PhotoHunt 130 (#16) - Sad

After protracted musing, we’ve finally decided to sell our Toyota Innova.  It’s been with us for almost four years; and, I really love this car.

And, I felt very SAD when I was actually posting the above “For Sale” sign in my blogs.

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Next week’s theme - “Lazy”

2008 People’s Choice Awards - October update

As of October 2, 2008, Kia Carens has widened it lead in the ongoing 2008 Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards as the Automobile of the Year 2008:

• Kia Carens – 11,614
• Hyundai Grand Starex – 8,042
• Honda Civic – 6,686

In the Sports Car category, Mitsubishi Evolution grabbed the lead from Hyundai Coupe.  In the other categories, the leaders maintained their places in the sun.  The updated partial results (top three only) are:

Sedan Sub Compact

• Hyundai Getz – 6,935
• Kia Picanto – 6,434
• Volvo C30 – 4,175

Sedan Compact

• Honda Civic – 9.384
• Hyundai Accent – 8,156
• Volvo S40 – 2,666

Sedan Midsize

• Toyota Camry – 6,592
• Hyundai Sonata – 5,050
• Honda Accord – 3,285

Sedan Large

• Hyundai Azera – 6,837
• Volvo S80 – 4,553
• BMW 7-Series – 3,706

Sports Cars

• Mitsubishi Evolution – 6,232
• Hyundai Coupe – 5,694
• Subaru Impreza WRX STi – 4,191

AUV

• Toyota Innova – 8,318
• Isuzu Crosswind – 7,574
• Mitsubishi Adventure – 2,312

SUV Compact

• Hyundai Tucson – 10,064
• Kia Sportage – 6,391
• Honda CRV – 6,355

SUV Midsize

• Hyundai Santa Fe – 12,244
• Kia Sorento – 6,437
• Volvo XC90 – 4,329

SUV Large

• Hyundai Vera Cruz – 8,490
• Porsche Cayenne – 4,350
• Isuzu Alterra – 4,121

Mini Van

• Kia Carens – 14,313
• Toyota Previa – 3,820
• Suzuki APV – 2,465

Full Size Van

• Hyundai Grand Starex – 13,450
• Kia Carnival – 10,353
• Nissan Urvan – 4,234

Pick-up

• Nissan Navarra – 8,647
• Isuzu Dmax – 6,164
• Mitsubishi Strada – 3,556

Here are the winners for September raffles:

• RONALDO ESTUDILLO CASTRO (RONALD)
• RIZZA ANN PALLADO PARCON (BAMBI)
• JOSE LARRY C. COMODERO
• ELEAZAR P. TAN (ELY)
• RODRIGO E. DELA CRUZ (DING)
• JOEL B. BARBON JR. (BOY)
• MA. LOURDES N. DE LEON (LULU)
• AUDELIO A. GONZALES, JR. (AUDI)
• LIONELL L. LOPEZ
• RONALDO M. MARASIGAN (RONNIE)

Oooopppsss! My name still isn’t in the list yet.

Please keep on voting and get the chance to win prizes!  The poll ends on November 30, 2008.

Club Carens in the making

Last September 28, eight owners of Kia Carens met at Metrowalk in Pasig City.  They discussed the organization of Club Carens Philippines. The attendees were: Alan, Robie, Bobby, Darwin & Sakura, Joe10, Barzee, Ronald, Marga & family.

Two logos were posted in the Tsikot.com forum and Club Carens forum for the consideration of other Kia Carens owners:

Logo 1

 
Logo 2

At the fora, a third logo is being suggested:

Logo 3

Which do you think is the best?  I chose logo 2.

PhotoHunt 129 (#15) - View

The VIEWS from the side VIEW mirror of our Toyota Innova:

A long queue of vehicles due to vehicular accident ahead.

 
While her MMDA co-workers were busy doing their jobs along EDSA, this lady was busy fixing her hair.

MMDA - Metro Manila Development Authority

EDSA - Epifanio de los Santos Avenue

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Next week’s theme - “Sad”

For Sale: 2005 Toyota Innova J Gas

We are selling our 2005 Toyota Innova J Gas:

• Color : Silver Metallic
• Plate ending : 1
• Transmission: Manual
• Mileage: 66,000 kilometers
• Casa maintained
• In very good condition
• Modifications: With Shark Roof Rack, Window Visors, Keyless entry and alarm, leatherette seat covers, and matting
• Acquired : March 2005
• Price: P475,000

Please click here to see some details and pictures of the unit.

If you are interested and wish to inspect the unit, please contact Tom at e-mail: j_avonni@yahoo.com or at mobile phone: +63 (920) 9555249 or at home phone (weekends only): +63 (2) 4173231.

Singapore Motorshow 2008

I just found out about the Singapore Motorshow 2008 from Kotse.com.

It’s the 9th Singapore Motorshow, which is done biannually. And, this event is the most celebrated and prestigious motorshow in the region. Visitors can expect to see dazzling display of awe-inspiring concept cars and new and sleek automobiles.

The show starts on September 26 up to October 5, 2008 at Suntec Singapore. Oh! That’s three days from now.  I haven’t bought my plane ticket yet. Anyway, I would just prepare for the 10th motorshow.

For more information and details, kindly click the following:

• Singapore Motorshow 2008
• Kotse.com 

PhotoHunt 128 (14) - Road

  Hills were cut to built this ROAD leading to Subic Bay Freeport Zone (SBFZ).

It’s called SCTEX or Subic Clark Tarlac Expressway.  This is the newest high ROAD and the longest expressway in the country, stretching 93.77 kilometers from SBFZ to Tarlac City. The whole stretch is already open for public. Toll fee is P2.00 ($0.0425) per kilometer. This new ROAD is time and fuel saver.

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Next week’s theme - “View”

Our car is now running smoothly.

This morning, the Kia Service Advisor informed me that they have found the cause of the defects of our Kia Carens.  And, do you want to know what it was?.  It caused by broken wires.  And, how the wires were broken?

A few days back, after washing the car, I opened the engine to do some ocular inspection.  I was surprised to see rat dungs scattered on top of the engine.  I feared that they might gnawed something under the hood.  After clearing the dungs, I tried to check whether my fear was true but saw none.

Since it’s rainy season, the rats had made the Carens engine compartment their hotel to take advantage of the warm temperature. 

So,  I wasn’t surprised when the service advisor told the rats gnawed on some wires, which caused the automatic transmission sensors to function erratically.  I didn’t see the broken wires during my inspection as they were hidden from my sight.  I was relieved though that the defect was nothing serious.

When I parked the car in our garage, I kept the hood open to discourage these ras to billet in engine compartment.

Now, I have to launch our rat hunting project; as they gave me stresses and made me poorer by P1,700. The defect is not covered by the warranty.  P1,200 for the labor, P30 for the electrical tape, and the rest for the diesel and tax.

Save on fuel by commuting

The Kia Service Center was not able to finish the diagnosis and repairs of our Kia Carens.  Hence, I commuted home.  But, the timing was bad because of the impending rain; and, I had no umbrella or raincoat.

I left the office already drizzling and took a jeep to Buendia MRT station.  Whew, the queues to the entrance of the station were very long.  And, as expected, the MRT trains were like cans of sardines.  I got off at GMA station to take a van to SM Fairview.  It had already been raining hard.  Luckily, I was number 5 on the queue.  At SM Fairview terminal, I took a jeep and got off at the second gate of our village.  It’s still raining.  So, I doffed my polo and covered my head with it while walking to our home, which is less than a hundred meters away.

It had been more than a year since the last time I commuted to work/home.  Actually, with the high cost of fuel, I was already thinking of commuting again 2 or 3 times a week to save on fuel.  And, how much would I save?

The distance from home to office to home is 60 kilometers.  For ease of computation, I assume the cost of fuel is P50 liter and my consumption is 10 km/li. My daily cost for the fuel alone is P300.00.  If I commuted, my total daily fare is P140.00 only.  Therefore, the savings is P110 per day.  Wow, that’s about 2 liters of beer.  I meant fuel.

Something is wrong with our Carens

There’s something unusual in our Kia Carens, particularly in its automatic transmission.  After traveling for a few kilometers and the engine reached it normal temperature, I notice the following symptoms.

1. From full stop, the car is laboring to move forward.
2. At full stop, if the gear is shifted to either “R” or “D”, the car jerks - stronger at “R”.
3. At full stop or in motion, if the gear is shifted to Sports Mode, the number of gear appearing on the indicator is always 3 regardless of the speed and even at full stop. It can be shifted down to 2 and back to 3 but never to 1 and 4.
4. While running and the gear is shifting, the gear slips before engaging.

So, this morning, I brought our Carens to Kia Service Center for check-up, diagnosis, and the necessary repairs.

I’m hoping it’s nothing serious. Anyway, the car is still within the warranty period.