All roads lead to Ayala Center Cebu as Worldbex held its 2nd Cebu Auto Show last weekend. In the Ayala open parking lot, a custom-built air-conditioned tent was shipped from Manila and provided the venue with more than 3,000 square-meters in covered floor area. Aside from the car brands and accessories that exhibited in the show, a car competition was held two days prior to the show. All the 7 category winners in the competition including the most coveted Best of Show winner were displayed also in the exhibition area.
A modified Mazda RX-8 bagged top honors as Best of Show winner and as Best Japanese Sports Car while another notable winner was a pristine World War II McArthur Jeep that was meticulously restored by its owner. It came complete with a turret machine gun and other military accessories sourced from various parts of the world. The Jeep has been with the owner’s family for more than half a century and during its restoration, they purposely left a hole on its metal sheet floor made by a bayonet by a G.I. soldier during the war. This battle-scarred show entry was a surprise winner during the competition.
In a province where there are second hand grey market dealers in almost every street corner of Metro Cebu, the formal auto industry is fighting back by actively supporting automotive events like the Cebu Auto Show. A few months ago, BPI and Equitable Bank held auto loan mall tours encouraging new vehicle sales. Among the automotive brands that participated in the Cebu Auto Show 2007 are – Chevrolet, Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Maxxis, Microtex, Mobil, Mothers, Motolite, Motul, Nankang, Pirelli, Suzuki, Total, Top Gear, Toyota and Yamaha.
Organizers of the Cebu Auto Show are the same group behind the recently concluded Manila International Auto Show (MIAS 2007), which brought in world-famous stunt performer Russ Swift from UK. Andrew Bello, Marketing Manager of Total Philippines commended the organizers for being able to elevate MIAS into a show of international taste and decided to co-sponsor their events.
The demand for motor vehicles is quite strong in this region particularly with a robust export economy as well as good influx of OFW remittances. Aside from a strong export industry, Cebu is also a hub for high quality furniture, which is not surprising that the custom cars that participated in the show competition have very good paint finishes. Encouraged by the thousands of visitors that went to see the show, the organizers are looking forward to next year’s show sometime in summer.
By Alvin Uy | Photos By Alvin Uy
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