THE INSURANCE Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) in the United States awarded the 2020 Audi A6 the highest Top Safety Pick+ and the 2020 Audi Q8 the Top Safety Pick awards as these excelled in the safety group’s testing. The two vehicles obtained top “Good” ratings in all six IIHS crashworthiness performance evaluations, and achieved “Superior” grades for front-crash prevention tests.

NO ONE could have possibly predicted the awful, Stranger Things-type 2020 we’ve had thus far.

GERMAN luxury brand Mercedes-Benz recently launched in the Philippines its very first seven-seater in the compact car family, the stylish Mercedes Benz GLB Class. The GLB is the marque’s most versatile compact SUV yet, and is its eighth model featuring the Modular Front Architecture (MFA) — a midsize unibody automobile platform that the manufacturer uses in order to enable parts-sharing across a range of different products.

WE ALL remember that some years back, Ford found great success in creating a unique market space — for the mini utility vehicle — in the Asian automobile market, which is embodied by the Ford EcoSport.

FORD PHILIPPINES President and Managing Director PK Umashankar succinctly described the all-new Territory SUV it launched last Friday as one that “delivers on space, size, technology, and powertrain.”

MITSUBISHI MOTORS Philippines Corp. (MMPC) reported that it registered sales growth last July. Its total of 3,149 units sold was 39% compared to June sales, and the company noted that the increase was reflected across its model lineup. The Mitsubishi Xpander moved 1,038 units, 63% improvement over June, followed by Mitsubishi Strada (up 58%), and the Mitsubishi L300 (up 19%).

LONGER THAN the standard A8 full-size sedan’s dimensions and wheelbase by 13 cm, the new Audi A8 L 3.0 TFSI MHEV provides more space for rear passengers.

SAYING THAT the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) pandemic has inspired some changes in the workplace and the way we do things is truly an understatement. Every person and organization have been forced to evolve not just in order to restore some form of normalcy but, more often than not, to survive.

DEPENDING on how you look at it, the successful lobby of medical frontliners to get critical areas under tighter quarantine control (as it turns out, modified enhanced community quarantine or MECQ) is either a blessing or a curse. On my Facebook feed, I’ve seen very strong arguments for and against the measure, and there are truly valid points for both.

MG DISTRIBUTOR The Covenant Car Company, Inc. (TCCCI) was recently bestowed the Five Star Distributor award — the highest recognition among all international MG distributors — at the recent 2020 MG Overseas Dealers and Distributors Conference. The online event was attended by various MG distributors from over 80 countries.

ALMOST any Filipino urban dweller will recognize the iconic Toyota Vios. That’s how popular this subcompact car is, and how important it has become in our country. Important enough, it turns out, to give us the privilege of being the first country to unveil its latest rendition.

JAPAN-HEADQUARTERED premium car maker Lexus rallied in May and June to pace the luxury car segment in sales for the period. In an exclusive interview with “Velocity,” Lexus Manila President Raymond Rodriguez said that the lone dealership of the brand (on 8th Avenue and 34th Street in Bonifacio Global City) was able to sell 30 and 69 units in May and June, respectively.