Ford Motor Company were very “bullish” at the Motor Show, inviting drivers to fully experience life with “No Boundaries.” FoMoCo had 5 models on display, including the Ford Laser Tierra with a variety of 1.6 l and 1.8 l engines. This mid-range sedan has been upgraded to offer a touch of luxury with greater comfort, improved safety standards (now with disc brakes on the rear as well), and a full scale of entertainment equipment. These vehicles are being made in the Philippines, as part of the trade agreement whereby the Philippines will export the cars which will come in under a low tariff, while Thailand becomes the hub for pick-ups and will export the Ranger to the Philippines, amongst other countries.

Prominent on the Ford stand (since we make them down here on the Eastern Seaboard) was the Ford Ranger XLS now in a variety of six colours with one being Caribbean Blue, which is specially designed for the Ranger.

Also on display was the new Ford Explorer - with two options of engines, a 4 litre V 6 with 210 horsepower, and the 4.6 litre V8 engine with 240 horsepower and 5-speed automatic transmission. This vehicle features the Control Trac on Demand system, enabling the 4x4 SUV to change from 4x2 to 4x4 drive quickly.

Kind of under wraps, but a teaser being shown, was the Ford Escape, a compact-sized SUV with more space and comfort which will be officially launched in Thailand later this year.

The last vehicle model was the F150 - The best selling pick-up truck in the US for 25 years and Ford’s best selling vehicle in the past 20 years.

By the way, special deals were available at the show, so I’d hit up the Ford dealer anyway, if you have an interest in a Ford product. It is a competitive market out there!

As part of that aggressive marketing push, executive director Mike Pease said, “We are committed to innovation and product development that will best address today’s drivers. This year, we plan to expand our product range to cover every market segment. New products that we will introduce later this year will enable us to expand our customer base. With world-class standards and quality of our vehicles, we are confident that Ford will become the number one car that Thai drivers prefer, which will lead to Ford success in the growing Thai market.” After chatting with Mike, I got the feeling that Ford are going to be trying very hard over the next 12 months. It might just be part of the world-wide Ford push, but I felt there was a personal note in Mike’s attitude. Sort of more like ‘take no prisoners’, rather than ‘no boundaries’.

Aim race car

While up in Bangers I also visited my mate Nontimuk Jotisalikorn in his new post as managing director of the Aim Racing Project. These are the guys who promote motor racing in this country and are also the builders of a very fine range of race vehicles called the Concept Cars and the Sport Grand Champion vehicles. The factory is out near Chatuchak and I was staying in Soi 20 Sukhumvit.

Nontimuk Jotisalikorn

The trip took 2 hours in clotted traffic. It was a wonderful way to practice the art of Jai Yen Yen and made me realise just why life in Pattaya is so appealing!