One International Motor Show after another

The 28th Thailand International Motor Expo 2011 ran parallel in schedule with the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show and I found myself fortunate to have had the time to attend these two international motor shows.

Having been done with the yearly major events organized by STV, Sunshine Television, namely the Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards and the Auto Focus Motor Show and Auto Expo, although preparations are already afoot for the STV Auto Rally Corporate Challenge scheduled March of next year, I decided that it would be deserving for me to take a little relaxation like going on three foreign trips in three weeks. Sounds tiring? But I said relaxation and not rest. Didn’t I?

First it was that short Asian Cruise I took with my wife Baby and my daughter Tin (DJ Suzy to her radio fans) together with her other DJ friends from Magic 89.9 FM. The short cruise involved Singapore and Malaysia, two countries I have been to several times. So I just opted to comfortably stay in my cabin while they went to have inland excursions.

Then there was the trip to Japan for the Tokyo Motor Show which Toyota Motor Philippines graciously hosted. Japan’s weather was really cold but the event was naturally exciting for any dyed-in-the-wool auto enthusiast and besides Toyota has always been a much sought-after host.

And last week, Motor Image Pilipinas, the exclusive country distributors of those remarkable Subaru high performance automobiles invited eight motoring journalists (Pinky Colmenares of the Manila Bulletin, Brian Afuang of the Manila Times, Manny Delos Reyes of Speed Magazine and The Philippine STAR, Kevin Limjoco of C!Magazine, Jason dela Cruz of Top Gear Phils., Eric Soriano of Business Mirror, Alvin Uy of Inquirer and myself for The Philippine STAR and Sunshine TV) to Thailand for the Thailand International Motor Expo 2011 where the regional launch of their new SUV, the Subaru XV was auspiciously held.

Considering recent developments in the country that was used to be known as Siam, our group was expecting to see flooded streets and was readying to get our feet wet.

But as Nicky Mariano, the marketing “wonder boy” and country manager of the international Motor Image Group in the Philippines assured us, flooding was already confined to the outskirts of Bangkok and it was going to be an easy laid-back trip that he had lined up for the Philippine media contingent.

Although highly-informative and interesting, the entire trip was indeed easy and laid back as it only consisted of a visit to the Motor Image Subaru Thailand facility and then to the Thailand International Motor Show 2011 for the Subaru XV launch, the after-launch press con exclusive to the Philippine journalists and then on to a front row seat to the Russ Swift Show. With this very light schedule, a rarity for foreign media trips, we spent more time in our tourist bus crawling at a snail’s pace through the world-famous Bangkok traffic.

Our first stop was the Motor Image Subaru (Thailand) 3S (Sale of new cars, Servicing and Sale of parts) Center located at Seri Thai Road. It was in 2007 that Motor Image Subaru (Thailand) Co., Ltd. moved to this 8,800 sqm facility from its first registered office located on New Petchburi road after having been established in December 1998 as an authorized distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Kingdom of Thailand responsible for sales, marketing, services, parts and support for customer and dealer network.

The Motor Image Subaru (Thailand) 3S Center showroom is modeled after the Singapore Showroom, the regional hub of Subaru in South East Asia that is vaunted to have this unique concept aimed to create an enjoyable buying experience for all Subaru customers.

The “one-stop” facility offers a test track for customers to test drive Subaru cars and likewise for mechanics for vehicles that are for check up, maintenance or repair. It was in this test drive track that the invited motoring journalists from the different countries took turns in subjecting the Subaru XV to several driving exercises to bring out its bruited about maneuverability. The well-designed facility also has a mini theatre for screening of Subaru demo videos and a dedicated new car delivery area, among other unique facilities for customers and staff.

Our next stop was the Impact Challenger Center at Muang Thong Thani, the official venue of the 28th Thailand International Motor Expo 2011. This was actually my second time to attend a motor show in this venue. And freshly coming from the recently-held Tokyo Motor Show that was just held in its new venue, the Tokyo Big Sight, the first thing that came to my mind were memories of several Tokyo Motor Shows when it was still held at the Makuhari Messe. The set up, though much smaller, was similarly spectator-friendly, where all one has to do is walk from one end of the neatly lined up halls to the other and you can rest assured that you didn’t miss a single display. At the Tokyo Big Sight, you’ll have to travel several levels to see all the displays that are located one different level from another and going from one display booth to another takes a lot of time. And judging by the fact that Toyota is conducting a survey among journalists who were in this year’s Tokyo Motor Show, they must be seriously taking a second hard look at this year’s venue. But then that’s another story.

Going back to our trip, one of the main events (if not the main event indeed) of that day when we were at the Thai International Motor Show 2011, was the regional launch of the Subaru’s new SUV, the Subaru XV.

During the exclusive press conference for the Philippine media contingent that was arranged right after the launch ceremonies, Mr. Glen Tan, the youthful, newly-married dynamic Chief Executive of Motor Image Group describes the Subaru XV as, “A daily treat for the individualistic adventurer. The Subaru XV was designed for the Urban Adventurer in all of us. It brings versatility and flexibility with a unique style that sports a modern edge.”

On the other hand, when the motoring journalists started asking about the time line for the Subaru XV’s debut in the Philippines, Motor Image Pilipinas country manager Nicky Mariano said, “We expect the Subaru XV to be launched around March 2012.” The local auto industry’s “marketing wonder boy”, who successfully turned around the sales performance of Subaru in the Philippines also added, “We are quite excited that we will be offering this unique Urban Adventure car to our customers. It offers the latest technology that Subaru is well known for. The packaging is perfect for our market.”

The last official activity for the day was watching how the recognized international guru of stunt-driving perform while using several Subaru high performance automobile models, which he would always prefer to perform with. Russ Swift has always been a regular attraction in the Philippines but I was never able to see him perform personally. I have an idea of his daredevil stunts though by watching the videos that my coverage crew had taken in his regular, almost yearly appearances. But seeing him in the flesh going through his hair-raising routine was really fantastic and unbelievable. This guy is really good, a skillful expert that indeed merits watching time again and again.

But Nicky, being a gracious host as he is did not stop at making us see up close the much-vaunted daredevil performance of Russ Swift – he wanted it not just up close but also personal.

For his send-off dinner for his invited motoring journalists, which we had in an Italian restaurant, he invited Russ Swift himself to join us for some fine dinning complete with the best wine and the best food the house can offer.

I just hope all that expense would not make Subaru vehicles less affordable in the Philippines than it has always been known to be.

Happy Motoring!!!

For comments: (e-mail) [email protected].