Top Gear Philippines November 2008 Issue

Photos Owned by Top Gear Philippines
Top Gear PH Photoshoot (november 2008 issue - car club of the month)

No Boys Allowed

It isn’t all about coffee and tsismis with this group of regal leading ladies

WHEN DOING THIS PAGE, we always find it fun to mingle with guys who like to look at what’s under each other’s hood and compare. It’s rife with the Freudian meaning, but that’s what car meets are normally like.

When we met with the members of AutoMujeresPinas (AMP), an all-girl car club (‘mujeres’ is Spanish for ‘women’), the topics were—as expected—not exclusively about cars. In fact, at the end of the interview, I barley remembered anything related to cars. One member even talked about her family condemns her AMP activities and how she deals with this disapproval.

Then an overcompensating Japanese hot rod blazed by, and the girls’ heads snapped  to look in the direction of the attention-deprived hatch—in that rapt manner a man exhibits when he tries to determine what’s under the hood of a car based on the sound alone. Ah, we’re in the right place.

AMP started in August 2006 by Bridget ‘G’ Aparicio, a member Mitsu Lancer Club of the Philippines, and Jacquiline Corpuz, A week later, Arlett Montinola joined them and form the triumvirate that would become the nucleus of the AMP. Of course, pink was one obvious choice for the official club color, but that was just too cliché. So G chose gold because it is the color of royalty. From the trio of G, Jacqui and Arlett, the AMP community had grown to a total of 34 full-pledged members and 12 neophytes by the time of meeting.
Like their male counterparts, AMP pushes for camaraderie with other male car clubs, exchange of ideas, road safety, and catching up with each other’s life every Thursday at their hangout in Starbucks Corinthian Hills. Whatever they’re advocating, it sure works with the guys because almost 75 percent of their members are in a relationship. I asked Arlett about this fact. “Don’t Ask me; It’s complicated,” she replied.

To be an AMP member, girls have to attend at least four activities like grand EBs, Joint EBs with other car clubs, or the weekly Thursday coffee meets. During weekly club meets, the topics mostly center on their professional lives, how to improve AMP, and the universal female theme of gossip and love. The club color may be gold, but the vibe during this interview was definitely pink. I asked about their joint EBs with other car clubs, and although they wouldn’t give specifics, their faces lit up when queried about which car club had the most good-looking members.

Looking at their rapport, it was obvious that sisterhood is the oil that keeps the AMP engine running. “We focus more on friendship,” Arlett said. That doesn’t mean the club is not without its share of difficulties. No one wants a club built on hypocrisy, and G said one of her biggest challenges was setting all the inevitable differences and contrasting personalities.

“As expected, the girls have different ideas that they want to see come to fruition. I tell them I listen to everybody, but not all the inputs can be implemented, “G added.
In the future, the AMP ladies plan on continuing showing off their rides at car shows, going on road trips together, and doing outreach programs. But we sense that the coffee chats they have every week—the most female of their activities—will always have special place in their hearts. –Top Gear Philippines