TopGear - August 2015 PH

Past and

Curious

n the Philippines,

the first motorized

locomotive transport

system was inaugurated

on November 24 , 1892 ,

with the maiden trip from Manila to

Dagupan accomplished using a British-

made locomotive. Small transportation

entities followed by using steam-

powered trolleys for short-distance

services from Tondo to Malabon.

By the early 20 th century, the Bureau

of Public Works, created by the Insular

Government in 1901 , was already

operating Austin Motor road rollers

and cranes to fill mosquito-infested

moats around Intramuros with soil.

This effort was initiated to stop a cholera

epidemic. Meanwhile, Yorkshire steam

wagons transported goods and supplies

to Baguio.

Automobiles soon followed, with the

majority of vehicles registered by 1912

being American-made. It was expected

because the country was under American

rule. Nevertheless, there were a number

of British makes—Auto Carrier,

Humber, Rover, Siddeley and Wolseley.

A single Rolls-Royce, likely brought in

from abroad, was registered in 1928.

Although Manila had no British Rolls-

Royce dealership before, Rolls-Royce

of America was assembling cars with

Philippine narra planks as running-

board materials.

Matorco (Manila Motor Coach) used

a 1929 Leyland bus to transport people

around Manila even before the war. It

continued operating as a tourist bus

around Luneta until the late ’ 70 s. By

then, Metro-Manila Transit Corporation

was becoming a major rival; it also used

a number of Leyland buses, including

double-deckers.

Mantrade introduced the British

Ford Model Y in the early ’ 30 s. Bachrach

Motor offered the Vauxhall and

I

With the EV-STER,

Honda is hoping to

break away from its

design conundrums

these countries

couldn’t just let

iconic brit cars fold

WORDS BY ELAINE LARA

germany

Rover Group owned various brands

when BMW bought it in 1994. But

in 2000, BMW sold these brands

under the group—except Mini.

malaysia

Tony Fernandes (Air Asia big boss)

used to own the Caterham F1 team

before selling it in 2014. He kept

Caterham Cars, though.

india

Planning to buy the Jaguar and

Land Rover brand? Shell out $2.3

billion. Tata had something like that

lying around back in 2008.

china

SAIC was set to buy MG Rover

but it was Nanjing Automobile that

eventually saved the Brit marque.

SAIC and Nanjing later merged.

This mOnTh: PHILIPPINe MoToRING

HISToRy IS RICH WITH BeAuTIFuL

BRITISH CARS THAT PLIed ouR RoAdS

RICHARD wIlHelm b. RAGODON

From the

Archives

marketed it under the name “De Vaux”

6 - 75 in 1931. It also introduced the

Austin Seven (of England) and the Austin

Bantam (of USA) in 1932. In 1933 , the

Austin Ten appeared.

The earliest derivative of the

Philippine jeepney was actually installed

over the cowl and chassis of the German

DKW and the British Austin. But the

DKW edition faded, while the Austin

edition lasted until the late ’ 40 s. Similarly,

some of the first junior-sized taxis in

Manila and Iloilo were derived from the

Austin Bantam.

A new group of dealers appeared after

the Pacific War. Reliance Motors was

selling Vauxhall cars as well as Bedford

trucks and vans by 1948. The Austin

A 40 was introduced to consumers in

1950. Other British brands especially

sports and luxury British models came

to Philippine shores through private

importations.

The first Philippine-British Transport

and Agricultural Exhibition was held at

The Manila Hotel from February 28 to

March 4 , 1962 , organized by the Manila

Lions Club with the participation of

local subsidiaries of British companies.

Among the vehicles displayed were a

Jaguar XK-E, an Austin A 60 , a Triumph

Herald convertible, a Vauxhall Viva, and a

Bedford truck.

By the ’ 60 s, many British cars were

being assembled locally by Yutivo

Automotive Division, Fabar Motors, and

Mantrade. The diesel Austin Cambridge

became a reliable taxi unit. The Austin

Mini was a hit among the youth and

street racers. The MG 1100 , and the Ford

Zephyr, Consul and Cortina became

family cars. The Ford Escort was favored

by racers. The Ford Transit and Thames

vans became service delivery vehicles.

The Land Rover became the go-to ride

of those in the fields of exploration and

construction.

CAR CULTURE

MOTOR

WORLD

a steam wagon

(1908)

A yorkshire steam

wagon traverses

Baguio’s Kennon

Road.

an austin

(1932)

A restored 1932

Austin is on display

at the lobby of

AAP’s edSA

office.

lady drivers

(1959)

These lovely

women pose with

their MG A and

Triumph TR2

sports cars.

WWW.tOpgEAR.cOm.ph ToP GeAR PHILIPPINeS 43