The 18th edition of TMP’s Road Trek goes back to where it all started
Toyota Motor Philippines has just successfully concluded another edition of the always-anticipated Road Trek, an annual road trip with the motoring media that showcases the leading automakers’ vehicles and the top tourism draws of the chosen locations. This year has been dominated by Toyota’s hybrid models that took us around the northern portions of Panay Island, culminating in a touchdown in the world-class island paradise of Boracay.
Road Trek began in 2005, when then TMP corporate communications officer Ariel de Jesus first thought of the “Road Trek” name. “I remember it started as a challenge for us to do something different. We initially proposed a Manila to Ilocos trip but the bosses then found it too lame or ordinary as other companies were doing it already. As far as I can recall, it was a play on the word ‘Road Trip’,” Ariel described in a DM.
Elijah Marcial, who’s just been promoted to first vice president for vehicle sales operations, was with Ariel’s group when they hatched the first Road Trek. “When we launched the Innova in 2005, it was perceived to be ‘soft.’ Coming from the Revo, the Innova was viewed as not so rugged. So, when we were talking about a driving event to test and showcase how tough it was because, technically, it’s an IMV (Innovative International Multipurpose Vehicle) platform, the Road Trek was born. We wanted to test different driving conditions. Different road conditions in different parts of the country.”
The location of that inaugural Road Trek? On Panay Island, and then to Boracay.
And so, after 20 years, (excluding 2020 and 2021 because of the pandemic), Road Trek 18 goes full circle, and sees the members of the motoring media getting re-acquainted with the stunning beaches of the island paradise.
I’ve been to some of these Road Treks, and no two trips are the same, and always, each is always one for the books.
I got the chance to talk to TMP’s affable president Masando Hashimoto, who was all smiles during our stay on the island, and he shared some pretty interesting insights on what these trips could really mean for the world’s number one carmaker.
Masando-san talked about the 5 Continents Drive Project, wherein a team of Toyota engineers and employees drove certain car models through all sorts of conditions in the world’s five continents (North and South America, Africa, Asia and Europe) in order to gather real-world driving data and better understand how vehicles perform under different conditions. Their mission was to explore potential product improvements via more deeply informed and more-involved team members. The project—initiated by then-president of Toyota Motor Corp Akio Toyoda—covered a total of 111,500 km, starting from Australia in 2014 and concluding in Japan in 2020.
“On the road, we learn how to make ever-better cars,” Masando-san summed up that project. That has also become the Toyota Gazoo Racing slogan.
The Road Trek could be seen as a much scaled-down form of that 5 Continents Drive Project, but it has given us a glimpse of how Toyota as a relentless carmaking juggernaut views every kilometer its vehicles run on every road (or trail). Every trip, no matter how seemingly repetitive, is a learning experience.
This time, from April 23 to 25, the Road Trek saw our group of 28 media participants on board 9 vehicles consisting of the Corolla Altis GR-S HEV, the Camry HEV, Zenix HEV, the Corolla Cross G HEV, the Corolla Cross GR-S HEV, the Alphard HEV, the Yaris Cross HEV, the RAV4 HEV and the Zenix V (gasoline), with several support vehicles, including the Veloz, Hilux GR-S, Yaris Cross V (gasoline), four Hiace and two Hilux vehicles. Notice the predominance of hybrid variants being used, marking the growth and evolution of new energy vehicles in Toyota’s roster.
I was part of the trio composed of Top Gear Philippines’ Dinzo Tabamo and Car Guide Philippines’ Ulysses Ang. On my part, I drove the Corolla Cross HEV GR Sport along the scenic and winding roads of northern Panay Island, a nearly 100-km stretch, registering a fuel efficiency of 17.6 km/liter.
Masando-san attributes Road Trek’s success throughout the two decades to two things: The irresistible opportunity to drive outside of Metro Manila, and the bonds formed between car executives and media during those trips.
“Road conditions in Metro Manila—our day to day driving—is not so fun. The joy of driving is not there. Whenever we want to experience the fun part of driving, we have to go to the province. The other part of the fun is the media and executives travel, drive together, dine and bond in activities. We establish relationships, camaraderie with the media,” he observed.
Masando-san says the Road Trek provides the opportunity for every participant to ask everything to Toyota executives, from the good, to the not-so-good. “When we get to know each other in the long run, we have mutual trust and respect.”
“Akio thinks media communication is key. He now has his own social media channels like YouTube. In Japan, he now has a lot of media friends, from newspapers to websites. He is building deeper bonds with journalists. He sets the record straight with the media, in case fake news spreads. He calls the media guardians and allies,” Masando-san stressed.
