Auto Extreme back on air

MANILA, Philippines - The program on cars and the motoring lifestyle credited for raising the bar for local car shows on Television, has just turned 8 years old… Auto Extreme celebrated its 8th anniversary with a one of a kind event filled with radical and out-of-the-box competitions for its friends from the motoring media and car manufacturers, at the Subic International Raceway. The fun started right when motoring editors and writers from various broadsheet newspapers and magazines, radio hosts and TV personalities were teamed-up with representatives from Lexus, Hyundai, Toyota and Chevrolet (Ford, Mazda, Subaru and Isuzu joined later in for the celebration), and were made to compete against each other on a series of on-track precision driving and indoor contests with a totally different twist.

It was Castrol GTX who threw Auto Extreme this major anniversary party since they’ve been partners for nearly all of those 8 years that the show’s been on air, so producer/host Ardie Lopez creatively skewed all the activities towards the Car:diology campaign of Castrol GTX, the motor oil that effectively protects one’s car engine against harmful sludge.

Start-stop traffic was cleverly simulated on a precision course that showed Ardie’s mischievous side… drivers had to steer clear of life-sized full-body photos of their media colleagues, which moved from side to side like pedestrians when the competing cars approached. Long rolls of double-chocolate fudge cakes made to simulate sludge were lined-up on a table with an image of an engine’s cross section- and the teams had to “wipe out” as much of them in the shortest time possible… Team Lexus made easy work of this stage. Representatives from the car manufacturers had their chance to max their cars out a bit on the track at the relay race, where they had to perform some simulated oil-change procedures at the shortest intervals possible before they could change drivers. Here, Hyundai’s buffed-up 3.8L V6 Genesis showed its edge.

Everyone got the message that sludge is “car cholesterol” and Castrol GTX is the cure, and that each stage in the event was a clever analogy to get the point across. Point or no point, everyone simply had tons of fun going through all of them. But it was the final stage of the face-off that had everyone laughing out loud and gamely hamming it up for the camera. Each of the teams had to shoot their own version of an Auto Extreme TV intro – with its members acting as host, cameraman, director and script writer. 99.5 RT DJ Tina Ryan blew everyone away with her steamy yet hilarious take on it.

The day was capped-off with a sumptuous dinner buffet and a short awarding ceremony, after which Ardie’s own band Shift performed two rocking sets. With the highest points garnered from all 5 stages of the competition, Team Lexus bagged first place overall, followed by Team Toyota on second place, and Team Chevrolet on third. The cash prizes were simply a bonus on top of the gallons of Castrol GTX each participant received. Despite not making it to the podium, Team Hyundai simply basked in the satisfaction that their Genesis Coupe was the track favorite, as even Castrol Philippines General Manager Mr. Mars Sota requested for a few hot laps around the track in it.

The festivities did not end there however, for after the participants had their relaxing night’s stay at the Subic Yacht Club Hotel, a Fun Bike Ride was held bright and early on the following day. Ariel De Jesus of Subaru/Motor Image Philippines and Edmund Mangaser of All Terra Cyclery facilitated the ride, unloading the bikes from the excellent racks that Thule generously provided. Avid bikers from the motoring media gamely saddled-up and rode through over 20 kilometers of undulating roads and picturesque nature trails with the help of veteran Subic bike guides.

With a jam-packed weekend of thrills, laughs, rock music, competitive drives and a scenic ride, everyone packed up and headed for home teeming with good vibes. The Auto Extreme Media Face-off also ushers-in the program’s return as a bigger and better show, with more exciting content and a new cutting edge format raring to set your Thursday nights ablaze starting this July 29 at 10:00PM on Solar Sports. The only motoring TV show that rocks is definitely back. So mark the date, and – Get In!