Hey people thought some of you would be interested in what i've been involved with here while in the philippines...

A Hummer h1 alpha JR look-a-like and a JEEP roadster!!!


I am almost forgetting about my XF back home... especially with the tranny problem...

JEEP ROADSTER













In front of our home


where they were built... me, my wifey and two couisins

 

Josh, thanks for the photos. I'm certainly not what you would call a world traveler by any means. But the few times I have been out of the country, I spent as much time looking at the unusual vehicles as I did site seeing.
What's with the people of the Philippines and their love affair with "Jeep Like" vehicles?
It seems as though every time I see anything on TV about the Philippines, those mini jeeps are everywhere. If it's because they have rough roads to contend with, why do their "Jeep and Hummer replicas" look so fragile?
Didn't spot any Matadors did ya?

 

They are converted Jeeps used for cheap public transportation... http://jeepney.area51.ipupdater.com/

 

Thanks Ben for the history lesson, I had completely forgot why there were so many of them over there.
I wonder if old habits die hard, and maybe that's why the new "mini jeeps" are so popular.

 

andrew... thanx 4 the welcome but i am still in the philippines...
back in the states next week...

+fireamx & ben47...

the pix you posted are genuine JEEPNEYS... the front end that resembles the jeep are copies... original jeeps are still around but very expensive here...for the collector.

as far as structure they are far from frail... the body is all galvanized steel so "door DINGS" really do not exist here... frame work and chassis are built like tanks!!! no air bags though!!!

as for the filipino's love affair with our JEEP it did start from WWII with the USA leaving behind many jeeps for the country's reformation.

then during the Viet Nam war another surge of jeeps came into the philippines.

however 95% that are on the road are replicas... galvanized steel replicas. and the owners of these vehicles personalize them...
everyday here i feel like i am in the middle of a NASCAR race with all these painted/decorated jeepneys...

in reference to "cheap" mode of transport... it is not. it is proportionate to what we pay to ride a bus or train or taxi...
but... it is cheap for us with dollars... the dollar does go a long way here!

MATADOR!!! my wife and i did spot one in 2003!!! up in manila...

but i am always looking for that AMX!!!

i look in the papers here and there are 1966 mustangs... '68, '69 camaros... muscle cars in general!!! and they are cheap! they have no engines/tranny... i am looking into sending some of them back to the US with customs and all that...

anyway i will be back in december and ... no joke... i am looking into making/having family build it based on my designs... a car that resembles the crossfire for our stay during christmas... hehehehehhahaha... can't wait...

thanks all for the interest...
josh

 

You are correct, it is cheap for those of us having $$$, I should of clarified my statement. Been up and down Fields Ave many a times in them... and don't forget the trykes ha ha ha, those were the days.

 

Dad... um Xfire1 (heeheehee)

I am hoping you will bring a baby hummer back to new york for me to drive to school! Or you drive the baby Hummer and i will take the Crossfire!

Matt

 

Well after our trip, i am now catching up with what i missed here on the forum...

+FIREAMX... M.

BEN...

OVER THERE IN ASIA... A VERY LONG WAY FROM HOME, IT WAS NICE TO SEE POSTS FROM YOU GUYS... IN A WAY IT KIND OF GROUNDED ANY HOMESICKNESS I HAD FOR THE CROSSFIRE... IT BROUGHT ME JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER TO IT, HALF A WORLD AWAY... SO I THANK YOU!

BUT I WILL TELL YOU, OVER THERE (PHILIPPINES) I NEVER SUFFER FROM CULTURE SHOCK AS THE FILIPINOS L O V E AMERICA/ AMERICANS!

AS BEN BROUGHT UP THE JEEPNEY AND TRYKES( BY THE WAY WHERE IS FIELDS AVE?), MOST PAY RESPECT TO AMERICA IN SOME WAY! FLAGS/ NBA/NFL MLB/NASCAR/NIKE/ US TOWN/STATE STICKERS/ US LICENSE PLATES ARE DISPLAYED PROUDLY ON THEIR COLORFUL VEHICLES... (THIS COUNTRY IS THE OR THIRD OR FORTH LARGEST ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRY IN THE WORLD... NOT SURE IF IT BEATS OUT BRITAIN!!!... I FORGET...)

AND THE MUSIC ON THE AIRWAVES... 50'S 60'S 70'S 80'S MUSIC SEEM TO BE THE POPULAR CHOICES THERE IN STORES/RADIO/ AND HOMES...

WHEN WE FLEW INTO MANILA WE CAME IN WITH A CATEGORY 4 TYPHOON AT 12:00 AM! TALK ABOUT BUMPY! IF THE XF TIRE PRINTS "HUNT" ON IMPERFECT ROADS, THIS PLANE WAS VIOLENTLY "ABDUCTED" BY THE TURBULENCE AS WE FLEW IN!!!

ANYWAY THANKS AGAIN... GOOD TO BE BACK.
J.

ps

MY WIFE AND I STARTED A PILOT PROJECT THERE, SETTING UP A COMPUTER STUDY CENTER (7 PCs AND MONITORS AND A FEW COPIERS/FAX /SCANNERS FOR STUDENTS IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL... TO USE FREE OF CHARGE AS LONG AS ITS FOR THEIR STUDIES... AS MANY KIDS DO NOT HAVE ACCESS (IN THE PROVINCE, WHERE WE STAY) TO THE INTERNET... IF ALL GOES WELL WE WILL START A FEW OF THEM PER YEAR...

 

Angeles City, Field's Avenue is a bar strip where many young American GI's stationed at Clark AB learned the facts of life ("I love you long time GI, with my plastic heart"). Also a big R&R destination for troops during the Viet Nam era, also home to a large group of overweight Aussie's trying to relive their youth. The area has somehow survived the closing of Clark Air Base and remains an R&R retreat for unaccompanied men who enjoy cold San Miguel beer and...

 

Oh ok yes i heard of Angeles City not fields ave though... and i am familiar with the "culture" there. heheheh... and of course the reigning king of beers...San Miguel!

B

of the 10 times or so that i have been there, i have only been in manila once! (excluding riding from or to the airport)... all my time has been spent in the province... perhaps alot of that is due to my wife's family living 1 1/2 south of manila in a town called Cuenca where there is a volcano in the middle of a lake which scientists suspect (the lake) of being another volcano... so this would be the only Volcano inside a volcano on this planet! it is called taal.

what years were you there?

j

the last few trips, a few drivers have allowed me to drive these jeepneys/trykes... ohhh the faces/smiles i get when i go zipping through the streets...

 

Between 3 to 6 times a year from '85 to '90. I was stationed in Okinawa with the AWACS squadron there. We used to fly down for a two week war game exercise every quarter and then there were the typhoon evacuations.

And yes, San Miquel is the King of Beer...