HONDA Cars Philippines Inc. has upgraded its two-year-old website into an interactive virtual showroom.

New elements of Honda site are expected to strengthen its contact with some 85,000 Honda owners in the country.

The virtual showroom showcases the Accord, Civic, City and CR-V in complete details that include comparison with other models in their respective categories. The latest price list is now made available to Internet surfers and updated regularly. Every information needed to evaluate, compare and decide to purchase are posted inside the site. There is even a tool to print a hard copy of any Honda brochure.

The Honda Web site now accepts reservation of units to any of the authorized dealers nationwide through the Internet. "Reserve On-line" is connected to all 16 Honda Dealers in Metro Manila, Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Aside from purchase of units, Internet customers can also inquire on parts and other services from the comfort of their homes or offices.

Another innovative part of the Web site is the "buy and sell." Honda owners who wish to sell their pre-owned units can submit the details of their units to the site. The information is automatically stored in a database of "for sale" Honda vehicles. To avoid congestion of the database, each information is given a maximum posting period. Interested buyers of pre-owned Honda vehicles can have access to this database. Buyers can perform a query based on specified items like year model, model name, price range and location. Query results are displayed onscreen and can then be printed. The list includes model, kilometer reading, price range, accessories installed and the details of the owner who can be contacted for further negotiations. In short, this site is now the Honda cars classified ads on the Internet.

In addition, "Challenge," the Honda owners magazine, which is printed quarterly with a circulation of 40,000, will now have online edition. Main pages of the magazine will be posted at the Honda Philippines Web site, allowing all domestic and international browsers instant access.