Exploring Alternative Concepts for a Filipino Car

Abstract

I am not an automotive engineer, i do not belong to the automotive industry, not a mover and shaker just an aficionado. I just found a reason to build my car because the service vehicle that I was provided in 1994—a Fiat Uno —had no more spare parts, since Francisco Motors terminated its contract with ItalCar in 1996. In the process of maintaining that car, I was introduced to the native genius of Filipino mechanics and auto tradesmen. The competence of these workers was on the practical, not on the theoretical side. They learned their trades through apprenticeship greasy, grimy, hands-on experience. The older workers never had a Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) or a vocational school to train and certify them, but they were good. These are Filipinos who simply have a natural passion for making things work and making things run.