By MAE LORRAINE S. RAFOLS
Car owners, hobbyists, engine experts and automobile enthusiasts gathered to gaze at some of the best rides and the latest breakthroughs in the recently concluded 14th Motor Show International held at the Forum of the PICC.
Car owners, hobbyists, engine experts and automobile enthusiasts gathered to gaze at some of the best rides and the latest breakthroughs in the recently concluded 14th Motor Show International held at the Forum of the PICC.
The exhibit was the 14th edition of the Motorshow organized by the Philippine Exhibits & Themeparks Corp. (PETCO), headed by its president, Marisa Nallana.
New car models took centerstage throughout the whole exhibit like the Kia Picanto, the Sorento, the K2700, the new Suzuki Swift and Grand Vitara. The latest motorcycles were also on display like the Honda XRM, Wave 100 and TMX 155.
Owners of Suzuki motorcycles were invited to join the "Team Suzuki One Make Race" which was held at the Kart Track of the Boom na Boom grounds.
A unique ‘motorshow in scale’ which featured numerous scale model collector’s items also added attraction to visiting car enthusiasts. The main attraction was the multi-award winning scale model of a local taxi cab complete with ‘Sto. Niño on the dashboard’ and ‘sampaguita lei on the rearview mirror’
built by Jojo Nicolas, president of the Die Cast Car of the Philippines.
But what’s probably the highlight of the whole event was the exhibit courtesy of different car clubs in the country which featured a series of classic automobiles, flashy vintage cars, muscle cars, mini cars, upgraded race vehicles, restored originals and even a series of military jeeps and Hummers.
The car clubs are: Vintage Car Clubs of the Phils., Volkswagen Club of the Phils., Everyday Holiday Club, Muscle Car Club, Mini Car Club, British Roadster Club, Club Mitsu, Ford Rally Sport Registry, Mercedes Benz Club, and Miata Club.
Some of the more attention-grabbing models were: The 1964 Chevy Impala owned by Maverick of the famed Ariel & Maverick duo, a 1951 Jaguar XK 120-Roadster, a Chevrolet Deluxe Convertible, a 1967 Mini Austin Cooper, a Ford Cabriolet, and a replica of the AMG Hummer.
Special awards were also given to participants of the event.
The winners were: A 1967 Mini owned by Solomon Picache for best race/ rally, a 1998 Nissan Terrano owned by Egbert Rodriguez for best auto sounds, a 1965 Mustang GT Convertible of Roger Ong for best in paint, a 1996 Honda Civic owned by Steven Yu for best car graphics, a 1971 Beetle Convertible owned by Doy Bondoc for best in stock and best engine, a 1962 Triumph by Jorge Ramos for best auto display for 2005 and best in sports, a 2000 Hummer by Alana Motors Corporation for best military vehicle, and a 1930 Ford Cabriolet Model A owned by Ronald Reidenbach for the top award of best in show.
