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Land Rover Club of the Philippines
Land Rover has landed
Vehicles that can go anywhere, go to just one club
Words by Dinzo Tabamo, Photography by Erick Lirios
Usually, the shortest slogans are the ones that make the most sense. When I met off-road editor Robby Consunji for the first time, he was wearing his formal garb. Unlike the polo barong and slacks he wears for his lawyering hobby, he was dressed in khaki Land Rover polo shirt and pants, trail shoes, and that grin all off-roaders wear. Typical attire for someone with an off-road practice. One thing caught my attention. There were four words emboidered on his shirt: 'One Life, Live It'.
The Land Rover motto effectively captures living vicariously, to (literally) take the path least traveled. It was only natural for individuals who embraced life with such alacrity to find each other and form a club.
The seeds were sown in 1998, after some Land Rover owners trailed to Mount Pinatubo. After that successful run, a drive was initiated by the founding members to recruit as many Land Rover owners as possible before formally organizing a club. In December 1999, they did. As the millennium ended, the Land Rover Club of the Philippines was formed.
If most car clubs seem like college soirees, then the Land Rover Club looks like it's composed of the other clubs' kuyas and fathers. Besides that, the only other common denominator among the group is a prerequisite—ownership of a Land Rover vehicle.
It can be said that these men were brought together by a love for the British off-road brand. In attendance for this shoot were the undying Series/Defender trucks (see our Used Car section for a more detailed review)—including a 1965 Series II owned by Macoy Villa Agustin who had inherited it from his father—several Discoverys, and some very well-maintained Classic Range Rovers (first-generation). Seeing all the Rovers lined up, we sense there is a discernable genetic link, yet the vehicles are at the same time very different.
The Series/Defender vehicles clearly showed how little the vehicle changed over time. We could only see as far back as 1965, via Macoy's unit, but the current Defender can trace its roots back to over 50 years of evolution of the same basic design.
While generally resistant to design age, the Discos looked the most out-of-their-time because of their basic lines and bland styling. While the Series/Defender vehicles looked ready to jump in the mud anytime and some had had very extensive modification, the Classic Range Rovers were a sight to behold in their pristine condition. They looked as elegant as the day they stepped out of the showroom.
It's a good thing we set a generous amount of time for the shoot. These were clearly people who valued their freedom to go anywhere, at any time, as evidenced by their choice of vehicle. One vehicle, one club, one life.
For more information, visit www.landroverclub.ph.
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Top Gear Philippines - July 2007
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