GMC Acadia Denali

2011 GMC Acadia Denali

When you notice the kind of vehicle often driven by gangsters, rappers, and street smarts, the kind of vehicle is always a heavy sports utility vehicle. When an SUV is built for ruggedness, some SUVs are built to wow the crowd with aftermarket rims, grille, and everything that goes bling-bling. With the regular GMC Acadia built for the average families, especially the soccer moms, this crossover met its newest addition to put the bling on the Acadia. Welcome to the Acadia Denali, the first crossover Denali from GMC's Denali range, a range possessing the wow factor among the successful.

It is time to get rich or die trying because this street billet makes the rounds to please against its rivals. With the body remain its Acadia look, the new Acadia Denali turns this boring Acadia into a gangster-look SUV thanks to its Denali grille, 20-inch chrome wheels, chrome exhaust tip, and body-side molding.

While gaining the gangster-look exterior, the interior of the Acadia Denali is rather more of a luxury car, which means that only heavy politicians can fit inside this SUV. With the Denali wood and leather steering wheel, available rear-view camera, heads up display, ambient lighting, and climate-controlled seats, these features made this GMC somewhat luxurious.

Under the hood, the GMC Acadia Denali comes with the 3.6L V6 engine that accumulates the power output 288 HP @ 6300 RPM and the torque output of 270 LB-FT @ 3400 RPM. On fuel economy, the Acadia Denali can accumulate 17mpg on city driving and 24mpg on highway driving.

My thoughts about the Acadia Denali:
Most gangsters, rappers, and street smarts prefer SUVs because they can trick it out to go bling on the streets. With the GMC Acadia Denali, this crossover utility vehicle really goes bling-bling on the big city. If a soccer mom drives this crossover, their kids would be popular at school, thinking that they have an awesome car no other parents could ever have, except the rich kids.

If I were driving that car, I would play some hip-hop, rap, and something gangsters would love to listen while cruising on the big city at night.

Photo: Autoblog

Kia Forte Hatchback

2011 Kia Forte Hatchback

Time to say hello to the newest addition of the Kia Forte range, from the sedan, Koup, and LPi Hybrid, which is essentially the most spacious Forte built to rival the Hyundai i30, Mazda Axela Sport, Mitsubishi Galant Fortis (Lancer) Sportback, and the Subaru Impreza hatchback.

The new Forte Hatchback is the latest addition of the Kia Forte range, possessing the qualities of being the spacious, economical, and sporty Korean hatchback that promises to please Korean buyers. With Kia's trademark Tiger Nose design courtesy of Peter Schreyer, the Forte Hatchback stays true to its roots because this grille will always be a part of the Kia family, ranging from the Soul, Sorento, and the new Sportage.

A peek on the Kia Forte Hatchback's side view is rather similar to its rival, the Hyundai i30, but the rear view wears the same look from its sedan brother. This goes the same for the interior but as a hatchback, this was built to be spacious.

The new Kia Forte Hatchback has a roster of high-tech goodies equipped to up the ante, such as the engine start/stop button, optional navigation system with Digital Media Broadcasting, and parking system. In order to show how worthy for the Forte Hatchback to be a true eco-car, the Active Eco System is added to bring the fuel efficiency of the 1.6L GDi engine (found on the Hyundai Avante MD). The GDi 1.6L engine has the power output of 140PS, the torque output of 17.0 kg-m, and the fuel economy of 16.5 km/L.

My thoughts about the Forte Hatchback:

With the sedan priced on about P1,320,000, my predicted price for the new Kia Forte Hatchback would be P1,550,000, but whatever, that is how the pricing for Kia cars in the Philippines should be. I hope that they should think twice before pricing newer Kia models in the Philippines due to most Pinoy Kia fans think they are overpriced.

Distinctively, the new Kia Forte Hatchback is built to be the most economical, most fuel-efficient, and the sportiest Korean hatchback set to take down the Hyundai i30 into pieces. Let us hope that Columbian Motors Corporation will bring this hatchback soon and price it right.

On the other hand, this car will be feature, along with the K5, Sportage, and other Kia models, on the IRIS spin-off, titled Athena: Goddess of War, coming soon this fall 2010 on Seoul Broadcasting System. If you enjoyed the action-packed Koreanovela, you are going to like this.

Photo: www.mt.co.kr

BMW 5-Series Touring -Full Model Change-

The same comfort, performance, and luxury of the BMW F10 5-Series sedan now arrive in a spacious luxury tourer version.

The new BMW 5-Series Touring wagon offers the same level as the sedan with the added space to fit most of your luggage on the rear. Despite wearing the same look as from the sedan counterpart, the new 5-Series Touring sports a distinctive side view that is similar to the BMW 3-Series Touring, but with the added length.

The new BMW 5-Series Touring offers different kinds of engine types such as the 6-cylinder petrol engine (523i, 528i and 535i), 6-cylinder diesel engine (530d) and the entry-level 4-cylinder diesel engine (520d). Most engines are Euro5 compliant and approved for emission standards. To have owners getting to know more about this car, a choice of a 6-speed manual or the 8-speed Steptronic transmission makes it more intellectual for the owner to see how good is the new 5-Series Touring when it comes to its performance.

My thoughts about the 5-Series Touring:
Expect this tourer never coming to the North American market because of its slow sales and superseded by the 5-Series Gran Turismo fastback, but what about the Philippines? Nope, I think it is too blurry for Asian Carmakers Corporation to sell this touring version of the new 5-Series. With the base 523i costs 5,590,000 Pesos, my predicted price for the 523i Touring will be about 5,900,000 Pesos.

When comparing the base 523i Touring to the base E 200 CGI Estate, the results can be a possible shocker. The pricing goes to the MB E-Class Estate but on the performance side, the BMW 5-Series Touring wins.

In my point of view, this car is the betting choice for celebrities, politicians, and famous athletes.

Nissan Leaf's first epic fail!

Some blogger in Japan showed us a clip of the Nissan Leaf's first epic fail!

EPIC FAIL! If you guessed it....

It happened at the testing grounds of Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery during the new action tour sponsored by Nissan to promote not just the Leaf, but new fuel-efficient cars suitable for the environment.

World's first Leaf crash makes history. EPIC FAIL for Nissan's first electric car coming soon to the world market.

At least no one got hurt.

This goes to the history as the world's first Nissan Leaf crash happened at the testing grounds of Nissan Global Headquarters Gallery.

Video uploaded by goldstorehouse

The sportier side of Toyota iQ

Toyota iQ Go

           

At the end of August 2010, Toyota Motor Corporation just unveiled the sportier side of the super-small compact car known as the Toyota iQ.

Called the iQ→ (iQ Go), this iQ boasts a sporty front side and offers the same choice of a 1.0L and 1.3L engine.

For the first time, the manual version of the iQ→ (iQ Go), available in November 2010, will offer Toyota's first Smart Stop system. This is the first time Toyota's offering a manual-tranny car with the idling stop system. The fuel economy of the iQ→ (iQ Go) goes on about 23.5km/L. With that fuel economy, the iQ→ (iQ Go) will win over against the new Suzuki Swift ZC72S.

Geez, I hope Toyota Motor Philippines will bring not just the normal iQ, but also this sportier version called the iQ→(iQ Go).

Photo: Toyota Motor Corporation

Honda Accord Inspire CP3 -Phase Two-

2011 Honda Accord Inspire

Upon the arrival of the fifth-generation Honda Inspire (known worldwide as the seventh-generation Honda Accord, not to be confused with the Honda Accord Euro sold in the North America as the Acura TSX) since the 2007 Tokyo Motor Show and sales started since the 2007 holiday season, it seems that some people are loyal to the Inspire's executive looks, premium interior, and the innovative 3.5L V6 i-VTEC engine with the world's first Variable Cylinder Management, which allows the engine to be automatically set to either 3, 4, or 6 cylinders, depending on the driver's driving tastes.

In late August 2010, the Honda Accord Inspire gained a minor change to be more elegant, more beautiful, more luxurious, and more fuel-efficient than its pre-facelift predecessor. On the front, the Accord Inspire received a new face that looks similar to the US-only Honda Accord Coupe, providing an aggressive stance on Honda's flagship medium-sized vehicle. On the back, the Accord Inspire rear lamps getting minor improvements. The Inspire's rims have changed too. On the inside, the Honda Accord Inspire has faux wood paneling all over to further improve its modest status for the customers.

There are four available options to choose from;

1) Regular Package which features front-seat side airbags, front and rear curtain airbags, front seat Active Head Rest, VSA (Vehicle Stability Assist) + TCS (Traction Control System), discharge headlamps, front fog lamps with auto light control, rain-sensing wipers, power seats, power steering, LED door mirror winker, instrumental cluster, telescoping steering wheel, rear sunshade, cruise control, steering audio switch, Honda Smart Key System with Immobilizer, Intelligent Dual Full Auto Aircon, available Honda HDD Internavi System, USB Jack, Active Noise Control, DVD/CD/AM/FM Player, and six speakers.

2) Leather Interior features everything from the regular package with two leather color choices; ivory or black. A front seat heater is added to give warmth to the passengers on cold nights.

3) Advance Package features everything from the regular package with Adaptive Cruise Control and Adaptive Collision Mitigation Brake + Seat Belt

4) The fourth package of the Inspire combines all three packages into one, providing this car with complete options to be more luxurious for the semi-wealthy.

My thoughts about the Inspire:
With the fuel economy of the Honda Accord Inspire CP3 raised from the previous 9.8km/L to 9.9km/L, there's still nothing special about the latest minor facelift for the Honda Accord Inspire. New look, same features. That's how I can explain more about the latest facelift for the CP3 Inspire. With the facelift now on sale in Japan since late August, could Honda Cars Philippines have a chance to bring the newly redesigned Inspire here to the Philippines? The Honda Inspire is the leading target of cars such as the Hyundai Grandeur, Kia K5, Subaru Legacy B4, Mazda Atenza/6, and even the Toyota Camry.

Hmm... that's weird...

Back in 2009, when spending so much watching Japanese TV commercials, Toyota Motor Corpotation brought in Seishiro Kato, a cute and talented Japanese child star, as the cutest spokesperson for Toyota TV commercials, adopting the commercial role "Kodomo Tencho" (こども店長), a child dealer, to promote eco-car tax breaks and incentives on eco-friendly Toyota models, in case someone in Japan know more about the wonders of what JDM enthusiasts called the "Eco-car genzei" system.

So "kawaii" for a Japanese child star taking position as the spokesperson for Toyota, promoting the "eco-car genzei" on all eco-friendly Toyota models.

OK...OK...

On the first half on 2010, moments after Volkswagen overtaken Toyota Motor Corporation as the world's largest automobile manufacturer, the Japanese division of Volkswagen got something on their records, keeping Volkswagen sales in Japan up and running with the benefits of the "eco-car genzei" system.

Want to take a guess for Volkswagen Group Japan's biggest "eco-car genzei" tactic approach?

Take a look...

Volkswagen Group Japan's tactic to promote eco-car tax breaks on most fuel-efficient Volkswagens is to bring in Asami Himeka, also one of Japan's most popular child stars, and hey, that trick sure works well.

Hmm... wait, I saw that child star on a commercial of some Nintendo DS game from Konami, titled "Utacchi!"

Looks like some Japanese consumers going to think twice which side are they on. This looks interesting...