Father of the Ride

Each father’s day reminds us of the various memorable occasions we spend with our beloved dads. A number of these occasions would involve a leisurely drive or even the time when daddy first taught us how to drive. In the 1960s, muscle cars were the craze and with the coming back of retro-inspired muscle cars, we are beginning to see new model muscle and pony cars more and more in the market. Perhaps Hollywood had something to do with this resurgence with movies (and their sequels) like Cars, Fast & Furious and the Transformers movie. Nowadays, the baby boomers who reminisce the good old days are in for a treat with the current serving of modern retro-inspired cars like Chevrolet’s Camaro who seems to be leading the pack in terms of the pony car race in the local market.

The original Camaro – the Father of the Ride

It will surprise many that the first generation Camaros were also assembled in the Philippines. Aside from the Camaro, other select GM models like the Bel Air, Impala and the Malibu were assembled in RP by Yutivo and Sons. It was the first GM facility in the Far East. The Yutivo company was founded in 1911 by Jose Yutivo Palanca. One of their companies, Lidell Motors used to import cars on an indent basis from GM prior to1953. Sadly, the Camaro had to end its production run after the end of the 1969 model because the government wanted to reverse the classification of the Camaro from a 2-door coupe passenger car to a sports car, increasing the tax duties substantially. Nowadays, Yutivo made Camaros from 1967 to 1969 are considered collectible locally and internationally due to this novelty.

Fast forward to forty decades later, GM’s presence in the Philippines took a new chapter when General Motors Philippines started operations in the mid-1990s up until 2008.  Last year, The Covenant Car Company Inc. (TCCCI), a newly-formed 100% Filipino-owned company took over the GM distribution in the country. As GM and Chevrolet took on a revitalized presence in the country, so did the Camaro. The fifth generation model 296HP 3.6 liter V-6 variant was showcased at the Manila International Auto Show last year and the 6.2 liter V-8 variant was launched in the Philippine International Motorshow last August.  This latest generation Camaro was based on the 2006 Camaro Concept as production began on March 16, 2009. Last April 1, the Camaro was named the World Car Design of the Year at the World Car of the Year Awards. So if you think Megan Fox was hot in the Transformers movie, there was another hottie in the movie and it’s the yellow Camaro. The Camaro was one of America’s most anticipated come back retro-inspired cars.

Sibling rivalry?

Since last year, there has been some talk about the possible entry of the Mustang in the RP market. Dodge has already launched their Hemi-powered Charger sedan and two door cousin, the Challenger. Will Ford be not far behind? It would be cool to see all these iconic cars on the road as these pony cars re-emerge in the market, one big question is in the mind of most muscle car enthusiasts – will the original and real American sportscar please stand up? It is also made by Chevrolet and goes by name of Corvette.