After owning a car then replacing it with another several times since 1983, I bought a car in March 25, 1991. It was a 1980 Ford Escort 1600 Ghia, one model that I have not owned in the past. It had a unique color of Gleamist Red that no other car had. There were some similar but would either be darker or lighter in shade when compared. The upholstery of the seats were velvet, light gray and lined with dark red vinyl. What really makes the seats comfortable is that as if it hugs you from the back. The engine is powerful and has very responsive handling. It is very much like the older models that became champions in world rallies.

Relatives and friends who owned other brands and newer models appreciate the car very much in looks and performance. The car had gone to many places where they would not dare drive their cars. There was once a friend even turned back his Benz, afraid that it might stall when we were driving on dusty roads on our way to a coastal area. A specialized shop where I have the suspension checked commented that as far as he knows, it's the best of the same models he sees around in our city. Some people commented that the disadvantage of that car model is that parts were hardly available and expensive. I proved them wrong by having that car for 17 years.

The car was so reliable and never really put me trouble. For the 17 years it served me, the most costly maintenance it required was clutch replacement, three times in that span of time. One unforgettable service it provided was during the eruption of Mount Pinatubo. A sister-in-law and her family were stranded near an American Airbase because their house was half buried in lahar. In that situation, I decided to take them out of that place because transportation was hardly available. Her brother and I went for a 200 kilometer trip from our city. About 50 kilometers from their location we stopped by for a meal. We met several acquaintances who came from the lahar buried areas and told me that the car would not make it. All of them were using four-wheel drives with off-road tires. They said even those vehicles had difficulty traversing the rugged terrain! I did not have second thoughts. Getting my sister-in-law and her family out of there was my priority. The car had an ancestry of surviving even tougher roads in rallies. Lahar ashes were still falling heavily from the skies. It was so sticky that the windshield wipers would stop and my brother-in-law had to splash water to get it moving! Twenty kilometers from my sister-in-laws house the terrain really became worse. I could not understand why there mounds all over the streets. Some as high as two feet and were close to one another. It was a slow bouncy drive. The gear stayed on first gear to slowly negotiate the car over or around those mounds and some holes. I could not remember how long it took us to reach the house. When we got there, the house roof has sagged on its sides almost collapsing entirely because of almost a foot thick of lahar on it. To our dismay, my sister-in-law and her kids have abandoned the house and we had no idea where they were! We had to drive back the same way we came to the outskirts of the city not much affected by the lahar. By some stroke of luck, the first place we went to look for them, they were there and praying that we would find them. They were in one well known fast food chains, I think it was KFC.

It was a relief to find them there and safe. We had some meals before packing up their things in the car and drive back to our home two hundred kilometers away. We arrived late at night so I did not have the chance to check the car for any damage. It would be the next morning that I would find out that it was hardly recognizable had it not been parked in our garage. The entire car was covered with lahar and ash combined, giving it a light gray color that almost matched its velvet upholstery. Under the hood was the same! It did not give up on us for the more than 400 kilometer voyage!

The car served us more in lesser tough conditions until 1999 when it badly needed body repairs. It was supposed to go into a repair shop. I stripped it off down to bare body and engine to avoid damage of those parts in the shop. The shop never came to take the car making excuses that they always were full. Having owned and operated an auto repair shop, I took it upon myself to do the body repair works. It painstakingly took me everyday for a month and a half to do it. From then on, it again served us until July of 2007 when I had to sell it. We needed some money to care of more important things. My friend who bought it needed the engine and some other parts to complete a similar model. It was painful to know that she was going to be chopped down and never roam the streets again. The shop took her away only after three long agonizing days after my friend paid me. For all those three days, I would spend some time each day just watching her reminiscing what we have gone through for 17 years.