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T I D B I T S F E A T U R E |
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By
Jason Ang |
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If you had just taken delivery of a brand new Ford truck or SUV—Ranger, F-150, Expedition, or Explorer Sport Trac—then the last place you'd probably take it is to a place where it can be pummeled by rocks, crash into a riverbank or get buried in lahar. That's exactly what Ford asks its customers to do when it sends them invitations to the Ford Outfitters Run. The Outfitters Run is an offroading experience designed to let Ford 4x4 vehicle owners experience exactly what their trucks can do off the beaten tarmac. Although Ford described it as "light offroading," anything more severe than parking-lot gravel would seem extreme for us offroading virgins. Our vehicle was also a virgin—we were behind the wheel of a brand-new panther-black Ranger 4x4 XLT, courtesy of Ford Motor Philippines. For a couple of days, we had put the Ranger through city duties, both as passenger car and truck, ferrying people, tables, tents and other equipment, but we suspected that it would truly be in its element come Outfitters on Sunday. As the sun dawned over Pampanga, about 50 km north of Manila, the Outfitters group assembled at Max's San Fernando—a glittering array of thirty-three Ford 4x4s. As luck—or rather our own brilliance—would have it, we ended up at the wrong Max's and had to high-tail it to the correct branch at 130 km/h. Not that our Ranger complained about it; it was surprisingly willing and capable of such highway runs, and we soon arrived at the assembly point. As we stared at the brilliant paintwork, particularly the two bright yellow Pinatubo editions, we thought that this would be the last time that day that we'd see them spotless. We were pleasantly surprised to see that the other participants weren't wrestler-type hardcore offroaders, or taciturn Finns ready for the Thousand Lakes Rally, as we had pictured the group to be (due to an overactive imagination). They were warm, friendly folks, composed mostly of families, complete with moms and kids, who wanted to enjoy a break from the mall for once. And tear up some chunks of volcanic debris before lunch. As we gobbled down our hearty breakfast, the people from Ford Group Philippines explained some of the basics of offroading. Don't grip the steering wheel from the inside; a sudden twist of the wheel can sprain your wrist. When crossing a muddy path, keep the vehicle moving. A white flag means stop, and yellow means switch to 4x4 mode. Our appetites were whetted even more. We were assigned our numbers—we were vehicle No. 27. We almost felt the spirit of Gilles Villenueve stir a fire in our bellies. Overactive imagination again; it was more likely the longganisa. With some effort we reminded ourselves that we wouldn't be going anywhere near Monaco, this was not a race and we wouldn't be doing any qualifying laps today. |
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