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WHAT’S
it all about, Alfie?
I was
asked that just hours after Tintin Reyes and her Honda
deputies, She de los Santos and Tricia Kiocho, had sent
in their letter-invite.
The
question was fired by someone dear to me who, when she
feels like in the mood for sipping white wine, would
call me “Alfie.”
If it’s
red wine she wanted, I’d hear her whisper, “Al.”
(Obvious
it is that I am also being called Alfie by dear ones
once in a while—Alfonso being my first name. Clear, Sir
John?)
Truly
adore
Well, of
course, make no mistake about it: The opening paragraph
of this piece is also the opening stanza of the all-time
hit song, “Alfie.” My, what a great song this is. One
of the few non-Beatles songs I truly adore.
But
again, what was the letter-invite all about?
Well,
that Tintin, She and Tricia would want me to test-drive
their latest twins—the Honda Accord 2.4 and the Honda
Accord 3.5.
“Sir
Arnel said you shouldn’t miss this one,” said Tintin.
Usually,
a test-drive would only involve one vehicle, although
some weeks back, Mitsubishi had us test-drive four
variants of its ninth-generation Lancer on the Subic
racetrack—all in one day. (All winners, I must say,
those new Lancers from Mitsubishi!)
Two
straight days
“But why
two cars this time, Tintin?”
“Well,
sir, you’ll test-drive both models two straight days,”
was her reply. “Sir Arnel said he wouldn’t take no for
an answer.”
Shoot!
Arnel (Doria, senior VP of Honda Cars Philippines) is
one dude I respect so much in the motoring industry, not
only because of his exceedingly professional mien when
dealing with media persons but also because he exudes an
unmistakable air of humility at all times.
“All
right, all right, count me in,” I said to Tintin.
I
confirmed my attendance even before I was told that the
test-drive would be from Manila to Baguio and back the
following day.
Thing
is, Tintin would want the “shock pack” (my boss Popong
Andolong of the BusinessMirror, Vernon Sarne [also my
boss] and Alfred Mendoza of Top Gear, Brian Afuang of
Manila Times, Lester Dizon of Philippine Star, and Ron
de los Reyes and Glen Arganda of Auto Review) to spend
the night in a five-star hotel in Makati before
unleashing them the next morning for the grind to Baguio.
‘Something different’
That’s
what precipitated the line, “What’s it all about, Alfie?”
It’s but
a test-drive, but why the need to spend the night in a
hotel before it gets to be done?
“This
time, we want something different, Sir Al,” said Tintin.
“No more of the run-of-the-mill events when you would
just suddenly pop up from nowhere, hop in, position
yourself behind the wheel and, pronto!, off you go.”
So,
enough of this stuff bordering on boredom, huh?
“Sort
of,” said Tintin.
The
night at the hotel was highlighted by a candlelight
dinner with who else but the Honda Cars Philippines
president and general manager himself, the always prim
and proper Hiroshi Shimizu.
German
tongue
“I
brought him because I knew you were dying to have him
with you in a very private moment,” said Tintin. “But,
of course, Sir Arnel would be seated next beside you as
planned.”
Ah, this
Tintin. She always does it best when it comes to
garnishing any Honda event. And, well, she knows Arnel
and I speak a language other than Tagalog, English,
Spanish and Japanese.
“For
light moments, you could converse in your German tongue
and nobody from the pack would even mind it,” said
Tintin.
And then
dinner was served.
Coriander marinated smoke salmon with mango papaya
salsa, mesclun greens in olive oil vinaigrette. Asian
flavored oxtail consommé with shiitake mushroom
dumplings. Free-range chicken breast stuffed with
spinach, sun-dried tomato and candied pumpkin, mushroom
risotto. Raspberry panna cotta on lemon butter cookie.
Freshly brewed coffee or tea.
A
knockout, indeed
Now, who
can top that?
What
followed next was, well, I snored to my heart’s content
and made mincemeat of the next morning’s grind to
Baguio.
Popong
A, my editor here, drove first and, after a break in
Angeles City for a sumptuous Italian lunch, I took over.
“I know
you hit the sack at
3 am to beat deadlines and so, go to sleep, Popsee,” I told
Popong.
The 2.4
Accord is not only a knockout, it also dished out
Honda’s vaunted fuel-efficient DOHC i-VTEC engine to its
full potential so that Popong and I beat the field anew
in the unofficial economy run tiff despite some
aggressive, spirited, driving on the MacArthur Highway
and the Marcos zigzag (almost 11 km to a liter!).
Medium
well, please?
And what
have we got for dinner at Camp John Hay’s Manor after a
rather longish but extremely smooth and
comfort-to-the-max ride of 305 km via Victoria, Tarlac,
Guimba and Cuyapo in Nueva Ecija?
After a
leisurely sip of San Mig light, dyarran . . .
Roasted prawns and mushroom with tossed green salad in
balsamic dressing. Tomato cream soup. Baked tuna
cannelloni with tomato coriander sauce. Grilled US top
blade steak (mine’s medium well, please?) in peppercorn
sauce with potato and vegetable confit. Mousse au
chocolat. Coffee.
With a
double after-meal drink to boot by the piano bar, we
were fully recharged, battle-ready once more for the
next morning’s drive back to Manila.
Full
bloom
And if
you think the 2.4 Accord (P1.645 million) is real
super-duper, think again, fellas. The 3.5 Accord (P1.995
million) is some hunk that blows the mind completely.
Ask Popsee. He drove it wide awake and next he
completely flew to dreamlandia unimpeded, while I
handled it at the Nlex—well, did I really drive it?
I
caressed it, I guess, like a rosebud about to explode
full bloom.
It was a
most beautiful three-day, two-night swing Honda had
again mapped out for some of motoring media’s most
discriminating batch and, except for Shimizu-san’s stern
no-singing-for-me-tonight stance at the Manor’s piano
bar at Baguio’s John Hay—uncalled for, I must
say—everything went hunky-dory, to say the least.
Shimizu forgiven
You are
forgiven, though, Shimizu-san. But next time, for once,
let your hair down, okay?
It’s not
every day that you have the “shock pack” exclusively
with you—and Alfie himself belting out “Imagine” and
“Hey Jude” in one night.
That’s
as rare as seeing a Honda Accord run minus the Xtra
unleaded Petron in its tank. |
