Sunday, April 13, 2008
Barn finds
By Clint Holton P. Potestas
THE older it gets, the smoother it runs. How old are you?
No vanity call here—we’re referring to the car you’re driving, boys. During the car exhibit at Cebu International Convention Center organized by the Performance And Classic Car Enthusiasts (Pace), vintage cars were redefined.
Pace president Kenneth Cobonpue, who is also an international industrial designer, explained that when the car is “older than 1974,” it can be considered as vintage or classic. The event also featured collectors from Manila.
He added: “There are three qualifications we consider: rarity, performance, and beauty—beauty, meaning, the shape, the color.”
Car royalties such as BMW, Ferrari, Corvettes, and Mercedes were the enthusiasts’ top choices.
Vintage cars, for most of the Pace members, were inherited from their grandparents.
“These were handed over to me,” said entrepreneur Jay Aldeguer, who’s also a Pace member. Then, it became his passion to locate and to collect these rare vehicles.
“I go around the Philippines—to Dumaguete, to Ilo-Ilo, and to other places here—to look for vintage cars,” he continued. “These cars are also called ‘barn finds’ because we mostly find it in a barn; then, we restore them: repaint, clean, and fix them.”
After the restoration, the excitement starts.
Aldeguer added: “When you’re driving a vintage car, it’s like having an interaction between the driver and the car. It requires skills.”
Though priceless for its rarity, maintaining a vintage car could become, like the contemporary ones, an easy routine.
Boging Palacios, who owned the oldest car in the exhibit, shares how he maintains his personal collection: “Just like any ordinary car. I go through a routine of changing oil and waxing (its body).”
Collecting vintage cars, according to Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, signifies that Cebuanos value their heritage and culture.
“It is just the same as appreciating and highlighting our culture, and thus, restoring it,” said the governor, who also graced the event.
For Bisaya stories from Cebu. Click here. (April 13, 2008 issue)
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