Text and photos by Diana B. Noche
A customized car is like a piece of art. It always attracts a considerable crowd no matter where it goes; its powerful visual appeal can set the heart on fire. The exterior catches the eye and stops people agape in their tracks. Souping up an old car (or a brand new one) can be likened to doing a restoration work on an old, faded Old Master—a consequential interaction between art and technology through each painstaking customizing step.
The world is crammed with free choices and whimsies—some better or more figmental than others—but each choice is a powerful consequence so grin or bear it. An overkill of mods, however stuffed with innovative thinking will punish the car’s efficiency. Some reworks, including trick modifications like installing oversized spoilers, wheels, tail pipes, and mufflers, neon lights underneath the car, funky vinyl wraps, bumper stickers, and loud sound system could work against effective driving and can be looked upon as more showy instead of practical. But, it’s your car. Drive it. Climb mountains. Defy the street floods. Take absolute control of the roads. Then after a while, you’re going to take a deeper look into your baby and decide to add those flashes to the machine, make it eye-popping, and don’t worry about it being overly fancy. It’s your car, other drivers can eat their heart out. Modifications and some rounds of changes plus accessories infused on the car may not work well for everybody. What is tasteful and common sense to some will look as an overly customized dash to others.
With a wide scope of build configurations, high-test customs, and rehabilitated motor vehicles, custom-tailored cars, performance cars SUVs, 4x4s, and off-roaders, Tradeshow International, Inc., through its President, Sophie de los Santos, finishes up another solid event—its 25th since the first #SportTruckShow was initially staged in the Philippines in a venue that is now known as the Metrowalk. The Manila Auto Salon (MAS), together with the SportTruckShow, and an equally interesting event—the Tactical, Survival and Arms Expo—continue to attract great crowds (November 14 to 17) at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. The venue is also awash with automotive aftermarket vendors.
Airpro Fragrances Philippines is making a debut of its vehicle fresheners in the country. Airpro has nine scents: Fresh Wave, Tutti Frutti, Citrus Fusion, Tokyo, Manila, London, New York, Paris, and Dubai.
A large in-stock selections of restoration parts and accessories to add pizazz to your vehicles packed the venue. With nearly 200 cars restored to the original pristine condition and ground-up redesigns, aftermarket vendors at the venue proved their presence are important and necessary partners for the automotive industry. Some aftermarket vendors that complimented the show: Rapide Auto Services, J Works Unlimited, Star Bright Custom, Urban Elite Autoworks, Atoy Customs, Demon Tweaks Autoworks, Auto Genix Car Works, Sailun Tires, Nippon Paint, Aikka Color Mixing Specialist, Seilin Brakes, Parts and Coolants, Bienzone Car Accessories, Emtrac Battery, oculus Auto Detailing Hub, Pro Fender Service Center, Potpourri Tropicana Scents, Lube Star Motor Oil, BMC Air Filter, Raimol Motor Oil and Lubricants, Euro Decals, Glaz Stain Guard, and Top Flip Pick-up Bed Cover.
One standout is the Mercedes Benz Unimog 1450 4×4, a certified true beast of an off-roader. It has a massive frame, a sort of hopped up rhino on steroid overload, and looks truly capable of grunt work. A lot of engineering work went into it so that maximum performance is assured when it goes out to do what it’s built for.
Then there’s the Charger. Its shell was in a rough shape and showed a good deal of hard runs down the years of use. A few things got freshened up, did a little engine beefing up, added some very subtle accounts, and voila! You’re seeing a good-looking car, with an add boyish appeal for a car who was supposed to be old and tired.
With an elevated ride height that gives the Ford Super Open ample clearance, driving it over rutted roads and slosh would be no problem and the driver’s good view of the road would make him comfortably in command of his vehicle. There was no need for anything fancy. It’s superb as it is.
The green Porsche with its high impact color is a veritable time capsule, with its iconic shape so well-preserved, with some minor updates, leaving no stone unturned, and the result is a restored beauty that easily thrives on modern day pressure, ready to venture into remote locations and cruel terrain.
While car manufacturers assure that the vehicles going out their gates have been carefully assembled with parts and components engineered to function well together, customs shops and restoration services are doing a great deal of aftermarket help. Reworks, seamless welding jobs, parts replacements, repairs and rebuilds keep the motor industry on its feet, provide more attention to making each unit perform at its peak capacity. With an addition of restyle and function, car salons will make each car a joy to ride in any kind of road.
