TOKYO, Japan—The 41st Tokyo Motor Show, which had its baptism of fire in 1954, officially closed its doors two days ago, on November 4, at nearby Makuhari Messe, Chiba Prefecture.

Willy Tee Ten, the jolly Ford dealer who is the Autohub Group president, said he had his own thrill as he caught the tail end of the show, braving Typhoon Santi to catch his Narita-bound PAL jet on October 31.

“I simply had to be there or forget calling me as a true-blue car nut,” said the man who also sells Nissan, Hyundai, BMW and Chery cars, not to mention Vespa motorcycles.

The day before he left, Willy played golf at Splendido, donating a Yamaha golf cart as a hole-in-one prize to fulfill a commitment with the organizing Heart Foundation of the Philippines (HFP) of General Mitch Templo.

The cart went with an Altis, another  hole-in-one prize from Toyota Alabang.  Unfortunately, none of the 60-man field that included, among others, General Charlie Tañega, Anthony Suntay, Emy Arcilla and the First Gentleman, the HFP chairman, scored an ace despite perfect golfing weather. But that’s another story.

Back to the Tokyo Motor Show.

Was I glad I was also there as one among an estimated one million visitors when the 13-day event, undisputedly the greatest motor show in all of Asia, had its Media Day the week last.

To witness the birth of any kind is reason enough to raise glasses.  Every new life is always a new beginning.

Oh, yes, some of the car giants from America and Europe weren’t at Makuhari Messe this time as they were still obviously feeling the painful pinch of the financial meltdown of ’08.

But that did not detract from the usual fiery interest the public, particularly, the discriminating Japanese car buffs had displayed in support of the show.  For, as usual, they came in droves. 

Many kids, boys and girls alike, had frolicked amid the sea of new vehicles and concept cars numbering almost 300 on display, knowing perhaps fully well that it was to them that the show had been particularly dedicated to.

To paraphrase Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC), in his speech on Media Day:  “Our youth will determine the future of the motoring industry.” 

Again, despite the show being mostly an exhibition of the latest vehicle technology from Japan’s eight major car companies led by Toyota (the others were Subaru, Mitsubishi, Honda, Daihatsu, Nissan, Suzuki and Mazda)—the foreign contingent was represented this time by only two, Lotus of Britain and Alpina of Germany—the motoring journalists did not pass up the chance to zealously scan and, like kids seeing their first toy balloons, they salivated once more over the wonders of the latest in vehicle technology.  I particularly admired the LFA Lexus model; truly phenomenal.

Anyway, as my boss here, Popong Andolong, said while we were at the Motor Show Exhibition Hall as two of the 13 Filipino motoring journalists invited by Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) through Danny “Sir John” Isla and Elijah-won Sue Marcial: “Any motor show held anywhere  in the world will always be worth watching.  To a car buff, every new car is a source of instant wondrous joy.”

You can say that again, Colonel.

ONE event I would never forget in this my ninth straight stint with Toyota in this biennial motor show was the session with Yutaka Matsumoto, the project general manager of the TMC Research & Development Management Division.

Matsumoto-san is your typical car expert from Japan:  Friendly and very accommodating.

Before motoring journalists from the Philippines, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, Matsumoto brought us all to a time machine.

            1) The first steam car was unleashed in 1769.

            2) The gasoline car was invented by Benz in 1885.

            3) The first electric car came out in 1899.

            4) Porsche had its first hybrid in 1900.

            5) The iconic Ford Model T was born in 1908.

In brochures distributed during the session with Matsumoto-san, I came across this startling revelation:  Oil production began only in earnest in the 1930s.

The oil barrel production per year peaked in the 1950s at almost 60 billion barrels per year.

More oil discoveries were recorded in the 1970s, but with less production recorded before the 1990s:  Down to about 25 billion barrels per year.

Now the grim scenario: By about 2014 or thereabouts, the so-called “Peak Oil” will be reached—and then it’s downswing from there.  Meaning, oil reserves might soon vanish altogether?

Discussed thoroughly were three major concerns in the growth of the global car industry and technology in the 20th century:  1) Population growth; 2) Increase in number of vehicles; and, 3) Surge in fossil fuel consumption.

Population growth has naturally triggered more demand for vehicles and, if you take China for example, Mao Zedong’s populous country has become the focal point of commerce among the world’s car manufacturers.

And, of course, with the huge demand for cars, comes the surge in fossil (oil, or black gold-based) fuel consumption.

Issues raised with fervor during the session were: 1) Concern over the future of oil supply; 2) Increase in carbon dioxide emissions; 3) Air pollution (NOx/PM/Ozone); and, 4) Increase in traffic accidents.

It has been generally regarded long before the iPod was invented that fossil fuel will soon disappear.  Thus, there is now a frenetic race insofar as which of the car companies can build the first gasoline-free car (mass production) hitting the finish line first.  The signs are already there beginning with Toyota’s breakthrough Prius, which runs on a combination of motorized battery/electricity/gas.  It is now being envisioned that it will not take long before fossil fuel-free cars will run purely on electricity.  And then solar-powered, if not wind-powered.

The fuel-less energies will be called alternative energies, yes, but each alternative has several issues to address—as in making for a much-cleaner environment because of targeted emissions-free vehicles, and in strong awareness on energy conservation.  Since oil will still remain the main energy source for some time, liquid fuels and nonliquid fuels will continue to coexist—for how long, nobody can surely say for now.

Not even Matsumoto-san.

But on another plane, this one takes the cake for Matsumoto-san.

When someone asked Matsumoto-san why his favorite band was The Beatles, he said, “The Beatles are the greatest of all time because they do their songs with science and deep research.  They perform their compositions with hard work and great preparation.  They are my idols. That is why I also work very hard and I do every task at hand assigned to me with undiminished passion.”

No wonder Matsumoto-san’s motto is The Beatles’ emblematic song, “All You Need Is Love.”

I live in a village in Quezon City where an overstaying association president whose authority was declared expired by the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) almost three years ago continues to usurp illegal powers.  The irrepressible septuagenarian has a battery of village guards whom he uses every now and then to harass residents that do not bow to his will.

But on Tuesday, November 3, a Quezon City prosecutor named Alessandro Jurado practically became like manna from heaven for the long-troubled residents.  Jurado issued a summons against the “president” on the strength of a case filed by Hector Reuben D. Feliciano, a lawyer-resident.

Among others, Feliciano haled two guards to court for grave coercion after he was barred from entering his abode in the village while aboard his car.

Because the guards claimed they did it on orders of the “expired president,” Feliciano named the septuagenarian co-respondent.

Many more residents of the village came to support Feliciano, many of whom were victims themselves of the guards’ arrogance and actions barring them from entering the village they have been living in for decades “because they do not recognize the ‘expired president’ anymore.”

Said septuagenarian had been adamant in relinquishing his post despite several protests and cases for him to heed the HLURB to vacate.

The HLURB has assured me, though, they’d act on the case immediately and finally enforce their own order declaring an election and disqualifying the “expired president.”

His stubbornness also makes him disobey a QC law barring village guards, or anyone for that matter, from blocking the entry of a resident’s car not bearing the sticker of the village.

Oh, well, numerous are those who do not know how to age gracefully.

Pee stop  Another milestone will be celebrated by Honda (November 7) when it unveils “The Civic Republic,” a group of Civic owners to commemorate Honda’s sale of over 100,000 Civic units sold since its introduction in the Philippines in 1991.  Cheers! ...If plans didn’t go awry, the new Ford Escape was rolled out at the Ford Tent in Global City on November 5, the same day that the highly smashing Auto Focus Car of the Year Awards were unwrapped before the public, also at the Global City...Godspeed to David M. Feliciano as he guns for the crown in the Formula Drift Championships in Thailand  November 7 to 8.  From Bangkok, David proceeds to Malaysia on December 19 to 20 for a similar mission.  Gerry Alava, Goodyear Philippines managing director, is supporting David.  Said Gerry: “Motorsports is in our blood and we wish Dave all the luck. Goodyear is strongly committed to drifting, which is the fastest-growing motorsport in the country and in the Asean region.”