WE were literally driven out of the metropolis and, sanamagun, wasn’t that a blessing in disguise?
For once, it felt like we were suddenly grateful to a government used to doing boo-boos for its unwitting, really unexpressed, desire to see us all scampering for the country.
With all the major roads of the Big City captured by the government, out we went to the land of Tralala.
Stop complaining, Karl Magsuci.
Who needs Edsa, Roxas Boulevard and C-5?
Give them to, make way for, our visitors coming from nowhere land.
They bring bacon for an early Christmas cheer, remember?
They also cause the spiriting away of street children: Ah, eyesores they were that Dinky would wish to be shipped to purgatory—as in when Lolo Pio came a-visiting.
Thank you, Apec.
Thank you, Xi, Abe and Obama for the wealth your country had wished to shower upon us, hapless Third Worlders.
Thank you, P-Noy. The one who said you are Silas Marner reborn, the total embodiment of the boxer who loved to put his clenched fists close to his chest perpetually, can go to hell.
What a magnificent vacation, indeed. Yes, traffic isn’t fatal after all.
Ford, Isuzu and Mitsubishi score big
THE October sales records had put Ford Philippines on Cloud 9, as the American company hit 2,892 units sold for a staggering 48-percent jump from the same month in 2014. Thus, going to the last two months of the year, Ford’s total sales is 19,573. The All-New Everest, Ranger and EcoSport models triggered the unprecedented sales blast.
“Our growth story this year is one that we are truly proud of,” said Kay Hart, Ford Philippines managing director. “This would not have been possible if not for the strong partnership and teamwork between our employees and dealer partners.”
Isuzu was not far behind, with its sales breaching the 200,000-unit mark in October—a huge jump indeed since the Japanese brand’s inception here in 1996. Am I happy I was part of the few invited motoring animals by Isuzu’s top guns then to impart knowledge on the industry. From 1996 to October 2015, Isuzu sold 201,777 units. Crosswind sold 85,308 since its entry in 2001, with its first-year record of 5,423 units sold a solid proof of its selling power.
Not to be outdone, Mitsubishi, now completely transferred in Santa Rosa City, Laguna, from Cainta, Rizal, broke October records with sales of 5,398 units for its highest tally in a month ever. It marked the third straight month that Mitsubishi scored record-breaking sales.
Toyoda’s speech at Tokyo Motor Show
NOW allow me to give way to the most celebrated speech during the just-ended Tokyo Motor Show. Haven’t I said here repeatedly that I collect speeches? Here:
“Hi! I’m Akio Toyoda [president of Toyota Motor Corp.].
What wows you? What gets your pulse racing?
‘Wow!’ is our keyword at this year’s Tokyo Motor Show.
Think back about 100 years. About 15 million horses were at work in America ferrying around people and goods. Then came the Ford Model T, and—apparently—within a span of about 20 years, almost all of those horses were replaced by cars.
Why did people choose cars over horses? There are probably a lot of reasons, but the one I find most compelling is that it was simply more fun to get around by car. Maybe, just the existence of cars back then made people go Wow!
Now, let’s go back just about 80 years. Kiichiro Toyoda believed cars could be made in Japan using local know-how and skill, and he wanted to help make that happen. This desire led to the birth of the company now known as ‘Toyota.’
But not only were we decades behind Europe and the US in terms of technology. It’s my understanding that we were on the verge of bankruptcy and really didn’t even have the money.
But what Kiichiro and those who shared his passion did have, was a desire to create and share prosperity by building a home grown car. They wanted to use their own hands, skills and ideas to give customers here a big Wow! I think it was this desire and their passion that led to success.
Eighty years on, our customers can be found around the world. Our goal remains the same, however: providing ‘Wow!’ to customers everywhere. This means bringing fun and excitement to all the communities in which you can find our cars. That, I believe, is Toyota’s mission.
The cars you see on display today all have something in common. Each of them represents an effort—backed by our heartfelt desire to make ever-better cars—to give form to our concept of Wow!
And that also means taking on the challenge of transforming today’s ‘pipe dreams’ into tomorrow’s household names.
Hybrids and fuel-cell vehicles have both, at one point, been dismissed as oddities. Experience has taught us that, while ideas like these come from the fringes at first, they settle down and become the new norm.
And then, if we don’t find a way to escape that comfort zone, we will never be able to open the road to the future.
In life, there are so many reasons for just saying, ‘It can’t be done’ or ‘It’s impossible’ and giving up. But if you never try, you deny yourself the chance to know what you could have achieved. If you don’t show the courage to step up to the plate, Wow! just won’t happen.
Joining us here today is someone who has lived this lesson time and again; someone who truly understands the need to keep moving forward.
Once we’ve stepped up to the plate, regardless of what happens, we have to take full responsibility without making excuses. That’s something Ichiro taught me.
We play on different fields, but I was for Toyota’s car-making and corporate management to be like Ichiro. This city has the honor of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics in 2020. But really, that means all of Japan has to step up to the plate. The responsibility doesn’t stop with the athletes—it extends to the organizations, businesses and each citizen. Together, let’s Wow! the whole world.
Here’s Toyota’s promise, written in stone: We will keep making better cars, and we will make mobility more fun than ever.
What wows you? We’ll keep trying to answer that question as best we can.
We have to put our doubts aside and step up to the plate. We all have challenges to face. Let’s face them together! Thank you.”
PEE STOP. Toyota is staking a car anew as a hole-in-one prize in the 66th San Miguel Fil-Am Golf Championship kicking off tomorrow, November 21, at both Baguio Country Club and Camp John Hay. Cheers!