A Jimny in aid of Pawikans
Suzuki is considered the master of the small car. The iconic Jimny—the first generation of which was produced from 1970 to 1981–can be considered the “kei car” of 4x4s, and helped shape its creators’ global image, as it introduced the masses to the fun side of 4×4 vehicles.
I myself, at one point, desired a Jimny for its off-road capability and small car appeal. I know of one lucky lady who is a happy owner of a Jimny—an adventurous nature conservationist, veterinarian, and professor who takes her Jimny off-road on her many missions.
Then, just last Thursday, I reconnected with another female acquaintance whom I hadn’t seen for a long time (for 17 years!). She was one of my sources when I still wrote for the science section of this paper. And now we met again, but in quite different circumstances. Now she, too, revealed that her dream car was a Jimny.
Okay, before I go forward with this story, let me go back a couple of hours before we met, to put things in context. I was part of a large contingent of motoring media who were driving Suzuki Philippines’ up-and-coming model, the Fronx compact crossover (more about the name later). The route for the day started at Suzuki Auto Kalookan along Edsa, proceeding to the Pawikan Conservation Center in Nagbalayong, Morong, Bataan before ending up at the collection of heritage houses and buildings at Las Casas Filipinas Acuzar in Bagac, Bataan. Early during the trip, we were informed that the visit to the Pawikan Conservation Center would also involve a donation of a 3-door Jimny to the Center.
And so, upon arrival at the venue, that was when our group was introduced to the center’s manager Angeline Vigo, my former source, and a long-time admirer of the Jimny.
Now fate, it seems, has led the lady and her dream car to this full-circle moment. Suzuki has also been known for Suzuki Marine’s global Clean Ocean Project, a long-standing commitment to reducing plastic waste and protecting marine ecosystems. Recently, during severe weather disturbances in the Philippines, Suzuki’s marine equipment was used to deliver relief packages to families and communities stranded in their homes, with Suzuki motor boats transporting food and essential goods directly to the affected households.
So, when Suzuki Philippines next turned its attention to Pawikan conservation, the stage was set. Not only did Suzuki adopt 50 Pawikan nests for the Adopt-A-Pawikan program, it also donated a 3-door Jimny.
Vigo, whom I recall I had been interviewing in early 2000s for her efforts in wildlife protection (which included the Pawikan), told the motoring media that Suzuki had been a partner even before she joined the Pawikan Center.
“I remember we had a Suzuki ATV (all-terrain vehicle). For a long time we used that to patrol the shoreline,” said Vigo, who is also the advisor of Bantay Pawikan Inc, the non-government, non-profit organization managing the Pawikan Conservation Center.
“It’s not easy to patrol the shoreline, especially during the typhoon season because on either end of the coastline you have the river meeting the sea. Sometimes the volunteers have to swim to cross that part of the ocean. With the ATV and now with the Jimny, this will help us in rescuing the nests. We have to make sure that the nests are brought (to the Center) within two hours from the time the mother turtle lays them on the shoreline to the time we have to bury them and simulate the nest here in the hatchery,” she continued.
“This donation will go a long way in supporting our volunteers’ work so that they may properly handle the nest and at the same time, when we go to the communities to visit schools to share our mission, we already have a transport service.”
Vigo reiterated her admiration of the Jimny. “This is a dream car for me, personally, and for our group here. We love this vehicle.”
And now a Jimny will love them back as it becomes a new ally in its mission, a fun little 4×4 that’s now meant to help turtles, and not “turn turtle” itself.
Vigo explains the gravity of her group’s work. “It’s important to conserve the Pawikan because all of the Pawikan species in the world are endangered. We hope that with our advocacy here, we would be able to help arrest the decline of the Pawikan population. At the same time, we are sharing our mission with the other community members, not just in Bataan but beyond, because we have schools coming to our center to learn about marine turtle conservation, we have companies like Suzuki Philippines doing CSRs here, and families who bring their children and loved ones to the center to learn about marine turtle and foster love for nature to them.”
Morong Vice Mayor Chermaine L Garcia-Sibug was also present during the turnover, and she expressed her gratitude for the donation.
The vehicle turnover was headed by Suzuki Philippines’ Norihide Takei (director and general manager for automobile), Odessa Osorio Gan (auto marketing department head), Jeff Lopez (brand communications group head), Kennedy Adia (product planning group head) and Ira Gabriel Valte (auto sales group head).
Takei said, “We chose the Pawikan Conservation Center for its advocacy of protecting marine life and the environment, which strongly aligns with Suzuki’s own values. Through this donation, we at Suzuki Philippines support the center’s mission of protecting the Pawikan and raising awareness among communities. The Jimny, with its durability and capability to navigate challenging terrains, will help the team conduct conservation work and education programs.”
The Jimny turnover at the Pawikan Conservation Center served as the meaningful break to the fuel economy competition with the Fronx hybrid variant during the trip. Fuel economy runs have become a tradition for Suzuki Philippines in its media ride-and-drives, as this showcases the fuel efficiency of the brand’s entire vehicle lineup.
We were in 20 units of the SGX hybrid automatic transmission variant. The Fronx is scheduled for launch on Sept. 12.
Upon arrival at Las Casas Filipinas de Acuzar, I was immediately approached by a visitor, who asked me if he could test drive the Fronx himself. He approached us again the next day when we were about to leave for Manila. What immediately drew him to the Fronx, he said, was the strong SUV-cum-coupe styling.
I’ll write more about the new Fronx and my drive impressions of Suzuki Philippines’ newest addition to its lineup next week.
