Another bad case happened at Toyota Motor Corporation, days after the death of the legendary Hiromu Naruse, master test driver.

According from an Autoblog article, Toyota is prepping a recall in over 270,000 cars armed with the 3.5L V6 engine and the 4.6L V8 engine because of the faulty valve springs.

In that case, most of these cars involved in the recall were the Lexus LS, Lexus IS, Lexus GS, and Toyota Crown models (Athlete, Royal Saloon, Hybrid, and Majesta).

Who would have thought, could there be any connection from the mass Toyota recall to the death of the nur-meister? Could TMC ended up like being like a disaster movie? How can TMC recover from the endless recalls that spreads worldwide like the A(H1N1) virus? Is this the reason how the mass Toyota recall be related to the death of Naruse-sama?

WHAT THE FUDGE IS THIS?

Hope we, Toyota loyalists, can solve this out, Face to Face!

Face To Face! Sinong Sisimangot?

Face To Face! Sinong Ngigiti?

Face To Face! Ang mga problema,

Face To Face! 'wag mong talikuran,

Harapin mo, Face To Face!

Subaru WRX STi GRB/GRF Minor Change and New WRX STi GVB/GVF 4-door

When the feud between the Subaru WRX STi and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution rages on, it seems that, the hatchback version of the WRX STi is not finally alone in the battle against the Evo, even when the hatchback is now facelifted. This time, the hatchback's minor change welcomes the return of the WRX STi sedan. It seems that the MItsubishi Lancer Evolution is now outnumbered by two Subaru WRX STi variants. This will leave loyal Subaru fans screaming "venceremos" all the time but how "hasta la victoria siempre" can the redesigned STi hatch and the new STi sedan is?











From its world premiere at New York, from the beginning of sales in Japan starting now, there are so many reasons how Subaru loyalists love to take advantage on these two WRX STi variants. Considering the hatchback gaining a new bumper and a strikingly aggressive face, the new sedan variant boasts a striking poise and a cool beauty beyond limits. Without the wing on the STi sedan, it looks somewhat redundant, but with the wing attached, the WRX STi sedan shows its true self. Now, all that is left are the gold rims to complete the entire puzzle, but never mind. Oh, and one more thing, the interior of the WRX STi remains intact.

There are two performance types available on both the hatchback and the new sedan, a 2.0L BOXER DOHC Turbo engine with 6-speed manual transmission and the 2.5L BOXER DOHC Turbo Engine with Subaru Dynamic 5AT and Paddle Shifters. Every WRX STi loyalist knows that the 2.0L variant is better than the 2.5L variant because of the power output and the transmission. All variants are equipped with Subaru's finest SI-DRIVE that allows the driver to choose from three modes depending on ride, comfort, and power. Both are not complete without Symmetrical AWD, which is the main skeleton of all Subaru models.

My thoughts about the WRX STi:
A JDM sports car's redundancy is not the main objective for the new WRX STi variants, its main priority is to show who has the right judgment to say "judgment desu no (judgment indeed)" to the JDM fanatics. There is no wonder how this star of the show gained the Nurburgring Nordschleife lap time of 7:55:00 and henceforth dubbed as the fastest Subaru ever made. This will surely rock the hearts of every Subaru loyalists in the world and henceforth this will start a revolution where you are here to drive this hand-made beast. Once you tried, you might scream yourselves "venceremos" while running with the heart of the Pleiades.

Photo: Fuji Heavy Industries

Mazda New Premacy/New Mazda 5 (CWEFW)

After its preview in Geneva, in March, and now on sale in Japan, the new generation Mazda Premacy (known as the Mazda 5) indulges the flavor of becoming the most fuel-efficient minivan today, and it is also one of the main reasons we want to have, aside from the new Mazda Axela (Mazda 3) to arrive in the Philippines soon.







Using the same "Nagare" design flow from the Mazda Axela, the true beauty of the new Premacy is distinctively Japanese, and the side view adds a nice touch, indulging every family to gander at every astonishing detail and using its new look as an excuse from its rivals.







Despite the beautiful exterior design, the interior quality is not nearly as perfect as the outside view since it copied most from the Mazda Atenza (Mazda 6), meaning there is nothing too perfect about the interior quality of the new Premacy. However, the new Premacy is a 6+1 seater thanks to the middle seat found on the second row that can be used as an armrest. If you have one more passenger to seat, flip the armrest from the second-row seat to turn from a 2nd row 2-seater to a 2nd-row 3-seater. See? It does not seem to be redundant using its feature. Aside from that, you can use the middle seat as access to the third row, if you have any passengers to seat with, especially the kids.







Good to know that the fuel-efficient i-stop technology from the second-generation Mazda Axela and the Mazda Biante is also included in the new Premacy, providing the 2.0L DOHC 16-Valve engine with the outstanding fuel economy of 16.0km/L of fuel economy. This fuel economy is sure enough to outperform the fuel efficiency of the Honda RK StepWGN/StepWGN Spada.

My thoughts about the Premacy:
We are sure that this latest model is more like a minivan version of the Mazda Axela (Mazda 3) thanks to its familiar design. With i-stop equipped, the Mazda Premacy can be the most fuel-efficient minivan today, giving the new meaning of the FTW acronym "for the world,” if I do say so myself. For its interior, the middle seat from the second row is a valuable tool not just as an armrest but also as easy access for the third row. It is perfect for mothers who are busy with themselves, especially fetching the kids from school. Since it is summertime in Japan, the new Mazda Premacy is the perfect getaway vehicle for the entire Japanese family, guaranteed to make the entire Japanese summer getaway memorable.



Photo: Mazda/Carview