I visited the “Life Kyaraban” mall show of Mitsubishi Motors Philippines Corporation (MMPC) a day after the event’s press conference. That meant one thing, I arrived without the fanfare and the presentations designed to overwhelm the press and the public and saw what how the event would be run on an ordinary day at the event.
“Life Kyaraban is not your typical car display, we have made it more engaging and tapped several lifestyle, technology and fuel partners to help us convey and let everyone discover the holistic and enjoyable ownership experience they can get with Mitsubishi Motors,” Takeshi Hara, President and CEO of MMPC.
I walked down the steps of the center of the Glorietta Activity Center on a Friday opening, with the mall just opened. I didn’t expect that at that time there were already several people chatting with Mitsubishi sales representatives there. I head to the L300 booth and spoke to people who seemed to have flocked to the tried and tested diesel workhorse that has been a mainstay in the Philippines for nearly 40 years.
“Walang tatalo sa L300 pagdating sa hakutan and tibay” Lorence Pugay, a resident of Las Piñas and also a small grocery owner. “May 2004 L300 FB ako at 1998 L300 Versa Van parehong buhay pa at tumatakbo. Walang major na sira at gamit na gamit pa. Balak ko sana mag upgrade sa bagong L300,” Pugay adds.
It surprised me that there were other booths from lifestyle and apparel companies and even a hardware store where I was able to buy a set of Stanley full-size, mechanical pliers from their buy-one-take-one booth. There were also shoes and clothes from various suppliers–perfect for the Father’s Day weekend. I heard that freebies, including a limited edition Kool Cloud Water Bottle, and discounts of up to 5,000 pesos were raffled off to visitors.
Besides those are interactive activities with prizes like Caltex SavePlus Cards and 40 percent off Combi coupons. There was a realme booth there too and I didn’t get the chance to win the realme 8i smartphones that were raffled off at specific times throughout the day starting 10 am until 9 pm.
The Combi demonstration was great. Being an advocate of the child safety seat (I was one of the convenors of the Child Safety Seat Advocacy Philippines) I marveled at the changes and improvements to child seat and installation. Combi said that all Mitsubishi vehicles are child-seat ready with ISOFIX tethers on all for-passenger models.
“Since (using) child safety seats is the law, I will be forced to get one when I give birth to my child,” Sarah Montes said as she was looking around and eyeing the Mirage G4. “I think this is the car for me, being a single mom as my husband is wokring abroad. When my baby comes I need a car seat, but I think I should buy one before she arrives,” she shared as the various Combi seats and configurations were explained to her. Eventually, she settled for a full seat with a detachable carrier.
A special set up from Black Rhino Wheels Philippines, Concept One Wheels Philippines and Overland Kings can also be found. On Saturday, there was a special show and live concert featuring Morissette Amon at 3:30pm as an early commemoration of Father’s Day for the families dropping by the event.
“The Montero and Strada are dream vehicles for me. And to see them in this really nice camping gear get-up is so satisfying,” Edmund Galvez, an engineer from Alfonso, Cavite told me as I was talking to him about the advantages of the pull-out awning fitted to the Strada Athlete on display. I also told him that I recently test drove both the 4×2 and 4×2 versions. This have him a lot of encouragement to consider the more affordable 4×2.
“Aside from our grand roadshow, there’s no better way to celebrate Life Made Better in the presence of our Filipino customers than by presenting our new service motto to them which is Mitsubishi Motors CARES. Aftersales has always been one of the core strengths in MMPC’s 59 years of existence in the local automotive scene. This program is our way of solidifying that legacy and a recommitment to better service quality that forms part of their car life journey as a Mitsubishi owner,” Hara explains.
To learn more about Mitsubishi Motors CARES click here.
“Life Kyaraban is a fusion of two concepts. ‘Life’ that echoes Mitsubishi Motors’ commitment to add value and further enrich the lives of Filipinos. Then ‘kyaraban’, which actually means caravan in Nihongo, representing our commitment to reach customers in all parts of the country,” Hara concludes.
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