Toyota Launches New Corolla CROSS

Their call is “Cross into the Future” and this is a nice day to unveil a new car. Perfect for urban dwellers, they present a new Hybrid car called the new “Corolla Cross”.  

Toyota CEO Atsuhiron Okamoto say “We made this the inspiration for this new car, the all new Corolla Cross. This is a sleek crossover of our product available in Hybrid, quality, reliability plus Toyota safety features. We can’t wait for you to see this. Get ready to cross into the new age!”  This will reinvent how people will travel in the Philippines.

Dizo Kameyama who leads engineering says "This new car knows that this is the greatest selling car family in the world. 48 Million cars worldwide, always ahead of its times. This is an SUV, feels premium, urban tough, but remains affordable. With a new torsion beam design, it brings comfort in drive, it is your partner, just asking where you will go tomorrow.  The world’s largest selling car has been reinvented now, this is going to be an SUV to be loved even more by Filipinos. Women want something that looks good, feels well while driving. A hybrid option means a gas engine and two electric motors. It will make your fuel consumption and emission less that regular cars. This also has a gun metallic grill, designed well in standards. The stability is good, has a blind spot monitor, power adjustable seat (available in leather), usb ports, plus a 7 inch display on the dashboard. The SUV’s also come in two variants, it costs 1,285,000 and the other is 1,650,000. It is also available in Metal Stream Metallic (Silver), Red Mica Metallic, Platinum White Pearl Mica  and Attitude Black Mica colorways."

The new excise tax rules also got the it less 50% because it is a hybrid variant. Pretty good way to save money and keep the purchase price down.   The sedans and the cross have interior parts shared. It also uses the TNGA platform, tuned the rear suspension, now with Apple Car Play and Android Auto. 

Maintaining a hybrid vehicle is just the same with regular gasoline or diesel fed engine. The oil changes, checking, is all done the same way except for a few things that will be inspected in the hybrid part, which is easy because they have service centers nationwide! They are targeting over 100 units, perhaps more in the next few years. This Corolla Cross will be available in the Philippines starting at the end of this month (August 26). 

Mr. Okamoto adds “This concept of combination hybrid technology is not changing, many to be improved especially the cost of materials and fuel efficiency. Hopefully we will have more affordable cars in the future. We will improve that.”  Nico BravantenVP for Product Planning says “We want a nice price, design, and specifications hence it took time to launch this. Same hybrid power train as the Altis, we have the 1.8 on the new Corolla Cross. It also has 7 bags, and is manufactured in Thailand.” 

Here is the press conference earlier!

Looks promising, watch out for the official launch of the Corolla Cross at the Toyota Motors Philippines Facebook Page today with Moira Dela Torre at 6pm!

This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Julie Ann San Jose Celebrates Birthday at Childrens Home

Julie Ann San Jose one of GMA's brightest stars just celebrated her birthday at White Cross Children's Home at San Juan City. It's something that she's been looking forward to do for the longest time because she's been very busy this year. Aside from being a very talented singer (proof is her Platinum Award recently), actress and television personality, she's the newest face of Ever Bilena Careline Teen products. She arrived fresh and gorgeous that afternoon and began entertaining the kids by giving them a mini concert of sorts.

GMA Artist Center, SMART, Get Laud, Aquabella, Unisilver, Leon Philippe, Sweet Escape and Active White also chipped in so she could give the kids some goodies, clothes and supplies; making this a worthwhile time off from her busy week. She loves kids and she had a hand on choosing the specific charity she's going and this seems so special for Julie Ann.

Plus the kids there are so well behaved. The people there obviously take care of them really good. They also provided comic relief with Ms. Tess Bomb, her laughter and antics are so infectious.

Julie Ann had fun also feeding the kids right after her songs. Good thing Leon Philippe was there to provide the needed fresh milk for these kids. It was touching to see them smile and their face light up seeing Julie Ann in the flesh. This is one of the reasons why Julie Ann San Jose wanted to do this on a regular basis.

There was a glimpse of Elmo in this bit, I still remember their stint with SMART and the videos they did for the mobile phone company. I felt sad too seeing Elmo being partnered with someone else but they have to grow right? Now, Julie Ann is making waves in the music industry whilst Elmo kept the whole drama leading man role in the bag. Both are still good friends I know because they have spent years together remember? We can just be hopeful.

I saw genuine happiness in the kids and in Julie Ann San Jose during this outreach program arranged by GMA Artist Center and her sponsors. Julie Ann San Jose is doing great and I can't wait to see her shine more as she's looking forward to have more projects in GMA. Talks about her renewal and going to other stations should stop, I think she's well managed here. Plus she's well taken cared of. More of these charity events please GMA so we could see your artists reach out to the less fortunate. :)

For more information about their shows:

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http://gmanetwork.com/artistcenter