Cool Cars of the Philippines

     It's no brainer that much of the strange and unconventional design choices pertaining to cars have originated from the land of the rising sun. From their Shakotan-styled auto shows, featuring heavily-modified and illogically-designed tuners, to their factory-made Toyota-configured WiLL cars, comprising of looks made to entice the youth of Japan. In the sea of eccentric-looking vehicles, came the second gen Toyota bB.      The Gen 2 bB, given the code QNC20, was unveiled in Tokyo back in 2005. Despite Japan being its main and a part of its small market size, it was rebadged under numerous different names, such as the Daihatsu Materia and the Subaru Dex, to name a few. Its design was cited to have been made similar to a music player, such as the Sony Discman, once again to entice the younger generation of Japan. The redundantly-named car continued its production until the end of its model's lifetime, in 2016, far outliving the lifetime and the popularity...

     The subcompact crossover segment, making its first mark in the early 2010's, has gone off to become one of the most produced and sold classes in the modern world, and now a new contender has entered the market. With its boxy RAV4-like styling, turbocharged engine, and balance of size and space within, the Toyota Raize could be the next flagship vehicle of the growing larger-than-ever segment.      The Toyota Raize began as a rebadged version of the new Daihatsu Rocky. Once in the Philippine domestic market back in the 80's as the Daihatsu Feroza, the Raize began its production once again in 2019. Offered between the prices of ₱700,000 and ₱1 million, the Raize competes with the Kia Stonic, the Honda HR-V and the Hyundai Venue. While its price may sit it in the middle of its rivals, its zippy engine and abundance of features, unlike many vehicles sold in the Philippines, gives it confidence that it will catapult to the  forefront of the subcompact ...

     The fourth generation of the Toyota Corolla, the E70, found parked by the street. Although a common car then, the E70 now has become quite a rare find nowadays due to its age. However, the liftback coupe was never a daily occurence then, and now has become quite a hell of a find.      The wagon-esque coupe had a conservative design with a plastic trim, with dark plastic bumpers, side mirrors and a colorless grille, featuring an "SE" badge in the center, rather than the usual Toyota badge. Underneath the front carriage was an added plastic bumper lip and two light pods surrounding the license plate.      The car's rear was also littered with badges, with words thrown around such as "SE", "L5", and "5-speed". Everything else was standard 80's design language with its rectangular tail lights, plastic provisions, and its overall blocky design structure.      The interior featured a more sporty look compared to the outside. Its...