A road trip back in time with the Isuzu Crosswind

TIME TESTED As rich and colorful as the history of the houses at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, the variants of the Isuzu Crosswind AUV has carved its niche in the local motoring scene.

Isuzu Philippines Corp. (IPC) recently finished the second leg of a three-leg series of road trips that started mid-February starting with the Valentine season where members of the motoring media were invited to partake in an out-of-town road trip dubbed as “A Date with the Isuzu Crosswind.” Each participant was encouraged to bring a loved one as a road trip partner; some brought their better half while others came as a pair of siblings and there were even father-and-daughter teams.

This writer participated on the second leg of the road trip, which took the participants to spend the night at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar at Bagac, Bataan, and to Corregidor Island the following day. Along the trip was a fuel stop at the Caltex station, IPC’s fuel partner for this event. The Crosswind was fueled with Caltex Techron D, the diesel fuel of choice for Isuzu vehicles.

The first stop was an overnight stay at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar. The place is a very unique resort community-cum-museum where close to 30 Filipino heritage houses were painstakingly rebuilt, mostly using the original materials that were dismantled from two- to three-hundred-year-old houses sourced from all over the country.

Re-created ‘bahay na bato’

The result was a re-created village where one can step back in time and walk around on cobblestone streets and feel how it was like living in 18th to 19th century Philippines. Most of the houses were owned by prominent families from the provinces where these houses were taken from.

Referred to as “bahay na bato” (house of stone), these houses were reconstructed using as much original parts and as faithful to the architectural details of the period. Using old photographs and paintings, the resort’s owner, Jerry Acuzar of the New San Jose Builders fame, hired teams of local artisans and craftsmen to restore, fabricate and replicate decaying parts of the houses and were assembled back in the original layout of the house.

A short drive from Bagac to Lamao port en route to Corregidor.

Among the notable houses there was Casa Biñan, which was built by Gregorio Alonzo in the 16th century and later on was passed on to Cipriano Alonzo, our national hero Jose Rizal’s maternal grandfather. The mother of Rizal, Teodora Alonzo, inherited the house and expanded the footprint of the house. Its current owner, Gerardo Alberto, decided to donate this to Acuzar to ensure that the house will be restored and preserved after it was relocated to its current site.

As resort villas

Some of these houses have been retrofitted with modern comforts like a working Jacuzzi, modern bathrooms, and electrical appliances like airconditioners and flatscreen TVs. These are being rented out as resort villas where families and friends can spend the night and experience how it was like living in these magnificent houses albeit with modern creature comforts.

One can take a breezy ride along the resort’s cobblestone streets using caruajes (horse-drawn carriages), a favorite local and foreign tourist attraction there.  The location is also an ideal place to hold wedding pictorials and receptions.

The stone entrance gate is reminiscent of Spanish colonial era.

In contrast, the 2013 Isuzu Crosswind has a list of modern features that appeals to today’s Filipino families and has a proven platform that has time and again ensured its position as among the top 10 bestselling vehicles in the country in 2012.

“Without doubt, the Isuzu Crosswind’s durability and reliability, as well as its numerous family-friendly features, perfectly match the Filipinos’ family-oriented lifestyles,” said IPC president Ryoji Yamazaki. “It is fitting then that we show the Crosswind’s strengths in the best way possible-by letting participants enjoy the vehicle with their loved ones.”

“As much as the Crosswind has played a role in many Filipino families, it has also been a significant contributor to Isuzu Philippines’ growth. The Crosswind is our bestselling model, accounting for half of our sales total last year. It powered our growth of 20 percent in 2012 compared to our 2011 result, and allowed Isuzu to become the third-biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles in the Philippines and the country’s fourth-ranked automotive company last year,” said Art Balmadrid, Isuzu Philippines’ SVP for sales.

Latest evolution

The road trip highlights the Crosswind’s latest evolution of the model and because of the Valentine theme, the trip’s organizers gave “14 Reasons to Fall in Love with the Isuzu Crosswind.” Starting with wider choices of trim levels for the Crosswind’s XS, XL, XT and Sportivo variants, attractive prices for each variant, its powerful and fuel-efficient and Euro2-compliant 4JA1-L turbo direct injection diesel engine, to various premium features like its projector-type headlamps, shark fin antenna, door side-impact beams and available for the Sportivo and XT variants, the aerodynamic roof rails. Aside from this, class-leading features on the Sportivo include all-weather fog lamps, side-view mirror with clear-lens turn signals, 15-inch alloy wheels with all-terrain tires, leather/vinyl upholstery, rear spoiler and a full entertainment system.

Bestselling model

“The 2013 Isuzu Crosswind’s features have both Isuzu’s loyal and new customers in mind, and enhance what already was an extensive list of qualities. With the much-appreciated support that it enjoys among Filipino families, the Crosswind should continue to be one of the country’s most popular vehicles and Isuzu’s bestselling model this year,” Yamazaki added.

The heritage houses in Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar is a great place for photo opportunities. PHOTOS BY ALVIN UY

In 2012, the Crosswind’s annual sales totaled 6,244 units that gave IPC’s 20 percent growth over the company’s 2011 total sales, and accounted for half of IPC’s tally last year. The Crosswind’s 2012 was the main reason why IPC became the Philippines’ third-biggest manufacturer of commercial vehicles and the country’s fourth-ranked automotive company.

The 2013 Crosswind comes in Ebony Black, Glacial White, Midnight Blue, Rich Red, Satin Silver and Titanium Silver. It is priced at P750,000 for the XS, P794,000 for the XL, P883,000 for the XT, P1.14 million for the Sportivo MT, and P1.205 million for the Sportivo AT.

For more information, visit any authorized Isuzu dealership or check out www.isuzuphil.com.