| 04.08.2019 – Let’s face it the first day will always be the busiest and the Manila International Auto Show (MIAS) has been around long enough to cement itself as the Biggest Cars Show in the country. Its Fiesta vibe is second to none and every year they topped it with the best and brightest gimmick that the exhibitors have come out make all things refreshing for visitors.
MIAS have a lot of new things going on and made sure everyone will have a different experience in the first quarter of 2019. But the main event is the launches for all the car manufacturers participating this year that continues to be a staple rarely some other car shows have with the exception to one that happens every other year. MIAS is an annual show and they try to beat themselves topping this one. |
It has been a while since I’ve attended MIAS and that most recent one was two or three years ago as that was a different time. But things have drastically changed over the years with other competing car shows in the country. MIAS has been around to take over the wheel as one of the biggest and grandest car shows in the Philippines to offer and you’ll know why Filipinos are into cars.
To be honest, this is the only time some would eventually come close to their dream car that they can’t afford to own so a memento or a selfie was probably the only way to be part of that experience. It is reality for most Filipinos and regardless of that perspective there are others who just want to appreciate the cars (aside from the women, of course). But generally that’s the ‘norm’ that you see in this country when it comes to car shows it is mostly the women that stand beside the shiny hunk of metal that gets the attention, since this was during the first day and the huge crowed forming at the doors decided to focus on the cars that rarely get the attention and that’s the classic ones outside the venue.
There have been very few that have been parked out of the open that certainly never got that appreciation, since most would go for the sporty type of cars. There’s only few outside but it is worth looking at as experience the local car meets in South Australia it was there I surely appreciate the worth of an old school car than the modern ones. Yes, the new ones may be faster and more technologically advanced but the old ones paved the way for the development of those cars. If it wasn’t for these classic there won’t be such development to improve on the modern cars that you see in this car show.
1969 Ford Escort
This two-door family car is a very familiar fixture in Philippines roads from back in the day that had several iterations, which also got resurgence in popularity thanks to Fast and the Furious that the late Paul Walker has driven in Furious 6 during a scene where his group tried to take down a tank in the highway. This version of the Ford Escort is the 1970 RS1600 which is popular due to that film.
The 1969 model of course is an earlier version of the car, which restored and owned by Shelby Auto Station, local detailing shop that kept this car in pristine condition. You can see the clean engine and its smooth white paint certainly appears like it rolled out from the car factory. It is definitely a beaut without comparison to its other namesake models that came after.
Mitsubishi Lancer
There’s nothing like a boxy Lancer that you’ll never forget fi you’re based in the Philippines. It is the competitor beside the Ford’s Escort of the 1980s. It is also a popular car and yet a few Aussie friends are not familiar about it due to that the company wasn’t a hit down in South Australia. They didn’t know what they’re missing when it wasn’t marketed in that region.
But if you’ve grown up seeing this on the road practically you’ll get tired of it. Nowadays finding one is a goldmine because it tells a story of the fast times along Ayala Avenue when traffic wasn’t dead stop awful or just having the best time riding it on a local freeway. A friend who was into reading Incredible Hulk and fan of the jaded green giant owned one back in then and it was good times.
Toyota Corolla Starlet It is one of the few popular hatchback cars that made a name for itself back in the 1980s. The original was a different car being introduced in the early 1970s, but the one that was seen in the streets of Manila was Second Generation recalling the days when you see one it was the next popular car besides the classic Volkswagen Beetle.
But this one you see here is quite modified for motorsport even my lecturer at TAFE would probably put it at the Dyno to check out how it runs. Although there is not much detail on this car just outside the venue it is intriguing to see one again. Most would just walk off and ignore this car similar to the Escort and Lancer because the kids nowadays would rather see sleek faster cars like the Kia Stinker… I meant the Stinger which is understandable, but classics like this are just awesome to see how they work.
Dodge Charger
At the far end of the World Trade Center Manila before the Visitor’s Entrance there’s a muscle car that was sitting in the sun’s view. It was quite challenging to get a better angle due to the in and out of the people near the entrance. It was just sitting there being polished by the assigned staff to make sure no finger prints on the smooth sheet of metal that you see there.
It is rare that you’ll see an American muscle car that’s from the late 1960s or early 1970s and if recalling the days of the Philippines there was A LOT of them until the oil crisis retired most of these fascinating beasts. Back in South Australia these are the most you’ll ever see in local car meets upstate in a shopping center and it was something to appreciate that this was one of the rare finds at the show.
What You May Miss It and Then Some
The Manila International Auto Show is probably the most popular car shows that open up the year since there’s no local car meets that you’ll find in an empty parking lot since everything is paid. You can’t organize one just to hang out and enjoy coffee in the morning and have a chat with any of them as you’ll only find these groups in social media or in a private meet up.
The local car shows are the venues that you’ll find these interesting automobiles and you can browse in the photos of the ones just outside the venue. It is great to see classics but rarely will you definitely see one on the road unlike from where I spent my time seeing them with a few friends. In case you miss this event there are surely other car show to happen and there will be more event this one is more mainstream on the modern cars than the classics. For now enjoy this even or if you miss out check out the photos see what you think of it.
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