WHILE we are still overly ecstatic—naturally,of course, and with more than ample reason that we should be for Chrissakes—over the recent visit to the country of Pope Francis, seemingly lost in the din of admiration, adulation and acknowledgment of divine power in his presence to our shores is the fact that what the Holy Father had lovingly chosen hands-down as his favorite among the three popemobiles offered him for use while here was the immaculate white Isuzu from Ambassador Antonio Cabangon Chua, the humble founder of this newspaper. So impressed and so deeply in love was Francis with his Isuzu ride that he had wished for it to be shipped to Rome for his future use. This is another milestone to the Filipino ingenuity as the ambassador’s popemobile had been custom-built according to the wishes of the pontiff. Although I am almost sure the pope would pay whatever the price the Isuzu popemobile might command, I can only say with almost absolutely certainty that the pious ambassador will only be too willing to offer, humbly, the vehicle to the pontiff—for free. What could be a more fitting gift of a lifetime to the Vicar of Christ than the popemobile? If that should not serve as a ticket to heaven for the kindly ambassador, I don’t know what is.
Shibata lines up 62,000 vehicles from Luneta to Baguio
MITSUBISHI President Hikosaburo Shibata played golf host to his friends from the banks and the media last week and, afterward, delivered a speech during the awarding ceremonies, baring his company’s astonishing accomplishments for 2014.Time to breast-beat once again and so, without further ado as we love to say—and because, as I keep saying here that I collect speeches with as much passion as I collect bag tags and IDs—here it is:
“Good afternoon. I am pleased to welcome you to our annual tournament, which has already become a tradition for us. It is our way of thanking you for supporting Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corp. (MMPC), especially last year when we attained our highest-ever sales of 50,085 units.
“The industry too had a very good year in 2014. According to Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc., a total of about 269,500 vehicles were sold last year. This is 27 percent higher than 2013 figures and also represents the highest-ever sales for the industry. If you line up all vehicles sold last year, the line will stretch 1,133 kilometers from Pagudpud [Ilocos Norte] to Matnog [Sorsogon] near Eastern Samar. That’s a lot of vehicles don’t you think?
“This year the industry is aiming to stretch that line father south as it aims to sell not less than 310,000 units. MMPC will continue to play a big part and we are gearing ourselves up for the task at hand. To begin with, we will formally inaugurate our new assembly plant in Santa Rosa, Laguna on January 29 [I hope to make it there in coat and tie, barring a hitch]. No less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines will grace the occasion along with the chairman of Mitsubishi Motors Corp. and president of Sojitz Corp.
“The new plant aims to sustain our record-breaking sales which got for us a market share of 18.6 percent last year. This market share is one of the highest, if not the highest, market share of Mitsubishi Motors anywhere in the world. Thank you for helping us attain this achievement. “On a per model basis, the Montero Sport remained our best-selling vehicle, making up 33.5 percent of our sales. The ever-reliable L300 contributed the second highest volume of 8,323 units or 16.6 percent of our sales. The Mirage G4, Adventure and Mirage hatchback rounded up our top-5 selling vehicles. All in all, MMPC’s average monthly sales jumped to 4,173 units from just 3,598 units.
“This year we aim to increase that monthly average to 5,166 units or an additional 1,000 units per month as we aim to sell 62,000 vehicles. Challenging, right? How do we intend to do this?
“First, by embarking on more innovative sales promotions for our customers.
“Second, our dealership network will continue to expand with a target of six to 10 new outlets opened this year.
“Third, we will aggressively pursue major fleet transactions together with our dealers.
“Last, but certainly not the least, we will be launching three all-new models in high-volume, high-grown segments that should enable us to capture a larger share of the pie.
“Needless to say, we need your invaluable support to sell 62,000 vehicles. In case you’re wondering, 62,000 vehicles will stretch for 260 km, which is roughly the distance from Rizal Park at the Luneta in Manila to Baguio City. Imagine a line of Mitsubishi vehicles lined up, bumper to bumper, up to Baguio. I’d like to see that line, don’t you too? It’s a tough job I know, but with you by our side, I am confident we can line up those vehicles.
“Again, thank you for coming, and congratulations to the winners!”
Pee stop. It is a momentous day today as Mario P. Chan, a kindred spirit, turns a new leaf coinciding with the famous Lexus Invitational Cup at Santa Elena. Mario therefore is a special guest of Lexus President Danny “Sir John” Isla, not only because Mario is a multiple Lexus owner but also because Mario is a passionate golfer like almost all of Sir John’s guests today, including Arnold Clavio, Edwin Gardiola and Arben Santos. Cheers!