Motoring Journalists & Car Companies?

[OTEP]

aba, pati customer service reneview! Di daw maganda customer service sa Kia hehehehehehehehehe :D

Listen to his show every Wedensday night at 9 pm sa 103.5 , it's one of those programs I try not to miss

Foul naman ata iyon. Kia dealers are not owned by one entity. Franchise lang sila. A bad Kia dealer does not necessarily make a bad Kia car. Unless he had the guts to actually mention which dealer it was.

Maybe he should try visiting FEMAC (a Kia dealer) next time.

[Driv3er]

namention yung kia dealership, I think it was the one along Quezon Avenue.

[mazdamazda]

Kia Quezon Ave?

Buti naman specific. Yung Kia Pasay ok naman kasi. Yung Signet Balintawak & Quezon Ave. before (Kia / Mazda dealership) ay ok naman.

[OTEP]

namention yung kia dealership, I think it was the one along Quezon Avenue.

I've been going there since '98 (hindi naman regularly, wala naman akong syota doon hehehe). Hindi naman nila ko kakilala pero ok pa din service. Iyan din dealer of choice ng mga Kia enthusiasts. Sa kanila ko nag-sign up for the Picanto Club. Mas panget pa ang Wheels E. Rod.

Oh well, can't please everyone naman diba.

[Driv3er]

ah well to clarify things, his only beef with the dealership was that they weren't all that enthusiastic on having their test unit prepped for his test drive. Unlike the Hyundai people who showed enthusiasm at the project. Kumbaga, he was using that experience as an indication of how the Kia people will treat you for after-sales service or something like that.

[niky]

The trouble with the local auto-journalism industry is that the pond is too small. While movie and food critics (who have their share of peddlers and yes-men, too) aren't dependent upon restaurants or movie companies to keep them alive, auto-journalists who bite the hand that feeds them may often find themselves in a very uncomfortable position.

This is because every written word from the presses is a unit either sold or unsold. The infamous VBS noted in a Top Gear editorial that the Murano cover on Top Gear equated to 30 units sold, according to Nissan. In a small market like the Philippines, those numbers count.

Thus, unless you're financially well-off, like the aforementioned James Deakin... what? Did you think he was a starving and penniless writer?.. are well-entrenched and well-connected, or are independent of advertising money and have multiple sources of test cars, like the Angs of motioncars.com, Manila Bulletin, (and for a brief time) Top Gear, it doesn't pay to piss off the big cats. Especially when lambasting one of their models can really hurt or downright destroy their bottomline.

Personally, VBS got it wrong when he noted the change from enthusiasts to automotive industry people... because enthusiasts have the bigger stake. They're more willing to be honest, to lay it all out, because they're not addicted to junkets like some auto-journalists are and they don't feel the need to toe the line. (Hey, mbt, Isuzu forgive you for the Alterra yet? ).

The Philippine market for magazines is too small to support publications like Car&Driver, who are influential enough to dictate their own terms. People have accused them of pandering for advertising money, but that's patently ridiculous... of course Automakers who get favorable reviews from them will advertise in their mag... note, actually, that automakers who get BAD reviews still advertise in C&D, because a lot of their target customers read it. They get the best of both worlds... automakers are too scared of them not to give them test-units, so they can review everything, and tell it as it is.

We're also not rich enough to support a movement like Consumer Reports, who have a huge fleet of test vehicles and researchers, which helps them give unbiased, if somewhat dry, reviews of each and every car.

That's what I love about tsikot, motioncars, and other online sources. They don't have to pander to the auto-companies for money. People here are honest, and will tell you when a car's a complete piece of brick.

The number of automotive journalists still willing to give this pronouncement is getting very small. With every tom, dick and harry in the world writing (if such word can be applied to such drivel) auto-reviews, it's easy for the big companies to pick their favorite suck-up and support them instead of the honest guy.

Of course, the honesty and in-your-face style of reviewing online leads to lots of fights, but then, automotive reviewing is a subjective business anyway... and debate is a healthy thing.

And remember, we're always right. Anything else you hear from the manufacturer and the media is all mindless propaganda.

Now give us your money. PM me on where to send the checks.

[ghosthunter]

So, nasaan ang honest to goodness review? Kawawa naman tayong mga consumers,- we are always at the receiving end of all of these 'responsible reporting'.....

if you want an honest motoring journalist in the philippines, try looking at the unemployment line.

[cocoy]

i think u can learn more from the forums than from the journalist. i mean afterall there some really experience people who know cars. but they might not be good with writing articles about cars.just a thought.

[oldblue]

create more forums like this ... for example, a forum about food, appliance, furniture, home improvement. and magazine journalists will be a thing of the past ...

pero ok yan trabaho yan ah, naka-jaguar ba yun journalist above. sulat sulat lang, instant jaguar hehehe.

[carwise]

tama sir si oldblue,its will be interesting if will all chip in dun sa mga forum.we loan.mr Clarkson that red Viper na ginamit nya sa isang show then he manage to throw a conn rod thru the block, but you guys never heard enything about it.ganun ang mga journalist.they never told you that merc ml 270 is the same as jeep cherokee 2.7 crd kahit floor pan are the same. the funny thing is the engines on those are not merc nor jeep. its italian VM.merc 1 series is the same as smart cars. and latest is the new Dodge calibers 2.0liter engines is a colaboration between chrysler/mitsubishi and hyundai guess kung saan ginagawa. m not saying that our cars are good or bad.jags are ford and theyre loosing money they may be using more ford parts on the jags. isuzu,gm,vauxhall and daewoo are the same company.so you guys maybe having daewoo part stamp gm.on your chevrolet optra.scania sold saab to ford so if your driving saab you may be using ford front ends.and many otherthings na press wont tell or cant tell. di bah thanks