Making daddy’s job a lot easier
Father’s Day is just around the corner. And yes, typically, fathers do look forward to this day when we get to be honored and bask in being treated “like a king” even for just one whole day. We of this male species with offsprings are all fascinated about the idea. We sure do eagerly look forward to it. Yet, despite this, under the cold stoic masculine aura we so try hard to project lie anxiety and fear.
“Have we been good fathers to our kids this year?” Is the usual question we ask ourselves. We dread the thought of thinking if we have done our part as a good parent–have we done our responsibilities as a good provider or as a strong pillar for our kids to lean on to and have we given them the proper light in their everyday struggles?
Personally, I’m thankful to have two confident and happy teenagers–for now. And yes, like perhaps any other dad out there, I do have these qualms.
That’s why recently it was quite welcoming when Toyota Motor Philippines invited us media together with our kids to spend an afternoon with their fellow principal Toyota Alabang at their service center in Las Piñas City.
At first, I thought it was a good way to just spend time with my kids since all they do is just tinker with their gadgets and get exposed to harmful radiation for the whole day this summer.
Then, I heard TMP assistant vice president, Andy Ty, say in his speech prior the activities: “Whether they be in the vehicles themselves, maintenance or service, development or even all of the above, the automotive industry will continue to evolve with and for the younger generation.”
“So, this is the perfect opportunity for you to promote the industry itself.”
Upon hearing this, I knew my kids and I, together with about 20 more kids (aged four to 18 years old) and other grownups, in that class were in for something more serious.
He then continued: “Another part of today’s program will be the demo of our Toyota Safety Sense”
According to him, as safety continues to evolve, Toyota’s Safety Sense continues to improve with the goal of increasing safety here in the country.
“Not all systems are full-proof though as it all depends on the skill and awareness of the driver.
But we hope that you see that safety is inherent in our vehicles and in everything we do. We hope that you see that in the showcase later.”
Toyota Alabang Kids Tech
After Ty’s speech, there were introductory lessons about the functions of the car and other things. Instructors prepared light discussions that could keep the attention span of a four-year-old, from videos with cartoons to fun and wholesome lessons about defining a hybrid vehicle.
One of the highlights of the morning was the demonstration of the Toyota Safety Sense with the Toyota Camry Hybrid vehicle. With four kids onboard the vehicle together with a technician on the driver’s seat, the objective of the exercise was to show how the Camry can automatically engage its brakes without the driver stepping on the brake pedals. This was done by having it cruise at a 10kph speed and have it stop just right in front of a vehicle prop located at the dealership’s service area on the second floor. Here, everybody personally witnessed the wonder of this technology.
“This is to develop our future Toyota users and help them be more responsible for our environment,” shared Andrew Jeff Go, vehicle sales manager of Toyota Service Center Alabang, one of the head instructors of the program.
“This helps instill in them the importance of safety, like buckling up, being aware of the road with cars, caring for the environment and many more,” he then added.
The said program is available only at Toyota Alabang, with its pilot run held last June 1, 2024, and the official run started on June 28.
To date, there have been 30 sessions with about 1,000 kids graduating from the workshop and counting.
Toyota Alabang hosts four to five sessions per month during the summer season, and only one to two per month during the course of the school year. Each session includes about 50-55 participants.
The program fee is set at P3,500 per head, which includes a workshop map and photo souvenir. It can go as much as P5,900, which then includes a technician suit and a tool box.
Brainchild of the meaningful and worthwhile program
“We wanted them to start young,” said Toyota Alabang executive vice president Jocelyn Lee-Severino.
She told us that the workshop was an inspiration from the many trips TMP has brought them to, including frequent visits to the Toyota Museum in Japan.
“We’ve encountered kids—school-aged kids—going there, learning about how Toyota started,” she added.
“And I was part of the training department of Toyota Alabang, so I was really exposed to the acculturation—the Toyota values.”
She then explained that they wanted to impart that to the kids here in the country. They wanted to make ambassadors of the children of Toyota, for Toyota.
“So, this is a safe zone,” referring to the 1,500-square-meter facility dedicated particularly to the young participants of the program on the second floor of the dealership.
“You explore, you tinker, and you try your hand at putting it together and dismantling it,” she adds.
“And then it’s really a very good boost of their confidence, because it’s like: ‘wow, I took this out, it’s even bigger than me.”
The facility consists of the actual service bay area dissected into several parts, such as: the Replace Avenue, Assembly Road, Hybrid Highway, Body and Paint Lane and many more.
Biggest Toyota Service Center in Asia
Spanning a floor area of over 44,000 square meters, the Toyota Service Center is considered the biggest in Asia. The five-story building has about 160 service bays and can cater up to 150 customers per day.
“We made a makeshift area here on the second floor for our Kids Tech program,” Go then said.
For him, they established the service center in 2018 and did a soft launch during the pandemic.
The service center is a subsidiary of its main headquarters, Toyota Alabang, which has been running since 1989 and is now in its 35th year of operations.
He then shared: “We want your kids to experience something new. They want them to develop new skills in cars which they learn a lot and eventually become safety leaders. This will be part of their journey of continuous learning and even more develop lifelong skills they can use in the future.”
With this, this writer is just elated to have his kids join the program for a fun and meaningful activity for the whole afternoon.
Personally, this way, even for just a short three-hour workshop, Toyota has already indeed made my job as a dad way a lot easier.
