ON the road, we encounter motorists with varying driving habits that are sometimes irritating and can cause our temper to flare.

At such times, the No. 1 rule is that you must keep your cool. It’s a tip that my own father Paquito taught me even before I learned how to drive.

My father learned to drive during the prewar era and had to earn a living to support a brood of more than a dozen. When we were young, he used to tell us stories of how cars evolved in Manila and how he learned to drive at a young age.

No, he didn’t teach me how to drive because he saw me as a young guy who can easily be provoked. “And that’s very dangerous when you are driving on the street,” I still vividly remember him saying every time I asked.

In college, a classmate took me for a ride in his ragtag Volkswagen buggy. It had no air-conditioning unit. My shirt was dripping with perspiration, which is why I decided not to attend my afternoon classes at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila in Intramuros. Despite that, it was a fruitful day since I learned how to drive inside a subdivision in Balut, Tondo, where my classmate lived.

After my classmate gave me the wheel, I got it rolling in no time at all. Another hour or so passed and we were cruising the main road.

I did not tell my father about it until one day, when he was in bed and stricken with cancer. He cautioned me not to be hard-headed and avoid being provoked while driving. Long after he died, those same words are still in my mind whenever I drive.

In these days of endless traffic and with lots of “maniacs” prowling the streets 24 hours a day, however, it’s difficult not to be provoked.

I still remember those days when I started joining the annual Honda Media Challenge spearheaded by Arnel Doria, the then vice president for marketing of Honda Cars Philippines Inc., who is now the general manager of the Honda Safety Driving Center. Vip Isada was the race director and chief instructor of the event.

“Coach” Vip’s instruction was invaluable. Not only did I learn to drive straight and correctly, I was also given the same advice of my father “to be cool and be patient.”  I also realized that all the things I learned from my classmate were all wrong.

After seven straight years in the Honda Media Challenge (in the last two editions the BusinessMirror team finished runner-up in the team competition) and various driving clinics and competitions under several top drivers here and even abroad, I still cannot say I am a “complete driver.” I can, however, safely say that I can now handle my temper when I’m behind the wheel.

I have seen a lot of drivers, especially young ones, who are easily irritated and get involved in street altercations.

This is the problem when youngsters are not taught to be “cool and patient when driving.” In the Philippines, as soon as kids learn how to drive, they apply for a license and are left on their own. In many states in the US, teens are not given the freedom to drive on their own until such time they have the full confidence and good character to be left on their own behind the wheel. I hope this is also followed strictly here….

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KIA’S Tere de Jesus-Garcia called up one day and discussed their new promotion in town, which is very attractive especially for those who want to change their old cars and buy new ones.

She said Columbian Autocar Corp. (CAC), the manufacturer and distributor of Kia vehicles in the country which is headed by Felix Mabilog Jr., is continuing with its campaign to bring its multiawarded, practical, ever-efficient and value-for-money automotive models to the public with the Kia Trade-Up Deals.

Selling your old car in order to buy a new one is somewhat complicated and time-consuming since there are many secondhand vehicles that are in the market. With Kia Trade-Up Deals, “it makes it so much easier to upgrade to a brand-new Kia.”

All private vehicles, regardless of brand and model, in good, running condition may be appraised at all authorized Kia dealerships nationwide. They can even have them appraised with a third party if they think they can haggle for a higher price, then bring the appraisal papers to Kia.

“The program shortens the buying process by taking in the customer’s used vehicle and applying the trade-in value toward the purchase of any brand-new Kia Rio, Sportage, Sorento, Carnival or K2700. Customers are assured that the best and maximum appraisal value will be applied to each used vehicle brought in for the program, definitely an incentive to all customers,” she said.

With Kia’s Trade-Up Deals, CAC aims to sustain the rapid growth it has been experiencing to the latter half of the year, in spite of rising fuel cost and overall slowdown of the industry. Based on the latest report from the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers in the Philippines Inc., CAC reported a sales jump of 75 percent from January to June 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, the highest growth reported in the industry, laying claim for CAC to be the fastest-growing automotive brand in the country.

WHEN the Mazda 6 was first introduced, consumers deemed it as a penultimate or last option for the executive-sedan arena. Since then it has made much noise (such as being 2005 Philippine Car of the Year), but with stiff competition being introduced of late, can it be considered a contender?

THIS writer’s younger sister owns a 2006 version while his younger brother has the 2005 one (his youngest brother owns a D-Max). And, you know, they all keep their Isuzu Crosswind Sportivos even when there are tens of other fascinating SUVs out there in the market, some of them a bit cheaper. The entire family knows they are good. But are they keepers?

Eyes on the Road: Be cool behind the wheel

ON the road, we encounter motorists with varying driving habits that are sometimes irritating and can cause our temper to flare.

At such times, the No. 1 rule is that you must keep your cool. It’s a tip that my own father Paquito taught me even before I learned how to drive.

HAS the Word War between the Manila Electric Co.’s (Meralco) Geny Lopez and the Government Service Insurance System’s (GSIS) Winston Garcia deteriorated into a Wasted Win?

THIS one is really small, but it comes huge in more ways than one.

It is fast, really fast. Easily, it can tackle 120 kph without much rpm.

It is spacious, as it can fit in five adults with much ease.

AN innovative and new technology for cleaning a car’s fuel system and engine internals has been introduced by All-Inclusive Sales Inc., a leading distributor of motor-vehicle components in the country today, as part of its various car-care solutions.