Gaby, and the art of Prius riding

HIGH MAINTENANCE. Gaby may have said ‘ouch’ over the maintenance costs, but she sticks to her hybrid. Though the Prius may cost an arm and a leg to maintain, the owner should be able to get his or her limbs back in the long run through the fuel saved.

“Whatever it is that your heart tells you, if that’s what fuels you to get up every day excited about what’s to come, It’s the best way to live life.” So declared feisty racer and TV personality Gaby de la Merced three years ago, when she was asked for her advice to young girls who wanted to be like her.

In Gaby’s life, what fueled her was quite literally life in the fast lane. She had been racing since she was 16, in local and international tracks. She was the only Filipina driver to compete in a full season of the Asian Formula 3 series, landing her a first runner-up finish in the Philippine National Formula 3 Championship; and also first runner-up in the Promotion Class Championship of Asian Formula 3. All this is no mean feat for a first timer in International Formula racing.

What the racetracks and the TV spotlights haven’t revealed, however, are her other passions that make her wake up to mornings that are much more exciting. Ten years ago, at the age of 19, this maverick began collecting vinyl toys—rare designer toys from all over the world. Today, that collection has led to her establishing an art gallery with the help of her friends. That gallery is called Vinyl on Vinyl, and it just recently opened at The Collective at the corner of Malugay and Mayapis streets in Makati. VOV is perhaps what may be called a hub for “underground” artists, but Gaby and company have extended their support to local illustrators, painters and sketch artists in and out of the country.

Oozing with competitive spirit, Gaby was also an athlete even before she sat behind the racing wheel, and the entire nation glimpsed that in her when she demonstrated on live TV, during her stay in Kuya’s house in “Pinoy Big Brother” five years ago, her skills in capoeira. But that’s Gaby: unpredictable and unconventional.

It’s easy to know when Gaby’s in the (art) house: when a blue, third-generation Toyota Prius is parked just in front. When Inquirer Motoring spotted the hybrid car, it was time to meet up with the “hybrid” racer-artist, and find out what surprised Gabby about her Prius.

GABY was blue for the gray Prius

IM: Do your choices make you somewhat New Age?

Gaby: I am. I guess. I don’t mean to be unconventional. I guess it just happens. When I bought the Prius, I never thought it was a big deal until people started noticing it, people started commenting about it. I bought it because I liked it. I always thought it was just another car. I always thought the attention was reserved for Porsches, Ferraris, Range Rovers. Having a Prius caught a lot of attention. And it was interesting.

IM: What hooked you to it (Prius)?

Gaby: What I actually love about Prius is its attention to detail on little things. I remembered during my first month with the car, I played around and showed friends the keyless entry. The different settings on the gauges, mileages, that you get to play around with.

IM: How did you get to know about the Prius?

Gaby: The first time I drove it was when I joined this race called the Ironman and Toyota lent me the Prius. I was so surprised. It actually blew my mind on the acceleration, and the smooth drive. I loved the stability and the comfort. I even took it around the racetrack.

IM: For you who have driven race cars, that says a lot for the Prius.

GABY (left) at Vinyl on Vinyl with underground artists (from left) Dione D’Souza, Gabriel Tiongson, Maku Felliz, Isobel Francisco and Marius Black.

Gaby: I’ve driven a fair amount of cars. So when I told Toyota “I want to buy a Prius,” I think they thought I was just horsing around with them. But I was the persistent one, and they were surprised that I really wanted it. I was glad to get one. My family was so happy with that car, they wanted one and my mom wanted one, but it was sold out during that time.

IM: What else do you like about the Prius?

Gaby: You don’t smell the engine fumes. It’s not noisy. Ironic because in the track, I love hearing the sound of the engine, the smell of the fuel, but on an everyday basis, the smoothness of the Prius and everything, the EV mode, I just love playing around with it. Its fuel consumption has impressed me, that’s why it’s my daily drive. Somehow it helps the world as it helps lessen fuel consumption.

IM: Do you have another everyday car aside from the Prius?

Gaby: My other car is a Honda Integra 1800 that drinks gas. I kept it stock. I like keeping my daily cars as stock as possible. I use the Integra during weekends because I like manual transmission to play around with.

IM: What about the Prius needs improvement?

Gaby: My problem with it is that my meter gauge would always die down on me. I always check my gas consumption and how many km I have left before I need to gas up again. There’s a way to track that down. Sometimes when I get to it, there’s a certain amount, I think when its one fourth of gasoline that it goes to zero so technically you can’t track it.

RACER Gaby de la Merced’s daily drive is her beloved hybrid car, but she says it’s not perfect. PHOTOS BY ROMY HOMILLADA

There’s also just one light when you back up. I prefer two lights. There are some spots that when you back up, it favors a certain side. What I would want more to have are stronger headlights, too, but given the fact that I also tinted my windshield, but that’s just soft tints.

The cost of maintenance is quite expensive. The way the dealership talked to me, it would be just technically the same parts as the Vios. But it didn’t turn out that way.

I know there’s already a fair amount of cup holders, but I would prefer more. I know it’s custom for cars’ side panels, but maybe they can bulk it out a bit for larger cups. But I love certain things, as well: The auxiliary plug, two plugs for the lighter, which are important.

Another disadvantage of the Prius is when you drive in the province you have to honk to the pedestrians and the animals. They don’t hear you coming. They don’t feel the vibration (of the car). But on another note, I still like the silence of the Prius.

I also wish it’s Bluetooth-compatible. It has no accessibility to your phone. Since they’ve already gone the extra length to make your life easier, then they should’ve installed Bluetooth, too.

At the end of the day most Prius owners wouldn’t notice the little things that make driving that much easier and fun. It’s when they drive a different car, that’s when they notice the difference. It’s the little things that make me admire those who made the Prius.