“No school like Oldschool”

CEBU, Philippines - Terms like box-type, hatchback, coupe and sprinters were the by-words for petrolheads back in the day when flat-top haircuts, Hanes plain shirts, spadrilles and aviator sunglasses were the fad.  And the cars that were ruling the roads during those days were the source of passion for the members of Old School Cebu (OSC). 

The OSC is composed of car enthusiasts who own automobiles from 1988 and below.  “The inspiration came from the fact that these were the cars that they grew up in,” says Jun Almario, Treasurer for OSC.  The OSC was founded in July 2007 by Ronald Duterte, Dennis Corro, Leo Pinunggan, Ritchie Neri and Michael Vecina.  The club was duly registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2013.  Although not restricted to Japanese cars, majority of the members of the OSC own JDM (Japanese Domestic Market) cars. 

Many of the members consider their cars the “graduation gift they never had.”  “We enjoy the imperfections of an oldschool car,” says club President Eryll Lupo.  The affordability of being able to set-up a poor man’s racecar is part of the mystique of the oldschool cars, says Popie Perez of OSC.  Despite the challenge of the availability of parts for some oldschool car models, the ability for parts to be fabricated, fixed or modified makes it easy to maintain the cars, says OSC’s Dennis Parrado.

When asked about the upcoming inter-club meet, Dennis was quick to quip that fellow motorists are very fortunate to have the FACC as they are there to strengthen their knowledge of automobiles. (FREEMAN)