Learning from Lasallians: De La Salle University's Automized III Burnout

The DLSU 100Mk2 (Left) and the DLSU 101 (right)

Every time I am in an Ateneo - La Salle game, I always cheer my heart out to the Ateneo. Win or lose! And just like any other Ateneo supporters out there my face would frown for a while when you hear La Salle sings "Hail Hail Hail" first before we sing "Mary for you". But of course, at the end of the day, it's just a game, I still find time to greet and congratulate my friends from De La Salle--win or lose! 

I planned of becoming a Lasallian by taking up BS Industrial Technology Major in Automotive Technology at De La Salle-Dasmarinas, yet fate still leads me to strengthen my knowledge through the Blue and White. But in March 23, 2013, I found myself in a sea of Green Archers for the Automized III: Burnout, the 3rd De La Salle University Car Show. The Automized was organized by the Mechanical Engineering Society of De La Salle University. This is the first university / college organized car show that I covered for this blog. The first Automized car show was in 2011 in celebration of De La Salle University's centennial year.  You may find it unusual but just like how the La Salle brothers strive to educate people, I have gained wisdom from this Lasallian car show. 

Drift Exhibition

Of course with its theme Burnout, this year's Automized was full of adrenaline pumping action as DMF drift and Atoy Customs did tons of drift exhibition at the open area of the venue in Harbor Square, CCP, Pasay City. Atoy's drift team members like Ralph Tan, Gio Rodriguez and Atoy Llave himself showed us the capability of the Atoy's custom drift cars, a Nissan RB25DET powered Mercedes Benz 190E and a Nissan Cefiro with a GT-R R35 body kit. Atoy also exhibited the drifting capabilities of his Hyundai Genesis drift car which he uses in professional drift competitions in the country like the Lateral D.

Kar Montaner of team Turbo Cafe also showed us his drifting skills using his Nissan Silvia S14. Just like his dad Joma, Kar is a talented drifter. He was a previous champion of the Lateral D amateur division.

David Feliciano of DMF Drift, the only Filipino who competes in Formula D Asia wowed the La Salle crowd as he showed professional drift exhibitions in his A31 Nissan Cefiro early in the afternoon. Now, we all know why he is the drift king of the Philippines.

One of the most interesting drift exhibitions was the exhibition that Atoy, Ralph and Gio did around the DLSU Eco Cars. Atoy scared us by almost hitting the Eco Cars, but of course, with his skills, you just have to trust him.

DLSU Eco Cars

I first noticed the DLSU Eco Cars when I went to the booth of the Philippine Autocross Championship Series. I took photos of it at different angles, and really have no plan on focusing this blog about it, but as I was walking around the show, I noticed a familiar face. It's Kyle Mamawal, a fellow United Methodist who is also a De La Salle student and a member of the DLSU Mechanical Engineering Society. Seeing Kyle suddenly gave me interest in the DLSU Eco Car Team and the DLSU 100mk2 and the DLSU 101 Eco cars because I remember finding out that his brother Carl was the pilot of the DLSU Solar Car at the World Solar Challenge while doing a research. At first I thought that those Eco Cars were the new Solar Cars of the De La Salle University.

I approached Kyle and asked him to tell me more about the DLSU Eco Cars, he then introduced me to their beautiful team manager, Ms. Agnes Tan. In a short talk, Agnes told me that the DLSU Eco Cars were actually a gasoline fed, the DLSU 100mk2, and a battery cell powered, the DLSU 101, prototype vehicles. It was designed to compete in the Shell Eco Marathon Asia Competition, which main objective is to let its competitors create a car that will travel hundreds of kilometers using only a liter of fuel or a single charge of a battery cell powered vehicle.

In the 2012 Shell Eco Marathon, the DLSU 100mk2 placed 8th out of 36 teams, achieving 255kms with a liter of unleaded gasoline. While the DLSU 101 placed 7th among 22 teams achieving 270km/kwh (2400.75km/l) in a single charge.


Pinoy Loves Wheels has a special Q & A with Ms. Agnes Tan. Stay tune to this blog to find out more about the DLSU Eco Car Team and its prototype vehicles.

A Lesson Learned

While looking closely at the DLSU 100mk2 and DLSU 101 eco cars, I realized that a school like DLSU strives to create new leaders for our country's future. I am really amazed on how the Eco Cars were made. I also salute the team members and engineers of these Eco Cars by putting precious time in creating these prototypes that could dictate the future of the Filipino transportation industry.

The educators of the College of Engineering of the De La Salle University are doing their best to cultivate young engineers in leading us to sustainable development by guiding them to engineer things we may need in the future such as the DLSU Eco Cars. And because of their contribution to the society through these innovations, I am also inspired to contribute to for the sustainable development of the Philippines especially when it comes to the transportation industry. Hail De La Salle!


(ALL PHOTOS ARE OWNED BY PINOY LOVES WHEELS)