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Hyundai Getz Philippines Club EB @ Trinoma North Parking Lot

This morning, My Philippine Hyundai Getz 2007 Gina and I attended the first eyeball (EB) of members of the Hyundai Getz Club Philippines based in the north. Meeting time was 9AM at the North Parking Lot of new Quezon City shopping hall Trinoma.

According to the Getz Club thread, around ten Philippines Hyundai Getz owners confirmed attendance. Most of them showed up, alongside a couple of others who did not confirm their attendance but showed up anyway. I was one of those ‘others.’ I dragged my wife and son along with me – dragged not such a difficult word, since my son loves Trinoma – to the Hyundai Getz Philippines North EB, but they left to go around the mall as soon as we arrived.

Anyway, the Hyundai Getz owners who arrivedwere:

1.janmichael
2. nytrico
3. logan03207
4. docchikito
5. Coach
6. Shlomo498
7. Airanie

Despite the searing heat, which wilted everyone – okay, that’s a lie, just me – the Hyundai Getz Club north-living owners talked shop about our cars and the modifications made to their cars, our jobs and families, and how awesome it is to own a Hyundai Getz.

It was also fun to watch other Getzes zoom on by with nary a care for our EB. One red Hyundai Getz entered the parking lot and ignored the group of Getz owners gathered. One of our party went to him and invited him to join us, only to be told that he was not the owner of the Hyundai Get. Ah well, if some people don’t want to socialize, well, we don’t wanna force ‘em…

The Hyundai Getz owners who came to join the fun were truly amazing people, down to earth, extremely friendly, and terribly proud of their cars. It was an absolute blast. Until next time!

Care to see photos of Philippines Hyundai Getz cars at the EB.

The best Quezon City car wash for my Hyundai Getz

I wash my Hyundai Getz Philippines, Gina, myself. That’s right. I have several pieces of chamois, decent car shampoo, Turtle Wax, a dashboard/vinyl polish/protectant, Rain-X windshield protectant, and now, Armor-All Leather Care Gel. I wash Gina at least once a week, usually on Saturday mornings, to start me active on a weekend.

There are days, though, when I want it professionally done. Since I live way up north, my Quezon City car wash of choice is Genki Car Spa, a Quezon City car wash along Maria Clara Street, Banawe, Quezon City. For just PHP100, they’ll wash my Gina, my Hyundai Getz Manila, down pat, with double foam, tire black, and interior cleaning and vacuum. I feel that Gina  is more than presentable when I drive her out after a Genki Car Spa cash wash.

Genki Car Spa, my favorite Quezon City car wash, is located beside the extremely popular Tazza Cafe, where people who go to have their cars washed can eat in air-conditioned comfort. You can even bring a laptop along and work, or surf with WiFi access. (They’ll charge you to plug your laptop in, though.) Tazza Cafe’s Kahluea Walnut Cake is to die for.

If you do decide to have your car washed at Genki Car Spa, be sure to go early. The lines of cars waiting can stretch as long as nine. (There is ample parking if you’d like to wait, and Tazza Cafe can accommodate you for as long as you’d like.)

Genski Car Spa
98 Ma. Clara St., Quezon City

Protecting those Hyundai Getz leather seats

To protect the Hyundai Getz leather seats I installed for Gina, I recently purchased Armor All® Leather Care Gel on discounted sale from Ace Hardware – SM Makati. This leather gel claims:

• Cleaning agents restore leather to its original, natural look.
• Unique conditioners keep leather looking rich and enhance its natural beauty.
• To create a barrier to protect from spills and stains.

“Armor All® Leather Care Gel cleans and conditions for that lasting luxurious look! It contains special UV blockers that scavenge damaging free radicals. The rich, moisturizing cream allows even, mess-free application. It has been specially formulated to be neither sticky nor greasy. Armor All® Leather Care Gel is also recommended for luggage, briefcases, furniture and handbags.”

So how did Armor all Leather Care Gel do on its first run with Gina?

I used a clean, slightly damp cotton cloth to apply the Armor All Leather Care Gel to the leather seats of my Hyundai Getz. Rubbing the Armor All Leather Care Gel into the leather in a circular motion allowed the gel to be absorbed quickly, and I kept a roll of paper towels nearby to soak up excess moisture. I tend to scrimp application portions with my car care items, and I was impressed with how little gel seemed to go a long way. The bottle promised 20 seats, but I think I can get more.

Initial impression: the Armor All Leather Care Gel seemed to react well with the black leather portion of the seats of my Hyundai Getz, leaving it with a slight gloss, and decidedly more supple. The light brown leather, however, seemed to have been stained darker upon initial gel application, something I attributed to the wetness of the gel rather than any possible dirt. A quick dab with my paper towels helped remove visible gel spots, especially around the stitching.

After application: It’s been three days, and my Philippine Hyundai Getz’s leather seats do feel a little softer, especially the brown leather portion. The initial stains are gone, indicating they were just the results of the moisture of the gel. Armor All Leather Care Gel also claims to protect the seats from the heat and the sun’s UV rays, which makes me feel a little more confident with the longevity and quality of the seats.

Would I recommend Armor All Leather Care Gel? It’s probably too soon to tell, but at this point, with maintenance of Hyundai Getz leather seats an important part of my priority car care list, I think it’s relatively safe to say that Armor All Leather Care Gel will probably be my leather care cleaner of choice for the next few months.

Update on our Hyundai Getz’s fuel consumption

After we took Gina, our Hyundai Getz Philippines, to the shop for her 1000km checkup, I thought the Hyundai Getz fuel consumption would improve. The number to beat – at least as far as money is concerned – was Php1,500.00, which was how much we were paying for a week on our Toyota Revo.

After a few weeks, this is the rather dismal number we’ve come up with.

Our Hyundai Getz gets 10.8km/liter.

 If that isn’t kick-you-in-the-crotch, why-the-hell-is-it-so-low horrific.

For a 1.1 engine, that’s abysmal. And I can testify to my own style of gas driving. I’m a great driver for fuel efficiency.  I don’t floor it, I rarely exceed 3,000RPM, and I’m not a clutch driver at all. Most of the time, it’s been me driving, and I’m not exactly a lightweight at a little over 200lbs, but you’d think a 1.1 could deliver at least 12km/liter.

So, instead of saving money on fuel efficiency, we’re actually spending more, because we pay the same amount – Php1,500 a week – but get less power and legroom because we gave up our Toyota Revo for this.

Admittedly, I’m a little bummed. But I’m not the only one. Review what others had to say here and here.

So remember what I said here? Scratch that.

Hyundai Getz space demonstration

We took our newborn Nicki out last week for the first time in Gina, our Hyundai Getz Philippines. We bought a baby stroller for her a few weeks before she was born, but we took that baby stroller home in our old Toyota Revo. Now, it remained to be seen whether we could fit this relatively large stroller in our Hyundai Getz.

One of the reasons why we bought our Hyundai Getz, Gina, from the Quezon City distributor (Wheels Inc. E Rodriguez) was because Cathy was impressed by the size of our hatchback’s trunk. It was noticeable larger than the trunks of either the Kia Picanto or the Suzuki Alto, the only two other hatchbacks in the Philippines we were considering.

Now we’d have to put it to the test.

I opened the trunk of our Hyundai Getz, Gina, where one would see this:

To fit our stroller, we had to remove the optional hatchback hood/dashboard.

To remove it, we simply removed the sling from the hatchback door here…

… and this was the end result.

Lots of space, as you can see. We folded up Nicki’s baby stroller, and it fit like this.

It fit snugly, with plenty of space on the side for other things, including both bags of our kids, as well as a picnic basket of goodies that we took to Mom’s house.

 Once again, Gina, our Hyundai Getz, surprises us with her flexibility and charm!

Replacing our Hyundai Getz horn

Owners of a Hyundai Getz in the Philippines will agree with me when I say the Hyundai Getz horn sucks balls.

It’s the worst horn ever. Blech. Horns are supposed to warn other vehicles, pedestrians, or animals on the road that we’re a-comin’. When I tooted my Hyundai Getz horn, all I got were laughing jeepney drivers and the occasional shocked dog.

So I resolved to change the horn of our Hyundai Getz Philippines. I bought myself a nice loud Bosch disc horn from Ace Hardware Greenbelt (at only Php699.75) and had it installed by the friendly folks at Wheels Inc – Hyundai E. Rodriguez for a service fee of Php500 so it doesn’t ruin the electrical warranty of Gina, our Hyundai Getz Philippines.

The end result: a Hyundai Getz horn I can be proud of!

We have our Hyundai Getz license plates!

We finally got the license plates for Gina, our Hyundai Getz Philippines. Thankfully, the LTO representatives at Wheels Inc., our Hyundai distributor, were able to get us license plates within a month, which, apparently, is rare.

Hyundai Getz rubber car mats

Last week, I bought some Hyundai Getz rubber car mats to pimp my ride, my Hyundai Getz, Gina. I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the standard Hyundai Getz rubber car mats that came with my Hyundai Getz.

These standard Hyundai Getz rubber car mats are the see-through, lightweight rubber car mats that slide easily with every shift of one’s foot. If the purpose, after all, of Hyundai Getz rubber car mats are to protect the car’s natural carpeting, these particular rubber car mats do not work, as they slide under the Hyundai Getz chair, or run haphazard along the car flooring. They were terrible.

So I bought these heavy Looney Tunes rubber car mats from SM Hypermart in North EDSA. I chose the design that featured Taz, the Tasmanian Devil, not because I particularly like that character but more because Taz’s brown-beige color matches the golden beige color of my Hyundai Getz. (Yes, I make decisions that do take color into consideration.) These new Looney Tunes Hyundai Getz rubber car mats are large and heavy, which would make it more difficult to slide or budge out of place. Their color schemes match our Getz, and add a touch of whimsy to the otherwise elegant, almost staid, look that I’m trying to achieve for Gina.

Anyway, I tried these rubber car mats on Day One and found, much to my horror, that there was a heavy chemical smell that permeated my Hyundai Getz. How do I remove the smell or odor of rubber car mats? After researching on the Internet, I learned that one way to remove the smell from rubber car mats is to expose them to the sun for several days. So that’s what I’m doing right now. Hopefully, in about a week’s time, the smell will be gone, I can pop these rubber car mats into my Hyundai Getz, and I can take photos.

Hyundai Getz leather seats information

I bought awesome leather seats for my Getz at MG Square Upholstery along Araneta Avenue near PureGold.

The manager, Rey, was very professional. He recommended all types of first-class quality synthetic leather, gave me good rates, and delivered in literally three days. I chose black leather seat covers with golden beige center trim and paid Php3,500.00 for front seats and the back seat.

I’m very satisfied.

(You can contact MG Square Upholstery at 411-5442. Look for Rey, tell him Ganns Deen told ya about ‘em.)