[repost] Top Gear Philippines Magazine, ...with the new editor in chief.

[caloyski5]

GH,

thanks for posting my post here sa TGP forum. ang tagal dumating ng email for activations sa TGP forum e.

sir AutoXer,

nothing personal chief, as a member (5 years) and officer (4 years) of Protogetech Philippines, i really , really felt it was below the belt.

a simple google of protegetech can link you to www.protegetech.org (to educate the writer maybe) and may have avoided any below the belt remarks. konting research lang sana e...

sayang, i always buy this mag and the other c(!)ar mag for my shop pa naman. .

[vinj]

Next is our collective effort of writing. Car enthusiasts deluded enough to believe they have the talent to write, can always decide to become motoring journalists...... that a car mag - in order to succeed - needs legitimate writers not car enthusiasts."

This line in his very first EIC editorial personally got my goat. Although it was not perfect i had respect for the TG before since it was headed by a car enthusiast whom a lot of the local car guys knew and this guy was someone who would gladly get his hands dirty on the track, in the garage and on the roadside just for the heck of helping out and enjoying the work. The Nissanbayan guys (as outdated as our site is.. :P...) were damn proud to have our founder as the 1st EIC of TG Phils since we all knew what he had inside his car-junky head and that anyone who knows him personally can see that he has remained consistent on and off the pages of TG.

The Protegetech line really seems below the belt (who wrote the article BTW? I don't have the TG issue :P)... a lot of us here have our own respective car group/club "homes" which we grew up in and I firmly believe no outsider has the write (pardon the pun :P) to just make any careless comments - no matter how "harmless" they may say it is. For us sensitive Filipinos it can be akin to dissing one's own family name.

On the last page (rear end?) writer... I'll just say that James Deakin is waaay better with his last pager on C!

Let's just hope that the comments being brought up now (as negative as they may be) can help shed some light on what the car enthusiasts want locally... although it is hard trying to please all parties right? (the consumer, the car enthusiasts, the "deluded enthusiasts" and the pockets of the advertisers amongst some).

[OTEP]

I don't buy TGP anymore also...bale wala naman siguro sa kanilang mabawasan ng isa pang reader.

Besides, they can't criticize cars nor take criticism from auto enthusiasts.

Para sa kanila magkaiba ang 'writer' at ang 'enthusiast'.

O well, bahala na sila sa buhay nila.

[BlueBimmer]

nice reply by GH * TGP board.

[vinj]

BTW guys, dig this... I heard from the grape vine that TGP EIC V.B.Sarne was inquiring about a certain "GhostHunter". I guess my comments are getting heard.

Just tell him to visit his friendly neighborhood Khaos dealer.

[Auto_Xer]

GH,

thanks for posting my post here sa TGP forum. ang tagal dumating ng email for activations sa TGP forum e.

sir AutoXer,

nothing personal chief, as a member (5 years) and officer (4 years) of Protogetech Philippines, i really , really felt it was below the belt.

a simple google of protegetech can link you to www.protegetech.org (to educate the writer maybe) and may have avoided any below the belt remarks. konting research lang sana e...

sayang, i always buy this mag and the other c(!)ar mag for my shop pa naman. .

No need to call me sir, Caloyski. We're all the same here.
As I stated in the PTP forum, I'll find out what I can.
Have you read the article in question?
I haven't, at least not as it's said to have appeared in the July 2006 issue of Top Gear Phils.

[Black Sentra]

There is a big lesson that we should learn from this.

As true blooded car enthusiasts, we should take this whole debacle as a wake up call. We have come a long way as a consumer force but there is still a lot of work to do before we, as enthusiasts, get the respect that we deserve.

Many car makers, shops and possibly some old-guard journalists would probably like nothing more than to see our influence minimized, our voice silenced. They can do this by portraying us as the noisy wheel, the loud minority. They can accuse us of being spoiled brats, forever crying “Mommy!” when we don’t get what we want. They can call our knowledge and experience irrelevant to mainstream motoring. And you know what? They can get away with it.

How can they do that? Sadly, we have unwittingly made it easier for them to marginalize us. We are partly to blame.

Consider this - we definitely know much more about cars than the average Joe and so we end up talking like everyone else is an idiot. Ok we don’t really do that, but it is easy for a non-enthusiast eavesdropping on our internet banter to get the impression that we are arrogant, brash, uncouth and overly-opinionated SOBs. You guys know what I mean!

There is also the issue of our modified rides. They can charge that our preoccupation with vroom-vroom and bling-bling makes our opinion irrelevant to the general motoring public. We do love to talk about modifying our rides, but in truth, the vast majority of our ranks drive bone-stock vehicles.

Clearly we need to do something. We need to take our influence to the next level – into the mainstream, not as “deluded car enthusiasts”, but as what we really are, representatives of the majority of car consumers. The car manufacturers want OUR money, and so do the magazines, so it is high time that they listen.

How do we do this?

Here’s a good place to start. Stop being anonymous. If you cannot put your name behind your opinion, then don’t bother venturing one. I realize that as creatures of the internet, we hardly fret about anonymity, but if we want to be respected in the mainstream, then we cannot allow ourselves to be accused of cloaking our identities. Anonymity dilutes our message.

Secondly, support those who support us. There are car makers out there that really do care about what enthusiasts want – if they do listen to us, then we should buy their cars! There are shops and casas that bend over backwards to accommodate us – we should bring our cars to them! There are magazines out there that listen to enthusiasts – if so, then buy their mags! We have to back our words with action.

And lastly, be responsible with the power that we have. We are in a position to cause a lot of harm so we need to be circumspect with our every word and action. By ranting over every issue, big or small, we only discredit ourselves. Unless called for, let us not let loose the dogs of war lest we be accused of crying wolf.

We really did let this all happen by allowing them to marginalize us. Now it is time for us to do something about it.

Mike Black

[caloyski5]

No need to call me sir, Caloyski. We're all the same here.
As I stated in the PTP forum, I'll find out what I can.
Have you read the article in question?
I haven't, at least not as it's said to have appeared in the July 2006 issue of Top Gear Phils.

nyah, i always sir people who i come to respect

[Flagg]

Uh... no offense to M. Black, but, just as we are entitled to our opinions (and desire for privacy), so is M. Sarne (pls understand that my previous comment on M. Sarne's being in the public domain is only with regard to his writing/journalism). Therefore, we all live with the consequences of our opinions.

The opinions here are from consumers directed to a supplier. The supplier (M. Sarne) has voiced out his own opinions. Consequences: as consumers, some extra reading material may be lost. As a supplier, M. Sarne loses some consumers. As simple as that.

Personally, I feel neither marginalized, nor the need for activism, and yes, I get lots of respect... from people who matter: those who know. There are always service providers willing to provide value for my buck, and I would just as well shun those who would shun me. All simple economics.

Once again, if anybody feels that someone's opinion is irrelevant... then that somebody will reap the consequences thereof. The only time proof is required is when a statement is meant to be factual, then you state your name and references. Opinions are just that... opinions, they are not fact.

Peace to all.

[Djerms]

TGP = Wala na kwenta para sakin ang mag nila. Nanghihiram nalang ako sa mga kaibigan ko. Now I buy !C. At least its less full of $h!t! haha.

Vernon Sarne nagtanggal pa ng shades...la naman pinagbago...puro porma ala naman binatbat!