| Car Shows are the avenues to promote the brands and what to look forward to in the future of the automobile industry. It’s also you see who are truly car enthusiasts. In the Philippines, there have been passionate locals who are into vehicles. Well, besides the emerging technology presented in gadgets like mobile phones.
The culture is striving back in the day, and as a future automotive student, one can look back to the time it was entirely different since attending these occasional events can nurture interest and curiosity for someone who never got into the nitty gritty things what makes a motor vehicle works. |
But back a decade ago, it was just about the interest in anything about cars, SUVs, and the like. Also, this was ‘in the news’ back in Manila attending the very first Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS), which was held at the World Trade Center in Pasay City and is still the venue of the current iteration of this annual event.
This was in 2007 exactly a decade ago, when I first attended this event on a Saturday (Friday today in 2017), the second to the last day of this event. I have attended the following iterations of this event and only missed once as PIMS is held every two years following 2008 year (the year I missed attending the event). It is still an event to look forward to, but back in the day this event was just starting and this was CAMPI’s (Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines Inc.) first foray into organizing a car show that is held biannually.
The first PIMS was all over the place about how the car show would be accepted by the public, which happened from 9-12 August 2007, and like any new car show the focus was not yet on the next technology or a specific theme that even a local men’s magazine like FHM would have their own booth featuring modified cars that are promoting the latest issue of the said magazine.
You can find the usual custom cars and other ‘show cars’ in the lobby before you purchased tickets. But since this was the very first PIMS it offered free entry to the event just to take a glimpse and have the experience of attending this car show.
The main entrance is just a simple “Welcome” before reaching the event floor. But based on the photos from a decade ago this was just about how things were from back in the day. The lighting was not the most impressive thing (more to this below), but every car show has a challenging growth and this is one of them.
Audi/Porsche Yellow Tones
PGA Cars Manila was the country’s dealership for these two automotive luxury brands, and the lighting on their booth is unbearable. Everything about this area was the most noticeable space at PIMS and you already know why.
Right smacked in the middle of the show floor this was like going near the sun. Porsche unveiled the Cayenne while Audi showed their mid-size A Series models on opening day. It was something hard to look at all those yellow-toned lights in the area.
There have been a diverse group of car manufacturers in this event, but the one that’s getting quite the difficult moment to have a huge crowd look at their cars is this booth. The lighting was really that glaring to even appreciate the latest models from both of these companies. But in the possible future, they learned quite a lot about not using this specific kind of lighting.
JDM is the Future
The Japanese Domestic Market has been the force in the Philippine automotive industry since the 1970s, and it still continues to be present in car shows like this. For the event alone, there have been a lot of participants from Honda, Isuzu, Mitsubishi, Nissan, and Toyota. But the Koreans are not far behind with Hyundai and Kia just being in the background that would become popular brands by now.
But the demand for cars in Japan has been strong even in Western countries like Australia have a strong following for fuel-efficient cars from Asia not only to be reliable. But they really looked good even for a decade-old event such as this.
There is no doubt PIMS would have more participating companies bring their best cars to the showroom floor. This event has a platform for everyone to see what’s next for the future of vehicles in the Philippine automotive market.
Volvo Makes the Splash
Despite not having enough European brands for this event Volo certainly stepped up in bringing their latest models with the S80 and the attractive hot hatch in the C30. The little one of course is the eye candy that most are looking forward to getting up close and personal having been unveiled at this event.
But this was 10 years ago, and by 2017 the latest C30 has been discontinued in 2013 and was replaced by the V40 II hatchback with a similar refined beauty with improved technology. This is Volvo’s entry for the “c-segment” or medium cars that has found its popularity among young car owners.
The C30 was the successor to the classic Volvo 480, which was discontinued back in 1995, Volvo mostly produced estate or station wagons, but a five-door hatch has been quite a rare sight to see getting a revival in the form of the C30.
Mini Museum & Die-Cast Car Collection
The last part of the segment that made quite a rare attraction to PIMS is no longer seen in the succeeding iteration of this event is the mini museum featuring a classic car that is just at the side of the show floor that’s rarely getting that much attention considering that most enthusiast should be appreciative about the early beginning of where the cars started and PIMS had this section in their inaugural year.
Besides the mini museum, they also invited die-case car collectors to showcase their rare hobbies. DCPH a local community of die-cast collectors have become part of the car show attraction, and this is one of their earlier participation as part of the event.
Back in 2007, this was not much of something of ‘just part of the show’ that has become something to look forward to in a car show as some can’t afford the cars of their dream and let them have them in 1/64 scale die-cast cars showcased in these glass displays sharing their enjoyment about the hobby.
There have other things that did not make it to this segment namely, the female models who have been hard working to be the extension of the cars on display. They have become a staple image of the local car show back in the Philippines and surely deserve a shout-out as they have become part of this event.
The Philippine International Motor Show currently has established itself as one of the events to look forward to when launching new models and exclusive cars that have never been available in the market. It is one of the shows to be reckoned with, and their first may appear to be growing pains in not having a focus but surely the following events have become phenomenal in their own right.
Having the experience as a first-time visitor was quite engaging with the way they set-up up how international car shows should be, and not just about custom cars. But also, the emerging technology that was revealed. This is a welcome trip to memory lane from 10 years ago, and there’s more to see in the next one.
Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) is held at the World Trade Center Manila every other year, and for more details about the event visit the official website at CAMPIauto.org!
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