Bringing the fun back with the hot cars

Last week I talked about how car companies have been taking the fun out of modern cars, about how committees and not car guys decide on what cars are made, and how bean counters, and not engineers and designers decide how a car is made. Sad but true.

Going through the social networking site Facebook, though, gives us, the enthusiasts, much to be happy about and look forward to.

The car club Track Hos recently hosted the first ever Track Hos mile, a ground-breaking event that sees a car run as fast as it can down a one-mile straightaway, trying to push the ever-elusive 300-kph barrier, in a completely legal environment. Similar events are run all over the world, the most prominent of which is the Texas Mile, where top-tuned cars run just over 400 kph (yes, that is not a typo, 400 kph!!!). It was also a fund-raising event that donated the proceeds of the event to victims of Typhoon “Sendong.” Scores of hyper-tuned cars, sportscars and exotics came to join in the fun, blasting down Subic International Airport’s main runway. Says event organizer and Track Hos guru JV Colayco: “The event was born out of everyone’s desire where owners could stretch the legs of their cars in a legal environment. The turn-out was very good that we actually made a decent amount to donate to the victims of Typhoon ‘Sendong.’ All sorts of cars came out and everyone had great fun.”

Autoindustriya.com, one of the oldest online automotive medias and forum boards also hosted their own event called the Autoindustriya Speedfest, sponsored by Motul Oils, Autoplus Sportzentrium and the recently opened Subaru Alabang. Much like the previous event, it was the Ford GTs, particularly the Motul-Autoplus powered Ford GT of Carlos Gono, that reigned supreme. Gono, dealer-principal for Motul and managing partner at Autoplus Sportzentrium and partner of Subaru Alabang, said, “We were all very happy that we were able to stage this event because it is a legal and sanctioned event. Owners of Supercars could find the limits of their cars in an event tailor-made for them. We hope this can become a regular activity on the local motoring scene.” Aside from the one-mile run, the event also featured traditional drag racing as well as drifting.

Another event recently concluded that had a huge turn-out was the Top Gear Magazine 0-400 Challenge, a track day/drag race/drift event held at the Clark International Speedway where various enthusiasts had a chance to run their cars on a variety of formats. Emperor Motorsports and Speedlab, two of the country’s premiere tuning shops, together with HKS Superoils, organized the event, which was supported by Top Gear Magazine. Ferman Lao, managing partner and chief tuner of Speedlab, says that “0-400 Challenge is the natural progression of what Speedlab has been doing for the past years, offering and promoting motorsports in the proper venue.” Dolf Santiago, dealer principal of HKS Superoils and head at Emperor Motorsports adds: “we all had great fun in the event, and everyone went home happy as there was much to see and to do: cars, socializing with fellow-enthusiasts and on-track action. Hopefully there will be more events in the future.”

Lastly, we look forward to HIN Manila. HIN, or Hot Import Nights, is coming to the Philippines in collaboration with Ladder Events/Bumper to Bumper Carshow Series on March 24-25. HIN is the most well-known and biggest car show series organizers in the world with affiliates in Asia, South America, Africa and Europe. HIN is known to feature some of the best built tuned cars ranging from humble econo-boxes to fully built and tuned exotics, as well as some of the hottest car show models all over the world, with a rave/dance party thrown in to the mix. It is expected to be the first ever global event of its kind to hit the Philippines.

Filipina-Mexican UFC Ring Girl and import model Aryanne Celeste, go-go dancer and import model Jeri Lee as well as fellow model Nikita Esco are the main crowd draws for the event, along with Japanese champion female drifter Hiromi Kajukima. Expect to see thousands of car-loving, model-watching fans toting cameras to this event! Says Jonathan Chio, lead-organizer for this event: ”We promise the spectators a car show like no other, a car show that will elevate the experience and entertainment not only in the Philippines, but in Asia. We have observers flying in from Singapore and other Asean countries to observe and partake of our event, which will be featured worldwide. HIN Manila will be the first ever major event of HIN in Asean.” Free up your weekend as HIN hits Manila on March 24-25 at the World Trade Center in Pasay City and is supported by PLDT, Repsol Motor Oils, Total Fuels and Lubricants and Wrangler Jeans.

With all of these events to keep enthusiasts happy, I just hope the big-name manufacturers come out and experience these events to know and see what makes us, the car-buying public tick. Hopefully, they’ll learn some things they can take to the board room themselves.