THE CHOICE IS OURS
The Auto Focus People’s Choice Awards is one of the most popular voting programs for one of the most favorite objects of just about everyone’s lives — the car. We Filipinos love our cars and we love to pick our favorites, both with our wallets and with our votes.
But there is another aspect of the Auto Focus Awards — and that is the Media’s Choice. It’s an exercise the local motoring media look forward to and enjoy participating in. We get to test just about every car available on the market. And we find ourselves in a unique position to evaluate and judge the cars based on both objective and subjective parameters.
It is in this ve ry scenario that a Media’s Choice Award gets very interesting. At some times, it can virtually mirror the results of the People’s Choice Awards. In others, it can be the exact opposite. This randomness and unpredictability is the very essence of human nature — which is the beauty of such awards.
This year, the media were asked to choose their picks in the aspects of safety, value for money, engine performance, and design. There were nine sub- categories reflecting the various size categories for cars, SUVs, vans, and pickups for both standard and luxury brands.
Needless to say, the winners were as varied as the diversity of choices and the diversity of the individual preferences of each media voter. Still, in a way, I am not so surprised with the turnout of winners. Perhaps it’s the sheer length of time ( 20 years and counting) that I have been testing cars and working together with many of my colleagues. I can almost predict what each of them look for in any particular automobile.
It’s also a reflection of the overall capability and competence of the auto industry. Cars have improved tremendously — regardless of their country of origin — that comparing which is better than the other is like comparing two legendary athletes. There’s just no right or wrong choice anymore.
Still, some ownership experiences may be better with one brand than another. But long- term use is something we in the media are unable to experience — unless we buy all the cars we test.
But that’s the way of automotive journalism — here and in other countries — regardless of whether you’re in a newspaper, a magazine, a TV program, or a radio show.
In the end, the best car wins — at least almost always. Because there are still so many great and wonderful cars out there just waiting to be discovered. Hopefully we can bring word of those cars to you in an article or a TV or radio segment sooner rather than later. As members of the media, that is the difference we want to make — because the informed consumer is a powerful consumer.
Cars have improved tremendously — regardless of their country of origin — that comparing which is better than the other is like comparing two legendary athletes.