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THE code
words were, “News embargo muna.” Nothing. Nada.
Chosen
enforcer for this first-ever salvo on motoring secrecy
by Mel Dizon, the marketing chief of Mitsubishi Motors
Philippines, to the Mission Possible was Arlan Reyes,
the most gentle of public-relations men from the
automotive industry.
“Let’s
keep things under wraps until August 29,” said Arlan.
“Let’s not even talk about it, Sir. Not even in mindless
whispers. Thank you, Sir.”
The
order was given when we were about to board our
Philippine Airlines jet bound for Bangkok in July.
When we
got to Bangkok, Arlan said, “News embargo, Sir.”
We—all
23 or so motoring journalists herded for this trip
deemed historic enough for James Bond not to mess up
with—never talked about it, as though a mere mention of
it could trigger an avalanche in the Himalayas.
“Basta,
let’s keep our mouths shut,” said Mon Tomeldan of Manila
Standard/Today. “In the meantime, let’s enjoy Bangkok’s
dragon fruits, bargain fiestas and chicken pandan.”
From the
Bangkok airport, Arlan and his fellow Mitsubishi
enforcers Jojo Alcoriza and Leo Samonte put us on a bus
bound for Pattaya, one of Thailand’s prime tourist beach
resorts.
After a
two-hour or so ride, we reached our hotel in Pattaya way
before sunset. First-class. You have a view of the two
large swimming pools down below (I was up in the sky)
and the coconut-lined beach that, I was told, always
teemed with beachcombers virtually all year round.
Perfect setting to write a novel, indeed, if not the
movie in my mind.
A
typical Thai dinner—chicken, beef, pork and seafood set
by an elegantly lighted pool under a starry, starry
night—with a stringed trio of sultry-voiced young women
swaying you with an assortment of classical and
contemporary-fusion music capped what was otherwise an
eventful day.
****
WELL-RESTED, we woke up the next morning expectedly
fully rejuvenated—all revved up for the journey’s main
show, which was, that we would drive the Montero Sport
at the world-famed Bira Racing Circuit just outside
Pattaya.
Touted
as Mitsubishi’s secret weapon in changing the local
landscape in SUV engineering and technology, the Montero
Sport, completely made in Thailand, proved more than
equal to the challenge—and more than answered the
expectations of my fellow motoring journalists.
In his
speech at the Amari Hotel before we took off for the
Bira Circuit, Taizo “Pat” Furuhashi said, “When we play
golf, we make par, sometimes bogey, sometimes birdie.”
Furuhashi’s an avid golfer, as you must have surmised.
“I go to
the rough,” Furuhashi says. “It’s cloudy. The wind is in
my face. I need to play out.”
He
pauses. He continues. “I pull out my rescue stick—that
is my Montero Sport. It sure goes back to the fairway!”
Some
smile. Others raise their eyebrows in a quizzical
manner. Still others purse their lips.
Because
my boss here, Popong Andolong, and I play the game as
passionately as Furuhashi does, we applaud.
****
THE
Montero Sport had its first global launch in Moscow on
August 26—thus the news embargo as the Montero launch in
the Philippine was set on August 29. (It’s now for sale
here.)
Now
boasting of a bigger body, the Montero Sport has a
three-row, seven-passenger seating capacity and a cargo
area huge enough to load in even your sala set.
Its
3.2-liter common-rail direct-injection diesel engine is
bigger (2.8 liter, previously), turbocharged and front-intercooled
(maximum output of 163 ps at 3,500 rpm and torque of
35.0 kg-m at 2,000 rpm) and matched with a DOHC 16-valve
cylinder head.
Invented
by the eminent Gayu Uesugi (executive officer of the
Product Strategy Office of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in
Okazaki, Japan), the Montero Sport has the Super Select
4WD system with its synchronized free-wheel front
differential that allows the driver to switch from 2WD
to high-range 4WD and back; it can be done even at 100
kph by just tapping a lever!
After I
had driven it thrice around the three-kilometer Bira
Circuit, I was convinced the Montero Sport has an
exceptional riding comfort since its suspension has the
so-called double wishbones with coil springs out front
and a three-link coil suspension with long trialing arm
at the rear.
To
validate my feelings, I rode with two-time Paris-Dakar
champion Hiroshi Masuoka and, with its vaunted
stabilizer bars firmly fitted to actually reduce body
roll during cornering and even the hurdling of humps or
holes, the Montero Sport vanquished Bira Circuit’s
hairpin curves and narrow tracks with much ease despite
death-defying speeds.
The
90-minute test drive of the Montero Sport was a breeze
loaded with memorable experiences. But the most lasting
would indeed be that exceedingly beautiful torture that
Masuoka-san gave the SUV upstart—with me onboard.
“Riding
with him, I felt like I was a student driver all over
again,” said Vernon Sarne, Top Gear editor in chief.
For me,
with Masuoka driving, it was like a trip on a luxury
car—flying but gliding.
Thank
you, Mel and Arlan, for letting the cat out of the bag.
Now we can unseal our lips again—and truly advance the
cause of an SUV that can move as smoothly as a feather.
****
Pee stop
While in
Bacolod last week for the wake and burial of Ramon Uy’s
dear mother, Tita Doña Pilar, I enjoyed once again the
original broiled chicken at Joe Cajili’s Chicken House.
The Suzuki-driving Joe, the chicken king of Bacolod,
invented the chicken inasal that everybody now copies
all over the archipelago—alas, without much success! |
