Yes, those railings are life-saving!

I guess we have proven our point on how important it is to have those stolen railings in many of our overpasses reinstalled — by the MMDA, DPWH or DOTC — whoever.

And it took a life and several injuries to demonstrate how vital these railings are to the safety of anyone who’s on top or under these overpasses anywhere in the country, much more in the densely populated Metro Manila.

To recall, there was this accident or "incident" that occurred a few weeks back involving two vehicles traveling on the Skyway where one of them fell over the railings and down to the street in the Magallanes area resulting in the death of one and injuries to many of the passengers of the ill-fated jeepney that was hit below.

Close scrutiny of the "incident" shows that there was possibly no contact between the vehicles in the Skyway — one merely hydroplaned and the other evaded and lost control and eventually fell off the ramp. (And credit to the driver of the vehicle that hydroplaned and came out into the open and accepted responsibility, if any, despite not having been previously identified. I know him personally as one of the respected and decent members of the motoring media and his demeanor in this incident is proof of this.) It also shows that the railings may not be high enough to keep the vehicles safely within the ramp although the management of the SLEX and the Skyway says that they were built within international safety standards.

And that’s exactly my point here. If the railings at the Skyway were really built as per international safety specifications and vehicles can yet fall off, even without being involved in crashes or collisions, what are the chances of vehicles traveling in "railing-less" overpasses?

MMDA, DPWH or DOTC — whoever, please install those railings back in all our overpasses. Let’s not wait for another "incident’ or worse a real accident to happen that could cause more lives and limbs. And if and when you decide to have them back, please have them secured against the bold rascals who steal them right under the noses of the police?

19 brand-new Porsches to use and abuse

PGA Cars upended itself by outdoing what it did 6 years ago. In the recently held Porsche World Roadshow at the EXPO grounds in the former Clark Air Base, 19 brand-new Caymans, Boxsters, Carreras and Cayennes — Porsches all — were shipped into the country together with a team of top-notched German driving instructors to give advance driving lessons to present and future Porsche owners and some select members of the motoring media. In the past staging of the same event several units of only two models were used in the exercise.

The Porsche World Roadshow run from October 12 to 23 and an average minimum of 40 participants traveled daily to Clark to join in the advance driving exercises, each of them having a chance to go behind the wheel of any of the four exceptional Porsche models in each exercise.

The whole-day driving menu included hands-on courses on acceleration, braking, handling and even off-road driving using the remarkable Cayenne, which performed driving "miracles" at the "lahar" trails, mounds, holes and hills inside the former airbase.

After all the exercises, which made some of those who joined ask if the Porsche has a mind of its own, all the participants were all awe-struck while saying, "The Porsche is worth all the peso of its price."

The brothers Robert and Mike Coyiuto, chairman and president respectively of PGA Cars, were on hand daily during the 12-day event to make sure everybody was comfortable and having fun — and hopefully own a brand-new Porsche in the very near future.

Mitsubishi’s weekend of fun

The opening night of Mitsubishi STRADA FUN CAMP last Thursday, October 19 was well-attended by the motoring media, customers and friends of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines.

Aside from the official launch of the Mitsubishi Strada, simultaneously, their much-awaited super cars, the Lancer Evolution IX MR and RS models together with the 2007 Mitsubishi Eclipse GT were also unveiled, an event previously cancelled last September due to the strong typhoon that hit us.

Froilan Dytianquin, the assistant vice president for marketing services of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines made a detailed description of all their new offerings, which can now been viewed and test driven in all Mitsubishi dealerships all over the country.

Word has it that people from all over came to the Mitsubishi Fun Camp at The Fort and took the opportunity to test drive all the Mitsubishi models that are presently available in the market, while the rest of the family stayed on for fun at the recreation area, playing arcades or just to surf the net plus the live bands that provided music.

Here comes the "People’s Bike"

Priced at only nearly forty thousand pesos and with the quality and performance that only Honda motorcycles can offer, Honda Philippines proudly launched the Honda Bravo and confidently called it the "People’s Bike".

Six different colors of the Honda Bravo (Fighting Red, Kiwi Green, Candy Lightning Blue, Asteroid Black, Metallic Autumn Orange and Metallic Silver) were paraded one after another in the music hall of the SM Mall of Asia with their riders clad in riding clothes of matching colors to the bike’s.

I had a short chat with Ambassador Benjamin Sanvictores, board chairman of Honda Philippines, Inc. during the launching ceremonies and he said, "Our aim is to come up with an affordable means of transport for the Filipino, especially during these times of rising fuel prices and economic difficulties, that’s why we had the Bravo designed."

This was confirmed by Honda Philippines president Mr. Kazuhiko Ikezoe when he said in his speech, "As Honda desires to accommodate the demands and provide the best services to the growing market, we need to give more attention to "practicality" so we can serve the common people’s needs. The solution, "affordability". This proves the dedication of Honda for the Filipino people."

Dual launch by Hyundai

Hyundai Asia Resources recently launched the Starex Pro, bruited as the largest among its competitors, offering greater length, width, height and wheelbase with a possible maximum seating capacity of 18 people. They proudly say that all these add up to greater cargo carrying capacity with a more useable space, a more stable and refined cruiser to transport high-value goods with greater security and confidence and as a bonus, a more comfortable ride for its passengers — and if I may put all these in my own phrase, "Ang Starex Pro ay hinde lang pang pamilya, pang negosyo pa."

But Ms. Fe Agudo, EVP and COO of Hyundai Asia Resources Inc. did not stop with just the launching of a new Starex model, "Along with this product launch, Hyundai is now officially commencing a movement that aims to contribute to the vision of an economically stronger Philippines. So, along with the Starex Pro, we are proud to launch the Pro Negosyo Movement."

The Pro Negosyo Movement will launch a series of seminars entrepreneurs to aid them in managing their business to be held at Hyundai dealerships nationwide. As an initial effort a Starex pro was donated for the use of the Gawad Kalinga Pangkabuhayan projects.

Pit Lane Notes

Congratulations to Fernando Alonso for winning the 2006 World Formula One Series and for being, so far, the youngest back-to-back F1 Champion Driver.

Congratulations to Renault for snatching the 2006 Constructor’s Championship.

Congratulations to Michael Schumacher for his fantastic driving during the Brazilian Grand Prix — from last to fourth place and the best of luck as he faces a life retired from racing Formula 1.

Happy Motoring!!!

For Comments: (e-mail) motoringtoday-star@stv.com.ph.