Father’s Day, with cars

THE MONSTER Jam truck show featuring giant trucks jumping into the air will be at the SM Mall of Asia Arena this weekend.

The day to appreciate our fathers is once again approaching. Although automotive-related gifts like furry dice or license plate covers (for nonexistent license plates) will always be appreciated, a better way to spend your time and money is to go for a memorable experience. Here are some car-related activities you can do with your dad (or child), hopefully soon:

Go driving. We don’t mean slogging through Edsa traffic or crawling to school at the crack of dawn—you get to do that nearly every day. Plan a trip on a day with light traffic to a destination that’s interesting. This could be as close as a new restaurant across town or as far as the Banaue Rice Terraces. (You can look through the archives at motioncars.inquirer.net for inspiration.) If you have a sports car, you must take a drive on the twisty eastern end of Marcos Highway in Tanay, Rizal.

Ride an exotic.  You won’t be able to do this by  walking up  to an exotic car showroom out of the blue  and asking for a test drive. Congress’ and the taxi industry’s favorite whipping boy, Uber, has interesting alternatives. This June, Uber added the Rolls-Royce Ghost to its fleet, albeit temporarily. You and your dad or kids (up to three passengers) could ride the Ghost for the standard UberBlack fare, which  is usually good for a Toyota Fortuner or Ford Everest. Here’s hoping they make it a regular feature. If you’re in Singapore, you can hire a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder or Maserati GranTurismo  coupé under the Uber “supercar” option. That one will cost, though: Base fare is 165 Singaporean dollars for the Maserati and 200 Singaporean dollars for the Lamborghini.

Go racing. If the passenger seat isn’t for you or your dad, take him to a race. Tuason Racing School offers its Toyota racing school program starting at P5,000. There’s also the high-performance BMW driving experience. (You can e-mail: info@tuasonracing.com.)

Watch a live motorsport event. There’s one rolling into Manila in time for Father’s Day weekend: the Monster Jam truck show. You’ve certainly loved playing with Hot Wheels on a homemade track. Now watch real giant trucks jumping into the air. The famous monster trucks Grave Digger, Zombie and others will be at the SM Mall of Asia Arena on June 20 and 21.

Assemble a car. A car project is an interesting way to make concepts like chemistry and welding real for kids. If you don’t happen to have a Ferrari 250 GTO ready for reassembly in your barn, you can use model kits or some of the excellent new Lego sets. Building a VW Camper, Mini Cooper or the Tumbler should provide hours of fun—and cursing when looking for that missing brick.

Visit a car museum. There are car museums in many countries. If you are planning a trip to Japan, the Toyota Mega Web in Odaiba, Tokyo, is a combination of auto museum, theme park and showroom. Mazda runs a museum adjacent to its factory in its Hiroshima headquarters. In Germany, there are excellent automobile museums in Stuttgart featuring Mercedes-Benz and Porsche, and in Munich centering on BMW. London has a small but giddying exhibition of the “James Bond” vehicles. If you’re in the United States, the Volo Auto Museum in Illinois is worth a visit.

Watch a car movie. As a last resort, you can watch some car-themed movies with your dad or child. Younger kids would enjoy the likes of “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” Older kids can start with the “James Bond” series and adults can enjoy “The Road Warrior” and Tarantino’s “Death Proof.” There’s also the winning “The Hire” short film series starring Clive Owen and several BMWs. Classic films like “Bullitt” and “Grand Prix” are always worth another viewing.