Motormouth: New car launches could be nice weekend activities for the family, but the members of said family should not behave badly

Dealership car debuts are not open invitations to inconsiderate “potential customers” and their badly-behaved brood.

[Story by guest columnist J.Q Qiu]

A sure sign that most car-loving residents of Metro Manila don't have enough to occupy their time during weekends was illustrated by an event that was recounted to me. 

A premium luxo-barge was launched, and accompanying its first appearance in Philippines were several social-media blitzes that drew attention to the fact that the car would be in town for a very limited time only and could be viewed at the dealership showroom.

Apart from locally-organised motor shows such as Manila Auto Show, the nearest that most enthusiasts from outside the motor industry would ever get to coming up close and personal with the latest models is at these infrequent showroom debuts and the random roadshows in shopping malls. 

But rather than exercising any care and consideration regarding the “handling” of such cars, many of these weekend warriors feel that as potential customers, they're automatically awarded a caveat to behave as they please, even if their potential to purchase the car in question is as low as them winning the lottery first prize.

The head of the household tends to lug around his extended family on these time-killing, time-wasting excursions under the pretext of "new car shopping". 

The children, helpers and even granny herself are encouraged to prod and poke every orifice of the car to their heart's content. These “reviewers” also slam the doors/boot/glovebox, press every possible button, leave their fingerprints on the touchscreen, and finally kick the tires before moving on to the next available vehicle on the showroom floor. 

The family outing gets even better if the car launch event has a generous spread of food on offer, because that's brunch, lunch and high tea all rolled into one trip for the whole clan to enjoy! 

This joker was among the "potential customers" who hit the showroom with family in tow.