Peugeot and the arts: an eclectic yet perfect mix

Peugeot Philippines recently held a Heritage Tour at the Pinto Art Museum in Antipolo, Rizal, for a select group of media practitioners. Behind the backdrop of art appreciation, Peugeot officials and brand ambassadors told the story of the French automotive brand rich in history and heritage.

In the gallery dedicated to Pinto founder Dr. Joven Cuanang, for example, Peugeot Automobiles’ own founder, Armand Peugeot, was given the spotlight—his family’s early work explained in earnest. The collaborative work done by Peugeot’s designers and engineers, meanwhile, was highlighted appropriately in Gallery One’s imposing mural “Karnabal,” itself an intricate and elaborate collaborative effort from 16 different artists.

Also, Gallery Four’s mind blowing display of mixed media art pieces made for the perfect setting to tell the story of how Peugeot’s futuristic concepts cars are envisioned and made. The “Erotica” room, symbolic of union, was used to stress just how important to Peugeot the merger with fellow French brand Citroën was—transforming Peugeot into the global automotive powerhouse that it is today. “Kumot,” an award-winning piece by renowned painter Elmer Borlongan, in the meantime, was the jump-off point to introduce Peugeot’s long list of award-winning vehicles. The connection between such diverse pieces of art and the Peugeot brand’s fascinating 200-year history made the Peugeot Heritage Tour an almost seamless exercise.

Using an art museum to tell this big story emphasized how much more there is to know about Peugeot than just car specification numbers. “Peugeot’s basic strengths can be summed up in three facts.  First, Peugeot is the oldest brand in the car industry, since 1810—trusted for more than 200 years. Second, Peugeot is distinctly French, therefore attention to detail in everything we do is a given. And third, we are the only car manufacturer in the world to have dual expertise. We are in equal parts focused on both engineering and design—a fact that translates directly into the build level and quality of our cars,”  Peugeot Philippines president Glen Dasig said.

Aside from its juxtaposition of automotive history against the backdrop of art appreciation, the Peugeot Heritage Tour also featured another first as it made use of brand ambassadors to deliver a very distinct message. “These Peugeot brand ambassadors are students—each with a different personality with no other connection other than the fact that they love both the arts and cars. They are vibrant—eager to enact change, they are stylish and lively, and they are excited about the future. Using them to help us deliver our message was in itself a coup. We are, after all, a French company through and through,” marketing director Dong Magsajo stressed.

Another highlight of the Peugeot Heritage Tour was the actual drive to the Pinto Art Museum. En route to the museum, the media drove Peugeot’s newest offerings—both diesel- and gasoline-fed variants of the new Peugeot 301, and the face-lifted versions of the Peugeot 3008 and Peugeot 5008.

The Peugeot 301 is Peugeot’s newest product offering. Priced just below the P1-million mark at P990,000 for the manual transmission diesel, or just right above it at P1.05 million for the automatic transmission petrol, this B-segment offering from Peugeot leaves no stone unturned in making the premium European ownership experience more attainable to a bigger segment of the market. The Peugeot 301 translates Peugeot’s design language into a car that answers the Asian end user’s needs while providing a lot more of what he wants than any other car in its class. One-hundred percent made in Europe, Peugeot’s attention to detail clearly shows in the car’s fit and finish.

The face-lifted 3008 crossover utility vehicle and 5008 compact MPV, meanwhile, narrow the styling gap between models, moving closer to Peugeot’s evolving design language. The new grille and headlamp combination of both models are now much more attuned to that of Peugeot’s other product offerings like the aforementioned Peugeot 301, the Peugeot 508 executive sedan and the Peugeot RCZ sports coupé.

Inside, little details like a much more informative and user-friendly entertainment interface come as standard. New rim-tire combination add a little more of that famed French flair into these already stylish vehicles.

In the future, with a whole slew of new products expected to refresh the Philippine automotive scene, the public can count on Peugeot Philippines to stage more cutting-edge events. Expect nothing less from a company that is truly distinctly French.