Motoring

SINCE its 2006 introduction, the Toyota Fortuner has been either a top-of-mind choice or at least a serious consideration for anyone looking for a diesel-fed midsize SUV. However, with competition vastly improving by the day, Toyota had to inject a refreshed Fortuner into the market last year to keep its relevance at a high level. Is it still a midsize SUV contender, or has its best days gone by?

DURING the recent Auto Expo 2012, which was held at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi, India, this writer was given the rare privilege of speaking with high-level executives of the Ford Motor Co.

The personalities were no less than Ford CEO Alan Mulally and chief designer J. Mays, who flew to India for the global preview of the Ford EcoSport.

THIS writer has been covering the motoring beat for quite some time now, and he has seen assembly plants of major manufacturers from a safe and distant location. Safe and distant because an assembly plant is not a place where I could just get in without consequence.

But on a bright, sunny Thursday, a group of motoring journalists was invited by Isuzu Philippines Corp. to check out its assembly line, up close and personal, to see how a vehicle is actually put together.