Ang Kape Ni LaTtEX

I’ve never had my own car.

Whenever I need a ride I’ve always borrowed my father’s 15 year old diesel pick-up truck, and as one can imagine, using it is an atrocity to the environment. Even with constant tuning and overhauls, it still spews out too much smoke in its low gears, and registers a poor 7.5 kilometers per liter in city driving. Not only does it pollute the air, it drains the wallet as well.

I’ve been thinking about getting my own car lately, as part of plans of adding a new member to our family. Because we travel regularly to Pangasinan, and having two small children plus luggage for everyone in a bus trip, Victory Liner doesn’t look like a practical nor safe choice anymore. If we do travel with a yaya with us, the cost between our fare and the diesel that we consume back and forth plus toll won’t be too far apart. Couple that with a daughter who pees a lot (ever embarrass yourself having a bus load of people wait while your kid urinates at the road side?) and a car becomes more and more of a necessity — at least for those long trips.

As with any familied person, a major concern would be fuel efficiency. Not only does a fuel efficient car save gas, but it also means less pollution. The thing is, fuel-efficient small cars not only tend to have weak engines for when you do have a need for speed, but they will also be quite cramped and uncomfortable for typical 4 or 5 hour highway trips up north. It would be nice if there’s a way to have both a powerful engine and a fuel-efficient one, providing the fuel consumption appropriate for your power requirement.

Such a vehicle will soon become reality as Honda launches VCM 643. VCM stands for Variable Cylinder Management, and 643 denotes the number of cylinders that run on each mode. In short, in high-speed driving or uphill climbs, the engine will run on all 6 cylinders; in moderate inclines and mid-speed driving, it will employ only 4 cylinders, while for slow or gridlocked city driving the engine will only employ 3 cylinders. This unique mode of operation is almost akin to having three kinds of engine under the hood. More information can be found in the Honda VCM 643 website.

I’m excited as to the possibilities this engine presents, and I eagerly await the car models Honda comes up with using this engine. Perhaps a Honda Civic with the fuel consumption of a City? Or a Honda City that can accelerate like a Civic? Or perhaps a Honda Odyssey that has the advantages of both?

I just hope that by that time, I can afford it already — whatever model it comes as!